Preparing for the Storm

Preparing for the Storm

There is a hurricane brewing in the tropics.

To those of us who live in Florida this should be an expected occurrence since we actually have a time designated as “hurricane season”.

I was filled with a bit of wonder when I heard several of my friends talk about preparing for the hurricane as if this was a surprise!

There are lists of things recommended for this time of the year; ways to secure our homes, recommended emergency supplies including water and non-perishables, etc. Agencies give free seminars and pass out free booklets. Homeowner associations list local shelters and encourage preparedness, and yet there are always those who will be unprepared.

Matthew 25:1-13 King James Version (KJV)

25 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.

² And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

³ They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:

⁴ But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

⁵ While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

⁶ And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

⁷ Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.

⁸ And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.

⁹ But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.

¹⁰ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.

¹¹ Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.

¹² But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

¹³ Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

Some of us will be as poorly prepared for the return of Our Lord and Savior as we are for the storms of the world despite the fact that the gospels give us all of the information, we need to be ready.

We have been told how to secure our hearts. We already have the Greatest Commandments and the Great Commission. You have given us parables and words of wisdom to light our paths through life.

We have been given the shelter and guidance of the Holy Spirit. We have been given the words of the Prophets. Yet we wait in a state of unpreparedness for the knock at the door of our lives when there will be no time to fill our lamps!

Father God, I pray that You open our eyes and our hearts to Your gift of salvation. Please give us listening ears to hear and obey Your Word. Thank You for all that You are in our lives.

My friends…

May God Forever Be a Blessing in Your Life!!!

“Stand Still and Trust the Lord!”

“Stand Still and Trust the Lord!”    

It takes effort to stand still when the pressures of the world are on us. It takes true faith to stand still when prayers, especially urgent prayers, are not answered in our time.

We must truly believe in the wisdom of God to enable us to “Stand Still and Trust the Lord!” when the answer to our prayer is “no”.

I read a wonderful poster which stated…

God is always faithful to answer

Sometimes His answer is a much desired “yes”.

Sometimes His answer is a merciful “no”.

Sometimes His answer is a faith-building “not yet”.

                                                          And                                                          sometimes...sometimes                                                                            When an answer cannot be  found                                                                 His answer is simply

Trust Me

This poster served as a gentle reminder that I must be faithful in my knowledge that it is always in my best interest to Stand Still and Trust in the Wisdom of God!

God has given us comforting messages in His Word which we can call upon when we need strength to face life’s trials. He has given us examples of His faithfulness to those who truly place their trust in Him.

I pray that these scriptures bring hope, strengthen your resolve in trying times and encourage you to truly “Stand Still and Trust the Lord!”

Exodus 14:13-31

Job 37:14

Psalm 4:4

Psalm 37:7

Psalm 107:28-29

Isaiah 40:31 

and many more….

Psalm 46:1-7 God is our refuge and strength, a great help in times of distress. Therefore we will not be frightened when the earth roars, when the mountains shake in the depths of the seas, when its waters roar and rage, when the mountains tremble despite their pride. Look! There is a river whose streams make the city of God rejoice, even the Holy Place of the Most High. Since God is in her midst, she will not be shaken. God will help her at the break of dawn. The nations roared; the kingdoms were shaken. His voice boomed; the earth melts. The Lord of the heavenly armies is with us; our refuge is the God of Jacob.

May God Forever Be a Blessing in Your Life!!!

A Call to Faith

Hebrews 11:1-3  (KJV)

11 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

² For by it the elders obtained a good report.

³ Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

Faith is often seen as just something to sustain you when you are waiting for something or in the midst of enduring something unpleasant; but glorious faith is so much more.

1 Peter 1:7-8  (KJV)

⁷ That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

⁸ Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:

….Rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory….

Can you imagine a joy so sweet it brings tears to your eyes? Can you contemplate joy that fills your whole being with a wonderful warmth of fulfillment?  Can you experience the joy of certainty of the Hebrew men, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego). Who said with confidence “¹⁷ If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.

¹⁸ But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Daniel 3: 18-19 (emphasis added)

This is the joy available through faith in God.

Depending on the Holy Spirit, leaning on the promises of God, staying in Fellowship with Our Savior are all aspects of true faith that take us way beyond just hoping.

We are protected by our faith. We are identified as Children of the One True God by our faith.

Zechariah 13:9 (KJV)

⁹ And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.

We utilize the Word to build and sustain our faith. We listen and hear the Word through our ministers and teachers. We study the Word to open our hearts to understanding.

Romans 10:17   (KJV)

¹⁷ So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Oh, how I pray that we all are touched by healing, comforting faith. Oh, how I pray that we will be prayerfully grateful for whatever measure of faith we now hold as we work diligently to increase our relationship with Our Savior in every way. I thank Our God who says “I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.

For: 

This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him. Psalm 18:30 ESV

May God Forever Be a Blessing in Your Life!!!

Prayers of thanksgiving

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ¹⁶Rejoice always, ¹⁷pray continually, ¹⁸give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

I have a friend who says she writes all her prayer requests down to make sure that, when they are fulfilled, she will remember them and be thankful. Sounded funny to me at first then I thought about the daily small blessings that were forgotten prayers.

I once traveled cross country to care for a sick friend. While there I was gifted with an opportunity to encourage a new minister as he began his new walk. When I returned home and shared this experience with my friend, she reminded me that I had prayed for an expansion in my work for the Lord.  She also reminded me that the other side of the country was quite an expansion.

More recently I prayed that the Lord bless my latter years with the gift of being an encouragement and help to others. Within a week a young woman whom I had known most of her life called and told me that she had been stuck in attempts to journal and perhaps start a blog and had received encouragement from my efforts.

I find the safest and most rewarding thing for me is a continuous state of gratitude for all of my blessings, great and small, seen and hidden.

I appreciate sunsets and rainbows. I am grateful for steadfast friends. I sing praises for the love and guidance of the Holy Spirit. I rejoice always!

I pray that your heart will be filled with the wonderous joy of a personal relationship with Our Father. I pray that you are able to ¹⁶Rejoice always, ¹⁷pray continually, ¹⁸give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

May God Forever Be a Blessing in Your Life!

Faith While Facing the Fire!

We admire the courage of martyrs in scripture and in history, men and women who stood up for their faith even in the face of death. If you are like me, you thank God that we don’t live in such times. I have heard several people say that we are blessed to live in a time and place where we are free to worship as we please; but I feel this is a time to remind ourselves of the need to be ever prayerfully thankful for current blessings and prayerfully petitioning for a continuation of these blessings in our lives.

On October 1, 2015, there was yet another tragic shooting in a school. What was different about this incident was a report that the shooter asked, ‘Are you a Christian?’, and if you’re a Christian, stand up. And they would stand up and he said, ‘Good, because you’re a Christian, you are going to see God in just about one second.’ And then he shot and killed them,”.

Reportedly, if they said “no” or didn’t answer, he shot them in the leg.

I remembered this incident when I was reading the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. These men stood up in the face of what should have been certain death.

Daniel 3:13-18 King James Version (KJV)

¹³ Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king.

¹⁴ Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?

¹⁵ Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.

¹⁷ If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.

¹⁸ But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.  (emphasis added)

Yahweh-Rohi, I prayerfully ask Your protection as we “walk through the valley of the shadow of death”. I also prayerfully ask Your strength as we face dangers seen and unseen.

I thank You for all that You do.

May God Forever Be a Blessing in Your Life!