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Originally referred to as our Lady of the Good Event, Mary’s Appearance in Ecuador later came to be known as Our Lady of Good Success.  Mary appeared to Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres in Ecuador from 1594 to 1634.

Mary shared that in the 20^th century, the following would happen:  “widespread moral corruption”, false charity, a scandal that would cause many to loose faith in their priests and cause good priests to suffer, “unbridled lust” which would trap many, children would loose their innocence, many women would loose their modesty, there would be a growing lack of priests and pastors, along with other religious vocations.  ” A worldwide campaign against the virtues of chastity, and purity would succeed in ruining the youth”.

The Sacraments such as the Last Rites would be denied to many (think of all the people who had Covid who died without them).  Marriage will be under attack, as will those of faith.  There will be a crisis both in the Church and in our culture itself.

Can we not see this happening now?

As for the Priests, whether it be Catholic priests or Protestant Pastors, many have abused and hurt both our children and others! In addition, some priests and pastors do NOT preach God’s Truth and mislead many. “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil;” – Isaiah 5:20

But there are many truly good priests and pastors, who have dedicated their lives to sharing God’s Truth, however many of them are persecuted for sharing God’s Truth, instead of society’s lies. Some have been physically persecuted and some have been persecuted by society’s current culture.

In Mary’s appearance during the years 1594 to 163 4, she shared all of this and more! Seems pretty accurate.

Mary’s appearance has been written about on websites and books.  Catholic websites, secular websites such as Wikipedia, Marian websites, other religious websites and books by a variety of authors… The list is endless.

But the real message of Mary’s Appearance is Hope.  A Hope I am so grateful for. A Hope that when evil seems just about to triumph, the dark times in which we live will end. 

So keep praying 🙂 Flood the Heavens with prayer. Call upon our Father in Jesus’ Name to bring an end to these difficult times and pray our Father’s Will Be Done 🙂 And pray that God will give us the faith and couragewe need to triumph over the difficult times we face.

Because Mary, Mother of Jesus, Queen of Heaven, Queen of Angels said that the dark times would be followed by a “complete restoration of the church”. And the Church, which is all who believe in Jesus, would be filled with Joy.

A friend sent this, just had to share 🙂

“In a Peanuts strip Lucy once grumbled to poor Charlie Brown about the awful New Year she was having. She complained that problems abounded, and she felt that difficulties were around every corner. Then she said, “I don’t think this is a New Year at all – I think we’ve been stuck with a USED year!!”. Truly, only prayer can bring the “Peace of God, which transcends all understanding” into the heart and mind. 

Fears, doubts, and unwarranted cares divide, distract, bewilder, and destroy unity and quietness of mind. What great need to guard against them and learn the one secret of their cure – prayer! Prayer about everything can quiet every distraction, and lift every care from weary lives and from confused hearts. The specific prayer is the perfect cure for all anxieties, cares, and worries. Only fervent prayer and trust in our Lord can drive worry away and save from worrying over things we cannot change.

The mere act of praying is no test of our relationship with our Heavenly Father. It may simply be a routine of habit of the mind and not from the heart. But to fervently pray and receive clear answers and direction (i.e. may or may not be what you thought should be) IS the sure test and IS God’s Mercy and Grace for our vital connection with Jesus Christ. We should always ask before we pray, that God sends His Holy Spirit to teach us to pray right. To always praise the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for ALL things, is a good start. The Best Part is that Jesus Christ helps us with our prayers to His Father! What an Awesome Representative we have, that Loves and Cares for you SO much, to always be there for you!

My thoughts and prayers are that, in this New Year coming up, you are Renewed and Refreshed in body, mind, and Spirit. That you are Alive and Awaken in the knowledge that God IS Good in ALL things. That your prayers are fervent and from your heart, receiving your Father’s Clear Answers and Direction for His Will and Purpose for you. In Jesus’ Name. Thy Will be done. Amen. Peace.“

Wear A Cross 🙂. As a Believer, we need to think about how we are encouraged when we meet someone who is wearing a Cross. When we meet someone who is wearing a Cross, we know that they Believe. It’s kind of like meeting someone who is in the same “club”. We know right then and there, we are on the same path-together. We can give that to other Christians as well. 🙂

And we can offer words of encouragement as well as a smile. Sometimes just a kind word or smile is all it takes. A “that dress is so pretty” or “can I help you with those groceries”. A genuine smile in the grocery story. A “Hi, how’s your day going?”

Or sometimes we run into someone who is struggling, and we really don’t have any answers. A hug is all we can offer, but a hug can make all the difference 🙂

Or how about just Thanking someone. We thank God all the time and we should. But we can also thank others who cross our path. A thank you for the seemingly smallest things can make a very real difference in someone’s day, and in our own.

Jesus said, “what you do for the least of these, you do for me”. As Christians, we are grateful for all Christ has done for us, these little acts of encouragement and kindness can be our gift to Jesus 🙂

Some churches tell God’s Truth With Love.  They give us, and our children, exactly what we need:  God’s Word.  But sadly, some do not! 

They do not teach the God’s Truth for a variety of reasons.  God’s Truth is not popular in today’s culture; it does not raise as much attendance or money, and it does not teach that one can do whatever one wants!  And sadly, many of the church’s that do teach God’s Truth face persecution, peer pressure, and dwindling attendance and funds.  But we know this, because Jesus warned us:

“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge:  Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.   For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. ⁴ They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. ⁵ But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.” – 2 Timothy 4

We need to flee from churches who do not teach God’s Truth!  We live in difficult times, which may get even more difficult.  We need to surround ourselves, and our children, with God’s Truth.  We are “in this world, but we are not of it”.  We need to remember that and search for “sound doctrine”.

How do we know if we are in a church that truly teaches God’s Word-as it is!  One way we can know is if we read the Bible ourselves.  If we know God’s Word ourselves, than we can easily recognize if our Pastor or Priest is actually preaching God’s Word.

Another way we can protect ourselves from untruths is to ask the Holy Spirit to show us what is true and what is not.  The Holy Spirit is our Comforter and Friend.  He is happy when we ask Him for Help and He exists in every believer.  God sent Him.

Another way to recognize these untruths is that they usually contain something that we “feel” is true.  The best lies do.  Current society wants to do whatever they like-when they like.  They try to tell those who follow Christ that any teaching to the contrary is not nice.  But whether some think that God’s Teachings are too restrictive, doesn’t change the fact that the Bible’s Teachings are true!  Feelings just are.  But Faith is not about how we feel, it’s about who we follow!

Another way we can help ourselves is to surround ourselves with things that remind us that God is with us!  Whether they are Crosses that hang on the wall, plaques with our favorite Bible verses, Bibles, music, meditation books and calendars with Bible verses, pictures of those we love or nature scenes.  The list is varied and endless.  But what each item shares IS important.  They remind us that God is with us ?

The world is changing, but God is unchanging and Keeps His Promises-Always!  God’s Promise is one we can count on?

“God is with us, our labor is not in vain” – Paul Zach

“Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.  Preserve my life, for I am godly; save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God.”-Psalm 86: 1-2

“In the day of my trouble I call upon you, for you answer me.” – Psalm 86:7

As we prepare to enter the next year, many of us do so with some trepidation.  Some of it seems warranted and some does not.  But irregardless, feelings just are. And sometimes, in the world in which we live, we can’t help but worry what will the future be like?  What kind of country will our children grow up in?  Will we able to provide for our families?  The list is endless…

And for some of us, our top worry is:  “Will we able to keep our children on the “narrow path”.  In an un-Godly world, will we be able to “train our children up in the way they should go”.  And will they keep on that path when they grow up?

The answer is:  Yes!

The key is teaching our children is to teach them to have a personal relationship with Jesus.  We love Jesus so much because Jesus loved us first.  And Jesus loves us -no matter what.  There is nothing we can not tell Him!  There is no failure too big, no sin too dark, no life situation too overwhelming, that Jesus will not forgive us and walk through it with us!  When we have a genuine friendship with someone, when we truly know that their love for us is truly unconditional, then we are never afraid to return to them, no matter how broken.

And when we have a real friendship with someone, we also share all the good things that happen during our today.  We can’t wait to share that we finally got that good test grade, or learned to ride a bike, or that we finally succeeded in catching a ball or found that song we were looking for.  We can’t wait to share that our day went really well, that we made a new friend, or fell in love…The list is endless.  And we share all that, because that is what a relationship is-sharing the good and the bad!

And a relationship is also involves listening to our Friend. So we just don’t share our own day, we listen to them as well!  And the more we listen for God, the more we will hear Him, because Jesus never leaves us!

So when we say our daily prayers, whether we are an adult or a child, our prayers should include all sharing the good and the bad, and listening Even better, share with God all day, every day 🙂

Because when we have a relationship with someone who loves us unconditionally, someone who is truly rooting for us and understands and always forgives us – we will always return to it ?. 

So our job as parents is simple, we plant the seed as deeply as possible, so it can grow ?

And, in the day of our trouble, God will answer us ?

We need forgiveness because without it we can not enter Heaven and we need forgiveness because sin separates us from God.  And forgiveness only comes through Jesus Christ.

“Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.  For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up^[b] as by the heat of summer. Selah“

“I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin”. -Psalm 32:1-5

In Jesus’ Name.  Amen (so be it).

When Jesus came, as a people, we had slid so far away from God.  We had immersed ourselves in sin and darkness.  God sent Jesus to Rescue us and we were desperately in need of rescue!

In looking around our country, indeed the world, it has grown dark. But we can still call upon Jesus for forgiveness. We can still call upon our Father and we can turn and walk towards the light that He provides!

God created light!  And God has surrounded us by light.  Picture the sun.  We can barely look at at the sun directly because it is so bright. And yes, God’s light is even brighter than the sun!  And yet if we choose, every time we look at the sun, we can be reminded that our Lord is with us.  Even in the dark of night, God did not leave us in complete darkness.  Instead, God created the moon and the stars!  Then there is the beautiful light that dances on the water or shines upon the trees and flowers.  There is the light of a Rainbow, reminding us that God Always Keeps His Promises. There is Christ’s light that is so often reflected in the face of a believer.  Wherever we are, if we choose, we can see light and be reminded that God is here-with us!

Many are drawn to God’s light, but sadly, some are drawn to darkness.  However, no matter which we are drawn to-it’s our choice which way we choose to go.  And no matter which we feel drawn too, we can choose Christ 🙂

While there is still time, Choose Christ, before it is too late!

What is sin? Jesus made it really clear for us. While He was with us, Jesus said,

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’^[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” – Matthew 22:36-40

There is a quote in many Bible’s by Charle’s Spurgeon (1834-1892, Foremost Preacher of the 19^th Century), “The Law cuts into the very core of evil; it reveals the seat of the malady, and informs us that the leprosy lies deep within”.

-We are born selfish.  In order to love and serve both God and our fellow man, we spend our whole lives fighting against our inner selfishness to become unselfish.  And in many ways, that inner selfishness is the root of sin.  It relates to the sins we commit, but it also relates to the sins of omission (for example when we fail to help someone!)

In sin, we want what we want and we want it now. But we must place what God wants over our own wants!  Sin is any choice that is less than loving or selfish. Or our failure to do what is loving and unselfish. In both our relationship with God and in our relationship with our fellow man, love comes first 🙂 No easy task!  

And yet, the rewards are well worth it ?. 

And Jesus is here to help us and forgive us when we fail.  How Blessed are we ?

Yesterday we talked about the importance of obedience.  We talked about what a great example Mary & Joseph set and how their obedience to God changed the world, and our future!   And helped to usher in our Savior!

Obedience is such an old fashioned word.  We do not hear it very ofen in today’s society.  It was used more when I was a child, and it was used when I was raising my children.  But it does not appear to be used too often now.

Obedience is defined in the dictionary as , “compliance with an order, request or law”.  We see quite a bit of disobedience in today’s society and look at the state of our world now!

God gave us the “law” for a reason.  For our welfare and to guide us.  And make no mistake, God requires our obedience.  And those of us who Trust our Lord, obey God as much as we possibly can.  But because God loved us and knew that we would, despite our best efforts, fail sometimes.  He sent His only Son Jesus to Save us.  And it is through His Son Jesus that we are forgiven ?  Thank you!

But while Jesus did come to Save us, He didn’t come so that we could not even try to live a life of service both to God and to our fellow man (and woman).

Jesus came, so that when our best efforts are not enough, we could be forgiven through our faith in Jesus ?

 Sometimes with all the gift wrapping, cooking and spending time with family and friends, we can forget what Christmas is really about:  Christ’s Birth.  And because Jesus was born, we were given a New Beginning.  A way to Heaven.  A bridge of forgiveness to the Father.  Because Jesus came, the Holy Spirit is our Comforter and Friend.  Because Jesus came, we are Saved 🙂

What Joy! To know that we will always be loved, always be forgiven.  And always have hope.  And that is just a few of the gifts we received!

But notice, that although Jesus’ arrival started with God’s Plan to redeem us – on earth the arrival of Jesus started with the unquestioning obedience of God’s servants, Mary & Joseph.  Can you imagine being a young girl so many years ago, being pregnant before you were actually married?  Can you imagine riding and walking 62 miles before you gave birth? I can’t imagine how frightened they both were, but they truly believed God and kept walking.  No matter how much pain, no matter how tired they were, they kept obeying God. Thank you both!

And no matter how many people whispered (or shouted) back home, they they obeyed God.  Do we?

We live in a time in which our society wants to make their own choices, no matter how sinful.  Many believe that they know better than God what choices we should make. They will find out the truth soon enough.

This Christmas, we can give Jesus the Gift of our Hearts.  We can be Obedient to God’s Word.  And we can follow Jesus, no matter the cost.  And we can say Thank You!

In preparing for Christmas, we spend much time thinking about the gifts we want to give those we love on Christmas Day.  Hopefully, we also spend time thinking about the gift we want to give Jesus.  (Hint:  We can give Jesus us?) 

With all of these thoughts and our hearts filled to overflowing, we sometimes forget about the one of the greatest Gifts God gives us:  Joy.  In fact, sometimes during the Christmas season, we are so busy “doing Christmas”, we forget to take the time to really experience God’s Gift of Joy ?

Kelly Wise Valdes writes,  “The second fruit of the Spirit is joy. The word ‘joy’ appears nearly 200 times in the Bible, which helps us understand just how important this second sweet fruit of the Spirit really is. Joy is a condition of the heart.”

Joy lifts us up and out of any and all suffering.  It’s the feeling we often experience when we are deep in prayer.  The world can’t touch it!  Because it is God – Given, Holy Spirit Breathed.  And it will last as long as we let it.  And if we loose it, we can simply pray for its’ return.

When the world gets to be too much, pray.  Pray as you have never prayed before.  Pray in a place where you will be uninterrupted.  Even Jesus took time out for prayer, because that is how important prayer is! 

Pray in a way that you think of yourself as going to a “place”.  A place with God.  In it, the sun shines on you, warming you all the way through.  The Joy, of the Holy Spirit fills you as does the Peace that only God can give. And just be.  And listen for that “small still voice”. ?

“Be still and know that I am God” – Psalm 46:10

This is what many refer to as “meditative prayer”.  Instead of seeking assistance, we are simply seeking God.  We seek nothing for ourselves but to be in the presence of God, but we walk away with everything ?.

And we walk away with one mission, to share our Joy with others and teach others how to find it for themselves.  Prayer, in the name of Jesus, is the way…and an open heart that welcomes the Holy Spirit ?