HOOFING IT by Evangelist Dorothy Duhart

Thank you for Your wise ways Lord.  Following them fills my life with true blessings. The riches of love and relationship, joy and provision, peace and protection.

I remember reading in Your word that by wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established.  "By knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches" (Proverbs 24: 3-4).

I ask for Your wisdom, dear Lord, from my heart, filled with faith.  That You will give it, no holds barred.  I ask for Your insight and understanding as I build, using Your blueprints.

My sisters and brothers, saints of the Most High God, whenever we try to "wing it" without God's help, we end up "hoofing it" through places we never intended to go.  God bless you all.

FORGET YOUR PAST

It is hard to drive if we're always looking into the rear view mirror.  Likewise, it's difficult to stay focused on Jesus Christ, and what He has ahead for us, if we're always looking back on our past.    We have all messed up.

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"

Romans 3:23

When we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, our sins are forgiven.  Our past faults are wiped cleaned.  Not because of anything we can accomplish in this flesh, but what Christ has done for us.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life"

John 3:16

Are you trusting in that victory today, or are you looking behind at your past....all your striving in the flesh?

"Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name.  Bless he LORD, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits; who pardons all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases"

Psalm 103: 1-3

Do forget your past, but don't forget how gracious and merciful is our Savior, who forgives all our iniquities.  The LORD has placed you on a new road, and you have no need to look back on any past mistakes.  You are a new creature in Christ Jesus!

MY TESTIMONY by Becky Lagace

As a young girl I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and was baptized. Even then I knew that God had a special plan for my life. I wanted to serve Him with my whole heart, without reservation, in whatever capacity He might choose.

I married my high school sweetheart ~ also a strong Christian ~ while in college. We were blessed with two wonderful sons.When my sons were in high school, I felt God leading me to special service as a Christian counselor. I began attending seminary classes and graduated with an M. A. in Marriage and Family Counseling. Subsequent to that time, I began counseling with children and adults professionally.

During this time I fell into a period of numbing depression. Once while seeing a young client, I remember thinking that I was more depressed than he was! I was seeing a counselor ~ as recommended when one is studying to become a therapist ~ but couldn’t seem to make any progress.

My grandmother suddenly passed away. Deeper and deeper I plunged into hopelessness. I believed that my sons and my husband hated me. I remember looking at my life and seeing only blackness, unending sadness. I wondered if I could commit suicide by driving my car into a tree….I couldn’t think of another way to end my life. My fear was that I would somehow survive, then become a burden to my family. And so I held on.

Tragically, my marriage fell apart, and I quickly married a friend from seminary on the rebound. I’ve looked back on those days with regret and wondered how this could have happened. Why did I make such terrible choices? There are no answers, and for years I agonized over my broken life….I spent years blaming myself for causing misery and grief for my sons ~ ruining their lives. I couldn’t forgive myself, I couldn’t move on. I was forced to give up my job as a family therapist because my husband kept losing his job. I went back to work as a Registered Nurse in the hospital.
Unfortunately, the man I married was a narcissistic minister with an eye for the ladies. And after five years he abruptly left me for a flirtatious church member. Heard that story before? Truth really is stranger than fiction, isn’t it? He literally hid from me, and from the church, for months ~ other than on Sunday mornings. He refused to speak to me. He cleaned out our bank account and maxed out our credit cards. He left me with no money ~ no savings, no home. The breakup of our marriage was devastating to the church, particularly to the youth.
Loving church members helped me financially, supporting me emotionally, but I finally left my “glass house” and returned home to be near family. I pawned all my gold jewelry except my wedding rings. (You can’t get enough for them to make it worthwhile!).
I found an educational opportunity to improve my nursing status, and I borrowed against my credit card to return to school. Within six months I had a wonderful new job in medical sales as a clinical consultant.  At that time I had only a bed, a piano, an old car, and two cats to keep me company. But I had the Lord’s leading in my life and a positive outlook. My family was nearby and offered the emotional support that I needed at the time.

And yet I spent about ten years in a spiritual desert, looking for answers to the catastrophic destruction of my life as I had known it. I searched my Bible.  I read and re-read Philip Yancey’s DISAPPOINTMENT WITH GOD. I prayed for forgiveness from the self loathing and guilt that haunted me.
I knew that I couldn’t be a part of corporate worship. Oh, I wasn’t angry with God or with the church. But there was a gaping emotional wound within me ~ so painful that it kept me away from worship services.  I teared up every time I walked into a church, especially when I saw the minister in a black robe. It was horribly painful; I’d lost my identity. I was alone, invisible. No more life as the minister’s wife. No more future in diaconal ministry. All my plans for making my life ‘right’ again had vanished..
But God had a better plan.

The day came when my beloved mother’s lung cancer returned. For eight months I watched her fight the good fight. And my mom was the strongest Christian I ever knew ~ her faith was unbelievably powerful. She never complained or expressed any self pity, though the disease AND the cure ravaged her body. She set her face like flint, and she eventually walked through the valley of the shadow of death with absolute grace, courage and peace.
When I stepped into her room and saw her lifeless face that day, I thought my life was over. My heart broke into a thousand pieces. I wanted to die. I could NOT imagine going on without her, and I cried at her bedside for hours. She had always been my “one and only someone,” the one who stood by me and NEVER stopped loving me. As I sat by her bedside kissing her face for the last time, the Lord came to me and filled the room. Oh, He had walked with me, helping me through this ordeal. And I was always aware that I belonged to Him. But that day the Holy Spirit came to me anew ~ and He wrapped me up in His love like a little child. I again committed my burdens to the Lord, at a time when I knew I could no longer carry them. To be held by Him again was miraculous!
His matchless love drew me back with cords of love so strong, so tender. He filled all my emptiness that day, and He fills my emptiness still today!
Eventually I met my current husband, who is a believer. I give all the glory to God for bringing me to this time in my life. Although we have many issues ~ primarily his poor vision ~ we have a wonderful life together. Our family is very precious to us, and we gather together often. Oh, and our cats rule our home, and we pamper them with lavish affection.
My desire to serve Christ has taken a new direction with this blog. Although I had a strong desire to be a journalist as a youth, that dream was never realized. Now I find that God has given me the opportunity to share through the written word what He has placed on my heart. I hope that my writings will be a blessing to you, as we journey together with the Lord Jesus Christ. Life with Christ is exciting, challenging, and filled with joy now.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but everlasting life.
For God sent not His son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” John 3:16-17

What I know to be true:
Each of us has a very real God-shaped vacuum inside!
God loves us and has a plan for our lives.
His love is forever faithful.
He will follow us into the lowest gutter, the darkest night, the greatest sadness ~ to redeem us and bring us back to Himself.
And He is with you today, bidden or unbidden. He is loving, waiting, and watching. His love and faithfulness are unending, His patience limitless. Open your heart to Him!

Let's Stop Gossiping

***This blog was published on June 1, 2011.  I wanted to include it as part of my "Archived Series Blogs***

"A perverse man sows strife, and a whisperer separates the best of friends"

Proverbs 16:28

"He who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates friends"

Proverbs 17:9

Gossip is like a cancer.  It tends to spread more and more until it has completely destroyed a person or a friendship.  God does not want us as believers to be gossipers.  It is so easy to find something out about someone and then get on the telephone and spread it to just one person.  Then that person will spread it to someone else.  And so on and on until it has destroyed a friendship, a marriage, or a close relationship.  We think it's wrong to go out and commit fornication, do drugs, smoke cigerettes, curse, kill innocent babies in the wound, but we don't think twice sometimes when it comes to spreading gossip.  We burn up the phone lines talking about each other when we get some juicy gossip.  We tell ourselves, "Well it's no harm and nobody knows I'm just being a little overly concerned and telling my bestfriend", but that bestfriend then tells her neighbor, she tells her husband, he tells his wife, she tells it to the girl at the beauty salon, and it goes on and on until it reaches the person who's being talked about.  And that in turns has the tendancy to destroy close relationships.

God does not want His people to be gossips.  Take these matters to Him in prayer.  Do not repeat a fault when you see or hear something on someone.  Do you not think that God will not judge you for this?  Tell it to the One who can fix the matter.  Let us not be talebarers.  Let us stop backbiting.  Show the real love of Jesus Christ and pray for that person.  They have feelings just like you.  And ask yourself, "How will I feel if I knew someone was gossiping about everything I may do or say?"  Then ask yourself, "Would Jesus do this?"

STEP OUT ON FAITH

Read (Joshua 6)

At times all that's needed to win the battle is to praise the LORD.  Praise is powerful.  When we praise the LORD, we confuse the enemy.  Their plans are thwarted.

In the conquest of Jericho, Joshua was commanded of the LORD what to do.

"See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the valiant warriors.  You shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once.  You shall do so for six days"

Joshua 6: 2-3

"It shall be that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people will go up every man straight ahead"

Joshua 6:5

Joshua probably thought, what strange instructions.  How could something this simple deliver the entire city of Jericho into his hand.  But Joshua trusted the God of Israel.  This was the same God who'd held back the waters of the Jordan River, and that had spoken to him, "Just as I was with Moses, I will be with you" (Joshua 1:5)

When the LORD promises something, He never breaks that covenant.  No matter how strange the matter may be, trust Him.

"So the people shouted, and priests blew the trumpets; and when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted with a great shout and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight ahead, and took the city"

Joshua 6:20

Hallelujah!  Joshua obeyed God, and Jericho was conquered!  

What walls are holding you back today?  Smash them with your faith!  You may be saying, 'but I don't have any faith!'

"For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith"

Romans 12:3

Dare to trust God!  What He says, He will bring it to pass!  Just step out on faith!

Faith Faith Faith Just a little bit of Faith

Faith Faith Faith Just a little bit of Faith

It don't take a whole lot

Just use what you've got

Faith Faith Faith Just a little bit of Faith

BROKENHEARTED by Evangelist Dorothy Duhart

People you thought were your friends, in fact, used to be your friends, suddenly start ganging up on you.  They won't talk to you.  You see them ganging up on you.  You see them huddling together and giggling.  You haven't done anything.  Nothing is different, but all of a sudden you're out, and they're in.  Wow...it hurts, doesn't it?

How do you handle this?  Now you might start ugly rumors about your old friends, or try to get even.  Don't do that!  A better idea, instead of getting down on yourself, or them, talk to God about what's going on.  He cares about your feelings and your loneliness.  He will heal your broken heart.  He will surround you with His love.  He will give you new friends, or restore the old ones.  Tell Him how you're feeling.  He cares about you!

"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds"

Psalm 147:3

Dear Father, thank You for Your caring.  It really hurts when our friends are mean to us.  Please help them to come back to us, or help us to find new friends.  It's lonely without them.  We thank You Father.  We give You the glory, honor, and all praise.  In Jesus Holy Name, Amen!

YOUR ENEMY HAS ALREADY BEEN CONQUERED!

"And the children of Joseph spake unto Joshua, saying, Why hast thou given me but one lot and one portion to inherit, seeing I am a great people, forasmuch as the LORD hath blessed me hitherto? And Joshua answered them, If thou be a great people, then get thee up to the wood country, and cut down for thyself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee.  And the children of Joseph said, The hill is not enough for us:  and all the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both they who are of Bethshean and her towns, and they who are of the valley of Jezreel"  (Joshua 17: 14-16)

When God promises you something, He delivers.  There is no enemy that is strong enough to withstand Him.  There will be required, on your part, a great ‘act of faith’.

Though they were a great people, all the tribe of the children of Joseph saw was what the enemy possessed, and they feared their own capabilities weren’t enough. They didn't realize the strength of their LORD.  “The hill is not enough for us, and the Canaanites, who now possess the land has chariots and iron.”

 "And Joshua spake unto the house of Joseph, even to Epraim and to Manasseh, saying, Thou art a great people, and hast great power:  thou shalt not have one lot only" (Joshua 17:17)

At times, you will face situations when the enemy will appear strong and and it may be frightening. You don’t have to be afraid to take back all the Devil has stolen from you because he is not the rightful owner.  You Are!  The Lord Jesus Christ has already given you the victory!  You are a mighty people, and you have been given everything to obtain your rightful dwelling place.  Drive that Devil out, in the name of Jesus!  There is nothing too hard for our God! 

There is power in the name of Jesus!  Hallelujah! 

But the mountain shall be thine; for it is a wood, and thou shalt cut it down:  and the outgoings of it shall be thine:  for thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they be strong” (Joshua 17:18)

Stop being afraid of the Devil and all that he can do because the only place he belongs is under your feet.  Though he be a strong foe you have the power to cast him out. 

“Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy:  and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Luke 10:19)

Go in and possess what’s yours!  Drive the Devil out of your home because he has no power over you; over your body; over your family; over your finances!  Take back what is yours in the name of Jesus!

Your enemy has already been conquered!  

STANDING AT THE CROSSROADS by Becky Lagace

“This is what the LORD says, ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.’” Jeremiah 6:16

What a powerful verse from the Word of God! Promised rest for our souls! As I pondered on this verse this morning I thought back to the many crossroads in my own life over the years. How many times had I taken the wrong path? How many poor choices did I make, only to find that my life was anything but restful! There was no peace, though I sought it diligently.

Do you feel as though you’re standing at the crossroads of your life?

This year I’ve taken the challenge to read the Bible through with a group of friends. I’ve just finished reading the story of Joseph, a man of God who suffered horribly in his life.

Taken out to the crossroad in the desert, he was sold into slavery by his OWN BROTHERS! Taken to a foreign country as a slave, misunderstood and thrown into prison, yet he was a man of God. He remained faithful to God throughout his life. With God’s hand on him, he eventually became the most powerful man in Egypt, next to Pharoah. And when he had the opportunity to reject his cruel and evil brothers, he showed them forgiveness, love and compassion. He loved them with a great and miraculous love that could only come from God! After all they had done to him. And by choosing to love and forgive, he was reunited with his family and enjoyed years of peace and happiness with them. His path of forgiveness brought peace and comfort to them all. What a story of restoration and redemption!

When I reflect on this, I realize that he could only have made such choices because he was a man faithful to God throughout his life. He truly “walked in the good way and found rest for his soul.”

So what can we learn from his life? His story, ancient though it may be, tells us to follow the advice of Jeremiah 6:16.

Look for the ancient paths ---à Read the Word of God and KNOW HIM

Ask where the good way is -à God’s way

Walk with Him ---à Find REST FOR OUR SOULS

We can know rest and peace just as Joseph, a man of God, found his rest!

The key is to be faithful to God, our heavenly father.

DEAR GOD: THANK YOU FOR THE WORD OF GOD AND FOR THE EXAMPLE OF JOSEPH, A TRUE SERVANT OF GOD WHO LIVED FOR YOU.

MAY WE ALSO SEEK YOU ALONE AND HONOR YOU WITH OUR LIVES. LORD, HELP US TO BE FAITHFUL, FORGIVING, AND LOVING ~ ALWAYS SEEKING TO REDEEM RELATIONSHIPS, SO WE TOO CAN HAVE PEACE AND REST.

IN JESUS’ PRECIOUS NAME WE ASK IT, AMEN.

God Holds Us

***This blog was posted on July 27, 2011.  Be blessed***

"Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with His hand" Psalm 37:24

As I was sitting in my place of meditation this morning and reading my devotional the LORD led me to this particular scripture. You know something, God always gives me comfort through His Word. I have never seen it fail. There is none like Him in all the world. I couldn't sleep last night much, and as is my custom when that happens, I find myself just getting into a place where I can pray and cry out to God. It seems that it's always in the darkness where the devil try to attack you most. Once the lights go out, and you're just lying there with nothing to do but think about things. Friends, that's the time to pray. That's the time to give it all to Jesus. So, it wasn't unusual when at a little past 1 a.m. this morning that I was awaken. At 1:30 I found myself on my knees and praying. I cried and prayed in the Spirit. I felt the presence of God all around me. And I knew that no matter how high the mountain that God was holding my hand. No matter how the winds and storms are blowing in my life right now, I know that Jesus Christ is still on board. God has given me such peace in this time. No problem that I'm facing is bigger than the LORD!

I know that I'm not in the minority. I know that there are scores and multitudes of people who are going through great times of trials and testings. But, those storms are not bigger than the LORD! We have to be like JOB and say, "Naketh I came into this world, and naketh I shall return" for "I KNOW that MY REEDEEMER Lives!" It all boils down to this: "Are you willing to trust the LORD in times of the storms just as you trust Him when the sun is shining". Let's face it, you may not be experiencing any storms now, but sooner or later you will. This is where many of us fail. When we start to experience pain, heartaches, loneliness, sickness we then begin to question the LORD. "Why is this happening to me? What have I done to deserve this? Why does I feel that I'm in this alone?"

Start to get in the Word of God. I use to be one of those people that felt it was just my "good Christian duty" to read my bible. I thought that praying made me "feel religious". But my storms have taught me that this BOOK (The Holy Word of God) is not just ANY Book. I depend on it now for my very survival. I meditate on it. I break it down and find myself in it. I know that I can't make it without the bible and prayer. God is truly the breath that I breathe and one moment away from this I quickly realize that it's more than anything that I could ever imagine. God Never Fails. My desire and aim is to serve the LORD in spirit and in truth. It's not in judging anybody else. I have to stand before Him myself. The LORD sees and knows all about us (Psalm 139). There is nothing hidden from His ever seeing eyes. We may fool each other, but we can never fool the LORD.

I know that God holds me. I don't care how bleak anything looks. I know that as long as I hold to God's unchanging hands that I will make it. God will put people in my path to be a blessing and that I can be a blessing to. It's all about Jesus. It's not about me. I just feel so good knowing that the Lord has a hold on me and He won't cast me down headlong. Who wouldn't want to serve a God like this!

Let us pray for each other and begin to hold each other up. If you see your brother or sister taken in a fault, it is not your place to judge and criticize them. But, as men and women of God, it is our obligation to pray for them. The LORD loves them just as much as He loves you and I. God doesn't have favorites. God is no respecter of persons. Let's us start showing the world (by our actions) what it means to truly be a Christian (Christ-like). Just as the LORD holds us, let us please try to start upholding our fellowman.

I love you all. Much peace and blessings today in the LORD is my prayer for you!

YOU CAN'T BRIBE GOD by Evangelist Dorothy Duhart

"A bribe works like magic.  Whoever uses it will prosper"

Proverbs 17:8

Yes, a bribe does work like magic, and it will bring a short-lived prosperity to anyone that uses it.

You know what... there's one place where a bribe won't have any influence whatsoever.  That's before the Judgement seat of God.  No amount of money changing hands on this earth will ever increase one's chance of getting to heaven.  Only faith in Jesus Christ and His shed blood will open the door to heaven.

Jesus is the only Way!  The Truth!  The Life!  

Know this,  God's people don't need magic, nor do they need false prosperity that bribery brings.  But we should always be giving people, as unto the LORD.  We can't buy our way into heaven, but we can buy a lot of blessings for people who need them down here.

Be a cheerful giver and prosper eternally in God.  We can't bribe God, and we certainly can't out-give Him.  

LOVING US AT OUR WORST

As I looked in the mirror at the face staring back at me, I caught a glimpse of my eyes.  They looked tired and worn down.  The effects of chemotherapy were taking its toll on my body, and it was starting to show on my face.  Being at home, I could no longer hide behind the sunglasses and wig.  Standing in front of that mirror was the true reflection of myself.  There was no escaping that reality.

I don’t feel so beautiful.  Many times, I just burst into tears. 

What I learned most last year during my cancer treatment was just how important it was having people there in my corner.  There were many days that I didn’t feel beautiful.  My husband, Jay R, never failed to not only tell me how beautiful that I was, but show me as well.  He cooked, cleaned, and saw to it that I was on time for every doctors’ appointment.  My brothers and sisters back home was always as near as the telephone and supported me in every way possible.  Prayers went up for me every Tuesday, which was the day that I always had a new chemo treatment.  I just felt extremely blessed to have the love of family in my life.  My husband got to see my worst days, unlike everyone else.  He saw me in the moments when I didn’t feel so strong, or so beautiful. 

I think about the love that Christ has for us all.  While we were yet sinners, He loved us enough to give His life on the cross for our sins.  We didn’t deserve such grace and mercy.  No amount of human love could ever compare to the sacrifice God gave to us when He gave His Son to pay the penalty that we all so justly deserved.  God always sees us at our worst, yet He loves us the same.  Nothing, or no one, can ever separate us from this love. 

“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”

Romans 8: 38-39

Today, if you’re feeling unloved, unworthy, and unappreciated…..remember that there’s  Someone who loves you.  Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, who looks at the heart of every man, has a love for us unlike any other.  Real agape love.  A love that bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  A love that never fails.  A God who, though He sees all of our imperfections, loves us still unconditionally.  You don’t have to feel on today that you are not loved.  There’s a Man Called Jesus, who loves you until the end.  No man, woman, or any other created thing, could ever compare, nor can break us apart from that love.

THERE IS NO FAILURE IN GOD

"As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee; I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee"

Joshua 1:5

This word is really speaking to me right now.  THERE IS NO FAILURE IN GOD!  

We only need to trust Him.  No matter what we are facing!  If things look impossible...they are not impossible with God!  The LORD works on the behalf of those who will put their trust in Him.

"I will not forsake thee"

Man will forsake us, but God never will.  We must cease believing in our own abilities, and trust Him.  You may be down to your last dime.  Perhaps, you may have lost your job.  Your health may be failing.

Look up to Jesus!  He is still Jehovah Jireh...and He will provide what you need.  Whatever you do, don't lose faith in Jesus.  Keep praying.  Keep believing.  Keep trusting.

BEAUTY FOR ASHES

Read Isaiah 61: 1-3

As I approach my birthday this coming February 12^th, I’m reminded of exactly one year ago during this time I was preparing to go through my first round of cancer treatment.  When I walked into the chemo suite I was petrified with fear.  Going through chemotherapy is what scared me most.

Lord how am I ever going to get through this!  Is this really happening to me?

For those of you who has ever gone through treatment for cancer, or has known someone who has (especially chemotherapy and radiation), severe side effects are not uncommon.  Loss of hair, appetite changes, nausea, vomiting, and extreme weakness.  There is also depression.

 No amount of makeup could cover up what I felt inside during those months.  It was a cold, dark place. 

I endured 16 rounds of chemotherapy and 33 radiation treatments.  By the end of those months I was simply depleted. When I looked in the mirror I saw a woman with no eyebrows, lashes, and no hair on her head.  My nails were chipped and blackened from the neuropathy, and they hurt badly.  My entire body was in constant pain. 

“To appoint to them that mourn in Zion, to give to them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He might be glorified” (Isaiah 61:3)

The LORD always comforted me during those times.  He was my strength.  He was my shoulder to cry on.  At my worst, He gave me His best.  I felt the presence of Jesus Christ throughout it all.  I never could have made it without Him.

Jesus took all the old and raggedy parts of my life and gave me His beauty.  He always reminded me that I was loved, and that no amount of pain and suffering that I was enduring could ever squash that love.  On those dark days He always sent light (from the many prayers of the saints, a loving husband who stood right by my side, my kids who cooked for me, and my brothers and sisters who were my biggest support). 

I don’t know what you may be facing today in your life, but Jesus is right there comforting you.  This may be something you have never faced before, but it is not too big for the LORD.  Nothing Is Ever Too Big For The LORD!  Put your faith and trust in Him.  Praise Him through your storm.  He won’t let you sink, no matter how rough the waves.  He did it for me!  He will do it for you!

SPEAK WORDS OF FAITH

Read (James 3: 6-9; Ephesians 4:29; Colossians 4:6)

The words that come out of our mouth are important.  Whether we are directing our language toward someone else, or using them on our self, what we speak could be a matter of life, or death.

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit”

Proverbs 18:21 (NASB)

We have all said unkind and thoughtless things to other people.  The sad thing is, once we utter something, we can’t take it back.  We can apologize to the person, but the damage has already been done.  That is why it is vitally important to watch our words.  We can either uplift someone, or bring them down.  All with the smallest member in our body…. the tongue!

“So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things.  See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!  And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell”

James 3: 5-6 (NASB)

The Bible is full of  scriptures on the tongue, and how we should use our words. 

What damage we can do to others…and ourselves…. just from what comes out of our mouth!

You may hear it all the time, “You are so quiet;” “Is anything wrong?” “Cat got your tongue?”

I’ve heard them all, and you probably have, too.  But I’ve also read the Good Book.  So, no matter how insignificant I feel in the midst of people who deem it necessary to always be speaking, it is my choice to listen, and to remain silent. 

  “When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable.  But he who restrains his lips is wise” (Proverbs 10:19)

I’ve learned so much by staying in the Word of God.  How to speak to other people.  How to utter words over myself.  I want to encourage you today to start loving yourself enough to know that what comes out of your mouth can make you better, or it can make you bitter. Your own words, can be used to elevate you to the highest heaven, or bring you down to the lowest hell.  So, speak words of faith! 

  “I’m fearfully and wonderfully made!”  “I’m an heir of God, and joint heir with Christ!”  “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!”  “I am forgiven!”  “I am delivered!”  “I am set free!” 

We are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ!  (Romans 8:37)  Stop looking at yourself as a failure.  Don’t let Satan lie to you!  You are beautiful!  You are loved!  When God made you He saw the finished product, and it was very good!  (Genesis 6:31)

Start speaking words of faith, and not failure.  Say what God says, and you won’t go wrong!

Prayer:  “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.  In Jesus name.  Amen.

THE LAST DAYS

Read 2 Timothy 3

My heart is heavy as I read and see all the troubling news going on in our nation.  There is so much violence in the streets, and our government is at a loss of what to do.  We are aware of these happenings when we open our Bible and see it fulfilling itself daily.

Recently I read the story of a young woman who was shot and robbed a day after Christmas while trying to deliver pizza.  She had volunteered to come in to work on her day off.  Another sad story was of a grandmother involved in a road rage incident.  Because she wasn’t moving quickly enough at a stop sign, a person, driving in the vehicle behind her, honked their horn.  When she honked back, he got out of his car and pulled a gun, firing into her car.  In the backseat was her 3-year-old grandson who was struck by the bullet.  The toddler was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Apostle Paul forewarned about difficult times to come in the last days.

“For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.  Holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power.  Avoid such men as these” (2 Timothy 3: 2-5  NASB)

It is time to pray as never before.  It is hard to walk the streets anymore without hearing of these sort of incidents happening.  Time is out for playing church.  We must pray!

Pray for our nation!  Pray for our children!  Pray for our leaders!  Pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ!

We are indeed living in the last days!

WELCOME HOME

As I came in from the daily duties of farm chores, there were messages on my phone from family back home.  My first impulse was to wonder if someone was hurt, or sick.  I don’t usually get back to back phone calls unless something is wrong.  Please, Lord, let everything be okay, I silently prayed.

When I reached my sister, it was then that I got the news.  Becky Santana just passed away.
Her parents were members of my home church in Macon, Georgia, and though I didn’t know Becky the same as I did her folks, she was a beautiful and wonderful young lady.  She had recently been diagnosed with cancer, and the prognosis had looked dim.

Learning of her death, which came so suddenly after her diagnosis, gripped my heart.
Lord, I know that she’s in a much better place right now.  She is no longer suffering.
As I prayed for her family I picked up my Bible and read these words:

“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints” (Psalm 116:15)

We mourn when someone close to us passes away.  Death leaves an unmistakable void, which at times, is never filled.  But we, as believers, know that this earth was never meant to be our eternal home.  When our life ends here, we are promised a mansion prepared by Jesus Christ Himself.  What a precious revelation.

“In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14: 2-3)

When we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, it is a gift from God.  One of these days we are all going to die.  We make the decision where our eternal home will be.  Heaven or Hell.  There are no negotiations in the afterlife.

  “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23)

My dear, precious sister, Becky, is now in her eternal home.  Jesus is smiling because another one of His precious children has entered that eternal rest.  What the Lord has planned for us is to live ever and eternal with Him where there will be no more tears, pain, sorrow, or suffering. Though we are grieving for Becky here, what she now hears is "Welcome Home My Sweet Child!"

 

(Becky Santana)
January 6, 1979 - January 6, 2017

THE LIFTER UP OF OUR HEADS

Read ( Psalm 3)

I’ve heard the old saying, ‘Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never harm me.’  I surely can’t speak for anyone else, but harsh words have stung me many times. 

 

I can recall a few years ago, after helping providing a place to stay for a person close to me and their wife, false lies and accusations were spread around.  It was a troubling time, to say the least. 

The hardest part, when something like this happens, is having to face these same individuals again.  How could I do this without degrading my own integrity and self-worth?  Retaliation perhaps?

Having been raised to treat people the way that I would like to be treated, and ‘if you don’t have anything nice to say about someone then don’t say it’, I decided to take the high road.

 

“But Thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and lifter up of mine head” (Psalm 3:3)

Indeed, Jesus Christ lifted my head! When lies were meant to break me down, the Lord shielded me.

Have you been hurt recently by lies and innuendos, or perhaps had a falling out with someone over trivial misunderstandings?  Have your feelings been crushed by disparaging words? 

Give it over to Jesus!  It’s always what Satan wants us to do is retaliate.  The Lord always sustains His people.  He cares right now that your heart may be breaking over a hurtful situation. 

Close your eyes and say this prayer, “Lord, I can’t choose how people treat me; all the mean things that were spoken.  I do choose to speak and trust Your word.  You are the lifter up of my head.  Take the hurt and pain that I’m feeling Jesus, and turn it for my good.  In Jesus name, I pray.  Amen!

KNOWING WHEN TO SPEAK

Read Job 1-2

Sometimes we are sent to comfort others, but it’s not always with words.  Being there for them is just as important. 

When a person is grieving, it is hard to know the right words to say on some occasions, especially if you haven’t personally faced the situation before.  The loss of a spouse, child, parent or a family member may not have been something you have yet encountered.  So, how do you show your support?  How could you help?

Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, after hearing about all that had befallen their friend, Job, wanted to grieve with and comfort him.  For seven days, no one spoke a word.  It’s admirable that they wanted to help their friend, but in this case, once they opened their mouth what was said was more harmful than good.  Simply being there would have been ample.

Being there for someone in grief is important.  We should always ask the Lord for guidance to speak only the words necessary to help those that are suffering. 

“The Lord God has given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary:  He wakens morning by morning.  He wakens my ear to hear as the learned”

Isaiah 50:4

Being that shoulder to cry on; the gentle hand touches; the hug that warmly embraces, is all that is needed at times.  Show your support by offering to do whatever you can to help them get through the pain of their loss.  Most importantly, pray and ask the Lord to comfort them as only He can.  

MY CHILD I AM HERE

MY CHILD I AM HERE

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path”

Psalm 119:15 (KJV)

How could this be happening? 

In a few weeks, I am supposed to be getting married, but here I sit, nervously prancing about in the intensive care waiting area, wondering if my fiancé   was going to pull through.  Just a week after getting engaged, meeting the family, and planning my wedding, my husband to be lay fighting for his life.

Just three years earlier, before we met, he lay in this same intensive care room with a bout of double pneumonia and the family was told to prepare for the worst, and that he would not make it through the night.  I didn’t know, if I was faced with seeing the man I love so close to death, if I could endure such anguish.   Now it was my reality.

Lord, please help me!  This cannot be the way the story will end. 

Having arrived in Missouri and not yet knowing anyone outside my fiancé and his children, I was feeling rather desolate and distressed.  I kept looking at the engagement ring on my finger. It took everything in me not to scream. 

Then I noticed the Gideon bible on the coffee table.  Lord just feed me with Your word.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”

As I read Hebrews 11 my fears began to calm.  I whispered to my stepdaughter, “Would you like to go and pray with me?”  I know that she was worried too and wondered if her dad was going to make it. 

We found a place inside the bathroom adjacent to the waiting area. 

“He belongs to You Lord.  Restore his health and life back. I give this all to You.” 

As I sit here, nearly 5 years later, I am reminded how merciful and gracious is our Savior. My husband was moved from intensive care to a private room the next morning. We got married a month later.

God will always lead you back to His word.  He will direct you in those moments when you feel that all hope is gone.  He knows the meaning behind every tear that you shed.  Open His word and you will hear Him gently speaking to you, “My child, I am here!”