WHAT ARE YOU THANKFUL FOR?

There was a time in my life when I was not a thankful person. I did not see much in my life that would cause me to say, “I am thankful”. I was sad, insecure, I felt unloved, and my life felt hopeless. Consequently, having unthankful thoughts kept me in a state of being unthankful.

At the time I was living in a small two-bedroom home with my then husband and three small children. We had no electricity, no water, and I was caught in a life of addiction. I did my best to care for my children, but I was always unhappy and could not wait to get out of this miserable life.

One year during sometime around Thanksgiving, I had the opportunity to watch the old black and white move “IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE”. I would recommend everyone watch this movie if you are even a little bit unsatisfied with your life.

The premise of the movie is that George Bailey is unsatisfied with his life. His whole life had been spent doing the right thing and now he is in a situation where he might go to jail for embezzlement for something he did not do. He prays that God would help him. God sends an angel who grants him his wish that he would not have been born. I could relate. I had often times wished that very same thing. You will have to watch the movie to fully understand the whole story. But in the end, he finds there are a lot of things that he is thankful for.

After watching that movie I myself, realized there were many things I could be thankful for. My life was still a mess, I still had an addiction problem, I still had no electricity or water. But I was thankful for having a roof over my head, and I was thankful for my children.

Little by little my life began to change. See it’s what you think about that will form the life you will lead. Eventually, every thought we think brings in the same things we are thinking about. This is my Jesus tells us think of things that are good.

Today I most thankful for Jesus who made my life rewarding and full. He changed my hard heart and my tainted mind.

This Thanksgiving lets all try to find at least one thing to be thankful for. Then let’s focus our attention on being thankful all year. The results in our life will be transforming to our future

THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE

Last week I asked you to watch that you are not deceived. I want to speak to you this week on a very important area where many are deceived.

Please hear me when I tell you there is only one way to Heaven. There is only one way to access The Heavenly Father. That is through Jesus Christ.

Jesus made a way for us to have access to the Throne Room of God. Jesus made a way for us to bring our petitions before the Lord. Jesus is the only way in!

I have heard more than one person over the course of the past few years say that there are many ways to heaven. This is just not a true statement. This is an area where deception has creeped in and will lead many a stray.

In John chapter 14 verse 6, says “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father but by me”. Nobody has access to the Father except through Jesus.

Jesus did what he did, so that you and I could have a way to access heaven. He laid down his royalty. He came in the form of a man. He suffered. He was beaten beyond comprehension. He was hung on a cross and He died. But that is not the end of the story, because He rose again! He is even now seated at the right hand of the Father and He makes intersession for us. That means that he is praying for us!

Because He suffered, we have access.

John 3:16 says, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Ask yourself this question. If there are many ways to heaven, why did God give his only begotten Son? If there are many ways to heaven, why did Jesus have to endure all that he endured?

Remember it is the truth that will set you free. My heart’s desire is that you all have a relationship with the Lord. That each one of us would partake of the opportunity to access heaven. That each of us would ask Jesus into our hearts. That each one of us could be assured of where we will spend eternity.

We do not have to guess or hope we are going to make it. Jesus provided a way to know for sure. Will you take him up on his offer. Even now he is standing at the door of your heart and knocking. Will you let him in?

LIVING IN TIME OF DECEPTION

Deception is a very serious thing. It can cause you to take actions that might lead you astray and into harm. Deception can cause you to believe things about people that just are not true. Deception may cause you to believe your friends are not your friends or your enemies are not your enemies. Deception can lead you away from security and into danger. Deception is such a dangerous thing that when the disciples asked Jesus a set of questions about future events in Matthew 24, the first thing He tells them is to not be deceived.

I find that interesting. Do not be deceived.

We live in a time where Deception is running away with itself. The line between real and make believe is blurred more and more each day. There are people who make a living purposely causing us to question what is true. We watch documentaries with “experts” peddling half-truths. We have financial analysts who twist numbers to suit their own needs. News stations peddle half-truths, and the internet is full of lies.

The most vulnerable in our society are told lies that are doing great harm to our young and our elderly, each in a different way. The elderly are defrauded of their life long savings and the young are scammed of their happiness and contentment with who they are.

It is easy to get caught up in the trap of deception and once you are deceived it is hard to break free of its grip. What we believe has powerful implications on our lives. I guess that is why it is so important to pay attention to what we believe. Jesus tells us “I am the way, the truth and the life.”

In this time of deception, I am glad I can run to the one person who will never lie to me and always has my best interest at heart. My Lord and my Savior Jesus Christ. My prayer for you is that you would know him to.

The Hostages in Our Lives

I was watching the news this morning showing the emotional reunion of the hostages and their families in Israel. It got me thinking. We have hostages right here in Del Norte County! I do not think there is a single family that is missing a loved one who has been taken hostage by drugs and/or alcohol.

I see it over and over again. Children that were once obedient to their parents are now defiant and act like they hate their parents. I see husbands and wives walk away from their spouses because of the lure of drugs and/or alcohol. I see families ripped apart because a parent has turned his or her back on their children in search of the next high. I see love and respect being replaced with hatred and hope is replaced with depression and hopelessness.

These people have been taken hostage by a lifestyle they cannot escape from without some type of intervention. They are hooked on a substance that they have convinced themselves they cannot live without.

I too am one of those families who have been affected by drugs. My heart hurts not only for my family but for yours! I look forward to the day each of us will be reunited with our loved ones.

If your life has been damaged because of drugs, I invite you to join me on a journey of prayer for our community. Please pray not just for your missing child/husband/wife/mother/father/aunt/uncle/sister/brother etc…. but pray for your neighbors also.

John 8:36 says, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” Please join me in prayer for our community. We need Jesus Christ to free our community, to command our hostages be set free. Ask Jesus to remove the blinders from the hearts of our community and let our loved ones turn to Him and come home to us!

I look forward to your emotional reunion as well as my own!

And I will save thy children!

Isaiah 49:25 But thus saith the Lord, even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered; for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children

I have had this scripture stuck in my head for a while now. If you are like me you have been crying out to God to save your children for a long time. We know the Lord wants my children save even more than I do. We know that the Lord hears our prayers. Sometimes the answer does not come quickly.

Still we have to keep praying. We have to keep going to the Lord with our petitions about our children. We cannot lose hope or give up. This scripture tells us the God is going to fight on our behalf.

The word contend means to fight or struggle with. So then we see that the Lord is fighting our battles. We know from Daniel 10:13 that there was a war in the heavenlies for 21 days. Daniel had asked the Lord a question and the answer did not come right away. There was a battle for the answer to come through. Even thou God answered right away, there was opposition to the answer coming through. The angel Michael had to fight to get the answer to Daniel.

I was thinking maybe the reason we do not get an answer is that we just don’t fight anymore. We say a prayer now and again, but we do not pray through for the answer to come. It is like we get lazy in our prayer and just give up if we don’t hear from God quickly on our terms.

I remember shortly after being saved I was very zealous for the Lord. I was very passionate about talking with him and praying my petitions through to completion. I would spend hours in prayer. Crying out to the Lord. Praying in tongues. Worshiping. Not just once in a while, but on a steady basis.

Then somehow for some reason my zeal started to dissipate. If you are like me you can relate to what I am saying. We must remember though is that the Lord is the Lord and we are not. His ways are higher than our ways. We may not get the answer we want in the time we want it, but we cannot lose our hope.

In Isaiah 49:25 the Lord showed me the last portion of the scripture that says “I will save thy children”. This is a promise from the Lord! He says, “I will save thy children”!

Don’t lose hope! Don’t give up! Remember we serve a big God. He cannot lie, when He says He will save our children. We can be assured He will save our children.

SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE

A lot of things have changed in America:

Covid brought our nation to its knees! We took a sharp left and dove even deeper into a nonsense land. I read somewhere that Covid backwards is actually a Hebrew word which can be translated as “division”. I am not sure that is true, but the research I have found tells me that it is true. Division is exactly what happened. Three or four years later and we no longer look like the United States of America. In fact it does not take a long look to see that we are now the Divided States of America. There is a verse in the Bible in Matthew, 12:25: “And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.” When I look across the landscape of America I see a house divided! I see a fall of a Nation on the horizon. I pray that we turn this around.
Some boys are transitioning into girls and some girls are transitioning into boys. Some people are transitioning into animals. There are thirty year old men who are identifying at eight year old girls. The identity of who we are as a people both collectively and independently seems to be changing daily. In my opinion these misguided folks are trying to fill a void inside of them. They are stuffing all kinds of things into a hole that was shaped to hold the presence of the Most High God! They feel empty so they try to change their feelings by changing who they are.
Police are now bad and thugs are good. States all across our Nation have decided to let killers out of prison. They are changing laws to protect the criminal and punish the law abiding. Our Supreme Courts are changing our laws. Politicians are trying to change our constitution. Our freedoms are being taken away! The very foundation of our land is being traded for a new ideology. I new enlightened way of viewing things!

Some things have not changed:

God is still God. Hebrews 13:8 says Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. God is the same today as He was thousands of years ago. thousands of years from now, God will be the same as He is today. His message has not and will not change. He will not change His mind! He will not show favoritism and change the rules for his favorite person. He is a righteous judge and He will judge righteously. He is not changing the rules in order to pacify us humans. He remains stable and He remains the same.
The truth is still the truth. What God said about how we should live. How we should do things. How we should forgive. How we will get to heaven. Is the truth! His word does not change over time. He told us the only way to the Father is through the Son. This is still the truth today. There are people who say they do not believe it. To that I say, just because you chose to not believe something does not make it untrue. God will not give special consideration to those who chose to be ignorant to God’s law. You will be judged by God’s law.
Eternity is very long, Time is very short! How can that be you may say. Well let me tell you Eternity will go on and on….. But our time on earth is very short. We are just a blink in the eye of time. What we do on earth during our few years will determine how we spend our eternity. This is a very serious subject that we need to consider carefully.

Deuteronomy 7:9 “Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments; God has not changed. He is a faithful God. He is a covenant God. He is a merciful God. But not for everybody. Who does He keep covenant with? Who is He merciful with? Who is He faithful with? Those who love Him and keep His commandments. John 14:15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. God tells us how to walk right with Him. He tells us to keep His commandments. He will not change what He wants at the last minute! He will not wait until just before you die and then change His mind on what He expects from you. He tells you plainly to keep His commandments and He has not, nor will He change His mind.

I urge you to get right with God! This world we are spinning around on is changing right before our eyes. Now more than every we need to hold on to our savior tightly and not let go.