Pray and Praise!

He did this for all of us

We live in a dark world

Suffering or complaining

Many people are going through some tough times. We have many on our prayer list who are going through treatments for cancers of different types. Some of those treatments are painful and debilitating in and of themselves even without the disease that is being treated. There are others in the world that we may not know about who are having to deal with pain from pinched nerves in their necks and their spine. The problem with the “treatment” for those is that it usually makes the problem worse in the long run. The same goes for the cancer treatments which usually make your quality of life worse from the first treatment.

As Christians we are supposed to “count it all joy” regardless of the pain that we experience. Many of us live with some kind of pain or other problem that causes us to dread getting up in the morning to go about another day. Our friends and relatives don’t understand what is bothering us so we don’t tell them how we feel on most days. We just go through the day with whatever it is and if you are like me you just pray that God will give you the strength to get through the day today. Then that prayer is repeated tomorrow and the next day. I don’t tell my wife how I feel because my pain is…well it’s my pain and she won’t get it. So I keep it between me and God.

Disability does hurt. It hurts because I can’t do many of the things that I would like to do like go hunting or fishing. My balance is gone and there have been many times I have nearly fallen in the shower or when I bend over to get something off the floor. Having your balance gone doesn’t sound like a disability and most people only lose their balance occasionally. I live with it every day, all day.

I am not writing this to complain, just venting a little. I have seen the looks that people give me because I don’t “look” disabled.

God does allow things to happen to us in order to bring about His purposes. He gives each of us a talent or an ability that He knows we will use and sometimes it takes an affliction of some kind to make us use what He has given to us. I have never written as much as I have since this came on me. I thank God that my affliction has allowed me to point some people to know my Savior, Jesus Christ.

I began this blog before I became disabled but my early writing was more world-weary or about some other things that were happening at the time. This site didn’t become a true witness about Jesus Christ until I became sick just before Thanksgiving in 2012. It has been twelve years now and God has seen me and my family through many trials since then. I pray that this site has blessed those who read it.

Hearing God’s voice

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27

What does it take to hear the voice of God? First, you have to acknowledge that there is a God and that He exists. Then you have to realize that He communicates with mankind.

How does God communicate and sound when He speaks to me? The only way to know this is to read God’s Word and learn what His voice sounds like and what He says to us in it. It is a difficult concept that we can recognize His voice when He speaks but with study, it can be done. The fact that the Bible exists proves that God has something to say because He has been speaking through the prophets and His disciples for many hundreds of years.

The “Old Testament” is full of God’s Words spoken by inspiration or directly to those He spoke to in the past. God is still speaking to us today but there is so much noise in the world that it has become difficult for us to hear Him clearly. In the world outside the church, many people don’t seem to care what God says or even believe that He exists in the first place. The problem with this kind of thinking is the time that we are living in. For most people who have never been to church or who just didn’t pay attention when they did, the Bible is a book written by old men long ago with tired history in it and rules that we don’t want to live by anymore.

Did the Israelites listen to God when they were in the wilderness after He freed them from bondage in Egypt? For most of the forty years that they spent in the wilderness all that they did was grumble and complain about their living conditions, the food, the water, etc. God even led them to their Promised Land but when they saw that it was occupied by “giants”, they refused to go in as He told them to do. It was this refusal that caused them to be in the wilderness for forty years.

The voice of God is not terrible nor is it scolding or wrathful, it is loving and caring, like a parent with their child. But when the punishment comes, as it usually does, people want to fuss and complain.

God hears your prayers and in some instances, He answers them. But, He answers them in His time and in a way that is consistent with His will for your life, not because you want a certain thing right now. Sometimes His answer is consistent with what you seek, if your heart belongs to Jesus and you’ve grown in your faith enough that your wants align with God’s, but your answer may not come today or tomorrow.

Sometimes, we would rather listen to “wise counsel” from a friend but if it goes against what God’s Word says it should be discarded. Satan can sound “wise” from time to time because he is a created being and can speak God’s Word as smoothly as anyone but also twist it so that it doesn’t mean what it should. Even your own voice can speak so convincingly that you can talk yourself into things that you shouldn’t, just as Jonah did when he didn’t want to warn Nineveh about God’s judgment.

Studying the Bible from cover to cover is the best way of learning how God speaks and what He desires from us. Why should we study His Word to learn about Him? Because it is the best way to learn about God and His ways. Each time you read His Word, you will glean a new insight into His ways and what He wants for your life. God’s Word is the “living Word” and the Holy Spirit gives each of us wisdom that is meant for us. What I get from it may not be the same thing you get but the Spirit gives us according to our ability and maturity to know Him.

Bear each other’s burdens

Life is hard enough today without any help from anyone. But, God promises to be with us every day. As Christians, we should help others bear the burdens that have been placed on them by life’s circumstances. Not just because it is the right thing to do but because we would want help whenever we become burdened with a load that is too much to bear alone.

A Hard Rebuke For Today’s Teenagers Who Lead Christian Clubs: It’s Time To Stop Being Spectators And Joining In The “Crowd”

Dear Teenage Youth Leaders,

First and foremost, it is of my greatest priority to thank the Lord Jesus Christ for assigning me the role as a messenger of the Good News as explicitly communicated in the Scriptures, boldly preached by men and women across this land we called Earth. I would like to thank author Tracy Eldridge for presenting me the privilege to humbly and passionately contribute to this site as a writer dedicated to exemplified the love of Jesus Christ, and to be a role model of a God-honoring soldier who has devoted her time to engage in the lifelong battle against Satan.

Serving as Vice President of a student-led Christian organization that is highly unpopular has been very tedious. Since the coronavirus pandemic started, we have seen a sharp decline in attendees, and things have gotten worse ever since the Former President (who graduated with the Class of 2021) left. We have started collaborating with a Christian Fellowship Organization in Northwestern University (which the Former President is involved in) to implement new strategies to run the club for next school year.

My concern for writing this message is not to address the recent changes. I sincerely am in for a change every now and then, in light of the challenges we are still facing while adjusting to the post-quarantine world. However, what I am truly against is the tendency for us to see church or the solemn occasion of preaching, ministering, and meditating on the Word of God as a time to be entertained or simply “lighten up the mood”.

The truth is: The message is not always going to be comfortable nor convenient for you to hear. With this in mind, I wholeheartedly admire your curiosity and your desire to figure out why God exists, and whether science and other trends contradict the faith. Personally, I have little knowledge about evolution, although I did learn about it in my biology class freshman year. Based on some of the theoretical principles in this merely scientific concept, I do see various contradictions between that spoken of in terms of the creation narrative mentioned in Genesis 1.

It’s easy to listen to someone telling you that God is love, God is faithful, and God will take care of you and give you strength to endure trials. However, it is not easy to be told that you have a sin nature, and that the world that many so adore for its vain pleasures — is the very place where sin is ever-present, accepted, and celebrated by many. Among one of the most challenging and uncomfortable topics our teenagers do not like to hear is the issue of morality and the existence of Satan. It is not easy to write about, let alone speak of, such hard truths, let alone on a presentation or a blog post. In a climate where our disciplinary system encourages and fosters an environment of immorality and compromise, such messages must be preached as it is: and not watered down to satisfy an audience or gain numbers or popularity.

It is beyond sad that my generation has become so accustomed to the habit of attending a “church” presentation where the Word of God is being taught to receive donuts rather than the sweet taste of divine revelation and wisdom that will assist them down the road, for the sake of “recruitting new members”. It’s time to stop viewing this as an opportunity to be spectators sitting back and pretending that such occasion is like watching a comedy show from MTV. I encourage anyone who is leading a club to go beyond the “god is love” mantra, and preaching against immorality. It’s time to show our younger generation that there is a sacred obligation that is beyond the realm of fitting in with the group and delighting in the world. It’s time for parents to stand up and tell their children who Satan is, and teach them how to daily fullfill and persevere in our sacred duty to be devoted ambassadors of the light to a dark, wicked society.

Now is not the time to mingle around and just simmly “energize the room”. Now is the time that young leaders of Christian organizations in the corridors of public and private schools across America to rise above the status quo and be courageous in fostering and maintaining a climate of Godliness and demonstrate an attitude of determination to overcome every Strongman, every obstacle, every tragedy, and every influence that will hinder us from walking as a victorious and free people: released from Satan’s prison of iniquity! All because of the blood of the lamb of God that was shed on that cross.

Sister in ⠠⠡⠗⠊⠌⠂

M.A

A prayer of Solomon

if they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name: then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee. 2 Chronicles 6:38‭-‬39 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/2ch.6.38-39.KJV

This prayer was given by Solomon when he was dedicating it for the people and as God’s house in Jerusalem. I pray that you might read the rest of the chapter so you can know what an awesome God we serve.

Christmas

Most of the Christian world waits for this holiday all year, but what does it mean to you? For some, it means lots of presents and all sorts of getting together with family. For others, it is just another holiday and for some, it is just another day on the calendar. We celebrate the birth of Jesus at this time of year but Jewish historians place His birth during the Feast of Tabernacles during September/October. Truly it doesn’t matter when you celebrate our Savior’s birth as long as you know Him as your Savior.

The Son of God was the first gift given to all of us and all we have to do is accept it when we know that we truly need it. God calls us by His Holy Spirit to convict us that we can’t get to heaven without faith in Jesus and we should accept the gift given by His grace. It is a gift given to you by the Creator of everything. Isn’t He more important than your Mom or even Santa Clause?

The gift that Jesus gave to us is more valuable than all of the money in the whole world so shouldn’t we treasure it above everything else? I do.

No need to say more

Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: And he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding. Proverbs 17:28 KJV https://bible.com/verse-of-the-day/pro.17.28/74705