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Putting God First :)

What does that really mean? What does that look like in a person’s life? When we see a pastor or a missionary it’s easy to see that they are putting God first. But what about for us regular folk? For we are not all called to be Pastors or Missionaries.

It’s easier than it looks. We can reach out to our neighbor. Talk to the person at the grocery. Hug someone. Be nice even when someone is crabby. Reign in the desire to be right and let someone else be right. Be quiet. Give to the Homeless. Go to work on time. work hard and be nice. Read the Bible and share it with others. The list is endless.

Stand up for Father, for Christ and the Holy Spirit. Pray both privately and publicly. So often we hear that we should only pray in private. But the world needs us to pray in public too. Because there are those in the world that need the encouragement right now of seeing others turn to God :).

And don’t be afraid to share your short-comings. We all have them and knowing we have a few and are still following Christ might encourage another to keep going.

We live in a time where many are falling away from faith. The most important thing we can do right now, is encourage others to keep going. To hold to their faith in Jesus.

Time grows short. we need to help each other as much as we can now!

God’s Love Will Give Us Courage!

“You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah”-Psalm 32:7

We live in difficult times. Truly difficult times. And fear is a completely understandable emotion when one looks around the world in which we live. But courage is not the absence of fear, it’s the facing of it.

And that’s exactly what God’s love enables us to do. Have great courage in the face of great fear. Because no matter what happens on this earth, because of Jesus, our future is in Heaven. It’s a fact. And nothing can change that. Nothing.

So when the going gets tough, and it will, remember that and hold on to it. We will not struggle forever. We will dance with joy forever 🙂

Heaven awaits us. God loves us. And nothing can hurt us-not really. For because of Jesus, our joyful triumph is already assured 🙂

The Joy Of The Lord :)

“¹²Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” Psalm 51:12, NIV

A friend of mine told me that she was praying this verse, and it got me thinking. What is the joy of our salvation?

And I realized, it’s the way God loves us. It’s different than any earthly love we experience. It’s always there for us, surrounding us, no matter what.

On earth, we’d like to think that love is unconditional-but it’s really not. Imagine cheating on our spouse multiple times? Think they will still love and stay with us? Perhaps not…But when we mess up, God still loves us. And He stays no matter what 🙂 There is no mistake we can make, no amount of failure, no length of time in which we do not honor and love Him as we should that will stop God from loving us. For God is faithful to us, even when we are not.

And there is no time that we can not turn back to Him. Because He loves us and He’s waiting for us with open arms.

So close your eyes for just a moment and imagine this, God lifts you up and twirls you around. And both you and God are laughing with joy. The kind of joy that fills every part of you. Because you are finally home, safe and sound, in God’s arms as you were born to be.

Pray. Don’t wait. Be with God today 🙂

Pray Without Ceasing :)

Sometimes, we just don’t feel like praying. Especially if we feel our prayers have not been answered “Yes”. But the truth is, sometimes God’s answer is “not yet” or even “no”. Why is that? Why doesn’t God just give us what we want?

Sometimes it’s simply because what we “want”, is not what we “need”. We only know yesterday and today, but God knows all of these, but in addition God knows all our tomorrows too!

Never give up on Praying! As a very wise Pastor, Pastor Richburg, says, “Prayer changes things”.

Although God may not always gives us what we want; He will always give us what we need 🙂

Hope In God’s Word :)

We all need hope sometimes, something to hold onto when the going gets tough. There’s a reason God said that we should hide His Word in our heart (Psalm 119:11). Just as there is a good reason that God said His Word would light our path (Psalm 115:105 KJV)

So here are some of God’s Words to hold onto ?

¹¹For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”-Jeremiah 29:11 (God has a great plan for you)

“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” – 1 Peter 5:10 (Suffering is temporary)

“And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children, because she considered Him faithful who had made the Promise” -Hebrew 11:11 (Miracles still happen)

“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint.” – Isaiah 40:31 (God will help us)

“If you can? said Jesus. Everything is possible for him who believes”-Mark 9:23 (With God, All Things Are Possible)

“But God will never forget the needy; the hope of the afflicted will never perish.” -Psalm 9:18 (With God, there is always Hope. He will provide for us)

^“16So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self^[a is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, ¹⁸as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”-2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (No matter how much we are suffering, it’s temporary. Heaven is real and we are going home one day)

“But the eyes of the Lord are on him who fears Him; on those whose hope is in His unfailing love”-Psalm 33:18 (God is always watching after us, because He loves us)

“Cast all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you” – 1 Peter 5:7 (Stay in God’s Will and your anxieties will fade)

^“58Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”- 1 Corintheans 15;58 (Don’t give up! Jesus is Coming)

So my friends, hold on to these verses in your heart. Jesus IS Coming Back, God DOES Keep His Promises, and Heaven IS Real ?

How To Change The World :)

A friend sent me this, just had to share 🙂

“It was the ninth week of SEAL training, which is referred to as Hell Week. It is six days of no sleep, constant physical and mental harassment and one special day at the Mud Flats. The Mud Flats is in an area between San Diego and Tijuana, where the water runs off and creates the Tijuana slues – a swampy patch of terrain where the mud will engulf you. It is on Wednesday of Hell Week that you paddle down to the mud flats and spend the next 15 hours trying to survive the freezing cold mud, the howling wind and the on going pressure from the instructors to quit. As the sun begins to set that Wednesday evening, their training class was ordered into the mud. The mud consumed each person till there was nothing visible but their heads. The instructors told them they could leave the mud if only five of them would quit – just five – and all could get out of the bitter cold.

Looking around the mud flat, one individual noticed that it was apparent that some students were about to give up. It was still over eight hours until the sun came up – eight more hours of bone-chilling cold. The chattering teeth and shivering moans of the trainees were so loud it was hard to hear anything. And then, one voice began to echo through the night – one voice raised in song! The song was terribly out of tune, but sung with great enthusiasm. One voice became two, and two became three, and before long everyone in the class was singing! They knew that if one person could rise above the misery then others could as well. The instructors threatened them with more time in the mud if they kept up the singing – but the singing persisted. And somehow, the mud seemed a little warmer, the wind a little tamer and the dawn NOT so far away!

If you learn anything in your moments granted on earth, it IS the Power of Hope! The power of one person – Washington, Lincoln, King, Mandela, a young girl from Pakistan named Malala – and YES, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior! When you are up to your neck in mud – tired and shivering from the cold of the world, attempting its best to try to make you quit – start singing Praises to your Heavenly Father – thanking Him to give you Hope, that no matter how tough it gets – He IS ALWAYS there to help your life have Joy and Peace. Know that He IS your Hope, your Comfort, your Light in the darkness – your Son come up! Be His Example – change the world! In Jesus’ Name. Thy Will be done. Amen. “

“Faith Without Works IS Dead” -The Last Days

“And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many will wax cold.”-Matthew 24:12 KJV

First of all, what exactly is iniquity? Webster’s dictionary defines it as “gross injustice” or as a “wicked act (sin)”. One thing we can all agree upon is that iniquity has grown. And sadly, Matthew 24:12 is right, the love of many has grown cold.

To see that, one has only to turn on the news or go outside.

In Portland and Seattle they are killing people, beating them in a manner so cruel and wicked, it’s impossible to watch. The looting and rioting scares us all, and that makes many of us angry.

Then there’s the Homeless. How many times do we see people walk or drive by them as if they don’t exist? And yet, great is their suffering! Who cares how they got there, they are hurting human beings! When did we become a nation that really doesn’t seem to care about their plight?

And then there is abortion. The murder of a child. Let’s put aside for a moment all of those who truly regret that choice, because our Lord forgives them! And let’s focus on those who advocate for it. Those who take advantage of so many women who are in desperate situations. When did we as a nation stop caring not only about the babies, but the women involved?

And how often are people afraid to simply voice their own point of view? And people are afraid right now. They are afraid of being beaten or killed simply for voicing what they feel. When did that happen? When did we become a nation that allowed such evil?

And when did we become less kind? Kindness and generosity used to be the American way. And it can be again, but we have to choose it every single day!

And yet these are just a few examples, there are many more…

There can be no doubt that our natural love for one another in this country has grown cold. As a nation, we simply don’t “love our neighbor” the way we used to, the way God commands us too!

But we can change that. Today! Now!

Because there are still millions of Americans who love our Lord and do truly care about each other! But we need to ask God for the courage to act, for “Faith without works is dead”- James 2:14-26

God can and will help us to love more, just ask Him ?

Making Messes & Asking for Help!

A friend sent me this about creating messes and asking for help. Despite our best efforts, we all create “messes” sometimes 🙂

“Once upon a time, there was a child, who was 6 years old, who wanted his parent to take them to the store to “help” go shopping. The child knew that there was a good chance they would stop at the place next to the store and get their favorite drink – a “Slushee”. As expected, the parent asked the child if they would like to go to the place next to the store. The child replied, “Oh, Yes!!”. They both got something and of course the child requested a “Slushee”. They both sat down at a table and wouldn’t you know – the child accidentally spilled their drink. We are talking blue and red goop all over the floor, the table – everywhere! The child looked up at their parent and immediately apologized. Instead of getting angry, the parent said, “Hey, it happens. Let’s go get napkins and I can show you how to clean it up.” Then they calmly went to get napkins and then helped the child clean the entire mess. As they were throwing the napkins ways, the parent said to the child, “You’re going to be a human being for probably some time, and you have such a smart brain that it’s important you learn how to be more careful of what you’re doing. So next time, just be sure to pay more attention to your surroundings – so accidents like this don’t happen. Accidents like these can be prevented, but it’s still okay if they happen. As long as you take responsibility for your mistakes, the clean up is a breeze. I know big messes seem overwhelming and you might feel like you can’t do it by yourself – it’s okay to ask for help. There is no problem with asking for help when you need it.”
Truly, God’s Children on this earth are born into human nature, which sometimes creates a huge mess. Your Heavenly Father knows this and even helps to guide you around those surroundings, that creates these. He lovingly still gives you a choice – whether to follow His Direction or to create a big mess on your own – all over you and even sometimes all over those around you. He also gives you His Word to help you prevent such problems you may encounter. The best you can do IS really try to follow His Voice in His Will and Purpose for you. When you make mistakes, take responsibility for them – ask your Father to forgive you. Even when they seem overwhelming to you, that you just can’t cope with it all – ask for His Help. He may even send one of His to help you clean up your mess. He IS SO Good like that!
My thoughts and prayers are that you do your best not to make a mess of your life. If you do sometimes, that you not hesitate to ask for your Heavenly Father’s help to wipe away your mess with His Living Water. That especially when you are overwhelmed with the world, that you give yourself to Him and thank Him for helping you. It’s okay to ask for help. In Jesus’ Name. Thy Will be done. Amen”

If God Says No or Not Yet!

God always answers all prayers. But sometimes the answer is “No” or “Not yet”. God doesn’t say no or not yet because He doesn’t love us enough. God does love us enough 🙂

But we have to trust in God’s love too. We have to trust that God knows the whole story, where we only know part of it. We know yesterday and today, but God knows all of that-and tomorrow.

For example, sometimes taking someone to Heaven is the most Merciful thing to do, whether we like it or not. Sometimes a bit of “rain” has to fall for us to grow closer to God. It’s hard to build faith when it’s not used often enough. Tough times force us to use it. (Just like a muscle) 🙂

So if we have been praying with a certain end in mind and it’s not happening. If God seems to be saying, “No” or “Not yet”. Perhaps what we need to do is,

Pray “In Jesus Name, Let thy Will be done”. And find a way to trust in that ?

More From Matthew 24: The Last Days

“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in diverse places. All these are the beginnings of sorryow.” Matthew 24:7-8 KJV version.

As we can see from this warning from Jesus, war is not enough. It must be accompanied by other things such as “pestilences, famines and earthquakes in diverse places”

We’re not there yet. We may be heading there. We may even be heading there soon. While pestlence does refer to disease, it’s still only one part of the Bible verse. Is a famine coming, maybe. Some even say probably. But it’s not here yet.

So what should we do?

Prepare, Watch and Pray 🙂