Ephesians 6:12

Because we live in a fallen world, we will be going through some storms during our lifetime.

When I'm going through tough times, I find praying and reading scriptures comforts and lifts me up.

I had one of those "down" days yesterday. I woke up feeling miserable - I felt mentally and physically exhausted for no reason. I prayed to the Lord to give me strength for the day. Why was I feeling this way? Why was my endurance low? I had no answers.

Later that day when I shared my feelings with my daughter, she gave me a scripture to meditate on. I was very familiar with the scripture, but I was too busy to apply it to my situation. I was trying to justify and analyze why I was feeling that way. Sometimes as Christians, we take the scriptures for granted or become too involved with daily "stuff" that we forget to turn to them for guidance.

Eph 6:12 "For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places".

The Apostle Paul tells us to put on our spiritual armour because our battle in this world is a "spiritual" one. A warfare that is against the trickery and power of the devil, as opposed to a human battle. Even though human beings will certainly play a role in this spiritual warfare, they are being used by these entities for the purposes of accomplishing evil.

Later on I received an encouraging a e-mail from my daughter with a video attachment to lift up my spirit. I just have to remind myself that when I feel doubtful, discouraged and down, all I have to do is read His Word and look around to see His presence through His beautiful and majestic creation.

So the point I am trying to make is that the Lord never said we will have a smooth ride - the storms will come whether we like it or not, but we don't have to go through it all alone because He is with us and He is our strength and shield! God promises us that sorrows may last for the night, but joy will come in the morning!

God said He will never leave us or forsake us. He said to go to Him when we feel weary and heavy laden. He says He is close to the brokenhearted. He holds us in the palm of His hand and comforts us. He gives us His peace that surpasses human understanding.

God is in control of all our situation. When we go to Him with our concerns, He will answer our prayers by using people, scriptures, books, billboards, and even videos to tell us that He still loves us!

God Bless,
Lucine

"Truth" exists regardless...

People often say "we don't believe in the Bible" or "the Bible is no more than a bunch of made up stories" or "Jesus was just a prophet, not the son of God", etc.

These same people who do not believe in the Bible, believe in the "air" that they breathe and the "gravity" that holds them to the ground even though they do not see and touch air or gravity!

So people are very selective as to what they want to believe or not - mainly to suit 'self'.

Romans 3:3 "What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God's faithfulness?"

Whether we believe or not and have proof or not "Truth" does not change! The "Truth" remains regardless!

There is one God, in three persons (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit). God created the universe and everything within it to make it function flawlessly. God has also given us the free-will to choose our path - His way or the world's way.

Adam and Eve rebelled, and sin entered into our lives, therefore, we're all sinners!

Romans 3:23 "...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"

Penalty of sin is eternal darkness (separation from God), however God doesn't want us to perish. Therefore, He sent His one and only son Jesus to pay the full penalty for our sins in order to give us His "free" gift of salvation. However, accepting Jesus' free gift of salvation is a personal choice.

2 Timothy 3:1-7 "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God - having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth."

Jesus wants us to reach out to people and share the "truth" with them. However, if they are not willing to listen and accept the free gift of salvation, then we need to move on because we can't force it on them and waste our precious time - we got to move on for His Kingdom's sake!

Matthew 7:6 "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces."

Proverbs 14:12 and Proverbs 16:25 "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death".

Matthew 7:13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it".

Well, Jesus is that narrow gate; an unpopular gate nowadays... We need to be knowledgeable of the "truth" so we don't blindly follow false doctrines and end up at the broad gate.

Acts 17:11 "Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what the Apostle Paul said was true".

God Bless,
Lucine

Claim Him without fear!

I wonder why when we are with certain people, we act in a certain way and our choice of terminology changes? We somehow shy away from using the name of "Jesus"? How would it feel if our own children were ashamed of us and did not want to publicly claim us? That would hurt!!!
If we believe in Jesus, we need to say His name fearlessly!

We don't have to shove it down people's throat, but we should claim Him - not in arrogance, but with confidence and love.

If we truly understood the magnitute of Jesus' sacrifice and grace for our salvation, sanctification, redemption and justification, we would praise Him at all times.

Romans 1:16 “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes - first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”

Lately, it has become the norm to tolerate every religion, but Christianity. Society thinks that Bible believing Christians are ignorant, arrogant, intolerant and even dangerous... We are constantly under attack and I believe it's all because we have been quiet for too long. I also believe it's because we are safe - after all, Jesus instructed us "to turn the other cheek". We don't go around blowing people up everytime they critisize our faith - yes we're safe to redicule and persecute. However, Jesus has overcome the world and we should not fear no matter what comes our way!

We have let a handful of people, (godless lawyers, judges, politicians...), force new laws upon us and slowly take away our rights as Christians. Now, we are paying the price for our long silence; thus no Bibles and prayers in schools, no displays of the cross or nativity scene in public places. We are reaping what we have sown!

We cannot sit back and observe; we need to get involved and re-claim our rights as Christians.

Thank God for people like Jay Alan Sekulow, Chief Counsel for American Center for Law & Justice. Jay and his staff are defending the Christians whenever they hear of an injustice. Here's the link for his website: http://www.aclj.org/ (please do not mistake ACLJ with ACLU!)

Why are we intimidated when it comes to our faith? Is it because we are afraid of what society might think or say or is it because we think we are not equipped and don't know enough about the Bible to defend our faith?

God has given each of us certain talents and gifts according to our capabilities. Although education is very good, we don't need to have a degree in theology, be a teacher, a minister or public speaker to claim "Jesus" as our Lord and Savior. God has created us and He knows our limits. He wants us to be salt and light to the world wherever we go (i.e. workplace, school, home, grocery store, restaurant, etc.). We each have different gifts and we can contribute to the Kingdom of God accordingly. God always magnifies Himself through the least among us. The Bible is full of examples on how God uses the weak for His purpose. Satan often wants us to believe we don't have what it takes to do God's will, but God's amazing grace is sufficient for us to do everything!

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 But Jesus said to me states the apostle Paul: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong!

Luke 21:15 Jesus said, “For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.”

God will give us the knowledge of what to say and what to do at the right time and at the right place. We just need to stay obedient so we can hear His still voice.

God Bless,
Lucine

"Blessings arrive in unexpected packages..."

Read the powerful testimony of Tony Snow 1955 - 2008. He was a man of faith and integrity!

"Blessings arrive in unexpected packages, in my case, cancer.

Those of us with potentially fatal diseases - and there are millions in America today - find ourselves in the odd position of coping with our mortality while trying to fathom God's will. Although it would be the height of presumption to declare with confidence What It All Means, Scripture provides powerful hints and consolations.

The first is that we shouldn't spend too much time trying to answer the why questions: Why me? Why must people suffer? Why can't someone else get sick? We can't answer such things, and the questions themselves often are designed more to express our anguish than to solicit an answer.

I don't know why I have cancer, and I don't much care. It is what it is - a plain and indisputable fact. Yet even while staring into a mirror darkly, great and stunning truths begin to take shape. Our maladies define a central feature of our existence: We are fallen. We are imperfect. Our bodies give out.

But despite this - or because of it - God offers the possibility of salvation and grace. We don't know how the narrative of our lives will end, but we get to choose how to use the interval between now and the moment we meet our Creator face-to-face.

Second, we need to get past the anxiety. The mere thought of dying can send adrenaline flooding through your system. A dizzy, unfocused panic seizes you. Your heart thumps; your head swims. You think of nothingness and swoon. You fear partings; you worry about the impact on family and friends. You fidget and get nowhere.

To regain footing, remember that we were born not into death, but into life - and that the journey continues after we have finished our days on this earth. We accept this on faith, but that faith is nourished by a conviction that stirs even within many non-believing hearts - an intuition that the gift of life, once given, cannot be taken away. Those who have been stricken enjoy the special privilege of being able to fight with their might, main, and faith to live - fully, richly, exuberantly - no matter how their days may be numbered.

Third, we can open our eyes and hearts. God relishes surprise. We want lives of simple, predictable ease, smooth, even trails as far as the eye can see - but God likes to go off-road. He provokes us with twists and turns. He places us in predicaments that seem to defy our endurance and comprehension - and yet don't. By His love and grace, we persevere. The challenges that make our hearts leap and stomachs churn invariably strengthen our faith and grant measures of wisdom and joy we would not experience otherwise.

'You Have Been Called'

Picture yourself in a hospital bed. The fog of anesthesia has begun to wear away. A doctor stands at your feet; a loved one holds your hand at the side. "It's cancer," the healer announces.

The natural reaction is to turn to God and ask him to serve as a cosmic Santa. "Dear God, make it all go away. Make everything simpler." But another voice whispers: "You have been called." Your quandary has drawn you closer to God, closer to those you love, closer to the issues that matter - and has dragged into insignificance the banal concerns that occupy our "normal time."

There's another kind of response, although usually short-lived - an inexplicable shudder of excitement, as if a clarifying moment of calamity has swept away everything trivial and tiny, and placed before us the challenge of important questions.

The moment you enter the Valley of the Shadow of Death, things change. You discover that Christianity is not something doughy, passive, pious, and soft. Faith may be the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. But it also draws you into a world shorn of fearful caution. The life of belief teems with thrills, boldness, danger, shocks, reversals, triumphs, and epiphanies. Think of Paul, traipsing though the known world and contemplating trips to what must have seemed the antipodes (Spain), shaking the dust from his sandals, worrying not about the morrow, but only about the moment.

There's nothing wilder than a life of humble virtue - for it is through selflessness and service that God wrings from our bodies and spirits the most we ever could give, the most we ever could offer, and the most we ever could do.

Finally, we can let love change everything. When Jesus was faced with the prospect of crucifixion, he grieved not for himself, but for us. He cried for Jerusalem before entering the holy city. From the Cross, he took on the cumulative burden of human sin and weakness, and begged for forgiveness on our behalf.

We get repeated chances to learn that life is not about us, that we acquire purpose and satisfaction by sharing in God's love for others. Sickness gets us part way there. It reminds us of our limitations and dependence. But it also gives us a chance to serve the healthy. A minister friend of mine observes that people suffering grave afflictions often acquire the faith of two people, while loved ones accept the burden of two people's worries and fears.

'Learning How to Live'

Most of us have watched friends as they drifted toward God's arms not with resignation, but with peace and hope. In so doing, they have taught us not how to die, but how to live. They have emulated Christ by transmitting the power and authority of love.

I sat by my best friend's bedside a few years ago as a wasting cancer took him away. He kept at his table a worn Bible and a 1928 edition of the Book of Common Prayer. A shattering grief disabled his family, many of his old friends, and at least one priest. Here was a humble and very good guy, someone who apologized when he winced with pain because he thought it made his guest uncomfortable. He retained his equanimity and good humor literally until his last conscious moment. "I'm going to try to beat [this cancer]," he told me several months before he died. "But if I don't, I'll see you on the other side."

His gift was to remind everyone around him that even though God doesn’t promise us tomorrow, he does promise us eternity - filled with life and love we cannot comprehend - and that one can in the throes of sickness point the rest of us toward timeless truths that will help us weather future storms.

Through such trials, God bids us to choose: Do we believe, or do we not? Will we be bold enough to love, daring enough to serve, humble enough to submit, and strong enough to acknowledge our limitations? Can we surrender our concern in things that don't matter so that we might devote our remaining days to things that do?

When our faith flags, he throws reminders in our way. Think of the prayer warriors in our midst. They change things, and those of us who have been on the receiving end of their petitions and intercessions know it.

It is hard to describe, but there are times when suddenly the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, and you feel a surge of the Spirit. Somehow you just know: Others have chosen, when talking to the Author of all creation - to lift us up, to speak of us!

This is love of a very special order. But so is the ability to sit back and appreciate the wonder of every created thing. The mere thought of death somehow makes every blessing vivid, every happiness more luminous and intense. We may not know how our contest with sickness will end, but we have felt the ineluctable touch of God.

What is man that Thou art mindful of him? We don't know much, but we know this: No matter where we are, no matter what we do, no matter how bleak or frightening our prospects, each and every one of us who believe, each and every day, lies in the same safe and impregnable place - in the hollow of God's hand."

We will miss you Tony,

God Bless,
Lucine