Tag: #life

Annoyed

“And let the Peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of One Body you are called to live in peace. And ALWAYS be thankful.” – Colossians 3:15 NLT

What a PERFECT Word for today.

Think about the news we have going on right now: Beheadings, shootings, stabbings, perversions and cruelty to our children; wildfires, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, famines, landslides, cave-ins….. What more can go wrong with our world, and how in God’s Name can I be THANKFUL in the midst of this chaos?

Exactly that: In GOD’S Name. Peace amidst chaos is only possible through Jesus.

I admit that these things I have listed above are not circumstances I am dealing with personally right now, and it is easy for me to say “Oh, just trust in the LORD for your strength.” Sometimes the chaos we are dealing with isn’t something others can see. It can be hidden physical or mental abuse; it can be physical issues that cause constant pain or unrelenting fatigue. It could be the worry of how the bills will be paid this month, and the choice of buying groceries or needed medicines.

As Christians, too many times we are quick to judge be appearances. That “bum” you just passed on the corner could be a recipient of the Silver Star for bravery in battle, or the Purple Heart for being wounded in service, who came home to realize that he (or she) no longer fits into society. It can be any of us, through the loss of our income or because of violence in the home. There are many, many reasons. But for the Grace of God, Who has provided me with a home, a caring family, and financial assistance, I could be the person living on the street. (Been there, even though it was years ago and only for a short time. It’s a short trip to end up there.) We can look pulled together on the outside, and be a complete mess on the inside. We can appear healthy, and be dying physically or spiritually. Don’t judge; it isn’t okay.

“Don’t just pretend to love others. Really LOVE them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.” – Romans 12:9‭-‬10 NLT

Another verse that is easy to say, and, many times and for most of us, difficult to live. All I can tell you is to look to Jesus. He is the ONLY Way I have survived my life and my bad choices. He is ready and willing to do the same for you, anytime you want Him. All you have to do is ask Him. I’m not saying you will be miraculously be healed physically, although it can certainly happen. You may still be unemployed, or unemployable, or wondering which bills to pay and which to let slide this month. Even here, you can have the Peace that comes from Jesus. I may never have financial security in this life; in fact, I doubt that I will. I know I will never be without pain, or to do everything I think I should be capable of physically. I put my trust in the LORD, and count on Him. Best choice I EVER made. Amen!

Thank you, John Lawton, for the beautiful painting!

Stormy Times!

I am not Paul; I do not have his eloquence, but I can relate to him. My prayer, though, is that a little of what I have learned from my earthly Father and from my heavenly Father is worth sharing and reading.

1 Corinthians 2:1-10 “And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about GOD. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s Power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on GOD’S Power.
We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we declare GOD’S Wisdom, a Mystery that has been hidden and that GOD destined for our glory before time began.
None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the LORD of Glory. However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” – the things GOD has prepared for those who love Him – these are the things GOD has revealed to us by His Spirit. The Spirit searches ALL things, even the deep things of God.”

My testimony is not about me, but rather about Jesus and His healing power, just as Paul’s is. The hurt, the broken, the addicted, the hopeless. We have the power of healing at our fingertips. Jesus said in Luke 17:6 “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.”

I don’t even have that much faith!

Even though my faith is miniscule, it is enough. My God is enough. He is bigger than my faith, and He is bigger than my doubt! He is able to answer and He provides for my needs. Always.

He is here for YOU, too. Jesus. He is more powerful, more fierce, and more loving than anything we can imagine. Right here, right now, let Him have the battle with your demons. I cannot defeat mine, and you cannot defeat yours…. Not on your own and in your own strength. Only Jesus. ONLY JESUS.

Just say Jesus.

Love God, Hate Evil

I love that when I go to Facebook to put my thoughts out there, it always asks “What’s on your mind?” This is on my mind: Loving God, Hating evil; Living as God would have me to. Put another way: Love God, Love people, Love yourself…. Hate evil.

“As I learn Your Righteous regulations, I will thank You by living as I should!” – Psalms 119:7 NLT

How does that translate into our lives today?

“Jesus replied, “My Light will shine for you just a little longer. Walk in the Light while you can, so the darkness will not overtake you. Those who walk in the darkness cannot see where they are going. Put your trust in the Light while there is still time; then you will become children of the Light.” After saying these things, Jesus went away and was hidden from them.” – John 12:35‭-‬36 NLT

But, WHERE is the Light? How do we find it? It is so simple, many people can’t accept it. They want to make it complicated, but here is the simple, unadorned Truth: There is ONE source for the Truth; one source for the Light. That source is made available to anyone – ANYONE – who wants it. That source, the Handbook for life, is called the Bible. God-breathed, God inspired, God given. Paul gives us great instructions on sharing the Light of Jesus.:

“Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.” – Romans 12:9‭-‬10‭, ‬13 NLT

It’s all about Love, Light, and freedom from an eternity in hell – and yes, Virginia, there IS a hell, an actual physical place that bleeds over into the world. I have seen glimpses, and it literally almost destroyed me, physically, mentally, and especially spiritually. Just as that evil still tries to destroy me, Satan, who embodies pure evil, strives to destroy us all. “HATE what is wrong.” (verse 9b)

The ONE thing that God is adamant about is the LOVE Him; to accept Jesus Christ as the One Way, the ONLY Way, to true contentment. If we love Him, and give HIM the priority in our lives, we are more likely to recognize evil. If we read His Instruction Manual, we are more likely to recognize the “wrongs” in our life.

Are you willing to turn your back on the things the world deems acceptable? Are you ready to have friends and family tell you that what they are doing is all in fun, and not at all sinful, in order to justify their actions?

Loving God and following His Word is often difficult because of the people around us, but the joy and contentment He provides is well worth it! Jesus taught His disciples and entrusted them with His profound message, which they shared with the world through their teaching and preaching. Most importantly, they wrote it all down, so that all further generations would have the Words of Jesus to follow, too. We have heard the Gospel; now, what will we do with it, in light of the current state of the world?

“Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed My teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of My Name, for they do not know the One who sent Me.
If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father as well.
If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both Me and My Father.
But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated Me without reason.’
When the Advocate comes, Whom I will send to you from the Father – the Spirit of Truth Who goes out from the Father – He will testify about Me.
And you also must testify, for you have been with Me from the beginning.” — John 15:20‭-‬27

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Pretty powerful stuff…….

He Knit Me Together

I LOVE this! Before I was even a thought in my mother’s mind, GOD was with me.

“YOU {GOD} made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.” – – Psalms 139:13-14 NLT

Imagine! Marvel at His creation! He takes 2 cells, which alone are nothing, and He joins them together to create the complex and incredible thing we call life! Man can join the cells, and man can manipulate the cells, but only GOD can create the life within; what a MARVEL, what IMAGINATION, what CREATIVITY!

My puny little mind has trouble grasping the sheer magnitude of it all. Every single day in this country, thousands of babies die through abortion. According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control) and the AGI (Guttmacher Institute), in 2015 there were over 900,000 babies aborted. Killed. Of those, less than 2% – 2% – were from rape, incest, or the mother’s life was in danger! That’s insane. Basically, that means that 98% of babies who are murdered each year is because the mother doesn’t want to deal with it, for whatever reason. According to the CDC, in 2013, black women were 3.75% more likely to have an abortion than white women. Where are the pro athletes standing – or kneeling – on this issue?

Even if this were not a moral issue, it should be a financial issues. 17 states use public funds to pay for abortion, and about 14% of all abortions in the U.S. are paid for with public funds. That’s our tax dollars at work, people. Putting aside both of those objections, think on this for a moment. There is a tremendous outcry for more gun control because there were 59 people killed and over 500 injured this past week in Las Vegas. The hurricanes this year have taken 34 lives (so far) in Puerto Rico, and over 1oo in the Florida and Texas hurricanes. There has been a vigorous response to all of these tragedies, as there should be. I am by no means making light of these because they are devastating. I’m pointing out that lives lost due to overt violence or through natural disasters are next to nothing when compared to the over 2,400 lives lost every day through abortion. Where is the outrage; the outcry? I don’t hear it.

Did you know that at 45 days after conception, the heart is formed and beating? At 9 weeks, well within the first trimester, there is a recognizable baby, and at 52 weeks, babies have retinas, feet and hands? Check out this fascinating, eye-opening video – https://www.ted.com/talks/alexander_tsiaras_conception_to_birth_visualized .

Not just fascinating, but fantastic, awe-inspiring, breathtakingly beautiful, or to quote Alexander Tsiaras, “The magic, the mystery, the divine that is us.”

Thought provoking? I pray so.