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Welcome to the Café Logos thought bakery where I assemble the ingredients of my daily experiences to share with our diners.
November 23,2024 Missing Children When Jesus was being led away to be crucified, He prophesied that there would be a time when it would be more blessed to be childless. – “For behold, the days are coming in which they shall say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the breasts that never gave suck” (Luke 23:29). It was a reproach at that time in the Hebrew culture for a woman to be childless. Here Jesus is warning about a time in the future when being childless would be preferable, indicating that being a parent would be a sorrowful experience. Today, there are multitudes of children that go missing all over the world. In one report I heard, child trafficking is more profitable than drug trafficking. These children are used for sex, and free labor. They are slaughtered to harvest their organs to be sold for transplants and for their blood, that some wealthy perverts use as sort of a tonic. When Jesus was born, King Herod launched a slaughter of the babies and toddlers in Bethlehem in an attempt to eliminate the Messiah Jesus. Can we assume that the attack on the children at Jesus’ first coming is currently being repeated as a sign that precedes His second coming? I don’t know for sure, but we can see for a fact that His prophecy is being fulfilled. There are millions of parents all over the world right now whose lives have been shattered and they are weeping like Rachel (Matthew 2:18 from Jeremiah 31:15), and cannot be comforted because their children have been stolen from them. Please be alert to any signs of potential trafficking in your neighborhoods and towns, especially after natural disasters, which the traffickers refer to as “harvest time.” And please remember these grieving parents in your prayers, grieve with them, and intercede for the children that are suffering so many horrific tortures. And pray that Jesus will come quickly and vindicate all those who have become victims of the devil’s agents.
October 31, 2024 Victory over Evil Today my family and I are celebrating the victory Jesus gives us over evil. Jesus gave all sincere believers “power and authority over all devils” - Luke 9:1. “Behold, I give to you power to tread on serpents and scorpions (demons) and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (because our souls are kept by God). - Luke 10:19 “The spirits are subject to you…” - Luke10:20. Many Christians are not aware of the tremendous power they have been given over the devil. Too many professed believers are afflicted and tormented because they don’t understand that what they are experiencing is the result of demonic attacks. Demons have to flee when the mighty name of Jesus is invoked against them. Be aware of this gift and use it to deliver yourself and others from demonic attacks. While the rest of the pagan world is celebrating evil on this day, you celebrate the power Jesus has given you to defeat it. Get our free eBook – “Spiritual warfare – Combating the Powers of Darkness”
October 6, 2024 The Joy Set Before US The entire time of Jesus’ ministry on earth, He knew what He was going to have to go through in order to fulfill His assignment by God; which was the redemption of the human race. Many times when He walked into Jerusalem He had to pass by the criminals that were crucified that lined the road; a Roman custom that was intended to serve as a deterrent to potential malefactors. And every time He passed by those tortured, impaled bodies, they had to have been a reminder to Him of what was waiting for Him in the future. At the same time, He also must have envisioned the ensuing victory in the wake of His death; which was His resurrection and the salvation of the countless souls that would inherit eternal life through repentance and faith in His atonement for their sins. Today, believers, along with the world, are also facing a dark time in the future. The prophesied beast one world government (Rev. 13), that will eventually inflict its brutal totalitarian regime upon humanity, is swiftly being formed and implemented under the innocuous guise of “Globalism.” The coming tribulation that this demonically inspired system will instigate, will result in the deaths of multitudes. This system is given the impetus to arise by the sins of the people. Those who have willfully rejected the Messiah Jesus and God’s laws, will be given what they want for a season; a devastating world without God and its ensuing enslavement. Every day the persecution against Christians continues and increases. As the darkness advances to claim its temporary victory across the world, like Jesus, Christians also must face the future with their eyes locked on the joy that is set before us. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. – Hebrews 12:2 The suffering is temporary, our victory is eternal in Christ. Let’s keep our eyes focused on the outcome, not the darkness. The same joy that was set before Jesus that enabled Him to endure the cross, is the same joy that is given to us because of the suffering He was willing to endure to save our souls. Let’s reflect that victorious joy every day in our lives, and let the world see the hope that Jesus gives that makes the difference in how Christians react to the trials in the darkness.
October 3,2024 Colonizing Mars Billionaire, Elon Musk, is currently pursuing his goal of establishing a colony on Mars through his Space X company. I can’t imagine the cost involved in this project. I suppose he is being given a lot of support from other super wealthy people, who possibly are afraid that one day earth may no longer be in existence and they will all need some place else to go in order to survive. The Bible does support the eventual extinction of the planet (II Peter 3:10, Revelation21:1, Isaiah 65:17,). These people may have knowledge of the fact that Bible prophecies are 100% accurate, which may be giving them the motivation to plan an escape route. However, Elon and his accomplices have overlooked one crucial fact. God’s word tells us that He is going to wrap up the heavens like a scroll (Isaiah 34:4) and create a new heaven and earth. That means Mars, along with all the other planets, are going to be eliminated as well, rendering Elon’s project as another one of mankind's vain and fruitless exercises in personal ambition. The only escape route to the new heaven and earth is found in Jesus, the Messiah who gives free passage into the safety of the New World through faith in His atoning death for our sins and His resurrection from the dead. It grieves me, and I know it must grieve the Lord as well, that all this money is being spent on an exploit for the rich when so many people are suffering on this planet. If all the wealth these billionaires are harboring was focused on alleviating the suffering in this world, then just maybe God would suspend His plan to permit the destruction of earth and give humanity some more time to make things right in this realm. Elon has been given a Biblical name (Judges 12:11). The Bible’s Elon was a leader from the tribe of Zebulon who judged Israel for ten years. He accomplished good things during his time on earth. Likewise, Elon Musk has the opportunities to make a real difference in the lives of the poor; and he has already produced some solutions to provide much needed affordable housing which is commendable. I am sure he has helped in other ways as well. But housing people on Mars is not as important as building a legacy that can house people in God’s Kingdom for eternity.Whether we are rich or poor, let’s focus on the things that matter most to God in this life. Building a colony on Mars is not one of them. While we are on the subject of space exploration, my memory has been jogged back to 2009, when I had a dream that the U.S. government was requiring all of its citizens to know the name of NASA’s launch pad. In the dream I said the name of it was “Mistake.” Hmmm. What does that mean? We have to remember that God does not see things the same way we do. Jesus said, "that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God" (Luke 16:15). He said this to help us keep our seemingly great accomplishments in perspective. As we are busily spending billions of dollars to send a human being out into a vast expanse of uninhabitable air space, God is watching multitudes of children die simply because they do not have any clean water to drink, and He’s watching many more starve to death, because they have no food to eat. In other words, we can send a man to the moon, but we can’t or won't provide for the world’s children. Shortly after I had my dream, I read to my amazement that NASA had spent 79 million dollars to see if there is water on the moon. While they were doing this God has watched another child die because there is no clean water to drink in her village. It only costs a couple of thousand dollars to drill a well to save lives here on earth. “Well, if God is so great, then why doesn’t He do something about it?” I can hear someone ask. He has. He has given billions of dollars to certain powerful nations and they’ve spent it on the elaborate hot air balloons of man’s outer space fantasies instead of healing the wounds of the world’s neglected poor. If we genuinely have the mind of Christ, we’re not going to be impressed that a human being has managed to stroll upon a desolate moon, or has the ability to colonize Mars; although I’m sure God has a purpose for it all. Because we have spent millions on elaborate spacecraft, we now have pictures of what desolate looks like. In God’s eyes, do those empty craters and barren plains resemble the landscape of a compassionless soul?
September 25, 2024 Thanks to all! On this blog post I would like to thank everyone who has visited cafelogos.org and shared content on various social media outlets. You are loved, needed and greatly appreciated. My own YouTube channel was recently shadow banned and taken down without notice, after I posted a video “Principles of Healing,” which included the testimony of my own doctor verified miracle healing. Apparently YouTube is threatened by the reality and power of God. So if you have noticed an influx of video content to this website that is why, as I have been transferring the content from my YouTube channel to cafelogos. Some of you may also have noticed that we have changed the name of our book feature to “Know the Truth Books.”The content is the same, only the name has changed. Please feel free to avail yourselves of the free content there. Your book purchases help support this ministry and share “The Truth.” Again, I deeply appreciate every one of you for visiting cafelogos.org, and please feel free to continue sharing our content - even on YouTube! Many blessings to all. – H. Deborah Shively
September 2, 2024 "You Can't Prove Christianity!" "You can't prove Christianity!" was the first line of an email I received from someone who was intent on trying to discredit my faith. How would I answer him? What could I say to him that would "prove" my Christian faith is real? First of all, I would say that Christianity doesn’t need to be proved. Jesus said no one could come to Him unless they were drawn by the Father. Those who are called by the Father accept the Truth by faith. Then these believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit who “Manifests” Himself to them. A believer can experience the Presence of God as a tangible reality. He sees his prayers answered. Personally I have learned to live on miracles. When I was in dire need of funds, on at least two different occasions, total strangers came up to me and said, “The Lord told me to give you some money.” The believer can hear the Still Small Voice of God. I suppose you could recount how Jesus fulfilled scores of Old Testament Prophecies concerning the Messiah. You could relate how there is more documentation closer to the original sources than any other ancient writings including Shakespeare. You could relate the endless testimonies of miracles. I personally know a woman whose firstborn daughter was born without eyes. She was convinced that Jesus would put eyes in her baby. And one day, supernaturally, miraculously– He did. I was also healed miraculously when I had an eyestroke. I suppose we could say all that, but it isn’t necessary, because the Bible makes a distinction between the wicked and the just. While all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God, the Word of God defines the wicked as the proud who refuse come to God. To these wicked ones no amount of arguing the Christian position is going to move them. God knows the hearts and He knows who are His. Like the angry mob at the foot of Jesus’ Cross who demanded that He come down and prove to them that He was the Messiah, He chose instead to reveal His resurrected Glory to a handful of the called – as He continues to do to this day.
August 19,2024 Are the Christians Wrong? There is one God, the One who made the ground we stand upon and the air we breathe. He has created this world to operate within certain natural laws. The law of gravity is one example. Whatever goes up must come down. Likewise God has outlined certain standards for human behavior. These standards are for our benefit, health and overall good. When we violate these laws, we fail. We have violated them and one look around this violent, disease scarred world will tell you that we are failing. While there is a definite wisdom to separate the church from state, which was a policy originally instigated to protect the church from government intrusion, there is absolutely no way that any government or society will continue to flourish without adherence to the invisible law that has been ordained to guide the inhabitants of this beleaguered planet. If we have no regard for the sanctity of human life, it should come as no surprise that we are attacked by terrorists who hold the same belief. If we choose to mock God by lifestyles that He tells us in His word are displeasing to Him, we can't expect Him to protect us if we don't repent. Christians are not wrong for reminding us that God's laws exist and that is why our voices are there for you to hear. We can’t ignore God and expect to succeed, for this world is designed to fail without Him; the testimony of this principle is declared daily in our newspapers. A society without law erupts into chaos – a society without spiritual, moral law will do the same. Whatever goes up, must come down.
July 31, 2024 The Beast As I write this the world is currently being directed into the strangulating embrace of a totalitarian one world government. This “New World Order” as it is sometimes called, is also identified in the Bible as the Beast in Revelation 13. While many are working very hard to wake people up to the reality of the emergence of this monster, according to God’s word, the only way that it can be stopped will be when people repent of their sins. And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: (Revelation 9:20). The Bible also says that is not going to happen. Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts (Revelation 9:21). So those who have chosen to reject God and the Messiah Jesus, will have to endure the consequences of their own miserable choices. In view of this we can see that the Beast arises as the result of the sins of the people. The first century Christian church was birthed in an empire which scripture has likened to the last one world beast empire. Yet, the believers’ focus was not to overthrow or fight against their government. The only purpose of the early church was to zealously proclaim the life giving gospel of the Messiah Jesus and overthrow the sin and evil in the hearts of the people one soul at a time. The result of their determination, perseverance and zeal, caused the Christian faith to bloom from a tiny seed into a massive spiritual kingdom that encompassed the planet. In many parts of the world today, the church is enduring the prophesied persecution that the Beast and its minions are inflicting upon believers in their attempts to eradicate Christianity. This persecution will only spread and increase. Christians need to wake up to the fact that they are targets for elimination. A church that is complacent in her faith will not survive. In view of this we should follow the apostles’ example. They fearlessly continued to proclaim the gospel no matter what challenges they had to face, and no matter what hardships they had to endure. Promoting the gospel must be our priority. The church this remnant births will survive no matter what events transpire in this world. Evil must come to its fullness before it will be eradicated, which is a Biblical principle (Genesis 15:16). When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed forever: - Psalm 92:7 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yes, you shall diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. – Psalm 37:10 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. – Psalm 37:2 Through faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection, the believer has been given the keys to a spiritual victory that will endure long after the Beast sputters to its inevitable end beneath the feet of our returning Savior, the Messiah Jesus (Revelation 19, Zechariah 14).
July 1, 2024 Success I have a friend who was bemoaning her supposed lack of success in life. She said, “I don’t have any kids, I don’t have a partner. I drive an old car. I don’t have any money. I don’t like the house I am renting” and so on. As I read the list she sent me in her email, I couldn’t help seeing how much she had in common with Jesus. He didn’t have any kids or a partner. He didn’t have a car, He walked everywhere. He was poor. He didn’t own His own home. He had no formal education. In addition to all that He was abandoned by His support group when He needed them the most. He became the object of ridicule and the crowds that turned on Him rejoiced in His crucifixion and mocked Him as He was dying. In spite of these things, Jesus was the most successful human being that ever lived. He rose from the dead and birthed a faith that encompassed the entire world. The secret of Jesus’ massive success had nothing to do with His family situation, lack of finances and prosperity, education or status. Jesus was successful because He followed the will of God in His life. As a result He accomplished the greatest rescue mission of all time, delivering countless multitudes from eternal death. The truly successful people in life are the ones who follow Jesus. Their success cannot be measured by any of the standards that the world deems as indicative of success. The world’s standards are worthless in God’s eyes. God values obedience to His word, and faithfulness to Him. His status symbols are the fruits of the Spirit that are developed in the lives of His people; the love that defines someone as a follower of the Messiah Jesus. My friend’s real failure in life is that she is not seeking the kingdom of God, but her own success. Jesus gave us the only formula for success in this life that really works. – "But you seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you." - Matthew 6:33 God has called every believer to be a witness for Christ, and to help build His kingdom by adding souls; the people who make up His kingdom. Then when we are obedient to His command to seek the kingdom first, He will provide everything we need for our journey through this adventure called life. Some of us will only need a backpack, others may require a bit more to get the job done. But if our focus is serving God and doing His will, our success in this life is assured and our reward in heaven is guaranteed when we hear our Lord say, “Well done, you good and faithful servant: you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things: you enter into the joy of your lord." - Matthew 25:21
"Never measure your success by any other standard other than being in the will of God" - June 1, 2024 The Enemy Friend I had a friend I had known since fifth grade. She is a professed Christian, yet she doesn’t go to church or read her Bible. She told me she read it and didn’t get anything out of it. When I was telling her about the persecuted church, her solution to the problem was, “Don’t tell them you are a Christian.” She was totally unaware of the Lord’s commandment to share the gospel and expand God’s kingdom (Matthew 28:19, John 15:16, Mark 16:15); which is the responsibility of every believer and not just a select few. She believes that the Dali Lama will go to heaven. Apparently to her the necessity of coming to God through faith in Jesus’ atonement for our sins isn’t necessary. When I presented to her Jesus’ declaration in John 14:6, that He is the way, the truth and the life and the only way to the Father, she argued with me. She had a depressing habit of talking down about street people. I told her that she was not seeing them as Jesus saw them; as wounded people that needed help. I then gave her scriptures that exemplified God’s care for the poor, and how the Bible even supported a welfare system (I Samuel 30:10-25). She then angrily labeled God’s word as “fantasy bulls—t” and terminated our telephone conversation and our friendship. Months later I had a dream that she was in jail. I interpreted it to mean that she was imprisoned by self, based on our numerous telephone conversations. We are counseled that if one is “overtaken in a fault, you which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering yourself, lest you also be tempted” (Galatians 6:1). We can correct someone who is in an obvious moral sin, but the inner sins can be just as devastating. I love her dearly, so I sent her a lovely card and told her about the dream. I suggested that she should make a fresh start with the Lord and say a prayer of rededication. I then became the object of a series of angry emails. In my attempts to direct her to God’s word, I was systematically labeled as a demon possessed, mentally ill, false prophet, all the while insisting through her mean spirited insults that she always had a close relationship with the Lord. I was wondering which one, the Lord of the Bible or the one she invented? Born again people do not respond to another with deliberate, malicious insults. What was most disturbing to me is that when I pointed out that she was being deliberately mean and insulting (not just to me, but my husband also), she didn’t seem to mind and continued with her attacks. She couldn’t address any of the issues, only justify herself and attack me personally. My zeal for God was obviously convicting her and challenging her complacency. Jesus said our enemies would be of our own house (Matthew 10:36, Luke 12:51-53). I know that there must be many in the church today who are like this woman who do not have a clue about what God’s word says He wants His people to be. When confronted with correction, what would your response be? The goal of the Christian life is to allow God’s Holy Spirit to conform us into the image of Jesus. He wants His people to be filled with the fruits of His Spirit; love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control (Galatians 5:22,23). One of the things I suggested to her was to read through this list and the one in I Corinthians 13:4-7, on the characteristics of love, and as each one is read, pray that the Lord develops each one of those qualities in her. It works for me. That is why I was able to turn the other cheek and I never responded to her in like manner. It saddened me that this lifelong friend that I thought cared about me could respond with such venom. I will continue to pray for her. God is preparing all of us to stand before the Lord at the judgment seat of Christ (II Corinthians 5:10). We will be appearing before the One who knows every thought that comes into our minds (Ezekiel 11:5) and has said that we will be judged by every idle word that comes out of our mouths (Matthew 12:36). It is better to repent now, evaluate our spiritual lives and make our calling and election sure (II Peter 1:10), so that we can appear before Him with confidence (I John 2:28). If we are not willing to evaluate our spiritual conditions in the light of God’s word, then we will be approaching Him in the illusions of our own making and will suffer the consequences the Apostle Paul describes in I Corinthians 3:11-15. We need to be honest with ourselves and each other. Be willing to repent and humble ourselves, for “God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble” (I Peter 5:5). Years ago the Lord gave me a dream where I saw Him separating the sheep from the goats. Then He came to me and He asked me, “What condition is your shell?” I looked at my hands and I was holding a broken sea urchin shell. They are very fragile and it was crushed. I replied, “Not very good.” He smiled and then I watched Him ascend. That was the dream. Apparently He was pleased that I recognized my spiritual condition. On another level, the humility and brokenness that I needed represented by that shattered shell, was formed in me through the years by His word and the things He allowed me to experience. I assumed that the quality that distinguishes the sheep from the goats is humility and a teachable spirit. We all need to die to self and come out of those prisons of ego that rejects the need for correction. Otherwise, if we wince at the light of a candle, then how shall we stand before the sun?
April 24,2024 Healing Miracle Unfortunately there are some people today who do not believe that God heals, even though the scriptures tell us that Jesus is the same, yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). God still heals through the Messiah, just as He did when Jesus walked on earth (John 14:10). In the course of my own ministry I have known a few people who have experienced God’s healing power, myself included. Years ago I met Myda Kelton. She was in her eighties at the time. She told me that her first born daughter was born without eyes. She firmly believed that Jesus would put eyes in her baby. Then one day while she was bathing her daughter, the Lord came into the room behind her, put His arms around her and said, “This baby will have brown eyes.” When Myda opened her eyes, her baby was looking back at her with two lovely new brown eyes. When her doctor saw the baby, he said that this was a genuine miracle from God. He was a backslidden Christian and this miracle brought him back to the Lord. He died two weeks later. Myda’s husband was a hardened atheist and his daughter’s miracle contributed to his eventual conversion. Recently I had what is called an “eye stroke” in my left eye. I had a dream about this happening to me years earlier. In the dream I said to the Lord, “Turn this into a testimony.” The eye was photographed on the 15th of April and the doctor scheduled me to come back in a week to begin the first in a series of shots into my eyeball. I was experiencing a great deal of peace from the Lord, even though I was not looking forward to the experience and the possible side effects. I had recently met someone who had the same condition I did and he had to have 27 monthly injections. Yesterday I returned to the doctor for my shot and before the procedure my eye was photographed again. The retina specialist and his assistant were studying the photos from the previous week and the new ones that had just been taken as I was sitting there waiting. Then he turned to me and said, “This is a miracle.” The new photo revealed that my eye had been healed and he showed me the pictures. “I’m not going to give you the shot,” he said with a grin. I bubbled as I told him how I had gotten so much prayer and about the dream I had where I had asked the Lord to turn an eye affliction into a testimony. I was beside myself as I tried to absorb the fact that God had answered my prayer. The doctor shook my hand and I danced out of the office and shouted with joy “Jesus heals!” in the parking lot. From the onset of my affliction I had been praying that God would use it and heal it to be a witness to others. He answered that prayer. Whenever anyone was healed in the New Testament, it wasn’t just for the person who needed the healing, it was also intended to be a witness of God’s power to others and to validate the gospel message. In other words, any healing serves more than one purpose. Whenever we pray for healing it should never be just for ourselves, but for others who need to see the reality of our miracle working God. I hope that this testimony will do that for you. Related Content - Principles of Healing March 16, 2024 Egg Laying Rabbits I visited my optometrist recently and his exceptionally large lobby had been seasonally decorated to exemplify the worship of egg laying rabbits. As I sat beneath a windowsill that displayed an oversized bunny holding a basket of colorful eggs above my head, I decided to do some research into the origins of the rabbit/egg tradition and how it had become associated with the celebration of our Lord’s resurrection. I had always heard that Easter was originally a pagan celebration and the rabbit/egg symbolism had originated from that. It was incorporated into the Christian celebration by Constantine in his well-intentioned effort to evangelize the pagans, just as he had done with Christmas. However, my research revealed that this time Constantine did not merge the Lord’s resurrection day with a pagan festival. Instead, he maintained its separation as a sacred Christian holy day. It was assumed that Easter had originated from a pagan source because the name Easter was derived from a goddess called Eostre or Eosturmonath, which is the Old English pronunciation of the month in which the Lord’s resurrection was celebrated. So the word Easter is derived from the name of the month and was retained to be the name of the celebration. This is according to a British Monk named Bede who wrote in the latter part of the seventh century. So if the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection had not been merged with a pagan festival, then where did the rabbit/egg symbolism originate? I was shocked to learn that the German Lutherans decided that Easter needed an equivalent to Santa Claus. They invented a myth about a rabbit who would visit the children with baskets of goodies, toys and of course, colorful eggs that the rabbit had laid himself. It was quite a revelation for me to discover that it was not the pagans who polluted the Lord’s resurrection day celebration with rabbit idolatry, but the Christians themselves. I think it’s important to understand, especially for the children, that rabbits and eggs have nothing to do with the glorious resurrection of Jesus from the grave. They only serve as a distraction from the true meaning of the celebration, in my opinion. The only value that can be derived from the opulent display of bunnies at Easter time is that they serve as a reminder to the pagan world that something special is being celebrated that they should take the time to investigate. In our culture of mass marketing I hope someone will produce a rabbit for the occasion wearing a sign around its neck saying, “Jesus is the reason for the season.” Constantine is off the hook on this one, however he did change the day that the early church celebrated the Lord’s resurrection. The scriptures show us that Jesus was resurrected on the Lord’s Day, the Sunday after Passover, and that was the day when Jesus’ victory over death was observed by the early church. Constantine changed the day to be the first Sunday after the first new moon in the spring. This change was a significant violation of God’s intricate orchestration of prophetic symbolism. The reason why the celebration of the Lord’s resurrection was always associated with Passover was because Jesus’ atonement and evidence that He had defeated death, was the fulfillment of the Passover. The Passover is the memorial supper that commemorates the Jews’ deliverance from the death of their firstborn while they were slaves in Egypt. God had instructed them to put blood on the doorposts of their houses. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt (Exodus 12:13). Jesus is our Passover lamb who was sacrificed for us so that the plague of death will pass us by because of His atoning blood that we have placed upon the doorposts of our hearts by faith. To disconnect the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection from the Hebrew Passover is spiritually illogical. But does it really matter which day we celebrate the Lord’s resurrection? The Apostle Paul reminds us in Colossians 2:16 to – “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days.” Personally, I prefer to follow the Biblical record, so I will be celebrating Resurrection Day on the first Sunday after Passover. It will be a day void of egg laying rabbits. It will also be a day that represents the continuation of the daily celebration in my heart, as it should be for all believers, no matter what day is chosen to commemorate our Lord’s glorious resurrection and His and our victory over death.
February 6, 2024 Jehovah's Witnesses and the Trinity I had a visit from a couple of Jehovah’s Witnesses a while back. They had previously visited my neighbor and were coming back for a follow-up. They had mistaken my apartment for hers. This error on their part was God ordained as I knew how to minister to these people. The first thing I said to them was, “You don’t believe in the Trinity, do you?” “No we don’t” the man answered. I replied, “It’s in Isaiah 42:1.” They had never heard that before and one of them quickly looked up the verse on his iPad. As he was looking at it I explained it to him. “In this verse we see all three. The Father is unifying Himself through His Holy Spirit with the Messiah making the three one. It’s not any more complicated than that.” The woman stated, “Jesus was created.” “That’s the wrong word," I answered. “Jesus was begotten. He is the only begotten Son. Anyone who is birthed or begotten must come from a pre-existing substance. Jesus’ soul, which had to be distinct from the Father in order to take our sins, was brought forth from the pre-existing substance of the Father and unified with Him, as we see happening in Isaiah 42:1. It was the orthodox doctrine of the early church that while Jesus always existed within the Father as the essence of His being, there was a specific time in infinity when His soul was brought forth from the Father. By the fourth and fifth councils if you didn’t believe that Jesus was twice begotten, once prior to His incarnation and then again through Mary, you were anathema, or cursed. “Jesus and the Father are the same Spirit. That’s why Jesus said, ‘As the Father has life in Himself, so He has given to the Son to have life in Himself’ (John 5:26). To have life in one’s self is a quality only God can have.” By this time they were swiftly retreating to their car. One of them called back, “Well, I’m still going to worship Jehovah.” I didn’t have time to tell him, “They are both the same Spirit. You can’t worship God without worshipping Jesus because they are one, as Jesus said, ‘I and My Father are one’” (John 10:30). My prayer is that what I told them will stay with them and eventually make them realize that they have been fed a lot of false information regarding the Trinity and the deity of Jesus. As we can see from the scriptures, the doctrine of the Three did not arise from pagan sources as some claim, but from the scriptures. God's word is all we need for the source of any doctrine. I believe that if we can’t teach the Trinity from the word of God, then we have no business teaching it as the word of God. Related Content - Understanding the Trinity from the Scriptures
January 8, 2024 Taking the Bait The Lord gave me another one of those mental images I can get from time to time that illustrates a Biblical principle. In this one I was shown swimming fish; the fish represented people. Lines were coming down into the water with chunks of bait on them representing false doctrines. I could see some of the fish were taking the bait and being hauled up into a boat where the fisherman, who represented Satan, put his catch into different baskets representing organized cults and false teachings. The other fish who knew the Lord and His word were not deceived and swam past the bait. A while back I did a video called “Simplicity and the Cults” based on a blog from my website. I posted it on another venue online. It was about following the Lord and His word instead of a guru. In response, a Seventh Day Adventist who had obviously become convicted, responded with a ballistic tirade. Adventists follow Ellen G. White and many Adventists place her writings on the same level as scripture which is a blasphemous error. The foundational heresy that Ellen G. White has injected into her followers, is that Sunday worship is the mark of the beast, or will be, even though the scriptures tell us it has to do with buying and selling (Rev. 13:16-18). Ellen G. White claims that an angel appeared to her and gave her this revelation. The devastating error of this apparent communication she claims to have had with a heavenly being, subtlety switches dependence on Jesus’ atonement for our salvation, and transfers it onto church attendance on Saturday. My dear little fish, listen to me. There will never be a time when our salvation will not depend upon the atonement. Any mark of the beast will have to in some way, be associated with a denial of the atonement and/or by unifying oneself through the mark with a system that has denied the atonement. The Apostle Paul said, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8). Satan is continually dangling his bait into the waters of this life, hoping to destroy lives by hauling them into prisons of deception like those fish baskets in his boat. You can only be deceived if your own knowledge of God’s word is lacking. Saturate yourself in God’s word, so when one of those tempting little morsels of deception is cast your way, you will have the knowledge and wisdom to discern the truth, ignore the bait and swiftly swim away. You are invited to read “Simplicity and the Gospel”- a post on Chef's Blog, from 2019.
January 1, 2024 Nobody's Perfect I recently purchased a small standing kitchen cabinet for extra storage in my kitchen. I ordered it online and I had to put it together. The directions were complicated. There were no written explanations, only intricate diagrams. It took a lot of study and with the Lord’s help I finally understood the principle of it and eventually managed to get it all assembled. After it was completed I realized to my horror that the shelf over the cabinet was in reverse and the screws which should have been hidden underneath were clearly visible on the top. I was deflated. I had been looking forward to a seamless accomplishment. Now I was tormented by my error. My new cabinet was marred. I wanted it to be perfect. I wanted to be perfect. I felt stupid. Fortunately I have a lovely tray that covered this glaring evidence of my incompetence. Even though the ugly screws were no longer visible, it still bothered me. I knew they were there mocking my lack of intelligence. At least when I saw how complicated the directions were, I didn’t pack it all up and send it back, I persevered. Shortly afterward when I was reading my Bible, I checked a cross reference and found an error. I had been referred to Jeremiah 33:26-38. Jeremiah thirty-three has only twenty-six verses. Reading this the next day after my construction error gave me a great deal of comfort. I felt the Lord had set me up again in order to deliver another one of those life lessons just when I needed it. Even those thoroughly educated scholars who write Bible references can make mistakes. I am not alone. I stopped berating myself for my own incompetence. I could step back and enjoy the overall beauty of the furniture I had assembled. At the same time, this whole incident reminded me of all those attempts that are made by some to discredit the Bible by pointing out supposed discrepancies. There are some copyist’s errors, just as I had found the error in my Bible and a typo in another. However, these minor imperfections, do not mean that the message of the Bible is not inerrant. In spite of the human element in translation and copying, the message remains intact and consistent from the Old Testament to the New. Anyone who says it is not, has never studied it in any depth. Those minor human errors in God’s word, are like those small screws in my cabinet that are diminished when admiring the beauty of the overall construction. The truth remains unmarred and untouched. And that truth is that all human error and sin are forgiven by God’s mercy by faith in His plan of redemption that He instigated in Genesis and was fulfilled by Jesus. This is the inerrant message of the Bible. Jesus’ sacrifice assures that all who repent and receive Him as Lord and Savior, God will view as righteous even though many of us still harbor flaws. He will eventually correct as we walk with Him and we are eventually received into His presence when our souls are released from the influences of the flesh after the death of the body. Nobody’s perfect, but someday all true believers will be perfected. So when life seems complicated like those diagrams in my project, don’t give up, persevere. Don’t try and cover up your failures, confess them and repent. Trust Him with the outcome. That is the only way you will experience the abundant life He wants you to enjoy. Read God’s word to strengthen you and follow His directions. He will assemble you into a glorious new creation and you will be able to step back and admire the beauty of His handiwork in your life.
December 11, 2023
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October 5, 2023 Not enough Faith? Have you ever been accused of not having enough faith? An evangelist friend of mine was attending a funeral when he was approached by one of the guests and they began a conversation. The guest suddenly blurted, “If they had enough faith this woman would not have died!” My friend replied calmly, “Well if you have enough faith, then go over to her coffin and raise her from the dead.” Needless to say, the funeral proceeded without interruption. Now I firmly believe that God can, and still does on occasion raise people from the dead, because nothing is impossible to Him. And we must not fall into the error of limiting Him in anyway. I personally have met a woman evangelist who has raised the dead on several occasions. This woman was the co-pastor of a church I was attending in California many years ago. My husband and I were cleaning houses to supplement our own outreach ministry and I had been asked by Joan to clean her apartment. While I was there I was greatly impressed by a watercolor that she had in her dining area. She told me that it was done by a man in a church she used to attend. He refused to part with any of his paintings. Even though she had tried many times to purchase one from him, she was always refused. One Sunday morning at church his grown daughter suddenly dropped dead. No pulse. They called for Joan, she prayed and his daughter was restored to life. In gratitude he gave her the painting that I so admired in her home. She joked, “That’s what it takes to get one of his paintings, you have to raise someone from the dead.” Then she told me that even though she had been around a lot of dead people in her lifetime, it was only on a very few times when the Lord prompted her to pray to restore life to a corpse. While faith is essential for any miracle, everything must be done according to God’s will and in His perfect timing. We are not little gods dong our own thing, but servants listening and waiting submissively upon the Lord to do His bidding at His discretion. God does use seemingly bad situations for His purposes and a mature believer understands this Biblical principle exemplified in Romans 8:28 - And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Ask God to increase your faith, believe that He can do anything, and use anyone to accomplish His purposes. Approach any assignment He gives you with a servant’s heart. And most of all, remember that the greatest miracle of all is a heart that is transformed by the gospel of Jesus, the Messiah.
August 27, 2023 Haters In this day and age of instant information that is available to us on a daily basis through various electronic media, we are able to receive an overview of the state of the world. We are currently witnessing an increase of violent crimes and other manifestations of rebellion against God and His laws. The Bible confirms that in the last days iniquity would abound and there would be a falling away from faith and the moral codes that can restrain societies from collapse. Those who proclaim the gospel and repentance from sin, will be singled out as targets. Christians will continue to be attacked because we love Jesus who is the truth. - I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except by Me (John 14:6). Jesus’ words to His disciples are designed to prepare us for these times. – If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love his own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you (John 15:18,19). And you shall be hated of all men for My name’s sake; but he that endures to the end (does not fall away from the faith, Matthew 10:33) shall be saved (Matthew 10:22). Jesus also gives us the root cause of this hatred and rejection in John 3:19 and 20. – And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that does evil hates the light, neither comes to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. In other words, people do not want to acknowledge their sin and repent. They will instead vilify and persecute those who convict them by continuously proclaiming the righteousness in God’s word. That is why we are the ministers of life to some and death to others as the Apostle Paul said. - For we are unto God a sweet fragrance of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: to the one we are the aroma of death unto death; and to the other the aroma of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things? (II Corinthians 2:15,16). This is why there will always be some people who will not like you; because the Holy Spirit of God in you will agitate the demons in them. So do not think it a strange thing if anyone accuses you of being a hater for standing up for Jesus and God’s word. Remind them that people accuse others of what they are guilty of themselves.
August 21, 2023 A Form of Martyrdom I am currently a hyper-active senior contemplating the last few miles of my journey through this life. Therefore when I was reading Jesus’ prophecy concerning Peter’s last years in John 21:18, it held a particular significance for me. – “Truly, truly I say to you, when you were young you dressed yourself, and walked where you would: but when you shall be old, you shall stretch forth your hands, and another shall dress you, and carry you where you do not want to go.” When I am very old, (if I make it that far, Lord willing), there could be a time when someone else will have to dress me and carry me where I do not want to go. As I contemplated Peter’s captivity and martyrdom, I realized that old age is a form of martyrdom. When our bodies cease to function as we would have them, we can become vulnerable to forces and outside influences that are beyond our control. We can enter a period of captivity that must be endured until our souls are released in death. Peter had been given a heads up about what to expect in his later years to help prepare him to face the future. Likewise all of us also know that old age is our future state if we should live so long. I noticed in Jesus’ words to Peter that His disciple would “stretch forth your hands.” By the time Peter arrived at that place in his life there would be a voluntary acceptance of his situation. He would be carried along to his fate without resisting. In other words, his attitude enabled him to surrender. Just as Jesus was able to endure His cross “for the joy set before Him” (Hebrews 12:2), I am sure Peter also had his gaze focused upon the same joy that was waiting for him when he passed through the gates of his martyrdom and stepped into glory. Likewise, those of us who face a future that unwraps the possibility of suffering and certain death, can also emulate Peter and the Lord, by focusing on the joy set before us; our assurance of eternal life through faith in Jesus’ suffering and death on our behalf. Our faith should give us the ability to welcome our caregivers with a cheerful smile that expresses the hope we have in our Savior. We need to let them see that there is something different about these ones who profess faith in Christ. I am sure that when Peter voluntarily stretched forth his hands to his captors, he did so with the intention of sharing his hope with them. I am now three quarters of the way up the mountain whose summit is the launching pad for my new adventure into eternity. I know the remainder of my journey may be the most difficult. God’s word and His Spirit are the anchors I use to help me make the climb. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13), - and so can you.
August 6, 2023 Redirected A new Christian, still steeped in some of the bondages of her old life and with very little knowledge of the scriptures, stated with authority to her experienced Bible teacher; “Jesus protects, but He does not redirect.” In other words, she was saying that He was going to protect her, but He was not going to tell her what to do. She thus invented her own version of the Lord in order to continue in her own ways, some of which did not align themselves with God’s standards of morality. In many ways this immature believer reminds me of the disciples who were following Jesus when He turned to them and said, “Truly, truly I say to you, except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, you have no life in you” (John 6:53). He was telling them figuratively that they were going to have to ingest Him; to receive Him intimately. This communion, this intimate union would be made possible by accepting His atoning death for their sins represented by the bread and wine, the symbols of His flesh, the bread, His body, and His blood, the wine. For many of His disciples this commandment, this redirection of their own focus and concept of what it means to be a follower of Christ, caused them to stop following the Lord. Only twelve disciples remained who had the wisdom to recognize that Jesus was speaking the words of God. I often wondered what those other ex-disciples decided to do. Did this “many” form their own church based on the words of Jesus they decided to keep, rejecting His instructions that they found too convicting? How do you handle conviction when it enters your life? You know that there are many pastors today who carefully orchestrate their sermons so as to avoid offending their congregations by convicting them, for fear of losing church members. Instead, they should be teaching their people how to handle and respond to being convicted; for without constructive conviction it is difficult to grow spiritually. One of the phrases the Holy Spirit whispered into my heart one day was this: “A measure of conviction within the human heart is like a grain of sand in an oyster shell, it is the necessary irritant that grows the pearl.” This is so true. We all must stand before the judgment seat of Christ one day, and: “if we wince at the light of a candle, then how shall we stand before the Sun (Son)?” It is so much better to be honest now about our spiritual conditions and not rebel when we are convicted; but humble ourselves and receive the correction that is so necessary for us to grow into mature believers who are willing to allow the Lord to change us into the people He wants us to be. Those who instead choose to join the church of the “many,” will unfortunately find themselves matching the description given by God to the prophet Jeremiah: “For My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken Me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water (Jeremiah 2:13). Inventing our own versions of who we want God to be, instead of searching the word honestly for the truth, will result in a lot of faulty vessels incapable of retaining the constructive influences of the Holy Spirit. God does redirect His people. Ancient Israel learned this truth the hard way when they refused to be corrected and God had no other choice but to hand them over to their enemies until they repented. God’s methods are the same today. Galatians 6:7 – Do not be deceived; God is not mocked: for whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap. God will correct His children as any loving parent corrects a wayward child. Learn to hear and receive correction from God’s word and from others that God sends into your life who speak His word to you. And honestly receive those moments of irritating sand that can transform you into the beautiful pearl God knows you can be.
May 20, 2023 Pray for Israel As of this writing many are praying for Israel as the country is currently undergoing attacks from the Palestinians. We should be praying for the salvation of the Jewish people as we are nearing the prophesied time when the Jews will experience a second captivity before Jesus returns (Zechariah 14). We cannot ignore these prophecies, especially those concerning Jerusalem, a city that God has called “Sodom” and “Egypt” in Revelation 11:8. As we begin to witness the unfolding of these prophecies we need to understand why God is going to permit Israel to undergo a coming time of tribulation and a second captivity (Zechariah 14:1,2). After the Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah, God permitted Jerusalem to be destroyed in 70AD and the Jews were banished from the land. Subsequently the holy land became home to the Arabs for hundreds of years. They lived in peace with the Jews who resided there who were only about 3% of the population. Then one of the members of the Rothschild family went to Palestine and began buying up land and started many businesses. He began importing Jews from Europe to work in those businesses. So many of them came they were running out of housing, and when the Arabs refused to sell their land, the Jews formed terrorist groups to drive them out. This was when Israel was under British control. The Jews then were violating God’s commands to live peaceably with the “strangers” Gentiles, in their land (Leviticus 19:34), or “Love one another.” Then another Rothschild was approached to help provide a homeland for the Jews which he was instrumental in accomplishing. It would be in the family’s best interest to do so as they had so many investments there. By the way, the Rothschilds are globalists who support the formation of a one world government. Because the Jews misinterpret scripture many of them see themselves as ruling the world with their messiah and the Gentiles will be their servants. I have heard some of them say this. Some Christians misinterpret Obadiah’s prophecy as support for the Jews to drive the Palestinians out of the land seeing them as Edom. (I have heard some Jews refer to the Christians as Edom). As far as the references to Edom in Obadiah are concerned, it is dealing with Edom’s “Exaltation of the Edomites over Judah at the time of the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. It is not a prediction of such an attitude to be fulfilled at a future time”(Dickson Study Bible commentary). The prophecy concerning Edom’s destruction was fulfilled. That is why their city of Petra is currently a ruin. When Jerusalem comes under God’s judgment before Jesus returns, many see the Jews fleeing to Petra where the Edomites lived. Many modern day Jews in Israel harbor the same animosity to Gentiles as did the Edomites to the Jews in their day. That is why God calls the Jews Gentiles, “Egypt” in Revelation 11:8, because they are reaping what they have sown because of their own bigotry and abuse of the Palestinians. The reference to Egypt is also intended to remind them of their time as slaves in Egypt and God’s command to them in Leviticus 19:34. - But the stranger that dwells with you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. The Edomites were descendants of Esau who did not value the things of God and sold his birthright for a bowl of lentils. As Jacob represents the lineage through which the Messiah Jesus would come, and the spiritual lineage that all believers have been grafted into (Romans 11:17), then the Jews who have rejected the New Everlasting Covenant given to us through Jesus’ blood can be likened to Esau and thus also symbolically, the Edomites. If we truly love the Jewish people we will do everything we can to get them to repent and receive the peace and safety of their Messiah Jesus before God permits the prophesied tribulation and their second captivity. We also need to pray that both the Palestinians and the Jews will be able to forgive one another for the brutality that has been exhibited on both sides off this unfortunate conflict. May all of us come to the place where we can fulfill God’s commandment to “Love one another.” Related Content - The Nation of Israel - The Sign of the Fig Tree
April 24, 2023
March 3, 2023 Swimming Lesson Years ago I was staying at a motel that had a huge swimming pool. As I stood at one end, I was challenged by its enormity. In spite of the fact that my youthful energy had remained behind as my years continued to progress without it, I was determined to accept the watery challenge before me. I plunged in, determined to reach the other side without drowning. I was doing pretty well until I had reached the three quarter mark. My body was telling me I had to go on without it. Jesus’ words, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41), are true when facing physical challenges as well as moral and spiritual hurdles. I thought to myself, “I better quit before I sink,” disappointed that I would not be experiencing the satisfaction of reaching my goal. Then all of a sudden it was as if a hand was placed beneath me and I was suddenly propelled along with a fresh burst of energy. All my tiredness had been eradicated and it was as if I had just begun. I reached the end with ease, totally amazed. I knew I had not completed my challenge alone. The Lord had been watching me, and like the helpful, compassionate parent He is, stepped in just when His little one needed that extra help. That incident always stayed with me and it surfaces in those times when I have thought the journey was too strenuous for me to complete. God has always been there for me, giving me the strength to do what He has called me to accomplish for Him. If you are feeling like you might not be able to reach your finish line in victory, always remember that the Lord is with you, He is your strength. He’ll give you what you need to fulfill the calling He has placed on your life. He will undergird you with His power to push you through the waters of adversity. His faithful and consistent love is always there to buoy you up through the hard times. That’s the lesson I learned while I was swimming.
And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you: for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. –
February 27, 2023 Losing a Loved One I recently learned that a dear friend of mine had died. Although her presence among us is greatly missed, we know where she is. She was, and still is for that matter, a believer in the Messiah Jesus. While her body ceased to function in this realm, her soul transitioned into that other dimension where God abides. Terry had struggled with physical infirmity for many years. Yet, she endured through it all, always maintaining her faith in the Lord, which was a great testimony to those around her. Like Job, she never turned on the Lord because He was allowing her to suffer. She was a martyr; enduring great suffering while she glorified God with her attitude. And at the time appointed, He gathered her into His embrace. Although her family and friends were all praying fervently for her physical healing, God chose to heal her in another way. While some of us may be wondering why the Lord chose to answer our prayers in a way that was contrary to what we had hoped, He did answer them in the way He knew would be best for her. There is a verse that always brings me a great deal of comfort in situations like this. It is found in the book of Isaiah. - The righteous perish, and no man lays it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. – Isaiah 57:1. God took her when the glorious bloom of her flower had come to its fruition in His eyes; and also possibly protecting her from circumstances in her future that only God could foresee. We are required to trust God in all things and we can praise Him for the outcome of our prayers in every situation. And when sadness tries to overcome us, we can pick up the words that our Father has given us to comfort and assure us. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life: he that believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?– John 11:25,26 Jesus asked a question. – “Do you believe this?” The great gift that our Father God has given us in the Messiah Jesus, enables us to have the ability to answer with a joyful, “Yes!” even though our hearts are breaking. Because Jesus gave His life for us, we know we will see Terry again someday. It’s only a matter of God’s perfect timing. And this is the record, that God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that has the Son has life; and he that has not the Son of God has not life. – I John 5:11,12 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. – John 3:16 The following is a poem I wrote many years ago that was read at my mother-in-law’s funeral. If any of you have lost a loved one in the Lord, read these words as if they have been written to you from them. You are loved. Celebrate “Why do you go a mourning my loved ones, on this special day? For I have been born into a brand new life! I have been made like the lovely butterflies. Now together we inhabit the skies. My loved ones, be not sad for me. Now I fly! This death, you see, has propelled me into life! Celebrate! Today is my birthday! I have gathered all the gifts you have given me, memories of precious things, and placed them upon my butterfly wings to keep with me forever. Arise, my loved ones, do not be sad. I am redeemed by love, God’s grace in Jesus’ hand. Joy is my strength, love is my song, and I shall be listening for yours. Sing a new song. Read the words from the petals of a flower star and let your souls rejoice for me. I am home.” Copyright 2023 by H. D. Shively
January 18, 2023 Too Religious? My husband and I have always put Jesus first in our lives. Because of this we have been accused of being, too “religious;” once by a close family member who was a Christian, and another time by a neighbor who was a witch. The scriptures show us that it pleases the Lord when His people are exuberant about Him. We see a picture of this zeal in action when David stripped himself of his royal robes, humbling himself before the Lord as he danced exuberantly through the streets celebrating the ark’s return (II Samuel 6:14). Jesus provoked the ire of the religious leadership of His day when He overturned the tables of their business of religion, fulfilling David’s prophecy, “The zeal of Your house has eaten me up” (Matthew 21:12, John 2:17). Never be ashamed of letting your light shine brilliantly for the Lord, you are in good company, even if the beam of your desire is offensive to some. So if you are ever accused of being “too religious,” take it as a compliment. Tell them to substitute the word, “Religious” for “zealous” and remind them that Jesus spits the lukewarm out of His mouth and you do not want to be a puddle on His floor. Copyright 2023 by H. D. Shively Related Content: How Far Can God Spit? January 6,2023 2023 While most people celebrate the beginning of a new year, our family celebrates the fact that the Lord got us through the old one. As I look ahead to the immediate future that has been labeled, “2023,” the impression I am getting from the Lord is that it will be a year of many deaths, (possibly unprecedented?) through natural and man-man catastrophes. But those believers who are seeking and following the Lord, will experience a renewal in their spirits and an underlying current of the Lord’s joy which will be their strength (Nehemiah 8:10). This joy is like a current that the overcomers will ride through the chaos. These ones have their eyes fixed on Jesus and their eternal future with God. They know that their treasure is in heaven. They will shine as lights in the darkness of material losses. This remnant will make a difference in the lives of those who are floundering in the turmoil. I hope everyone who reads these words will be among that remnant. And when 2023 comes to its conclusion, we all will be able to look back upon our journey through those days, and thank the Lord for bringing us through in victory. Much love, and God bless everyone one of you. 
December 6, 2022 The Christmas Controversy As I write these words, the celebration of Jesus’ birth is fast approaching. While multitudes of Christians eagerly anticipate the day, there are other professed believers who regard it as pagan. They cite Constantine’s endeavors to coincide the day with a previously established pagan festival. One individual among the many who protest the celebration of Jesus’ birth, wrote to me, “God did not establish this celebration, it is manmade.” God did not specifically establish the Jewish celebration called Purim either. That special day was instigated by Mordicai as a memorial to commemorate the Jew’s deliverance from extermination which is recorded in the ninth chapter of the book of Esther. They also exchanged gifts at this celebration (verse 19), which is the real origin of the Christmas tradition. Just as Purim was established as a day to remember the Jew’s deliverance from death, so Christmas was established for the same reason. This one special day was set aside to commemorate the birth of the Messiah Jesus, who was born to deliver all who believe from death, an eternal separation from God. Constantine’s motive for coinciding the Christian celebration on the same day as the pagan festival, was to hopefully bring the pagans into the Christian faith. I was shopping in a grocery store the other day, listening to the Christmas music that was playing for the customers as they browsed through the aisles. I smiled as I listened to the words of a familiar carol that burst forth in-between Jingle Bells and the reminder to have myself a merry little Christmas. Suddenly the words of that carol were proclaiming Jesus’ arrival to everyone in that store. Because of Constantine’s attempt to evangelize his people, today every year, twice a year at Christmas and Easter, unbelievers all over the world are reminded that Jesus was born, was killed and rose from the dead. If it had not been for Constantine, that particular witness would be absent. I am also very sure that the devil would also like to remove those reminders that proclaim Christ to an unbelieving world. Public celebrations of Christmas are non-existent in communist countries and it baffles me that so many opponents to Christmas want to follow the communist's example. The traditional custom of decorating a tree every year at Christmas is also attacked, citing the references in Jeremiah to prove that the tradition has a pagan origin. – For the customs of the people are vain: for one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not (Jeremiah 10:3,4). However, in the pagan custom, all the branches are removed down to a bare pole. The pole was decorated and worshipped as an idol. Evergreen trees in scripture are used symbolically to represent the righteous who are God’s people. - The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon (Psalm 92:12). The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious (Isaiah 60:13). The traditional evergreen Christmas tree is a symbol of the eternal life that is the gift that is given to us through Jesus, who came to save us from our sins, an event worth celebrating. Please take a few minutes to enjoy this video that shows us how to make the Christmas tree even more special.
October 4, 2022
September 26, 2022 One God A popular mantra that is parroted by some professed believers in God, is that all roads lead to Him. In other words, all religions are seeking God and will eventually find Him. In actuality, all roads must lead to the one road that leads to God, and that is Jesus the Messiah. There is only one plan of redemption that God has provided for mankind. He ordained it before the foundation of the world, initiated it in Eden, and fulfilled it through Jesus’ death and resurrection from the dead. Jesus said that there is only one narrow road, and few would find it (Matthew 7:14). That’s not a popular doctrine in our day and age of anything goes theology. But because there is only one God, there can only be one absolute truth, not multiple truths and multiple roads. God has ordained how He wants mankind to come to Him. That is His right. He made everything and He has the right to tell His creation what to do for our own welfare. When we submit to what He has ordained for our salvation, then the spirit of rebellion that ruined our planet in the first place and blocks our access to God, is removed. God has placed His Holy Spirit of Eternal life in the blood of the One Man who is the only one holy enough to be born with it. That life in the blood of Jesus is transferred into anyone who sincerely repents and believes the Gospel; that Jesus died to remove our sins and rose from the dead so we can have eternal life. Jesus removes our sins, so we can receive the Spirit of Eternal life, the Holy Spirit that is in His blood. No one can have eternal life until the soul is unified with God’s Spirit. There are many roads with many travelers upon them all seeking God; yet all of those roads must eventually come to one Cross road and choose the only road that leads to eternity in the presence of the One True God of Israel, the God that Jesus, the Son of God represents. Discover the “Spiritually Scientific” reason why Jesus has to be the only way to God in our feature, “You can’t get to Heaven without a Space Suit.”
August 8,2022 Hated It’s not easy to be a Christian. Jesus said that we would be “hated of all nations for My name’s sake”(Matthew 24:9). He also said, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you” (John 15:18). And He explains why the world hates Him in John 7:7. – “Because I testify of it that the works of it are evil.” Members of the government of Finland recently declared that the Bible was hate speech and tried to persecute one of its political representatives for maintaining the Biblical perspective on marriage and sexuality. To anyone who loves evil, the Bible’s admonishments against sin would seem to be hateful to those who refuse to repent and align themselves with the Creator’s instructions for our health and wellbeing. Whenever there is an abundance of falsehood, the Truth of God’s word will always be offensive and divisive. Those who have embraced Jesus as the Messiah and Light of the world, become lights themselves, reflecting their Redeemer as beacons of hope in the world’s darkness. We cannot allow our light to go out, no matter what forces come against us. We can rejoice that the growing persecution against Christians is a verification of the prophecies that foretold it. We can point to Jesus’ words as evidence of the truth of scripture. – “They shall put you out of the synagogues: Yes, the time comes, that whoever kills you will think that he does God service. And these things they will do to you, because they have not known the Father, nor Me” (John 16:2,3). Because of the anti-Christian spirit that is in the world, people who are motivated by this spirit are going to try and talk you out of your faith. Therefore it is vitally important for any believer to understand that the Christian faith is the fulfillment of prophecies that were instigated at the beginning of creation. It is the absolute truth; and that is why Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except by Me” (John 14:6). Christians take comfort in the fact that we have been given the gift of eternal life through faith in the atoning death and resurrection of the Messiah Jesus. And for this reason we know that we will be around long after the voices of our opposition have been silenced. We know that the Bible is divided into two parts; the Old Testament and the New Testament. I want you to picture the Old Testament as the Cocoon, and the New Testament as the butterfly that is formed within it and emerges from it. In order to help reinforce you in your faith we are providing a free online copy of our book, “Why Jesus has to be the Messiah.” I encourage you to download, read and share this valuable tool that will give you an easy to understand review of the prophecies, foreshadows and typologies that will enable you to firmly declare with Jesus that He truly is the only way to salvation.
Why Jesus has to be the Messiah July 4, 2022 Right to Life Many years ago my husband and I were displaying some of his art work at a prolife event in California. A young woman approached our display and shared with us a poem she had written. She expressed her desire to be able to share it with more people. I read the poem and the Holy Spirit took over. “Come with me,” I told her, and with a Spirit enforced boldness I led her up to the podium where the main speaker of the event was about to make her presentation. I introduced her to the poet, and said, “She wants to share this.” The speaker took the poem, read it, and to the poet’s overwhelming blessed surprise, the speaker incorporated it into her presentation and read it to a large room packed with listeners. In the wake of all the outrage at the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe vs Wade, I would also like to incorporate the poet's words into my blog to share with you. - Prayer of the Unborn
I firmly believe in a woman’s right to make decisions regarding her own body, but as Jenny’s poem shows us, that is someone else’s body that is being temporarily housed in the mother’s womb. To terminate a life that belongs to someone else is murder.
June 19,2022 The Ostrich People In Jesus’ parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), the master of the house gives his three servants money and trusts them to increase what he has given them while he is away on a journey. Two of his servants are productive and increase what they had been given. But the other was afraid and hid what he had been entrusted with in the earth, much like the description of the ostrich in the book of Job; …which lays her eggs in the earth, and warms them in the dust, and forgets that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them (Job 39:14,15). The bird’s lack of wisdom is attributed to a judgment from God. - Because God has deprived her of wisdom, neither has He imparted to her understanding (Job 39:17). People who prefer man’s words above God’s instructions are also subject to the same judgment. - Wherefore the Lord said, “Forasmuch as this people draw near Me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor Me, but have removed their heart far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the precepts of men: Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid" (Isaiah 29:13,14). These people are putting all their eggs in one basket, the world, so to speak, instead of relying totally on God and those things that pertain to Him and His kingdom. These “Ostrich people” basically love the world, and the things of the world and the love of the Father is not in them (1 John 2:15). As a result they become smothered in a spirit of compromise and fill the church with doctrines and behaviors that God’s word has forbidden. Their works, their “eggs” are buried in the world, and subject to destruction. Their treasure is not heaven (Matthew 6:21) and they do not value the things of God. Thus all their worldly endeavors will count for nothing on the day of reckoning at the last judgment. Preferring the world and its standards above what God has ordained for us to follow has serious consequences, but the ostrich people really don’t care. Their heads are in buried in the dust along with their eggs. Anyone in that position can’t see the cobra of their consequences slithering up behind them. Serve God with all of your heart and put the fruit of your labors in the things of God where the reward of your service is stored safely, waiting for you in heaven, not in the temporal sands of this life.
June 1, 2022 Altering God’s Word On March 20, 1969, Dr. Lawrence Dunegan attended a lecture at a meeting of the Pittsburg Pediatric Society. The lecture was given by Dr. Richard Day, who was at that time, professor of Pediatrics at Mount Sinai Medical School in New York. He was formerly the Medical Director of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. He died in 1989. Dr. Dunegan was a former student of Dr. Day at the University of Pittsburgh. On October 10, 1991, Dr. Dunegan was interviewed by Randy Engel of the U.S. Coalition for Life, in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. In this interview, Dr. Dunegan recalled what he heard at that lecture which had very little to do with pediatrics. The speaker, Dr. Day, began to predict future events based on his knowledge of the organization of which he was a member. That organization was aggressively working to orchestrate a “New World Order.” Most students of God’s Word understand that this one world government is prophesied in the Bible and also in the Apocrypha in II Esdras. Dr. Day said he could speak about these things because "everything is in place and nobody can stop us now." He went on to describe his organization’s agenda and today we are seeing much of what he predicted coming to fruition. One of the things he described was their plans to create a one world religion, eliminate Christianity and change the Bible. The following are quotes from Dr. Dunegan. - “Another area of discussion was Religion. This is an avowed atheist speaking. He said, ‘Religion is not necessarily bad. A lot of people seem to need religion, with it's mysteries and rituals - so they will have religion. But the major religions of today have to be changed because they are not compatible with the changes to come. The old religions will have to go especially Christianity. Once the Roman Catholic Church is brought down, the rest of Christianity will follow easily. Then a new religion can be accepted for use all over the world. It will incorporate something from all of the old ones to make it easier for people to accept, and feel at home. Most people won't be too concerned with religion. They will realize that they don't need it. In order to do this, the Bible will be changed. It will be rewritten to fit the new religion. Gradually, key words will be replaced with new words having various shades of meaning. Then the meaning attached to the new word can be close to the old word - and as time goes on, other shades of meaning of that word can be emphasized, and then gradually that word replaced with another word.’ Dr. Donegan, continues. “I don't know if I'm making that clear, but the idea is that everything in Scripture need not be rewritten, just key words replaced by other words. The variability in meaning attached to any word can be used as a tool to change the entire meaning of Scripture, and therefore make it acceptable to this new religion. Most people won't know the difference; and this was another one of the times where he said, ‘the few who do notice the difference won't be enough to matter.’” We can see now why there is such an influx of new Bible translations, and why the King James Version is often the subject of so much criticism. Of course it would be, it was given to us way before the one world agenda had come into existence. The King James translation of course is not perfect, no Bible translation really is. But in view of the attempts to change the meaning of God’s word through these new translations, we would do well to keep the King James as a valued reference. This new world order will be allowed by God to come to its horrific fulfillment as prophesied in Revelation 13. It is a Biblical principle that God permits evil to come to its fullness before He destroys it (Genesis 15:16). Like the tower of Babylon, this evil kingdom will only be permitted to rise so far before the sky quakes and Jesus descends with His multitudes to remove the wicked and create His New World Order (Revelation 19). We can take comfort and be encouraged by the fact that Jesus’ victory has been predetermined by God, everything is in place and no evil will ever be able to stop it. You can read a transcript of Dr. Donegan's interview here - Interview April 17, 2022 Go tell Somebody Today, Christians all over the world are celebrating the miraculous resurrection of the Messiah Jesus. Try and visualize the wonder those first Apostles of the Lord must have experienced when they discovered that Jesus’ tomb was empty. Then contemplate the stunning exhilaration they must have felt when Jesus first appeared to them after His triumphant exit from the tomb. Try and picture yourself in the same room with them, and quell any doubts as you reach out your hand with Thomas to touch for yourself the wounds in Jesus’ hands and His side. Then allow the realization that death has been vanquished take root in your heart and mind. No matter how dark the world is, and no matter how many monsters lie in wait alongside the road of your journey through this life, you are walking toward the Light of Life that broke forth out of the darkness on that first resurrection Day morning. Death has been extinguished in your life because you have placed your faith in the Messiah Jesus. You have received the gift of eternal life by faith His atonement for your sins. You have been filled with the joy of knowing Him and no matter what happens in this life, you have hope and a future. The joy and exhilaration of that first resurrection morning is your own. Celebrate it every day. And don’t keep the celebration to yourself. Go tell somebody. Related Content -Yes,There Is Hope March 15, 2022 Setting a Back Fire When a forest fire is raging out of control, firefighters will create a “Back Fire” to try and contain the blaze. Fire cannot burn what has already been burned, so another fire is started along the perimeter of the fire to prevent it from spreading into other areas. This technique can also be applied in spiritual principle. Whenever people are being motivated by the devil to cause others harm by the flames of their hatred and rage, a spiritual back fire can be formed around them though forgiveness, love and prayers for the salvation of their souls. Believers also have been given the authority in Jesus’ name to come against the demonic forces that are using the people as the devil’s tools. We have been given the power to bind the influencing demons and command them in the name of Jesus to stop operating in the people, and eliminate this additional source of fuel upon the fire. Sometimes we do not realize the power and might of the spiritual weapons of love, prayer and authority we have been given, and we should not be afraid to use them as we are directed by the Lord. But none of them will be effective if we cannot apply them with forgiveness. It is difficult to forgive when we have been victimized unjustly, but God gives us the power to overcome and He can replace hatred with love, and heal our inner wounds enabling us to forgive and love our enemies. Without Jesus we can do nothing, John 15:5. Nothing is more powerful than the weapon of love. When we love and forgive, we set a spiritual back fire that will glorify God around any conflagration of evil. The direction of the fires coming against us can be redirected by the prayer sent wind of His Holy Spirit. We can pray the rain of His Spirit to fall upon the heads of our enemies to put out the fire of hatred and change hearts. When we have allowed the Holy Spirit full control of our lives, we can have the inner strength to turn the other cheek and love our enemies, just as Jesus loved His enemies; and that would include all of us at one time before we came to faith. Believers have experienced the forgiving love of the Messiah Jesus. As disciples of the Lord we are required to follow His example and forgive as He forgave us. The people who persecute us need the same forgiveness and to see the reality of Jesus in us. Jesus said, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do” as the spikes were being driven into His hands. Our enemies also do not know what they are doing, because they have not known the Lord and experienced His loving forgiveness as we have. We can douse the flames of hatred by setting a powerful “Back fire” of love and forgiveness around those who so desperately need to be ignited by the life changing holy flames of God’s Spirit. We are the spiritual firefighters God has ordained to fight the flames of this word’s evil as representatives of His love. Get to work, children, the fires are raging. Related Content -God's Weaponry February 27,2022 War and Rumors of Wars As I write this, Russia has invaded the Ukraine. Jesus prophesied that in the period of time before the great tribulation and His second coming, there would be “wars and rumors of wars” (Matthew 24:6). He labeled this segment of human history as “the beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:8). In other words, it’s going to get worse before it gets better. This is the time when believers in Messiah Jesus need to strengthen their faith and their resolve to walk above the waters of this life with Jesus and refuse to be moved away from our faith in spite of the turmoil around us that threatens our survival. The scriptures show us that the main instigator of the horrors to come arises to power as the result of people’s rebellion against God. The Lord gives people what they want. If they want a world without God, He will give them a taste of what their own choices have brought them. The future shown to us in Daniel, the book of Revelation, and Matthew 24, all paint the same picture of a last one world dictatorship. The leader of this empire is described to us in Daniel 11:36-45. We see a portrait of a war monger who is in league with what is now Iran and Ethiopia (verse 43). Currently, Russia, coincidentally matches this description. If we examine the four horses of Revelation in chapter six, as symbolic representatives of the prophesied antichrist world leader, we can see the white horse representing an apostate Christian who is actually a communist represented by the red horse. This leader will eventually gain control of the world’s economy (Daniel 11:43) through his conquests and the money controlling bankers who support him, causing massive inflation represented by the imbalanced scales of the black horse. The death and misery of his reign is represented by the pale horse, although the word pale can be translated as green; a color associated with Islam, the religion of his Iranian allies. This evil one will invade the holy land at some point (Daniel 11:41), and permit the Jews to rebuild their temple, which he will desecrate by demanding that he be worshipped as God, (II Thessalonians 2:3,4); “the abomination that makes desolate” (Daniel 9:27, Matthew 24:15). To have men worship the government and its leaders is a goal of godless communism. The scriptures have given us a map of the future that just might be beginning to be fulfilled in this moment of time. We are all standing on a conveyor belt that is leading us to the culmination of prophecy. We have graciously been prepared by God’s word to expect what is coming so we can be spiritually and physically prepared. Christians have a responsibility to make the most of the time we have left to expand His kingdom by sharing the gospel. We have been told that there is coming a time when no man can work because the spiritual darkness will be so great (John 9:4). Prepare your spiritual life rafts now, children, because the storm is coming.
February 18, 2022 Spiritual Roadkill Recently my spirit received this message from the Lord. He said in essence that if His people did not reinforce themselves in their faith, they were in danger of being overcome by the forces that will and are bearing down upon them in these last days. In other words, a once a week, Sunday only relationship with the Lord isn’t going to cut it. God is calling His people in this hour to seek Him with all of their hearts. Learn to listen for His Still Small Voice. This only comes from spending quality time alone with Him in His word and prayer. His guidance is essential for our spiritual and physical survival. We need to be able to hear Him guide us out of the road when the forces of evil are speeding toward our destruction. Otherwise many will end up as “Spiritual Roadkill” because their faith is not strong enough to carry them through the trials that are coming. We must remind ourselves of Jesus’ instructions for us to build our spiritual houses upon the solid rock of His word which is our safety. – Therefore whoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will compare him to a wise man, who built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it did not fall: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that hears these sayings of mine, and does not do them, shall be compared to a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. (Matthew 7:24-27). Jesus also said that in this life we would have tribulation (John 16:33). So many times nominal Christians end up having their faith smashed upon the highways of this life because of unexpected hardships. When the bad things happen these people turn on God, when all the while His word has been there to prepare us for these times. Listen to the Apostle Peter. He begins by reminding us of the joy we have in our salvation. – Wherein you greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, you are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perishes, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: (I Peter 1:6,7). Peter wrote those words when the church was enduring much persecution. Peter was eventually martyred during that season. Thousands of Christians are being martyred all across the world in this present day. Opposition to the Christian faith is increasing everywhere. God wants His people to be able to stand and be a wall of loving resistance that will repel any attempt to eradicate our faith. Our faith, which is more precious and valuable than gold, is the bridge that will carry us above the turbulence of these unstable times. Reinforce yourselves in God's word, my children, and protect yourselves from becoming spiritual roadkill.
February 3, 2022 The Reward of a Good Child A while back I saw a documentary on parenting. A couple in England had an eight year old daughter who had become quite unmanageable. They had come to the point where they were considering having to give her up to social services. Then they were put in touch with a gifted counsellor who used a unique approach. He never met with the child, only the parents. He has one meeting with them, then they are required to call him every day to report on any progress and receive further counseling. The parents were told to refrain from anger, but to use a reward system instead. When the child was good, she received some money, but when she behaved badly, she lost her reward for that day. The parents were also instructed to show the child more love in the process. After a relatively short time the transformation in the child’s behavior was amazing. The constructive discipline she received along with the parental assurance that she was loved, brought about a change that was so beautiful to behold. The Lord is also a loving parent who originally devised the same program that the gifted counsellor was utilizing. God told His people that if they obeyed Him, they would be blessed. Likewise, if they didn’t they would be cursed (Deuteronomy 11:26-28). In other words, the rewards of their good behavior would be removed. Any good parent uses discipline. And God has set the standard. His discipline is evidence of His love. God receives a great deal of satisfaction when He sees progress in the raising of His children. He also loves to reward us when we do well, either here in this life or in His presence when that time arrives. And as we grow in our love for Him, we will eventually no longer need the restraints of His reward system, for we will be obeying Him for the simple reason that we love him and want to please Him, just because He is our loving Father. And our best reward is knowing that He is pleased, and to hear Him say, “Well done, you good and faithful servant…” (Matthew 25:21).
January 6, 2022 Jesus Wept, Too Just before the start of the New Year, I learned of the death of a pastor I had known for years. He was a unique individual, an eclectic wonder, who was a gifted storyteller with a personality that drew people in and packed his small, rural church. He captivated his congregation with Bible teachings that were embellished by his creativity, joy and humor. He is greatly missed. We grieve deeply when we lose the people we love. Our suffering is encased in two levels of misery. On the one conscious level, we grieve for the absence of the person who is suddenly no longer there where we have been accustomed for him to be. On the other more subconscious level we grieve because death is something that God never intended to exist in this realm. It is not natural for these rare, unique human beings to vanish from this existence, leaving such sorrow in their wake. Human beings were intended to live on this planet forever. The inner, inbred knowledge of the unnaturalness of death is thus integrated with our sorrow, adding fuel to our anguish, compounding our grief whether we realize it or not. God understands when we are looking down at the empty void that is left in our hearts when we lose a loved one. Jesus wept, too at the tomb of His dear friend Lazarus. He wept, even though He knew that in a few moments his friend would be joyfully brought back to life. Jesus wept because of the knowledge that death even existed; that evil thorn that pierces us with its vengeance and makes us cry. Jesus let death pierce Him, too, so He could destroy it forever. Remember this; the suffering we experience now is only temporary. Our believing loved ones are safe in heaven, and someday we will be with them also, rejoicing in the victory that God has given us over the grave. Death entered through man’s disobedience to God. The Lord was left with no choice but to deal with humans who refuse to obey a command that was only there to maintain their safety and welfare. We must learn the lesson that sin has consequences and now we must live in a world that is the result of mankind’s rebellion against God’s word. But the love that gave us life in the first place, would never give up on His children. God was willing to sacrifice His Child, so we could have an eternal existence with Him on another level; one we can’t see for now, but the reality of it is given to us through faith in the atoning death of the Messiah Jesus, and His miraculous resurrection from the dead which is the punctuation mark on our faith. We comfort ourselves with the fact that death is only temporary in Christ, and our life in Him is permanent and everlasting. While the future we face in this life may seem dark and threatening at times, harboring death in its shadows, we can walk through this valley by faith, with joy and confidence; keeping our eyes upon our Savior who leads the way toward the light of the eternal life He purchased for us through His selfless love. Let’s begin the New Year with the goal in our hearts of reflecting Jesus’ selfless love in us and walk toward the future calling as many as we can to join us in our victory march over death.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. – Jesus, from John 3:16 |
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December 3,2024
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