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In This World, we will have troubles!

³³“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”-Jesus

It’s Not Too Late…

The Old Testament is filled with stories of times when God was forced to discipline His people because of their bad behavior. Although our Lord clearly loved them and provided for all of their needs, people often turned away from our Lord and towards evil. Such is the story of our nation.

Our nation was once formed as a Christian nation. We honored our Lord and we loved one another. In God We Trust was our motto and we said it proudly. One Nation Under God was a part of our Pledge of Allegiance, and we were proud and grateful to say it. Now we have kicked God out of our schools, and school shootings have been the result. We have murdered countless unborn babies, and hearts that ache endlessly has been our reward. Some of our State Houses has actually honored those who follow Satan.

Although God has been clear in the Holy Bible that He does not favor gay marriage, we have allowed our country to embrace it as the new “normal”. One has only to turn on the television or go to the movies to see just how far away our nation has turned from God, and the traditions and values that built this great country.

But there is good news as well. God is still listening to our prayers. Even now. And there is one particular sentence in the Bible that matters so much today:

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

There is still time for our nation to turn back to our Lord and the values and traditions that built this great country. We don’t have to let our nation sink into the abyss, we can choose to follow Christ and do all that He has taught us.

Last Year Does Not Matter, This Year Does!

Everywhere you look, the news today is bad. And sadly, for Christians, it will get worse. Much worse. During a sermon I was listening to, it talked about how it doesn’t matter how much we earned last year, it matters what we earn this year. The same can be said of our relationship with our Lord.. We can’t rely on our relationship with our Lord from last year, we need to work on it every single day. As for the discouraging news, we need to take it as a reminder to walk closely with our Lord and enjoy today, the day God has given us. Be cozy at home, make a great dinner, enjoy our time with our husbands and children. And keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, and our hearts filled with the Holy Spirit. Our Father would never send us, where “His Grace would not sustain us”. So my friends, “Do not fear”. Jesus Lives, and so will we

“The Lord is my defense; and my God is the rock of my refuge.

Psalm 94 can be a great comfort, for it assures us of two things. The Lord will defend and protect us, and justice will prevail!

The Holy Bible: King James Version, Pslam 94

94 O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself.

²Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud.

³Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph?

⁴How long shall they utter and speak hard things? and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves?

⁵They break in pieces thy people, O Lord, and afflict thine heritage.

⁶They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless.

⁷Yet they say, The Lord shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it.

⁸Understand, ye brutish among the people: and ye fools, when will ye be wise?

⁹He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see?

¹⁰He that chastiseth the heathen, shall not he correct? he that teacheth man knowledge, shall not he know?

¹¹The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.

¹²Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O Lord, and teachest him out of thy law;

¹³That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked.

¹⁴For the Lord will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance.

¹⁵But judgment shall return unto righteousness: and all the upright in heart shall follow it.

¹⁶Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?

¹⁷Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence.

¹⁸When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O Lord, held me up.

¹⁹In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul.

²⁰Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law?

²¹They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood.

²²But the Lord is my defence; and my God is the rock of my refuge.

²³And he shall bring upon them their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness; yea, the Lord our God shall cut them off.

End Times: Are they here?

Daniel: Chapter 12, Verse 1 “At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered.

How Can We Live?

Ezekiel 33:9-11 New International Version (NIV)

⁹But if you do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do not do so, they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved.

¹⁰“Son of man, say to the Israelites, ‘This is what you are saying: “Our offenses and sins weigh us down, and we are wasting away because of^[a] them. How then can we live?”’

¹¹Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’

God is as Merciful as He is Just.

When something bad or difficult is about to happen, often God tries to warn us, because He loves us and wants us to avoid the difficult times if we can. God doesn’t want us to suffer.

In the story of Jeremiah in the Bible, it tells of such a story. There was a King, and a people who just refused to follow God. And so God told Jeremiah to write down all of the things that might happen if the King and his people kept rejecting our Lord. And so, Jeremiah being obedient to the Lord, had his friend write all of these things down and bring it to the King and His people. But instead of repenting, the King threw the list into the fire and refused to repent. He refused to turn back to our Lord, no matter how much God loved him.

And so, sadly, all of the difficult times came to pass. God tried to warn him, but he just wouldn’t listen and so sadly they suffered.

God is as Just as He is Merciful. Too often we want to concentrate only on His mercy, but He is both Just and Merciful. At some point, whether we want it to or not, justice will come…

Pray For Each Other :)

COMPASSION. It seems to be the word needed right now. Compassion for all. There are two sides rapidly conflicting in this virus fight. One says the only way to protect everyone’s health is to stay at home. The other says we need, as a country, to get back to work before the economy is destroyed. What concerns me is the level of anger on both sides, when what we need is to have compassion for both sides!

It’s easy for me to say we should stay home. I am working from home, my son works from home and my husband still goes to work. We have a nice home, perhaps not huge or fancy, but very cozy. My entire family is here and virus-free (at least for right now). And we have enough to eat.

But there are many families who are not nearly so fortunate. They are suffering, out of work and worried about their house payment or rent. They don’t have enough food to eat and they don’t have enough money to buy more food, or medical supplies. Since that are out of work, they may not have health insurance. Which means they may be unable to go to the doctor.

Unhealthy, or homeless and hungry. Which is worse? And who decides?

I don’t have the answer, but I do know that neither answer is good and we need to have compassion for one another.

And most of all, we need to Pray for each other, because that is the only way we will get through this… In Jesus Name, Amen.

Unprecedented!

A Friend sent me this:

Seems like the word that is being used many times these days (i.e. other than “coronavirus”) is “unprecedented”. The dictionary definition of the adjective unprecedented is something that has not happened before or very rare. While it appears that this word is mostly being used associated with this current epidemic, it is interesting when God’s Word used something similar. “Now the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation.” (1 Samuel 3:1) The Scripture goes on to capture Samuel’s first prophecy, after the Lord said to Samuel that He will do something in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. All Israel knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the Lord. First Samuel offers us a contrast between two very different national leaders: Saul, who relied on his own abilities and reason to make crucial decisions about God’s people; and David, who chose a path of humility and faith in God. As long as King David chose righteousness, God’s Blessing followed the nation of Judah. Does this sound familiar?

Similarly, as America entered the dark days of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln realized the need for the nation to turn its heart to God. After the Union Army’s defeat at the battle of Bull Run, President Lincoln called the American people to a time of repentance, prayer, and fasting, so that “the united prayer of the nation may ascend to the Throne of Grace and bring down plentiful blessings upon our country.” Truly, God’s Heart IS turned to such humility. President Lincoln received much harassment from the news media. One example was in his book “1864: Lincoln at the Gates of History”, author Charles Flood noted that The New York Herald once wrote that “his election was a rash experiment, his administration is a deplorable failure.” Does this sound familiar? Perhaps as America enters dark days again, it IS time to be “One in the Spirit, One in the Lord”! We are called to a time of repentance, prayer, and fasting, so that united we may stand with the Lord, fear Him, and receive His Blessings once again!

My thoughts and prayers are that you humble yourself before our Heavenly Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That you chose a path of righteousness and faith in God. That you share our Lord with others to unite, trust, and depend upon The Rock on which we stand! In Jesus’ Name. Thy Will be done. Amen. Peace.

Choose Christ While You Can!

It’s hard for Christians all over. Whether it is an outright threat to our lives or simply the peer pressure that is occurring in America, the world has tried to by and large, to silence Christianity. From calling us judgmental to the resounding silence of many in the media when it comes to suggesting people should pray during these difficult times, the world has found many ways to suggest that we should be quiet.

But this is not the time to be quiet. So often our Lord has helped us! It is time for us to take a stand for Him as well.

So here is mine. I follow Christ, above all things. I need Christ, above all things. I am not a Christian because I am “so good”, but rather I am a sinner in need of a Savior. The Bible is the Word of God, as it is written, and it is true and complete. I care far more for what God thinks, than what man thinks. And I am not afraid, for I know our Lord has both me and those I love, and I trust Him. And no matter how difficult the road becomes, my true Home is in Heaven and no one and nothing can stop Jesus from bringing me Home. Jesus IS coming back-soon!

Choose Christ while you can ?