Finding Safety!

Finding Safety!

“ ‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah. “ ‘In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The LORD Our Righteous Savior.’ Jeremiah 33:14-16 NIV

If we look at The Word of The Lord, we know that true safety will only be found in Him. None of the rest of what people say will matter since we know we can trust the word of those in positions to keep us safe. Specifically, the WH administration apparently has no regard for the safety of Americans since Michael Flynn was put in a position–with access to sensitive information–and Russian ties for which he lied about.

I hate to sound redundant, but it would appear that everyone in this administration lies to the point of being pathological.

How many times have we seen Sean Spicer attempt to spin truth with more lies?

Isn’t this how we arrived at “alternative facts” with Kellyanne Conway?

We know the liar-in-chief lies about everything, including the lies and thinks the rest of us are either stupid or blind (we see his tweets).

I suspect that those heading the military and NSA are lying to the president to bolster his ego and polling, but their lies–may lead us into a war into which the loss of lives will be catastrophic.

I do not believe for one moment–that Mike Pence didn’t know about Michael Flynn since there are photos of them with Russians before the election. Since Mike Pence doesn’t have a Christian bone in his body, his lies about that make all Christians suspect. No one can honestly claim to be a Christian and not love all and defend the rights of the poor and needy.

The religious right in Congress–both House and Senate have apparently been lying to people to years in order to maintain a seat–a job in which taxpayers are paying them to go on recess more than they do actual work for the betterment of all Americans. Their only concern has to be pass laws that benefit the wealthy (2%) and the rest of us (98%) are on our own–as demonstrated with the passage of the latest version of tRumpcare. If we cannot expect lawmakers to care about our access to affordable healthcare, what makes us think they’ll care about our safety?

Stating the obvious–the launch of missiles on Syria were not sanctioned by Congress and neither was the dropping of a bomb on Afghanistan–though they should have been. The United States was not in imminent danger from either country, but the liar-in-chief–in effort to flex his muscles, ordered the launches. No safety from that end of Washington can be expected.

And then–on top of everything else–he demonstrates his disdain of protocol and respect for traditional proceedings–yet again, in an attempt to intimidate Sally Yates before a Senate hearing began and since the Senate would not cancel the hearing, the Republicans–of note–Kennedy, Coryn, and Cruz made fools of themselves trying to attack Ms. Yates’ credibility with off-topic questions. No, we cannot count on our safety being protected by rude, belligerent old white men who wanted to do nothing else than to humiliate a woman. They were humiliated instead when the Hamanesque effect took place.

Our only avenue for safety can be found in Jesus Christ and while we pray for sound judgment in those in leadership positions, we must remember–our hope and trust is not in them, but in Him.

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Every Morning!

Every Morning!

Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. Lamentations 3:21-26 NIV

Every morning when I wake

I’m reminded of His Love,

No matter what happened the day before,

A new day and new mercies is what I hope for.

Every morning when I rise,

My sacrifice of praise starts my day,

Even with joints ache with eyes blurred,

I give thanks for strength to endure.

Every morning that I see,

Is another opportunity for me

Spread love, spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ,

Live as a demonstration of a changed life

In Him. Every morning!

No matter what else has happened to us, no matter what disappointments come our way, we can and should start each new day with praise unto Him who is the reason we live and move.

Sometimes, life’s difficulties tend to distract from the facts–God is love and His love and mercy endure forever–no matter how often the enemy attacks.

When we know we have received His love into our hearts, nothing the enemy does should tear us apart from knowing the battle is not ours, but His and in Him, we always win. Victory is more than a battle cry, but a lifestyle we can and should live–so we make the enemy quake every morning when we rise.

We cannot change yesterday or even the last minute, and only He knows what the future holds, but when we know He holds our future in His hands, we can live without fear or doubt and move to the rooftops–with a shout–Jesus is Lord and no weapon formed against us shall ever prosper!

It is morning time and time to rise–giving Him praise for the victories we shall know all the day long!

Mature Disagreement!

Mature Disagreement!

Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. But we must hold on to the progress we have already made. Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. Philippians 3:15-18 NIV

As much as I’m tempted to preach this message, Paul has already done a better job than I’ll ever do because if we who profess to believe God, do The Word, there is no other example for us to follow other than Him.

The concept is applicable to any situation we encounter–in our homes, in our communities, in our churches, in our government–no matter where we are–we must learn to disagree, agreeably–without hatred governing our thoughts or our deeds, but we simply acknowledge the points of disagreement–open the door for discussion and find solutions to problems–we don’t create problems because of our disagreement.

Disagreement doesn’t mean that we ignite or fuel hatred to draw others to our side by name-calling or taunting chants–that really only emphasize insecurity and immaturity.

While we have riled up hatred for one candidate by chanting erroneous thoughts of “lock her up” we have seen a deluge of defamatory literature, logos, and other paraphernalia demonstrating a “huge” lack of maturity of the part of anyone participating in the malaise of insanity.

And then–there is the “call” for foreign powers to conduct espionage against a political candidate that sounds like treason to me. The fact that Trump made the statement (and later back-pedaled with a lame excuse) is enough to make many wonder what he will do with the security briefings he’ll sit in on. Will he sell what he learns to the highest bidder? Someone needs to get a muzzle for this man before he has missiles pointing at us from all directions.

I haven’t strayed from my point of mature disagreement; I’m simply making a point as to why we must look at the level of maturity of any candidate attempting to do anything. I’m not alone in my assessment of the situation and though my sphere of influence is limited, I have to speak to issues that bear no resemblance to a person knowing Jesus Christ and certainly not having a relationship with Him. “Out of the abundance of the heart (whatever resides inside a person) the mouth speaks!”

I pray that no one (in their right mind) will ever consider Donald Trump an example as to how we should live or treat people. Trump is not a savior and he cannot fix anything–he cannot even fix his impulses to say foolish things.

I’m not in total agreement  (there are some points of disagreement) with Hillary Clinton or the progressive movement, but I’d rather see her in the White House–someone who cares about people–rather than a self-deluded person–who only thinks about himself, leading this country.

Everyone has a choice to make and I would urge all to exercise maturity and wisdom in deciding who can best handle being the leader of this country–caring about all Americans!

Disappointing Joy

Disappointing Joy

“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father–Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” (I John 2: 1,2 NIV)

Things that bring great joy

Sometimes allow disappointment to seep

Into our beings, clinging, cloying our minds,

Taking away the good, replaced with evil thoughts,

Designed to lead one into temptation’s snares,

Choking back the warnings aired, stifling desire to do right,

Ignited by temptation’s blinders, shackled by flesh

Ignoring Spirit’s, “Warning, Warning, Danger ahead!”

And then when speckled, stained, tainted memory’s dust,

Takes time to see beyond the smeared rainbow bent,

By disobedience, and distrust, joy once known, disappoints

And the nerves once tinkling with anticipation, now dulled

By pain and anguish, frustration and guilt–Not by what’s done,

But the warning ignored and disregarded, like so many

Who came before, refusing to heed the signs of the times,

Determined to do things our own way, without clear vision,

Minds clouded by love and lights that falsely portray.

No matter what we do or have done, John reminds us,

Our lives are not about us, but Him, and our missteps,

Forgiven, forgotten when we repent,

Sincerity ballooning our hearts and mouths, as we seek,

Forgiveness of others and forgiving ourselves,

Remembering great joy can be disappointing.

Although we claim the joy of the Lord is our strength, we sometimes forget that it is because of His sacrifice that we are saved from ourselves and that is the joy we have in Him. However, He takes great joy in our success when we obey and then when we are tempted beyond our own ability to resist, we are disappointed with us. When we don’t know how to forgive “self” for not heeding warnings, we make matters worse by taking our disappointment out on others.

Let’s heed the warning of God’s Word and all who have our best interest in mind. He gives us warnings to keep us safe from harm and when we do not heed them, we step into the snare set by enemy to create chaos and confusion. Let’s give the devil no place in our lives and kick confusion in the outer realms of Satan’s domain, so he is the only one confused.

There is great joy in serving The Lord and derived from our obedience, but we must take care to do all things according to The Word and not attempt to rely upon our own wisdom. Holy Spirit’s job is to remind us of those things we have been taught, and show us things to come and when we see danger, we must be diligent to warn those in harm’s way. If we see danger and say nothing, the end result is on us; but if we see danger and warn others and they don’t pay attention to the warning, the end result is on them. God’s Word has not changed and will not change and we must learn to hear Holy Spirit or those to whom He has spoken.

When we do what God would have us to do, we will not know–disappointing joy, but joy to the full in Jesus Christ!

Love Starts With The Family of Faith and Expands!

“Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters.” (Hebrews 13:1 NIV)

Loving those who are in the family of faith should be as simple as this--just love as a brother or sister in Christ!

If loving those in the family of faith is simple–why do we have all the chaos and confusion in the Body of Christ–those who profess to be true Believers regarding the validity of God’s Word for “all time?” Is it because the family of faith harbors those who undermine God’s true authority in our lives? Is it because there are those in the family of faith who care more about mesmerizing people than promoting God’s Word in its simplistic truth?

When we love God, we want to obey and please Him. When we receive His love we have the capability to love all in the family of faith and those who are not, but especially those who share like-minded faith in Jesus Christ. When we truly love one another, we would not seek to cause confusion about anything and certainly not about God’s Word.

Loving others means we look for ways to serve them to make sure they have what they need and it also means that we correct–in love–those who are going astray. Loving others means we sometimes sacrifice self (not on a cross–Jesus did that), but we put aside doing some things for self in order to do for others. This is love–that we focus on others in outward expression and do what we can for them.

Now–do we really know how to love others if we do not love ourselves? If we do not care for self–physically, emotionally, and financially–we cannot love others. Love begins with loving self, loving God and receiving His love so we can love others. However, many people think that loving self first–is a selfish love. If we don’t love self, we cannot give to someone else what we don’t have. Loving self means taking care of self so that no harm comes to self; self has the means to assist others and that can’t happen if a person is financially depleted or emotionally depleted.

When we love God–He keeps filling us over and over again–so we have love overflowing onto others and when that love overflows onto others, they have an abundance of love to share and the cycle continues and expands as the love overflows. Our love of God grows when we understand His love for us and the abundant life He desires us to love. The more we love Him, the more love He pours into us and we begin to see others as He sees them and love even more.

How does God see us? He sees us as the creation He established from the beginning and when He was finished, He said, “It is good.” We are His uniquely, wonderful, creation and He loved us before we were ever formed. He knew us and planned our lives for us before we ever knew He loved us. Some discover early in life and some discover late in late in life, just how much He loves us. It doesn’t matter when we make the discovery, as long as we make it and demonstrate it by loving our brothers and sisters in Christ–the family of faith–and loving all others.

Let’s do it! Let’s show the world how love is really done and let’s start with our natural families, move on to our spiritual families, and then onto the secular family–who may not even know us, but we can love them anyway.

Dear Jude

“But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love. And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives” (Jude 1:20-23 NLT).

Dear Jude,

Your letter has been received and read among all those professing belief in the Lord Jesus. However, I must admit that there are some who have been completely bamboozled by those in leadership and many have fallen from grace–choosing to live their lives any way they want to live.

I appreciate your reminding us of all that was said and done before now. Many of us have tried our best to warn and encourage all who profess belief in Jesus Christ to live it and not just talk it.

It would appear that some–as you mentioned–have crept in and taught a contrary gospel–deceiving those who were not strong in the faith and have caused them to err in judgment. Mercy has been extended time and time again, but they would rather encourage people to live according to their fleshly dictates rather than according The Word of God.

While I am often discouraged at the way The Church–the entire Body of Christ–accepts every wind of doctrine that comes along because it sounds good and those who would rather seek the praises of men by contaminating truth with political correctness, I keep going–keep praying–and keep my faith alive in Jesus Christ because I know that one day, it will be over and His return will reveal all who truly believed and those who misled others.

Jude, thank you for being concerned enough for the welfare of all Believers. I realize that even in the position you were in, you were still thinking about the rest of us and wanted us to keep the faith and to keep promoting the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

And now that the end is closer than we think, I must move forward, encouraging, warning, and promoting the love of Jesus Christ so that as many who desire to live according to The Word, and desire to live holy, will be found faultless in the presence of the Most High.

Sincerely,

This Humble Believer of Christ Jesus

I Belong!

If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:29 NIV).

A number of years ago, American Express used the marketing phrase, “Membership has privileges” (at least I think it was them), at any rate, the phrase is very true for those who “belong to Jesus”. If we belong to Christ, we receive the benefits and promises given to Abraham because we are the “spiritual seed of Abraham” in this life.

What are the benefits? While in the earth realm–power to get wealth, long life when we honor authority, healed of sickness and disease, power to be peacemakers and helpers to many who will receive, through Holy Spirit–power to forgive, love, and have insight to those things to come. For all eternity, we have access to heaven and we will rule with Jesus.

While some may doubt the authenticity of Paul’s letters (and his life), when we have received Holy Spirit to guide us, He guides us into all truth. So the truth here is that Paul was writing under the direction of Holy Spirit, just as many of us do today. Whether Paul was truly a changed man or not, should not be an issue for any who were once sinners and have been given a second chance–through mercy and grace. Without that mercy and grace, where would we be?

Accepting the fact that Paul’s letters were written by direction of Holy Spirit and receiving what he had to say as truth, anyone–regardless of race, gender, creed, faith, who makes a decision to belong to Christ, gets the same benefits. It does not matter when a person comes to Christ–whether a long time ago or recently, the benefits remain the same. The difference is how long a person may enjoy the benefits, not that they are not the same.

If you have not known the privilege of membership with Christ Jesus, today is a good day to make that decision. Grace and mercy abound towards all who will freely come and receive of His goodness. If you do know the value of belonging to Jesus Christ, I am honored to call you brother or sister. We are all in this life together and membership with Christ, makes it all worthwhile. Love to love you!

Prevailing Victory

Take heart all who are not where you want to be, yet! The time is coming when all of the naysayers and scorners will see you rise in victory over everything the enemy has attempted to put in your way to hinder your success! The time is near–wait and see how The Lord prevails on your behalf! Hallelujah for victory through Christ Jesus!