Mid-Week Message - Focus on Him

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."  Philippians 4:8  (ESV)   

There is war between Ukraine and Russia.

The Queen of England has died and a new King named.

Violence is becoming more rampant as the criminals find that they won't be punished.

Inflation continues to rise and the national deficit continues to increase.  

As companies worry about recessions, some are beginning to lay off employees and halt hiring.  

All this and more.  Such is the state of the world and nation.  We find that it is difficult to concentrate on the good things in life when we are constantly bombarded with news that things seem to be getting worse.  Five minutes of the local news can make your head swim as you work to take in the evil that seems to be prevailing.  Worry filled, sleepless nights occur more often as we wonder how to make ends meet and how to keep our children safe.  

Is peace to be found anywhere at all?  

God, through His Word, has told us that the condition of the world we live in will grow worse as the time of the second coming of Jesus draws nearer.  John 16:33 tells us, "...In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."  

Notice that He doesn't say he WILL overcome the world, but that he HAS overcome the world.  The book of Revelation tells us how the battle between good and evil will end.  This is a war where there is no doubt of the outcome.  Jesus wins!  

We have to keep in mind that where we are now is not where we will be eternally.  If we have repented of our sins and received Jesus into our lives as our Savior and Lord, then we have the promise of eternity with Him, where there is no war, inflation, death, sadness or difficulties of any kind.  

I think that is why today's verse tells us where our focus should be. "Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."  

Jesus is all these things.  Our focus should remain on Him and our trust be placed in Him because He has already overcome all the troubles we face.  With earthly eyes it is impossible to see how He will get us through it all but He has promised to do so and because He is Truth, we can have faith that He will do as He has said.  

Fear not.  Concentrate on Him and peace will follow.  God bless.  

Mid-Week Message - God's Word in Today's World

 "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you."  Psalm 119:11  (NIV)

According to Pew Research in 2019, although Christianity is still considered the world's largest religion, eighty percent of the governments interfered with their citizens worship in some way or another.  In some countries, like North Korea and Afghanistan, religion is proclaimed as "free" but the practicing of Christianity is highly regulated and dangerous.  

Open Doors USA lists the following ten countries as the most dangerous for Christians in 2022:  Afghanistan, North Korea, Somalia, Libya, Yemen, Eritrea, Nigeria, Pakistan, Iran and India.  

Voice of the Martyrs indicates the thirteen countries where the Word of God can only be transferred covertly:  Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Mauritania, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Yemen.  I would add China to this list as well.

I had a dream last night that I could not find my Bible.  Now, as many people do, I have several but no matter where I looked, there wasn't one to be found.  Not in my home.  Not in the library and not in a store.  There were books that explained what the Bible said, but no Bible to compare the truth of what was being told.  

The world we live in is becoming more and more "liberal".  No longer is God's Word considered the ultimate truth.  Churches are getting emptier and the streets are becoming more crowded.  Crime and violence are on the upswing and Christians are chided for their beliefs in a "fairy tale".  The name of our Lord is heard more in public as a curse word than something to be revered.  

So, I ask you, do you have God's Word hidden in your heart for the days ahead?  

Jesus said that we would face persecution.  I believe it will become more difficult to publicly proclaim our faith as the years go by.  Could the United States ever see the day when it will be illegal to publish and distribute Bibles?  I don't know and I hope not but it is a possibility.  

This is why we have to be involved in politics.  We have to be vocal with our votes.  As lawmakers are being elected we have to remember that laws touch every area of our lives.  If we "sit out" of the process then we are willingly accepting whatever decisions are made.  Whatever we can do to stand up for Christ, we need to do.  

This world was never intended to last forever.  The days are growing more limited with each rising of the sun.  We were tasked with sharing the Gospel that others might be saved.  How much longer do we have to do so?  

Something to think about.  

Mid-Week Message - Here's Why I Do This

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."  John 3:16-17  (NIV)  

I have been asked about why I began writing my weekly messages.  Actually, it was at the request of my husband.  Four years ago, the Lord laid on his heart to begin a blog to share His Word with all who would find it.  After considering it for awhile, he was obedient.  Each day several verses are shared and for Sundays and special days like Christmas Eve, he writes a message of his own.  Near the end of the first year of the blog, he asked me if I would contribute a message for the middle of the week.

For five years, before we moved to Georgia, we had partnered in a ministry in a retirement facility for those who were able to live independently.  During the Sunday services, we praised through music and song, my husband preached and I brought a word of encouragement.  Those dear ones so touched our lives that it was heart-wrenching to have to leave them.  During those years, we formed fast friendships, listened to life stories, sat with them when they were ill and performed several funeral services.  

No matter what I have done in my life, I have tried to be faithful in sharing God's love with those around me.  Eventually, He placed me in Christian schools where I had the opportunity to minister to children and their families.  So, when I was asked to write these messages, I saw it as a way to continue sharing hope, love and encouragement and prayed that whoever needed to see the messages would find them.  

Jesus told us to "go into all the world and share the Gospel".  It isn't to be treasured secretly in our own hearts, but to be shouted from the rooftops.  Our lives are short and our time to spread His story is limited.  Every moment matters for eternity.  Life is hard and people are suffering.  They need to hear the Good News about forgiveness and salvation.  They need to know that if they will only repent and believe in Him, they will live with Him forever.  

In the four years that we have been posting, our blog has been read by people all over the world.  Russian, the Ukraine, Sweden, Israel, various countries in Africa, Japan, and China are just some of the places that it has been seen.  This has been our way to reach out to the world.  We may never know how it has affected these dear people, but God knows and we trust Him to use our tiny little offering to change lives for His glory.  

My messages are brief each week, but it is a way for me, someone who is pretty much home-bound, to be able to share God's love with others.  There is always a way and if we ask the Father to show us that way, He will be faithful and do just that.  

My love and prayers are with all who are reading this and I pray that hearts are touched and that thoughts are directed toward Jesus and His great grace.  God bless.  

Mid-Week Message - Stepping Into the Future

"Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path."  Psalm 119:105 (NIV)

I have a vivid memory of lying on my bed as a teenager and thinking ahead to the year 2000.  I calculated my age and realized that I would be 42 years old.  At that time I wondered if that year would even come because it seemed so far off that it was inconceivable.  

Fast forward and we find ourselves at the end of 2021!  The time has passed and it seems to have passed much more quickly than was ever expected.  Life has presented us with incredible joys and the depths of great sorrow that reminds us of the brevity of our days.  

As we prepare to step into another new year, we may find ourselves wondering how to proceed.  So many changes have taken place that we never expected to see during our lifetimes and we can't help but have some trepidation about what the future might hold.  

Matthew 6:34 (MSG) tells us, "Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow.  God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes."  No matter how hard we attempt to project what will happen in the future, we will be unsuccessful.  There is only One who knows what is ahead and His instruction to us is to trust Him.  

Life can be like hiking through a treacherous area in the darkest of night.  Even with a flashlight we may only be able to see just a couple of steps ahead.  We have no idea what we will encounter.  The safest way to make the journey is to have a guide who knows the way.  

Today's verse reminds us that God's Word gives us the direction we need.  He may only show us one step at a time but we can have faith that He has gone before us to prepare the way and as long as we stay close to Him, we will be safe.  He will never lead us where He cannot protect us.

As we approach 2022, we can have confidence that the Lord already knows everything the year will bring and knows exactly how He will accompany us through it.  No matter what it brings, He will be beside us.  Blessings await us as we hold onto His hand and we have nothing to fear.  

Mid-Week Message - Spring Cleaning

 "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.  Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.  Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit."  Psalm 51:10-12  (KJV) 

As a student at Dallas Christian College, one of the things that brought me the greatest joy was when the students would gather together and sing.  Those who could play guitar would bring them and, as the voices joined together, the atmosphere would become one of pure praise.  Watching the faces of my fellow students was mesmerizing.  As the words flowed from hearts that deeply loved the Lord, I would find myself hoping the time never ended.  

Preparing to go out into the world and share the gospel could be challenging, however the professors and staff there truly loved each one of us and were serving the Lord by teaching and exhorting us, not just through the curriculum but also by getting to know us so that their lessons could be as personal as possible.  These highly educated and skilled instructors could have made much more money in larger educational institutions, yet they followed God and poured their lives and knowledge into the young men and women seeking to know their Creator in a deeper and more meaningful way.  

It was only as I grew older that I began to realize the true gift my college education had been.  But then, that is how things generally occur to me.  While I am in the midst of certain blessings, I fail to see them as such but time and distance change my perspective and I can see more clearly.   It is because of the training I received that I have been able to work with children of all ages and adults up until their time of death.  I was taught the importance of loving each person as someone that Christ died for.  If they were that important to Him, why would they not be to me?  

I chose today's verse for two reasons.  The first is that it is one of the songs I learned during the times of praise with other students.  The second reason is that it is almost impossible to love and serve others with a heart that is not clean.  You can go through the motions and say all the right words, but to truly touch hearts we need to have our own hearts right with our Father.  

As spring has now arrived, many families will undertake "spring cleaning" and thoroughly clean their homes.  During this time, everything will be scrubbed, dusted and washed.  The old and dreary will be replaced with the new and fresh. 

 This is what needs to be done personally as well.  Our minds and hearts need to be searched to see if there is anything that needs to be transformed by the renewal that God's Word can bring.  As we read and study, we can ask Him to reveal to us those things that need to be changed within us.  A clean heart is one that is open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and willing to make the changes that He might indicate.  

I am preaching to myself on this one, I promise you.  The lockdowns of the last year and the inability to gather together with those of like faith as well as my friends, have negatively affected my thoughts, emotions and attitudes.  I have found it harder to focus during prayer and to reach out to those I know are hurting.  I need to spend some time in solitude with the Almighty and sincerely seek the cleansing that only He can provide.  The thing that matters most to me in this life is that He is honored and He will not be unless I allow Him to have control of my whole life, all things included.  

Create in me a clean heart, dear Father, and renew a right spirit within me.  God bless.