Success and Failure Blog

Satan wants the followers of Christ to disobey and have conflicts and confusions  in Gods word and commandments.There is only one truth in the Bible, but many divisions in the body of Christ. Most of the Christian denominations in the world claim that they are bible believing Church and have differences of opinions on various issues, some of them may even throw us into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ(Galatians 1:6-7). But yet most of them agree on basic Christian truths. God says that we need to be equipped with wisdom from the Word of God to identify and not be led astray by false teaching and false teachers. All believers should know what the Scriptures are and they need to match up according to Gods word when they have some disagreements.

God also warns us to avoid people who causes divisions and put obstacles in our way that are contrary to the teaching (Romans 16:17).

Scriptures gives us a valuable insight and clear guidance on how we are to approach such disagreements and conflicts.

2 Timothy 4:3-4 says For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. James 4:1-3

As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. Ephesians 4:14-16

The Apostle Paul told Timothy, “Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels” (2 Timothy 2:23)

Titus 3:9 says, “But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless.”

Also being a true believer we need to preach the truth, fighting the good fight of faith never compromisingly for any reason whatsoever and to bring back the erring brother. James 5:19-20 says My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

When we have disagreements we need to handle with love and respect and apply God’s unchanging Word of Truth and to allow holy spirit to operate in our lives to seek Gods word by diligently studying and prayfully considered because as a individual person we all may have personal opinion but we need to be careful that our disagreements should not become a stumbling block for others to leading them away from faith in Christ or turn away from the Bible. Always we need to be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks the reason for the hope that we have with gentleness and respect(1 Peter 3:15).

Finally, it is God’s purpose for all believers’s to attain to the unity of the faith with unity of the Spirit United in Christ. (Ephesians 4:3 says, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.)

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!.

Did you ever consider that Jesus was bullied? Oh, yes, the Pharisees and Saducees – religious leaders of His day – couldn’t stand Him. This was really tough because he was, is, and always will be God. (John 1:1, 14; 10:30; etc.)

Jesus told Peter he could call down 10,000 angels to destroy the world when he was taken away to be crucified. But, He didn’t. Why not? Well, obvioulsy, He came to die for our sins, be buried, and rise again the third day. (1 Corinthians 15:3-4, etc.) His death was a punishment for our sins – He took that for each one of us. (1 Cor. 5:21)But, there’s another, special reason.

that reason is that He loves us. The recent incident at Rutgers, along with the deaths of various high school students, show there is a terrible problem.

Excellent resources for dealing with bullying, both in stopping the bullies and heling victims, have been found, such as this handy list of ways to cope. There is one other thing to consider before things get that bad, for those who are victims of bullying.

Students bully others for different reasons, as is noted in the last link above. However, one thing that everyone needs is to hear and see unconditional love.

First, for victims, you are loved no matter what by God. However, unless you trust Him forgive you for your sins, as mentioned above, you can’t have a relationship with Him. That is because yall of us have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) The wages of sin – what we earn because of our sin – is death, separation from God’s perfect love forever in a horrible place of suffereing. But, the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23) That gift is received by faith alone, in Christ alone and what He did for us on the cross. (Romans 10:9-10, Ephesians 2:8-9)

One you receive Jesus Christ as your Savior, invite Him into your heart, and you will be made a new creature on the inside. (2 Corinthians 5:17) Jesus Christ will come to live in you and work in your heart to make you mroe like Him.

Then, He will help you through everything. He promises “In this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) the Gospel of John is a great place to start out reading and learning more about Him.

In the meantime, He can also help you to have peace when others are mean. He has been through everything similar to what we face today. he didn’t have video games, but he had games, for instance.

You can have peace, then, that He will see you through. He can see anyone through anyone. He will also give you courage to say “I love you in Christ” to those who dislike you.

That is important, because you will then have the Lord in you, and He can help you help them to change, bit by bit, simply by showing Christ’s love for them. And, by using the power of prayer to change things.

Bullies must realize that there is unconditional love for them out there. They dont’ have to put others down to be special to God, becuase He is grieved any time someone feels hated. The bullies must break the bad habits early by learning to gather things like the Fruits of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, etc..

See, wanting power and control over someone is wrong. it’s what the devil does. And, when we try to control others for selfish purposes, we are letting the devil control us.

Instead, we need to realize the freedom being in Christ gives us. God’s Word, the Bible, promises “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)

This, by the way, is also excellent advice from someone in a relationship (marriage, boyfriend/girlfriend/whatever) where they are being bullied. God has given you the power to end that controlling nature of the devil. When the Bible speaks of Jesus “leading captivity captive,” it isn’t just talking about letting captives free who are prisoners for crimes. Many times, we imprison ourselves or allow others to imprison us. But, Jesus holds the key to escape.

The key to escape is *not* by leaving this world, though it will be when God calls us home someday. The key to escape is a spiritual one. it involves being free from being bullied or from being a bully. instead, God let’s us learn to form relationships based on mutual love adn trust.

The first key is to draw close to others, ask the Lord to help you and your family become closer to each other express your feelings more through words. If you can’t with them, find friends who are willing to listne. But first, if you are a bully, you must trust the Lord to help you do this.

It might be hard, if people have let you down so much. But, all it takes is one little smiden of faith. And, that starts by realizing that God is not a man, that He should lie. God is the one who made this world and everything, including you. He loves you.

However, thousands of years ago, sin was brought into the world through disobedience. People followed the devil and his ways of controlling, and lusting after the flesh.

God will one day punish all sin, and it will be thrown in a lake of fire to burn forever. perhaps you would like to see others there, becuase people have been mean to you. But, remember, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. We’re not perfect. If we don’t form that perfect, unconditional loving relationship with God, we will die in our sins and go to that horrible place where sin will be punished.

God loved each of us, though – He doesn’t want you to go there. he is pleading with all who red to turn to Him before it is too late.All it takes is a single, sincere prayer of repentence int he Lord Jesus. Just talk to God, and: Admit you’re a sinner, that you fall short of His perfect love. Believe that Jesus Christ, God in flesh, died for your sins and rose fromt he dead; He took your punishment becuase you can’t get to Heaven on your own. And, Choose to repent and receive Him as your Savior, inviting Him into your heart to save you from your sins and forgive you, and to make you new ont he inside.

And, please, go out and share that Godly love with others, showing them a change. Becuase, when people see changed lives, they will believe there is a difference. That will be having a positive impact,a nd taking control by letting God use you in positive way. You will be spreading true, unconditinoal love around.

And, this world needs so much mroe love. Not just shallow, physical love, but deep, intimate, personal love. he can help you have that, if you only trust Him.

Anger is a sneaky one…

He likes to sneak in on the coat tales of other emotions. Maybe more so with men, or maybe it’s just me. I know anger isn’t always bad, it can get adrenalin going and help with the fight or flight situations. But I used to be way more comfortable with anger, I know its “personality”, its symptoms. But I think we are trained(by the world) that anger is OK in men and other emotions are not. hurt? cover it with anger. Sad? cover it with anger. worried, confused, embarrassed, etc? cover it with anger. All those other emotions are not masculine and we don’t know how to deal with them, but anger we are used to that, the power, the high…there is a song by Disciple called…

Dear X

Dear hate, I know you’re not far
You would wait at the door of my heart
I was amazed at the passion in your cries
Dear anger, you made me so high
You were faithful to show up on time
Such a flame that was burning in your eyes
I let you go
But you’re still chasing

There all these painful emotions, sadness, rejection, humiliation, we are trained to turn them to hate. The problem is pain, sadness, rejection, humiliation, all suck, but they fade. Anger and Hate… They like to stick around & provide their own fuel for the fire, and when they become your default emotion, it’s even harder, and it always seems like they are chasing you.

Looking back over the past couple years and realizing that no matter how much I am becoming the man I want to be, sometimes the Man I didn’t want to be shows up.

It’s the awkward touchy feely things that make me uncomfortable around some situations, so when I’m standing on the side of the road hugging a homeless man after somehow I get him to voice his anger at God.  He cries/better yet/ wails into my shoulder.  The thought in my head “what the frell am I doing here?”

Earlier that year a Woman organizes a “prayer drive though” Corporate prayer is not my thing (please leave it at that) So I’m in the side of I 35 holding the signs, “Jesus Loves you”, and “free prayer”.  Again the thought in my head “what the frell am I doing here?”

The most shocking was early in my walk I was on mission to Biloxi. We were invited to join a small southern baptist church for wed night service, I did not want to go, I heard there was another church that played rock & more contemporary music.  I decided to got to the smaller church with the rest of my team. it was beautiful we walked in and they were all singing songs, no music or “hymnals” a lady sitting in front would sing a verse the rest of the people would follow.  It was beautiful so I just opened my bible and enjoyed the songs.  Then…. they stopped singing, the lady leading the worship looked over at our group and said “y’all…sing something”.  I jumped up in front of the whole church and sang “your love is amazing” 1 verse and the chorus, solo, a’capella, when I finished singing my Mission team looked like deer in headlights, I sat down and said to my team “that never leaves this room”.

Sometimes being worried about appearing to be one of those “wierd” people may deter us from experiencing something great or doing something great.

There are those who would “berate” people with the message “God loves you”. But I’ve been in in a bar talking to someone, and at the right point in the conversation I told a person just that. the reaction while still a little awkward was also met with gratitude.

Maybe it’s not so much what we say or do that turns people off.  But how we say it, why we say it, and what actions go with our words.  Is there meaning in it or is it just platitudes.

Not really sure how to tie this one up.   I guess there are 2 points… I think if we are living out our faith …to the full, there should be some “aw crap what am I doing here” type moments.  The second part is up for a longer debate.  Do we seek out these moments or allow them to be truly Spirit led… or do we constantly chase the wild goose (what Celtics (not the NBA Celtics) called the Holy Spirit), and thus mix the line between intentionality and spontaneity?

The Problem of Evil

Since the beginning of time, there has been a war raging in the cosmos. It is a war that starts in heaven when Lucifer decides that he wants to be God. Lucifer was God’s most beautiful creation. He walked before the throne room daily and was considered an archangel. But Lucifer became jealous of God, and it was out of that jealously that Lucifer convinced one third of the angels to join his efforts to overthrow God and become God himself. It was at this point He ceased being an archangel and became the Prince of Darkness. The Devil’s revolt resulted in him being cast out of Heaven by God and ever since Satan and God have been enemies.

In our time we look forward to the day that evil will no longer hold sway in the world. We long for a heaven on earth. And one day there will be a new heaven and a new earth. But until that day comes when evil is finally no longer, evil still remains and causes much pain on the earth. In God’s original creation everything that God created was good. In fact for a time, humanity itself knew no sin. Then man sinned, and evil manifested itself into the world. Evil can be defined “as the refusal to accept the true God as God. True evil elevates itself or another to replace God.” The question often arises, if God being holy and just knew that evil and sin would come to the earth than why did He not prevent it or stop it? There are three reasons why God allows evil to continue in the world and they are the following: 1.) God created man with free will and thus gave man the ability to choose to accept Him or reject Him, 2.) The fact that evil and suffering is so prevalent in our lives reveals the fact that we have our own inadequacies and that we need God, and 3.) God allows evil because He does not want His children to get used to the present life because as the Bible says, we are just pilgrims and sojourners passing through and as believers, Heaven is our final eternal state.
God created man with free will and thus gave man the ability to choose to accept Him or reject Him. God did not create evil. God did create persons with freedom who could practice it. So we are who actualize evil, not Him. He could have created a world without the possibility of evil, but He preferred a world with free choice. God created us with the power of choice. To quote from Ravi Zacharias,
“What would it take to create a loving world void of evil? A world in which love is capable of meaningful expression and experience would also imply a world in which there is choice. If someone tells you that they love you, those words mean something because they are freely given. If you learned that someone had told you they loved you but that they had been forced to say it, their words would not mean very much. Thus, if we want to speak of a loving world, we must also speak of a world in which choices are exercised. And in such a world, there is also the possibility of choosing a course of action that is not loving, i.e. evil.”
True love implies and demands a free choice! Or else you would have a fixed environment in which humanity would be robots. Alvin Plantinga claimed the following:
“If God creates human beings with true, morally significant free will (where humans can freely decide to act in ways that really do advance goodness in the world, or really do cause evil in the world against self, others or world), and if God wants a world in which there are significant amounts of moral goodness, it’s possible that God cannot get that kind of world without significant amounts of moral badness as well. After all, if people are left free by God, then the morally significant states of the world will in large part be up to the decisions of humans, not up to God.”

The fact that evil and suffering is so prevalent in our lives reveals the fact that we have our own inadequacies and that we need God. Simply put, all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. When Adam and Eve sinned, God promised that one day there would be one coming that would be a sacrifice for sin and would make a way for people to have there relationship restored to God. That was done when Jesus died on Calvary. Jesus took all of humanities sins, and bore them for all of humanity so that people might have a chance to be saved and inherit eternal life. We see here that “Christ’s atonement guarantees the final end of evil and suffering”. Alcorn says, “The drama of evil and suffering in Christ’s sacrifice addresses the very heart of the problem of evil and suffering. One day it will prove to be the final answer.” The answer to the problem of evil and suffering according to Alcorn,“is not a philosophy, but a Person; not words, but the Word.” Jesus Christ is the answer to the problem of evil. Only He can help us with the feeling of inadequacies and the feelings of hopelessness. Only He can save humanity from their sins. Only Jesus can provide true lasting peace.
God allows evil because He does not want His children to get used to the present life because as the Bible says, we are just pilgrims and sojourners passing through and as believers, Heaven is our final eternal state. If everything was perfect and no problems ever surfaced and there was no pain in life then people would not have to rely upon God anymore for anything. Alcorn points out that “in order to appreciate our eternal future, we will remember the sufferings of the present.” Because we have pain and suffering, we must rely upon an Almighty God. Human beings do not have all the answers. Dinesh D’ Sousa writes.

The only way for us to really triumph over evil and suffering is to live forever in a place where those things do not exist. It is the claim of Christianity that there is such a place and that is available to all who seek it. No one can deny that, if this claim is true, then evil and suffering are exposed as temporary hardships and injustices. They are as transient as our brief, mortal lives. In that case God has shown us a way to prevail over evil and suffering, which are finally overcome in the life to come.”

So in reality, in the big picture evil and suffering is only temporary. So every trial and every tribulation that we may face in life is well worth it, because one day those that believe in Jesus will receive new resurrected bodies that will no longer be corrupted. We will be in Heaven where Jesus is, and there will be no more sin. Revelation 21:1-7 best illustrates what will happen in the end: 1And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 6And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 7He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
In conclusion, we have seen the three reasons why God allows evil to exist in our present world. According to Ed Hindson and Emir Caner,
“What evil forces us to conclude is either God is not good, or that our conception of God’s relationship toward us needs serious rethinking. The evidence about evil drives us decisively to this latter conclusion. God uses evil, suffering, and disorder to drive us to Himself. If He gave only good, we would be self-satisfied. If he had given immediate death when we sinned, He would be just. That He gives us partial goodness and partial suffering now forms a texture of hope that in the future, He will in fact make all things right in a final consummation and restoration. God is not through: He will continue to work on us, like a persistent sculptor working the metal with hard blows and constant lighter corrections, to help us become worthy of happiness if we receive Him and submit to His plan. On most occasions, it seems, we do not know why God allows certain evils. But we know someone who knows these things, and we can therefore trust Him to make good on His promise that “he who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Our society teaches us to mask our emotions.  In fact, according to society’s standards, the better you are able to keep your emotions inside, the more ‘mature’ you are considered to be.   However, the Word of God shows us the opposite is true.  We could try to pretend that everything is ok, but even if we successfully deceive people, we cannot successfully deceive our enemy, and we most certainly cannot deceive God.

Plato said, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”  Everyone you meet is going through something.  Life really boils down to a series of peaks and troughs, going up and down and in and out.  It doesn’t matter how well someone seems to manage his/her life, because we are all alive we are ebbing and flowing through life.  The truth is there can be no peak that is not preceded by a trough.  You cannot have a high unless you have previously experienced a low.

The Spirit of discernment, wisdom, and revelation knowledge is a superior degree of understanding that renders the previous level of understanding obsolete.
Recently I mentioned a situation I encountered with a loved one who said some destructive words about my life. From her perspective I’m sure she was simply trying to “help me understand the truth”… But Jesus said we shall know the truth and the truth shall make us free (John 8:32). The “truth” He is referring to is God’s truth, not a person’s opinion or conclusion. Therefore if a person’s opinion does not align with the Word of God, then it is not the truth and therefore it is worthless.

Period.

Nevertheless, for nearly a month I allowed my thoughts to drift to those destructive words. That was a huge mistake, even though I didn’t realize it right away. I prayed about the situation, but I did not apply the Word of God to it. My prayer should have been, “Lord, show me Your way.” Instead I prayed, “Lord, help me to stop thinking about this!” At the time, I felt like I was trapped in a dark room and all I wanted to do was get out. I didn’t realize that I was standing in front of the door to my freedom, but I could not bring myself to walk through it. Now I know that the only way out…… is through. We must walk through the door of forgiveness unless we want to remain in the prison that has held us captive. Otherwise the pain of our past is continually repeated in our lives. God was seeking to heal my heart and usher me through the door…….but I was too afraid. That door is unfamiliar to me…it looked scary and risky and would take way too much effort. So instead of asking God for life, I asked for death.

Whoa.

Yes, that’s right. I was asking God to deaden that part of my heart. Why should I stand up and deal with the issue when it would be much easier to simply run and hide?

But then I found out there is nowhere to hide.

The Word says,

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.

HEBREWS 4:12-13 NLT

We are each individually accountable to God…but what are we accountable for? What is God’s ultimate goal? To shape and mold each of us into His very own image and likeness. He wants to experience your love for Him more and more each day. He created you in order to love you and to love others through you. Since He is love, everything He does is motivated by love. He allows things to take place in your life that will continually fulfill His divine mission to transform you.

As a result…there is nowhere to hide.

You see, every single thought you have is naked and exposed before God’s eyes. Every thought. But the good news is this: He has given us the power to choose our thoughts. Since we are accountable to Him for our thoughts, when we choose to think good thoughts about hurtful situations, it brings glory to God. As we glorify Him, He is glorified in us! That doesn’t mean we feel good about being hurt…It means we choose to have a new way of thinking about the situation. We are to live from our spirit, which is where God dwells, not from our feelings, which is our flesh. That’s why walking in love is truly a miracle.

Your love walk begins with your thought life. Taking control of your thoughts is the first step toward the miracle of love.

Five minutes ago you may not have been thinking the right thoughts. But when you begin to meditate on the Word and think lovely and lovable thoughts, you cannot help but to have a different attitude. You have the POWER to choose your own thoughts! This is a supreme gift that is worth repeating over and over again.

Now, we know God does not force Himself on us in any way. However, He does have a way of pursuing us to surrender to Him. The reason I was trying to harden my heart to the pain I was experiencing is because a hardened heart is an emotion that is very familiar and comfortable for me. As difficult as it is to admit, I know this has been the way I have chosen to deal with these types of experiences in the past. It’s kind of like wearing an old pair of shoes. They may not be cute and they many not make you feel attractive, but boy are they comfortable!

But you know what? I’m ready to throw out those old, saggy, worn out shoes! I’m changing! I’m growing! Yes it took me a month to get clarity from God and move beyond this situation, but at least it didn’t take 3 months or 3 years! If you are engaging yourself in the Word, then you are also changing and growing! Hallelujah! Our future is not determined by our past!

But if you are not engaging yourself in the Word and continually renewing your mind with the Word, then you are relying only on what you’ve learned in the past and you are deceiving yourself.

How do you know when you’ve been deceived? You DON’T! Not until God reveals it to you through the Spirit of discernment, wisdom and revelation knowledge. So even though those negative thoughts infiltrated my mind, I tried to defeat them the wrong way. Eventually God showed me that I was being deceived and He helped me to lean into His pursuit of my heart. He gave me a twofold strategy and I’m so glad to say it is working! I now choose to consciously bring the situation, my loved one, and my heart before the Lord in prayer. Here is what I am doing:

1. Each time I think about the situation, I immediately pray for my loved one. I ask God to bless her in a special, extraordinary way that day. I ask Him to heal and restore her heart of any hurt she’s experienced in the past, and to help her forgive those who have hurt her, including me. I tell God how much I love her and I thank God for His love for her. I ask God to show her how special she is to Him, so that she will know she is beautiful and worthy of love and is thoroughly loved by Him. I ask God to ignite her spiritual growth so that she can learn to give love rather than rebuke. I ask God to help her love herself more, and I ask Him to bless our relationship so that we can be a testimony of forgiveness and restoration.

2. I apply the Word of God to the words that she said about my life and my ministry. I wrote down a few Scriptures and placed them up on my refrigerator since I’m usually in the kitchen alone with my thoughts when my mind drifts to the situation. (Remember satan’s plan: divide and conquer). The card is full of Scriptures that remind me of who I am in Christ. Each time I read it I get more and more excited about God’s vision for my life.

When you are experiencing destructive thoughts, know that satan’s goal is to gain momentum in your mind so he can ultimately gain momentum in your life. This is a spiritual strategy of war and there is only one way to stop his momentum – by using a spiritual weapon of warfare. One of those weapons is the Word of God. The power of God’s Word is stronger than your willpower. As your thoughts drift to unhealthy thoughts, you cannot simply tell yourself to stop thinking about it. I’ll give you an example. Right now, I want you to try not to think about jumping out of an airplane. Try not to imagine the wind in your face and the ground many thousands of feet below. Try not to think about your parachute. Try not to even think about the plane.

How well did that go for you? My guess is you saw each of those things in your mind. Our mind and the spirit world around us is made up of messages. These messages are carried in absolute terms. Therefore the words “not” or “don’t” have no effect. The message is still received. Here’s another example: do a search in Google that begins with the word “not”. Like “not eating junk food”. What comes up? Every single title has the word “junk food” in it…because that’s the input – the message – you gave it.

So it’s easy to see how ineffective it is to try to simply ‘think’ our way out of a pattern of negative thoughts. Eventually those thoughts will return because we cannot defeat satan in our own strength. The only other way is to SPEAK your way out of the pattern of negative thoughts. You can’t turn off your mind, but you can re-direct your thoughts by speaking out loud something else that may be 100% contrary to your thoughts. Try it! God’s Word really is ALIVE and POWERFUL! Get yourself a few Scriptures – even one will do – and speak them out loud over your situation every time you have a destructive thought. Visit “Inspired to Triumph“ and use those Scriptures as a starting point to stop satan’s momentum and put the ball back in your own court. Taking control of your thoughts is a learned behavior that requires a lifelong commitment. Fortunately we don’t have to deal with our entire lives at this very moment. All you need to do is make a conscious decision to change your thoughts by speaking God’s Word now. That’s what it means to sow a thought, and as the saying goes:

“Sow a Thought, and you reap an Act; sow an Act, and you reap a Habit; sow a Habit, and you reap a Character; Sow a Character, and you reap a Destiny.”

The down side of God’s love?? I’m not that Hot!! when we first started going to church I was skeptical at least. some of the “touchy feely” things mentioned just seemed cheesy.. and all the “nice” people seemed fake (and I don’t doubt some were) then…. there were a few people that, in my mind, seemed to be hitting on me.. my reaction was almost impulsive in my head I was thinking “doesn’t this person know I’m married do they not see my wife and kids right here”?? what made it even more odd was that some of these people were men.. they just seemed too interested in me and in and not the cheesy churchy way….come to find out these people were interested and they were genuinely loving. these people had the love of God in them and it just flowed out in their every day conversations and actions. kinda broke my heart when I finally figured this out I thought my gym membership was finally paying off.

Now it’s even more odd.. the people that are drawn to me in conversation from followers to atheists. The way I connect with children is nothing short of supernatural. people from my past recognize the peace and love in my daily life and wonder. people I meet know that I’m different from most others and the conversation eventually turns to my faith. I wish I could say I was hot or an excellent speaker or super charismatic…. But when I stand before the mirror, I have to give the glory to God…because I’m just not that hot

A couple of weeks ago I had lunch with some lovely ladies at work and was intrigued by the questions they raised as they discussed a trend that has recently gained so much momentum that I wonder if we will ever be able to haul in the reins on it. Divorce. Have you noticed how many couples are splitting lately? Some will come right out and get a divorce, some will call it ‘separation,’ others call it ‘amicably parting ways.’ Call it what you may, it isn’t God’s intended plan.

As the lovely ladies recounted tale after tale of seemingly ‘match-made-in-heaven’ couples who ended up parting ways for any number of reasons, right from incompatibility, just better suited as friends and not as a couple, fell out of love, sickness, poverty, bankruptcy, infidelity… (the list is endless really), the question of the true meaning of love slowly arose. One lady argued that love doesn’t exist. That this thing we call ‘love’ is just a cheap excuse for all the emotional mistakes we make, that it is irrelevant when choosing a life partner, and that for a marriage to work it should be treated as a ludicrous business investment, complete with a detailed signed contract, lawyers, no emotional involvement whatsoever, the works!

I attempted to answer her question at the time but even I found my explanation wanting. So I’ve been praying over it and asking the Master to reveal it to me. And he, in his wonderful faithfulness, revealed it to me as I walked home for lunch not too long ago. It’s so simple that when he said it I didn’t believe it. I’ve had enough time to think it through and ask all the questions I had and I’m now convinced that love is really just simple. Not easy, simple.

‘To be good to – ‘ That’s what love means. To love someone is to be good to them. To love something is to be good to it, to use it in a way that will preserve it’s value while maximizing its potential. To love God is to be good to him. That’s it!

For clarity’s sake, let me expound on what this goodness is. It doesn’t mean to do ‘good’ things or to ‘please’ someone. Instead it means doing the right thing. To be good to someone means to do the most beneficial thing for that person. It means to uphold the integrity of the person, to respect them. For example, a person full of love will not harass a waiter at a hotel, or rudely answer a watchman at the company gate, or show some despicable hand signals to other road users. The love in him causes him to refrain from these actions. When you walk into a shop and the attendant steps up to help you, love commands – or demands – that you speak politely to them no matter their looks, dress, IQ, or even if they’re chewing gum! It doesn’t mean that you have to hug them and declare that you love them in front of everyone!

1st Corinthians 13 is a well known passage of scripture. It talks about love and its various attributes. My understanding of the passage is that it is God’s guide to what it means to be good to others, what it means to love others. When the apostle says ‘Love is patient, kind, does not envy, does not boast, is not proud, is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs, does not delight in evil, always rejoices with truth, always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres, never fails… in essence he is describing the action of love. If I can paraphrase, “When you love someone, it means that at all times you will be good to them; you will be patient with them and kind to them, you will not envy them but rejoice when they receive good things, you will not boast of your possessions and your achievement, putting them down in the process, but you will seek to edify them, to encourage them, to uplift them…”

Love and like are not alike. Not in the slightest. Love is an independent entity. It is not dependent on who the receiver is, what they look like, how they act, how they dress, what they like, how learned they are, how clean they are, what they’ve done, what they haven’t done. It not even dependent on the giver, and what he likes, and what he wants, and what sort of mood he’s in. Love is purely independent. There is nothing like ‘conditional love.’ Love is unconditional. Conditional love is as real as a cold fire. Like, on the other hand, is purely dependent. It is more of a feeling, an affirmation we unconsciously make of another person’s actions, behavior, and mere presence.

The bible says that God is love. And it also says that God is good. It therefore follows that love is good. The two are synonymous, but only in their true form. Just because someone is acting good towards you doesn’t mean that they love you. It could only be a ruse to get something out of you. But if someone is constantly being good towards you, even in his motives and unexpressed thoughts concerning you, then that person surely loves you. Remember too, that in Genesis, God created man in his own image. And since God is love, then man is the image of love. The difference is that man has been corrupted by sin, and sin defiles love. The more we live in sin, the further we move away from love. It becomes increasingly easier for us to lie, steal, curse, molest, assault, murder, drink, abuse drugs, fornicate, commit adultery… There is less and less love in us hence less inclination to be good to anyone. Including ourselves. The closer we come to God, as he washes away our sins and purges us with the blood of the Messiah, the richer our love grows.

Love doesn’t always feel good. No child enjoys the stroke(s) of the cane, yet the Lord advices us not to spare the rod lest we spoil the child. Hebrews 12:6 tells us that the Lord disciplines those he loves and punishes everyone he accepts as a son. Love sometimes means making great sacrifices like the one God made when he gave up Jesus to die for our sins. See, the bible says “For God so loved the world…” He did it out of love. It wasn’t just a random act, or a careless gesture, or an idiotic notion. It was a sacrifice driven purely by love. But love at times means saying no. It means that because I love you I will not spoil you with money before you learn its value. It means that because I love you I will not encourage your fantasies by agreeing to date you even when I know that I will never marry you. It means that because I love you I will not support your homosexual tendencies, I will not support your false religion and claims that Jesus is not the only way to heaven, I will not support your prostitution and fornication in the guise of ‘love’ or ‘poverty’ or whatever excuse you give for it. I will do what I can for you, but I will not support you in sin, because I know that the consequence of sin is destruction and I do not want you to be destroyed. Because I love you.

One last thing. So loving someone means being good to them, and loving something means being good to it – giving my baby healthy food, taking my car for servicing, treating my girlfriend with respect and not engaging in sex before marriage because I do not want to make her sin – but how can I be good to God? I am supposed to love God, aren’t I? Why, of course! King Solomon has the answer to that. Ecclesiastes 12:13 “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” The apostle John reiterates this in his first letter. 1st John 5:3 “This is love for God: to obey his commands.” All that he wants us to do is to obey his commands. Not so he can feel powerful and elevated, not to stroke or massage his ego (if he has one!) for he is not puffed up of full of himself, but because they are guidelines to true happiness on earth.

Joshua 7: 10

“The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Stand up! What are you doing down on your face?’”

I love this scene. Joshua, like me and a whole lot of other people, immediately assumed he had screwed up big time, since Israel got “routed” out of Ai. I wanted to hear Joshua say, “What the h-e-double-hockey-stick do You think I’m doing down here?! You’re the one who told us to do this when we’ve sinned, for crying out loud. Now You ask me what I’m doing? I don’t think so! I don’t think so…”

But along comes God and says, “What the hey? I’m not mad at you. Why ever would I be mad at you?? Get out of your self-centered depression and self-doubt and self-deprecation, and get out there and show them who’s boss, for My sake already!”

I love it. God is so funny sometimes!

Do you ever feel like that sometimes? I mean, we all make mistakes, and sometimes we can get downright depressed about it. Sometimes we can feel like there’s absolutely no way we can get out of this hole we’re in, and it’s all our own dumb fault. All we can even think of doing is simply lying down flat on our faces and waiting till something good happens again. Cuz there’s no way on earth we’re gonna put ourselves out there again until we know for certain exactly how to do what it is we’re trying to do, if we’re supposed to be doing it in the first place! Do you ever feel like that? Boy, I sure do!

But along comes God – surprise! Yes, there still is a God, even though evidence of Him is mighty lacking right now, it may seem. Just like in Joshua’s case, we did what was right, we followed the rules, we lead the people in the right direction, we were carrying out our destiny. What went wrong? So horribly, terribly wrong? We get down on our knees, even on our faces sometimes, and pray and search our hearts and wait. And wait. And wait. On our faces. For a long time.

Then along comes God. “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? I never told you to get down on your face, did I? I told you to go out and get the enemy! So get out there! But first make sure you have all the right people with you, and they follow my rules to a T.”

“Ok… So You don’t want me on my face?” says Joshua, or me, or you. “That’s right,” says God. “I want you up on your feet! Working for Me!”

“Wow,” I say. That is truly awesome. I messed up in some way, I know I did, but He doesn’t want me grovelling, bowing, scraping, genuflecting, etc. He wants our hearts humble, yes. But in our humility He wants us active! Alive! Standing straight and tall in the work He gives us to do. And He does give us work.

To Joshua He gave the job of clearing out the false gods from among the people of Israel, so they would again be brave in their trust in their One True God.

To us He gives the job of clearing out other false gods, so we can be brave and stand tall in His calling. Right now He is calling some to cast off other time consumers and steep ourselves in the knowledge of His Word, using the Bible in Ninety Days schedule.  For some of us this has meant a clearing of focus, simplifying our days. For others it means adding one thing more, but this one thing so profoundly trumps the others we wonder why we haven’t done it before. Still others find ourselves in a race to get our reading done, yet oddly intrigued by the archaic stories of God’s revelation to His people of who He really is.

As God calls us to get up off our faces and do His work of learning about Him, we prepare for the first step of taking this knowledge out to the parts of the world He sends us into. May we remember those messages He wants us to remember from His Word, precisely, and may we keep false gods away so we may be brave to do the work He gives us to do.

So remember, next time you find yourself wondering what went wrong, don’t simply fall on your face and wait for the answer. Keep working. Keep praying, but keep working at His work, whatever it is for you.

And I’ll be working right beside you.

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord.
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord.
And we pray that all unity may one day be restored.
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love,
By our love,
Yes they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand.
We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand.
And together we’ll spread the news that God is in our land,
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love,
By our love,
Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

We will work with each other, we will work, side by side,
We will work with each other, we will work, side by side,
And we’ll guard each one’s dignity, and save each one’s pride,
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love,
By our love,
Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Hebrews 3:13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

Hebrews 10:25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

I hope this little blog has encouraged you a little for Today.

Simply yours,

Patty

Is Allah the God of the Bible? Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?

Islam has become a major force in the world today. Because they believe in a few of the things Christians and Jews do, especially monotheism (one God), there is question as to whether Allah and the Judeo-Christian God are the same.

Son of God? Who is God?

Let’s start by looking at the God of the Bible. He is called Elohim when the Godhead is emphasized, and Yahweh when referring to His nature as one god.

This means that God shows Himself in three distinct ways, yet He is one God. If a man is married with children, and his father is living, he behaves (or, should behave) in a different manner toward his father than he does toward his wife, and in yet another way toward small children. He is still the same man. Another example is an egg – the yolk, the egg white, and the shell are all part of the egg. And yet, they are distinct. Finally, there is water. The chemical formula for it is H2O. H2O exists as a solid, liquid and gas all at the same time, in different part of the world.

So, we see the Godhead – what some call the Trinity – is very clear. God manifests Himself as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. God is eternally pre-existent in the spirit (non-physical) realm, in all three persons. In other words, God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit were all part of Creation. (Ge. 1:1-2, John 1:1-3, Col. Col. 1:16-17) God the Son appears in the Old Testament – before His miraculous birth via the Holy Spirit overshadowing Mary – a number of times as the Angel of the Lord. This is how He wrestled with Jacob, how He likely made the animal skins for Adam and Eve, and so on.

The Koran/Qur‘an, on the other hand, makes it very clear that Muslims believe Allah has no son. The idea of Allah having a son is “blasphemous” and a “monstrous falsehood” (18:46, 9:30-31) to them. Muslims are told, “[F]ight everyone who rejects Islam, even Christians and Jews, until they pay regular financial tribute with willing submission and feel themselves completely subjected to their Islamic conquerors.” (9:29) While the Koran/Qur’an says to say that they are the same (29:46), elsewhere it considers this a lie, and in fact states that Christians and Jews are the “worst creatures on earth.” (98:6) It says that Allah is “too majestic” to have a son. (4:171-172)

This goes opposite the Bible in a few ways.

First, Jesus commands us to love our enemies, and bless them that despitefully use us. (Mat. 5:44, etc.) We are to be known by our love, and not fight each other. Many places, that great unconditional love is proclaimed. Yes, evil people who refused to follow Jesus have tried to conquer claiming to be doing it for God, any a close reading of the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ commanded His followers to show Godly compassion to others. God is longsuffering toward us; while he is holy and must punish sin, He is also faithful to save the souls of any who call upon Him, and take them to His perfect heaven, even if – like the thief on the cross – they have forfeited their chances in this world. Sin has consequences, but God is love.

Second, it goes against the Bible’s insistence that Jesus is totally equal with God. He and the Father are one. (John 10:30) he is God’s only begotten Son (John 3:16, etc.), which means that He is of the same substance – that’s what Son of God means. Yes, there is the relational aspect as humans understand it – but Jesus is never seen, in the Bible, as being inferior. Everywhere, He is shown to be the one and only God. He simply chose to step down from His Heavenly throne to this world, in order to die for our sins, and rose from the death, defeating the devil once and for all.

A few other aspects:

The one above is crucial. There are too many differences to cover here, but a topical study of the Koran/Qur’an would be quite rewarding. For now, let‘s look at just a few short ones, which you may view more yourself:

Personal God of love:

That part about being too majestic comes from their concept that God can‘t be approached. However, the Bible says otherwise. God is very personal, and in fact, wants a personal relationship with each of us. He wants us to take all our cares and worries and burdens to Him. (Mat. 11:28-30, 1 Peter 5:7, etc.). He understands all of what we go through (Heb. 4:15-16), because He lived a sinless life, bearing our sins (1 Peter 2:24) – so He lived, but never sinned, thus He can help us through whatever we’re tempted by.

He is a personal God of love, too – this means He is always moved with compassion and will not only never tempt us beyond what we are able, he will provide a way out for us. He will lovingly guide us according to what is best for each of us.

Sacrifice for our sins:

A great archaeologist named William Ramsey set out to prove the Bible wrong, and wound up finding Luke to be an incredible historian who got all his facts right. One of those facts that Luke and the other Bible writers note is that Jesus willing gave himself for us. Because he was God, He could have come down from the cross – He could have called 10,000 angels. Yes, another man had to carry the cross part of the way, but this was very common – quite a few people never survived the scourging before they were crucified, and Jesus didn’t have the strong, broad shoulders that the thieves who were crucified often had. Jesus clearly died on that cross, then rose from the dead. Indeed, among early believers were likely his two sons – otherwise, it’s not likely they would have been mentioned.

Compassion, not honor:

Among some Muslims, there is a form of law called sharia,. This law boasts no compassion when it comes to the treatment of women. It is all about honor. On the other hand, jesus and His followers insisted that women be honored, and when he came across an adulteress, He pardoned her. Jesus constantly forgave sins.

It can be argued, of course, that this law – like some unorthodox Christian teachings – isn’t in the Koran/Qur’an. What’s important, though, is that believers in Christianity are admonished to loves their wives as Christ loved the church. And, if someone sins against another, the only one at fault is the one who sinned, not the victim. God consistently has compassion on those who suffer. The Bible also clearly says that men should love their wives as Christ loved the church (Eph. 5:25); and He was constantly giving Himself for it.

Indeed, elsewhere, we read that God is no respecter of persons, and that all are equal in Christ Jesus (Gal. 3:28) – there is no disparity between man and woman, except in how men are called to be the spiritual leaders. But, this doesn’t give man the right to walk all over a woman, and when the man won’t or can’t lead a family spiritually, a woman can still become great for doing so. (2 Kings 4:8 onward)

Another excellent article, which contains facts from The New Encyclopedia Britannica, Edition 15, Volumes 22 & 25, discussing how the ecumenical movement has discusses things such as the origin of Islam. There is also much evidence for the truths of the Old Testament, and the people mentioned therein – evidence which is being destroyed.

However, the important thing to remember is this:

The God of the Bible, the Creator and sustainer, loves you. He is not the same as that of Islam. Instead, He is a personal, loving, and caring God, who deliberately came to this world and died on the cross, rising from the dead so we could go to Heaven.

He doesn’t require anything of us but our faith. To get to Heaven, one must: A. Admit your status as a sinner, that you fall short of God’s perfect glory, and that this means you can’t get into His perfect heaven on your own; B. Believe that Jesus Christ, God in flesh, was born of a virgin, took the punishment for your sins when He died on the cross, and then rose victoriously from the dead; and, C. Choose to repent of your sins – that is, agree with god about your sin – and receive him as your Savior by simple faith. For by grace are ye saved by faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God – not of works, lest any man should boast. (Eph. 2:8-9)

God will never just weigh things in a balance the way other religions claim. No sin at all can get into heaven. The Bible is true when it says, “Ye must be born again.” (John 3:3) This concept is not present is Islam. It is the truth that God, in His perfect love, only wants us to come to Him and accept that we need Him to forgive us and save us, and to then receive that forgiveness by faith, letting Him make us new on the inside. Then, we will no longer be slaves to self, but we will be free. And, we can be certain – because, He wants us to be sure, and to know that just by believing – receiving Him by faith (John 20:31, 1 John 5:13) – we can have life forever with Him, now and in Heaven, where nobody suffers, nobody feels pain, nobody dies, and where nobody can imagine the wonders that await us.

My husband built me a bird feeder from a welding rod can.  It was painted a beautiful red color with a white cap (made from a stove element cover).  I thought it was sure to withstand anything.

That is, until my nightly bird coon came along.  The pretty raccoon in the picture gave me a joyful surprise when I discovered he’d been visiting my feeder.  I was confused, but wondered why the squirrels suddenly developed big enough muscles to begin disassembling my indestructible feeder.  Turns out the squirrels had been sharing their bounty with the bird coon.

I could’ve gotten angry that the squirrels decided my pretty red feeder was fair game.  I could’ve gotten even more angry that the raccoon decided it was a great place for a nightly treat.  After all, eventually, they had warped the lid I was so proud to have my husband assemble and had begun to wiggle the feeder off the screw he’d mounted to hold said feeder onto the post.  Finally, after many nights of abuse, the feeder could stand no more.  It toppled to the ground, and with it my heart fell a little.  It had been the first feeder my husband ever made for me; and the fact that he’d made it from the welding rod can was even more special.  He’d begun to follow a welding career, you see.  It was yet another landmark in the path of our marriage.

However, I decided that God loves all creatures great and small, and so should I.  The squirrels are sneaky little buggers and are quick to high-tail it out of sight whenever they suspect I’m anywhere near.  I rarely get a glimpse of them, but it delights me that they feel free to enjoy my donation to a good cause.

The raccoons, on the other hand, brought another creature to my bird stand.  On more than one occasion, I found a possum eating from the bounty placed on the stand.

After the critters made their disgust of my beautiful red feeder known, I retired it to the junk heap and dug out a plastic container.  The container had held a batch of cookies sold at Wal Mart.  It made a perfect feeder for my newly acquired friends.  They found it a joy to climb into the container and eat to their hearts content.  It fit snugly enough onto the screw that they left it alone as long as I provided treats.  Once I forgot to fill the container, so they knocked it to the ground to show their frustration with my careless abandon of their newly acquired nightly adventures.

Once I saw that they wanted to be regular visitors, I discovered that the critters liked our table scraps.  So, I began to put the scraps in the plastic feeder nightly.  By the next morning, all signs of the scraps were gone.  Occassionally, I would hang out clothes on the line just after dark.  As I’d go out the front door to round the corner to the clothesline, I’d catch my possum or racoon friends snacking on the feeder post.  It was amazing to me that they became brave enough to stay and allow me to pass within five feet of them.

I love animals.  God loves animals.  I know it is hard for the wild animals to dig up enough food to satisfy, so it made me happy to help provide for them while I was able.  I guess my possum friend was either discouraged by the competition or decided the snacks had gone past his ability to enjoy them.  I noticed the raccoon visiting earlier in the evenings, so I’m guessing he was beating the possum to the grub.  God’s wondrous creatures became my wondrous creatures.  I respected their need to be left alone to eat, aside from getting a picture every so often for my scrapbook.

I wish that more people could respect God’s creatures.  Why is it that we humans feel that because we are different and somewhat “superior” to the animals, that we should bully them into submission?  Why must we overtake their habitats and then become angry when they impose upon our own?  Why can’t we just admire their beauty and learn to live in peace with them the way the good Lord intended?

I believe that the way we interact with God’s creatures, be it bird coon, possum, squirrel, or whatever….says something about our character.  If we can’t have compassion for the wild creatures, why are we worthy of His compassion for us?  He created them with love.   They give to us so much that we take for granted, much like we take God’s gifts and abilities for granted.

Allow God to show you a new direction.  Take the time to learn from His other creatures.  See what you can learn from your own bird coons and such.  And remember, God loves ALL creatures great and small.  So should you.

Was it a dream or a nightmare?  Was it a vision of some sort? Did it really happen?  I do not know.  I only know that the event and all the things that I am about to describe to you seem as real to me now in the day light as they did in the darkness.  I imagine it was all a dream, but I feel the reality of it in the deepest crevices of my heart and soul.

It began in a large white area that reminded me of a hospital.  It was immaculately clean and more tranquil than any hospital I had ever been in or visited.   I peered inside through a large gate with intricate and ornately designed carvings and emblems.  I saw a very tall man.  I don’t really think it was a man.  It was a very tall and broad creature with masculine features and a beauty that is not usually found in men.  He sort of floated or glided to the gate and opened it to let me in. He went back to where he had been and motioned for me to follow.  I did, with shaking knees and goose bumps on my arms. It was a strange eerie feeling that I felt in this place.  As I got closer to where to man stopped, I noticed that the entire area was filled with little clear cases or cube like carriages.   Each case had a teeny tiny little being inside.  Some were too small and fragile to even be seen with the human eye.  For each of them there was one or more attendants or care givers.  These care givers smiled as they saw me and smiled at the little beings as they handled them and cared for them and I could tell that the attendants shared special strength and a wonderful love with the little ones in the cases.  I could feel that the little beings were weak and that the smiling care givers helped them and gave them continual strength and that strength seemed to compound and accumulate the longer I stood there nearby watching.  The tiny beings looked almost identical to infant children.  They varied in size and shape and there were so many.  There were billions upon billions, at the very least.  For as far as I could see, this area was filled with the small clear cases and the little, innocent beings inside.

The man that had let me spoke to me with out opening his mouth.  He asked me to follow him and to take still a closer look.  I was led quickly on the man’s heels by my growing curiosity.  As we approached the first row of clear cases I saw that each little one had a name written beautifully on their case.  Each one had jewels and intricate designs upon it.  The cases were bright and shiny and they shimmered and so did the little ones inside.  They glowed! How beautiful, I thought.  The man spoke again.  This time he spoke aloud.  “Gently touch your fingers to this case”, he said, pointing with one long finger to a nearby case.  I did, and as my fingers touched a story began to unfold to me.  It was the story of the one inside.  It was a male child.  He was to become a medical scientist and discover the cure for cancer.  He was also to be a big brother, husband and father.  He would have been loved by many and he would have made a difference in the lives of others.

I touched many cases at the man’s command.  Each one told another story. I heard stories of love and purpose and stories of things that should have been and never were.  I heard stories of the one’s who would have saved people from burning buildings, traveled and made great discoveries, invented interesting and invaluable creations.  I learned of loving relationships that never formed and miraculous deeds of bravery and thoughtfulness that would never get to be done.  I even saw great triumphs for both humanity and in the kingdom of God and in heaven.

“Why”, I asked? “Why can’t these little babies do all of those great things?”  My heart was heavy and tears overflowed like a waterfall from deep within me.
The man did not answer me.  Instead he said, “Now, take my hand.”  When my hand went into his I saw the most terrible thing yet.  I saw one of those sweet, innocent babies growing comfortably within their Mother’s womb.  I could feel everything that the little baby felt.  I felt its tiny heart beat, small and low.  I felt the growth of strength in its little body.  I felt the safety and security of being there.  It was so warm.  It was so restful.  It was so very peaceful.  Then without warning I felt the Mother’s heart beat escalating and I heard loud but muffled voices.  It was all happening so fast.  The baby was startled awake from a wonderful dream.  Then some kind of machine came into the darkness.   The loud device entered the secret places inside the womb and began to devour the little baby.  I felt the baby’s pain.  Terrible, it was just awful.  It was too terrible to describe with words.  I felt a great pressure and an inner pain that surpassed that of the physical pain.  I felt the little baby’s sadness and all the hurt from of betrayal.  I felt the life being jolted away from the baby!   The baby’s life was stolen!
The baby was snatched!  It was too painful!

I pleaded with the man.  “Please make it stop!”  I tried to wrench my hand out of his hand but the man did not let go.  The terrible thing was still happening.  The little baby was so sweet and although the thoughts were not in words like our thoughts come to us, the baby had thoughts.  It wanted to say something, but there were no words or any way for the baby to speak.  It wanted to cry out for help, and for comfort but it could not cry.  The baby was so helpless to save itself and I found myself wishing and praying that there was something-anything I could do.  I watched helplessly as the hopes, dreams and opportunities to live and achieve and love and laugh were stolen too. Now the little baby had no more thoughts.  There were no more sweet dreams or hopes.  There were no tears and there was no more life in that womb. There was nothing more than emptiness and darkness, and the little baby was destroyed and discarded as nothing.

“What can I do’, I cried?  “Please just tell me!   What can I do?”  I heard no answer and I felt my hand being released.  I unclenched my eyes and slowly opened them. I was back in the area where all the little cases or baby carriages were at.  I don’t know why I had not noticed it before.  It was so quiet.  Not one baby whimpered or cried.  Other than my own, not one cry came from this place.   I now saw many attendants coming and going with many more aborted children, ministering to them, loving them and caring for them.  I now recognized them to be angels of God.  I was in heaven!  I looked for the angel that had let me in and could not find him anywhere.  Then, I looked and saw Jesus.  I saw the scars that the nails had left in His hands.  I saw the love in His eyes as He looked at me.  I heard love in His voice as He spoke, “You must be a voice for the unheard cries.”

The writing above is fiction and did not actually happen.  I just wanted to bring important attention to a very important issue. It is terrible to know how many children are aborted.  The reality is far worse than any nightmare.  The facts are startling!  According to bound4life an estimated 46 million abortions happen every year all over the world, (1 baby is killed every 2 seconds) and approximately 50 million babies have been aborted in the United States since 1973. There are many other numbers and statistics but one of the most upsetting is that the reason for 98% of all abortions is reportedly personal choice or inconvenience.

Scriptures that support the fact that unborn babies or fetuses are living children:

Psalm 139:14 (New International Version)

¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Genesis 25:23 (Amplified Bible)

23The Lord said to her, [The founders of] two nations are in your womb, and the separation of two peoples has begun in your body; the one people shall be stronger than the other, and the elder shall serve the younger.

Job 31:15 (Amplified Bible)

15Did not He Who made me in the womb make [my servant]? And did not One fashion us both in the womb?

Jeremiah 1:5 (Amplified Bible)

5Before I formed you in the womb I knew [and] approved of you [as My chosen instrument], and before you were born I separated and set you apart, consecrating you; [and] I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.

Psalm 139:13 (Amplified Bible)

13For You did form my inward parts; You did knit me together in my mother’s womb.

God creates us very carefully and with great thought and love for us.  We are made special by God’s own design. Even before we are born, God has created us for a purpose.  God knows our future even while we are still inside the womb.  God fashions us all from within the womb.  God forms us and knows us and approves of us before we are born.  God has great plans for us even before we are born. God creates us both inside and out and we are alive at the time of conception.  From the moment we are conceived God is at work creating us according to His plan for us.

If you are pregnant or know someone that is pregnant and considering having an abortion, please seek help in making a good decision before aborting your unborn child.  Please know that the child you carry inside of you may be small but that child is alive and God has plans for every child before they are even conceived in the womb and born into this world.   God loves you and that little unborn baby very much.  There is nothing too difficult for God.  He will help you and see you through.

Please pray for the unborn children.  Please join me and be a voice for the unheard cries.

May your life be blessed and a blessing in Christ Jesus.

We tend to focus on our loved ones here on earth when Valentine’s Day comes around. What about our Heavenly Father? He should be at the top of our list of Valentines.
My Father, Son, and Holy Spirit gave His love to us before anyone did. He brought us to life, touched our hearts, and gave us the power of choice. We should choose, without having to consider, that He receive our love first. Our Valentine Lord looks upon us with the utmost of love and compassion. He shares with us when we are too selfish or greedy to put Him first. He touches us when we whine and complain, when we pray for forgiveness, and when we feel there is no love left for us from anyone. He offers a love that is everlasting.
Yes, today should be an easy day for us indeed. A day to humble ourselves and gracefully bow before our first Valentine of all. Lift up your hearts, pour out your thankfulness, and open your arms to receive the Almighty Love.
It’s all well and good to give gifts and cards to our loved ones. We should be grateful and should show them that we care. For us, seeing is believing. Everyone wants to be accepted and hugged, kissed and shown love. It’s not a bad thing to want to lift the spirits of the people in our lives. We were given these priceless gifts by God. Of course He wants us to show our appreciation to them as well as to Him. Read 1John 4:8 “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

Other scriptures that remind us of God’s love and how He wants us to love (yes, loving God also means loving the way He wants us to love others) are:
1John 4:10, 1John 4:20, Leviticus 19:18, Luke 6:27 There are more scriptures, of course, just look in your concordance in your Bible under the word “love”.
Although it is usually John 3:16 that is the focus of how God loves us, He also shows us His love in many other ways. Sometimes these ways are subtle and seem more like punishment than love. Have you ever been late to work only to realize that if you hadn’t been late you could’ve been in a wreck? Have you ever prayed for something you didn’t get only to realize later why it was better that you didn’t get it? Have you ever been hurt by someone who told you a blatant truth you didn’t want to hear only to realize later that the person was right and your life has improved because of it? Sometimes when we think God must hate us, we need to remember that we are seeing our present selfish desires, not the long-reaching wisdom and love of our Lord.
Human love can be blind. God’s love is never blind. He knows us better than we know ourselves. So, today I say, “Happy Valentine’s Day, God! Thank you for knowing me best.”