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“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

It almost sounds like history is repeating itself!  Great darkness (evil) IS covering our world and even greater darkness (evil) IS covering our world’s people.  One has only to turn on the news or pick up a newspaper to see that.

But for those who have accepted Christ, His Light will be seen in us and Heaven awaits us.  We need not fear ?

A friend of mine once told me, “Be careful how you live.  You may be the only Bible some people will ever read.” 

In Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

In a Bible Study on Isaiah 60, it says, “God’s people will have the Light of the Lord Jesus shining upon them in the midst of the great darkness. Sometimes the only light there is, is the Light of Jesus that the Christian shines forth.”

Whichever one you read, it seems clear that the Light of Christ shines in us.  And we need to share that Light with others.

There can be no doubt that a great darkness is coming, so don’t wait.  Practice shining Christ’s Light now ?

In a Bible Study on Isaiah 60, it says, “God’s people will have the Light of the Lord Jesus shining upon them in the midst of the great darkness. Sometimes the only light there is, is the Light of Jesus that the Christian shines forth.”

Whichever one you read, it seems clear that the Light of Christ shines in us.  And we need to share that Light with others.

There can be no doubt that a great darkness is coming, so don’t wait.  Practice shining Christ’s Light now ?

God is as Merciful as He is Just. We often prefer to focus on God’s Mercy, but shy away from focusing on His Justice. In fact, there are many that do not even believe in God’s Justice, preferring instead to focus on God’s Love & Mercy. But God is also Just, and it’s a dangerous mistake not to focus on both.

Our Father loves us so much, He sent His only Son to suffer and save us. But our gratitude for that great sacrifice should not, must not, include taking advantage of that great love! As Mary said, “God is already so offended”.

Doing whatever we feel like, whenever we feel like it, is not supported by God’s Word.

It’s supported by Satan.

When we fall, God is always there to pick us up and Jesus is always there to forgive us. But repentance is required. And repentance requires not just sorrow, but change. Which means we need to try not to make the same mistake again.

Will our Lord forgive us if we make the same mistake again? Of course! But once again we must truly repent…

Thanks to God’s Great Mercy, Heaven awaits us, but we must accept and follow Jesus to get there, because Jesus is the only way 🙂

“If my people] turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and heal their land.” – 2 Chronicles 7:14

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us our sins” – 1 John 1:9

In Jeremiah 37, 38 & 39, we read about a King, King Zedekiah who disobeyed God.  He allowed Jeremiah, God’s Prophet, to be put in the dungeon. 

Fortunately for Jeremiah, God sent Ebedmelech the Ethiopian to save him.  And he did.  He managed to get Jeremiah released from the dungeon.  And although Jeremiah was not truly free, he was freed from the dungeon, saved from an agonizing death and brought to the King. 

The King asked Jeremiah to tell him the truth and promised he would not be killed for it.  Through Jeremiah, God warned King Zedekiah to surrender.  He warned him that if he didn’t, he would not only die himself, but his entire kingdom would be burned.  But King Zedekiah refused to listen and he suffered those exact consequences.

In Jeremiah 38, we read of Jeremiah being freed and sent home.  And God also saved Ebedmelech, because Ebedmelech trusted God and saved Jeremiah from the dungeon.

Clearly, God is Merciful, but God is also Just. As human beings, it’s only natural that we prefer to focus on God’s Mercy. But it is also important that we remember God is also Just.

Sometimes we fail to listen and obey our Lord.  We’re human.  But because God is Merciful, He give us the chance to repent and turn back to Jesus.  But since God is also Just, if there is no repentance, there is no forgiveness.

God’s Gifts are so many, but sometimes we are so busy we don’t take a moment to “see” them.

The beauty of the world in which we live is one such gift.  God created this world to be a beautiful home for us.  The sun, so beautiful it can take one’s breath away.  The sea upon which the sun creates millions of lights for us to enjoy is a wonder.  The mountains filled with leaves lit up by sun light are amazing.  The rainbow, a reminder of God’s Promise to us, are beautiful beyond words.  The rain, reflecting the sun has a piercing beauty that reaches all the way to our very souls.  There are simply  no words to describe the wonder of the sun rise, for it is that beautiful.  The stars that fill the sky at night remind of the endless possibilities that exist.

And God created it all!

And one thought to comfort us in these difficult times, do we really think that the God who created this entire world and us – can’t take care of us?  Do not Fear ?

And these gifts are always there, no matter where we are!

So next time we are feeling down or afraid, we have only to look up.

For the God who created such a beautiful world for us to enjoy, Loves us with a Love beyond our understanding.  He will not let us down, for His Love will always lift us up!

Should we? Can we? We all know that the truth: it is hard to pray for those who reject God’s Will and do so much to harm the innocent.

But God did not call us to His service to be wimps, lol.

We can and should pray for our nations leaders. but it is they who will need to choose repentance and God’s Grace. And repentance does not just mean just being sorry, it means changing.

Wish them well and pray they choose wisely.

Because we who have chosen to accept Christ have already been forgiven so much-we need to forgive others as well 🙂

There are many answers to this question in the Bible. However, here, we are not talking about the person who sins and repents. Instead we are talking about those people and countries who refuse to obey the Lord and do NOT repent.

In Ezekiel 19, the Bible writes what is referred to as a Lamentation. A lamentation is a deep expression of grief or sorrow. There are grave consequences to refusing to obey God, consequences that can not be ignored or escaped. But because God loves us, He takes no joy from our sufferings, rather He suffers with us.

Ezekiel 19 is really about the grief that came from the fall of Israel. Because Israel had evil kings, kings that did not obey God, Israel fell from God’s Grace.

America is in the same place as Israel was many years ago. Blessed for many years, America as a nation, has turned away from the God who has Blessed it so richly for so long. Rejecting the lessons of the Holy Bible in favor or earthly desires, America, as a nation, has fallen from God’s Grace.

But as frightening as that is, we have something that Israel did not have. We have Jesus. So for us who believe, we need not fear. Christ will be with us – all the way 🙂

“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”-Psalm 119:105

“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you” – Psalm 19:111

A friend of mine reminded me of these verses.  The “cancel culture” continues to grow out of control. 

But we who follow Christ need not fear.

The Bible gives us a “Roadmap” for our lives and is available to all.  And even better, if we memorize its’ verses we can “Hide them in our Heart” ?.  And then no power on this earth can “cancel” them.

As a friend reminded me,“Evil can not remove The Holy Spirit from our hearts, only we can do that with our personal choice. “  And no one can make us make that choice!

The “cancel culture” may be able to get companies to stop printing or selling The Bible, or they may even attempt to change what it says in print, but they will never be able to take God’s Word from us, because God’s Word lives in us ?

We’ve all heard of the 6 Dr. Seuss books that will no longer be printed. The “cancel” culture is alive and well, but the problem is-who decides?

I heard a story a long time ago regarding WWII. According to the story, there was a Jewish book shop owner who sold many books, many of them to the Nazis. He knew that the Nazis were taking many of his Jewish friends to the “camps”. But he figured “they” would never come for him. After all he reasoned, they bought their books from him. In his mind, they needed him! And then, “they” came for him too

He had forgotten or didn’t know that evil can never be appeased. The more evil destroys, the more it wants to destroy. Evil never sleeps. And evil is never satisfied.

We’ve seen this before.

If we wait too long, it won’t just be our children’s books they will come for, it will be our Bible’s.

Why our Bibles? Because the Bible will never say it’s okay to do whatever we want.

But as it was for the book shop owner, it may be too late

Don’t Wait-Hide Your Bible In Your Heart!