True Forgiveness Is Hard!

“And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us” -Matthew 6:12

I am so grateful that Jesus gave us this prayer, because I sometimes struggle with this. Deciding to forgive someone feels relatively easy, but forgiving as God forgive us seems so much harder!

“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” -Psalm 103:12

This Bible verse is what I struggle with. I have sometimes decided to forgive someone (after all God forgives me :). But then I take it back! I start thinking of how much that person hurt me, and yet when God forgives our “transgressions”, our “transgressions become “as far as the “east is from the west”.

So what I really do sometimes I think, is I forgive someone, but then I take it back. As my friend often says, I am not Christian because I am so perfect, but because I need Help :).

And so when forgiveness is a struggle, I simply ask God for Help 🙂

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready…

 

It Is Time To Shine God’s Light :)

“Arise, shine; for your light is come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.” – Isaiah 60:1

We live in dark times in this country, but the light of Christ shines as well! It shines through us!

So often, we ask God to save us, but God sent us! Jesus taught us how to share the Gospel and love God and love our neighbor! And that is all we need 🙂

We need to do that now!

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

Warning: What Signs Should We Look For?


 “And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” – Matthew 24:3

Jesus’ Apostles wanted to know what they signs they should look for when Jesus came back and when the world would end. And so, as Jesus sat upon the Mount of Olives, He told them what signs they should look for :).

And these were the signs that Jesus shared:

And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

All these are the beginning of sorrows.

Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.

10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand 🙂

16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:

17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:

18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.

19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!

20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:

21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.

23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.

24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

25 Behold, I have told you before.

26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.

27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:

33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

Some of these are happening now-Be warned!

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

Encouragement For Us All :)

“Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.” – Isaiah 60:20

One day, it will never become dark again! The sun won’t set and the moon won’t need to rise. For God’s light will be with us always.

But there are also other kinds of darkness such as sin, worry, pain, fatigue… One day, these will never happen to us again either 🙂

So hang in there, Jesus is coming 🙂

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready 🙂

Keep Praying!

For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.” – Isaiah 60:2

While praying the Rosary, I heard Mary say “Keep Praying! Even if prayers seem to go unanswered and God seems far away!”

And it’s so True. Sometimes we don’t “feel” like praying, but that is often when we need to pray the most. And sometimes that is when prayers such as the Our Father or the Hail Mary are so helpful. Because when we can’t think of what to say, these prayers say it for us :).

We live in a world that has become filled with evil. We have only to look at our own national headlines: Target customers shocked after company features pride items by Satanist partner: Devil is ‘hope’ and ‘love‘, NPR defends sex-change surgeries for children, features 13-year-old on ‘puberty blockers’, Senate passes same-sex marriage bill with bipartisan support.

Churches are splitting into those churches which believe in and preach the Bible, and those who don’t. How sad it is for those who stay in a church that does not truly believe in or preach the God’s Word! Regretfully, how far they have fallen.

But we don’t have to fall! And that is one reason that prayer is so very important and we need to pray especially when we don’t feel like it. Because if we Keep Praying in Jesus’ Name, we will come out the other side. God’s side.

In Joshua 24:15, it says “Choose this day whom you will serve”.

Pray and choose wisely!

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

Jesus Warns The People!

Jesus Predicts the Destruction of the Temple

24 “Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

The Signs of the Times and the End of the Age

3″ Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?

And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come”.

The Great Tribulation

15 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.

23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand.

26 “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.”

The Coming of the Son of Man

29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

The Parable of the Fig Tree

32 “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! 34 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away”.

No One Knows the Day or Hour

36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. 37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. 42 Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

The Faithful Servant and the Evil Servant

45 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. 47 Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. 48 But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, 51 and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth”.

Pray, Prepare & Be Ready!

God Will Feed Us -Do Not Fear!

Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.” – 1 Kings 17:1

” You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.” – 1 Kings 17:4

God will always feed us. Not only did God feed Elijah, but Jesus fed the 5,000. He had only 5 fish and 2 loaves of bread. Jesus looked up to Heaven and gave Thanks and broke the bread and fed them all 🙂 (Matthew 14)

There can be no doubt that we live in difficult times, but God will feed us-do not fear!

Prepare, Pray and Be Ready!

“The Good News of Salvation”

Sometimes this life on earth can make us feel tired. The news headlines scream of all that is wrong with our world and all of the evil that people do, the price of basic necessities and medical care is rising far faster than our paychecks, our jobs, supporting our families, worrying about the future…it’s a lot. But it won’t always be this way! Read Isaiah 61 below and hide it in your heart 🙂

61 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

And they shall rebuild the old ruins,
They shall raise up the former desolations,
And they shall repair the ruined cities,
The desolations of many generations.
Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks,
And the sons of the foreigner
Shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.
But you shall be named the priests of the Lord,
They shall call you the servants of our God.
You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles,
And in their glory you shall boast.
Instead of your shame you shall have double honor,
And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion.
Therefore in their land they shall possess double;
Everlasting joy shall be theirs.

“For I, the Lord, love justice;
I hate robbery for burnt offering;
I will direct their work in truth,
And will make with them an everlasting covenant.
Their descendants shall be known among the Gentiles,
And their offspring among the people.
All who see them shall acknowledge them,
That they are the posterity whom the Lord has blessed.”

10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
My soul shall be joyful in my God;
For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
He has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the earth brings forth its bud,
As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth,
So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the
nations.

Thanks to Jesus, we can look forward to a much brighter future! One that lasts forever and never makes us tired. Above is Isaiah 61. Read it. Remember it. Thanks to Jesus, our Day will come 🙂

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready 🙂

“You Generation Of Vipers”

This was an insert in my Bible, but it rings true today. How many “religious leaders” are leading their flock in the wrong direction? How many teach that a sin-is not a sin? That sinful behavior is acceptable to God?

“Questions & Objections: You shouldn’t talk about sin because Jesus didn’t condemn anybody. He was always loving and kind”

“Jesus did indeed condemn some people for their sin. In Matthew 23 He called the religious leaders “hypocrites” seven times. He told them that they were “blind fools”, children of hell, full of hypocrisy and sin. He climaxed his sermon by saying “You serpents; you generation of vipers, how shall you escape the damnation of hell?” (Matthew 23:33). He then warned that He would say to the wicked “Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels”” (Matthew 25:41)

Jesus made such a huge sacrifice that we might be forgiven our sins and go to Heaven. He created a Bridge between each of us and God. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try our very best to live a righteous life. A sin-free life. It does mean that when we have done our very best to live a righteous life, there will still be sin. We are not perfect. And Jesus will forgive us our sins; the ones we tried so hard not to commit.

In other words, if we truly believe in Jesus, if we accept Him as our Savior, than we will also believe God’s Word and do our very best to follow it!

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

Warning: To All Those Who Teach!

“And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God to the shepherds: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?” – Ezekiel 34:1-2

We read the phrase “feed the flock” often in the Bible. We hear Jesus say, “feed my flock”. But is that what every church is doing today? Or are some churches refusing to “feed their flock” and instead feeding them whatever is popular -no matter how sinful! How many of those we love have been lost because a preacher led them astray and reassured them that their sinful choices were acceptable to God when they were not?

“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” says the Lord.” – Jeremiah 23:1

May they all turn back to the Lord and Teach God’s Truth while they still can!

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!