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How to Let God Become Greater as We Become Lesser in Today’s Competitive Culture

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Most people, including media, hadn’t heard of our new House Speaker, Mike Johnson. Yet, he received a unanimous vote on the first ballot from the Republican side of Congress! So obviously his colleagues knew him and more importantly trusted him to be their next leader.

In accepting the new role, Johnson didn’t tout how great he was or list his own accomplishments. He made it clear that as a Christian, Jesus is his Lord and Savior and influences the way he leads and lives. He reminded everyone that our country’s motto is “In God we trust.” We don’t put our trust in the government or one man. Speaker Johnson was less important. God and the Bible are greater and for that declaration his Republican colleagues applauded.

Maybe even some on the other side of the aisle admire him for his commitment to the Judeo-Christian values our once great country was founded upon. It’s a false claim that religion should stay out of government. In fact, the original writers/signers of the Constitution and Bill of Rights wanted the government to stay out of the church, while basing the United States Statutes on biblical godly principles.

However, Speaker Johnson made waves when he led the House in prayer before his acceptance speech, and made it clear from the onset that he is a “Bible-believing Christian” and “the Bible shapes my worldview.” No apologies, even when he came under immediate slander and attacks from liberal media and Democrats. He never backed down, but with grace, he didn’t retaliate.  He responded with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—the fruit of the Spirit.

It’s been amusing to watch attacks backfire from people like Matt Fuller, Washington bureau chief of the Daily Beast, as they try to criticize Johnson for being someone Americans can identify with instead of an elitist who has become rich while serving in government.

“Mike Johnson doesn’t have any retirement savings, own a single stock, or have any assets at all. He has less than $5,000 in his bank account. He’s got a 250-500K mortgage, a home equity loan, and a personal loan. So what’s his retirement plan? To lobby?” Fuller suggestively wrote.

Here’s one response, like many others, that boomeranged on Fuller: “The fact that Johnson did not, like countless other Congressmen, suddenly tap into new streams of wealth after he won office in 2016 is a mark in FAVOR of his character. Apparently he’s not availing himself of the insider advantages others are quick to exploit,” reporter Megan Basham pointed out.

Blaze Media concluded: “It turns out that people aren’t angry the new House speaker is, at least financially speaking, like a sizable percentage of Americans: not rich and scraping by on what he does have to provide for his family.”

I hope Mike Johnson is praying the armor of God every morning so those fiery darts he’s experiencing will bounce off his Breastplate of Righteousness (Eph. 6:14) and boomerang or be quenched by his shield of faith. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Eph. 6:16

Many can call themselves Christians, but it’s refreshing to see someone in governmental authority actually live out his beliefs and faith with conviction and grace. I wouldn’t characterize Speaker Johnson as simply bold and brave; I would say he’s authentic and real. Personifying the following two Scriptures.  

For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. Rom. 1:16 NLT

He [God] must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less. John 3:30 NLT

What is the Context of John 3:30?

John 3:30, “He must become greater; I must become less” was spoken by John the Baptist, who God designated to pave the way for Jesus’ ministry. John the Baptist, a miracle baby born to aging parents, developed a ministry foretelling the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. John was always comfortable with that subservient role and seemed to understand his God-given assignment.

During the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” Luke 3:2-4

Many watched John baptizing and wondered if he was the long-awaited Messiah. When the Pharisees questioned his right to baptize if he wasn’t the Messiah, John denounced this misconception: 26 “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” John 1:26-27

Then John met Jesus face-to-face confirming that He was indeed the Messiah sent from God. The one John had faithfully served without apparently ever knowing Him personally, even though they were distant relatives.

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.” John 1:29-34

John’s own disciples became jealous that Jesus had started His ministry and was also baptizing nearby. John was quick to set the record straight as he exalted Jesus without bitterness or envy.

22 After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. 23 Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized. 24 (This was before John was put in prison.) 25 An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. 26 They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”

27 To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ 29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30 He must become greater; I must become less.” John 3:22-30

I’ve always marveled that John the Baptist was never envious of why Jesus was the Messiah and he, John, wasn’t. Instead, John understood the importance of his own role and was gracious that God chose him for such a worthy position.

Isn’t it the same in life today? That’s the concept of teamwork. While there’s only one CEO, President, House Speaker, leader, or boss, they aren’t successful without surrounding themselves with dedicated support people working toward the same goal.

Jesus needed John the Baptist to prepare people’s hearts for His coming. Our role in God’s plan is to prepare others and ourselves for the return of Jesus. He chose believers to be His representative hands and feet as long as we have breath. God accomplishes His work through flawed humble people who give Him the glory!

God Is Great!

Where Dave and I live, the sun rises over the mountain peaks as the lingering darkness of the early morning fades. The sun’s magnificent glow of gorgeous hews lights up the sky announcing that a new day has begun. The sunrise is so significant to daily life that weather reporters track and forecast the exact time to expect it. Likewise, they predict the time of sunset when the sun slips down past the horizon proclaiming that day is done and soon stars will be blanketing the sky. But have you ever stopped to think that even before the sun is fully visible in the morning, the nighttime stars disappear. It’s this amazing exchange every day that humans don’t orchestrate or control. God, the Creator of the world, planned it all in the beginning.

15 Let these lights in the sky shine down on the earth.” And that is what happened. 16 God made two great lights—the larger one to govern the day, and the smaller one to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set these lights in the sky to light the earth, 18 to govern the day and night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. Gen. 1:15-18 NLT

I close my morning prayer time with a personalized version of John 3:30: “Lord, I want You to become greater in my life like a sunrise and I want to decrease like stars disappearing.”

Metaphorically, I’m praying that Jesus would shine brightly in my life as I arise each morning, and that I would shed the remnants of self-centered ego, pride, and “me focus.” From what I’ve seen so far of Speaker Johnson, we have a man who isn’t prideful of his new position and success, but respectful and grateful to the God who chose him for such a time as this. Praise God! Let’s pray for our new House Speaker and his family.

As Speaker Johnson has humbly and unashamedly revealed to the world his dependence on God and the Bible, we need to also realize and revel in our dependence on the Lord. Not try to manage our lives on our own or be embarrassed to let others know that we too are Bible-believing Christians. To remember that everything we have we owe to God and to give Him the credit for all He has done in our lives as a witness and testimony to others.

When we become Christians, we exchange our ways for God’s ways. It’s a progression of decreasing and dying to our old self and becoming more like Christ as He increases in our thoughts, words, actions, and ego. Jesus will become greater and greater in every aspect of our life as our old nature becomes less and less. It’s a process. Sometimes we regress, but our goal is to continuously move forward surrendering our will to God’s will.

“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” 2 Cor. 5:17 NLT

Five Ways to Make God Greater in Your Life

1. Seek God’s direction before making decisions and respond accordingly. Pray and ask for God’s wisdom, “Lord, what would you have me do?” His answer comes through reading His Word, listening to a sermon, or asking wise council from a mentor or trusted advisor.

To humans belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue. 2 All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord. 3 Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. Pr. 16:1-3

2. Consider the well-being and comfort of others before thinking about yourself. It’s natural to want our best outcome, but God wants us to think about others’ interests first. To be a reflection of His heart by serving the needs of others before considering our own needs.

 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. Phil. 2:3-4

3. Live counter-culture. Care more about what God thinks about you than what people think about you. Don’t go with the flow. Go with God!

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Rom. 12:2

4. Get in the habit of thanking God throughout the day for the little things and for sure the big things!

Praise the Lord; praise God our savior! For each day he carries us in his arms. Ps. 68:19 NLT

5. Ask God to help you see things through His eyes, to hurt where He hurts and love how He loves. Get ready—you’re on your way to decreasing as you increase in Christ!

34 Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. 35 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. 36 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul. 37 Is anything worth more than your soul? Mark 8:34-37 NLT

Note: I’m now posting my free monthly newsletter on the last Monday of the month in place of the usual Monday Morning Blog. If you don’t receive the newsletter, go to my website and sign up there. It’s super easy. Here’s the link to the October newsletter. The opening newsletter article is “When the Church Loses Its Voice, The World Loses Its Mind!”

There won’t be a Monday Morning Blog next Monday, November 13th.

As we approach Thanksgiving, you might enjoy my Crosswalk article 4 Prayers to Say At the Thanksgiving Table.

Please leave a comment here. I reply to every comment on the website blog. When you leave a comment, there’s a box to check if you want to receive future comments on the blog and it will notify you by email when I reply. The email will come from [email protected].

Portions of this blog appeared in my Crosswalk article What Does the Bible Mean When it Says ‘He must Become Greater and I must Become Less?’ 3/1/2021

November 6, 2023
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Only One World Event Will Bring Peace in The Middle East!

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For the past two weeks, we’ve read the horrifying reports of the unprovoked surprise heinous attack of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists, targeting women, children, families, and the elderly in Israel and Israel’s declaration of retaliation war. War that Israel says won’t be over until they completely wipe out the threat of Hamas. But as this war rages on, other Arab countries surrounding Israel are attacking from all directions. Hamas and Hezbollah – clients of Iran and controlling Gaza and Lebanon respectively – are the attackers, with Syria shelling and threatening. 

In America, we also saw the unexpected pro-Palestine protesters on college campuses chanting “Israel, Israel, you can’t hide. We charge you with genocide.”  Or “free, free Palestine, long live Palestine.” “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” essentially calling for killing of all Israeli Jews. A coordinated insurrection in the Capitol while voting was occurring for a new House Speaker saw sit-in protestors from the pro-Palestine groups “Jewish Voice for Peace” (JVP) and “IfNotNow” wearing black T-shirts that read “Not in our name. Jews say cease fire now.”  Where is the responsive outcry and denouncement we saw from January 6th? (For more information on these groups see note at the end of this blog)

Hamas’ evil carnage led Israel justifiably to defend itself against current and future attacks. Israel will not walk away from American and Israeli hostages in Gaza, and neither should America.

Hal Lindsey reveals the obvious: “How can anyone seriously defend rapists, human butchers, beheaders of babies, slaughterers who burn people alive in their own homes, and who parade the dead through the streets? Yet we’re seeing their defenders all over the world. In a stunning bit of irony, some use their defense of debauchery as a form of virtue signaling.”

The chanters and protesters are promoting annihilation of Jews in our ally Israel and cheering for terrorists! How did such a large sect of anti-Semitism fester in our country? Many propose it’s coming from college professors indoctrinating, actually brainwashing, students. How did the professors become such Jew haters? Willful ignorance or spiritual darkness.

I wonder how many churches have had, or will have, the discussion of how the friction between Palestinians and Israelis began in the Book of Genesis. Or how no human intervention or even “Abraham Accords” will ever bring peace to the Middle East until one major world event happens.

I see well-meaning Christians posting on social media crying out for peace in the Middle East. However, biblical history and prophecy reveals that only one person can bring about peace. It’s not a President, a statesman, a country leader, a contract, a covenant, agreements, not even President Trump though he came close . . . no act of man will result in lasting peace in the Middle East or anywhere in the world until the glorious return of Jesus Christ!

When Did This Middle East Conflict Start?

In 2021, I wrote an article for Crosswalk “3 Important Lessons We Can Learn From Hagar in the Bible.” While some might not have considered it a particularly relevant article at the time, it reveals the background story of what we’re watching in real time with the war in Israel. Hagar was part of a drama that would influence conflict in the Middle East for thousands of years to come. You’re probably familiar with the story, but maybe not the connection it has with the war we’re watching take place today. Let’s review the beginning of the ongoing feud between Palestine, which is not a country, along with Arab countries against Israel.

When we first meet Hagar in Scripture, she’s an Egyptian maidservant to Sarai (later called Sarah) the wife of Abram (later called Abraham). Sarai was infertile and desperately wanted a child. God had told Abram that he would have an heir, a son, and yet as time passed the aging couple still didn’t have a baby (Gen. 15:2-5).

Sarai became impatient with the Lord and thought He had kept her from having a baby and came up with her own plan to give Abram a family.  “So she said to Abram, ‘The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.’” (Gen. 16:2)

A slave in those days had no rights. When her barren mistress Sarai decides to take matters into her own hands and use Hagar as a surrogate to provide her husband Abram with a child, Hagar has no option but to obey.

When Hagar discovers she’s pregnant, she foolishly acts superior to her mistress, forgetting this was just a surrogacy arrangement. Maybe pride led her to flaunt her growing baby bump in front of Sari. She could give Abram a child and Sari couldn’t. Now it was obvious that their infertility was Sari’s fault and not her husband’s. This child would technically be Hagar’s and Abram’s baby, Sarai’s blood wouldn’t be flowing through his veins but Hagar’s Egyptian blood would. Sari’s blood boiled with jealousy.

The relationship between the two women became hostile and Sari complained to her husband. Not wanting to get involved in this female dispute, Abram told Sari that Hagar was hers to do with what she wanted. Sari took that as permission to treat Hagar harshly and mistreat her.

Feeling lonely, hurt, abused, used, and rejected, Hagar ran away. Anything had to be better than what she was experiencing at the hands of Sari. But what she didn’t expect was an encounter with God. He heard her cries of affliction.

7 The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”

“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered. 9 Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” Gen. 16:7-9

It was hard to hear that God wanted her to go back and endure abuse, but there was more.

11 The angel of the Lord also said to her:

“You are now pregnant
    and you will give birth to a son.
You shall name him Ishmael,[a]
    for the Lord has heard of your misery.
12 He will be a wild donkey of a man;
    his hand will be against everyone
    and everyone’s hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
    toward[b] all his brothers.” Gen. 16:11-12

Hagar returned and had her child and named him Ishmael. But alas, this wasn’t a happy ending. When Sari, now renamed Sarah, sixteen years later had her own miracle son Isaac as promised, Hagar’s son Ishmael started teasing his little toddler half-brother Isaac. That was the last straw for Sarah, and she demanded that her husband send Hagar and her son away for good.

The father of both sons wasn’t so agreeable this time. To his surprise, God intervened and told him it was God’s will to let them go. There was a plan for each son.

11 The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son. 12 But God said to him, “Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. 13 I will make the son of the slave into a nation also, because he is your offspring.” (Gen. 21:11-13)

Right there you have the declaration from God of two nations. One would be the promised nation of Abraham, but God had revealed to Hagar about the other son, “He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.”

Modern day Palestinians are the Arabs who are primarily the descendants of Ishmael. Some of the modern-day Palestinians are also likely descendants of Lot (one of Abraham’s relatives whose two daughters gave birth to the peoples of Moab and Ammon, (Genesis 19:36 – 38). Some are also possibly descended from Esau, the twin brother of Jacob (Israel) and son of Isaac (Genesis 25:25 – 26).

Although the Palestinians are in Abraham’s lineage, they weren’t given the same blessings and inheritance as Isaac. Isaac was Abraham’s only promised son conceived with Sarah. Therefore, God declared that Isaac would inherit the birthright (firstborn) blessings, which included Canaan (Genesis 15:16 – 21, 17:6 – 9, 21:10 – 13).

And the Lord appeared to him (Isaac) and said, “Do not go down into Egypt. Live in the land which I shall tell you of. Stay in this land, and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your seed, I will give all these lands; and I will establish the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. And I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and will give to your seed all these lands . . .” (Genesis 26:2 – 4, see also 15:16 – 21, 17:6 – 9, 21:10 – 13).

What Will Bring About Lasting Peace in the Middle East?

Old Testament prophets saw what God was going to do in the future, but like us today, they didn’t know the timing. Zechariah foresaw the nations streaming to Jerusalem to learn about God from the Jews. “‘And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord Almighty and to entreat him.’ 23 This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In those days ten people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.’” Zech 8:22-23

Isaiah saw a time when animals and humans would live in peace together.

The wolf will live with the lamb,
    the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling[a] together;
    and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow will feed with the bear,
    their young will lie down together,
    and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
    and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
9 They will neither harm nor destroy
    on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea. Is. 11:6-9

The New Testament writers reveal the only answer to worldwide peace. There will continue to be wars until this one event ushers in the Kingdom of Peace—Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, returns to earth to reign for a thousand years (Rev. 20:1-6)! Hallelujah!! But this won’t occur until after the church is raptured (1 Cor. 15:52) and the seven years of terrible tribulation (Matthew 24:29-31).

What Do We Do Until the Prince of Peace Returns?

  • Learn from Sarah’s impatience to wait on the Lord’s timing!

Sarah and Abraham’s contrived plan to fulfill God’s promise instead of waiting for God’s perfect timing and plan didn’t end well. We can’t outsmart or out due God. His plans always are for good and will prevail, but we’ll pay a price when we’re impetuous and prideful thinking we know better than God.

22 The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons, one from his slave wife and one from his freeborn wife.[a] 23 The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise. But the son of the freeborn wife was born as God’s own fulfillment of his promise. (Gal. 4:22-23)

  • Pray for reconciliation and peace in our own families.

Just as God promised, Ishmael founded a nation, but to this day his descendants continue to be in conflict with the nation founded by his half-brother Isaac. This is a family feud passed down through generations and won’t be resolved until Christ’s return. But we can work in our own families to stop generational infighting.

  • Share Jesus and the Gospel

We don’t know when the rapture will take place, but many feel it’s an imminent event. We only have until then or until the Lord takes us home to do the work He’s assigned every Christian here on earth. We’re all called to be missionaries, evangelists, and witnesses for Him. I like the way Dr. David Jeremiah puts it, “Find a way to do what you’re good at and leverage it for the Kingdom of God. Don’t live for yourself live for the Gospel. Love for the salvation of others. Live for testimonies.”

  • Don’t live in fear at the trouble we’re watching in today’s world.

We’re living in the predicted biblical times that will occur before the end comes. When the Prince of Peace returns, there will be peace on all of the earth, not just the Middle East. Until then, we pray for His return and for those who aren’t ready for His return!

Pray for the unsaved Jews who haven’t accepted Jesus as their Savior and for the safety of the tiny Christian community in Gaza that they would have the opportunity to share the Gospel.

 “In a world of turmoil and despair, you must find your peace above and beyond the natural realm. Arise in spirit and know that I am God and that I will lead, guide, direct, and protect you when you put your trust in Me. I am your firm foundation and your very present help in trouble. Believe it!” Psalm 46:1-4—“Small Straws in a Soft Wind” by Marsha Burns,

Some excerpts regarding Hagar are from Everyday Brave: Living Courageously as a Woman of Faith

Note: I encourage you to listen to the Mark Levin Sunday night 10/22/2023 program Life, Liberty, and Levin to learn more about how Hamas is infiltrating America. The JVP, Jewish Voice for Peace, views itself as the “Jewish wing” of the Palestine Solidarity movement and seeks to end the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza strip, and East Jerusalem. They were founded by radical Marxist Jews. IVP is part of a network of NGO’S that promote manufactured definitions of apartheid to extend ongoing campaigns that seek to delegitimize and demonize Israel.

The Free Beacon says JVP advertises itself as the: “largest progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization in the world.” They are strongly in opposition to the nationhood of Israel and they are obviously very active here in America.

Please leave a comment here. I reply to all comments.

October 23, 2023
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4 Prayers Asking God to ‘Give Us This Day’

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We all woke up to the news on Saturday October 7 that war had broken out in Israel. The terrorist group Hamas unleashed a barrage of rockets from Gaza into Israel, reaching as far as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Sabbath tranquility in Israel was ruptured on a day marking the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret and the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War in which Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism and a time of atonement and forgiveness. The current incursion during Simchat Torah in Israel revived painful memories.

Iran financially and ideologically supports Hamas in their desire to annihilate Israel. As of this writing, Hamas has taken hundreds of hostages including families, children, and the elderly and thousands of Israelis (maybe even Americans) are dead or wounded. There were 3500 rockets in 6 hours of surprise Gorilla warfare and a barbaric ISIS-style attack against civilians. “Hamas is running the streets killing civilians” one local said. Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu responded with full military mobilization and declared, “This is war!” Israel is calling this their 9-11.

Pastor Jack Hibbs responded on his Facebook page: “Throughout the decades, in our Bible prophecy, updates, and teachers, I have been preaching on this scenario for years. Now, keep your eyes on the Pacific Northwest for China to go against Taiwan or North Korea to do something stupid. Do not be surprised if simultaneously we see Hezbollah in the north of Israel, coming out of Lebanon and Syria. We could be looking at the setup of either Isaiah 17 or Ezekiel 38 or both.”

Since this attack was planned, funded, and equipped by Iran, Hal Lindsey considers it a precursor to the war prophesied in Ezekiel 38-39—a war led by Russia and Iran. All experts believe Russia is also tied to this current terrorist attack on Israel.

No one expected this day when they went to bed the previous night. Somehow it slipped by Israel’s top-notch Intel. But it happened. That’s exactly how the day of the Lord will come when God raptures His people from earth to heaven. It will be even more dramatic than war in Israel. It will usher in the 7 years of tribulation, which will make the evil we’re watching in today’s culture look mild. Praise God, if you know Jesus as your Savior, you won’t have to endure that horrific time, but I wonder how many of the Israelis who died knew Jesus as their Messiah?

We don’t know how this war in Israel will escalate or how it might even affect us here in America. Many people have been physically “prepping” for some world clash, but my response is always how many are spiritually prepping? How many are ready to meet Jesus? Your cupboards may be full but if Jesus isn’t filling your heart, it’s all for naught. It’s the difference between eternal death and eternal life.

A colorful plaque on the wall in our dining room reads, “Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread.” I placed it in the room where we eat because we typically associate bread with a meal. But there are so many other areas of life to ask God to give us what we need for this day.

Especially helpful during a morning devotional time is asking God to bless this day and prepare us for whatever He knows is going to happen in our life, particularly those things that might catch us by surprise. We read in the Bible that God wants us to take life one day at a time, but always be ready for the unexpected and the day He takes us home to be with Him. No one knows the day or time, but it will happen when we least expect it, in the wink of an eye.

 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” Matt. 24:36 NKJV

Where Can We Find ‘Give Us This Day’ in the Bible?

During Jesus’ ministry on earth, He was continuously teaching and mentoring his twelve disciples. Prayer is an essential part of the Christian life so the disciples often observed Jesus praying. One day the disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray. Matthew 6:9-13, the “Lord’s Prayer,” is Jesus’ response to His disciples and to us on how we should pray. Many have memorized this prayer often recited in church or used as a model for prayer.

9 In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Matt. 6:9-13 NKJV

In verse 11, Jesus was referencing the daily bread, “manna from heaven,” God sent each day to meet the needs of the Israelites for food as they wandered in the desert. That the God of Israel could provide daily food for them was a confirmation that He was watching over them and guiding their life both physically and spiritually.

Jesus emphasizes this point in John 6:32 NKJV, Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.”

Jesus then referred to Himself as the living bread, “For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” John 6:33 NKJV

 Next, Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35 NKJV

By emphasizing in Matthew 6:11 that we ask God to give us bread only for “this day,” Jesus was referencing the biblical history the disciples would know that God only sent the Israelites enough manna for each day. He wanted them to have confidence that there would be just enough for one day and He would rain down more the next day. If they tried to horde extra, it spoiled. They needed to trust Him for their daily provision. And so should we!

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not. 5 And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.” Ex. 16:4-5 NKJV

Moses also reminded the people that spiritual food is as vital to life as physical food.

So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. Deut. 8:3 NKJV

Jesus referred to Deuteronomy 8:3 in Matthew 4:4 NKJV when he spoke of spiritual bread. But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”

What Does It Mean When We Ask God to Give Us This Day?

When we’re sick or going through financial or personal problems, we want answers for the future, now. How is it all going to turn out? What can we do to change things? Maybe we have enough to get by today, but what about tomorrow and the next day? We ask God to show us His plans and assure us that we’ll be fine. It’s all going to work out okay.

Matthew 6:25-27 is one of Jesus’ famous lessons about worrying about the next day. Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

Still, we worry until we learn how to turn each day’s needs over to God in prayer and trust that He has everything under control.

4 Ways to Pray Asking God to “Give Us This Day“

Pray for God to Give Us This Day: Provision

Dear Father, You know our needs before we even ask but still You tell us we have not because we ask not. So Lord, I’m asking You to provide for my needs, maybe not my wants, but enough. Show me what I must do to work with You to obtain what’s sufficient for this day. These are scary times. The shelves at stores are emptying, prices escalating, and we worry about providing food and clothes for our family today. With Christmas quickly approaching, how can we afford gifts?

Lord, could this be Your way of helping us focus on the true meaning of Christmas?! Remembering that it’s not about how many gifts we give, but the gospel message we share with people who are more open to hearing about the gift of Jesus at that time of year.

Please help me not to panic and start hording and hiding away food and supplies. It didn’t work for the Israelites with their hording manna for more than a day and it won’t help for me to take from others who might need provisions more than I do. Guide me into prudent buying and give me wisdom to discern between a want and a need.

Thank You Holy Father for the abundance You’ve poured down on a country that seldom gives You the glory. Let me be the voice that says I have enough for this day, and I want to take time to enjoy and appreciate the Lord’s provision for my loved ones and me. Everyday give me a heart of generosity to give to those who might not be as fortunate as I am. I praise You Lord for Your abounding love and grace to all those who love You. Amen

Pray for God to Give Us This Day: Peace

Heavenly Father, You see from Your throne in heaven the chaos and crises befalling our world, and especially today in Israel. A world that is rejecting Your moral biblical values and principles. How this must break Your heart. Lord, it breaks my heart, and sometimes I lose my peace and am filled with anxiety when each new day brings more discouraging news. It seems like evil rules instead of You.

Please help me wake up in the morning with a sense of peace when I look out the window and see all that You’ve created and the sun has risen again on a new day. Remind me to thank You each night for another day of life.

When my thoughts wander to worrying, bring me back this day to remembering John 14:27 where Jesus assures us, “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.” I pray Lord that You will bring peace to Israel and draw many hearts to Jesus during this horrible assault on their country. Amen

Pray for God to Give Us This Day: Joy

Dear God, I’ll admit I’m not joyful each new day. I want to be because I feel better physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. I need to smile and laugh more, but I look in the mirror and see frown lines on my face. More importantly, Father, I need Your joy to fill my heart and soul. Please help me to laugh. Give me a daily dose of joy.

I know Your Word tells me that joy is a fruit of the Spirit, as is the peace I so desperately crave. Just knowing You, Lord, as my Savior should fill my heart with bubbling over joy. Please help me this day to put a gospel song in my heart and a kick in my step that draws others to the joy of knowing the Jesus they see in me.

Fill me anew this day with Your Holy Spirit. Your living water. Your hope. Your peace. Remind me that the joy of the Lord is my strength (Neh. 8:10)! “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me” (Psalm 51:12). Amen

Pray for God to Give Us This Day: Trust

Precious Lord, I give this day trusting You will not give me more than I can bear but will always give me just what I need to stand up under any adversity. Father, I know that the foundation of my faith is trust in You in every way and every day. Trust is believing in what I cannot see but knowing that You see all and only want the best for me.

Lord, it’s a constant daily process of turning all my life, not just portions of it, over to You completely. Giving up control when I want to do things my way. I need You to remind me when I’m falling off course or trying to do things on my own. Each day unfolds with new challenges and opportunities, and I must seek You moment by moment in making decisions and choices.

Keep this song in my heart: Trust and obey for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey. I see clearly now that You are my source of provision, peace, and joy and I implore You dear Lord, help me to trust in You and You alone this day and every day. Amen

Pray Like Today Is Your Forever Day!

Like Israel, we don’t know what tomorrow will bring, or for that matter even the rest of today. But God tells us He has numbered each of our days. While we’re here on earth, He knows the plans He has for us. So, it’s only fitting that we would turn this day and each new day over to Him to guide and lead us in what we say and do. How we feel and hope. How we respond and react. How we love and let love.

The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
    His mercies never cease.
23 Great is his faithfulness;
    his mercies begin afresh each morning.
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
    therefore, I will hope in him!” Lam. 3:23-24 NLT

Pray for peace in Jerusalem.
    May all who love this city prosper.
7 O Jerusalem, may there be peace within your walls
    and prosperity in your palaces.
8 For the sake of my family and friends, I will say,
    “May you have peace.”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
    I will seek what is best for you, O Jerusalem. Psalm 122:6-9 NLT

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October 9, 2023
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Once I was Blind, But Now I See!

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This week, I’m doing something I occasionally do and that’s promote a movie with a message that everyone needs to see and hear. I’m talking about the movie The Blind in theaters this week. Dave and I went to see it on 9/29 and even though I knew most of the story of Duck Dynasty’s Phil and Kay Robertson, I really didn’t know how bad it was before Jesus came into their life.

Decades before “Duck Dynasty,” Phil and Kay Robertson suffered a stormy early period of ten years in their marriage marred by Phil’s alcohol abuse and infidelity. “The Blind” captures their story of struggle, redemption, and hope.

When we were finding our seats at the theater, I saw a young teenage couple and asked if they knew what the story was about. They smiled and said they did. I told them how happy I was to see them there and that this film was reaching the next generation. After the movie, Dave and I started talking to a couple sitting next to us and discovered we had the same conservative faith beliefs and burden to protect children in our state’s schools and libraries. We were blessed to make new like-minded friends.

Let me backtrack a bit. Dave and I enjoyed watching the Robertson family with their four married sons’ families and Phil’s brother Uncle Si in their Duck Dynasty reality show adventures. That sparked our interest in learning more about them since the whole family was obviously Christian and they weren’t afraid to talk about their faith, Jesus, and family.

After Duck Dynasty ended, many in the Robertson family branched out with other shows, podcasts, books, and ministries.

Dave and I have a remote connection to the Robertson family. Their third son Willie Robertson’s wife Korie is the daughter of John and Chrys Howard owners of the former Howard Publishing that published my first two books, Dear God, They Say It’s Cancer: A Companion Guide for Women on the Breast Cancer Journey and Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter: Hope, Help, & Encouragement for Hurting Parents. The Howards later sold their publishing company to Simon & Schuster, which still publishes those two books.

I never personally met Miss Kay [as she’s fondly called] or Phil Robertson, but they spoke several years ago in Nampa, Idaho and Dave and I attended. Phil is a bold evangelist and speaks freely about his life before Christ and the change accepting Jesus as his Savior made in his life, his marriage, and his family.

Recently, we heard Phil and Miss Kay interviewed by Kirk Cameron on his TBN program Takeaways. They said that their children felt the couple’s early tumultuous marriage years needed telling to share the miraculous transformation Jesus made in Phil’s life and Kay’s belief in him when he was haunted by the demons of alcohol, infidelity, and childhood memories. I don’t want to give away any spoilers because you need to see the movie, but to quote Phil, “You’ve got to come to the end of yourself to find the beginning of God.”

It’s one thing to read and even hear Phil and Miss Kay’s testimony, but to see it visually in this film is indescribable and inspirational. The portrayal of Kay and Phil is raw, open, and vulnerable. They hold nothing back of how bad things were and how good God is. In the Kirk Cameron interview, Phil revealed something I hadn’t heard before that he had learned of fathering a now 45-year-old daughter during his time of infidelity. She’s welcomed into the Robertson clan.

Their son, Willie Robertson, said in an interview with USA Today Network about The Blind, “It’s the early years of their marriage, so it’s gutting and raw. It’s definitely not ‘Duck Dynasty.'”

 “It tackles big issues – mental illness, depression, alcohol abuse,” Willie said.

Willie and his wife Korie Robertson produced the movie with their Tread Lively production company.

“Mom and dad have been very public about their early struggles, but seeing it up there on the screen really made it real for all of us,” Willie said. “It’s tough for them to open up that part of their life, but they’ve been willing to do it to try to reach others who are struggling. People see the family and ‘Duck Dynasty’ and think, ‘They have everything,’ but this story illustrates we had hard times like everyone else,” said Willie, who was 2 when his parents separated for a time.

“It’s powerful,” Willie said. “It’s a story of hope and redemption that shows you’re never too far gone to be saved.”

“In this movie, ‘The Blind,’ we let go of everything. We’re telling it,” Miss Kay says.

The 10-year span in The Blind depicts what Phil Robertson himself describes as his wild rebellious years of substance abuse and cheating before turning to God and building the clan’s Duck Commander duck-call manufacturing business into an empire in rural West Monroe.

Why would the Robertson’s be so open, vulnerable, and transparent about such a dark time in their life? Because they care more about saving lives than saving their reputation. Their testimony is one of redemption, love, and forgiveness. A wife who didn’t give up hope for her husband and a Jesus who can save even the most despicable wayward person. A testimony shared to bring others to Jesus.

It’s not about how bad you were, it’s about how good God is! He goes after the one that was lost even though 99 are saved. Which gives each of us hope for those we think will never change their life. If God could turn heathen Phil into an evangelist, he can and will save anyone who surrenders his or her life to Jesus Christ and seeks forgiveness for their sins.

“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13 And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. Matt. 18:12-13

Why Share Our Testimony?

And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. —1 John 5:11-12

But as for me, how good it is to be near God!  I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, And I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do. —Ps. 73:28 NLT

There’s no greater witness to God’s goodness than sharing what He’s done in your life. No one can question your testimony because it’s your personal experience. As we mature spiritually, we move beyond just remembering God’s goodness for our own benefit and start retelling our testimony to help others just like Phil and Kay have done.

We all have varied life testimonies in addition to our salvation testimony. Some of you have heard my “Feed my Sheep” testimony. If not, you can read a little here. I never tire of telling my story as History.

You may not think you have a testimony if you’ve been a Christian most of your life and life has gone smoothly. You can’t relate to Kay and Phil’s story or maybe even mine. God has been walking beside you guiding your life every step of the way. But that’s your testimony to others who worry about losing something by turning their lives over to God. You’re a living example of how good God really is!

Maybe you’re stumbling under the burden of a hidden past you’ve been too embarrassed to talk about and hope will never be revealed. Now may be the time to deal with those buried hurts and hang-ups. Like Phil and me, once they’re out in the open, Satan can’t use them against you anymore.

When I felt God leading me to write Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter, I had to ask my daughter if she was okay with me revealing the prodigal time in her life before she accepted Christ as her Savior. I assured her that I would also be sharing how I was a prodigal raising a prodigal.

I write her response in the Acknowledgments: “My dearest Kim, you will always be my “baby. To share our story, to bare our souls, is no little thing. I admire and celebrate the beautiful, humble, and courageous Christian woman you have become. When I shared my vision for this book, you were on board and willing to let me expose our lives on these pages, all for the glory of God. That’s no small concession, since our life together has had many twists and turns—some we regret and others we celebrate. I thank God for making both our paths straight. We were lost and now we’re found. I love you baby.”

Kim told me, “Mom, if we can help one daughter and her parents, we need to share our story.” Kim also writes in the book what she was feeling and thinking during her prodigal years.

God redeems your story by surrounding you with people who need to hear your past so it doesn’t become their future. Like Phil and Kay’s testimony and Kim’s and mine, it’s the opportunity to give purpose to a crisis.

You might not make a movie, write a book, or tell your testimony from a stage, but God will bring people across your path and the Holy Spirit will prompt you to share. Every day, you encounter opportunities to share your testimony, and every time you tell it, you’ll remember how good God has been to you.

Revealing is the first step to healing!

Just like Phil’s spiraling down and my backsliding years, our testimony isn’t about how bad we were. Our message is the redemption and forgiveness available through our initial salvation or a rededication to Jesus Christ.

When people ask me how I made it through life’s difficulties, the best answer is, “I couldn’t have done it without God.” That’s your best answer too. It opens the door to share your story. By the way, your story doesn’t have to have a “happy ending” like the Robertson’s or mine for you to share it.

Your story becomes your testimony when the focus is on God, not on you. It’s not a time to tell someone else’s story. Stick to details that pertain to you and those willing to let you include them in your story.

When anyone tells me about an encounter with God, or a memorable circumstance in his or her life, I always ask if they’re writing it down because God is going to use it as a life-experience testimony. My ministry tagline is “Sharing Life Experiences and God’s Faithfulness.”

I’m reminded of the Apostle Paul [formerly Saul], a persecutor of Christians before he was struck blind by the Lord on the road to Damascus in Acts 9:1:1-18.

 So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized.

Later in Acts 22:1-16, Paul told his testimony of transformation from being an enemy and persecutor of Christians to an evangelist sharing the Gospel.

As I watched in The Blind, Phil Robertson’s retreat into the forest almost living like an animal during his darkest times, I was reminded of the story of King Nebuchadnezzar’s testimony of living like a wild animal until he also surrendered to God (Daniel 4:1-37).

At the closing of The Blind movie, they showed comments on the screen. One was what Miss Kay said to the former pastor of the West Monroe White’s Ferry Church of Christ who visited Phil in Junction City during his darkest hour, planting a seed that eventually sprouted. Kay said to the pastor, “If you can help save Phil, he will go on to help save thousands.” Which Phil certainly has done!

While many may know of Phil’s tenaciously outspoken faith now, they may not know the hard and twisting road he walked before surrendering to Jesus. The title “The Blind is a play on words and refers both to, “I was blind, but now I see” (John 9:25), and to a shelter that conceals duck hunters called “the blind.“

“I think maybe if these people watch the movie and see how I was, and then they look at me now and see how I operate, [it will give them hope],” Mr. Robertson said. “You got to remember all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God so I’m not the only person that has sinned. The way out is faith in Jesus Christ.”

“I would have never dreamed I would be out there preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ when I was back there getting drunk as a skunk,” he continued. “But when that happened and I was freed from it, [everything changed]. That’s why I’ve been saying ever since that happened and I came to Jesus [what God can do].”

“Our prayer is that people will see the movie and know there’s hope. It’s never too late to be saved.”

“Jesus—that one sacrifice—has made perfect, forever, those who come to Him. If you just think about it, His blood gives us the opportunity to move beyond our sinful self,” Mr. Robertson said. “What do you get when He shows up, when you come to Him by faith? Love, joy, peace, patience…. It’s well worth the effort to follow Jesus faithfully.”

Amen!

If you didn’t receive my September newsletter, here’s the link. I would encourage you to read it.

Some of the “Why Share Your Testimony” discussion above is from my book Forsaken God? Remembering the Goodness of God Our Culture Has Forgotten.

Please leave a comment here. I reply to all comments.

October 2, 2023
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4 Prayers for When You’re Hurting, Mad, or Sad!

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It’s hard listening to the lies, corruption, and political injustice coming out of Washington D.C. without feeling angry, betrayed, or maybe even hopeless about the fate of our beautiful country. We’re watching the destruction of moral values and biblical principles our country was founded on and that helped us flourish as the world leader now seemingly being destroyed by our Marxist tyrannical government. It reinforces how important Christian and Conservatives’ votes are because if we didn’t have a majority in Congress all the corruption and lies would’ve never been exposed.

If you’ve seen the movie Sound of Freedom, you know our country has the highest rate in the world of child trafficking with cartels controlling our borders. You feel sick, sad, mad, helpless, and depressed wondering as we all said when we walked out of the theater, “What can we do to stop this?” We beg God to please help these children who our government is turning a blind eye to as they allow illegals and bad people to flood our borders using the “back door” instead of the “front door” into our country.

The President and Democrats show no compassion for children as they try to indoctrinate them into perverse sexual practices in the classroom, codify killing babies in the womb, and ignore child trafficking. I can say with certainty people condoning this evil will never see heaven but will spend eternity in hell.  I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” Luke 18:17

Jesus said, “4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” Matt. 18:4-6

If you’ve read 1st and 2nd Kings, which I referred to in last week’s blog, Loving God and America is “Dangerous” in 2023, there was always a bad king, then a good king, then a bad king who undid and overturned all the good of the previous king, which in some cases was his father.

Can a corrupt throne be allied with you—a throne that brings on misery by its decrees? 21 The wicked band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death. 22 But the Lord has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge. 23 He will repay them for their sins and destroy them for their wickedness; the Lord our God will destroy them. Ps. 94:20-23

Sin motivates depravity motivated by power, money, pride, self-indulgence, disregard for others, convenience, acquisition, greed . . . me, myself, and I doing what feels good. Men and women wanting to be their own gods just like we saw in the tower of Babel.  Do you feel sometimes like you just want to give up?

Well Habakkuk felt like that too, but I encourage you to read Chapter 2 in the Book of Habakkuk. Here’s the link to The Message translation where God so clearly describes a world like we’re living in today. Habakkuk prayed, “What’s God going to say to my questions? I’m braced for the worst. I’ll climb to the lookout tower and scan the horizon. I’ll wait to see what God says, how he’ll answer my complaint.” (2:1)

Praise God, Habakkuk didn’t give up and as long as the Lord gives us breath, we can’t give up either. We pray and wait as Habakkuk did. For me, I pray for God to use my writings and life for His glory, but you don’t have to be a writer to share God’s truths in our current depraved culture. You can pray and live a righteous life for others to emulate until the Lord returns!

And then God answered: “Write this.
    Write what you see.
Write it out in big block letters
    so that it can be read on the run.
This vision-message is a witness
    pointing to what’s coming.
It aches for the coming—it can hardly wait!
    And it doesn’t lie.
If it seems slow in coming, wait.
    It’s on its way. It will come right on time. (Hab. 2:2-3)

Many of you experience hurts beyond world events, or maybe brought on by current events and our detestable culture. Your own private world might seem under attack. I want to use the rest of this blog to pray for and with you. I hope you’ll feel comfort and inspiration from the Lord as you wait, pray, and listen.

4 Prayers for Difficult Times

In Dear God, They Say It’s Cancer and Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter: Hope, Help & Encouragement for Hurting Parents, I encourage the reader to personalize Scripture as if God wrote it just for them. We can do the same when we pray for someone hurting or for ourselves. We don’t always need to come up with the perfect words because God already has. You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry. (Ps. 10:17)

 People don’t need us to fix things. When they’re hurting, they want a shoulder to cry on, an arm around their shoulder, and company in the darkness of their soul. There might be a time later when we can sit down over a cup of coffee and help them work through details of their situation, but for the moment, they just need to feel God’s closeness and comfort in and through us.

Here are 4 prayers to help guide you in praying with people for specific situations, or if you’re in this situation, please personalize and pray for yourself.

Prayer for Those Grieving

Father, we pray for those suffering the loss of a loved one or someone close to their heart or even a beloved animal. The hurt runs so deep and grief so all encompassing, their mourning is palpable. They’re inconsolable: “You have taken away my companions and loved ones. Darkness is my closest friend.” (Ps. 88:18 NLT)

While they celebrate a life that’s hopefully now in Your loving arms, they’re left alone wondering how their life can go on without this precious person. Only You Lord can bring light back into their life and wipe away the tears. “You light a lamp for me. The Lord, my God, lights up my darkness.” (Ps. 18:28 NLT)

You promise someday mourning will turn to dancing and we’ll dance together before Your thrown. Lord, only You can fill the void left in a broken heart. Only You understand the depth of grief and pain. Only You can help the grieving ever smile again. Father, please flood their mind and heart with sweet memories when thoughts wander into hopelessness and the pain seems overwhelming, especially on birthdays and holidays.

Remind the grief-stricken that Psalm 116:15 (NLT) assures, “The Lord cares deeply when his loved ones die.” You, Lord, care deeply when we’re sad. “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle You have recorded each one in your book.” (Ps. 56:8 NLT)

Help those with immeasurable sorrow to hold onto the truth that after a little while, those who know You as Savior will be united again. Until then, hold each one close in Your loving arms. “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants.” (Ps. 116:15) Amen

Prayer for When Disaster Hits

Heavenly Father, You promise “The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.” (Ps. 9:9) You know the trouble that surrounds anyone experiencing a disaster when everything seems bleak. Help them trust that You will show a way out of this dark hole when there seems to be no visible way. Guide the many decisions, show the paths to take in moving forward when they just want to sit down in despair and cry.

You knew hard times would come and You will use this disaster to accomplish Your perfect will in their life. Give them courage not to fear the future with You by their side. Help them remember, “God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam, let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!” (Ps. 46:1-3 NLT)

Bring those to their side to help by showing Your love in tangible ways that express, “My heart is torn within me, and my compassion overflows.” (Hosea 11:8 NLT) Amen

Prayer for Health or Mental Illness

Dear Lord, let our hearts hurt and cringe with those who have received a harsh diagnosis or are in the throes of a painful illness. Remove platitudes and trite comments from our mouth and give us an ear to hear and feel their pain. Father, even if we’ve had a similar illness, we can’t fully understand their experience. Give us a kind, caring, and loving presence to let them pour out their heart.

Father, You promise in Joshua 1:5 that You will never leave or forsake us, so we pray Your presence surrounds anyone with an illness whether in the doctor’s office, the hospital, or the sick bed at home. Provide friends or family to hear their cries of pain and soothe their trembling body from fear or symptoms.

We pray Lord for the physicians and medical professionals they encounter in their journey who are a healing balm for this time of sorrow and pain. We thank You in advance for providing the human comfort and the Holy Spirit’s constant soothing for physical, emotional, and spiritual pain. You, Lord, are the Great Healer, the Great Jehovah Rapha. Only You can ease pain. Healing comes from Your power working through doctors, treatments, and medication, but we pray You won’t give anyone more than they can bear.

Provide those who are suffering with constant comfort and peace knowing, “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” (Is. 41:10 NLT) Amen

Prayer for Loss of a Job or Provision

Lord, it’s devastating not being able to provide financially for family or loves ones. Fear of the unknown of what to do next to find a new job is overwhelming. Many are in this position today. It’s paralyzing and depressing.

Father, we pray for doors to open. This loss might be a time to pursue new opportunities. Please provide wisdom, direction, courage, and humbleness to reach out for help in the interim and let others be responsive. “If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?” (1 John 3:17)

You tell us to be aware of those in need, that the body of Christ is benevolent and ready to help our fellow brother and sisters, so please surround those in economic loss with others who have extra to share. “If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord—and he will repay you!” (Pr. 19:17 NLT)

Guide everyone in this situation to seek help. It’s humbling, but You love when we’re humble. “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.” (James 4:10 NLT) Provide employment, replace lost possessions, and help families pull together not be pulled apart. “Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them.” (Ps. 10:17 NLT)

Please Heal Our Country!

The promises of God are far more powerful than the sins of people. So, Lord, we humbly claim Your promises and pray in unison as Your people that we would do our part to heal our land. 14 If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. (2 Chronicles 7:14-15) Amen

We all need prayers, and when we see those prayers answered, God wants us to reach back and help others who are going through something similar. Today, we pray for those who are hurting and someday we hope that others will pray for us. It’s God’s way and plan for His people.

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. 4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. (2 Cor. 1:3-4 NLT)

We never know if God is going to heal our hurts and problems here or in our heavenly home, but He does promise for all who believe in Him as their Lord and Savior that . . .

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘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.” Rev. 21:3-4

Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters] Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. 1 Peter 3:8 NLT

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. Ps. 34:18 NLT

“But oh! God is in his holy Temple! Quiet everyone—a holy silence. Listen!” Habakkuk 2:20 The Message

Portions of the above prayers appeared in my Crosswalk article 4 Comforting Sympathy Prayers for Those Who Are Hurting, May 13, 2021

Please leave a comment here. I reply to all comments and enjoy reading your thoughts.

August 14, 2023
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Loving God and America is “Dangerous” in 2023!

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People come and go over the generations, but demons remain the same from the days of Noah, Elijah, Ahab, Jezebel, and Jesus until today.

Satan is real and his army of demons are continually at war with God’s people. Jesus dealt with demons that understood His true identity and obeyed His command. He cast out demons from a man with an impure spirit – “My name is Legion; for we are many” – into a herd of pigs that rushed over a steep bank into a lake and drowned (Mark 5:1-13).

Author, Lit. Col. Robert Maginnis (ret.) writes in an opinion article, “Today, Satan’s demonic army is very active. They manifest themselves through various practices such as divination, witchcraft, channeling and wizardry (Deuteronomy 18:10-12). They deceive, attack the human mind with the intent of control, and they leverage power to take captive people, especially the prominent.” The Scripture Maginnis refers to here also says in verse 10, “never sacrifice your son or daughter”!

Hal Lindsey reminds us that, “Like it or not, we live in a war zone. Bombs of deceit, violence, and rage explode all around us. This spiritual war is not hypothetical, and it is not a metaphor. It is a real war with real casualties and real collateral damage. But a spiritual war is not to be fought with guns, fists, or missiles.”

4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5

Just like Jesus doesn’t change, neither does Satan. That’s hard to hear and accept, but it’s true. Satan’s goal is the same as it’s always been to tempt, deceive, and destroy God’s created people with sinful and evil practices and choices.

I encourage you to listen to a podcast with Charlie Kirk and Pastor Mark Driscoll. Pastor Driscoll’s recent book New Days, Old Demons: Ancient Paganism Masquerading as Progressive Christianity, describes how the entire apparatus of modern wokeness—transgenderism, child mutilation, abortion, even drag queens—is simply a repeat of themes from the Old Testament starting with Ahab and his evil immoral wife Jezebel, whose evil ways passed down from Genesis to current times.

 There was never anyone like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, urged on by Jezebel his wife. 1 Kings 21:25

In the podcast, Driscoll explains that the Bible doesn’t just retell what happened in the past, but forecasts what will always happen in the future. The same political and cultural issues chronicled in 1st and 2nd Kings are the evil issues we see in our culture and politics today. Progressive, woke, soft-woke Christianity / pastors are rooted in the same demonic realm.

If we tolerate evil demonic forces, they will dominate! Jesus told the Church in Thyatira in Revelations 2:20-21, “But I have this complaint against you. You are permitting that woman—that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet—to lead my servants astray. She teaches them to commit sexual sin and to eat food offered to idols. 21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. Rev. 2:20-21

Praise God there are spiritual warriors amongst us today who aren’t afraid of the demonic principalities coming against them because these men and women of faith allow the Holy Spirit to guide and lead them. I want to highlight two mighty warriors for God who understand that Satan and his demons work through men and women blinded by evil who want to replace God with government. These men of valor are saying not on our watch!

I hope you stand with them and me in agreement. Even though we don’t have the platforms of these two courageous Christians, and many others, we can support them in prayer, encouragement, and however the Lord leads you.

Two Modern-Day Spiritual Warriors

The first Christian warrior I’m going to discuss is Sean Feucht because he made national news right here in my home state of Idaho when he brought his Kingdom to the Capitol tour to Boise and received demonic pushback. This isn’t the first time it’s happened to Sean, but it became big news because Idaho is considered a red, conservative, Republican-dominated state. Beware: that position isn’t guaranteed nor is it one we can rely upon complacently as evidenced to what happened to Feucht here in my beloved Idaho where Sean was called “dangerous” by the local newspaper, The Statesmen, for daring to bring God and worship to the steps of the Capitol.

You can read the entire news coverage with details here “Christian singer mocks Idaho newspaper calling worship gathering ‘dangerous.’ ‘Good news is that God wins’. But a synopsis is that ahead of his scheduled stop in Boise, the Idaho Statesman’s editorial board wrote an opinion article attacking Feucht and his allies as “dangerous activists” and “charlatans” “who want to inject their brand of Christianity into government.” The Idaho Statesman’s article spewed the following hate propaganda . . .

“Feucht and his group are playing on the same, tired, worn-out, BS, far-right ‘fears’ that evildoers on the Left are coming for your children, through the schools, through the libraries, at Pride festivals and drag shows,” the opinion piece read. While conceding that his “hate speech” was protected under the First Amendment, the editorial board warned it was still “dangerous.” “The danger comes when these groups impose their religious views on others and inject church into the state through the power of government, as we’ve already seen in Idaho through the most restrictive abortion ban in the country, attempts to put a bounty on libraries and bans on gender-affirming care for transgender youth. No one is telling these groups to abandon their religious beliefs. We’re just telling them to keep their religion in their church and out of our government.”

The Statesman doesn’t think using the power of government to kill innocent babies in the womb, sexually mutilate and castrate children, and allow the teaching of perverse sex in schools is “dangerous,” only biblical principles are “dangerous.”

If you read the full hit job in the Statesman titled “Keep Your religions out of our government. Dangerous activists coming to Idaho Capitol,” you’ll see that a group of “faith leaders” in the Northwest (Feucht went to Olympia WA and Salem OR Capitols before coming to Boise) sent a letter to legislative leaders to denounce “the appearance of these faith peddlers, whose views are full of hate.” Here’s an excerpt from these so-called “faith leaders” who must’ve all gone woke to protest Christian worship at Capitols and reject biblical principles!

Here’s an excerpt from the letter: “As faith leaders in the cities of Salem, Olympia and Boise, we are writing to inform you of an anti-LGBTQ+ speaker coming to each of our state capital cities this week and ask you to speak out against anti-LGBTQ+ bigotry,” the faith leaders wrote in a letter to state legislative leaders. The letter from the ‘faith leaders’ continued: “Sean Feucht has spent the past year capitalizing on anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments by railing against Pride Month, even embracing the exclusionary label of ‘Christian nationalist,’ and declaring that people with his narrow view of Christian theology should make all laws in the United States. “We reject these attempts to cloak bigotry in religious language, and we ask you to do the same.”

Sean Feucht’s response:

“It’s all part of the King coming back,” Feucht said at an event in Tulsa, Oklahoma. “That’s what we’re practicing for. That’s why hell hates that we’re worshiping at every Capitol across America. That’s why we get called, ‘Well, you’re Christian nationalists.’”

Feucht understands why his Christian beliefs cause friction. “When you’re doing something BIG for the kingdom of God, the opposition is LITERALLY Satan. The good news is that GOD WINS,” he wrote on Twitter, after Satanist counter-protesters showed up to the Boise event.

“I don’t begrudge the Statesman for what they wrote—they are well within their Constitutional right. We both exercised our rights under the same amendment. What they wrote is not so much a critique of the Let Us Worship Movement as it was a shameless plug for the LGBTQ agenda. To stand on the Bible is dangerous in the year 2023, especially when that truth conflicts with the LGTBQ agenda,” he wrote.

He also tweeted: More than 12,000 “dangerous” God-fearing, America loving worshippers flooded the capitols in Washington, Oregon & Idaho! Thank every one of you for TAKING A STAND for Jesus in your state!

In another satirical tweet mocking the media article and protesters, Sean wrote: “Beware! Kids singing with flags! Hurry up and ban flag waving DANGEROUS Christian kids from the capitol before someone gets hurt!”

On a Facebook post he wrote: “’He who sits in the heavens laughs.’ Sometimes you gotta just laugh at the enemies pathetic attempts to stop the spread of an unstoppable kingdom. He’s weak. He’s lost. He’s got no new tricks. PRO TIP FOR 2023: Laugh your way through victorious living.”

Sean mocked those trying to mock God! He uses humor to combat their vicious attacks and he always prays that some of the Satanists, abortion-rights protesters, LGBQT mafia, and media find salvation at his worship events. He’s reported that many have come to accept the Jesus they initially came to denounce. Still, he concedes, “To stand on the Bible is dangerous in the year 2023.”

As protestors and satanists yelled profanities the entire two hours the Boise Capitol allowed the worship event, Sean’s team passed out individual communion packets. The entire worshipping crowd took communion together with Sean on his knees in front of the Capitol declaring the blood of Jesus over the building and the city. The worshippers did a joy dance around the Boise Capitol and Sean rang the Freedom Bell he said was the first one he’d seen accessible at a Capitol. Then he sang a song about freedom. “I can hear those Liberty Bells rattling rattling the gates of hell. I can hear those Liberty Bells ringing ringing. It’s the sound of freedom. The gates of hell will not prevail!”

The only way to fight satanic demonic spirits is with the Spirit of the Lord, which Sean and many of us “dangerous Christians” fully understand. For more information about Sean’s Let Us Worship Ministry go to his website and learn when he’s coming to your Capitol or city.

The second Christian activist I want to highlight is actor/author Kirk Cameron who has several faith-based children’s books published by Brave Books. Cameron has been trying to host faith-based story readings for children at libraries to counter drag queen story readings and receiving pushback initially having 50 libraries prevent him from coming. He sent them all letters asking them to reconsider and many did, but he’s also had to contend with drag queens, Satanists, and trans people showing up to harass him and the audience of parents and children.

 In spite of the attacks, Cameron pushed forward and declared August 5 to be a See You at The Library national event with over 300 libraries across the country booked by everyday patriotic people to read books to children that cherish family, faith, and patriotism. Kirk says he’s “passing the baton to the people.”

But two days before Kirk and Riley Gaines were to read books to children and families on August 5th in another so-called red state at the Huntsville Alabama Library coordinated by Moms for Liberty, the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library System said it would no longer accommodate the book-reading event “due to concerns about logistics and security” as popularity for the event grew.

Cameron and Brave Books used law firm First Liberty Institute to send a letter saying it was “prepared to vindicate this violation of our client’s civil rights in court,” as a discrimination against religious groups. The library reversed course and allowed the book reading limited to 225 attendees and the police restrained 100 protestors outside.

“We must stand our ground and fight for our public institutions,” Brave Books CEO Trent Talbot said. “The foe we fail to meet at the gate in our own generation is the foe we let into the city for the next.”

Cameron said, “I believe this reconciliation between us and the Madison Public Library is a testimony to the strength and power of moms and dads gathering in prayer for the blessing of their community. Both sides rose to a higher ethic than we often see in today’s polarized society.” He also said, “By seeking the common good and love for our neighbor, we found a solution … See you at the library!”

Gaines said, “We’ve seen this before. The library has come up with an excuse to prevent us from sharing wholesome messages to children and their families because they don’t want to be associated with it.” She added, “The people have shown they want to attend this event and to support the mission of Brave Books. Situations like this embolden activists and ANTIFA. She also said, “I’m happy to say the event now a go again, and we will continue forward with full force! It’s times like this where we must stand our ground as conservatives but more importantly as Christians.”

Here’s an alarming fact. Brave Books uncovered a video discussed in an interview with Cameron where the federally funded American Library Association headquartered in Chicago teaches librarians specifically how to stop Kirk Cameron from coming to their library!  The methods included permitting rooms to be booked only by local library cardholders as well as offering “alternative,” diverse programming on Saturday at the same time as the “See You at the Library” events. An ALA executive, in a live-streamed presentation suggested that members hold a “library-sponsored Pride festival the same day and fill the library with rainbows” to share messages of “inclusion and diversity.”

Yet the ALA has no problem with drag men reading to and sexually gyrating in front of children in their libraries. That’s demonic!

Be Dangerous for Jesus!

It’s true that the Bible, Christians, and Christianity are dangerous to Satan, demons, and all forms of evil! That’s why the Lord tells us “12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Eph. 6:12

Just like God created earth with a physical and spiritual realm, He created humans with an earthly body, soul, and spirit. We take great care of our physical bodies but can neglect that we have a choice as to the spirit that resides inside us. Either the Holy Spirit or a demonic spirit will take residence in our heart. THERE’S NO OTHER CHOICES. NO NEUTRAL.

We see the spiritual forces of evil manifested in our culture, government, laws, schools, libraries, medicine, and people who consider God dangerous. What they’re saying is that to them Satan is safe.

Lord, help the deceived understand that heaven and hell are as real as God and Satan. 

The teaching of your word gives light, so even the simple can understand. Ps. 119:113 NLT

If you haven’t seen my July newsletter, I encourage you to read the opening article 4 Prayers Asking God for a Hedge of Protection. Here’s the link.

I love to read your thoughts. Please leave a comment on the website blog and I’ll reply.

*The opening picture is of Sean Feucht’s worship team and the worshippers in front of the Boise Capitol on July 30, 2023. I hope it wasn’t too big, but I wanted you to get the full effect.

August 7, 2023
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Looking For the Blessings in the Middle of Crisis

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First, if you missed my blog last week, we were setting up a new computer my loving husband surprised me with, but the changeover didn’t go smoothly or easily. I did make the pronouncement at one point that this would be my last new computer EVER in my lifetime! What an ominous task.

Well, I didn’t actually perform the transition from the old computer to the new one. I just answered questions, agonized, and provided water bottles as two dear friends from church, Cathy and Scott, devoted many late and long hours to helping us go from a 12-year-old desktop with Windows 10 to a new desktop with Windows 11 and recapture everything on my very old computer, which included all my 20 books and reams of files and pictures.

It was complicated and stressful! I have to admit, I had a few meltdowns.

Now, I’m in the learning curve of writing on a system that at the moment is completely foreign to me. I’m not a techie; I’m just a writer. I realized how as an author I actually had a relationship with my old computer. I knew how it worked with all its quirks and yes freezing on me continually. But as I held my breath in anticipation, it always came around to eventually unfreezing and started responding to my mouse and keyboard clicks and off we would go writing together . . . until the next freeze. We worked well in tandem for twelve years.

Everything about this new computer is unfamiliar and I’m learning different routines while trying to locate where things are that I used to previously know instinctively. Instead of being my companion and friend that I breathlessly and prayerfully waited each day for the black screen to pop up with my familiar opening page, this new computer almost seemed like my enemy for a while. But through it all, I had two amazing and gifted friends who kept reassuring me that I would once again be able to find all my old files and pictures and continue writing new material.

Today, on this gorgeous Saturday before Mother’s Day, I’m giving it my first attempt. I’m distracted easily, so when I write I need to stay focused and not wonder what tab or icon to open or will I lose everything I just wrote. It’s been difficult staying quiet with everything happening in our culture that I wanted to write about, but God had me in a holding pattern where I was forced to wait on Him and the expertise of those who understood the intricacy of making such a momentous change in operating systems.

I’m sure any of you, especially writers, who’ve been in my situation understand exactly what I’m talking about and what I’ve experienced. If you’re not a writer, think of something you depend on every day that’s suddenly malfunctioning or broken, and you don’t know how to fix it. Or its replacement requires knowledge to operate properly that you don’t possess.

In the midst of all the computer chaos, I also had an article due for Crosswalk.com that had to be finished so they could post before Mother’s Day: 7 Best Ways to Pray for Your Mom!

More pressure. More stress. More prayer.

What Were the Positive Blessings?

As I lamented the disruption to my writing life and ministry, Cathy, the dear friend who was so willing to help me with her vast knowledge of computers, continuously reminded me to be patient always assuring me everything could be “fixed” eventually. She also reminded me of the many blessings I was overlooking when all I could see was chaos and confusion. Here were some of her wise words.

“I know all this has been very stressful and I truly understand. Please try to look at all the positives.

  1. You have a loving husband that tried to ensure you had a better computer for your work.
  2. You did not miss your deadline.
  3. You have easy access to all your files & pictures, and you have learned a lot (way more than you wanted to). 
  4. Who knows, with this experience you may be able to help someone else now. Even if it’s just to calm them down …knowing that even in seemingly impossible life challenges, trusting in God’s guidance and support ‘fixes’ things we didn’t even know needed fixing. 
  5. I think you will grow to enjoy your new computer… especially when it does not freeze up, which will make you even more productive and give you some free time.
  6. I promise to continue assisting you get to that ‘happy place’ with your new computer. I am blessed to have you as such a loving friend. Thank you for trusting me to help you -through God’s guidance.”

Sweet Cathy helped me put everything back into perspective that I know God wants us to apply to every crisis in our life.

  1. There are people in our lives who love us and want to help us.
  2. God will help us achieve what He feels is important.
  3. Every crisis is an opportunity for learning something God wants us to know.
  4. We can use our experiences to help others who are going through something similar in the future. That’s the tagline for my About His Work ministry: “Sharing Life Experiences and God’s Faithfulness.”
  5. We can maintain our joy, even in crisis, because “the joy of the Lord is your strength” Nehemiah 8:10b.
  6. It’s a blessing to others when we let them help us.

Cathy was so right that this experience is something I need to share with you. Even though I serve the Lord in ministry and try to convey in my writing the thoughts and words He gives me, I will still have times in my life when I need to depend on others and remember to put my trust in the Lord to work things out in His timing and in His way. We all do.

My heartfelt gratitude goes out to my loving husband Dave who actually gave me this new computer to help make my writing life easier, which I’m sure eventually it will be. I’m not there yet, but with his encouragement and the Lord’s guidance, I’m hopeful.

We’re so blessed to have a church family willing to use their gifts and talents to help others. When my second screen wasn’t compatible with the new computer, Scott gave us an extra screen he wasn’t using that works perfectly! Cathy had an external hard drive that helped us transfer data. Now every time I look at that screen and hard drive, I give thanks for Scott and Cathy and say a prayer for them!

Scott and Cathy selflessly gave of their time, expertise, and Christian love to help Dave and me in our time of need. I pray we will always be available to do the same when we learn of others who we can help.

3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. 4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 2 Cor. 1:3-4 NLT

There won’t be a blog next Monday. Not because of the computer, but we’re blessed to have our daughter from Illinois and son from North Carolina come for a visit to help us get our garden ready for planting. Again, we not only have church family, but our personal family offering us a helping hand.

Praise You Lord for family and the family of God!

If you received this blog in an email, please leave a comment here on the website.

May 15, 2023
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You Were Born For Such A Time As This!

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Yesterday, April 9, 2023, we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the tomb. A day revered by believers and denounced by unbelievers for centuries, still it remains one of the most significant days in history. As I mentioned in last week’s blog, the day you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior should be the most significant day in your own personal history. A day that should’ve changed everything in your life and set you on a path of living for Jesus and discovering the purpose and plans He has for you.

If you’ve allowed the world’s situation or your personal situation to distract you from letting your light shine for Jesus, Easter is always a good time to reflect and re-center on making sure every decision you make and every breath you take glorifies Jesus. That sounds like a big undertaking, and it is. It’s not something we could ever do on our own. But the Holy Spirit is everywhere residing in each Christian’s heart and mind always guiding and directing us to do the next right thing, even with all the distractions and obligations. It’s especially difficult with the arrows continually directed at us from the enemy who seems to become bolder and crueler daily.

Many think that the blatant visibility of Satan in a culture that labels Christians the enemy if we don’t agree with sin, suggests the eminent return of Jesus. It’s true, Jesus could come back for His people at any time, but until that glorious day, He has each of us living at this very moment in history for a specific purpose. It isn’t random that we’re alive while evil is called good, and Satan is trying to silence the church and take our children into his clutches.

Twice in the past week, I’ve heard a speaker refer to Esther whose fellow Jews, including her, were facing extinction by evil Hamen. Queen Esther’s uncle Mordecai pleaded with her to help save her people, even though it could mean immediate death just by asking for an audience with King Xerxes. Her uncle challenged, “And who knows but that you have come to your position for such a time as this.” After three days of fasting and prayer, Esther courageously said, “If I perish, I perish.” The King gave her an audience and she ultimately saw Hamen hung on the gallous that he had built for her uncle.

Esther was willing to set aside her queenly luxury to get involved in the politics of the King’s court to save not just herself, but her people. She risked her life to take a stand against injustice, immorality, evil, and extinction and God put her in the perfect era and place to do exactly that. God has done the same for you and me to be born right now for such a time as this. It’s exciting and exhilarating when you look at the world through that lens.

My birthday this year was on Easter. That’s only the second time in my lifetime; the first time I was three. This year, I felt God’s reminder that I’m still alive for a purpose. He’s helped me survive three breast cancer battles, a congenital malformed spine, and numerous other health and personal issues so I could devote my remaining time and talents to sharing the goodness of God and encouraging people to turn from the destruction of following the evil deceiver, Satan. That’s not always comfortable or easy, but like Esther, it’s worth the risk.

As Aware Christians, We Can’t Avoid Getting Involved!

Last Sunday, Dave and I attended the second free AWARE Biblical Citizenship & Liberty for Idaho Conference hosted by Mountain Heights Calvary Chapel in Meridian, Idaho. I want to share the encouragement and call to action we received that day. It was such a blessing to be in a room with several hundred like-minded Conservative Christians eager to learn more about how we could make a difference in our community for morals and justice to prevail.

In past blogs, I’ve mentioned the Values Advocacy Council (VAC) ministry, which helps Idahoans know what’s happening politically in our state and how we can get involved by contacting our legislators, school boards, and governor.

Last session, the Idaho Legislators passed the Child Protection Act to stop gender mutilation surgeries and opposite-sex drugs given to minors, but our Governor was threatening to veto it depending on how many calls he received supporting or protesting the bill?! The VAC gave us the numbers to call, and 19 Pastors went to the governor’s office with a petition with 5000 signatures telling him NOT to veto it and the rest of us called and emailed the Governor’s office.

We had a victory, and the Governor signed the bill so no longer can doctors and hospitals perform these barbaric “sex-reassignment” surgeries or give cross-sex hormones or puberty blocking drugs to gender-confused children in Idaho! Praise God!!

Another politically involved ministry, The Idaho Family Policy Center, sent out an encouraging email, “We can’t overstate the importance of this victory—and we definitely owe it in part to your biblical citizenship and your support of this ministry.”

Did you notice that these are both ministries involved in politics. The Idaho Family Policy Center ministry drafted the Child Protection Act four years ago. It’s the third legislative session they’ve introduced the bill and championed it. Idaho’s children will be protected because ministries got involved in politics!

One of the speakers at the AWARE Conference, Neil Mammen, is the President of Values Advocacy Council, and has written a book Jesus Is Involved in Politics! Why Aren’t You? Why Isn’t Your Church? The premise of his book is that you can’t separate politics from Christianity and the church. We don’t want a Christian government; we want Christians in government. Christians getting involved to protect God’s laws just like Christians and pastors did with the Vulnerable Child Protection Act here in Idaho.

As Christians, it’s our duty and obligation to remind the government that their job is to enforce God’s laws, not create laws that go against the biblical foundations of our Constitution and the Bill of Rights, which lists what government can’t do to us, not what they can.

Just because I live in a red state doesn’t mean I can be complacent, actually just the opposite. Satan doesn’t like red states and he’s using his henchmen, including the Democrat party which has turned Marxist, to try and turn conservative red states into tyrannically governed blue states.

In Idaho, and other states, Christians and churches are fighting back, and our Idaho children will be protected from this child abuse atrocity, but for sure, there will be future battles. The Governor vetoed another bill protecting children from pornography in libraries and schools and the legislators failed by one vote to overturn his veto. But it’ll be on the docket repeatedly until it’s passed. Christians know how to persevere.

I’m reading Jesus Is Involved in Politics! Why Aren’t You? Why Isn’t Your Church?. Here’s a synopsis from the author’s brochure.

“If you say Christians, churches, or pastors should not be involved in politics, you are essentially saying that child sexual abuse should be legal. It sounds harsh, but the truth is much harsher, because if you take a stance against being actively involved in politics, then you are basically also saying that death games & forced temple prostitution should still be legal.

Here’s just a partial list of abuses Christians and churches in the past have helped to overcome: slavery, racism, segregation, kidnapped brides, death games, gladiatorial combat, infanticide, child labor, child abandonment, child prostitution, child sexual abuse, child marriage, the superstitious killing of twins, elder abandonment, widow burning, cruelty to prisoners, & cruelty to animals.”

“Every one of those practices and thousands of others in history were made illegal only because pastors and elders got their congregation involved in politics and started changing laws in their nation and also in other nations.”

“How heartless, cruel, & mean spirited can we be to say Christians should not be involved in politics? Is this really the stance we want to take? Is this Christlike in any shape, fashion, or form?”

Jesus confronted the Sadducees, Pharisees, and elders who were like the Senate, Congress, and White House of our day. Jesus loves the little children, and He has compassion for a woman worried about her pregnancy, but He would NEVER tell her to kill her baby. He would expect the church to offer her alternatives, protection, and care for herself and baby.

Jesus is not ok with children being sterilized, mutilated, sexualized, and lied to that they can become another sex. He’s not ok with two men or women marrying. These are not political issues; these are biblical moral issues so why is the church silent? Why are so many Christians afraid to speak the truth? The Bible isn’t silent!

The Gospel and Jesus tell us that the truth will set us free. Don’t we want others to be free from the sin that so easily entangles and the lies that are ruining their lives?!

The church and Christians should be taking an active role in helping confused, scared, and mentally ill people. Imitating Jesus by confronting the issues with compassion, love, solutions, and most importantly, the truth so that no one will become a victim to Satan’s lies.

Our Christian Republican Congressman Russ Fulcher was one of the speakers at the AWARE Conference and took questions from the audience. He said when he walks into the Congressional chambers in Washington D.C., he feels the spiritual battle enveloping the room, but he also can sense the prayers of his constituents. He told us the best way to support him is in prayer. So pray for your federal and local officials. Not just the ones you agree with but pray for everyone to have a spiritual awakening.

Rick Green of Patriot Academy and Wall Builders reminded us of our biblical citizenship responsibility. 40 million Christians do NOT vote! Faith without works is dead.

14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. James 2:14-19

We don’t want politicians in government; we want patriots! So we need to do our homework and research the voting records of the people we’re electing.

 Green also cautioned the church has lost our commission to go beyond the church walls and take the Gospel to the world. We’ve stopped making disciples.

We need to remember that our freedom comes from God who is in every aspect of our life, yes even politics. There is nothing in our life that God isn’t Lord over! Everything is under His jurisdiction. The church must be salt and light, but our culture is spoiling because there’s not enough Christian salt preserving the country we love.

 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matt. 5:13-14

Pastor Marty Yost of Mountain Heights Calvary Chapel who hosted the conference also echoed Rick’s message reminding us that yes there are Rinos in politics, but there are also what he calls “Binos”—Believers in name only—who have forgotten the Great Commission which Jesus appointed to every Christian.

18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,[a] baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” 28:18-20 NLT

Jesus didn’t say Christian believers, disciples of Christ, have the authority to go into every part of the world except politics. Jesus said go everywhere that He is, and He is everywhere.

If you’re still uncomfortable with the word “politics,” focus on how God wants you to get involved in fighting immorality and unrighteousness in places where you can have a godly influence and pray for those in government.

17 Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it. James 4:17

If you received this article by email, please go to the blog on my website and leave a comment. I reply to all comments and appreciate hearing your thoughts.

April 10, 2023
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Why Aren’t More People Speaking Out to Defend Women?

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Maybe you cringed with me on International Women’s Day when a man pretending to be a woman was given the International Women’s Day Courage Award by Jill Biden and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. Couldn’t they tell the difference between a man and a woman? They both stood smiling with this obvious imposter as if it was normal when he gave them both a peck on the cheek! Blinken flinched, but he took it like a true woke liberal.

It looked like a Saturday Night Live skit, but tragically, it was real life today.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, R-Ark., responded on twitter, “It’s International Women’s Day – a good time to remember that Democrats can’t even tell you what a woman is.”

Gov. Sanders said in her rebuttal to Biden’s State of the Union speech, “The choice is no longer between right or left. The choice is between normal and crazy.”

Other Twitter comments on the International Women’s Courage award given to a man:

“Nice of FLOTUS to encourage the diminishment of women on ‘international women’s day.’ Erasing women is abusive,” Dana Loesch, host of “The Dana Show,” tweeted.

“International Women’s Day: Not just for women anymore,” conservative Twitter personality Andrea Katherine wrote in reply.

“Why are the Democrats working overtime to push the trans agenda?” news commentator and former congressional nominee Karoline Leavitt asked. 

Legitimate question. Why are Democrats pushing the trans agenda when they pretend to be protecting women’s rights while simultaneously trampling on women’s rights?

When it comes to the left’s attack on women, which Biden essentially declared in his inaugural speech about furthering trans rights, they’ve gone crazy. He appointed an obvious man masquerading as a woman, Richard [aka Rachel] Levine as assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services, which USA Today named as one of their “Women of the Year!” USA Today has gone crazy too!

We have a Supreme Court Judge appointed by Biden who can’t define a woman!

This liberal woke craziness is causing harm to and dismissal of real women. What do I mean by real women? A female human being who God created biologically and anatomically as a woman at birth.

Only a woman menstruates.

Only a woman has ovaries and ovulates.

Only a woman has a uterus and fallopian tubes.

Only a woman can carry a baby in her womb.

Only a woman has a natural female anatomy.

Only a woman has two XX chromosomes.

A woman cannot be a man and a man cannot be a woman. No matter how many surgeries or hormones, you cannot change DNA, create new DNA, or change biological sex. This was never disputed until a few mentally and sexually disturbed people decided to go on a war against women. The Democrat party championed and rewarded this ludicrous propaganda campaign to the detriment and harm of real women and real men.

Sadly, fewer and fewer people are willing to speak the truth for fear of “offending” the few who think they can be whatever gender and pronoun they choose. This socially deceptive, offensive, and harmful political manipulation and mutilation of genders is normalizing insanity. It’s harming mentally disturbed adults who obviously need counseling and subjecting our innocent children to this evil distortion of truth.

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Is. 5:20

It’s demonic.

Who is speaking out against this evil?

Not the schools that let boys invade the privacy of girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms.

Not the sports industry allowing biological men to compete in women’s sports!

Not woke businesses encouraging equity instead of equality. Equity instead of quality and competence.

Not the politicians more influenced by a small perverted community than the sane majority they were elected to represent.

Not the media, except for a few brave souls like Tucker Carlson willing to say this is insane. I encourage you to listen to his monologue “Women’s Awards are Now Going to Men.”

Nothing is More Misogynistic than Erasing Women from Womanhood!

Why are the feminists not protesting in the streets? Because they’re steadfast liberals! Even though liberals are trouncing on women, feminists show true loyalty to woke ideology, not to women!

Until recently, everyone would’ve laughed at the idea of men wanting to be women. What man in his right mind would want to dress and pretend to be a woman?

What’s changed?

Who’s behind the infringement on women’s dignity, rights, and safety?

Who’s behind the war on women?

The answers started back in the Garden of Eden when the serpent, the Devil, chose to tempt Eve with the forbidden fruit. Paul worried about this in the Corinthian church, But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent. 2 Cor. 11:3 NLT

Eve succumbed to Satan by asking the question often used to justify sin today, “Did God really say?” The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” Gen. 3:1 NLT

The disgraced Satan has always been at war with God. He wanted equality with God and when that failed, he tries anything and everything to stop God’s people from multiplying and filling the earth.

Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Gen. 1:28 NLT

Then the people began to multiply on the earth, and daughters were born to them. Gen. 1:6 NLT

Since God only gave women reproductive anatomy, the Devil is the commander, plotter, and originator of the war on women and misgendering. Organizations like Planned Parenthood, the pharmaceutical industry, and even some in the medical profession are enlisting in Satan’s army.

Just as Eve learned, there are consequences for anyone manipulated by Satan and his emissaries. One of Satan’s most effective tactical weapons is using lies to create confusion. If he can create enough doubt and confusion, his evil battle successfully rages on.

43 Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear me! 44 For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe me! John 8:43-45 NLT

What Are Satan’s Strategies in the War on Women!

  • The Battleground of Abortion

Women believe the lie that they’re not carrying a baby; it’s just tissue and cells. Even with the advent of sonograms, hearing the heartbeat, and knowing that each cell contains the baby’s DNA . . . millions of women still choose to kill their babies. Satan uses semantics to confuse them that it isn’t really murder. Just “ending or terminating a pregnancy.” “A woman’s choice.” “Women’s healthcare.” “My body, my choice.” “Reproductive rights.”

Women are deceived into believing their life will be better without the life of their baby. Millions of women have a hole in their heart grieving the children they didn’t allow to be born. Only Jesus can help mend that hole and He will if asked.

Imagine how fanatically devoted to politics and power to deny and prevent a woman’s most life-affirming experience.

Female babies killed every second. Satan laughs.

  • The Battleground of Genders

God was very specific when He created only two, genders: Male and female.

So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Gen. 1:27 NLT

God explained their roles. Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” Gen. 2:8

God’s Word says that marriage is exclusively between a man and a woman who will populate the earth. But ‘God made them male and female’[a] from the beginning of creation. 7 ‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife,[b] 8 and the two are united into one.’ Mark 10:6-8

Even with animals, God instructed Noah, “Also take seven pairs of every kind of bird. There must be a male and a female in each pair to ensure that all life will survive on the earth after the flood.” Gen. 7:3 NLT

Only Satan could try to subvert God’s plan for the continuation of humanity by causing what we now call “gender confusion.” Again, confusion does not come from God.

Some “confused” men are demanding legal rights to pretend they’re women. Logically and anatomically, this is ludicrous and lewd, but instead of rationale people standing up to protect women, the government is bending to social pressure from a fringe element and allowing “transgender” biological men to invade all the private spaces of biological women, even competing in sports against real women!

In 2021, a biological man was named “Miss Nevada!”

A biological 43-year-old male who “identifies as a woman” from New Zealand will compete in women’s weightlifting at the Olympics and this atrocity is now invading all women’s sports, including weightlifting in the United States.

We’re told it’s discrimination to not let confused men “identify” as women with all the privileges, but what about the rights of real women? Why isn’t this male gender invasion considered discrimination against women?

Every human understands there are basic physiological differences between men and women. In the 21st century, liberals have decided ideology trumps biology.

Women Must Speak the Truth Before Our Rights Become Extinct!

A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor a man wear women’s clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this. Deut. 22:5

I love Lisa Bevere’s Facebook post, “God would have never granted women a voice if He intended for them to remain silent.”

One woman said on Twitter that women are so polite it hurts to speak up. But speak up we must even when it hurts!

In the movie Jesus Revolution, my favorite line was from Kay Smith, “The lies are always loud; truth is quiet. And simple.”

50 years later, we’re watching lies screaming from the White House into every house and those who know the truth remaining silent. Some erroneously think if we don’t say anything about the insanity and immorality, it will stop. Just the opposite is true.

We don’t need to scream, but we do need to share the truth every time we hear or see a lie. We’ll never solve a spiritual problem with a political answer.

We must stand up for our young girls being infiltrated and indoctrinated with lies normalized by a government and culture with a sinister motive.

We must stay educated on the issues facing women and consider them from God’s perspective. Educate and mentor our children and grandchildren in the home and in our churches.

If you know someone influenced by false teachings or ideologies, take time to talk and pray for and with them. Share God’s purpose and plans for men and women and why He made us different and unique with specific life roles.

Don’t be afraid to stand up against wrong. Like the woman who protested when a male came into the women and children’s area of a spa in California and exposed himself. She was shocked that other women were afraid to come forward and confront the spa owners for allowing such an atrocity. She wasn’t afraid, and good for her!

Silence in the face of wrong is wrong itself!

Our tendency is to avoid adversity, but Jesus never avoided sharing the truth even when it wasn’t welcomed.

The spiritual battle isn’t between Democrats vs Republicans or liberals vs conservatives. It’s between wrong vs right, evil vs good. It’s easy to say we know who wins in the end so let’s not get involved, but other people are hurt when we don’t engage.

The Christian life isn’t standing quietly on the sidelines; it’s standing boldly on the Lord’s side of the spiritual battle.

What Satan means for evil, God will use for good! He’ll use those of us willing to join Him in the fight for truth. I hope you’re in the Lord’s army. I am.

Our battle isn’t against flesh and blood, aka the liberals, progressives, Democrats, atheists, imposters trying to be women. No, the battle is against the spiritual principalities of evil. 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Eph. 6:10-13

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March 13, 2023
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Christians, You Each Have Your Own Jesus Revolution Testimony to Tell!

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11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 1 John 5:11-12

I’m sure by now you’ve seen the movie Jesus Revolution, plan on seeing it, or heard about it. If you haven’t seen it, I encourage you to go now, or if that’s not possible, read the interviews and reviews people are sharing on social media and watch a trailer. Without a doubt one of the most professional Christian movies I’ve seen told with raw vulnerable frankness. A true story of a generation who had tried everything from sexual promiscuity to LSD and was still searching for “truth” and fulfillment. Their desperate quest eventually led them to find truth in Christ alone.

The movie tells how Pastor Chuck Smith and Greg Laurie meet during the “Jesus freaks” movement initially led by hippie Lonnie Frisbee in the late sixties and early seventies in Orange County, California that spread across the United States and changed the world. “Jesus Revolution” graced the cover of Time Magazine five years after their cover asked, “Is God Dead?”

Pastor Chuck, as he was fondly known, was pastoring a dry failing church until he opened his heart and his church doors to a generation hungry to know Jesus. A revival and revolution blew open the doors of his church as the congregation overflowed into a tent to accommodate not just the hippies but everyone eager to hear about the saving grace of Jesus through His sacrifice for them.

A seventeen-year old Greg Laurie with an alcoholic mother married seven times but never to his father, tried escaping his painful home life in the drug culture where he meets his girlfriend Cathe. Both were searching for “truth” in all the wrong places. When they watched Cathe’s sister almost die from drugs, Cathe convinces Greg that maybe they should investigate what this Jesus movement says about truth.

When you see evangelist Pastor Greg Laurie today leading Harvest Church and Ministries you might never expect to hear the life he led before accepting Jesus as his Savior. Like so many of us with sordid backgrounds, he shares his testimony openly and honestly to give hope to others who might think they could never be forgiven for their past or used by God.

Pastor Greg says today, “I hope my story can inspire young people in difficult circumstances to know that God can intervene in their life and change their story. We don’t determine what hand we are dealt in life — but we do determine how we will react to it.”

How Dave and My Life Intersected with Pastor Chuck and Pastor Greg!

If you’ve read my book Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter: Hope, Help & Encouragement for Hurting Parents, you know I had my prodigal backsliding years after divorcing my daughter’s father. For seventeen years, I was a prodigal raising a prodigal. I became a Christian after the murder of my CHP father when I was ten. I lived out my faith until I went into the world as a successful businesswoman and single mom. I continued going to church and taking my daughter, but I wasn’t living the Christian life or being a good role model for her.

When she turned sixteen, it became apparent I needed to change because she was following my wayward choices. I also told God I wouldn’t date another man I didn’t think was from Him and I joined a small group at church. There I met Dave and we started dating, but I soon broke up with him because I thought he might be too good for me.

He was persistent and kept asking me out, so finally I went to a Harvest Crusade in Anaheim Stadium with him. This was now 1992 and Pastor Greg Laurie was fulfilling the prophecy that Lennie Frisbee had made over him in the early 70’s that one day Greg would be speaking to thousands! Dave and I attended the third Harvest Crusade and Pastor Greg was indeed speaking to a stadium that holds 50,000 people when Pastor Greg asked the audience, “If you died tonight, are you ready?”

I knew I wasn’t! As Crystal Lewis sang “Come Just As You Are,” I went down with hundreds on the stadium floor rededicating my life to the Lord and telling Him this prodigal had returned. I would go where He led. I had no idea the plans the Lord had for me to become a Christian author and start a Woman to Woman Ministry that is still blessing women today. Praise God, He never gave up on me!

That night Dave and I sat in the parking lot until it emptied talking about our relationship when I heard God say to me, “You asked for this godly man and I gave him to you. Now rededicate yourself to this relationship.”

I did and we were married five months later, December 19, 1992! I had heard on the radio that Pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel was hosting a Caribbean cruise and I suggested to Dave we go on the trip for our honeymoon. We had asked God to help us meet other Christian couples, and even though this wasn’t our home church, we were open to wherever the Lord led us. It was so fun because we were the “honeymooners” on the cruise!

Soon two of Dave’s kids came to live with us and we would go to the Monday night meetings at Calvary Chapel depicted in the Jesus Revolution movie that were still continuing all those years later. Dave and I also went each year to the Harvest Crusades as counsellors to those surrendering or re-surrendering their life to Christ. It was such a joy when Pastor Laurie brought Harvest Crusade to Boise, Idaho last year and our church took a bus down from our mountain community.

There’s Power in Letting God Use Your Testimony!

“Your mess can be turned into a message and your test into a testimony.” Greg Laurie

While waiting to enter the theater to see Jesus Revolution, Dave and I started chatting with a group of three women. They didn’t know anything about Pastors Chuck or Greg, so I shared some of our story with them. When I asked what church they attended locally, only one answered. When the movie was over, I saw the woman who had said she went to church on her knees in front of one of her friends who was crying. I knew she had just given her heart to Jesus because of the powerful testimonies in the movie of real-life searches for truth found only in Jesus. Salvation offered not just during a movie or revival, but available to each of us in our personal lives.

I started to walk by them, but the Holy Spirit prompted me to stop and give them a group hug. Then the Lord led me to make the following statement: “Because the movie takes place in Orange County California where Dave and I both lived for many years, it brought back such memories seeing all the beautiful places and beaches we knew so well.” Then I said, “This movie gives me such hope for California. If God did this once, He could do it again!” They agreed.                        

There’s no greater witness to God’s goodness than sharing what He’s done in your life. No one can question your testimony because it’s your personal Jesus Revolution experience. Once I was lost, but now I’m found by the saving grace of Jesus my Lord and Savior. A revival or a revolution can start with one person. The joy and peace found in Jesus is contagious.

In Forsaken God? Remembering the Goodness of God Our Culture Has Forgotten, I share two biblical testimonies of King Nebuchadnezzar from the Old Testament and the apostle Paul from the New Testament. Both of their testimonies are recorded in the Bible and they each humbly shared their story publicly to influence others to trust in God’s goodness available to all sinners.

King Nebuchadnezzar tells of his prideful attitude thinking he was greater than God in Daniel 4. Paul shares his testimony in Acts 22:1-16 that he was formerly a Jewish religious zealot persecuting Christians until he met God on the road to Damascus. King Nebuchadnezzar’s and the apostle Paul’s testimonies are examples and encouragement that God can change anyone’s heart: once I was prideful, now I am humble. Once I was blind, now I see!

As we mature spiritually, we move beyond just remembering God’s goodness for our own benefit and start retelling our testimony to help others. We all have varied testimonies in our life in addition to our salvation testimony.

I never tire of telling my story as HIStory.

You may not think you have a testimony if you’ve been a Christian most of your life and life has gone smoothly, but God has been walking beside you guiding your life every step of the way. That’s your testimony to others who worry about losing something by turning their lives over to God. You’re a living example of how good God really is!

Maybe you have a hidden past you’ve been too embarrassed to talk about, but now is the time to deal with those buried hurts and hang-ups.

Like Pastor Greg and me, God redeems your spiritual revival story by surrounding you with people who need to hear your past, so it doesn’t become their future.

It’s the opportunity to give purpose to a crisis.

God will bring people across your path and the Holy Spirit will prompt you to share, just like He did with me and the ladies in the theater.

Every day you encounter opportunities to share your Jesus Revolution testimony, and every time you tell it, you’ll remember how good God has been to you and offer hope to others!

REVEALING IS THE FIRST STEP TO HEALING.

Your story doesn’t have to have a “happy ending” for you to share it. Someone might need to hear that even though things didn’t go like you hoped, God has been faithful and He will be in their life too.

When people ask me how I’ve made it through life’s difficulties, the best answer is, “I couldn’t have done it without God.” That’s your best answer too. It opens the door to share your story . . . your testimony.

YOUR STORY BECOMES YOUR TESTIMONY WHEN THE FOCUS IS ON GOD, NOT ON YOU.

It’s not a “tell all” and it’s not a time to tell someone else’s story. Stick to details that pertain to you.

Don’t dramatize how bad you were; characterize how good God is!

When anyone tells me about an encounter with God, or a memorable circumstance in his or her life, I always ask if he or she is writing it down because God is going to use it as a life-experience revival testimony.

Pray for God to give you the opportunity to share your testimony often and authentically.

“I would hope people realize that God is still in the business of changing lives. What happened to us some 50 years ago can still happen for people today.” –Greg Laurie

But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do. —Ps. 73:28 NLT

If you received this blog by email, please leave a comment here. I’d love to hear your Jesus revolution story.

March 6, 2023
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