Peace on Earth

During this time of celebrating our Lord's coming to this earth as a baby, to bring salvation to a lost world,
we remember the words of the Angels that night...

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
Luke 2:13-15

Peace...

In our world today we have anything but peace. Nations rising against nations, and kingdoms against kingdoms...

"Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places."
Matthew 24:6-8

We are living in the days which will see the return of the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords to this earth!

When anyone says "Peace on Earth," they may not know it, but they are praying for the return of our Lord to this earth. This time however, He will not come as a baby, but in power and great glory...

"I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice He judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on His head are many crowns. He has a name written on Him that no one knows but He Himself." Revelation 19:10-12

There can be no peace without the presence of Jesus, the Christ.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of Heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then He said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. Revelation 21:1-7

Peace on Earth...Jesus.

until He comes...

Happy Holidays???

As we enter the Christmas season, soon people will be wishing us "Happy Holidays."

How will we respond? Some Christians feel that this is leaving Christ out of Christmas...due to fear of offending others who do not believe in celebrating Christmas.

It occurred to me the other day that when people wish us Happy Holidays, they ARE including Christmas! Could we not respond and say, "Thank you, and yes one of those holidays is Christmas...which I celebrate...and let me tell you why (Jesus came to this earth to give His life as a ransom for us all, that we might have eternal life in Him)...and wish them a Very Merry Christmas."

WWJD (What Would Jesus Do)? Jesus loved the sinners, and looked past their sin...and saw their need. He reached out to them in love...should we not do the same as His followers?

I encourage you, as a reminder, to always lift up the name of Jesus...by loving and reaching out to those that He died for.

May the true spirit of Christ be revealed this Christmas season...in you and me!

Happy Holidays??? Yes! And Jesus Is the Reason For the Season!

Until He comes...

Lion of the Tribe of Judah

"And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof." Revelation 5:5

Are you going through trials and tribulations right now? Is the enemy attacking mercilessly? Help is on the way!

Many passages in the Bible describe our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ, as "the Lamb, Who takes away the sins of the world." While this is an accurate description of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, who gave His life for us...He is also the "Lion of the Tribe of Judah," as described in Revelation 5:5.

Lions patrol and defend their pride against attacks. When they hunt, they can take down their prey with a powerful, single swipe of the paw. They have no natural predators. Their roar can be heard for a distance of 5 miles, it is the loudest roar of any big cat.

It's no wonder that our Lord has been compared to the mighty Lion. While gentle and meek as a Lamb, He is also the Lion...a fierce and awesome warrior.

When the enemy attacks, call to the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. He will come running and take down your enemy...with a single swipe.

Mighty is our Lord Jesus...the Lion and the Lamb!

Until He comes...

Until That Day

The way that the world situation (as far as global warming, pestilence, etc.) is going...I truly doubt that we have much longer in this world. I agree with others who are feeling that we are here on borrowed time. He's just waiting for the last of His people to get ready before the worst hits. And we can see the worst on the horizon.

Although He says that no one knows the day or hour of His return...we will know that it is close. We are not in darkness, as others.

He says in His Word that He has shortened the days...because if He hadn't, no flesh would survive. I believe that this includes animal flesh...as we are seeing the demise of so many species of animals and fish presently. The scientists are pretty much agreeing now that the advancement of global warming is speeding up faster than they thought it would. This, most likely, will cause a domino effect with our climate, which will speed it up even more. We are already seeing a change in weather patterns, which are abnormal.

I believe that I am in the generation that will see His coming. The generation of Israel becoming a nation again (as in Ezekiel's valley of the dry bones). I believe that He will come in my lifetime. The scriptures confirm this...as in Daniel, on how knowledge will increase in the last days. We have seen such changes in the past century...the automobile, television, telephone, cell phone, computer, air travel, and on and on. These things were just invented in the past 100+ years, in comparison to thousands of years in which the world has been in existence and never had these things.

I just praise God that we will not be here for the worst of it...and praise His Name, our families won't either, if they truly know Him.

Until that day...we "work"...for the night cometh when no man shall be able to.

If you do not know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, I invite you to ask Him into your heart. If you have done this, then you will escape the horrors to come. If you would like to read more about the time that is coming, read the book of Revelation in His Holy Bible.

Until He comes....

Divine Appointments

Do you believe in "Divine Appointments?"

I must say that I do, as I have experienced quite a few in my lifetime. My most recent one happened yesterday...

I was running out of gasoline yesterday, and only had $10.00 in my purse. I stopped to get $10.00 worth of gasoline, so that I could make it to the bank to withdraw more money. I told the gas station attendant that I would return later.

I went grocery shopping, and did a couple of errands before returning to the station. I pulled in and the attendant laughed when he saw me. I told him, "See, I told you that I would be back." He started pumping the gasoline for me, when a lady in a green Volkswagen pulled in the station. She asked the attendant a question, and then just sat there for a moment. She turned to me and said, "I have an Aloe Vera plant and it's dying." "It's dying," I asked? "Yes...would you take it for me? I am on my way to visit a girlfriend, and I would give it to her, but she won't be able to take it." So I said that I would take it.

She got out of the car and went to the car behind her. The person driving it must have been her husband or boyfriend. She told him that she was going to give the plant to the "nice lady." She brought the beautiful little sapphire blue ceramic pot to me, with a small Aloe Vera plant in it. "See, it's dying. The bottom leaves have fallen off." I told her that I would take good care of it, and that I have a nice balcony where it can be outside. I told her "God bless you," but she didn't reply. She said that she's a hairdresser and she receives gifts all the time. She got into her car and started driving away, with her husband or boyfriend following behind her in the sportscar. He smiled and waved at me.

The gas station attendant was watching all this, and said, "See, you came back for gas and got a free plant!"

I replied, "I know, talk about timing...!"

As I left the station I was pondering about what had just happened, and admiring the little plant sitting on my front seat. Then I felt the Lord impressing upon me that this had happened so that I would pray for both the lady and man.

I am praying for their salvations. If you are reading this blog, I would like to ask that you would join me in this prayer.

Meanwhile, I examined the little plant closer. The poor thing is in a beautiful pot...but the pot has no drainage holes and is very small. Tomorrow it will be transplanted into a larger pot with drainage holes...but not quite as attractive. It should thrive in it's new surroundings.

"Divine Appointments?" What do you think?

Until He comes...

Hold On

When I was a little girl, one of my fondest memories was the day that my family visited a local amusement park, and went through its Fun House.

As we made our way through its mazes, we came to a large room. In the center of this room was a large, round, spinning wooden disk. The object was to get on the disk and not get thrown off, as it started spinning faster and faster.

I was about to get on the disk with my Dad, who was going to hold me, when a Sailor from our Navy, who was there at the same time, said that he would hold on to me. My Dad said, "ok," and we all climbed onto that disk. I sat on the Sailor's lap, and he wrapped his arm around me tight, and held onto the disk with the other arm. The disk then started to spin...faster and faster it went, until everything around us became a blur.

One by one, I saw my family members get thrown from the disk, and slide across the polished wooden floor! Finally, my Dad flew off the disk too...as the momentum became too much for him. But the Sailor held on to me...he wouldn't let go, and we rode that disk until it finally slowed down and stopped. It was so much fun, to know that we had conquered the disk, and it had not thrown us off!

Life can be like this. Sometimes it seems to spin us faster and faster, as we hang on as best we can, coming so close to being thrown off. But the Lord is like that Sailor...if we let Him hold us tight, He won't let go...as life spins.

Hold on to Jesus, and He will hold on to you. I promise you, He won't let go.

Until He comes...

marcy

Get Out of the Boat

In Matthew 14:22-32 we see the scene unfolding:

It was night, there was a storm...the disciples were alone in the boat...but, where was Jesus?

They must have thought, "Why would He leave us alone like this?"

Suddenly they saw an apparition coming towards them...it looked like Jesus, but it couldn't be...He was walking on the raging waters of the storm!

Peter wanted to believe that it was Him, and asked Him to call him out of the boat so that he could walk on the water too.

Jesus called to him, and Peter started walking on the water just like Jesus! Peter must have been thrilled as he defied the laws of nature, focusing his eyes upon Jesus.

But then...Peter's natural mind started thinking as he looked around..."Wait a minute, what am I doing? Water can't support me, I'm going to fall right into this water...and it's storming, I'm going to drown!"

As he took his eyes off of Jesus, and looked around at his circumstances in the natural realm, he started sinking.

But he had just enough faith left to call out to Jesus to save him. And so Jesus pulled him up, and holding on to Jesus, together they walked on the water back to the boat.

You and I are in that "boat" of this life. Being in the boat may seem safer than the storms raging around it, but in reality it isn't. It can sink at any time.

Jesus calls us to use our faith and get out of that boat...and to walk on the water of the supernatural with Him. Even though it may look scary, in reality it's the safest place you can be....

because that's where Jesus is!

Get out of the boat...
and into the miraculous, with Him...He won't let you sink.


until He returns...

marcy

It Is Finished!

As Jesus hung on the cross that day...between life and death, He fought an unseen battle. People jeered at Him, mourned and wept bitterly at His fate, and tempted Him to save Himself. And yet...He chose of His own free will, to suffer and die.

He experienced excrutiating pain, anguish, rejection, thirst, and felt that God had forsaken Him. But still He remained. He knew that the stakes were high...the fate of all mankind was hanging on that cross with Him. He could not fail.

When His body could stand no more...He spoke the words "IT IS FINISHED," and died.

At that very instant, the battle was won. Jesus had conquered death, hell, and the grave. He had paid the price, and a bridge between man and his God was again formed...that bridge was Jesus...who had become the sinless, spotless Passover lamb, to take away the sins of the world.

In the courtroom of Heaven, Satan was declared guilty of murdering an innocent Man...and was sentenced to eternal damnation. That sentence will soon be carried out, and Jesus will assume His rightful position as Ruler of this earth.

Man could not come close to God because of his sin. All of our righteousness was as "filthy rags" to the Lord. Man had to spill the blood of animals to try and cover his sins.

God longed to again come close to His creation, MAN...but because of sin, nothing would accomplish this except the shedding of the innocent blood of His only begotten Son, Jesus.

Jesus was offered as the ULTIMATE sacrifice...once and for all.

Do you realize that if you had been the only person needing His sacrifice, He would have done it for you alone? That's how important you are to Him!

How important is HE to you? Is He the center of your life? Or are other things crowding Him out? Possessions...worldly pleasures...friends who do not know the Lord, and have a different "agenda" for life (which doesn't include Jesus)...a busy life that crowds Him out...and on and on? He gave His ALL for us, but yet our ALL may only give Him a fraction of our life, or leave Him out completely.

What will you do when you gaze upon His face, and look into the piercing, innocent, all-knowing eyes of our Savior? I promise you, that day WILL come. Will you be ashamed...or will you look back at Him with love and adoration, and know that you gave your ALL for Him?

Just as the crowd chose between Jesus and Barrabas, now is the time for you to choose. What is most important in your life, Jesus (the One who gave His life for you), or the world? It's all up to you...

The war has already been fought and won, and Jesus Christ is Lord.

IT IS FINISHED.

Until He comes...

marcy

Joy

Joy...

What is joy?

Well, it goes beyond happiness. The dictionary defines it as probably being akin to a greek word, which means to rejoice.

What causes such an emotion in human beings...to reach beyond mere happiness to rejoicing?

I believe that the Lord has "hardwired" us human beings to experience joy the most, when we reach out and help another person in need.

Have you ever given food to the hungry, clothing to anyone who was cold, or money to someone in dire need? If so, then you know the joy and satisfaction that you felt afterward.

Giving is so important to the Lord, that the Bible admonishes us to do so as Christians:

Luke 6:38
Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

But wait? What's this? It is saying that the Lord will bless us for giving? Men shall then give to us? Yes!

So then this thing of giving takes on a whole new twist. Do you have a need? Then give to help someone else...and then the Lord will see that your need is taken care of also. You may give not only because another is in need, but also out of your own need. I know that it's difficult to give when you are in need also...but the Lord has set up this principle, I believe, to test the hearts of His children. Will they let go of what they have to help another, when their own need is also so important?

What would happen in this world if every person looked for a need, and then gave of their own resources to fill that need? I guarantee you that every need would be filled...and joy would fill each and every heart.

Give it a try...what have you got to lose...except your heavy heart...and perhaps your own need!

until He returns...

marcy