Tag Archives: Body of Christ

Our God Reigns…no matter who wins!

If America doesn’t turn around, if things begin to get worse, dark or even dangerous, The Church must step up and fulfill its role as a light in the darkness.

It’s what The Church, the Body of Christ has always done and will continue to do.

I believe it is the enemy’s greatest victory when he sees us distracted, wringing our hands and seemingly out of control of our situation. He wins then, not us. But if we recognize what we have WITHIN US, the gift of the Holy Spirit (You realize that GOD IS IN YOU, right?) then we are unstoppable no matter our circumstance. We have God on our side and if He is for us then who can be against us?

Does that mean everything will go our way? No. And it didn’t for the early church either. They faced persecution and even death but they didn’t stop spreading the Good News of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. They preached the Gospel everywhere they went and made disciples of their new converts so those new converts would go and reach more new converts and…well, you get the picture. They fulfilled Jesus’ commandment when He said, “Go!”

The world will watch the Christian today for their reaction to the election. Even if your candidate wins it most certainly doesn’t mean happy days are here again. These are difficult times around the globe and unfortunately they are dangerous times. We have to be a light. We have to bring hope to a hopeless world. We have to pray together, come together and BE THE CHURCH together so that no matter what comes our way we have the strength to stand and the wisdom to know that it isn’t all about us. It’s about Him and He is all about reaching others.

He wants us to do the same.

November 3, 2020 will definitely be a day we will never forget. And whether we go to bed tonight happy or disappointed, Jesus Christ will still be God. My pastor said last night at prayer meeting that regardless, OUR GOD REIGNS!

He will still be with us and He will still be FOR us. He has already given us the power to reach this world and He will still be rooting us on to go out and make a difference. Tell them that He still saves, He still delivers, He still heals and He still LOVES unconditionally.

I care about who will be the next president of this great country but this is just my temporary home. My hope is in Jesus Christ and my desire is to share that with as many as I can before He returns. Maybe now we can put some of our voices together on social media and share the Good News. Let’s use this technology that we have to reach as many with the love of God as we can! Let’s make a difference in our world by reflecting HIM and sharing our own stories of what He has done for us, our own UNMISTAKABLE Christianity. We might not turn an entire nation back to God but we can certainly make an impact on our own families, friends and co-workers.

Go on, put a smile on your face and be glad that you live in a country where you can vote. Be even more glad you live in a country where you can worship.

Share your testimony.

Share hope.

Share Jesus.

OUR GOD REIGNS!

Because sometimes God has skin

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Today we begin a short series on The Body, The Church. We will learn what it means to be a part of the Body of Christ, its benefits and responsibilities. Join us!

Most have probably heard the story of the little girl who was afraid to sleep in her own room and kept running to Mom and Dad, begging to sleep with them. They would assure her all was well and back to her bed she would go only to return in a few minutes. Finally, her parents tried to comfort her by saying that God was with her and watching over her. That wasn’t quite what the child wanted to hear for, as she put it, “Sometimes I need God with skin on!”

Sometimes God sends someone with skin on. The Body of Christ wasn’t meant to sit on a church pew and soak up endless teaching and blessings, hoarding them to ourselves.

Never.

The Body of Christ, The Church, that’s you and me, were meant to BE the hands and feet of Jesus.

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We are to GO and DO and BE Jesus in this world. We are His skin, so to speak.

I saw a video clip this week of a young man who was having what he thought was a bad day. So much to do, so little time to do it and he admitted he was simply in a bad mood. He walks out of a store to see a lady in her car, maybe early 60’s, bald and obviously waiting on someone. To pass the time she was reading a book.

The young man gets in his car and is immediately struck with the impression to go back in the store and get the woman a bouquet of flowers. What?! “I’m busy, I’m aggravated and I just don’t want to, Lord.” But, being obedient, he goes back in and brings the flowers to her car window where he stumbles over his words and says something like, “I know we don’t know each other but I felt impressed to give you these flowers and hopefully encourage you to smile.”

Naturally, the lady burst into tears…the man quietly walks back to his car, broken, humbled and all of his troubles put into perspective in an instant. He will never know what she was going through or what the flowers represented to her but, rest assured, she needed to hear from the Lord that day.

God comes to us in so many different ways; His Word, a thought, prayer, worship and music, creation and nature and other believers. He even spoke through a donkey in the Old Testament to make a point!

Jesus, God manifested in the flesh, came with skin and walked among His own. He loved, He shared, He pointed the way. He WAS the WAY.

HE IS THE WAY!

Even though we may not see the physical Jesus in the flesh, sitting on a throne here on Earth, we see The scripture says, “For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in…” Matthew 5:25. He expects us to treat those around us as we would treat Him. So how do we do that? How do we become Jesus with skin?

Be sensitive. That comes through prayer and the Word.
Be engaging. When you are sensitive and the Lord leads you to someone, don’t just stand around wondering if He means YOU. He does! So step in and go in faith.
Be real. Don’t hide your testimony and don’t pretend like you have it all together. Let others know you NEED Jesus every. single. day. You aren’t above mistakes and you still mess up but you serve a God that not only forgives but supplies you with what you need for each new day.
Be faithful. If you say you are going to do something, do it. If something needs to be done, don’t ask if you can help, just help! Be a friend, be a mentor, be a confidante and do them all well. Don’t gossip about your friend or their problem, pray to the One who can actually do something about it.

Jesus with skin? That’s you, me, the Body. We were put here for a purpose and that is to share the love of God in order to help others come to know Him. And when they do? They will then do the same!

Sharing with Living Proverbs 31, Modest Mondays, Making your home sing, Good morning Mondays, Mommy Moments

A plea to the desperate

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“I used to think the worst thing in life was to end up all alone. It’s not. The worst thing in life is to end up with people who make you feel all alone.” ~ Robin Williams

Sometimes the impact of LIFE hits hard. I spent the last two days in Catania, Sicily with The Sweetheart. The sweet missionaries we are staying with encouraged us to take a short trip to Sicily, it is so close to Malta, flights are cheap and it only takes 40 minutes to get there. We had hoped to meet up with some national pastors but their schedule didn’t work out this time. But we prayed we would be able to do more than just sight-see and God made a way for us to witness for His name (I’ll share that story soon!) and intercede in a desperate situation. This is a plea to the desperate.

Catania sits at the bottom of Mt. Etna and right on the Iconian Sea. The beauty is unsurpassed friends, it is breathtaking.

We made a trek up to Mt. Etna, the largest active volcano in Europe. In the late 1600’s, the city of Catania was nearly wiped out by a volcanic eruption that took 16,000 of the 20,000 living in the city! We took a tour bus to the top, about 1 ½ hours straight up. I will write about that in a day or two…pictures are AH-MAZ-ING!

Back on the ground the next morning we witnessed something entirely opposite.

Heading down Via Etnea, the main thoroughfare through Catania, we came upon a large gathering of people all looking upward and we were trying hard to focus on what had grabbed their attention.

Then we saw him.

Dangling on a pedestal on top of a roof, four stories high, was a young, teenage boy about to take his own life. (You can see him at the very top, on the middle limestone pedestal with his leg hanging over the side.)

We could see he was desperate, he kept motioning for those that were trying to talk him down to get back or he would jump.

I have never witnessed anything of this nature and The Sweetheart kept saying, “Let’s go, let’s just go, you don’t want this scene in your mind the rest of your life.” He was a nervous wreck but yet we knew we had to pray. Someone had to pray!!

We began to intercede for this young man, praying in the Holy Ghost and asking God to intervene on His behalf. There was no net, no fire department to help as of yet. Friends, it was intense.

What makes a soul so desperate to leave this earthly life?

This is the way of the lost soul. The soul without Jesus Christ. There is desperation, there is extreme anxiety and frustration. To them, there is nothing that will make it better; nothing you can do or say that will ease their hurt and anger. You can make no promise that they will believe.

The world is in turmoil. There is fear on every hand; threats of war, famine, unemployment, hunger, drought, and of course ISIS. It is real around the world, not just in places like Italy, Malta, South African and Libya. This danger is global and getting worse.

No wonder people who have no hope are intimidated by the enemy into thinking that suicide is their only recourse! The devil wants to put desperation and fear into every heart that will listen and then he stands there, ready to push them over the edge where we know, and he knows, is everlasting darkness.

We must rescue, we must intercede!

Watching this scene unfold before us, and praying as hard as we have ever prayed in our lives, a policeman and another unidentified man had crept up to the floor just below the young man. He could not see them since he was perched on this pedestal on his stomach with his legs dangling.

The man you see in the blue t-shirt then jumped up to the ledge, risking his life for sure, and with all of his strength shoved the young man as hard as he could to the safety of the balcony.

And the crowd roars.

Are you feeling that desperation in your life at this moment? Have pressures from just trying to get by weighed you down so much that you see no way out? Friend, there is HOPE.

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. “ 1 Peter 5:7.

Jesus Christ gave HIS LIFE so you wouldn’t ever have to take your own. When He died on Calvary’s cross, He did away with the need for sacrifice, He paid the price, the ultimate price for YOUR salvation and mine. Look at this promise He left with us:

“Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.” Isaiah 65:24.

There is nothing in this life worth taking matters into your own hands in desperation. Jesus truly offers a way out; He is the way! He promises to never leave or forsake us even though times are difficult; they may prove discouraging, frustrating and just plain hard at times. Yet He promises to walk with us through EVERYTHING, bringing Hope, Peace and Comfort in our most challenging circumstances.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11.

Not only is there hope in this life but He offers eternal salvation and hope for eternity! Yes, things will get better even if it is not in this life. There is no peace that compares with the peace of God. It can carry you through ANYTHING!

“The LORD your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17.

He will quiet you with His love; bringing the security that you are desperately seeking. And then…Hope for today and the promise of living with our Savior in perfect peace for all eternity.

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” Revelation 21:4. NLT

If you are desperate today, please feel welcome to email me if you need guidance to a Bible-believing church or need prayer. Reach out to family, friends or a pastor; someone who will help you find Hope in Jesus Christ. He loves you more than you can imagine and desires to set you free and give joy unspeakable in the midst of your trouble.

If you are struggling with believing you are forgiven, or feel as if you cannot come back to God, please read my post If God has Forgiven me, why can’t I Forgive Myself here.

Tag Archives: Body of Christ

Our God Reigns…no matter who wins!

If America doesn’t turn around, if things begin to get worse, dark or even dangerous, The Church must step up and fulfill its role as a light in the darkness.

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