Reading, “Meeting Jesus Face to Face”

Another video and another short story, my friends! I hope this short Easter story touches your heart as it did mine. May we all grow closer to God as we come to His Son, Jesus Christ.

Thanks for watching, and God bless you!

Lost?

Homing pigeons know how to find their way home, even if they are hundreds of miles away. They are born with this ability (one theory – the ability to hear ultra-low frequencies). They have this internal compass that helps them get back home.

Humans are born with their own type of internal compass, leading them to know where they’ve come from and how to get back.

“He [God] has planted eternity in the human heart…” (Ecclesiastes 3:11b NLT.)

We came from God. We were created by Him:

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27 NIV.)

The way back to God is through Jesus Christ:

“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” (John 14:6 NIV.)

When you feel lost, you can search and analyze and try to figure it out until you’ve exhausted yourself, giving in to discouragement or frustration.

Or you can find the answers in the Bible, God’s Word.

Your internal compass was designed to lead you to God and His Word. You know you were meant for more. You know you have a purpose. You know Someone bigger created you. Even if you don’t know who it is just yet. You want to know Him.

And just like the homing pigeons that can be thrown into confusion when planes interrupt the ultra-low frequency sounds, veering them off course, we get confused and can even veer off course when the enemy of our souls tries to interrupt or distract us from our internal compass with his deafening voice that sometimes slithers in like a whisper.

We may even head in the opposite direction, believing it’s the right way—confusion can do that.

So what can you do if you’re lost?

Call out to God. He does not cause confusion. He is the One you can count on for truth. He is, after all, your Creator. And He’s given you His Word, so you can know Him and His plans for your life. Read it.

God has given you a longing in your heart that will lead you to Him and to His Son, Jesus Christ. And it is Jesus Christ who will lead you home.

“[Jesus said,] In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:2-3 NIV.)

(Photo from pexels.com.)

Pulling Back the Curtain

I remember watching The Wizard of Oz when I was a little girl and loving the moment when Toto pulled back the curtain to reveal the so-called wizard was nothing more than a man hiding behind a bunch of special effects.

Ah. The truth. Don’t you just love it?

While I was praying about some of the devastating, heartbreaking things happening in the world and in my own life and in the lives of those I love, I thought about that curtain and the man hiding behind it.

Only I realized who’s hiding out and wreaking havoc in our lives today is not a man but our enemy. Satan.

The enemy is hiding, not behind some physical curtain, but behind his schemes, trying to make us turn on each other. He’s trying to discourage and distract us from following God’s calling.

Satan is trying to make such a loud racket in order to steal our focus away from Jesus Christ. The enemy is hoping we’ll get sucked into his “special effects” so we’ll cower in fear. Or lower our heads in discouragement.

We lose hope and that’s just what he wants. He’s trying to veer us off course and aim us straight for a cliff.

How?

Anger. The enemy loves to see us get angry and turn on each other. He tries to fill our minds with hateful thoughts, lies, and rumors, egging us on to spread them like some toxic seed. Actually, rumors are the fuses leading to Satan’s lies and when someone gets too close out of curiosity, it explodes and causes massive destruction to more than just that one person.

Don’t fall for it. Seek the truth in all things and hold onto it.

Satan is trying to take us down one by one, family by family, community by community as he hides in the shadows, laughing at how we’re falling for everything he throws our way – like a bunch of fish with our mouths gaping wide open as we clamp onto his wretched bait.

Satan is our enemy, not each other.

Now more than ever, we need to read God’s Word. Now more than ever, we need to pray and ask God for wisdom and discernment.

And now more than ever, we need to LOVE like never before by being the Christians we’re claiming to be and not giving into hate, anger, deceit, and wickedness.

It’s time we pull back the “curtain,” my friends, and see what’s going on. It’s time we stand strong, united, to shine God’s light into the dark crevices of Satan’s lies and watch as those lies shrink and lose their so-called power.

Please, I’m asking as your Sister in Christ, please read and study God’s Word with me and prepare for battle. The war has already begun. We need to be self-controlled and alert. We need to be watchful.

And we need to stand strong together as a united front on this battleground, dressed and ready as we slice through Satan’s lies with the sword God has given us:

The Word of God.

“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11 ESV.)

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” (Ephesians 6:12-13 NIV.)

“Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:17-18 NIV.)

“It [love] is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” (1 Corinthians 13:5-6 NIV.)

 “Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” (1 Corinthians 13:7 NLT.)

“Love never fails.” (1 Corinthians 13:8a NIV.)

“Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.” (Colossians 3:14 NLT.)

 

(Photo from pexels.com.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Be Ready

I’ve been getting ready for Christmas deliveries:  shoveling the sidewalk, pulling back the curtains so the UPS, FedEx, or USPS driver knows I’m home, getting dressed a little bit earlier so I can answer the door, checking email updates, tracking packages, etc. etc. etc.

And I’ve been watching for porch pirates. Those pesky thieves that want to steal what doesn’t belong to them.

But there is something else, something much more important you and I need to be ready for, watching and waiting with eager anticipation and really, a soul-stirring urgency:

Jesus Christ is coming soon. (Revelation 22:20.)

As we edge closer to the day we celebrate Jesus’ birth as that babe in a manger some two thousand years ago, we need to look forward to His return.

ANY. DAY. NOW.

It’s going to happen and no one can predict the day or the hour. (Matthew 24:36, Luke 12:40.)

If you haven’t accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, Satan would love to steal the gift of your salvation through Jesus Christ by lying to you, telling you it’s not for you or you’ve sinned too much or you’re not perfect enough.

Or maybe Satan is telling you there’s time to do that later, that you’ve got time to make things right with God.

But what if you don’t have more time?

Jesus came for you. He died for you. All you have to do is accept Him and believe.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” (John 3:16-18 NIV.)

Satan wants to destroy all hope. He wants to steal the knowledge that Jesus Christ is returning to take us home, that God has not forgotten or abandoned His children. Satan tries to take all of this from us by distracting us, especially during the Christmas season.

The enemy wants to dilute our faith and focus. He wants to keep us so busy buying and shopping and planning and running around to the point of exhaustion and depression and the sense that something is just “off.” Like the nostalgia of the “good old Christmas days” is gone or has grown stale.

Perhaps what has grown stale is the reality that there is only one God and we are either choosing Him or evil chooses us by default.

You and I…we can’t stand in the middle, trying to please people and hoping to please God somehow. When we do that, we’re putting people and their opinions above God. That, my friend, is idolatry.

We either stand with God or fall with the enemy.

Are you ready, my friends?

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” (Romans 10: 9-10 NIV.)

(Photo from Pexels.com.)

Witches and Mediums

We were recently watching TV and saw a woman who claimed to be a witch, praying to her “goddess.” Moments later there was an advertisement for a program where the central character is a medium. (If you look it up in the dictionary, you’ll find a medium is someone who claims to be able to communicate with the dead.)

My dear friends, if you’re into this sort of stuff, I’m about to step on your toes.

You see, I’d rather step on your toes here and bruise them a bit than ignore the truth and leave your toes and the rest of you to be in big trouble.

But wouldn’t you rather know the truth? I mean, if you have something stuck in your teeth, wouldn’t you want someone to tell you rather than going through your day with dark green spinach right there in the front of your smile?

So wouldn’t you rather know the truth about much more important things like what’s going to happen if you are involved with witchcraft and mediums?

In the Old Testament, God warns the Israelites not to imitate those around them (like us here today!), so we can see how He feels about this sort of stuff:

“When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord, and because of these detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you.” (Deuteronomy 18: 9-12 NIV, emphasis my own.)

Again in the New Testament, Paul warns the churches in Galatia:

“The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19-21 NIV, emphasis my own.)

And again, Jesus Christ revealed to John in the book of Revelation what is going to happen:

“He said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murders, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars – their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.’” (Revelation 21:6-8 NIV, emphasis my own.)

I know that’s a lot to read, but isn’t it good to know the truth? I know sometimes the truth can hurt. It reminds me of the time I spent hours crimping my hair when I was in high school only to have my grandma stare at me and shout, “You look horrible!”

Ouch. But it was the truth. What loving grandma wouldn’t feel obligated to let her grandchild know she was walking around with crazy scarecrow hair? And you know what? I never crimped my hair again.

As a Christian following Jesus Christ, I have an obligation to tell you the truth as painful as it may be.

As you read above, witchcraft and mediums are detestable to God, not something to enjoy or be involved with in anyway. And if you are claiming to be a witch or a medium, please stop immediately and ask God to forgive you.

Why? Because I’d like all of us, each and every one of us with bruised toes that someone had the courage to speak the truth to, to be together in the loving presence of our Heavenly Father when our time here on planet earth ends.

Oh, and another part of being a Christian following Jesus Christ: I also have the privilege of loving you by praying for you.

And that’s just what I’ll be doing.

 

 

 

The Night I Almost Died

I was lying on a gurney in the ER, listening to the doctor explain how bad I was hemorrhaging. I’d had a C-section just six days earlier and wanted to be at home with our baby girl, not back in the hospital.

But I was admitted, had needles poked in both arms and hands, and remember the strange weight, the bags of blood lying by my leg as the nurse began the transfusion.

I was so thankful. I stared at those bags and thought, “Where would I be if those people hadn’t donated their own blood?” I knew the answer. I thanked the nurse as I leaned my head back on the pillow.

I fell asleep under a pile of heated blankets and when I woke up, I was in a different room with only a small light shining from behind me. There was an IV in my arm, and I was still lying in a hospital bed. The TV on the wall was quiet and there were no sounds coming from beyond my closed door.

Everything was still except the excruciating pain in my body. I’d been given a medication to induce labor; these were the same labor pains I’d had hours leading up to the emergency C-section six days earlier. Only now, I was alone with no cheering section and there would be no child to come from these pains, dulling my memory of the intense cramping.

I sobbed alone in the dark. I called the nurse and begged her to help me, to please give me something for the pain. It seemed I would have to wait.

As I remember that dimly lit room, it was there I needed God the most. I have no doubt that He was there, sitting in the shadowed corner, just waiting for me to call on Him.

But I didn’t call on Him. Why? Well, I’d been to church as a little girl, but I thought God was just this bigger-than-big Person who wanted nothing to do with me. Unless I messed up. Then I knew He’d show up on the scene to punish me with some ginormous lightning bolt.

Besides, I didn’t really need God. I was a good person and that was enough. I’d never intentionally hurt anyone or done some catastrophic wrong. So I thought I was good. If someone had asked me about heaven, I just assumed I’d end up there because I was, well, a good person. Oh, I’d found out about Jesus when I was little, even spent time with God in the woods behind our house (for that story, click here). But somewhere in my grownup mind, I moved away from Him. Maybe I thought He was going to ask me to give up everything fun, and I’d have no life whatsoever. (That, my friend, is what Satan wants us to believe, and it’s a big fat lie.)

But I can tell you how deathly alone I felt in that hospital room that night. The heaviness, the pain, the loneliness – it was unbearable. If only I would have known the truth about God, I would have called out to Him.

Perhaps He would have stepped from the shadows, His eyes so powerful and radiant and yet gentle as He smiled at me, bringing me comfort. Or maybe He would have remained unseen as He rested His hand on my head, singing over me, and bringing me such a peace I would have fallen asleep as the sound of His voice washed over me.

But we all have to face that “dimly lit room” where death is as real as the skin on our hand. Maybe you’ll survive like I did.

But what if you don’t?

Are you ready for that moment? Will you call out to a nurse, a family member, or will you call out to Jesus Christ Who is waiting; the One who has always been waiting for you to call on Him?

There is no detour around the only way to heaven. You can’t take a back road marked “Good Person Way” or “Church Goer Alley” or “Volunteers Enter Here.”

The only way to heaven is through Jesus Christ.

Just like the night I nearly bled to death but received a blood transfusion that saved my life, Jesus Christ gave all of His blood on the cross to save you and me.

That night I had to sign a paper agreeing to the blood transfusion. That was my part. The nurse did the rest.

Today you can agree, you can accept and claim Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior out loud, right now. You can claim His blood over you. That’s your part. Jesus has already done the rest.

The night I almost died, the doctor told me if I had waited until morning to go to the ER, I would not have survived. I’m so thankful I didn’t wait. Not only do I know Jesus as my Lord and Savior now, but I’ve had fourteen amazing years with my husband and our “baby” girl.

Please don’t wait to call on Jesus Christ:

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” (Romans 10:9-10 NIV.)

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6 NIV.)

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:16-17 NIV.)