REJOICE WITH ME!

"The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of our God endures forever." Isaiah 40:8

Have you noticed that many of today’s Christians can listen more to popular influencers than the Word of God? There is nothing wrong in admiring and following bloggers as long as we are measuring what they say against the Word of God. ANY self imposed “truth” that does not align with God’s Word, in its entirety, should be discounted and held accountable - no matter how sweet and loving it may sound. The loving truth is this: Jesus loves EVERYONE and the rest of the story is that He is calling us up and out of our sin and into the life He desires for us! ♥️

Recently, I’ve noticed that a popular blogger is rejoicing that her daughter has come out of the closet, now is actively living the lifestyle, and is rejoicing that she can be herself and feel loved by her family, and God. Great rejoicing is going on in her household and the blogger is encouraging her followers to rejoice with her. In fact her followers are applauding her and thanking her and her daughter for their courage. However, didn’t she know that God has always loved her? Wasn’t she ever told that God’s love is unconditional? That is heart breaking if she struggled with thinking that God would love

her any less. However, God’s rejoicing is not in that her family now knows she is living this lifestyle and has accepted it. But rather Jesus rejoices for a different reason. In Luke 15:6-7, it says, “Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with Me;  I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” 

You see, many in this world are rejoicing over the wrong things. God does not tell us to rejoice over the sin, but to rejoice over the repentance of the sin. His love for us never changes in or out of our sin - that you can be sure of! But also you can be sure that according to God’s word, He is not rejoicing with you when you redefine truth and self impose your truth on others and then encourage others to do the same - no matter how popular your self imposed truth is - it’s your truth not God’s. 

When we ignore the prompting of the Holy Spirit, and choose to do it our way instead of God's way, this grieves God because He loves humanity so much and knows this is not the best for them. He also is merciful and kind and understands the terrific and arduous struggle that many go through resisting  sin - remember Jesus became flesh. When God became flesh and walked on earth, he lived the perfect life, died on the cross for our sins and was resurrected so that we can be forgiven and have peace with God and have an intimate relationship with Him. He wants you to know that He gets it! God’s heart aches with you as you struggle against sin. And He will help you - if you want it. But God’s love is not only a pampering love, it is a strengthening love. Isn’t that what our love for our children should be also! God loves us so much that He promises an abundant life not a compromised life but an abundant life - if we put our trust in Him knowing that His plans are better than our own feelings and struggles. 

God loves All sinners, the Bible shouts the clarity of that fact! HIS LOVE FOR YOU IS UNCONDITIONAL! But God hates All sin - the Bible is clear on that too! Quickly let’s define sinner: A sinner is someone who misses the mark. Set by who? By God. Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We ALL fall short of God’s glory! God rejoices when we turn away from  sin - not when we turn towards sin and accept it - sadly some have innocently and not so innocently got that twisted. 

Acknowledging the sin to God is a good thing,  a very, very good thing and you should be very proud of that. Also what is very important is when you share your struggle with someone you can trust. God knows that you need a loving, non-judgemental, patient and gentle arm around you through this painful process - pointing you to God’s truth,  love and mercy in his Word. 

You see, we should be rejoicing if we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior and there is repentance of the sin. Because if there is...let the rejoicing begin!!!!!! It doesn’t mean that your struggle will be over completely, but the person’s life is now being redirected for God’s great purpose for their life - this is truly a reason for Great pride and rejoicing on earth and in heaven! 

If anything I said offended you or angered you - I apologize if I have caused that - that was never my intent. But I will never apologize for being one more tiny voice that shouts out that God loves you and He will reward you, bless you and prize you for following and obeying His truth in His Word. 

How can I be so bold and confident as I share this with you??? Only one reason, the Bible is the inerrant Word of God. Inerrant: “Without error or fault in any of its teaching.”  If you struggle with believing that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God - I suggest you have a heart to heart talk with the God who is love and who created you and loves you - you will never regret it! 

God is the most loving and kind Father you will ever have the joy and honor of knowing and loving! ♥️

“Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with Me;  I have found my lost sheep.’I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” Luke 15:6-7

The Unseen Battle

“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

I love God. I love my husband. I love my family. I love life! My husband and I live our life on this earth doing everything we can to provide, support and strengthen our daughters. Our objective since they were very young was to equip them with the skills to live victoriously on this earth. We desired for our daughters to know Jesus and give their lives fully to follow Him!

We wanted our daughters to develop strong character, to have self control, respect for others, and have a “never give up” spirit. 

Providing food, shelter, clothing, emotional stability, security, a good education and times of celebrations of their life is important, but equally important, if not more important, is teaching them the truths that are in God’s Word.

The truth is that there is an unseen battle between good and evil. Hollywood writes movies about it. People stand in long lines over and over again and pay a lot of money to watch the battle of good and evil in theaters.

In the Christian life we are in a battle! We can deny it, we can try to ignore it, we can pretend that it is just mere fantasy, but the truth is in the Word of God, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:12

In the Christian life, we battle against the powerful evil forces of fallen angels headed by Satan, who is a vicious fighter. 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”

The good news is that through Jesus Christ, we are victorious! Colossians 2:15 says, “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He (Jesus) made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”

At the cross, Jesus disarmed the devil’s powers and in Christ, we are victorious!

One of the tactics of the enemy is that he fights with lies. He whispers lies to our mind. In John 8:42-45 Jesus was speaking with the religious leaders. The religious leaders were unable to understand Jesus and they refused to listen to Him. Satan used their stubbornness, pride, and prejudices to keep them from believing in Jesus.

This is what Jesus said, “If God were your FATHER, you would love Me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

What lie has the enemy, the devil, whispered in your ear? The tactic of the enemy is for you not to recognize his stealth approach. Consequently, when the lie comes, you are unable to recognize the true danger (i.e. the voice of the enemy) and instead you see it as an insignificant and small little blip that you can easily manage and take care of and overcome. But the reality is, the lies that are coming at you are fully loaded with destruction in mind and will attack you in the fiercest way and when you least expect it.

I know that it is not popular to write or even discuss about spiritual warfare. Who wants to talk about the devil! Not me! But I must. Some may think this is crazy – “the devil, come on”.  The truth is this, we are in a spiritual battle BUT God has given us all the tools to detect the enemy’s weapons towards us.

We can live VICTORIOUS and above all the powerful lies of the enemy IF we apply His teaching to our lives.

We can live VICTORIOUS IF we apply the weapons He has given us in His Word.

We can live VICTORIOUS through the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Has your peace been stolen?  Is your heart filled with fear and anxiety? Are you fearful of the thoughts that are whispered in your mind? Do you feel hopeless?

Let me share some thoughts from God’s Word of what I have learned over the years of studying the Bible. To withstand the attacks of the enemy, God has given us armor – it is called the Armor of God.

^“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” Ephesians 6:10-18.

God has provided us the Holy Spirit within us, the power of prayer and the Armor of God surrounding us! 

“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. To Him be the power forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 5:10-11

Do You Want To Change The World? Make Your Bed!

Be encouraged, exhorted and inspired to make the difference in this world!

But....Then....

Our God is a beautiful, gracious and good Father - ALWAYS desiring for us to receive his bountiful mercy, grace, and forgiveness! He loves us so much that He has given us guidelines to live by that are for our best interest. Unfortunately, some of us don't understand and fully believe the goodness of God, so we choose to ignore those guidelines. When we turn to our own ways, there are some serious consequences that affect our well being, our cities well being, our states well being and our nations well being. 

BUT because of His character that is perfect in love, He provides a way that we can return to Him. The Bible says in 2 Chronicles 7:14, "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, THEN I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

Our Part

1)Humble ourselves by admitting our sins
2) Pray to God asking for forgiveness
3)Seek God continually
4)Turn from sinful behavior 

God's Part

1) Hear our prayers
2) Forgive our sins
3) Heal our land

Whether we sin individually, as a group, or a nation, by turning to God with true repentance, God will answer our earnest prayers. 

One of the many ways that we can clearly see the goodness and love of God for us is in Galatians 1:4, "BUT when the set time had fully come, God sent His Son! 

When we are in Christ, we can come boldly to the throne of grace, to receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:15)

Because of Jesus Christ, we are without excuse for He has given us every heavenly blessing to live a godly and holy life! (Ephesians 1:3-5)

"His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness! 2 Peter 1:3

If you have not received Christ as your Savior and Lord, you can receive Christ right now by faith though prayer. God knows your heart, and He is not as concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. Here is a suggested prayer that you can pray:

     Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank you of dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life to You and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the person You want me to be! 

On the basis of His promise to us in His word, you can be confident that Christ lives in you and that you have eternal life from the very moment you invite Him in!

One of my greatest blessings in life, is having a personal relationship with the best Father anyone could ever dream of having!

The Cross Has Made You Flawless!

Be Encouraged!

Kari Jobe - I Am Not Alone (Live)

You are not alone! What powerful, soothing words! Enjoy the song below!

Descends From Above

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom."  James 3:13

There is wisdom and then there is WISDOM! The Bible says that there are two types of wisdom – the wisdom from this earth and the wisdom that descends from above!

The wisdom that is from this earth is:

-       Filled with bitter envy

-       Self-seeking

-       Earthly

-       Sensual

-       Demonic

-       Filled with confusion and every evil thing

The wisdom from God is:

-       Pure

-       Peaceable

-       Gentle

-       Willing to yield

-       Full of mercy

-       Good Fruit

-       Without partiality

-       Without hypocrisy

Which type of wisdom would you prefer?

How do you get the wisdom from above?

The answer is simpler than you think! The Bible says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” James 1:5

What exhortation does the Bible give us when we ask for wisdom?

“But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is double-minded, unstable in all his ways.” James 1:6-8

“Godly wisdom is pure, meaning “free from defilement.” Bitterness, envy, and selfish behavior thoroughly corrupts a person. Godly wisdom is also peaceable, describing a spirit of tranquility and calmness. It does not suggest compromising truth just for the sake of peace, which would promote falsehood. In addition, godly wisdom is undivided, without favorites, unwavering and consistent. True wisdom is sincere and unpretentious.” Commentary

“Evil produces confusion. Anyone who is involved in envy and strife is confused.” Commentary

Let’s resist the wisdom from this earth and ask God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, the wisdom that is from above! Let's be peacemakers who sow in peace and who will reap a harvest of righteousness!

“...if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exists, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” James 3:14-18