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How often do we confuse the churches we attend with what Jesus meant by the “Church”?  When Jesus referred to the church, He was simply referring to all of those who Follow Him.  He was not actually referring to the Catholic Church, or the Lutheran Church or the Baptist Church…

He simply meant all of us!  All those who believe are included in Christ’s Church. And no matter what church we attend, the Bible is the ultimate source of authority in all things.

In Revelations, there are a number of letters written to the churches.  Each letter refers to the good done by that particular “church”, and it also refers to the failures of that particular “church”.

No man-made church does everything correctly.  Each earthly church is filled with people and each person that fills that church is less than perfect. Just as the Pastors and Priests who devote their lives to serving God, are also less than perfect.  We all are! Only Jesus is perfect 🙂

And so we must be patient, forgive and love one another. And understand that we are all trying.

So if you have been hurt by a “church”, let it go or find a new church, forgive them.  Whoever hurt you was as human as you are. And remember, if you can’t see past your hurt or anger, pray, read the Bible and Follow Christ.  No hurt is worth our Salvation.  We can’t let any one, nor anything keep us from our Lord.

If you disagree with something being taught in the church you attend, forgive.  If there are many things with which you feel the Bible disagrees, perhaps you need a different church 🙂

And remember, we are there to give as well as get.  We all enjoy the time which we spend fellowshipping with our friends as we grow in our faith.  But sometimes, attending church feels less than “fun”.  In which case, we need to ask ourselves, is God providing us with an opportunity to give- perhaps we need to focus on giving smiles and hugs, giving of our time and love, giving financially.  It all matters. ?

No matter where we are, we are a part of Christ’s Church simply because we believe.  And really, isn’t that what it is all about? ?

All light belongs to God, for He created it.  And His Light makes “all things beautiful” ?

Ever see sunlight dancing on the water?  A sun rise?  Sun shining on the trees?  A Rainbow?  They are all God’s Gifts to us.  And when we look at them, appreciate their beauty and thank Him, we are reminded once again of His Great Love for us.

Remember, Faith is a process of remembering and forgetting.  The beauty that we see is His Gift & Reminder ?

The picture above is from the church Chiesa della Santissima Trinita in Rome.

The Mysteries of the Trinity.  Do we understand it?  Does it overwhelm us? Does it matter? 

Or perhaps, we understand more than we realize 🙂

First, the Trinity is a man-made word and it came about as early Christians tried to understand and share the relationship between God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  So closely did they work together for our good, they seemed as One. The Trinity was a simple way of describing that and was never meant to confuse us.

In the comment section of the KJV Bible I read it has some great examples of “the Trinity at work in Redemption”:

“Incarnation.  The Father incarnated the Son, in the womb of Mary by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35)

Baptism in the Jordan River.  The (Holy) Spirit descended on the Son, and the Father spoke His approval from Heaven.  (Matthew 3 14-17)

Public Ministry. The Father anointed the Son with the Spirit (Acts 10:38)

The Crucifixion.  Jesus offered Himself to the Father through the Spirit (Hebrews 9:14)

The Resurrection.  The Father resurrected the Son by the (Holy) Spirt (Acts 2:32 & Romans 1:4)

Pentecost.  From the Father the Son received the Spirit, who He then poured out on His disciples (Acts 2:33)”

The Trinity is simply a way of naming something all Christians already understand.  Our Father, His Son & The Holy Spirit were there and are still here;  They all participated in our Salvation and still do; and They love us, then, now and always. How Blessed are we ?

Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes

There is one thing that the children, both at our Lady of Lourdes and at Our Lady of Fatima, shared in common:  They prayed the Rosary ?

Many have heard of the appearance of Mary, Mother of Jesus, at Lourdes.  And many have visited Lourdes and have been healed.  In 1858, Mary appeared to Saint Bernadette 18 times and thousands came alongside Saint Bernadette.  People from all over the world still visit Lourdes and pray for healing, and many are miraculously healed ?

Written about less, is the shepherds nearby who saw a ray of light that led them to a statue of Mary.  And also written about less is Mary’s appearance in the 16^th century to Angleze de Sagazan.  A child, she was very, very poor and uneducated.  But she was also very devout and loved the Lord.  Miraculously, “abundant” food was provided.  A chapel was built and people were healed.  One message that Mary gave her was, “Do not forget To Thank God For His Blessings!”

There is something else we learn, if God does not want something moved, it will not be moved.

And what can we learn today from Mary’s visit to Lourdes?  There are so many lessons to be learned from Mary’s appearance in Lourdes.  A few are: we learn that our Father is still in the business of granting Miracles. Our Father provides for us and answers our prayers.   God still heals the sick.  ?.  And we also learn that although many of those who truly follow Christ often face opposition and disbelief, they continue on their journey with God.

We learn that Mary is kind, gracious and loving.  She is constant in her requests for prayers to God for sinners.  And in her reminder of the need for Penance.

And perhaps most important, we are reminded once again that Mary loves us with a Mother’s Love and will pray for us if we ask her too ?

Mary: Christ’s Mother & Our Mother Too 🙂

“When Mary first appeared to Juan Diego, she called herself his Mother, and her reasoning for wanting a church built in that spot was because she wanted all to know that she was their mother, “Know and understand well, you the most humble of my son, that I am the ever virgin Holy Mary, Mother of the True God for whom we live, of the Creator of all things, Lord of heaven and the earth. I wish that a temple be erected here quickly, so I may therein exhibit and give all my love, compassion, help, and protection, because I am your merciful mother, to you, and to all the inhabitants on this land and all the rest who love me, invoke and confide in me; listen there to their lamentations, and remedy all their miseries, afflictions and sorrows. “Am I not here, who is your Mother.”

There is a second time that Mary referred to herself as “our Mother”.  When Juan’s Uncle became ill, Juan missed his appointed time to see Mary.  He felt very ashamed.  And yet, Mary understood and reassured him that his Uncle was better.  The only thing that she “chided” him on -was not asking her to help! And in fact, she said to him, Am I not here, who is your Mother.“

I know that there are many people who attend different churches (Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, Evangelical, AME…). Some pray to Mary and some do not. But when we forget or refuse to ask Mary to pray for us, we miss a great opportunity.  For she is not just Christ’s mother, she is ours’ and she loves us.

The days ahead will be difficult ones.  We will need all the help we can get in order to keep our faith strong.  Persecution is not coming; it is already here. 

We shouldn’t hesitate to ask Mary to pray for us.  God loves her very much and so does Jesus.  And so should we.  Thank You Mary, we are Blessed to have you! ?

The phrase, “Fake News” has become hugely popular these days. But what about “Fake” Christians? And are they really “Fake” or are they simply “on the path to Christ”. Only God knows, and Thank God He does 🙂

But what are we to do with those that we hear say they are Christian, but do not seem to act as though they are Christian?

First, we should be grateful that they may know enough at least to “fake” it. Second, we should pray for them. Third, we need to love them as Jesus would. Fourth, we need to encourage them, and fifth, we need to be honest with them. Because when we love someone, we tell them the truth!

We will meet some who love our Lord, but just haven’t read the Bible well enough or they simply did not ask the Holy Spirit to Help them read it. And we will meet some who know the Bible very well, they just don’t want to live as the Bible instructs. And we will meet still others who wish to live a Biblical life, but fail.  It is not for us to judge the individual, that role belongs to God.

But we do know something really important. God loves each and every human being. As much as we may want to avoid those who do not believe as we do, God wants us to love them and lead them to Jesus, if we can.

But we know something really important. God loves each and every human being. As much as we may want to avoid many of them, God wants us to love them and lead them to Jesus, if we can.

There is one caveat to this though. If we meet a person and they seem to be able to cause us to doubt our own faith, then run! And Run fast!

For many will fall away from their faith in the coming days, and yet nothing is more important than keeping our faith in Jesus Christ.

There can be no doubt that Jesus wants us to share our Faith with others, but only so long as it does not weaken our own!