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There is no doubt that we live in a time where the enemies of God have foolishly appeared. From witches to diviners to satanic worshippers, many in the goverenment and media seek to “normalize” them. As if we should accept them. We should not! As a country, we used to know better. And we should know better!

Below are some of the headlines:

Satanic Temple of Illinois sets up holiday display in Capitol rotunda for 3rd year in a row

Why millennials are ditching religion for witchcraft and astrology

Why Witchcraft is on the Rise?

Some blame the turn of so many in our country to the occult on the the current crisises that we face. They think by claiming to be able to control them, they can escape their fears. But there is only one path to safety, only one path to real courage-and that path is the path of Jesus Christ. Follow Jesus 🙂

The bottomline is this: There are consequences for turning away from God towards the occult. And the consequences are not good. And they may become permanent for those who do not turn back to God while they still can!

We need to stay away from those who embrace the occult- no matter what! They are dangerous to our souls. Instead pray for them to call upon our Lord! Pray that they will Repent and Return to God Now!

Because it may soon be too late!

Has our Faith in Jesus fallen into disuse? Out of fashion? Are our Bible’s covered with dust ? Are our Crosses covered with dust as well? With all in a state of disrepair?

Fortunately, faith is easier to repair then we may think. First, we simply ask our Father’s forgiveness, in Jesus’ name. Next we ask Jesus and the Holy Spirit to forgive us as well-in Jesus’ name. Now we have a clean slate, so to speak.

Next we ask Jesus once again to be our Savior 🙂

And we ask for Christ’s help in staying on Faith’s path. And we ask God to send His Holy Spirit to help us-in Jesus’s name. Amen.

And then we begin. We read the Bible everyday, and we live it. We dust off our Cross. And we pray like other people breath and walk every step to the finish line with Jesus.

“ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” – 2 Timothy 4:7

“And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” – Daniel 12:2

We make our choice while we live on this earth. And we have until we die to make it! Some would say that God is unfair in that one might accept Christ at a young age and some at the last minute. But God is fair! There has to be a cut off somewhere, and this is it!

Whether we awakes to life or everlasting contempt depends on whether we choose to accept and follow Jesus during our life here on earth.

It’s our choice, true freedom, given to us by God Himself. We need to choose wisely 🙂

“And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” – Daniel 12:1

Right now, for many of us, it feels as if this is THE “time of trouble”. But whether THE time of trouble is here or it is A time of trouble (which Jesus said would come as well), the answer is still the same 🙂

Jesus.

Pray like other people breathe. Rest in God’s Hand and call upon Him to send His Holy Spirit. Walk with Jesus everyday.

Because once day Jesus WILL come for us. Watch, Pray and Be Ready. And all will be well 🙂

Courage looks like the fireman who ran into the Twin Towers in their attempts to save the lives of others. Courage looks like the police officers that risked their lives to help on September 11^th. Courage looks like the people who risked their own lives to bring another out.

Courage looks like the Dad who is going to work during Covi and the child who is going to school during Covid. Courage looks like the Mom who goes to the grocery during Covid and has a wonderful dinner and a welcoming refuge waiting for everyone when they come home 🙂

Courage is telling a friend the truth, even when it is hard. In the Bible it says in Ezkiel 33:9, “Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.” We need to help each other and we can do that best by being honest with one another.

Courage is standing up to today’s current culture with the Gospel and the Good News that God does not change with the winds of time, but rather stays the same always!

The current culture may not kill our bodies, but it may destroy our souls-which is far more horrific. Jesus said, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell” – Matthew 10:28

The American people have always had great Courage. And great Faith. As a nation, we need to find it again!

As the song goes, “Courage comes from walking with the Lord”. And courage comes from Praying like other people breathe. And I can promise you this, if you ask God for courage-He will give it to you 🙂

A Pastor from Port City Church in Wilmington, NC always encourages the Christians who attend Port City to choose a word they will “Focus” on for the year.

It’s Tuesday, January 4th, 2022 and that seems like a really good idea. Some will choose patience, because they want to spend the next year being more patient with others. Some will choose “loving”, because they want to spend the next year working on being more loving with others. Still others will choose “faith”, because they want to be more faithful.

I’m choosing Focus. As the headlines screams their usual scarey headlines and omicron seems to be rising, as we enter our third year of Covid in a world that despite all it’s challenges, stubbornly refuses to turn back to our Lord, “focusing” on God seems a truly worthy endeavor, it will help us all deal with our worries and rise above the current state of the world.

One step that can help us do that is to read the Bible, God’s Word, every single day and pray like other people breathe 🙂

“The Battle is the Lord’s. Take courage in the fight…” – Rebecca St. James

“We are in this world, but we are not of it.” 🙂

No human being can completely focus on two things at once. Want to be happier? Feel safer? Worry less? Focus on God completely and you will do all of those things and more. For God’s Peace surpasses all understanding :).

So as we enter the New Year, this can be our New Year’s Resolution: To focus on God-completely 🙂

It doesn’t necessarily look like having everything in life “fixed” or “healed”.  It doesn’t mean we won’t get sick or we won’t struggle financially. Jesus said that in this world, “we would have troubles”!

Winning means that we, despite any troubles we encounter, will keep our Faith in Jesus.  We will not be deterred; we will keep walking with Christ.  It means that we may receive the Peace that only God can give and a greatful heart 🙂

We win with faith, courage and acceptance.

My Father In Law fought during WWII in both the Battle of the Bulge and on D Day.  He was our hero and we loved him. The suffering in both was overwhelming and surviving both was indeed a special gift. His favorite Bible verse was John 3:16.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”- John 3:16

Before he went to Heaven, he shared many of the events of WWII with us.  One of them was the Battle of D Day.  His unit ran up a large hill.  He said there was absolutely no cover and his follow soldiers dropped wherever they were shot. 

His point was that his fellow soldiers lived and died on earth by chance.  There was no “winning” in getting to the top of the hill alive.  There was only winning if you got to the top with your faith in Jesus still very much alive! It didn’t matter how smart you were, or how fast you ran.  It was simply “chance” whether one made it to the top. The only choice we get to make in this life on earth, is will we run with Jesus?

The soldiers who ran with Jesus won! And the Believers who left this earth didn’t die, they went on to live in Heaven! But there are a few attributes that those who chose to run with Christ shared-faith, courage and acceptance

Today, the Battle is the Lord’s.  But we do need faith, courage and acceptance.  And they all come from “running” with Jesus ?