Why vs What

We’ve all been there. Something negative happens in our lives and we ask “why”, “why me”, “why now”. My husband and I went through a very traumatic experience in 2019. He became very ill with an infection in his heart and developed sepsis. He needed open heart surgery to replace two of his heart valves. He came within an inch of death. While he was in the hospital, we had a very deep discussion about all the events that had occurred leading up that moment. There were so many mistakes made by certain medical professionals. We were ignorant to the signs and symptoms of sepsis and congestive heart failure. In the end, we turned our eyes upward to God and determined that there is something we needed to learn from this terrible situation. So our question became “what” not “why”. What is Your plan, God? What do you want us to learn from this? 

Romans 8:28 says, “And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose.” We knew that God loved us and had not left us. In hindsight, I can now see how God used this situation to bring my husband and I closer. I feel that my faith in Him is stronger. We are both more in tune with our purpose, which is to love God and love others more deeply. We are more eternally minded because we know that our day of entering eternity may come at any moment. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for putting eternity in my heart. My focus is not on the temporal things of this world. My focus is on Your eternal purpose for my soul.

The Ways Of God

It seems that one of the biggest questions that people have is “why is there so much suffering in the world?” and “why doesn’t God do something about it?” Some Christians may get upset at people asking such questions and demand that blind trust in God is all that is needed. But I think that these questions are important. We need to ponder more deeply on the ways of God. The Bible says that God’s ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). There is a reason for everything that happens in life. The challenge that we face as humans is that our vision of the big picture is limited. The big picture encompasses what is past, present and future. It involves the free will of man and the holy unchangeable character of God. While we are here in this temporary earthly world system, we have a kind of tunnel vision. We can only understand what seems to impact us personally and see through the lens of our own personal worldview. 

When Job was suffering trials and being tormented by satan, he questioned God and challenged His justice. Job wanted an explanation of why this was happening to him. God’s response was an unveiling of His divine wisdom. God asked Job, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding” (Job 38:4). God went on to reveal His greatness and power of creating the earth and everything in it. He expressed His character and nature. God is justice, mercy, love, truth, righteous and holy all at once. He knows the past, present and future all at once. It is not a matter of either or. He is not one sided or one dimensional when He acts. He is omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent. There is a divine purpose for all that He does and all that He allows. The bigger picture is eternity with Him. Jesus said, “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” ‭‭(Matthew‬ ‭16‬:‭26‬). The temporary suffering on earth becomes insignificant when we think about our future in eternity with God. All that God does is meant to draw us to Himself, the source of true life…eternal life.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, fill me with Your thoughts and Your ways. I want to be eternally minded. Heaven is my true home.

Healing

The world purports to have a cure for every ailment. But it seems that with every “cure” there is a negative side effect that causes more problems. Most of these so-called cures are temporary band-aids on a large gaping wound. This is because the root cause of our ailments are not addressed. This applies to both physical and emotional ailments. Unfortunately, we live in a fallen world that bombards the body and mind with toxicity. Processed foods and toxic chemicals in the water and air are killing the human body. Toxic media is deteriorating the human mind and soul.  
However, Christ came to bring healing and freedom. Isaiah 53:5 says, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.” Regardless of the root cause of our ailments, Jesus has come to bring healing and restoration, emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually. Pursuing any other way of healing results in negative side effects. God has given mankind natural and spiritual remedies for every illness. We just need to ask God for the solutions. This does not mean that we will never get sick and never die. The natural aging and dying process will happen. The Lord will call us home when it is our time. The greatest healing is receiving a new glorified body when we arrive in heaven, where there is no pain or sorrow. 

Prayer
Heavenly Father, Thank You for the promise of heaven, where we will receive complete healing and eternal peace. Give me wisdom on how to live a healthy lifestyle while on this earth, until the day You call me home.

Faithful Word

We can always count on God being faithful to His Word. ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭138‬:‭2 says, “I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your Word above all Your name.” God is truth. He cannot lie because His very nature and character is truth. When He says something, it exists in the universe and never changes. This is such a complex yet simple thing to understand. To grasp the depth of God’s truth is beyond our human comprehension yet we can understand one thing, He is faithful to His Word of Truth. 

God has spoken His Word over all of us from Heaven. He has put His Word in written form (the Bible) so we have it in tangible form. He wants us to know His Word so we can get to know Him. When we know His Word, we know exactly what to expect from Him. He never changes His ways. This is so reassuring in a world where we can’t take anything at face value. Unfortunately, the father of lies (satan) is steady at work trying to deceive mankind into distrusting God. Regardless of what satan tries to do, God’s Word stands forever. When God says it, it comes to pass. Believe it. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I thank You for being true to Your Word. I can fully rely on You and trust You with all my heart. 

Purpose

Regardless of the circumstances in which we were conceived and born, God has a divine plan and purpose for each person. His plan is for peace and good and not for evil, as stated in Jeremiah 29:11. It can be so easy to focus on perceived disadvantages that we’ve experienced in life and become resentful. But Christ was very clear about the truth of living in this world. ‭‭John‬ ‭16‬:‭33‬ ‭says, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” I’ve come to understand that, while living in a sinful and fallen world system, we are actually citizens of heaven, when we are in Christ. We are just traveling through this temporary world. God’s plan is for us to live in the reality of His eternal Kingdom while sojourning through this short lived experience on earth. 

It can be challenging to remain focused on this heavenly truth because we are bombarded with messages from this carnal world. Media, news and advertising appeal to the carnal senses of the flesh. They all try to entice and pull us into a mindset that is fixated on what is temporary and passing away. The real purpose of being born is to have eternal life with our Creator. Knowing this truth changes the way I see every situation and circumstance that I face. There is a bigger picture, a bigger plan. It’s not about how much fame and fortune we can acquire. It’s not about being the best in everything or having the best of everything. It’s about our eternal purpose and destiny, which is being in the presence of our Creator. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, open my understanding of Your eternal purpose for my life. Give me spiritual eyes to see and spiritual ears to hear. I want to be Kingdom minded.

Abiding

In the beginning, God created Adam and Eve for perfect fellowship with Him. They were in perfect obedience to God until the serpent (satan) came on the scene and tempted them to disobey. He tempted them to eat from a certain tree that would open their eyes to know the difference between good and evil. Satan wanted them to step outside the boundaries that God had set for them. Once they acted on their decision to disobey, everything changed. There was no going back. The consequences were in motion and would continue for generations to come. ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭3‬:‭8‬-‭11‬ says, “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” 

Up until that point, Adam and Eve had pure hearts and pure minds. They were under the protection of God, as they obeyed and remained under His covering. Mankind has been suffering from that decision of disobedience ever since. But God in His divine wisdom and mercy made a way for us to get back to that place of divine fellowship. He sent Christ to pay the penalty of our disobedience. He gave each person the opportunity to come back under the protective covering of God. We just need to abide and dwell in Christ and we will have restored fellowship with Him. ‭‭John‬ ‭15‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ says, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” Christ is the only way to restore fellowship with God. He renews our minds so we are not thinking rebellious thoughts against God. The more we desire fellowship with Him, the further we move away from desiring the forbidden fruit. Instead, God prepares a table before us and we feast on the fruit of the Spirit. ‭‭John‬ ‭15‬:‭5‬ says, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” We can’t overcome sin without abiding in Him. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for making a way back to perfect fellowship with You, through Christ. Holy Spirit, draw me closer to Christ and water the seed of the Word planted in my heart, that I would bear much fruit.

Day By Day

The Christian life is a marathon not a sprint. There is no quick process to living a holy life. We constantly have to deal with the carnal desires of the flesh. But one thing I know is that consistency in daily communion with God eases the process. The marathon is no longer an arduous task but rather a journey alongside my Savior. He coaches me and cheers me on as I run my race of faith. He strengthens me when I feel fatigued and think I can’t go any further. It’s a daily process with the Holy Spirit. He keeps me focused on the end goal, which is eternity.  ‭‭II Corinthians‬ ‭4‬:‭16‬-‭17‬ ‭says, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” ‭‭Philippians‬ ‭3‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ says, “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

The Lord keeps us looking up and forward so we don’t get distracted by the carnal things of this world, which are temporary and passing away. ‭‭II Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭8‬ ‭says, “Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” When I was an athlete I trained daily. I was motivated by the possibility of winning a competition. With God, it is not a possibility of winning. We absolutely definitely win the prize of eternal life through Christ. We just need to stay the course and remain in Him, day by day. 

Prayer 

Heavenly Father, thank You for the assurance of salvation through Christ. Thank You for giving me Your Holy Spirit to guide and lead me daily. Thank You for strengthening me to stay the course with You.

Law Of The Spirit

In our human experience on earth, things change constantly. Social norms change with the times. Even laws change. But God’s spiritual laws never change. They have always been in motion since the beginning of time. Jeremiah‬ ‭17‬:‭10‬ ‭says, “I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.” We are all held accountable for our choices and actions, good or bad. It is a spiritual law that is unavoidable. We cannot escape it. Unfortunately, some people are deceived and believe they can escape the consequences of their sinful actions through their own human means. 

God has given us the only escape, which is through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. When we surrender our sinful life, we accept that Christ took the penalty of our ungodly choices and actions. Through Christ, we now live by a different set of rules. We live by the law of the Spirit. Romans 8:2-4 says, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” As much as we may try in our human efforts, we cannot live up to God’s standard of goodness and holiness. We live a life of holiness by the  supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. Thanks be to God for giving us the gift of the Holy Spirit! 

Prayer 

Heavenly Father, thank You for pouring out Your Spirit so I can live holy unto You. Cleanse my heart by the blood of Jesus so I would desire You and Your ways above all things.

Sea Of Forgetfulness

The truth of God’s redemption through the sacrifice of Christ can be hard to grasp with our human minds. Our brains store memories of the good and bad events in life. We remember wrongs that have been done to us. We remember the sins that we have committed and the wrongs that we did to others. This is where the supernatural power of the blood of Christ comes into play. When we repent and receive cleansing by the blood of Jesus, God remembers our sin no more. Psalm 103:12-14 says, “As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, So the Lord pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.” We cannot just forget our sins. It is the supernatural work of God that causes us to have a new mind in Christ. 

Hebrews 10:17-18 says , “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” And Micah 7:19 says “He will again have compassion on us, And will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” When God says he is casting our sins and iniquities in the depth of the sea, it means it is out of sight, not to be remembered. Not only does He not remember our sins because of Christ, but He also erases them from the memory of the earth. There is a time to share our testimonies of where God has brought us from. But we have to be careful not to constantly bring up what God has cast away and forgotten. We are literally new creations in Christ. We will continue to be transformed into the image of Christ as we daily receive His cleansing flow of blood so our minds are renewed, casting all sin in the sea of forgetfulness. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for cleansing me by the blood of Christ and remembering my sins no more. Thank You for making me a new creature and restoring me to perfect fellowship with You.

The Blood Of The Lamb

I’m sure many of us have heard sermons with 5 or 10 points on how to be an overcomer in this world as a Christian. From Genesis to Revelation, God gives us the tools and strategies for overcoming. He does not make it complicated. In fact, God sums it up in Revelation so we have no confusion. Revelation 12:11 says, “And they overcame him (satan) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”

The blood of Jesus is the foundation of our faith. It is only through the sacrifice of Christ that we have salvation and eternal life. And salvation does not just mean going to heaven. It means salvation in every area of our lives here on earth. When we daily confess the saving power of Christ over lives, we are overcoming. The last part of that scripture refers to loving the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30). This is the first commandment. If we keep this commandment, we will most definitely be an overcomer. Death has no sting. Even if we die for the sake of the gospel of Christ, we win. We have heaven to gain. The blood of Christ has made a way to the Father.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Christ to be my salvation. I confess that I am an overcomer because Christ defeated death, hell and the grave through His blood and resurrection from the dead.  

Prayers Of The Righteous

The Lord has been really hitting the point that prayers have no boundaries. God’s power has no boundaries. When we pray God’s Word, the Holy Spirit carries the Word out into the world and it reaches to the ends of the earth. James 5:16-18 says, “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.”

To be clear, Elijah was led by God to pray for the rain to stop and start again. He was an ordinary man that was filled with God’s Holy Spirit and obeyed the Word of the Lord. When we pray according to God’s will, things will happen. It may not happen when, where and how we think it will happen. But we know that God’s Word does not return void and it will accomplish God’s will (Isaiah 55:11). God can do the impossible. He is the creator of the heavens and the earth. Our prayers are not too big for Him. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, help my unbelief. I want faith to believe in You for the impossible. I want salvation for those who appear to be too far gone. I want solutions for problems that seem unsolvable. Holy Spirit, fill me with boldness to pray for mountains to be moved.