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What, if in the future, people become to scared to say God’s Name?

Consider what current times are like. Are there those who are too afraid to Pray In Jesus’ Name out loud? Are there those who are afraid of “offending someone” or getting “cancelled”. What about getting fired from your job or going to Facebook Jail? Are some afraid to share Biblical Truths and God’s Word, less it offend someone? Lest we be accused of evangelizing?

Charles Spurgeon once said, “Believe what you do believe or else you will never persuade anybody else to believe it.”. And he was right! If we are to scared to share God and God’s Word, what does that say about our own faith? For if we truly believe, scared or not, we Will put our trust in God. 🙂

In view of what our current times are like, is it really impossible to conceive of a future where it will be scarey to even mention our Lord’s Name?

So what should we do?

We keep praying out loud in Jesus’ Name and try not to allow our world to go that far down evil’s path. For “woe” to those who follow it.

If there comes a time where Christians are truly persecuted (right now we are just seeing peer pressure in America), than we still need to find a way to Pray together.

During the time of the Roman Persecution of Christians, many Christians used a Fish as a symbol of where Christians could meet together to pray. We need to find a way to pray together too.

“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them”-Matthew 18:20

Be the Light 🙂

“If you can?” asked Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.” -Mark 9:23

From Max Lucado’s Calendar

Sometimes we don’t get our way. We pray and we pray. It’s for a “worthy cause”, or so we think :). It seems like it “should” happen. But accepting God’s Will is just easier when it goes “our way”, lol. Thank God that God understands that we are only human (espcially since He made us 🙂

As we try to process God’s “no”, sometimes we can feel our hearts tighten or even harden.

And that is when we need to keep praying. And we also need to remind ourselves that God doesn’t know just all of OUR tomorrows; He knows all of EVERYONE’S tomorrows. Sometimes I need to remind myself of that daily, lol. Reminding ourselves of that may not soften our hearts immediately, but it will help 🙂

There is something else that can help us too. We need to tell our Father God how we Honestly feel. It’s okay to tell Him we are struggling; He wants us to tell Him! And He will help us through our struggles if we let Him 🙂

Whatever we do, we need to keep praying-no matter how we feel.

The best advice I ever got about Faith, I got from my Dad.

“Faith is not about how we feel on any given day; it’s about who we choose to follow every single day!” Amen 🙂

Following Jesus is a Path, and a “Narrow” one at that.  It’s important to remember that while many of us may be on the Path, we may be in different Places on it.  And that’s okay as long as we keep Following Jesus.

Our lives have many seasons.  And I myself would hate to be judged by my worst day.  And let’s face it, we all have them ?.  So just because we meet someone on their worst day-today, does not mean they won’t be our Best Brother or Sister in Christ tomorrow ?.

Ultimately, we want every single person to reach Heaven and they can only do that through Jesus Christ. 

How can we best help each other reach Heaven?  By encouraging each other to keep Following Jesus and Loving and Forgiving  each other every day. And having the courage to be Honest with one another and Sharing God’s Word. 🙂

There is no doubt that in the times in which we live, the choices we face will get harder. Do we tell others the truth? Do we tell them that they must accept Jesus as their Savior if they wish to go to Heaven? Do we share with others the Truths found in God’s Word? Do we share with others that the Bible is the only real source of God’s Word and Plan for our Lives?

It can be difficult, especially these days. And fear also plays a role. Sometimes for ourselves, but also sometimes for others. We fear God’s Truths may make others run away. “Too much too soon” , has often been said by those who care.

But True Compassion also knows that Jesus may arrive tomorrow. What then? What happens to the person that we failed to be honest with? God’s Word says, “But 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.”

Notice it says, that “if we warn the wicked…we will be saved”. So as Christians, we do have a responsibility to do so.

But here is the comforting part, the effort may belong to us and is our gift to God, but the outcome itself belongs to God :). We can share the Truth with others, but whether they choose to hear it or follow it is not up to us and is not our responsibility.

We need to Trust God to do the “heavy lifting”; we just need to find the courage to share God’s Truth with love.

The American Armed Forces have given us a country that millions wish to come to and millions more are grateful to live in.

Their courage and sacrifice will long be remembered both now and in the future.

Memorial Day is also a great time to remember all that this country has been. Blessed by God, a Shining City on a Hill, Hope for all Nations…America was built as a Christian nation and was God’s Blessing to the world. It’s values and traditions made it what it was. But it could never have become all it was without the courage and selfless-sacrifice of so many men and women serving in our Military.

It’s hard to find the words to show the appreciation our Military deserves, but Thank You!

We Thank God for YOU!

And know that our Prayers are with you, always!

I’ve heard often that if you have enough Faith you will never Fear.  Good thing that’s not exactly true, because I have a lot of faith, but I have my struggles with fear and worry too.

I think it might be said better if it was said, if we Focus completely on our Faith, we will not be able to Focus on our Fears. ?

All moms worry for their children.  And I can share with you that I am no exception, especially as they grow older and live their own lives.  When they are little, it’s easy to feel that we can fix every hurt, but we can’t always do that as they grow older.  And that is when we really need to Focus on our Faith.

So what does that mean?

On more than one occasion, I have woken up in the middle of night and known that one of my children was facing a potentially life changing choice or a situation that was unsafe.  And I felt the call to kneel and pray for them, and I did.  And after I did, I felt only Peace.  I knew that, whatever the issue, God had taken care of it ?.

But my battle was not completely over. I had to hold onto the Peace that God had so generously given to me.   First we give our behavior to our Lord, and then we give our thoughts to the Lord.  Reigning in our thoughts can be particularly difficult, but with perseverance it can be done.  And that means that once the Lord has so generously dealt with our fears or worries, we need to leave them with God.  And if they return, we just need to shift our Focus back to Him ?

We all fear and worry at times, but God did not create us to live in Fear.

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”-Isaiah 41:10

There are times when we are going to be afraid, and we are going to worry.  Will I find a job?   Where is the next meal coming from?  How are our children really doing? What kind of world will they grow up in?  Will we face war?  How do I help someone I love who is sick?  When I am in pain or sick, how do I learn to live with it?

But we can’t let our fears and suffering rule our hearts.  Nor can we make our decisions based on our fears or suffering.  We need to make our choices based on God and God alone.

Having had my share of fears and suffering in this world, the one thing I have most helpful is to Focus on Jesus’ Face.  It really is difficult to truly focus on two things at the same time.

To “seek Christ’s Face”, is to seek His Prescence.  That is a completely difference thing than seeking God’s Hand (seeking His Power and Blessings).  When we seek Christ’s Face with all of our heart and soul, He is with us and all else fades away.  The question then becomes, how do we stay there?

And the answer is-we practice.  Sometimes when we first begin to seek Christ’s Face, we can only truly stay in His Presence a few seconds.  But as we practice, the time we can stay in Christ’s Presence lengthens.  And the more we stay in Christ’s Presence, the less our fears and suffering can claim our attention ?

Difficult times lay ahead.  We need to Practice now, so we will be ready to face them with Jesus. Watch, Pray and Prepare-Be Ready!

“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.”-Matthew 24:24

How many times has someone claimed more power than they actually have?  Didn’t some refer to Obama as their “savior”.  As the world hurls towards tougher, more difficult times, many will crave someone who can “fix” everything on earth. As Christians, we must guard against these emotions.

Because that that was never in the Plan. 

Jesus came to make a way for us to go to His Kingdom-Heaven.  And He did!  Jesus did not come to “fix” things here.  That idea was the road block to faith that many in Israel faced over 2,000 years ago.  Many thought that when their Savior came, He would “fix” things in this world.  And that all the injustices and hurts that they faced on earth would be ended.  But that was just not true.  Not then and not now.

And so, we as Christians must be very careful that we are not deceived.  And it’s easier to be deceived than one thinks.  When times are really tough and we just want them to get better-a part of us may subconsciously wish to be deceived just so the difficulties will end.  But they won’t end!  Sure, temporarily it might feel like they ended, but that is only temporary.  They will get much, much worse! And they will last forever!

So what are we to do.  One thing we can do is Pray.  Pray NOW not to be deceived in the future.  We can ask God to “hold on to us, in Jesus Name”, no matter what!

And we can study God’s Word so that we know what Jesus’ Return will look like.  For example, in Revelation 1:7-9, it says:

“Watch! He will come in the clouds. Every one will see him. Those who stuck a spear in him will also see him. All the tribes on earth will cry when they see him. That is the way it will be. Yes it will!”

“For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night”-1 Thessalonians 5:2

These are just two verses about Jesus’ Return. Find them all and hide them in your heart, for you may not have access to a written Bible when He Returns!

God’s Word tells us how we will know that it is Jesus Returning, we just have to listen ?