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Spy Wednesday

“For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth” – Isaiah 60:2

Holy Wednesday is a very dark day in Holy Week. It is the day that many of us think about the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot. Some Christians refer to it as Holy Wednesday and some refer to it as Spy Wednesday.

It’s hard to imagine how much it must have hurt Jesus, when his friend Judas, one of the twelve, betrayed Him. And while Judas was paid 30 pieces of gold for his betrayal, his reasons were probably more complicated than that. And he probably thought he was doing the right thing.

Fast forward to today, and those who do evil in our world probably think they are doing the “right thing”. But they are not.

During the Last Supper, Jesus said (regarding the man who betrayed Him):

“It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”-Matthew 26:24

There are some people on this earth that Followed Jesus for a time and then betrayed Him.

Food for thought…

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

Will We Follow The Mob Or Follow Jesus?

“But their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands.
They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see.
They have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell.
They have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk,
nor can they utter a sound with their throats.” – Psalm 115: 4-7

“Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.” – Psalm 115:8

There have been mobs who tried to destroy God’s People from the beginning. We see it in the Old Testament above and we see it in the new. There were mobs calling for the death of Jesus!

The mobs also tried, and try, to convince others to follow them instead of God. But God is clear, if we trust them-we will be like them.

And we can’t follow both, “for no man can serve two masters”

As Easter approaches, we get to choose once again. Will we follow the mobs of this world or will we Follow Christ? The mobs of today’s world are not unlike the mobs of the past. If we trust them, we will be like them.

If we Trust Jesus, we will be like Him :).

The Bridge

“For our transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and we know our iniquities:”-Isaiah 59:12

This Monday, we prepare for Easter, the most Holy Day of the year. But before Easter, comes Good Friday, when Jesus took all of our sins on Himself to Save us. And perhaps, this Monday, we need to take some time to think about what those actual sins are and tell God just how sorry we are for them-in Jesus’ Name.

It isn’t just the sins we commit. But how many acts of kindness have we failed to do? How many times have we been self-centered? How many times have we chosen to act for our own pleasure rather than God’s Will? How many times have we seen a person in need, but kept walking?

And how many times have we failed to love God or our fellow man as we should?

We all fall short, that’s one reason why Jesus’ Gift of Salvation is so incredibly important. We could never build a relationship with God on our own. And we could never make it to Heaven on our own.

Jesus is the Bridge.

Hope Still Lives :)

“fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10

Our Hope, and our Help have always come from the Lord. Our country has changed, but our Hope, and our Help, have not!

It’s hard looking at the events in the news this week and not feel that our country, that we love so much, is falling apart. But there is a saying, “Sometimes, when things are falling apart, they may actually be falling into place.”. God has a plan for us, we just need to Trust God.

And here to is a word of Hope from Mary. When Mary appeared in Equador, She spoke of a time to come much like this. And She said that just when all looked lost, the Christian Church, meaning all of us, would be restored. :).

Keep Praying in Jesus’ Name and Keep Your Eyes On Jesus 🙂

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

Faith Over Fear

Faith over fear: what does that mean exactly?

It does not mean that bad things will never happen to us. After all, we know that here on earth, bad things happen to good people. Just as we know that Jesus told us that in this world, “we would have troubles”.

However, one thing that it does mean is that if we Follow Jesus -in the end – we will go to Heaven where there will be only Joy and Peace for all eternity 🙂

Faith over Fear does mean that we do the right thing, even when we are afraid.

Faith over Fear also means that when we are afraid, we turn to God in prayer and ask for His Help, for “our Help comes from the Lord” always. And there is no situation on this earth that God is not able to handle 🙂

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

God’s Law :)

“It is time for you, LORD, to work for they have made void your law”-Psalm 119:126

Millions seems to be disobeying God’s Laws these days. Just look at the children and adults murdered at the Christian school in Nashville!

Please pray the verse above everyday. We need our Lord desperately. And we need Him now!

And please pray for all of those who were hurt by this shooting. All those who loved someone who died. All of those who fear sending their children to school and all those children who are now afraid. And please pray for those who helped, such as the first responders, for they suffer too.

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

Prison Ministry

“And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

““Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴²For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ ⁴⁴Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ ⁴⁵Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’“-Matthew 25:40-45

I would hate to be judged by my worst day. And for many in prison, they are in prison for the choices that they made on their “worst” day. They made a bad choice and they are paying the price for that choice. But that price is not supposed to last forever!

The Good News is, if they accept Jesus and Follow Him, they will go to Heaven just like anyone else. Their time in prison is temporary! They get to make a new choice. And that is where we can all make a difference. We can pray for them; visit them; write them… And remind them that one day, we will all be in Heaven-together!

Jesus forgives them and wipes their slate clean and so should we. I have been so Blessed to be a part of a prison ministry. Sometimes they have taught me more about Jesus than I have shared with them! My life is immeasurably richer because we have shared our faith in Jesus together 🙂

So don’t wait. Reach out to those in need today! We can enrich our own lives and theirs and Follow Jesus together 🙂

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

We Are What We Eat!

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”-2 Corinthians 3:18

There is a saying-“We are what we eat”. Whether it was made in 2022 or 2023, the TV shows and movies on so many of the apps, including netflix, use God’s Name with a swear word and the name of Jesus in such horrible and inappropriate ways that it is not only an offense to God, but it is a subtle message to all of us that God-somehow is not important, and sometimes even bad!

One example is Last of Us on HBO Max. There was a recent article that talked about Last of Us. It wrote of how the preacher was the “bad guy”. In my opinion, the subliminal message is Christianity is bad. How dark many TV shows and movies have become! Just like the world we live in!

“The HBO series featured a cannibalistic Christian preacher using Bible verses”-Fox News Article

“a later scene featured the preacher attempting to rape the series protagonist Ellie, a young girl.”-Fox News Article

Whether we see outright offenses to God such as this, or we see carnage with God’s Name used with a swear word or we see Jesus’s Name used inappropriately, they are all wrong and a violation of the Ten Commandments! We do not want these scenes or words in our hearts or minds, or anywhere else!

Jesus suffered much to save us, shouldn’t we at least choose our TV and movies wisely?

There is no doubt that finding decent TV and Movies is hard, but it is possible. And although many of us fall short in this area at times, perhaps we need to consider to shutting off the TV and making a different choice. Reading. Going for a walk and being filled with God’s beautiful gift of nature. Maybe it’s time to learn new recipes or read the Bible. Play a family game. Talk with one another. Read a good book. There are so many good choices!

The truth is: We Are What We Eat – And What We Watch. We can either fill ourselves with Godly things and seek to become more like Christ. Or we can watch some of these types of programs and struggle not to fall!

It’s our choice, given to us by God Himself!

Prepare, Pray and Be Ready!

Never Stop Praying!

A great friend of mine wrote this and sent it to me. It was so good; I just had to share 🙂

NEVER Stop Praying!!

“Fervent prayer IS a very important part of spiritual warfare. In fact, it IS the Lifeblood of those who seek to be Victorious in Jesus Christ. That’s why the evil one would like nothing better than to keep you from praying, so he sends distractions, delays, and disappointment (he is a master at these fiery darts). If for instance, you have two productive days of watchful prayer, the evil one might let you believe that you have finally mastered the discipline of prayer. Then, on the third day when you fail, he will tell you that you’re an utter failure, that you’ve completely blown it, and that there’s no use trying any further. If you miss one day in fruitful prayer, he will try to convince you that you are beyond help and hope – that you need not try again. Do NOT believe these lies!! The Good News IS, there’s a secret to overcoming this deception. As with any other area of spiritual life, if you fail, the thing to do IS begin again – Renewed and Refreshed by the Holy Spirit! There is NO permanent failure in learning to be a faithful disciple of Jesus. If you have a bad day in your prayer life – do NOT give in to the evil one’s tactics that are designed to keep you from praying. NEVER stop praying!!!”

“The enemy wants to keep you from developing a relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, which he knows will bring Joy and Peace to you. SO, by the Mercy and Grace of your Heavenly Father, you need to commit to keep on praying! Only in the process of praying, will you find the meaning of life: a Dynamic, Personal Relationship with the Creator, the Living Lord, the Babe of Bethlehem, the Savior of the cross, the Resurrection-morning Victor, the Only One who IS Life to you. A well-known Billy Graham story is about a woman who wrote that she had pleaded in prayer for ten years, for the conversion of her husband, but that he was more hardened than ever. Mr. Graham advised her to keep on praying. One day he received another letter. The husband had been gloriously saved. “Suppose she had stopped after only ten years,” said the evangelist. Then he added, “NEVER stop praying – not matter how dark and hopeless your case may seem.”

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

Trinity

Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Trinity.

For many, the concept of the Trinity means many different things. However, one way to think about the Trinity is to think about God our Father, Jesus Christ His Son and the Holy Spirit as all having One Will. In other words, they all always want the same thing 🙂

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!