Seeking comfort in a world of chaos?
Are you tired of living in a world, where who you are, is defined by others? Don't let the world dictate who you are! Stand up for who you are in Christ! Manifest the inheritance that you have been given through Christ living in you! Shout it out to the world!
"YOU WEREN'T BORN TO FIT IN----YOU WERE BORN TO STAND OUT!!" (Jim Caviezel)
Is your
glass half empty or half full?Do you
see your life perceiving the “half empty” glass or do you see it as “half
full”?
Most of us
are thankful that 2020 is coming to a close.This year was one of the most tragic, unpredictable, unforeseeable,
heart wrenching year’s that no one could have imagined.
As I look
back over the years, I remember many joys and laughter mingled with sorrow and
heartache.I don’t think anyone of us
can escape the trials that many times enter our own lives.How we choose to deal with these trials can
be an important antidote to being at peace in our own sphere as well as the
world that is so chaotic.
What will we
choose this year?Will we choose to
trust in God who will carry our burdens or will we dwell on the past?
Come to me, all you who are weary and
burdened, and I will give you rest.Take
my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and
you will find rest for your souls.For
my yoke is easy and my burden is light.Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)
But blessed is the one who trusts in
the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the
water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never
fails to bear fruit.Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NIV)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he
will make your paths straight.Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he
will make your paths straight.Isaiah 43:2 (NIV)
And we know that in all things God
works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his
purpose.Romans 8:28 (NIV)
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to
you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be
afraid.John 14:27 (NIV)
“Thou hast
created us for thyself, and our heart is not quiet until it rests in Thee.”
- St. Augustine
“Inspirational Stories The Power of Words”
“Did you know that an eagle knows when a
storm is approaching long before it breaks?
The eagle will fly to some high spot and wait
for the winds to come. When the storm hits, it sets its wings so that the wind
will pick it up and lift it above the storm. While the storm rages below, the
eagle is soaring above it.
The eagle does not escape the storm. It
simply uses the storm to lift it higher. It rises on the winds that bring the
storm.
When the storms of life come upon us – and
all of us will experience them – we can rise above them by setting our minds
and our belief toward God. The storms do not have to overcome us. We can allow
God’s power to lift us above them.
God enables us to ride the winds of the storm
that bring sickness, tragedy, failure and disappointment in our lives. We can
soar above the storm.
Remember, it is not the burdens of life that
weigh us down, it is how we handle them.”
Even youths grow tired and weary, and
young men stumble and fall;but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.They will soar on wings like eagles;they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be
faint. Isaiah 40:30-31 (NIV)
Let God fill your cup to
overflowing as only He can.Only God can
heal any wounds that you carry in your heart.He will fill you with His peace, joy, strength, and faith that is beyond
your own understanding.
If you choose to fly above the storm and allow God to fill you to
overflowing, you will experience peace and have a different vantage point allowing
you to see the glass half full knowing that God is in control.
Hanukkah,
often referred to as the “Festival of Lights” is a Jewish holiday.Hanukkah began at sunset, December 10 of this
year and ends at nightfall on December 18.
The Jewish
people were oppressed under Antiochus Epiphanes.He outlawed religious rites and massacred
Jews who refused to bow.He offered pigs
and unclean sacrifices on the Temple altar.He forced Jewish people into his own world view.Everyone was ordered to worship Zeus as the
supreme god.
A small
group of Jews led guerilla warfare against the Syrian army.The leaders of the Jewish army were Matityahu
and his son Judah Maccabee.The Maccabbees
supernaturally succeeded in driving the Syrian army from their land and when
they arrived at the Holy Temple it was devastated and defiled.They cleansed the Temple and re-dedicated
it.This happened on the 25th
day of Kislev on the Jewish calendar, which is in the winter.
When they
came to relight the Temple Menorah (the seven-branched lampstand), they were
only able to find one small jar of oil-bearing the required seal of purity by
the High Priest.The small jar of oil
burned for eight days.From then, on
Jews around the world observe a holiday of lighting candles for eight days in
honor of this miracle and historic victory.
Jesus is the
light of the world.When Jesus was born
into the world there was a lot of darkness.There is a lot of darkness in our world right now.Jesus warned of someone called the
anti-christ who will force his world view on the world and force everyone to
acknowledge him as god.(adapted from “The Message of Hanukkah for
Christians” by Roy Bentley December 11, 2019)
As Jesus was
sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,”
they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and
of the end of the age?”4 Jesus
answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you.5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the
Messiah,’ and will deceive many.6 You
will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed.
Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.7 Nation
will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines
and earthquakes in various places.8 All
these are the beginning of birth pains.Matthew 24:3-8 (NIV)
While I am in the world, I am the
light of the world.”John 9:5 (NIV)
6 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that
they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.Matthew 5:16 (NIV)
When Jesus spoke again to the people,
he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever
follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”John 8:12 (NIV)
This is the
message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there
is no darkness at all.If we
claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do
not live out the truth.But if we walk
in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and
the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
If we claim
to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and
will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.I John 1:5-9 (NIV)
This month has the shortest days of the year.There is not as much daylight as other
months.It is during this time that we
celebrate Hanukkah or “The Festival of Lights” and Christmas in which the Light
of the World was born.Light dispels
darkness.In Genesis 1:3-5 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.4 God saw that the light was good, and
he separated the light from the darkness 5 God called the light
“day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was
morning—the first day. (NIV)
We need to let our lights shine before men.No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or
under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, so that those who come in may
see the light.Luke 11:33 (NIV)
So during this season of “light,” let your light shine because of Christ
living in you.Be a healer with that
beautiful smile.Choose words of
compassion to mend a broken heart.Be a
helping hand and a listening ear.Speak
words of encouragement and whatever the Holy Spirit encourages you to do and be
for others.Remember that light dispels
darkness and darkness cannot overcome light and JESUS IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD!
Song called One Child by Marty and Marcella. Last
Christmas we had a shorter version on a card that we gave out at
Christmas Eve Mass. Either link will get you to the MP4 file on our
YouTube Channels.
The word restore,
according to Webster’s dictionary, means “to bring back to an original state;
to put back in a former position.”Today
I will be speaking about restoring America and restoring the Church which is at
a critical juncture.What is happening
now is affecting our lives and just like America and the Church, we as the Body
of Christ, need to be restored and come back to our “first love.”We need to fall in love with God again and
seek Him in a passionate way because when all is said and done, our
relationship with the Father, is the most important one of all.We cannot let fear chip away our faith and we
need to stand for who we are in Christ!
“The pilgrims came to America in
search of religious freedom. At the time, England required its citizens to
belong to the Church of England. People wanted to practice their religious
beliefs freely, and so many fled to the Netherlands, where laws were more
flexible. After several years there, fearing the loss of their native language
and cultural
heritage, they decided to set out for the New World and build a new
life. With the help of the Virginia Company’s financing, the pilgrims boarded
the Mayflower in 1620 and sailed to the Americas.”(The Pilgrims and the Mayflower—History and Facts October 8, 2020 - by
Alison Ensign)
“On November 11,
2020, the Mayflower Compact was worked out and signed. It was a
foundational document of self-governance. But the task of searching for a
suitable place to land and start building was just beginning.It was not until December 21, 1620, when the
row boats pulled ashore at what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts. The
boats were dragged alongside Plymouth Rock so the women could step off.
But as a matter of oral history, the Pilgrims also used Plymouth Rock as a
Christian altar. Although we value our Constitution, it can only give
form to the covenant of Plymouth Rock. This nation belongs to Jesus
Christ from its very foundation. And this was always intended to benefit
all human beings of North America. Just as the Law of Moses could not
alter the Lord’s covenant with Abraham, the covenant predominates.”American
Thinker Archives
“We
hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they
are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these
are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights,
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the
consent of the governed, —“ Declaration of Independence July 4, 1776
Amendment
I of the Constitution of the United States of America
“Congress
shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or
the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government
for a redress of grievances.”
The pilgrims came to the New World in search
of religious freedom.They wanted to
institute self-governance.They wanted
to worship freely not under the oppression of a monarchy that mandated how they
would worship.The Mayflower Covenant
dedicated this land to Jesus Christ.According to Webster’s Dictionary, a covenant is “a formal written
agreement between two or more people, businesses, countries, etc.”
And God
said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and
every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come:I have
set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between
me and the earth.Whenever
I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds,I
will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every
kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.Whenever
the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting
covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”
So God
said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me
and all life on the earth.”Genesis 9:8-17 NIV
It does not surprise me that
leaders are turning a blind eye to the law.Look at Pennsylvania and other states who blatantly did not follow the
law and it appears there is an enormous amount of voter fraud.
”In a 5-4 vote the Supreme Court late
Wednesday barred restrictions on religious services in New York that the
governor there imposed during the coronavirus. “It is time — past time — to
make plain that, while the pandemic poses many grave challenges, there is no
world in which the Constitution tolerates color-coded executive edicts that
reopen liquor stores and bike shops but shutter churches, synagogues and
mosques,” Gorsuch wrote. Governor Cuomo should have known that openly targeting
Jews for a special COVID crackdown was never going to be constitutional,” said
Eric Rassbach, vice president and senior counsel at Becket and counsel to the
plaintiffs.”
“But treating synagogues and churches worse
than the pet stores, liquor stores, and department stores also just didn’t make
any sense, particularly when Agudath synagogues and Brooklyn parishes have
carefully and responsibly followed the rules. The Supreme Court was right to
step in and allow Jews and Catholics to worship as they have for centuries.”(Compiled from Deseret News wire services)
Where is the Church in all of this?Is the Church standing up for our
liberties?Yes, some have but they seem
to be in the minority.We need to stand
because if we don’t our rights will be taken away from us.I believe there is a movement that will arise
in the remnant Church and it will not be stopped because God is our Commander
in Chief and He will not tolerate the tearing down of our Christian values and
beliefs.God is on the move.
The Church in the early days was bold.When the Apostles received the Baptism of the
Holy Spirit, they were no longer afraid.They had been hiding but when the Holy Spirit came upon them they were
able to speak and stand up for the Christian faith.Some people are saying that this Great
Harvest of souls that is coming will be like the book of Acts “on steroids.”I have also believed in my spirit that before
Jesus comes back that it will be the individuals, the remnant, that will be the
“doers of the Word” and bring others into the Kingdom.It will be the power of God living in us that
will be able to raise the dead, heal the sick and cast out demons which is the
Great Commission.We are commissioned as
followers of Jesus Christ to do the same things that He did.
The Great Commission
Then the
eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to
go.When
they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.Then
Jesus came to them and said, “All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.Therefore go and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit,and teaching them to obey
everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very
end of the age.”Matthew 28:16-20
(NIV)
Here are
some scripture verses about restoration:
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you
and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to
restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.Acts 3:21 (NIV)
But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.They will soar on wings like eagles;they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be
faint.Isaiah 40:31 (NIV)
After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes
and gave him twice as much as he had before.Job 42:10 (NIV)
And the God of all grace, who called
you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while,
will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.I Peter 5:10 (NIV)
“I will repay you for the years the
locusts have eaten—the great locust and the young locust, the other
locusts and the locust swarm—my great army that I sent among you.Joel 2:25 (NIV)
In our own lives, God wants to restore us.He wants to lift us up out of our sorrow and
pain and the many wounds that we carry.He is the RESTORER IN CHIEF.God
does not look at our failings.He does
not judge us on our past.He looks at
who were created to be and even though we cannot see it at the time, He sees
it---the special plan He has for each and everyone of us.Just like Michael Angelo saw the David in the
huge marble stone.
God is not done with the Church.He is not done with America.He
is not done with you and I.
I believe the following words that I received on December 12, 2020 are
from the Lord to the Body of Christ:
“There has been a shift in the Spirit realm.The army of God is advancing.The enemy is on the prowl for he wishes to
take over the Kingdom.But I AM WHO I
AM.There is a shifting taking
place.The army of God is on the
move.Rejoice.Take up your shield of faith.Put on the breast plate of
righteousness.Army advance.Army advance.For the battle is already won in the heavenlies.The enemy is defeated.Advance, for the Kingdom of God is now on the
prowl for souls, souls, souls.So keep
on delving into My Spirit.Keep on
keeping on for I will rise with My Army, My remnant, My beloved.The battle is raging but the sea will be calm
for I AM the Alpha and the Omega; the beginning and the end; The Prince of
Peace and the Lord of Lords.Take up
your shields O mighty Army of God.Take
up the sword of My Spirit, My Word and you shall demolish the strongholds over
this nation.Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice!”
Doom and
gloom, doom and gloom, doom and gloom!How many times have you heard this?Are you tired of the bad news that is continually being broadcast from
most networks?Are you tired of hearing
this?Don’t let it get you down because
“The best is yet to come!”Where have we
been hearing these words lately?Yes,
you guessed it.None other than Trump
himself.Could it be that God is using
Trump’s voice to speak to us and give us encouragement?We are at a very low time in our country
where the spirit of fear is rampant and the truth is being stifled by
many.The false prophets (some of the
people in the media) are “preaching” a message of false hope that a change or
re-set in our government will solve all of our problems.
I would say,
don’t be so quick.It isn’t over until
God says it is over!!The best is yet to
come.We as Christians can have hope,
through Christ, that as long as we keep our minds and hearts fixed on Him, we
will get through this time of turmoil and have faith that God will do what only He can do.
There are
many prophets that have said and are still saying that President Trump will
have a second term.Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to
his servants the prophets.Amos 3:7
(N9V)
The
following quote is from an article by Christianity Donald Trump Prophecy (by Noah (2 years ago)
“Prophet Kim Clement Said In
2007 Trump Would Serve TWO Terms and Build Walls of Protection!
1. He said (in 2007) that Donald Trump
will not only become President but he will be a TWO TERM President. So
mark that down folks.
2. He said Donald Trump would build
“walls of protection.” Isn’t that amazing? You are watching
prophecy play out before your very eyes on the nightly news! It’s like
living in the pages of the Bible!
3. And then this is the one that really
hit me. He says he [Trump] will not be a praying president when he goes
in, but God will baptize him with the Holy Spirit and His power while in
office. He continues, saying Trump will become a praying president, not a
religious one. “For I will fool the people, says the Lord. I will fool
the people, yes I will.’” He says Trump will go into office whispering
the name of God, but after his baptism in the Holy Spirit, he will boldly shout
out by the power of the Spirit!
It’s this last one that really interests me
because I think it’s the last one to really see play out.
I believe we are in fact already seeing signs
of it, but I think it will become very obvious soon.
And when it does, WATCH OUT, because we will
not only have a powerful and wise man of human abilities, but we will have a
man filled with the POWER of the Holy Spirit guiding us through 2024, a literal
David in our midst!”
No, it’s not
over until God says it is over!!So
don’t get disappointed.You need to keep
the faith.The best IS yet to come.God still has a plan for this country.There is going to be a revival and an
awakening coming that will be ushering in the great harvest before the Second
Coming of Jesus!God loves us so much
that He wants everyone to join Him at the Banquet Table of the Bridegroom
(Jesus) and His Church (The Bride of Christ).
I believe
the Lord gave me the following words on November 29, 2020:
“There will be an avalanche against
the enemy.An avalanche of Biblical
proportions.One in which My power will
know, no bounds.So prepare for this for
I will be opening the Red Sea to bring My people across and there will be an
avalanche of My power that will overwhelm the enemies camp.So rejoice and be exceedingly glad My
children.This is the decree of the King
of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Prepare;
be My reinforcers of the Kingdom which is to come and which is within you.Be a force for the Kingdom of God.For I AM WHO I AM and no demon in hell will
prevent what I am doing now.My voice
has spoken and I will do it so prepare army of God.PREPARE, PREPARE, PREPARE!!”
How many of
us buy life insurance?How many of us buy
medical insurance and so on?What does
insurance mean? --- The root word insure means “To make certain or
secure.”
Have you
made certain or secured who will inherit your property, money, etc. when you die?Many of us are more concerned about our wills than what will happen to
us when we die. There are some that do not believe in an afterlife.They believe that when you die you become
dust and your existence ends there.
According to
the Bible, we were created by God to live forever.Adam and Eve were created to live in
fellowship with God.They disobeyed God
and ate from the Tree of Knowledge which was the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil.God had to ban them from Eden
because if they had stayed in the garden and eaten from the Tree of Life, after
they had sinned, they would have lived forever in the state of sin with no hope
of redemption.They would have been
doomed to eternal damnation.
If you do
not believe in God, then eternal life is not an issue for you.
“I would rather live my life as if there is a God and
die to find out there isn't, than live my life as if there isn't and die to
find out there is.”
― Albert Camus
In other
words, if there is a God, which I do believe there is, then you will not live
eternally with Him in heaven if you reject Him.You will, according to the Bible, live in Hell which was not created for
man but for demons.God is just and the
only way to the Father, is through Jesus Christ, His Son, who died on the cross,
to take away your sins.We have all
sinned and Christ redeemed us by taking on our sins at the cross.
John 3:16, “For
God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He (even) gave up His
only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to,
relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal
(everlasting) life.
If you want to insure
your eternal life by surrendering your life to God, through Jesus Christ, or
want to rededicate your life to the Lord, say this prayer with me.
