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“I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.”-Psalm 40:1-3

Sometimes, “waiting patiently for the Lord” is hard, but it is important. Just because God has not answered a prayer yet, does not mean that He won’t.

Above all else, God loves us! And so He wants the very best for us. Sometimes prayers are answered, but the answer is not yet. And that really is okay. For our Lord sees not just today like we do, but all of our tomorrows. And all of everyone else’s tomorrows. And so, in the long term, God truly knows what is best for each of us. How Blessed are we that God loves us so much that He takes the time to ensure that all things work to the good of those who love Him!

So if you are worried that God is not answering your prayer, don’t be. God hears our prayers and will always do what will bring us the greatest good 🙂

No one likes to suffer, but sometimes, if we let it, it can bring us closer to God 🙂

Sometimes we suffer terribly. Whether it is war, disease, or the loss of a loved one, or something else, suffering is a part of life on earth. The question isn’t, will we have suffering. Jesus warned us we would (“In this world you will have trouble”-John 16:33). The real question is how do we handle it?

Some choose to turn to God with all that they suffer. They lay their suffering at His feet and even offer it up as penance for others (in general). They ask God for help so that they can continue to love God and love others. And no matter their “troubles”, they hold onto their faith-realizing it is a Gift from God 🙂

Sadly, some sink into their suffering. Thinking God should have healed them; they choose to turn away from God. But God never said that life on earth would be easy. In fact Jesus warned us that in “this life we would have troubles”.

Notice the word “choice”. It’s our choice as to how we choose to handle our suffering. We can choose to grow closer to God or turn away from Him.

Choosing wisely can help us bear our suffering well 🙂

“He that dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty”-Psalm 91:1

So in other words, “the safe space”. What does safe mean? Sometimes it means exactly what we would think: physically, emotionally and spiritually safe.

But sometimes, we do suffer, at least physically and emotionally. We can have great faith in God and still suffer terribly. And yet, we can also still be “safe” spiritually. For the only way the enemy can destroy our soul or stop us from going to Heaven is if we let him!

For no matter what happens in our lives on earth, we always have a choice. We can call upon our Lord and tell Him we are struggling and need His Help, or we can turn away from God.

The choice is always our own, given to us by God Himself!

“Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted.
 But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,“

“And by His stripes we are healed. ⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray;”

“We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

That last line was the and it is now. So many in our world are doing things “their own way”, instead of God’s way. Clearly from the above verses, Jesus loves us so much! God our Father loves us so much! And yet we don’t listen.

So today, let’s ask the Holy Spirit to read the Bible with us- and start living God’s way 🙂

Read the Bible with the Holy Spirit!

⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’”-Matthew 25: 40-43

Sin is sin. As human beings we, of course, like to focus on God’s Mercy and Christ’s forgiveness :). But it is a mistake to focus only on them. For God is also Just.

The above verse lists a few sins, but the Bible lists plenty more. All sins require repentance and change. Repentance for the sins we have committed and for the sins of omission (such as the ones above) and a willingness to change.

God, through His Son Jesus Christ, forgives our sins, but we must not take advantage of His forgiveness.

Saint Michael The Archangel Church In Ukraine

This morning, there was yet another threat of the use of nuclear weapons out of Russia-against Ukraine. This time it was alleged that one of Putin’s supporters, allegedly urged Putin to use them against Ukraine.

Once this evil door is opened it can not be closed! The suffering that would occur is beyond our imagining.

Please pray for the people of Ukraine. Please pray that Putin will come to his senses. And please pray for our world to turn back to God, before it is to late!

And remember, the only safe place is with Jesus!

“¹² No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. ¹³ By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. ¹⁴ And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. ¹⁵ Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God” – 1 John 4:12-15

We know that Jesus is the Son of God and our Lord and Savior. How Blessed are we that He loves us so and walks with us!

Medical care, farm markets after church, real Bible Studies with people at church and at home with our families, daily prayer, shared resources, bartering, setting up soup dinner nights, sharing tools, donating clothes and setting up a “closet” so those who are in need can obtain them… We can share medical and dental care, set up nurses on call and set up a medical equipment closet with donated wheel chairs and walkers…Some churches do many of these things; some need too…

There is so much we can do as a “church” family to prepare for the future. And whether we worry about a war or inflation, these steps will help us to prepare. And we need to prepare, setting up items like these at “church” can take time; we need to start now!

We also need to memorize as many Bible verses as we can. We used to be more focused on this, but Bibles became so plentiful that we put memorization of Bible verses lower on the list :). But true Bibles may not always be so readily available. When we memorize a verse, we have it forever in our heart and that is why it is so important!

Many of the very early churches met in homes. It was the Holy Spirit’s presence and their fervent worship of the Lord that made them special, not the building. In the long run, wherever your “church” is, whether it is in a church building or home, if “two or more are gathered in His Name…Jesus will be there 🙂

“91 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
² I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”

³ Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the ^[a]fowler
And from the perilous pestilence.
⁴ He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and ^[b]buckler.
⁵ You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
⁶ Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you.
⁸ Only with your eyes shall you look,
And see the reward of the wicked.” – Psalm 91:1-8

While praying the Rosary, I saw a soldier standing by a tank. But we do not have to fear for God’s IS With Us 🙂