Tag: #unpopular

Judgemental Noise – Is It Evidence?

“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.” – Matthew 7:1‭-‬2 NLT

Since Jesus began His ministry over 2000 years ago, He and His followers have been judged harshly by the world. He has been/is called a liar and a crazy man. He has been/is derided and cursed and humiliated. His followers, called Christians, have been and still are persecuted and tortured and killed. The noise of all that; the people who have denied His origins, His Life, and His ministry – is just that, judgemental noise. I guess that the enemy (a.k.a. Satan, Lucifer, the devil, Death…. you get the picture) thinks that the more noise he can generate around Jesus means that fewer people will hear the Message and follow Him, the Christ. We grow up surrounded by noise. By the time the Baby Boom began at the end of WWII, we’ve polluted our lives with noise. Radios blaring, televisions on, rock and roll music, concerts, huge stadiums filled with cheering…. bullying, jeering, rallies – it all adds up, and the noise of our lives often prevents us from hearing Jesus. Pushed by the enemy, we seem to believe that everything and anything, EXCEPT Jesus, is acceptable. Satan uses judgemental noise to drown out the Gospel story. It’s “good” to believe anything you want to, as long as it’s not belief in our LORD JESUS. To be PC, we have to deny that JESUS CHRIST is indeed the Son of GOD as He claimed to be, and ‘O. M. G. You cannot believe this man actually came back from the dead????’ (Yes, that was sarcasm….)

This passage from Right From the Heart 1-Minute Devotions, Day 126, says it so well:

All through the ages, man has speculated about life after life. Dante’s Divine Comedy seeks to describe it. Modern medical science has added to the speculation with its study of near-death experiences. Now all kinds of religions offer their theories.

But the greatest evidence of life after life is in the historical evidence that Jesus rose from the dead. Christianity is the only faith founded by a man who died and came back to life. No other religion makes that claim.

Historical accounts of His appearances to His disciples and over 500 at one time, were written within twenty years of the event. His disciples faced martyrs’ deaths for refusing to quit preaching of His death and resurrection.

People don’t willingly die for something they know is a hoax. The one thing that would have stopped Christianity in its tracks would have been for Rome or religious authorities to produce the dead body of Jesus. They never did. The best evidence of life after life is the historical evidence of Jesus’ resurrection.

Noise, especially judgemental noise, has a way of finding Christians. The enemy does his best to cover up our witness that JESUS CHRIST is indeed the Son of the Living GOD, that He rose from the grave; and that He was resurrected in order to show all men and women, all of humanity, the Truth. The Truth about JESUS transcends all color lines, all ethnic, social, and political lines. Our LORD Loves every man and woman the same. Satan will use the busyness of your life to create the noise that keeps you from hearing about Salvation. Can you hear Him calling you over the noise? “Be still, and know that I Am GOD! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.” – Psalms 46:10 NLT

Will L. Thompson wrote these words in 1880. They are still true. “Softy and tenderly, Jesus is calling….”

 Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,
Calling for you and for me;
See, on the portals He’s waiting and watching,
Watching for you and for me.

 

Empty Minds, Empty Lives

“Listen to Me, listen, and pay close attention.” – Isaiah 28:23 NLT

When the prophet Isaiah spoke those words to his people, they weren’t Isaiah’s words, they came straight from the LORD. Since the very beginning, God has wanted us, His creation, to listen to Him; to hear Him. Why do we chose to ignore the God Who created us; why not listen to the GOD Who Loves us with an incomparable, incomprehensible Love, a Love that far surpasses anything we experience here on earth? Instead of listening to the Words of Love, we listen to the enemy, the false prophets and teachers that Satan sends.

“Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. For in Christ lives all the Fullness of GOD in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, Who is the Head over EVERY ruler and authority.” – Colossians 2:8‭-‬10 NLT

Buddha taught of Nirvana, of karma and rebirth. Isn’t it interesting that he took some of the teachings of the LORD, perverting them to introduce those ideas? Mohammed was another man who twisted the teachings of JESUS to benefit himself. Joel and Victoria Olsten have their “Prosperity Gospel,” teaching that creating wealth is the most important thing in our lives. There have been hundreds of thousands of men, purporting to be prophets since the beginning of time, who have twisted GOD’s Words in order to take us away from the ONE True GOD. Their goal is Satan’s goal: take us away from our LORD. Our Creator GOD had been telling us of heaven since the beginning – live righteously and spend eternity with Him in paradise. How do you know a false teacher from a man (or woman) of the REAL God?

Test them through the scriptures. Look at their lives. Do they live as The LORD commands in His Word, or do they live as the world? Jesus said:

“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ….Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.” – Matthew 7:15‭-‬16‭, ‬20 NLT

When our minds are empty of the Words and the teachings of GOD and His Prophets, and especially of the Words of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, we become susceptible to the teachings of the enemy. Listening to music that encourages being selfish, promiscuity, unfaithfulness, greed, even violence and murder leads to changes in our lives and acceptance that these things are okay. Watching the immoral lives of leaders and the so-called society elite, looking at the athletes we cheer on…. What do their lives teach us? Looking especially at church leaders and religious leaders around the world, how many do you see living lives that glorify GOD rather than man? Following any of these causes our minds to empty of the Truth, and that leads to empty lives. Without God, without JESUS, to fill that God-shaped hole, we are truly empty minded and lead empty lives – no matter how successful you are by the world’s standards. Satan is a liar; a wolf in sheeps clothing. I pray for discernment against false prophets.

Listen to “Come to the Table” by Sidewalk Prophets.

Come join the sinners who have been redeemed
Take your place beside the Savior now
Sit down and be set free…He said come to the table
Come join the sinners who have been redeemed
Take your place beside the Savior now
Sit down and be set free…

Crippled By Fear

“And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the Words of the LORD JESUS: ‘It is more Blessed to give than to receive.’ ” – Acts of the Apostles 20:35 NLT

The Apostle Paul was a prolific writer and seasoned traveler. Every place he went, he worked to provide for himself so that the people he was visiting didn’t have to support him. We know he had some kind of “thorn” to deal with himself, although it is unclear whether it is physical or some sort of emotional or mental problem. In spite of his difficulty, he did what GOD called him to do. He was uncompromising when it came to his ministry. Too often, we allow ourselves to be crippled by fear: fear of failure, fear of physical or emotional pain, fear of losing…. there are many things which can literally paralyze us and prevent us from doing what we know we should do. We compromise over and over, letting our calling, our ministries, fail.

“For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at GOD, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred….. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up wit h pride, and love pleasure rather than God.” – 2 Timothy 3:2,4 NLT

I want to be as uncompromising as Paul was. I hold the life of JESUS up to scrutiny, and His was as uncompromising as Life and Love itself. He had a mission, a ministry, that consumed His days on earth. Even when faced with false accusations from the Jewish leaders, torture at the hands of Roman soldiers, and a horribly painful death by crucifixion, JESUS was uncompromised. Can you imagine? Given the choice of compromising your beliefs to prevent an agonizing death – could you do it? Are you uncompromising in your faith?

“….. I don’t know what awaits me, except that the HOLY SPIRIT tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead. But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the LORD JESUS – the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful Grace of GOD. And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the LORD JESUS: ‘It is more Blessed to give than to receive.’ ” – Acts of the Apostles 20:22‭-‬24‭, ‬35 NLT

Sin = Sorrow

WARNING. This post will offend you, or I haven’t made my point.

“What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting. Beware that you don’t look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of My Heavenly FATHER.” –
Matthew 18:7‭, ‬10 NLT

“Jesus replied, ‘I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin.’ ” – John 8:34 NLT

Another horrendous school shooting. People drawing lines in the sand, screaming for tougher gun laws. Politicians slamming each other verbally across the aisles. Children bringing knives to school with the intent to harm. People using vehicles as weapons of mass destruction by driving into crowds. Christians going against Christians. The PC ‘police’ going after anything that is offensive to them (the latest: a woman ranting about how offensive the word ‘man‘ is!) Disrespect is rewarded and even encouraged. Abortion is rampant with over 3000 babies every day; that’s over 22% of all pregnancies, just in the U.S. The litany goes on and on, and that’s not even taking into account the atrocities happening in countries outside of the U.S. What are we supposed to do?

Oh God, we need to be a nation on our knees instead of lining up to throw barbs at each other.

So here is where I stand:

I am a Christian, and by that I mean that l am a follower of the LORD Jesus Christ. I believe in the Triune GOD; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I believe that the Bible is the Truth, the Word of the Creator GOD, literal and complete, spoken through men to be our guidebook on earth. I know that Jesus left His home and His throne in Heaven to come to earth and live as a man, to be the ultimate sacrifice; to allow Himself to be tortured and hung on the cross so that His Blood would then and forever cover our sin. I believe that this same Holy God was with our Founding Fathers as they drafted the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights. I encourage you to delve into the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and other papers written by those men. Let me remind you of the First and Second Amendments:

Amendment 1
– Freedom of Religion, Speech, and the Press

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment 2
– The Right to Bear Arms

A well-regulated militia [“A nation’s able-bodied men who are not enlisted in the regular armed forces but may be called into military service in an emergency.” ] being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms [“To carry; to be equipped or furnished with weapons, firearms.”] shall not be infringed.

(Side note: the Second Amendment is what guarantees we get to enjoy the First Amendment and all of the following Amendments. )

I am a Patriot. I hold that I, as an individual, have the right to use whatever means necessary and available to defend my honor and my person against any transgressor. That translates to this: l am a Life Member of the NRA (that’s the National Rifle Association, for those who don’t know). As such, I will retain any weapons and firearms as I am able to obtain them. I will not give up my guns or ammo, my knives (kitchen and otherwise), my walking sticks, hammers, or my vehicle – all of these, every single item, is a potential weapon. And don’t forget aerosol containers, pots and pans, rolling pins…. just about anything can be a weapon. You can be just as dead by a pen or pencil in the right hands as you can be from a bullet, and a .22 kills as effectively as a .50.

This nation has lost it’s focus, and there is only one way to regain it. Turn back to the LORD. We need to preach and teach respect, and turn away from all of this PC garbage. Instead of bowing to Hollywood and their skewed vision, we need to be on our knees, begging our LORD to wash this nation clean! I am offended by PC, and I am deeply offended by all of the politicians who are diligently working to take away my rights.

Teach respect. Preserve the lives of our unborn. Provide for our weak, our children, and our elderly. Support our veterans – after all, we wouldn’t be able to exercise these rights without their sacrifices to keep us free. Stop rewarding bad behavior. Take care of our teachers! An elementary teacher should be making more than some foulmouthed, opinionated, self centered athlete or actor. Treat mental illnesses appropriately. Again, these things go ad infinitum…. but the bottom line is RESPECT. Guns are not the problem. Knives are not the problem. More laws will not solve our societal issues. We already have too many laws. As a country, a nation, we are wrapped in sin and sorrow. There is only one solution…. GOD IS THE ONLY ANSWER.

Respect me, and I will respect you. Disrespect me, and you will be disrespected by me….. but I will continue to pray for you, that God will bless you, and that He will help me forgive you. (I can’t do it on my own, but I can forgive through His Grace.)

So, to end on a positive note:

“All praise to GOD, the FATHER of our LORD JESUS CHRIST. GOD is our Merciful FATHER and the Source of ALL Comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort GOD has given us.” – 2 Corinthians 1:3‭-‬4 NLT – AMEN.

Listen to God’s Not Dead by the Newsboys.

Everything …. Or Nothing

“We do not wish either to be, or to live among, people who are clean or honest or kind as a matter of duty: we want to be, and associate with, people who like being clean and honest and kind.” – #CSLewis (Emphasis mine)

Whatever I do, and whatever I say, even whatever I think, I want to do because it is my choice, my decision – not because someone tells me. I am very aware of how utterly blessed I am to be born in the U.S.A.; to live in a Republic and not in a Socialist country or in a Dictatorship. Here, I can say whatever pleases me; good, bad, ugly, or indifferent. I can disparage the government without fear of reprisal; I can attend the church of my choice. America is still a land of opportunity for those who are willing to work. (Apparently, there are an awful lot of people who have made living off others and the government their “opportunity.” – but that’s another story!)

I can have the expectation that success and comfort and riches will be handed to me through no effort on my part, but for the vast majority of us, that will never happen. Those things only come through hard work and dedication. I know people who live a certain way as a matter of duty, but that is not me. I hope people who know me see that I am clean-living and honest and kind because it is my choice, my life; because it is how I want to be – not because of any rules or regulations or orders. It is not a duty that compels; it is not the ‘rules’ that require me to be this way. My devotion and my love for my JESUS, my LORD, makes me want to live that way. As the apostle Paul wrote:

“I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.” – Philippians 4:12 NLT

This is not an easy task, but it is not difficult, either. It is not easy, because we have to commit our lives to the Living GOD, and it is never easy as a human to let go of control. It’s not difficult, because through our surrender, we become free. Like the butterfly that struggles to get out of it’s cocoon, or the bird struggling to break of it’s shell, once we shed the confinement of our earthly wants and desires, we are free to fly! To soar with JESUS, above and beyond anything earthly. When we are with Him, it is easy to be content in our hearts, no matter the circumstance. We still need to be present in the world so that we can let JESUS shine His Light through the flaws and cracks in our earthly shell. We need to be present, both to give and to receive blessings.

Where do you stand today? Clean, honest, and kind because you choose, or because it is your duty?

We All Bleed The Same – WARNING. This Is NOT A Politically Correct Post

So much ugly going on in the world! Wars and rumors of wars. Brothers killing brothers. Marriage disdained and disrespected. Unnatural relationships; paedophiles in the news every day, same-sex relationships glorified in the media. School shootings, church shootings, workplace shootings. Mass killings in public places.

Christians are having to dig deep to find the courage to stand today. It is politically incorrect to proclaim Jesus Christ as LORD, but It’s encouraged to worship anything, anyONE, besides our GOD. Is it really courage we lack, as much as it is the desire to be liked and to be a part of the popular scene? I’ve never been very courageous, myself. I was a shrinking violet, a wallflower, in junior high and high school. Once I was at college, I connected with the ‘cool kids’ – the rebels from the restrictive Christian families we came from. Hear these words from Jesus to us!

“But I have this complaint against you. You don’t Love Me or each other as you did at first! Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your Lampstand from its place among the churches.”

“I know about your suffering and your poverty—but you are rich! I know the blasphemy of those opposing you. They say they are Jews, but they are not, because their synagogue belongs to Satan. Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the Crown of LIFE.” – Revelation 2:4‭-‬5‭, ‬9‭-‬10 NLT

The LORD knows our suffering, and He is practically begging us to turn to Him; to be FAITHFUL to Him in our despair. When I rely on JESUS and rest in His Arms, He lifts me up and gives me a peace that surpasses and rises above the mess surrounding me. He wants to do the same for you and every person alive. All you have to do is ask Him. He will give you all that you need. JESUS is not about being a Liberal or a Conservative; Republican, Democrat, or Independent. He doesn’t care where you were born, or how much money you have. The color of your hair and skin is irrelevant. It doesn’t matter if you are the richest man on earth or the poorest of the poor, living in abject poverty. We all bleed the same, we all have one soul, and we all have a choice. JESUS, or the world. JESUS, and an ETERNITY with Him in Love, or Satan, the world, and an ETERNITY in hell and unspeakable, unimaginable suffering. Satan is Fear, and Fear is a Liar. JESUS is Truth. If you choose not to choose, then you have made you choice. You have to ask Jesus into your heart and life. He’ll never force Himself on you.

“But those who drink the Water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them Eternal Life.” – John 4:14 NLT

“So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the LORD, for you know that nothing you do for the LORD is ever useless.” – 1 Corinthians 15:58 NLT

Maybe our prayer today shoud be for the courage to be politically incorrect, and to let our choice of JESUS CHRIST shine on the world.

Listen to Mandisa’s song “Bleed The Same” (or Google the video!) and Zach Williams’ “Fear Is A Liar.”

Sharing, Caring….

“For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths.” – 2 Timothy 4:3‭-‬4 NLT

Paul seems to be writing about today, the 21st century. Isn’t what he has written exactly where our world is now? Satan rules the earth for now. Popular music, from country, to metal or punk, is all about our desires and how to fulfill them with sex, drugs, and alcohol; It’s all about “ME” – not the LORD. We reject the Truth of the Word that God has given us, looking instead for the false fulfillment of the flesh. We need to be suspicious of anyone who twists the WORD in order to justify their actions. I’m not preaching or pointing fingers, because I have been deep in that lifestyle, and I am as guilty as anyone of turning my back on the Almighty. Listen to Crowder’s song “All My Hope.” Now, I thank God every single day for rescuing me from that pit, for it was Him and Him alone Who could extricate me from the murky mess I had (have) made of my life.

“Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the Law of CHRIST. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.” – Galatians 6:2‭-‬3 NLT

GOD is the Rescuer and the Healer, and He doesn’t need any assistance from the people He created; however, He does use us to help and support each other. Have you ever comforted someone when they were hurting? Done something to help a friend, or a stranger? Held a child as they cried? Offered a place to stay to someone who didn’t have any options? Prayed for and loved a family member who was struggling? If you have done any of those things, or any of hundreds of things, you are acting as GOD’s hands and feet here on earth. You have defied the enemy in supporting our LORD. I was once told that when I refused their help, I was denying them a blessing. It’s true. I know this because I have also been blessed to be able to help someone – and when my offers of assistance have been refused, it has hurt. No blessing. Think on that when someone offers themselves to you.

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.” – Matthew 6:31‭-‬33 NLT

I struggle with Matthew’s message, especially now. Knowing my very small monthly income won’t begin to cover even basic living expenses, how is it possible not to worry? By reading and studying the Word, through prayer, and with meditation to hear GOD’s Voice. That’s the only way not to dissolve into a hot mess, ripe for the enemy to place temptations in our way. I have fallen for his deceptions too many times to count, and my LORD has been there, every single time, to pick me up and carry me out of the mess. I know this in my heart and my soul, and all the while my human mind keeps hounding me with desperation, asking how will this ever workk out? I don’t know. I can’t even imagine a happy ending at this point. Thankfully, GOD’s got this!

“O GOD, we meditate on Your unfailing Love as we worship in Your Temple.” – Psalms 48:9 NLT

All I can do is Praise the LORD for His Mercy, His Grace, His Mighty Power, and His Deliverance. Amen.

NOTHING

NOTHING. That’s a really big word. How do you describe such a word? The Mirriam-Webster dictionary gives it a shot:

“Nothing” can be a pronoun, an informal adjective, or an adverb : defined, “nothing” is “not any thing, not a thing,” or “someone or something that has no interest, no value, no importance.”

Isn’t it, by definition, an oxymoron to try to describe “nothing”? If there is “nothing” there, how can you have it? On the other hand, if there is nothing, not any thing, no thing, then there is emptiness, right? I think the second definition may be the most important in light of the following scriptures: ”

of no interest, value, or importance.” Of no consequence.

If we embrace the meaning, the “no – thing”, then the opposite is, of course, every – thing, or any – thing.

“And we know that GOD causes everything to work together for the good of those who love GOD and are called according to His Purpose for them.

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If GOD is for us, who can ever be against us? Since He did not spare even His own Son but gave Him up for us all, won’t He also give us everything else?

Can anything ever separate us from CHRIST’s love? Does it mean He no longer Loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For YOUR sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.” ) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through CHRIST, Who Loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from GOD’s Love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from GOD’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the LOVE of GOD that is revealed in CHRIST JESUS our LORD.” – Romans 8:28‭, ‬31‭-‬32‭, ‬35‭-‬39 NLT

Look again at verse 38 – What a sermon in one sentence! Do you feel alone, separated, bereft of your God? Is it because the god you worship is not the GOD of the Universe, the GOD Who left heaven to come to earth, the GOD Who became the sacrificial Lamb in order that we might have eternal salvation? I, too, am convinced that nothing can separate me from my GOD. The enemy certainly has tried! But you see, whatever you think is separating you from the Almighty is nothing…. the enemy of my LORD, by name of Satan or Lucifer or any other name, is

of no interest, value, or importance; he is of no consequence when it comes to JESUS! It’s all in the name, people, the NAME of JESUS.

Listen to the song “Praise Him In This Storm” by Casting Crowns.

Know God?

“Yes, they knew GOD, but they wouldn’t worship Him as GOD or even give Him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what GOD was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.” – Romans 1:21‭-‬22 NLT

What does your god look like? Is He Majestic and Holy, clothed in His Creation? Is your god clothed in Sooner cream and red, Dallas blue and silver, OSU orange? Perhaps your god is dressed in the latest fashions, or corporate goals. Maybe your god is wrapped up in busyness or children or a spouse. Loyalty, addiction, obsession to something in this world can so easily supplant THE God, Creator and Saviour. Too many times, in our quest to fill that God-shaped hole inside us, we get caught up in the external and the glittery temptations that God’s enemy, Satan, places in front of us. It’s so easy to get sidetracked into his lair, and it can be incredibly difficult to extract ourselves from the webs of deceit he weaves to trap us.

Reflecting on my past, I see clearly many instances where I was hung up in those webs. I was so busy having fun, I could ignore how miserable I was. That’s on way the enemy keeps us trapped. Busy, busy, busy. Career, kids, school, football and other sports, cars, shopping….. rather than dwelling on “What’s in your wallet?”, can we switch focus to “What’s in your heart?” Do you know the Almighty GOD? Is HE in your heart, filling it with love and compassion for His people, or are you cramming tnat hole full of earthly pursuits? It’s lke the sign says,

“Know God, Know Peace. NO God, NO Peace.”

Which part are you? Do you KNOW Peace, or do you have NO Peace in your heart? Be like the author of this psalm: Praise Him, be Thankful for Him, and Pray for God’s help and protection.

“I praise GOD for what he has promised. I trust in GOD, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?” – Psalms 56:4 NLT