When Life Does Not Make Sense

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This last week in Facebook I read a story of a mother who is a believer and yet she felt that God had forsaken her. I was also reminded of a conversation with a man I play golf with when he made a statement, “If there is a God how could he allow my daughter to have MS.” Then there is a young couple I know with two children and the mother dies of cancer. How about an older couple I love who served God their whole lives spreading God's word, and the wife gets a crippling disease and then God takes her husband home, and now she is all alone in a care-home. Or how about the man who never wanted to make a vow to God but was led by God to make one. This man did everything that he said he would do and yet God did not answer the man's prayer in the way he thought. 
Life at times seems very confusing and difficult to understand; yet when our life is over, and we stand before God and ask him "why?" He will say that when you were going through these things you were only halfway through your book of life. Just like a mystery novel halfway through never makes sense, it only makes sense when you know the ending.
I wish I could say wise and comforting words to the young couple, the father and his daughter, or the elderly couple, those whose lives seem so useless now.  But as the one who made the vow to God and didn't get what he expected then, I can say: WAIT! Wait to see what God has planned for your life, with all the hurts and losses and even doubts about God. Don't give up your faith in the LORD! Stay in His Word believing what He says. It's in the waiting on God that we come to know Him better and better and how He feels about us and how His plans and ways are so much higher than ours.  God is for us, not against us!
When our life is complete will others who have watched your life be able to say that your life was not useless at all? 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 "Therefore, we do not lose heart. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So, fix your eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
When life gets hard it is very hard see this glory that God is talking about, therefore, we must be patient and soon we will understand it all. For now we only see through a glass dimly, but later we will see Him as He truly is: face to face.  Our life in retrospect will make beautiful sense and give glory to God.

The Right Kind of Strong

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I was invited to a woman’s Christian book club, where I had to read a book called “The Right Kind of Strong.” The author is Mary A. Kassian. Lots of good teaching for women (even men) to take to heart.
One thing that came out to me is how women can think they are strong ‘on their own’ but are actually WEAK women; that they can do anything men can do, and even do better. While women that KNOW they are weak on their own and depend on the Lord’s strength – are actually STRONG women. Their trust in the truth from God about who they are and who God is, gives them an inner strength that weak women do not have even though they pretend to have.
Almost twenty years ago, the Lord told me to write a book on the Proverbs 31 woman of the Bible. And yes, it was the Lord Jesus Himself who told me clearly: “For it is time to show her favor – the appointed time has come. My servants take pity on her dust.” Why was I do to this? The life of the Proverbs 31 woman IN HIS CHURCH, was dying out. Men with faith need a true feminine helpmate to fulfill their purpose doing the work of God.
The Lord revealed to me, first of all that ‘I’ needed to follow the example of the Proverbs 31 Woman; the woman who IS the RIGHT kind of strong. So I took each verse to study out with the Holy Spirit.
I compared her to myself and the women of our day; how women have slowly drifted from God’s design of true womanhood. I felt convicted myself as my Lord wanted me to see how I was drifting. He woke me up to this one morning in the Word with His letter to His church of Ephesus. The Lord first states the good He sees but then reveals what He won’t put up with, and that He won’t reward in the end but rather condemn….
“Yet, I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first (Jesus Christ, my first TRUE love). Carol, consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place…hear what the Spirit of the Lord says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” Revelation 2:4-6 (Jesus wrote 7 letters to His churches whereas 5 were told to repent of something He won’t put up with. The other 2 types He commends and rewards. (Rev. 2 and 3)
There has been a ‘progressive’ drifting from truth in what a man is, and what a woman is, and how to raise up healthy, happy and productive children, and what a true family is. Drifting happens when lies are believed and lived out.
Weak women listen to the wrong voices on all kinds of issues, and then wonder why their life is disappointing and so very hard to live. Strong women listen to the truth from God in His Word and rely on His ‘indwelling’ Holy Spirit to give them the understanding, confidence and strength they need to live out their true purpose in life, gratefully rewarded with God’s favor and blessings all along the way. Even in her times of hardship and persecution, she thrives!
The book brought out another difference in a ‘truly’ weak woman and a ‘truly’ strong woman, in how worldly women look at godly women as weak, old-fashioned, stuck and shameful. Truly weak women only pretend to be strong, keeping their weaknesses hidden or denied – to hold up the image they want.
The Lord sees us all so differently than we see ourselves because He sees the heart and root/seed of what we have come to believe and live out about ourselves, and about Him.
Truly strong women are open about their weakness and proudly admit that they depend on the Lord each day. They are careful about who they listen to and trust. They are truly feminine, according to God’s design of a woman. And, they respect true masculinity in how God made men.
Women put men down by criticizing the male ego. Truth: man’s ego comes from God for the purpose to rule, lead and take care of what God has given the man to care for that God did NOT give to women. But when a man becomes ‘full of himself,’ in rebellion to God, he becomes an egotist: thinking of himself first – to get all he selfishly wants. Egoism is the ideology that the devil teaches and seeds in men, and even women.
God created man first for a very good reason, and then He took a rib from man to form man’s helpmate in life: woman. Women are gifted differently from men, for a very good reason, but when we buck our Creator’s system (His will and blessings) we are not all we could be and where we end up giving the Lord praise and glory.
Women who hate the idea of being their husband’s “helpmate,” are truly weak women. Is it any wonder then, why in America we see increasing homosexuality with men wanting to be women, women wanting to be men, even mutilating their bodies. We see children being taught to believe that they are in the wrong physical body when they are simply going through puberty. We see women hating men, men abusing women, the ‘family and home’ out of order and unable to enjoy all that God intended.
“Pretenders don’t have faith in God’s firm foundation (of biblical truth). They don’t trust it. They don’t abide in it.” (quote from book) The Bible says, “They have the appearance of godliness but do not have its power.” The power for what? The power to become the woman (or man) God honors and crowns in the end.
“God works through every human ability that is surrendered to Him…even in the absence of any ability whatsoever on our part.” (quote from book)
God gave each of us strengths as well as weaknesses. Our talents are from Him to develop and serve Him with. Our weaknesses are there to draw us to our Lord and Savior for who HE IS. One weakness we ALL have is thinking we have the power to save ourselves from the wrath of God on our sin.” Oh I’m a ‘good’ person! Look at all the good works I do! How could God send ME to hell!” “God? I don’t believe in God, heaven nor hell.” Both are fools and in for a BIG surprise, sadly.
“Human strength is a fragile illusion. It often fails when we encounter difficult circumstances. Suddenly, out of the blue, life can fall apart. An accident. A grim diagnosis. The loss of a job. Calamity. Betrayal. Relationship breakdown. These are the times when we see how weak we really are.” (quote from book) And how ready God is to bring us through, and rejoicing with Him!
“I’m convinced that all the failures and flaws in our lives flow out of some sort of doctrinal error or deficiency.” (quote from book)
There’s a lot of false teaching in the world: in schools, universities, churches, homes, media news. You may have grown up thinking you must not show weakness, or to deny your fears. But fear is from God, as a gage and not a guide.
Or, you may have been told to let your heart lead you; if it feels good – do it! If it seems right to you then it must be right for you. But God says that “the heart is deceitfully wicked, who can know it.” If we go by the seat of our emotions – we will always be led astray to do what we shouldn’t have done, or say what we shouldn’t have said, or go where we shouldn’t have gone. REGRETS!
“When it comes to our emotions, we tend to start with how we feel, how we want to feel, or how others expect us to feel. But if we want our emotions to be set right, we need to start with God as our reference point…. Our emotions were created to reflect HIS emotions and put HIS feelings and HIS desires on display.” (quote from book)
Matin Luther said: “Sin bends the best gifts of God toward itself. We take this great gift of emotions and twist it around toward ourselves.” (quote from book)
“Emotions are not to be stifled or stamped out, but rather they are to propel us to God and godliness.” (quote from book)
“Emotions are powerful. Reason seems to stand little chance against the forces of fear, anger, hatred, jealousy, our whatever emotion is moving us.” (quote from book)
We sure do see today, in so many ways, that people are led by their emotions!
“Emotions are for ‘gauging’ our circumstances, not for ‘guiding’ us in our circumstances.” (quote from book)
God created emotion in us, just as He created us with a will of our own to choose, and a mind to reason, solve and invent, and a good conscience by which to repent and be at peace with God. But the will and mind along with our emotions are to be in balance – aligned with God’s will, mind and emotions.
“The Bible is God’s Holy Word. It defines for us what is TRUE and what is not. Therefore, we are to regard it as the ultimate standard of truth, the reference point by which every other claim to truthfulness is to be measured.” (quote from book)
There is so much more in this little book about the good qualities of womanhood and how we to see ourselves and God who loves us with His everlasting love!

AI ANI AGI ASI – BEWARE!

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Mind blowing – this day we are living in with “artificial intelligence.” But as a video showed me, there’s more from what the devil is planning to deceive us with so that we either fall away from the TRUTH of JESUS or we are drawn into excepting the “mark of the beast.”

Rev. 13:4-5 on the Beast. “People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?” Rev. 19:20 “…And the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who did mighty miracles on behalf of the beast–miracles that deceived all who had accepted the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue. Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.”

“His statue?” Look at what is in your hand right now. Consider what you believe you can not do without these days for information and social enjoyment. Consider and be wise!

Thank you JESUS, our coming KING and Conqueror of all Satan’s works and plans!

Jesus the Only Way by Dori McKinnon

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Jesus – alone – is what’s needed for salvation. If you ever hear a gospel that preaches Jesus + works = salvation, that is not the true Gospel, and I’d run far away from that false preaching because false preaching deceives people to hell.

 

Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection was enough. To add our own good deeds to God’s saving work of salvation is deceitful and prideful. It’s sin. Salvation belongs to the Lord (Psalm 3:8).

 

Obedience and good works are the result of faith in the Gospel by the believer according to Scripture. Obedience and good works is what true salvation produces, not requires. They are a byproduct of a changed life through the saving faith in Christ alone. They are critical for our sanctification as we are becoming more and more like Christ.

 

On the last day, no one can claim or boast for what God has done in our lives (Ephesians 2:8-9). If you are saved, it is only because of God’s grace, because the truth is, we all deserve hell. So cry out to the Jesus the Lord while you still have breath in your lungs and ask Him for the faith you need to believe in the Word of God.

HOPE

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How can you have a ‘genuine’ hope amid all the atrocities, natural disasters, government tyranny and enemy threats and attacks – without knowing the truth that only comes from the Creator and Savior of our lives? A true hope has different results than a false hope.

 

The promises of God that are in His Word (the Holy Bible) are there to give us hope that lasts through all life throws at us. God’s perfectly worked plans for His children bring us to the fulfillment of every promise He gives.

 

People have a hope because of a new leader they voted in, but when we put our hope in a man, as right and true as he might be, that hope can be disappointed. People lose hope all the time because their hope is ‘misplaced.’ When I put my hope in the Word of the LORD GOD my hope will stay strong to the end, only because of who GOD IS.

 

God’s Holy Spirit helps the believer in Jesus Christ to ‘hold’ to the promises of God, so that when life is not what it’s supposed to be, or what we thought it would be – the hope in a believer never moves from its secure place within. So, it is critical to make sure your hope is true and not false. A false-hope will surely let us down, and then what? What happens when our hope falls flat? Insecurity, depression, addiction, suicide, anger, blaming, self-hatred, loss of confidence: these are all results of having hope that is not true.

 

Against all ‘natural’ hope, Abraham and all the other patriarchs of the same faith in what God said to them – in TRUE HOPE – believed and then realized the fulfillment of every promise God made to them, whether in life or in death. (Romans 4:18)

 

The apostle Paul was “convinced” that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate me (and all true believers) from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:38-39) What convinced him? Where did his hope come from?

 

Noah’s hope, that kept him building the Ark till complete, as ridiculous as it seemed then to all the people, where did Noah’s hope come from? Moses had hope as he defied Pharaoh and led millions of people out of slavery and through a desert of what seemed hopeless. God spoke to him too.

 

God’s spoken word to us IS OUR HOPE, and peace and joy as well! No matter what century we live, since time began, it has always been the Word of the living GOD that ignites true hope in people so that they will realize their hope come true!

 

I pray that this new year of 2025 will be a year of people getting into the Word of God, hearing God’s voice, whether for the first time, or whether returning after letting their Bible sit untouched far too long, or by wanting to go even deeper into the LIVING WORD OF GOD.

 

“For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return without watering the earth, making it bud and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat, so MY WORD that proceeds from MY MOUTH will not return to ME empty, but it WILL accomplish what I please, and it WILL prosper where I send it. You will indeed go out with joy and be led forth in peace…”  Isaiah 55:10-12

 

Withholding from God

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Genesis 22:
“Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son.”
While ready this passage, I asked myself what would I withhold from God? Health, family, fame, riches, position? What I withhold is what God will test me on since He wants to be first in my life.
The key is to understand that God already knows what I want to withhold from Him. It is my fear of losing what I love that will make me withhold from my Lord.
When I give to God what I love it releases the blessings of God, that will exceed the value of what I would have withheld.
“God will provide.”

Remember

Posted by & filed under Mikes Blog.

Here we are again ending one year and starting a new year.  I wonder what this new year will bring to me and my family. I can say this, “My Lord will still be King, and it will be one day closer to His coming.”
This morning, I read this and if I had one word to take me through this next year it is ‘remember.’
From Lamentations 3:
If this next year brings suffering beyond words – I always will have hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.
When I truly accept this promise I can to myself, “The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him! The LORD is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him. It is good to wait quietly for salvation from the LORD. For you came when I called; you told me, ‘Do not fear.'”

God’s Direction For You

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Next year will you know the direction that God wants for you? God has said to those who are willing to obey, even when everything looks like it is against you, a path you did not know was there – will appear.

 

Psalms 77: 19-20
You path way led through the sea, your pathway through the mighty waters – a pathway no one knew was there! You lead your people along the road like a flock of sheep.
Proverbs 2: 7-9
He guards the path of the just and protects those who are faithful to him, and you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will find the right way to go.
2 Corinthians 4:8-10
We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed but not driven to despair. We are hunted down but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.
2 Corinthians 4:17-18
For our present troubles are small and will not last long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So, we do not look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
The key to your pathway is to ‘know the Lord.’ Trust Him, and do not lean on your own understanding. When His way looks scary and unpredictable, it is at these times we see the impossible pathway no one knew was there.

Too Good To Be True

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Thinking about my Lord God and the kingdom coming of His eternal peace, righteousness, joy, love and perfection – and at times how I think that it’s just too good to be true. People say that if it seems too good to be true – then it probably is.

 

 

But then I think about all the ways in which it seems “too good,” and how it’s unexplainable and mysterious; too amazing for the human mind. I ponder all the differences, like why each thing that lives is “one of a kind,” no exact duplicates. Why there is both evil AND good. Why our planet earth is the only planet in the universe that flourishes with life. Why the universe has no boundary. Why security and love of “family” is so powerful, healing and rewarding, and why orphans desperately long for their own. Why sexual intercourse has two blessings: a precious baby and a “climax” of physical enjoyment. Why humans are more superior to the animal kingdom; why we can read and write, reason and invent.  Why ‘nature’ has so much wisdom behind every part for our productivity and on-going existence; why it has within it all that we need to live, be productive and inventive. Why it feels good and rewarding to help and serve others, and how depressing and hurtful it is to be self-centered and self-serving. Why we know deep down inside that God is real. People lie to themselves that God is not real, but they first had it in them from God to later reject that truth. And, why people can ‘choose’ what to believe in, even if it’s a lie and is destroying them.  Why we each genuinely have hope for eternal life in heaven, and fear of an eternal hell apart from God and all that’s good. IT’S ALL FROM GOD OUR CREATOR!

 

So much is unexplainable and a mystery to us, so that we will come to realize ‘by faith’ that I come from God, and will return to God. But how we return to God is what we should be very concerned about, and that we are responsible for. This “human conscience” is also from our Creator.

 

And, why we also KNOW deep down that we need the Savior Jesus Christ, even though most resist His Holy Spirit who comes to show them this need, and to bless them!

 

And, why we have “faith” as humans, while all other life does not.

 

“Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1

 

“By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” Hebrews 11: 3

 

Faith to believe: “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. HE existed in the beginning with God. God created everything THROUGH HIM, and nothing was created except THROUGH HIM. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and His life brought LIGHT to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can NEVER extinguish it.” John 1:1-5

 

“For unto us a child was born, unto as a Son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace THERE WILL BE NO END. He will reign on the throne of David and over His Kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from THAT TIME AND FOREVERMORE. The ZEAL OF THE LORD of HOSTS will accomplish this!” Isaiah 9:6-7

 

Too good to be true?  Ahhh, but it is TRUE!  And I for one, LONG for Christ’s return to do all He said (in His Word) that He will do for the life eternal with Him.  SO! Merry CHRISTmas and may we all worship the LORD GOD  in Spirit and in Truth.

My Unchanging God

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Sitting here this morning thinking about how my Father God never changes, never has and never will – I am so very hopeful for the future. ‘Change’ was in His design of creation, but not in the wicked rebellious ways it has since Adam took the forbidden fruit from Eve.

 

I change as I grow old. The world changes with its new ideas and inventions, new presidents and rulers constantly change the way we all live, but God remains the same. Everything in life since the beginning of time – changes. God does not exist in ‘time.’ We do. He always was God and always will be God over all He chooses to do. God doesn’t even change His mind. He knows all, sees all, and has His own great plan for eternal life through His own precious Son.

 

One thing I am thankful for are the changes in my life because of the Word of God (that also has not changed) and my love for my Savior – that I pray never changes. When I came to know Him, my thinking changed in how I see my own life and death, and how I was able to see this world with a bigger perspective; an expanding perspective that empowers me to overcome fear, anger, revenge, self-deception, boredom and feeling unimportant.

 

As I sit here and meditate on how privileged I am to have my Father God and His Word and Spirit in my life – that awesome security of His personal peace, joy, comfort and favor is how I want to start each day. Before I start thinking of anything else, or even praying for people – I want to consider HIM in as many ways as possible, bringing my life before Him for humble daily renewal.

 

Imagine how this world would be if everyone started each day this way.

Christ’s Birth

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Listening to a Christmas song this morning about the birth of Christ our Lord, I thought how HIS birth is GREATER than any other birth. When I think of how important and precious to us the births of our four children and 13 grandchildren are, I concluded: “what other birth, than the birth of Jesus could ever be more precious and meaningful to me.”  Sorry kids!

 

What ‘human’ birth ever resulted in a short life of 33 years of so great a purpose and work? He IS the first of all resurrections, the only way to life eternal; for He went to the cross and endured its extreme pain, with suffering and persecution before – FOR THE JOY SET BEFORE HIM. What is that JOY? All those who have and will receive Him in their hearts as their own Savior and Lord in their lives, desperate to know Him by the truth of His Word, by prayer and worship day by day.

 

Now what other “birth” could ever do what Jesus Christ was appointed and empowered by the Holy Spirit to do for all the people of this lost and hopeless world? Not even a government or all the world’s governments together, could accomplish what only Jesus Christ has, and still will very soon.

 

I know that many people see Christmas time as celebrating a baby being born who grew up to do good in our world, but Jesus Christ is so much greater!

 

I once walked in darkness, lived without the WHOLE truth about Jesus Christ; lived for myself; lived with questions and fears about death and what comes after, if anything. But because God my Creator Father loved me and knew me before I was formed in my mother’s womb – the LIGHT of HIS CHRIST was appointed a day for me in which I would hear what I needed to hear, see what I needed to see – so I would BELIEVE in the SAVIOR of the world. And I will be forever grateful and in His service!

 

“The people walking in darkness have seen a GREAT LIGHT; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a LIGHT has dawned.” Isaiah 9:2

 

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. HE was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and without Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the LIGHT of men. And the LIGHT shines in the darkness, and the darkness has NOT overcome it.” John 1:1-5

 

My prayer is that people (walking in darkness) will have their blindness removed to see the LIGHT OF THE WORLD, as the only Savior for their life, and come to truly KNOW HIM in SPIRIT and in TRUTH; that they will hunger for the TRUTH of God’s Word, found only in His Holy Bible, His wonderful message to the world.

 

“BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN WILL BE WITH CHILD AND WILL GIVE BIRTH TO A SON, AND THEY WILL CALL HIM IMMANUEL (which means, “GOD WITH US”).” Matthew 1:23