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When Jesus returned to His hometown to preach; many people would not listen or believe.  And although Jesus had performed many miracles, they still would not believe. And He left.

In Matthew 10:15, Jesus talks about what the future will be like for “towns” that reject our Lord’s message:   “¹⁵ Truly I tell you, it willl be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.”

Sadly, this reminds many of our country today.  America has been greatly Blessed by God, but in return our nation has rejected God and the Teachings of His Holy Bible.

For example, an article on Fox News says that the term “Founding Fathers” has been deemed so offensive, the Federal Reserve has advised employees to avoid using it.  The Federal Reserve has also advised employees to stop using “he” or “she”.  Our Founding Fathers, and all those who sacrificed their lives to create our great nation deserve so much better.

Our children are taught in schools that gay marriage is acceptable, when it is not acceptable in the eyes of God.  Unborn babies are murdered every day.  Our society itself has become so self-centered, how could it possibly truly love one another?  (After all it’s hard to claim you love someone when you are busy hurting them) And clearly, our nation does not put God first!

We can not as a nation expect to reject our Lord and the Teachings of the Holy Bible,  and yet expect His Blessing as a nation.

America was built on the values and traditions of Faith, Freedom and Family.  We have survived the many challenges that we have faced  because God always came first.

For those who believe in Jesus, the future has not changed. We are going Home to Heaven for forever. Watch, Prepare and Pray.  God loves you and will hear your prayers always ?

For those who do not believe, it may soon be too late ,so for your own sake, Seek and Accept Jesus and be filled with the Holy Spirit while you still can. God loves you 🙂

The Father Revealed in the Son

“²⁵ At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. ²⁶ Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.

²⁷ “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”-Matthew 11:25-30

So often we focus on how wonderful it is that our relationship with Jesus brings us Home to Heaven.  But today, I want to shift the focus on how wonderful it is to belong to God in this world here on earth.

I’ve always seen my share of challenges.  I have had serious health issues both now and when I was young.  I’ve had days when I could not get out of bed and had to crawl to the bathroom because I was so sick. And yet, although I spent months in bed, God never left me. Instead God surrounded me with the love and comfort I needed to survive those years. And to survive them well! 🙂

  And I have had days when I have gone to work even when it was really, really difficult. Days where I had to stand to testify before the State House or Senate not knowing if I would faint from lack of strength. But God held me up through it it all. That’s the thing about God, if He opens a door, He always gives you the strength to walk through it. 🙂

That the family I was born into was not the best, is saying way too little.  But it’s not only my story to tell. Let’s just say that With God’s Help, you can survive anything 🙂

I’ve also been Blessed with a wonderful husband and two amazing children. I always think of my husband as my Knight in Shining Armor, because he is so good and so honorable. Old fashioned words, but still true. And I think of my two children as the best present God every gave me. Truly, they have given me such joy! They have all been such a Blessing in my life and I thank God for them everyday 🙂

 While being sick is no picnic, I’ve always been Blessed with a good home in a safe neighborhood.  And I have, for the most part, been Blessed with good doctors who care about me.  And I have been Blessed with really wonderful friends!  And I have been Blessed with years when I was well-and really enjoyed them ?

But more than all of these, I have been greatly Blessed with a Faith that has more than withstood the test of time. That’s another thing about God, He always gives us more than we ask for. His love and generosity are endless. Whether it was God or His angels sitting with me when I had to stay in bed when I was young or holding me up now, God has always been with me.  My Father has never left me and neither has Jesus or the Holy Spirit.  And The Holy Spirit has always lifted me up and out, especially when the suffering was too much.

There is a song called Dearly Loved by Shaylee Simeone that describes my life perfectly.  I have always felt dearly loved by God!  ?

And sadly,there have been times when I was a young that I made my share of mistakes. I wanted God to “fix” me and I was unwise in not realizing that God had given me way more than I had lost. God did not move, but sadly I did.  Unfortunately, we all make our own share of mistakes. Some are through our own doing, and some are because we were hurt by someone else.  But if we call upon Jesus, God uses all of it to make us stronger and more compassionate, and enables us to use our experiences to help others.  Our Father loves us so much that He simply uses our mistakes to our good, or the good of someone else.  He always will  ? .  That doesn’t mean we will never face any consequences for our choices-we will.  But it does mean, that ultimately, we will see good come from them.  ?

So life can, at times , be easy or difficult, pain or joy filled.  The key is to find our way to happiness and peace – either way. 

And that happiness and peace-it lies with Christ.  It always has; it always will ?

I wish I could explain the happiness and peace that can fill my heart.  Or how asking Mary to Pray for me has made such a very real difference in my life.  Being with God can be like flying. If I am afraid at times, With God’s Help, I never let it stop me. For With God, All Things Are Possible. It’s amazing.  And sitting with Jesus just makes me smile, all the way inside and out.  And being filled with the Holy Spirit fills me with an indescribable joy ?

Is my life like this always?  24/7?  No.  There are times when my burdens weigh heavy on me, when suffering overwhelms me, when I hurt for some one I love or worry about their welfare.  Or sometimes some one hurts me.

But belonging to God means I always know where to go. For my Joy and my Help is in Jesus.  It means my heart is full and my life is even fuller. 

And having experienced both Pain and Joy, I really appreciate God’s Gifts to me ?

And this is what I pray for you, that you find Joy in Christ too! 🙂

Is Heaven simply on the other side? Maybe. We don’t know for sure where Heaven is-exactly. But I look at this picture, and think…

Forgiveness is a decision.  Through His Son Jesus, God forgives us and so we need to forgive others. And we do.  But forgiving someone is not the always the same as “feeling better”.

Anger that seems justified is hard to work through.  Sometimes someone really hurts us. And it seems unfair, but it doesn’t change the fact that we need to.  Pain and anger take up valuable space in our brain and in our heart.  And they waste our time. They have to go 🙂

And there is something else that pain and anger do to us that is really dangerous:  They can harden our heart!

So what can we do with our hurt feelings when they seem so justified?

I can only share what I do with mine.  I can’t change some of those feelings myself.  I can’t always “make myself feel better”.  So I ask God to change my feelings for me.  Too soften my heart and to give me compassion for the person who hurt me. I ask Jesus to help me and I ask the Holy Spirit to fill my heart. And I ask Mary to pray for me.

And I try to think about the person who hurt me. Perhaps someone hurt them or perhaps it was just a really bad time in their life.  Perhaps they don’t know Jesus yet.  Or perhaps they are suffering themselves.  The list of why good people do bad things is endless…

We’ve all been there and we thank God that Jesus came to Save us from our sins!

Asking God to help us with our feelings works and it’s a prayer that God is happy to answer.  Sometimes it can take a bit, but it always works.

Try it, God will answer. Be the Light ?

Someone once wrote that “you don’t have to Feel forgiven, to BE forgiven”.  And that is such a true  statement!

So often, we ask in Jesus’ Name to be forgiven for something, but we still feel guilty.  And because we still feel so guilty, we feel unforgiven.

But that is just not True.  It’s how we Feel, but it’s not a Fact.

My Dad used to say that “sometimes feeling just lie”.  And he was right.  Feelings often lie.  Think how many times your “feelings” have “told” you that somehow you are not enough.  Not pretty enough, not smart enough, not funny enough, not strong enough….  But it’s not true.  You are enough ?

The same is true with being forgiven.  Our “feelings” may “tell” us that we are not forgiven, but they are lying.  We are forgiven 100% through our relationship with Jesus.

So don’t let anyone tell you different, not even you!  Lol.

We ARE completely forgiven and because we are, we will all go Home to Heaven-together! 🙂

What is the difference between Christians and non-Christians?  The answer to that question is too lengthy to post here, but we can talk about one of the differences.

One difference is simply that we know who to turn to when we do something wrong.

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”-Romans 8:1

It’s not that we don’t sin.   And it’s not that we don’t fail.  Christians do both.  It’s that we know where to go for forgiveness when we do either or both-Jesus.  And we also know where to go for help when we need it ?-  Jesus.

So if we are having a “tough” day, we turn to Jesus, pick ourselves up and begin again.  Because that is what Jesus gives us, a clean slate, a new beginning and the strength to start again.  We just have to accept it.

A word about guilt.  Sometimes it’s far easier to forgive others than it is to forgive ourselves.  We tend to hold onto our guilty “feelings” too long.  When guilty feelings bring us to repentance that is good.  But when guilty feelings weigh us down, it’s not.  Jesus forgives us, but He also wants us to forgive ourselves. We need to give Jesus our guilty feelings as well!

“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death”- 2 Cor. 7:10

A last word about guilty “feelings”.  If God has forgiven something, whether it be something that someone else did or something we did, no man (or woman) should refuse to forgive it.  What God has forgiven, let no man hold over anyone for any reason!

“For if God is with us; who can be against us” –Romans 8:31?

So many different words have been used: Believe, Accept, Choose, Saved….

But all refer to our Acceptance of Jesus’ Great Gift of Saving us from our sins and reuniting us with God :). Because of Christ, we get to go Home to Heaven.

Jesus gave us the Greatest Gift we will ever receive. He is with us now and always. And because of His Great Love for us and His Sacrifice, we will one day go home to Heaven forever.

But we do need to, as with any gift, accept His Great Gift, because if we don’t accept it, it is not ours. And if it is not ours, we will not go to Heaven.

And remember, we don’t need “a lot” of faith, the tiniest bit will do:

He (Jesus) replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”-Matthew 17:20

And faith is not being mentally sure of something:

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”-Hebrews 11:1

For those who don’t know one, below is one Salvation Prayer.

A Salvation Prayer: “Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I believe You died for my sins. Right now, I turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and life. I confess You as my personal Lord and Savior. Amen. 🙂

“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”- Matthew 22: 37-39

So we’ve already established that if we believe in Jesus; we need to believe what He says. And if we believe what He says, don’t we also need to act on it?

Loving is a choice, but it is also an action. If we live our lives loving God and our neighbor, our actions in our lives should show that 🙂

Jesus sacrificed so much for us and loves us so much, and He loved us first. Loving Him and loving others is the least we can do.

“Believe what you do believe, or else you will never persuade any one else to believe it”-Charles Spurgeon

So often we say we that believe, but do we? Or does the way that we live our lives show others that we believe?

A great speaker once posed this question. “Why is it we say we believe in Jesus, but we don’t believe what He says?”

She made a great point.

Perhaps it’s because we want God’s Blessings, without any obligations. We want Christ to save us, but we also want to do whatever we feel like.

But it doesn’t work like that…God left us the Roadmap that we need to live our lives in His Holy Bible.

We need to Believe it and Live it, so others can believe it too 🙂