My Faith

Wednesday’s Vote

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(Addendum below…)

I know everyone expects impeachment to pass Congress, but I am praying that God honor His Word concerning Israel and bless Trump with a victory against this corrupt impeachment. I simply cannot think of any leader in history who has done more to advance Israel’s cause. I pray the Lord use this vote on Wednesday to exalt Himself and prove that His promises to Israel stand as true today as they were 6,000 years ago—irrevocable!

“And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” Genesis 12:3


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ADDENDUM
I just need to add something. Again, unlike everyone else I’ve heard on the subject, I have a very strong conviction that if the impeachment passes Congress, it will also pass the Senate. I know every single conservative voice out there says it’s impossible, but I don’t think it’s impossible at all. In fact, I think the Senate Democrats already know who will vote with them. I think they’ve known since Nancy gave her thumbs up. In fact, I think that is WHY she gave her thumbs up. So, if you don’t want him impeached, I believe the time to pray is now. Don’t put your confidence in what all these politicians and talking heads tell you.

Now, it should be said, this may seem like nonsense to those who follow a doctrine that says Christians have replaced Israel, so every biblical promise regarding Israel now pertains to the Christian only. Well, I cannot go into detail on that matter, but I would urge you to ask yourself if the Bible actually proves that position, and therefore you believe it because you are convinced and willing to die for that belief—or, if you believe it based on what someone else told you, and aren’t really sure you’re ready to risk your life for it. If you aren’t willing to take a bullet or face the guillotine, good. There are lots of good, biblical teachings out there that can give you a sound foundation. Then, we can all be like Corrie ten Boom, ready to risk our life and reputation for their sake, which is what Trump has actually done, and why I am asking God to prove Himself here. (Um, if you don’t think he’s risked his life for Israel, well, yeah. He has.)

Do You Know Charlie Kirk?

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If you aren’t acquainted with Charlie Kirk—or, even if you are—I strongly encourage you to watch (or listen) to this episode of “Happening Now.” I am grateful for young men like him.

Thoughts on a Thursday

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I shouldn’t be blogging right now, but if I don’t get some words out of me I’m going to explode. So much is happening. Inside me. All around me. There is just so much on my mind. I’ve been promising myself I would blog for weeks, but blogging is a luxury of time I haven’t been able to afford.

Yet, I gotta release the valve. Gotta let a few things out.

  1. Preparing for the 15th Anniversary Celebration for the ministry my husband and I started directing in 2004: New Brothers Fellowship. Memories flood my mind as I look through old newsletters and old pictures. So many people. So may prayer requests. So many answered prayers.
  2. I am baking cookies. A lot of cookies. I haven’t baked a lot of cookies in a long time, but it’s one of my very favorite things to do.
  3. Making curtains for my daughter’s kitchen. Just valances. And, really plain. I don’t do complicated. I only mention it, because I should have made them about a year ago. I hate that it took me so long to even get started. I love to sew, though I have little skill. I wish it was a regular part of my life.
  4. I don’t know why I have eczema now, but I am experiencing first hand the life my husband has lead his entire life. Our skin issues are a little different, but it’s all bad. I don’t feel sorry for us, though. We have skin, and I’m very thankful to have skin.
  5. I see many of Hannah’s peers falling away from Christ and it makes me very angry. I am not mad at them. I am mad at Satan. He laid traps. He crept in under the cover of darkness. He has truly been a wolf, stealing the Master’s sheep. And, I’m not going to stand for it. I’m taking names and I’m praying. The parable of the Prodigal Son is there for a reason. They may all have to sleep with the pigs, before they realize what they have forsaken, but so be it. They will not die there.
  6. The truth is that in MANY CASES it was Christians that hurt these children, now adults. It makes me so mad. Satan is such a liar, thief, and destroyer. We have to face him with utter fearlessness, folks. We need to take back what he has stolen. I’m not saying these backslidden children are without fault. They made a freewill choice to sin. Yet, when a child has not been given truth and taught how to walk in Christ, they are going to have a hard time facing a temptation that promises to comfort their immediate and acute emotional pain and mental distress. If they do not know God, if they do not have spiritual support, what else will they do? I’m not speaking of anyone in particular here, but too many parents have permissively allowed Satan into their homes. They have not set a guard. Too many wives waiting on their husbands to do it, because too many women have not been taught how to be women of God (just a hint: it means more than not denying him physical intimacy). I know people look at Hannah and say, “Well, it’s easy for you to talk.” My kid is amazing, but if you think I wasn’t on guard like a hawk every step of the way, you’re wrong. If you don’t think Satan was at every corner, laying traps and luring her to death, you’re wrong. I never took her innocence or purity or faith for granted. Not for a second. I knew the Devil too well to think she was safe. In fact, it was in the darkest days of our marriage that the Holy Spirit told me to take my eyes off myself and see that the Enemy was really after Hannah. It was all about destroying her. That is true for every child out there, mom and dad. It’s not about you; it’s about them.
  7. I am thinking of posting sermons here that I think some of you might like. I have done it in the past, and have meant to do it regularly, but writing the outlines takes a lot of time. I may just post the message and write the outline later. I know most sermons I share no one listens to except Doug, but it will also be good for me. I will be able to quickly find those messages that have impacted me. The same goes for prophecy updates. I am very picky about which ones I will watch, because there’s a lot out there that’s just stupid and self-serving.
  8. The impeachment stuff is clogging our news, but I urge you to pay attention to the Middle East. It’s what happens there that best indicates where we are on God’s timeline.
  9. As for the impeachment stuff. I don’t think it will go far. It’s so baseless. So stupid. In fact, every American should hope and pray it doesn’t go anywhere, because there is no evidence of an impeachable offense. I am praying that Democrats in the House start to find the courage to speak out against it. It’s a shameful thing to rob anyone of their right to a defense, and their right to be innocent until proven guilty.
  10. Keep looking up, folks. The Rapture really could take place any time. Every prophecy that needs to be fulfilled before the Rapture has been fulfilled.
  11. I am so concerned for Americans who are left behind. They have no idea how severe the judgment of God is going to be on this nation. I don’t mean the Tribulation; I just mean God’s judgment for how we have murdered and abused children. I know this next statement may cause some to think I’m a real freak, but I also doubt anyone will read this, so here it goes: Trump, despite his many past and current sins, has done more to stop the flood of sin against children in our country than any President in U.S. history. I believe his presidency has held back the judgment of God.
  12. I believe our nation has been blessed for Trump’s support of Israel (not that it protects us from judgment). I also think he might be the President who does not send military aid to Israel during the Ezekiel 38-39 war. That has to be the case though, because no one but God can receive the credit for the victory Israel will experience.
  13. I need to go back to work.
  14. Don’t be afraid to obey the Lord, whatever He may be asking of you, calling you to do. Don’t be afraid. If it isn’t His will, He’ll stop you. Just prayerfully and humbly take that first step, then the second.
  15. These are interesting days. I don’t know what God is doing, but something is going on.

❤

Unraveling Life’s Tangled Kite Strings

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The other day. I was trying to repair two kites at the same time—while riding in a car. Admittedly, not a lot of wisdom in that decision, but we were taking our grandbabies to the park and I was trying to fix them before we got there.

Well, I couldn’t be too surprised when their strings got tangled together, but I was frustrated and disappointed in myself. Why did I think I could keep it all straight?

You know, I normally don’t mind a tangle. They’re just a challenging puzzle, a mental break. I like taking the time to focus on that knot and work it out.  I wasn’t enjoying this one, though. Time was not on my side.  This knot was going to spoil my chance to fly kites with the grandbabies. I didn’t want to work this one out; I just wanted to cut it all up and throw it away.

Staring at that tangled mess of string, losing my patience, and wanting to give up on the whole shebang, the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart, “This is where some some people are living right now. Their life feels like a tangled mess, and they don’t know how to figure it out.”

Well, I assure you that I did not expect the Holy Spirit to show up in the middle of my trying to figure out that tangle, but I started to think about what He had said. I started to think about that person. I started to think about what it takes to get out of these messes in real life, and about the compassion the Lord has on us in the midst of them. The devil tells us God is mad and has turned away from us, but that’s just a lie. It may have been our own bad choices that got us into that tangle in the first place, but God isn’t expecting us to fix it ourselves. God isn’t a self-help guru, trying to get us to fix our own problems. He is a loving Father, a good Father, promising to help us in our time of need, and receive us back into His arms, tangled mess and all—if we will just turn back to Him and ask for help.

Remember, the prodigal son? Did he get himself all fixed up nice and clean, life back in order first, before leaving that pig pen? Did he restore the inheritance he’d squandered, and pay back his debtors, before humbling himself and returning to his father’s home? Not at all! Yet, his father received him with open arms and celebration.

This is how God will receive anyone who returns to Him like the prodigal, with a repentant and contrite heart. It is a step of faith with a promised conclusion: forgiveness and restoration.

I did figure out that tangle, once I just slowed down and took it one step at a time. In the end, the last tangle was just one string that had gotten wrapped around itself, and it unraveled with one gentle pull. It wasn’t as bad a mess as I’d thought.

Maybe, your mess isn’t as bad as you think, either. Even if it is, though, I know the Holy Spirit will help you. I promise you, He will not reject you. If you come to Him with a sincere repentance, He will take you step by step through that mess, and put it in order for you. He loves you. He wants to help you. He wants to shower you with His love and forgiveness, just like the prodigal’s father did for him. Please, trust the Lord. Take your mess to Him, and let Him work it out.

Have a blessed Sunday, everyone. ❤

 

 

 

 

It’s Not the Doing

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How are you today?

My day started well enough, but as the minutes ticked by I began to feel pretty stressed-out. The thing that sent me over the top was the Saxophone Player’s text asking if I’d like to go to breakfast. Suddenly, my stress shot through the roof.

Well, that’s just not right! Going to breakfast with my husband should not make me stressed, but I was trying to order my day and that was not something I was making time for today. I knew this was wrong, though, so I stopped everything and turned my focus to the Lord.  If I’ve learned anything, I’ve learned that an absence of peace is proof that I’ve been absent from His presence. No matter how much I might be doing for Him, it’s not the doing that brings peace. It’s the being.

So, I set my mind on Him. I turned on the next sermon on my YouTube playlist. When the sermon was over, I turned on my favorite Pandora channel. Since my hands like to be busy, I made a scripture graphic with one of my favorite peony photos—a gift from God.

I didn’t have “time” for any of these luxuries today, but nothing on my scary, monstrous list of things I need to do—and things I’ve failed to do—matters as much as having the peace of God reigning in my heart. I’m no use to the Lord, if I’m sweating and straining to make things happen. Finishing everything on that list won’t bring me God’s peace. Having everything put away on my “desk” might bring a sense of accomplishment, but it cannot bring God’s peace. Only deciding to make time to be in His presence will restore my soul to a right place of resting in Him. And, that’s all I want. I accepted a long time ago that I’m a total failure as a human, but I don’t want to be a failure as a child of God. I don’t want to fail to love Him and glorify Him. He keeps my hands busy, but He does that for my sake. For His sake, He asks me to just sit with Him and know Him and rest.

He asks us all the same thing. My friend, if the pressures of the day are growing, choking your peace and joy in the Lord, I hope you will stop and sit with Him. Just leave all that there is to do, all that is pressing on you, and just be with Him. We delight in doing, but He delights in us, and in our just being with Him.

Isa263 meme

God bless you today. I pray “His peace that passes understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus,” (Philippians 4:7).

Now, I am off to a late breakfast date with my patient husband. ❤

*I felt inspired to change the pronouns. I hope no one is offended.

The Devil’s Playbook

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The Devil has a plan. 

For each and every one of us, he has a plan for our demise. Our destruction. He is on a unrelenting mission, you see, to defeat the work of Christ in each of our lives. He could not keep Christ from achieving His victory on the cross, so he turns his focus onto us, and strives to keep us from apprehending that victory in our life. 

This is how the Devil works: he pokes us. 

Sounds too simple, but it works. If we brush it off, he just pokes a little harder. If we brush that off, he’ll poke even harder still. 

He will keep that up, just keep poking away at us, accelerating the frequency and varying the weapon. Maybe, that first poke was a temptation to take just one peek, or just one drink. Maybe, it’s a temptation to take offense, or to take a pass. It really doesn’t matter what it is, but it does matter how we react. 
How we react to that first poke determines his next play.  If we turn and run, he’ll just run after us. The Bible says we have to resist—we have to look the Devil in the eye, stand our ground, and raise our Sword against him.
Consider how Christ responded when Satan poked Him. Three times Satan tempted te Son of God, trying to push Him into sin and away from the cross. Christ knew how to fight. He was armed and ready. He used His Sword, the Word of God, to eviscerate Satan. 

And the devil said unto Him, “If Thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.”

And Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.”

And the devil, taking Him up into an high mountain, shewed unto Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto Him, “All this power will I give Thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.”

And Jesus answered and said unto him, “Get thee behind Me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”

And he brought Him to Jerusalem, and set Him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto Him, “If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: for it is written, He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

And Jesus answering said unto him, “It is said, ‘Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.'”

And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from Him for a season.

And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee.

Luke 4:3-14, KJV

The Word of God is our Sword. An expert swordsmen knows his weapon. He practices using it. We must treat the Word of God the same way. We need to know it, and we need to know how to use it.

That last verse says it all. “Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit.” Christians talk about being beat up by Satan as if it demonstrates how spiritual they are that he would harass them. Satan harasses us all, but instead of limping out of the arena (or the wilderness) we should be walking victoriously, in the power of the Holy Spirit, stronger than when we started. If we will apply God’s Word in faith, that is the testimony we will be able to tell.

A Dumb Movie and Bad Company

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EDIT on 5/9/19 I had my dates wrong.
I’ve been sharing how I came to understand God’s call on my life to be my husband’s help meet. It started with a post in October called Six Months. The second post was My Filthy Rags.  As I was editing the third and last post of this testimony, I was very impressed by the Holy Spirit that there needed to be some context. I don’t know how much context, yet, but we’ll start with this. 

I began to backslide from the Lord when I was seventeen-years-old. Though I was born and raised in a Christian home, I started college very young and began being impacted by the worldly culture around me. I still attended church and prayed and believed, but I was losing sight of Jehovah. It was a slow and unintentional walk away from God, but day by day I was forsaking the truth. 

God doesn’t forget us, though, just because we forget Him. He never loses sight of us, and never stops calling us back to Himself. (Thank You, Lord!)  Even as we question and challenge and reject and rebel, He continues to woo us. It gets harder to hear Him as we clutter our minds with the things of this world, but sometimes God sends people or circumstances to speak for Him. Sometimes, that gets our attention. And, sometimes it takes a dumb movie and bad company.

That’s where I found myself, when I heard the Lord speak to me, again. It was 1987, and a friend was house-sitting. He invited a few of us over to watch a movie and hang-out in a rich man’s apartment. I couldn’t have been more bored, but that’s when I heard the Holy Spirit speak to me. I was trying to watch the stupid movie, while my trio of gay buddies gossiped about who knows what. I just wasn’t into it, and that’s when I heard the Lord say:

“I am still the God of Abraham. I have not changed.”

I wish I could have seen my face in that moment. I was so taken aback. What is God doing here?  I remember sitting up straight in my seat and grabbing my notepad from my bag. Sometimes, when the Holy Spirit speaks to us, its just a statement or an instruction. Sometimes, it’s a revelation, or a prophecy—words that are full of deeper meaning. This might have been old news for everyone else, but in that moment in time this was a fresh revelation for me. God was putting me on notice, and He had my attention.

“You think I’m a god who understands your compromise? Well, am not. You think I’m a god who does not require consecration? Well, I am not. I am still the God of Abraham, and what I asked of him I could still ask of you.”

If God hadn’t changed, than I had better change fast.

Sunday Worship

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This song soothes my spiritual aches and pains. No matter the cares and burdens I may have carried in with me, this song gently leads me into a place of worship. When I am worshiping Jesus, there is nothing else that matters in the world.

“Worshipping at the piano one day, this song started with the first stanza. The other two stanzas were at it shortly there after. There are times when I sing this that I feel the Lord is so near. It is a very intimate declaration of Christ’s Lordship over my life.” (Doug Gregan)

“Jesus Is My Lord”
Words & Music by Doug Gregan
© LAMP Songs
Vocals and Keyboard, Doug Gregan

Jesus: Great Redeemer, Savior, and Friend.

*These songs are meant to be sung in congregations. They are registered with CCLI, however, we offer them to the Body of Christ free of charge—for the sake of congregations that cannot afford a CCLI license or SongSelect membership. So, if you hear a song you would like to share with your church, let us know. We will email you the lead sheet, guitar tabs, lyric sheet, and/or overhead master*. No charge. The performance of the song may never be sold (even as part of a fundraiser), but anyone may use them freely to the glory of God. (*If you lack printing capabilities, we will mail them to you.)

“Europe: Closer to the Antichrist”

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This teaching on the Antichrist is from Amir Tsafarti. I have written an simple outline. I think it is very interesting. I hope you will watch or listen to it today.

Amir Tsafarti delivered this message at the “What in the World is Going On?” Conference in Abbotsford, BC, Canada on October 28, 2017. You can learn more about his ministry at BeholdIsrael.org. His video teachings are all available on YouTube: CLICK.

OUTLINE

0:00     Introduction.

This is a continuations of  a message he presented last year. CLICK TO LISTEN to Part 1

0:33     Three Points for Today’s Teaching     

  1. Where Did We Stop Last Year
  2. What Has Happened in Europe Since?
  3. What Are We to Expect in the Very Near Future?

1:30     Europe’s Ruling Families

The object is to form a one world government, a key event in Biblical Prophecy.

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A few families based in Western Europe and North America, have remained in control for long periods of time.

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6:00       One American Warned  Us

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7:00       America: Globalism’s Leader

11:00     The Accident of 2016

19:15      How to Create a World Government?

  1. Create a crisis
  2. Divide the people
  3. Sow distrust and insecurity

32:15      The Roman Empire: Historically and Revived

51:00      Who is the Antichrist?

103:00     The World is Ready for the Antichrist

Race to the Finish

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Have we made God into an image that suits us? Have we have brought Him down to our level, and made Him someone we can understand? Someone whose thoughts and ways are like our thoughts and ways?

I don’t think we aren’t seeking God, but I think we’re impatient with Him. Instead of being willing to wait for His answer or for His will to manifest, we move forward based only on our assumption that our happiness, good intentions, and/or success matter. Without waiting on Him, we step out in what feels like faith, but is more like wishful thinking. Our ways have become what we call His ways. Whatever seems right to us. We’ve become the judge, which means we have placed our seat on His throne.

Consequently, we fall into compromise. We embrace false doctrine and reject truth outright. We have to, because our lives no longer line-up with His Word. Therefore, we must reinterpret His Word. It’s a dance. We juggle the truth and play games with it. As long as we believe Jesus is Savior, we’re all set. We have given ourselves permission to be as carnal a Christian as we want. Of course, we don’t say that out loud, but our lives are the proof. How we live does not reflect a respect for God, or a fear of the consequences of disobedience.

You see, the god we have created not only receives us as we are, but never require we change. We’ve devised a religion that requires no faith, no consecration, and no death. We haven’t forgotten about righteousness, but we’ve redefined it.

“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” (Romans 13:14)

The God of the Old Testament has not changed, and He never will. He required great things of those Saints of old, yet we expect Him to be satisfied with our measly “sacrifices” today. We give Him our “extra” time. We yawn and watch the clock. We decide how much we serve according to what we’re already doing, not according to how much there is to be done. We give more time to entertainment, than we do to knowing Him. There is more Eastern idolatry on Christian’s Facebook pages, than the Word of God. What’s that about, folks? We feast on witchcraft, violence, perversion, and anti-Christ indoctrination under the the label of entertainment. We laugh at things that should make us jump up and run out of the room. Why do we want to be a part of glorifying that which nailed our Savior to the Cross?

“Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.”
(1 Peter 2:24)

Friends, the days are getting short. Christ is coming soon. That is not an inevitability that we just wait to arrive. I hear some say, “Why think about it? Why preach about it? It’s going to happen anyway.” If that is how we think, we are missing the point. Paul described this Christian life as a race to finish (2 Timothy 4:7). What athlete enters a race unprepared to finish? He doesn’t amble around aimlessly, straying off course and unconcerned about whether or not he reaches the end. He knows that finishing isn’t inevitable, but a byproduct of running the course to its end. Well, Eternity is a deadline we are supposed to prepare for, and daily be working towards achieving. We know we’ll be with Jesus, but are we running the course He set before us? That’s a willful choice we have to make everyday. We can’t run just any race and say it counts.

So, what’s a sincere Believer to do? What we should be doing every day: repenting and asking for the Holy Spirit to help us; reading God’s Word and praying. Simple. Simple obedience. We must stay the course He set before us, and pursue righteousness as we have been called to do—picking ourselves up as many times as needed along the way, staying in fellowship with the Body of Christ, and equipping ourselves daily. An end is coming, sooner than later. Let’s meet at the Finish Line.

God bless you today.
❤