wearyourfaith – Page 17

August 31, 2019May 6, 2022

25 Faith Strengthening Christian Quotes

Believing in God has a fundamental impact on your life and is not easy. It’s not comfort, not health, not wealth, and not prosperity in this world. Radical obedience to Christ risks losing all these things. At the same time, being a devoted believer in Christ will encourage you to let go of sin and to start living a righteous life. It will help you to behave with integrity, kindness, and moral righteousness in a world that is filled with wickedness, deceit, and greed and in the end, such a life finds its reward in Christ as he is more than enough for us. To celebrate the joy of being a Christian and to celebrate Jesus, we’ve compiled the following selection of inspiring faith-strengthening Christian quotes.

“God loves each of us as if there were only one of us”- Augustine
“He who lays up treasures on earth spends his life backing away from his treasures. To him, death is loss. He who lays up treasures in heaven looks forward to eternity; he’s moving daily toward his treasures. To him, death is gain.” —Randy Alcorn
“God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supplies.” —Hudson Taylor
“Let God’s promises shine on your problems.” —Corrie ten Boom
“Christ literally walked in our shoes.” —Tim Keller
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.” —Jim Elliot
“Remember who you are. Don’t compromise for anyone, for any reason. You are a child of the Almighty God. Live that truth.” —Lysa Terkeurst
“Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.” —Francis Chan
“The greater your knowledge of the goodness and grace of God on your life, the more likely you are to praise Him in the storm.” —Matt Chandler
“You are the only Bible some unbelievers will ever read.” —John MacArthur
“The Christian life is not a constant high. I have my moments of deep discouragement. I have to go to God in prayer with tears in my eyes, and say, ‘O God, forgive me,’ or ‘Help me.’” —Billy Graham
“Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.” —Mother Teresa
“God never said that the journey would be easy, but He did say that the arrival would be worthwhile” — Max Lucado
“Always, everywhere God is present, and always He seeks to discover Himself to each one” —A.W.Tozer
“God will meet you where you are in order to take you where He wants you to go.” —Tony Evans
There is no one who is insignificant in the purpose of God.” —Alistair Begg
“If you believe in a God who controls the big things, you have to believe in a God who controls the little things. It is we, of course, to whom things look ‘little’ or ‘big’.” —Elisabeth Elliot
“Relying on God has to start all over everyday, as if nothing has yet been done.” —C. S. Lewis
“Your potential is the sum of all the possibilities God has for your life.” —Charles Stanley
“The best and most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or even heard, but must be felt with the heart.” —Helen Keller
“Continuous effort — not strength nor intelligence — is the key to unlocking our potential.” —Winston Churchill
“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.” —Chuck Swindoll
“God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him” —John Piper
“God does not give us everything we want, but He does fulfill His promises, leading us along the best and straightest paths to Himself.” —Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“The Christian shoemaker does his duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship.”
? Martin Luther

August 24, 2019May 6, 2022

It’s Ok To Be A Christian And Go Through Tough Times

It is often in the very toughest of times and trials that God brings us to a crisis of faith, and it’s through that experience that we begin to pray. I’ve heard it said that, “when you’re swept off your feet, get on your knees.” Whatever broken conditions you are facing today – in your marriage, your home, your family, through a child that’s wandered away, or the collapse of a career?

]How many times through our pain do we discover our purpose? How many times through our pain do we discover power?

“It is so often pain that drives us to dependence upon God.”

Corinthians 12:9 reminds us that God’s grace is sufficient and that His power is made perfect through our weaknesses. With God all of your cares will be cared for. All that is His will be yours. Through prayer you can experience the delightful nearness of God and lean into His warm embrace.

Today, kneel before God in prayer until He communicates with your spirit. Surrender your weaknesses to Him and exchange them for supernatural strength. Pray this day for the power of Jesus Christ in your life to deliver you and the ones you love from temptation.

Trust in Him at all times, pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.
Psalms 62:8 NKJV

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
II Corinthians 12:9 NKJV

July 14, 2019October 8, 2021

Quotes by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

We have been become so accustomed to TV preachers that sugarcoat everything or take things out of context, that a Christian needs to switch the ‘looking box’ off and get stuck in the Bible to drown out the filth. If we are looking for good Christian material to read, look no further than books authored by Mr Spurgeon. He was a man who understood his position as a Christian, delighted in GOD’S Word, and sought to strengthen the faith of his hearers.

Often referred to as the ‘Prince of Preachers’, he was a man who never minced his words when it came to his faith. He said himself, “I am perhaps vulgar, but it is not intentional, save that I must and will make people listen. My firm conviction is that we have had enough polite preachers.”

A preacher during the Victorian era, he was a man that offended many, but never flinched from strong preaching.

Below are just a few quotes to give you a taste of his steadfast and strict adherence to GOD’S Word.

“There is no form of sinfulness to which you are addicted which Christ cannot remove.”
“The law is meant to lead the sinner to faith in Christ by showing the impossibility of any other way.”
“We hear complaints that the minister speaks too harshly and talks too much of judgement. Saved sinners never make that complaint.”
“Self is the worst enemy a Christian has.”
“We shall not grow weary of waiting upon GOD if we remember how long and graciously He once waited for us.”
“You do not know who the elect are. You do not know whose heart will be broken by the divine hammer of truth. But it is your responsibility to use the divine hammer on the hard heart. And as the Gospel is preached, it will attract to itself, by its own power, through the Holy Spirit, those whom GOD has ordained into eternal life.”
“It is a good rule never to look into the face of a man in the morning till you have looked into the face of GOD.”
“Beware of those who say there is no hell and declare new ways to heaven.”
“The same sun which melts wax hardens clay. And the same Gospel which melts some persons to repentance hardens others in their sins.”
“Satan tells me that I am unworthy; but I always was unworthy, and yet You have long loved me; and therefore my unworthiness cannot be a barrier to having fellowship with You now.”
“You stand before GOD has if you were Christ, because Christ stood before GOD as if He were you.”
“The Scripture does not say ‘Ye must be improved,’ but, ‘Ye must be born again.”
“It is not the doctrine of justification that does my heart good, it is Christ, the Justifier.”
“Prayer and praise are the oars by which a man may row his boat into the deep waters of the knowledge of Christ.”
“Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right.”

June 24, 2019September 30, 2021

Real Talk: Postcode gangs

The notion of so-called postcode wars may have slipped from the headlines recently but the territorial divisions continue to exert a powerful influence on the lives of thousands of young Londoners.

This lady gives her thoughts on Knife Crime in the UK. We salute this woman for speaking out! The passion in her voice is intense.

Guns, Gangs and Postcode Wars

The youth culture seems to be falling apart at the moment. We’ve seen a real sea change over the past few years, with a significant increase in the number of people who have been injured, in the number of injuries sustained per person, and the severity of those injuries.

The more deprived the area, the more they try to assert control over the one thing they can lay claim to: the streets. Concepts such as hood passes and stripes may seem alien to anyone over 21 but are considered normal by an entire generation.

Politicians need to get their act together and pour money into this right now. Tomorrow is too late. Parents also need to take responsibility.

Gang-related organised crime in the United Kingdom is concentrated around the cities of London, Manchester and Liverpool and regionally across the West Midlands region, south coast and northern England, according to the Serious Organised Crime Agency. With regards to street gangs the cities identified as having the most serious gang problems, which also accounted for 65% of firearm homicides in England and Wales, were London, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool. Glasgow in Scotland also has a historical gang culture with the city having as many teenage gangs as London, which had six times the population, in 2008.

In the early part of the 20th century, the cities of Leeds, Bristol, Bradford (including Keighley) and Nottingham all commanded headlines pertaining to street gangs and suffered their share of high-profile firearms murders. Sheffield, which has a long history of gangs traced back to the 1920s in the book “The Sheffield Gang Wars”, along with Leicester is one of numerous urban centres seen to have an emerging or re-emerging gang problem.

On 28 November 2007, a major offensive against gun crime by gangs in Birmingham, Liverpool, London and Manchester led to 118 arrests. More than 1,000 police officers were involved in the raids. Not all of the 118 arrests were gun related; others were linked to drugs, prostitution and other crimes. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said it showed the police could “fight back against gangs”.

THE WORDS ON OUR STREETS
Irrespective of who uses it and for what purpose, street slang is constantly evolving. Words in common parlance five years ago like “buff” (good-looking) are now deemed antediluvian, replaced by newer terms such as “chug”, “peak” and “wavey”. “Skadoosh”, a personal favourite, is a relative newcomer.

Bang – punch
Bare – a lot
Bate – obvious
Blud – friend
Booky – suspicious
Butters – ugly
Chug – good-looking
Dutty – nasty
Fam – friends
Gallis – womaniser
Gased – talking nonsense
Gem – fool
Ghost – to be frequently absent
Greezy – bad
Junge – whore
Liccle – small
Marga – extremely skinny
Moist – no ratings, silly, naff
Murk – attack
Nang – good
Peak – used to highlight an eventful situation
Peng – good-looking
Shank – stab
Shower – cool, good
Skadoosh – goodbye
Skettel – loose woman
Slipping – to be caught off-guard
Swag – crap
Tekkers – technique
Wallad – idiot
Wavey – high or drunk

May 25, 2019May 6, 2022

THE PRAYER THAT CHANGED MY LIFE

The freedom to build. The freedom to change. The freedom to share.

There are two kinds of prayer – the prayer of form and the prayer of faith. The repetition of set and the customary phrases when the heart feels no need of God, is formal prayer.

We should be extremely careful in all our prayers to speak the wants of the heart and to say only what we actually mean. All the flowery words at our command are not equivalent to one holy desire. The most eloquent prayers are but vain repetitions if they do not express the true sentiments of the heart. But the prayer that comes from an earnest heart, when the simple wants of the soul are expressed just as we would ask an earthly friend for help, expecting that it would be granted – this is the prayer of faith.

The publican who went up to the temple to pray is a good example of a sincere, devoted worshiper. He felt that he was a sinner, and his great need led to an outburst of passionate desire,

“God be merciful to me a sinner.”
Luke 18:13

After we have offered our petitions, we are to answer them ourselves as far as possible, and not wait for God to do for us what we can do for ourselves. The help of God is held in reserve for all who demand it. Divine help is to be combined with human effort, aspiration, and energy. But we cannot reach the battlements of heaven without climbing for ourselves. We cannot be borne up by the prayers of others when we ourselves neglect to pray; for God has made no such provision for us.

The unlovely traits in our characters are not removed, and replaced by traits that are pure and lovely, without some effort on our part!

In our efforts to follow the copy set us by our Lord Jesus Christ, we shall make crooked lines. Yet let us not cease our efforts. Temporary failure should make us lean more heavily on Christ.

The more you pray, the more you will find to pray about, and the more you’ll be led to pray for others.

Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:12, 13

Pray With Me
Heavenly Father, I look up to you in this time of change. Allow me to have the courage to change my life for the better. Allow all my burdens to be risen up to you as I know that You will see me through. Forgive those who have done evil and allow me to do the same. Teach me to love with an open heart and open spirit. Take time for me today to help with all the trials you have set out for me and allow me the strength and energy to follow you. Give me the blessings to find a new home, keep my family together, and bless those who are away, may they be strong and know how much love is out there. Let them know you and I are thinking of them and missing them dearly. Bless me with love, strength, wisdom, health, courage, forgiveness, and a willingness to learn.

Did you know?

Here are five facts about prayer, including survey data on Americans’ prayer habits and historical instances of prayer intersecting with the government:

A Pew Research Center survey conducted in 2014 found that 45% of Americans — and a majority of Christians (55%) — say they rely a lot on prayer and personal religious reflection when making major life decisions. The same survey found that 63% of Christians in the U.S. say praying regularly is an essential part of their Christian identity.
In 2014 — in the case Town of Greece v. Galloway — the Supreme Court ruled that U.S. legislative and administrative bodies may begin their sessions with a prayer. On some occasions, however, the high court has rejected other types of state-sponsored prayer. For instance, in 1962’s Engel v. Vitale, the court famously struck down a policy requiring public school students to begin their day with a nonsectarian prayer.
The National Day of Prayer was enacted in 1952 by the Congress and President Harry S. Truman. As with the addition of “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954, the move came during the Cold War and was seen as a way of contrasting the more religious United States with the officially atheistic Soviet Union.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation unsuccessfully challenged the National Day of Prayer in court. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in 2011 that the group, which aims to promote the separation of church and state, did not have legal standing to challenge the law.
For many Americans, every day is a day of prayer. More than half (55%) of Americans say they pray every day, according to a 2014 Pew Research Center survey, while 21% say they pray weekly or monthly and 23% say they seldom or never pray. Even among those who are religiously unaffiliated, 20% say they pray daily. Women (64%) are more likely than men (46%) to pray every day. And Americans ages 65 and older are far more likely than adults under 30 to say they pray daily (65% vs. 41%).

May 16, 2019May 6, 2022

62 Reasons Why I Love My Mom

“...May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love.” (Ephesians 3:17, AMP)

My mum is a lovely person — she’s kind, fun to be with and very supportive. Se runs fast for a 61-year-old. She’s small – 5.2 ft – and clocks in at just over 100 lbs. She’s been a wonderful mum to me and is a fantastic grandma. My mom is about to turn 62 this year, so here’s 62 REASONS WHY I LOVE MY MOM AND SHE IS AMAZING.

You have always supported me.
You are preceptive.
You persists in prayer at all times.
You keep it real.
You have helped deter me from making bad decisions.
You taught me to dance like no one is watching.
You always find the good in people around you.
You let me follow my dreams and always support everything I want to do.
You cultivated a joyful environment when I was a kid.
You taught me patience.
You show me how to treat a woman.
You taught me how to love myself.
You’re strong and taught me to stand up for others.
When life gets so stressful that I practically forget who I am, your always there to reminds me.
You’re independent.
You’re honest.
You take my call no matter what.
You make me laugh.
You-always tried to give me honest answers to the hard questions.
You’re humble.
You’re selfless when it comes to your children.
You exhibit steadfastness in the Word of God.
Your always my No. 1 fan. Ya!
You work hard.
You taught me compassion.
You had to carry me around for like 9 months.
You took me to church every week so faith would be a part of my live.
You always believed in me.
You are obedient to God.
You make the lives of everyone you touch happier.
You give me a kick in the ass when I need it.
You-always made sure I knew I was loved.
You have showed me how to be the best version of myself.
You always pick me up when I’m down.
You still wake up early just to warm up my breakfast when I visit you.
You have a great taste in music and know how to get a party started.
You have supported me when I didn’t know what I wanted for my future.
You always call me to make sure I’m OK.
You’re always thinking of what’s best for my future.
You taught me humility.
You’re intelligent and direct.
You raised two amazing children.
You let me choose my path in life.
You take your responsibilities very seriously.
You always tell me to be happy and look on the positive side.
You have taught me the power of giving and receiving advice.
You make amazing cakes.
You find fascination in the little things.
You call me silly nicknames.
You give me love but also enough space.
You listen to me when I have problems.
You have shown me what it takes to make a good marriage work from experience.
You embraces a spirit of contentment.
You gave me life and brought me into this world.
You love me just the way I am.
You love me unconditionally.
You taught me to go above and beyond in my career and personnel endeavours.
You trust in God and have kept the faith.
You taught me how to preserve through the toughest of times.
You always try to bring order to chaos in the family.
You generally hold to what is right and are generous as well as lovely and kind.
Most of all”¦ I love you for who you are and who you’ve helped me become”¦ you’re my role model, my mother and my friend. I love you more than life itself and would do anything for you! You’re the best Mom and deserve so much more than I can give you. Happy 62th Birthday!

My mother was crazy about us. And that unconditional love was expressed by helping us to engage in many, many shared, complex, and flexible activities that helped us learn, express ourselves, and play well with others.

Of course there are still many other reasons why our loving, caring, forgiving, and very supportive mothers deserve our love more.

So what are you waiting for? Go and tell your mom how much you love her.

April 30, 2019October 2, 2021

A True Miracle: 5-Year-Old Thrown Off Balcony at Mall of America Suffers no Spinal Damage, no Nerve Damage and no Brain Damage

A True Miracle: 5-Year-Old Thrown Off Balcony at Mall of America Suffers Spinal Damage, no Nerve Damage and no Brain Damage

A man called Aranda approached the little boy’s mom at a group at the mall on the 12 of April 2019. Landen mom asked him if they were in his way and should move. Without hesitation or warning the stranger picked up Landen and threw him from the balcony at the Mall of America.

Surprisingly, this isn’t the first time 24-year-old has committed crimes at the mall. Aranda has two prior assault convictions from 2015 and was apparently banned from the the Mall of America for a period of time. He was also instructed to undergo psychological evaluation following those earlier attacks.

Later that day Aranda admitted to throwing the boy off the balcony to Police after they captured on a light rail train leaving the mall. He also told the police that he had attempted to kill somebody the day before (preferably an adult), but it didn’t “work out.”

He is being held in Hennepin County Jail in lieu of $2million bail and is scheduled to appear in court on May 14.

The suspect’s uncle, Francis Aranda, told KSTP that his nephew had displayed violent tendencies since childhood.

‘He has a serious mental problem, he was diagnosed as a child,’ the relative said.

He added: ‘We are going to pray for that baby [Landen] because what happened is so unfortunate, but it’s going to bring light to mental illness, I hope he [Aranda] doesn’t go to jail, he needs help.’

Pastor Mac Hammond (above) at the church Landen Hoffmann’s family attends in Woodbury, Minnesota, updated the congregation on the five-year-old’s condition on Sunday, nine days after he was thrown off a third-story balcony at the Mall of America on April 12

In spite of being thrown off a balcony that could have killed him, doctors have reported that Landen is thankfully doing much better than expected to the point where even the medical staff are chalking it up to nothing but a “miracle.”

This is truly a miracle. It’s like he fell off a bicycle instead of off the third floor of the mall.”

Mac Hammon, the pastor of the family’s church, was contacted by Landen’s grandpa on Sunday during the Easter sermon.

The results were obtained after a 5-hour MRI. “Doctors said they found no brain damage – not even any swelling,” Hammond told church congregants on Easter. “No spinal damage, no nerve damage ”¦ doctors are saying it is truly a miracle.”

Mac Hammon, shared that the boy did suffer many broken bones, including fractures on his arm, leg, and face. He will also need to have his spleen removed.

The GoFundMe page set up for Landen posted this encouraging update a week after the incident:

“The power of prayer is simply amazing. We all have been extremely humbled by the outpouring of support and prayers from everyone. Thank you for showing us there is so much good not only in our community but across the globe. Condition is again similar to previous days, another peaceful night of sleep — small steps towards the healing process. Each new day is a good day. Landen’s recovery is expected to be ongoing for a long time, while it’s hard to estimate costs, this will change everything for their family and require much of their time and focus.”

Over 27,000 people have donated to a GoFundMe campaign that has raised more than $961,000 as of Tuesday morning.

Mental Health Facts, Stats, and Data

Over 44 million American adults have a mental health condition. Since the release of the first State of Mental Health in America report (2015), there has only been a slight decrease in the number of adults who have a mental health condition (from 18.19% to 18.07%)
Rate of youth experiencing a mental health condition continues to rise. The rate of youth with Major Depressive Episode (MDE) increased from 11.93% to 12.63%. There was only a 1.5% decrease in the rate of youth with MDE who did receive treatment. Data showed that 62% of youth with MDE received no treatment.
More Americans are insured and accessing care. We can continue to see the effects of healthcare reform on the rate of Adults who are uninsured. This year there was a 2.5% reduction in the number of Adults with a mental health condition who were uninsured.
…But many Americans experiencing a mental health condition still report having an unmet need. 1 in 5, or 9 million adults reported having an unmet need.
Mental health workforce shortage remains. Many states saw some improvement in their individual to mental health provider ratio. But in states with the lowest workforce there was almost 4 times the number individuals to only 1 mental health provider.

March 10, 2019September 30, 2021

Taquarius Wair – My Physical Disability Doesn’t Hold Me Back

Photo Credit: Janaye Johnson Photography

“Godinterest want’s to introduce you to a great young man Taquarius Wair (TQ) a high school football player, who is in his senior year.

Taquarius Wair burned 55% of his body and in some places to the bone in a tragic house fire at the early age 4. He lost four fingers on his left hand.

His mother saved him from the fire, but he ran back in trying to save his oldest sister. She didn’t survive, but his hero heart holds her with every stride.

“All I can remember is the fire all around me,” Wair said. “My Mother called my name and I came walking out of the fire. She said it was then that she knew I was going to be special.”
Taquarius Wair

“I don’t remember much of my life before I was 8, but I do know that is when my no quit attitude was developed,” said Wair. “I remember people looking at me and probably thinking I wasn’t going to be good, but I was really good.”
Taquarius Wair

Inspiring story of Taquarius Wair - a high school football player who was burn over 55% of his body. Taquarius never gave up on his dream to play and is playing college football next year! — Inspiring story of Taquarius Wair – a high school football player who was burn over 55% of his body. Taquarius never gave up on his dream to play and is playing college football next year!

He almost didn’t play this year because he thought no disabled person will ever go pro. That was until the Seattle Seahawks drafted a one handed player, Shaquem Griffin, in the 5th round.

Taquarius Wair did not quit and its a good thing because he will now play college football at Mesabi Range College. Taquarius Wair fought through his disabilities and received an offer to play football at the collegiate level.

Wair finished off his first ever complete football season in 2018. He helped lead his team to the 2A State Semi-Finals at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. T.Q. will be playing football for head coach Tom Inforzato at Mesabi Range Community College.

His goals are simple.

“My next step is to play in the NFL like Shaquem Griffin,” said Wair. “I look forward to watching Taquarius Wair be an inspiration for kids in years to come.”
Taquarius Wair

My point you have no idea who you can inspire by chasing your God given dreams. Get up and chase down your greatness!“

November 16, 2018December 6, 2022

What Does It Mean to Overcome Evil with Good?

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Agile Methodologies

What does Romans 12:21 mean by saying, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good”? Let’s start off by drawing out some word meanings with the help of Strong’s Dictionary:

the word overcome (Gk. Nikao) refers to: victory, conquer, prevail, subdue, and come off victorious (implying a battle)
the word evil (Gk. Kakos) refers to: bad, inwardly foul, rotten (poisoned), flowing out of a morally rotten character.
the word good ( Agathos) refers to: “intrinsically good, pointing to what originates from God and is empowered by Him in their life”

We know from experience that what 1 John 5:19 says is true, that the whole world lies in wickedness. Crime is rampant, just check out the news. Offenses are everywhere both offline and online. People hurting people, damaging and victimizing others with words and deeds. And people are rarely apologetic nowadays. Corrupted by sin and without Christ in this world, we can’t expect any better from most of the people out there.

In the midst of this culture and environment, what is a Christian to do? How is he to act and respond? Romans 12:21 instructs the believer to observe 2 things:

Do not be overcome by evil.
Overcome evil with good

Do not be overcome by evil

We can apply this in so many ways:

Do not be discouraged. If you’re in an environment where all the wrong things are happening to others or even to you, whether repeated offenses or unfairness is the norm; don’t be discouraged. In His time, justice will be restored and what is needed to come out will be brought to light. Ecc. 3:17 Job 12:22
Do not be influenced. In an environment where wrong is the normal practice, the Christian may sometimes be tempted to do as others do, thinking that it won’t make a difference, or thinking that doing wrong pays off, or thinking that since everybody’s doing it, it must be okay. Choose to remain honest even if your peers are into plagiarized work and cheating. Stay honest even if your peers are cheating on work hours, sleeping on the job, goofing off, inflating work hours done. Stay honest even if other businesses cheat on their customers. Leviticus 19:36
Do not be intimidated. Edmund Burke is attributed to have said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” John Stuart Mil said, “Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.” Many times, it is the wrongdoers who are brave and aggressive in their ways, making no apologies about what they do and say. Christians, in the desire for peace may feel forced to stay quiet. Now, not every issue should be a battle we fight others over for. But at times, we need to make our stand known if it helps bring enlightenment even to just one person. Speak your mind when God gives an opening. Answer a curious question when somebody asks your view. God promises to teach you what to say. Luke 12:12

Overcome evil with good

We can apply this in so many ways:

Do good to your enemies. The enemies Matthew 5:44 points to are those who do wrong against you and who just feels hatred towards you for no valid reason. It may be tempting to give them a dose of their own medicine or to take revenge but the verse says to love them instead. That does not necessarily mean to go out of your way to be best buddies with them, consent to their wrongdoing and to suffer repeated abuse. In the context of agape love, it means to desire their highest good. You can and should pray for God to bless them. Pray for God to bring enlightenment and salvation in their lives. You never know when your goodness will cause repentance to dawn on them, “heaping coals of fire on their head.”
Do good and do it without expecting anything in return. Good works are rewarding to you personally and to others. The good you do will bring some fruit in their lives; gratefulness, hope, cheerfulness, and more. Often, good works are contagious. The good you do tend to get paid forward by others.

October 18, 2018October 3, 2021

Dangerous “MOMO Challenge”

Evil never rests, it only regroups and develops a new strategy to bring about as much death, destruction, and pain as it can. It seems that the dust has hardly settled over the last suicide inducing game (The Blue Whale Challenge) that a new one has cropped up: The “Momo Challenge”.

A twelve-year-old girl from Argentina has reported having committed suicide, a suicide linked to the Momo Challenge. There are other suicides that have been linked to the challenge but have yet to be verified. Police officers all over the world are warning parents to be on the lookout for this deadly social media game and to be aware of the signs associated with it.

The way that this challenge works is by sending a number to a person’s phone and asking them to contact a Momo Whatsapp profile. Once a connection has been established, Momo will begin to send challenges/objectives to the users that escalate in self-harm as it progresses. Failure to do so will result in threats such as promising to curse the user, kill their family and appearing at night to them. Graphic and disturbing pictures are also sent to the user to further terrify them into complying with the demands of the Momo.

A father from Cutral Co has claimed that the game threatened his fifteen-year-old daughter with certain death. A Momo-connected profile sent the girl a picture of a dead person and threatened her home, family, and friends if she didn’t respond to the challenge.

The Momo is a terrifying-looking half woman/half bird creature that is weird enough to strike fear into any child (or adult for that matter) when coupled with threats of harm and promised death. The creators of the now-dubbed suicide game are using the cropped image of a bird-woman sculpture that was created by Link Factory, a Japenese special effects company. The Momo challenge has no connection to the Link Factory.

Children remain at risk for games like this because their concept of reality and fantasy can become easily blurred. Parents should keep an eye on their children and their mobile use, but take care not to appear overly controlling because that can create much frustration and distance their children from them. If a child is spending an unhealthy amount of time on their mobile, parents need to promote playing outdoor games. If parents themselves spend a considerable amount of time playing games on their mobiles, all efforts to stop or reduce the time spent doing so should result in your child having less of an interest to engage in mobile games. Having good communication with your child/ren is also vital.

The most important thing that we can do for our children is to pray for them. There is only so much that we can do in the physical realm to protect our kids, therefore prayer is the only form of action that we can take to counter all that takes place in the spiritual realm. I believe that all events that take place in the physical realm first originate in the spiritual realm, and as we do not have constant access to that realm (and should not unless by the Holy Spirit at appointed times and by the will of GOD) we need to put our faith in the Almighty to hear our prayers and petitions to keep our children safe.

April 6, 2018April 25, 2021

Should I Do Yoga if I am a Christian?

Recently I’ve been on a spiritual journey that includes deep prayer, meditation, and mindfulness to help me to connect with God. At the same time, I’ve also been on the hunt for some low-impact stretching that could potentially help with chronic pain in a natural way.

Meditation and stretching. Put those two together and what do you get?

Yoga.

So, I’ve said I need to stretch. And I find that meditation brings me closer to God. These all naturally come together in the form of yoga. But, as a Christian, should I do yoga? Am I allowed? Will Jesus love me less?

Well, first, let’s see”¦what does the Bible say about the word “yoga”? Nothing. Zero. There’s no record of that word being used.

So now what do I do? Since the Bible doesn’t talk about yoga specifically, I have to use the brains God gave me to dig a bit deeper. Then I can determine how best to deal with this current cultural trend.

Let’s start with a few of the basics:

Yoga began as a spiritual disciple in Hindu which includes breath control, meditation, and static postures of the body. Some people who practice yoga are active Hindus or Buddhists. Many are not.
In the western world, yoga is a broad term that is often descriptive of people engaging in the physical body postures that encourage strength and stamina. Sometimes this is combined with meditation for mental strength, but not exclusively. Some yoga classes used sacred words such as “Om”, “Namaste”, and certain chants that hint to Buddhism and Hinduism. Other classes make no reference to the spiritual world at all and are simply a form of physical exercise. Yoga potures have Sanskrit names that have spiritual meanings. Many times these are replaced with English names that simply describe the form the body is taking. (For instance, “lotus” has become “criss-cross applesauce”.)

The word “yoga” in Sanskrit means “yoke” or “union with God”. God tells me to not worship another god, and I must obey.

So I know that yoga started as an ancient spiritual practice of another religion which should lead me to move forward with caution. But I also know that Jesus came to redeem all things.

Is it possible to engage in a moderated form of yoga that feeds our Christian souls, or should we avoid it altogether? Can we be aware of the potential pitfalls and dangers of the spiritual side of yoga and then practice it in a meaningful way with a Christian bent and attitude?

The famous American minister John Piper seems to think that we can’t. He says we should avoid yoga completely, citing it as antithetical to Christianity.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Piper has some good things to offer. But in this situation I tend to think that maybe he’s throwing the proverbial “baby out with the bathwater”.

Christians have often taken “secular” symbols or practices and re-stored them into something that is healthy and even God-glorifying. Take Christmas, for example. December 25, the day on which we now celebrate Jesus’ birth, was reclaimed from the pagans. That date was redeemed from a pagan holiday to a Christian celebration.

Jesus has come to redeem all things. Even pagan holidays. Possibly even stretching and meditation and breathing?

Over the ages, Christians have used wisdom and the discernment to choose what is right for them as individuals and as a Body of believers. To apply Jesus’ redemption to various non-Christian things.

“Everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial.” 1 Corinthians 10:23

So I need to decide if yoga could be beneficial (or detrimental) to me. In my case, I truly believe God has given me the wisdom and discernment to be able to stretch and strengthen my body without accidentally worshipping a false god. I even believe that I can meditate and breathe while I simultaneously reflect and contemplate how incredible God is. All without slipping into the devil’s snare.

But I am aware that this may not be the case for all people.

Personally, think that I can apply the idea of a “yoke” or “union with God” in yoga to my relationship with Christ. But that doesn’t mean I’ll just sign up for any yoga class that is offered. I need to be wise and first ask questions about how spiritual a class is before taking it. For my own purposes, I tend to learn at home with videos, so there’s not much of a risk of me getting caught in an awkward situation. If something gets a little weird, I can just turn it off.

Holy Yoga is a practice that is gaining traction, offering the grounding of the Gospel while reframing the positive aspects of yoga in a Christian way.

“Holy Yoga embraces the essential elements of yoga: breath work, meditation and physical postures. In all of these elements, Christ is the focus of our intention and worship.”

So as I‘m making a decision about yoga (or anything in my life!), I need to ask if it creates a risk of becoming a detriment to my walk with Jesus. If so, then I absolutely shouldn’t do it! But if yoga can be practiced in a way that is healthy to my body and mind, while drawing me closer to Christ with mindfulness and meditation, then is it possible that even John Piper can’t argue with that?

March 29, 2018January 15, 2024

5 Truths about God’s Design for Sex in Marriage

5 Truths about Godâ€™s Design for Sex in Marriage

Living in an over-sexualized culture, we hear messages about sex, wrong messages. These messages become more a part of us than God’s truth because we hear them repetitively and churches are scared to address sexuality.

For too long, I believed the world’s message about sex. That it’s a superficial, feel-good avenue to self-satisfaction. Wrong, partly. God did design sex to feel good!

But, there is more than that. He designed it for profound spiritual, physical, and emotional connection. It is just a shadow of things to come.

God’s design of sex is too amazing to keep silent about.

Here are five truths about God’s design of sex in marriage.

God designed sex to be bonding.

Not only spiritually bonding, but emotionally and physically. When the two become one flesh, biochemicals are released in our bodies like oxytocin and dopamine. Oxytocin, especially, is a bonding chemical. When I embraced this truth and started engaging in the marriage bed more, the tone of our marriage completely changed.

“This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh,” Genesis 2:24 (NIV).

God designed sex for both husband and wife to experience pleasure.

It’s an equal opportunity activity. Why else would there be a clitoris? It’s only function is for pleasure. The Song of Solomon is full of beautiful poetic language about the pleasures of physical love for both spouses.

If one spouse struggles with the ultimate moment, there are Christian resources available to help the couple understand how to achieve mutual enjoyment.

“The mandrakes send out their fragrance, and at our door is every delicacy, both new and old, that I have stored up for you, my beloved,” Song of Solomon 7:13 (NIV).

God designed sex so that we would know yearning.

Before you were married, you yearned for your fianc. Not only did you crave your fiance’s touch, you craved his/her presence and knowing him/her better. Even after years of marriage, it is good to remember this yearning. It mirrors how God desires us to yearn for him. I believe this is one reason he frequently uses the marriage as a symbol of his relationship with us throughout the Bible.

“Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?” James 4:5 (NIV).

God designed the marriage bed to be a place to show the fruit of the Spirit.

Peace, patience, love, joy, gentleness, kindness, faithfulness, goodness, and self-control are the foundation of all Christian life, especially the marriage bed. All conflict surrounding the marriage bed can be managed through employing these key traits.

My own marriage endured a long season of mismatched sex drives. It was through these qualities and some wise communication tools that we overcame our conflict.

God designed sex as a powerful mystery.

Biblical stories of sex often confused me when I was young. There was some nasty stuff in the old testament, the rape of Dinah, Lot and his daughters, the men of Gibeah clammering for the male visitor, Leviticus 20. And yet, there is the beautiful Song of Solomon. The New Testament seemed to prefer celibacy, to be honest. As a teenager, I couldn’t understand why I liked thinking about sex if it was disgraceful and violent.

But, as an adult, I realized the stories were teaching me that sexual intimacy is powerful and mysterious. It’s OK not to have it all figured out, as long as you respect the power it holds to do good when it is aligned with God’s perfect design.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts,” Isaiah 55:8-9.

Final Thoughts

Don’t let the world’s message of cheap sex destroy the meaningful sex in your marriage. Sex may only be a small portion of the whole of your marriage. However, sex matters. It especially matters if one spouse is more interested than the other. When we ignore its power and importance in marriage, the relationship suffers.

Now, granted chronic health issues can affect sexual function and that’s a more complicated story.

March 24, 2018January 15, 2024

24 of Bonhoeffer’s Most Challenging Quotes

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German pastor, theologian, spy, anti-Nazi dissident, key founding member of the Confessing Church as well as one of the most influential spiritual voices across the globe for decades. It’s a good thing for the modern Church that Bonhoeffer was determined in his course.

Bonhoeffer grew up amid the academic circles of the University of Berlin, where his father, Karl Bonhoeffer, was a professor of psychiatry and neurology and was awarded a doctorate in 1927 at the age of only 21. He also studied at Union Theological Seminary in New York from 1930–1931. During that time he attended Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem and became deeply interested in the issue of racial injustice.

Bonhoeffer’s involvement in a plot to overthrow Adolf Hitler led to his imprisonment and execution on the 9th April 1945.

More than seventy years after his death, Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s writings on faith, the Church, ethics and the nature of God serve as a touchstone for all of us who seek to understand a Christian’s responsibility in the face of injustice and have gone on to have a profound influence on Western Culture and the legions of Christian thinkers who’ve encountered them ever since. He also remains an important symbol of opposition to Hitler.

Here’s a look back at some of Bonhoeffer’s most powerful quotes.

ON GRACE

“Cheap grace is preaching forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”

ON JUDGING OTHERS

“Judging others makes us blind, whereas love is illuminating. By judging others we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are.”

ON LIFE

“Christianity preaches the infinite worth of that which is seemingly worthless and the infinite worthlessness of that which is seemingly so valued.”

ON SIN

“May we be enabled to say ‘No’ to sin and ‘Yes’ to the sinner.”

ON JUDGING

“Judging others makes us blind, whereas love is illuminating. By judging others we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are.”

ON SERVING GOD

“We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God.”

ON GOD’S LOVE

“God does not love some ideal person, but rather human beings just as we are, not some ideal world, but rather the real world.”

ON GOD’S WILL

“Being a Christian is less about cautiously avoiding sin than about courageously and actively doing God’s will.”

ON SERVING OTHERS

“The Church is the Church only when it exists for others, not dominating, but helping and serving. It must tell men of every calling what it means to live for Christ, to exist for others.”

ON OBEDIENCE

“One act of obedience is worth a hundred sermons.”

ON EVIL

“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”

ON AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

“We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.”

ON STANDING UP FOR INJUSTICE

“If I sit next to a madman as he drives a car into a group of innocent bystanders, I can’t, as a Christian, simply wait for the catastrophe, then comfort the wounded and bury the dead. I must try to wrestle the steering wheel out of the hands of the driver.”

ON GRATITUDE

“In normal life we hardly realize how much more we receive than we give, and life cannot be rich without such gratitude. It is so easy to overestimate the importance of our own achievements compared with what we owe to the help of others.”

ON FOLLOWING CHRIST

“When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”

ON INJUSTICE

“We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.”

ON PEACE

“There is no way to peace along the way of safety. For peace must be dared, it is itself the great venture and can never be safe. Peace is the opposite of security. To demand guarantees is to want to protect oneself. Peace means giving oneself completely to God’s commandment, wanting no security, but in faith and obedience laying the destiny of the nations in the hand of Almighty God, not trying to direct it for selfish purposes. Battles are won, not with weapons, but with God. They are won when the way leads to the cross.”

ON ‘DEFENDING’ THE BIBLE

“Do not try to make the Bible relevant. Its relevance is axiomatic. Do not defend God’s word, but testify to it. Trust to the Word. It is a ship loaded to the very limits of its capacity.”

ON REAL MORALITY

“The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children.”

ON PEOPLE

“We must learn to regard people less in light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer.”

ON SPIRITUALITY

“When all is said and done, the life of faith is nothing if not an unending struggle of the spirit with every available weapon against the flesh.”

ON FELLOWSHIP

“The first service that one owes to others in the fellowship consists of listening to them. Just as love of God begins with listening to his word, so the beginning of love for our brothers and sisters is learning to listen to them.”

ON PROOF OF GOD

“A God who let us prove his existence would be an idol.”

ON THE FUTURE

“The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children.”

March 18, 2018January 15, 2024

She’s Interested and He’s Not Pursuing

Thereâ€™s a joke going around: men in the church are like parking spaces. The good ones are either already taken â€” or theyâ€™re handicapped.

Houston, we have a problem. It’s a problem that will require all of our effort, courage, confidence and creativity to solve.

Christianity is the largest religion in the world, claiming 2.2 billion of the world’s 6.9 billion people, as of last year and dating is a big deal for most young Christians. However, ask any young woman what the Christian dating scene is like these days.

“Christian men … ugh.” Grim. Impossible. Slim pickings they’ll say.

Young Christian men simply won’t commit, they’ll say and if you’re lucky they’ll call once – never to be heard from again.

And the churchgoing men who are available? Well, there’s a reason they’re single.

“Usually, he respects or admires the godly young woman (or, other people in his Church think he should admire her more), and yet he’s not physically attracted to her. She’s not his “type,” he says.”

So why are all the single Christian ladies having trouble finding single Christian guys for companionship and romance? A plethora of Christian dating websites, books, blogs, advice columns, and magazine articles have surfaced in the last few years, attempting to give Christian young women some helpful tips for snagging a godly man and achieving that much-desired state of wedded bliss.

Date for at least a year.
Don’t kiss before you’re married.
Be careful how much time you spend together.
Date a bunch of people before getting serious.
Don’t unless you are ready to move in the direction of marriage.

It’s not terrible advice— waiting until marriage takes work. But here’s the thing: Relationships take work. However, while most Chrisitan ladies have internal regulations in the form of our Spirit inspired convictions and knowledge of the Bible, it does not seem to be enough?

Could it be that we screened all the godly young men out of church as boys?

Probably not entirely, as according to Mark Regenerus, a sociology professor at the University of Texas, young single women in the church outnumber young single men by a three-to-two ratio.

That’s right ladies, you’re not imagining it: there’s a severe shortage of single men in the church. Not just here in the U.S., but also around the world.

“There are almost no men in my country who are following Christ. And French men will not marry a woman whose faith in Jesus is so strong. She is a leper in their eyes.” – Christian woman from France

A young godly man knows he’s a catch – particularly if he’s dedicated to his faith, good looking and works out and there are hardly any other man is his Church. With each week that passes, he’s presented with a congregation full of single women. Most haven’t been on a date in a while. He has his pick of the bunch.

There’s even a joke about the gender imbalance. It goes like this:

“Men in the church are like parking spaces. All the good ones are either already taken, or they’re handicapped.”

Furthermore, it has been confirmed that the supply of young women grows with each passing year.

So whats the solution?

God Will Orchestrate the Love Story

Do you find yourself becoming resentful that God is withholding something from you?

Still waiting to find the man of your dreams
Your greatest desire is to have a baby
You want to experience the joy of being “equally yoked” with a godly husband

Desperation is dangerous because it focuses on self: What I want. What I must have. What I cannot live without. Firstly, if and when the time comes for you to be married, God will orchestrate the love story. But in the meantime, your focus is to be on serving God and pouring your life out for God, not on getting serious about getting married. The timing is up to God, not you.

Singled Out in Church

Secondly, research shows that single men are more likely to attend churches that fit the following profile:

Large
Headed by a male pastor who’s bold and outspoken
Offers intentional male discipleship
Worship service is done in under 90 minutes

Apart from salvation, there is perhaps a way that the concept “God helps those who help themselves” is correct. We’re not suggesting you switch churches over this issue. It probably wouldn’t hurt to visit another church once in awhile – especially if your church offers nothing for singles.

Also remember that there are actually some Christ-men out there who are praying and hoping for a set-apart young woman – one who is not following after the trends of the culture, or who are not wallowing around in discontentment or on the constant prowl for a guy.

Any pastors who are reading, have you ever stopped to listen, really listen, to the women in your church about how they feel they are treated or perceived?

Any other advice?

January 26, 2018January 15, 2024

Who’s Pimping Who…?

A man and a woman coo over each other. A bystander turns to another and says, “What does she see in him?” Or, conversely, “What does he see in her?”

She’s tall, he’s short, shes from the city, his from the country, she talks a lot, he’s quiet, he likes Australia, but she likes New York, he’s a Hill-song gospel music fan, she’s a Marilyn Manson fan. She also loves the bright lights and big options, shes unholy, she’s not righteous, she’s impure, she’s been around the block. People know her by what she does, not by her name. There the ‘odd couple’.

Now it’s been said that “Men marry women with the hope they will never change. but that “Women marry men with the hope they will change.”

But not in this case. God has told this holy man to marry an unholy woman, a woman which will not be faithful, a woman by her wicked nature is sure to commit adultery, a woman that will cause endless frustration and monumental grief. Hosea is a prophet, his wife is a prostitute. He’s a man of God, she’s a woman of the night, he is faithful, she is unfaithful, he peaches the power of the living God, she provides ungodly considerations for cash. The story of Hosea puzzles even the devout and zealous Christian. There an ‘odd couple’.

Why did God ask his own prophet to marry a prostitute?

An immense allegory can be interpreted from the depths of Hosea’s life. The prophet Hosea was commanded to marry an unfaithful wife, and this set up a model of our broken relationship with God.

Hosea’s wife: an allegory of God’s undying love

The LORD is the husband of Israel, and Israel’s passionate, chronic attraction for idols was like the lust of an adulterer. His people were as unfaithful as a prostitute. For the land had committed great whoredom by forsaking the LORD.

Could you imagine Hosea’s, groomsman – you’re respected, a wise man, but your decision making is in question? Your wife is a disgrace. Why on earth are you married to a woman like that?

The reply, why on earth is such an awesome, good and powerful God married to a people like you?

Young people and self-esteem

Self-respect is perhaps the most essential quality for young women, especially in our generation.

We live in an era where girls as young as middle school are posting provocative things online. It’s a cry for attention being sought from boys or anyone else who will listen. The story is told of a young girl who had a male friend who came to her with an article in the classified section of a newspaper. The proposal was, if you have sexual relations with a stranger for 1 million dollars there are three things you are guaranteed:

Nobody will ever know
No disease
No baby

1 million dollars, no questions asked, out the door, he asked her, would you do it? She thought about it, like some people reading this article.

The girl the said, are you kidding me, nobody will ever know, no disease, no baby, sure i’ll do it. Well then he said, would you do the same for $10?

She replied, “What, do you think I’m a prostitute?” To which he replies, “We’ve already established that — I’m just haggling over the price.”

However, young ladies, you don’t have to lower your standards or provide ungodly considerations for cash. Tell that young man, I’m not for sale and because you’re not for sale, take off all those for sale and on sale signs. Hug appropriately, speak appropriately. Text appropriately, stop posting barely-clothed photos, sexual innuendos, and explicit language. Be honest in your motivations for being in a relationship.

Young ladies, if he can’t take care of himself now, how is he going to take care of you later.

So the question today is who’s Pimping you?

Sorry boo-boo”¦ hate to burst your bubble, but you have been bamboozled, conned, led astray , run amok, dupe, tricked, fooled, swindle, hoodwink; you have been deceived”¦

You see, Satan has been pimping from the third chapter of the Bible onward and is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. The pimp of all pimps and you want to hang out with him!

But he has no power in the life of a believer unless we give it to him. That’s right! Regardless of how you’ve been thrown out to the trash, we want you to know that Jesus loves you. Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made you free, and do not be entangled again with the yoke of bondage. (Gal. 5:1) Refuse to make deals with Satan, no matter how attractive the trinkets. Refuse to be a commodity that is for sale to the highest bidder.

January 23, 2018January 15, 2024

Luck is The Religion of The Lazy

Some people would do almost anything to ward off ‘bad luck’ and bring themselves a little good fortune. There was a time in my life that I believed when things happened in my life it was either “lucky,” or “unlucky.”

As I have become a more mature Christian I have realized that there is truly no such thing as luck, luck is just a religion of the lazy and disillusioned. Here’s why.

A psychologist Richard Wiseman surveyed a bunch of people who considered themselves lucky or unlucky, then performed a very interesting test:

“[Wiseman] gave both the “lucky” and the “unlucky” people a newspaper and asked them to look through it and tell him how many photographs were inside. He found that on average the unlucky people took two minutes to count all the photographs, whereas the lucky ones determined the number in a few seconds.”

“How did the “lucky” people do this? Because they found a message on the second page that read, “Stop counting. There are 43 photographs in this newspaper.” So why didn’t the so called unlucky people see it? Because they were so intent on counting all the photographs that they missed the message.”

So what does this mean?

People who we often consider themselves lucky are more relaxed and open to what’s going on around them. Many people either do not see the open doors that God has provided for them or do not even believe that God will ever open a door for them. God is gracious and gives us blessings. I have learned if I can look beyond the raging storm, I can see where God is constantly blessing me and moving in my life.

This week, my primary doctor told me he was moving to another city. I will not deny that I was really sad as a unique doctor/patient relationship had formed. He has been the only doctor so far that has truly kicked open doors for me, validated me, listened to me, and truly cared for me. It is extremely hard to find a great doctor when you have chronic and rare illnesses. I can’t say enough about how much my now old primary doctor has been a blessing to me and my husband. It wasn’t by chance or luck that I got this doctor that only worked in my area for one-year. God placed him in my path. God used him to change every single one of my other doctors and now I have a great team. God used him for a short while to put some pieces together for me. God sent him to help in my journey but as life has it, God changes things up and that’s ok. I haven’t met my new doctor yet but I am very confident that God has once again moved in my best interest and is sending another person to help me get me to another point.

I had a choice this week. I could have had a meltdown and worried about the unknowns of my doctor’s replacement or I could have scurried to find someone else. Instead, I chose to find peace and solitude in my Father. I can trust that he is moving and I am not relying on luck or chance. The biggest part of trusting God is not knowing all of the answers but placing the unknowns directly in his hands and allowing him to move and bless me.