Tag Archives: The Church

Our God Reigns…no matter who wins!

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After months and months of rumors, speculations, name-calling, backstabbing, party-jumping, finger-pointing, and more opinions than a barbershop on a Saturday morning…it’s Election Day in the United States of America.

As a Christian, with grown children and now grandchildren, I grieve to think of what the future holds. I know they will never know America as I have known this country. And yet we realize that this undercurrent of evil that my sister-in-law wrote about so ably here on the blog four years ago, has been around since the beginning of time. There are some things that must come to pass. This world is not going to be around forever. If you know your Bible then you understand we are living in the last days. If we could roll back the curtain and see what our God sees we would comprehend much better the things that are happening so quickly around us. And they must happen to fulfill His Word and His will.

Is that depressing? No, not really. If you have hope. See, no matter who wins control of the presidency today, God is ultimately in charge. If your candidate loses, it doesn’t mean that God didn’t hear your prayer! If your candidate loses, it doesn’t mean that America won’t have revival. It doesn’t mean that we, as The Church, have to stop being The Church!

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!

For the Kingdom

Who will turn on the light?

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Who will turn on the light?

i have not written for Five Minute Friday in forever! As many of you know, I just had lumbar spinal fusion surgery of my L4, L5 and S1 two weeks ago. Somehow, I also picked up the shingles virus before I left the hospital (I am writing about that and hope to be done in a couple of days!) I am just now feeling like conversing, writing or just existing. So, my five minute post is a little long! I hope it is a blessing.

Twenty plus years ago, we had just returned from a trip, late at night, and I had put two of My Three Sons that I had at the time to bed. Kyle was just about seven and Kristopher was not quite two. Now, my neighbors knew we had been gone and that my husband was away for three months with his job and they were not expecting us for another day.

Enter Kristopher, The Mischievous One. I did not know he had taken the garage door opener to bed with him, sneaking it out of the diaper bag. I assumed he was asleep, you should never assume anything with Kristopher! He was not the least bit sleepy. He was busy standing in his baby bed, flipping the bedroom light on and off, on and off and pushing the button on the garage door, up and down, up and down until it stopped midway and just flashed its emergency button on and off.

Naturally, the neighbor called he police and you can imagine the rest or you can read it here. A pint-sized, blonde-haired and not quite two year old had created havoc with a turn of a light switch.

Had it been in the middle of the day, no one would have even noticed…except for the fact the garage door might have been stuck halfway. But at night?

That small TURN made way for light to pierce the darkness!

Light makes others stand up and take notice in the dark. People are drawn to the light, they respond to the light, even bugs flock to the light! (Except for cockroaches, who RUN from the light, but that could be an entirely different thought and post…)

Even Genesis tells us there was chaos until God spoke the light into darkness.

What is The Church if it is not Light in darkness?

What is the duty of The Church, at this dark point in history, if it’s not to turn on the Light?

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Let us not be surprised at the events that we see taking place around us. The Bible tells us that all of these things must come to pass before He returns! It would be easy, as Christians, to get so caught up in the chaos that is happening in our world that we forget that those who do not have Light, who do not know Jesus, are waiting on us to help them. They are looking for hope, for an answer and they won’t find it if we are just harping and jumping on every bandwagon that comes around on social media. Of course we can’t just sit back and pretend nothing is wrong but our enemy is not of this world!!

Our fight is for the souls of men and women that we come into contact every single day.

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“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Ephesians 6:12

These things will happen but the fight is with the rulers of the darkness of this world…against the enemy of our souls, Satan himself. He would do anything to cause confusion, even among the people of God, especially among the people of God! Because we are human, we all have differing opinions, and he will purposely divide The Church, in the time when the world needs us the most, and get our focus off of spreading the Light, keeping us consumed with who is right and who is wrong.

John 8:12 tells us, “…I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” If we have that Light of life, HIS Light, we should automatically shine it everywhere we go and those that are in darkness will be overcome by the Light, they will be drawn into it because the Light consumes the darkness!

Do you not think that your co-worker, neighbor, family member or friend, who doesn’t know Christ, is worried, possibly dreadful at the events that are unfolding in our country and our world? Hopelessness is everywhere!! Maybe they aren’t sleeping at night, maybe they are concerned for their soul but don’t know where to turn. Maybe there is true conviction in their heart and they are just waiting for someone to turn on the light for them, to point them in The Way.

Who will turn on the light?

Can we bring hope into hopelessness? Yes, I believe we can and I believe we should in these last days. We are The Church, it is our one mission to share the Gospel, the Good News that Jesus died for everyone and that they can have eternal life, eternal HOPE, through His name.

Take in these scriptures about being Light in darkness today and then let’s just do it. Before we go about our day, let us ask the Lord to help our Light to shine, to not get distracted and lose our focus, what Jesus has commissioned us to do, to turn on the Light!

“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

“Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” Romans 13:11, 12 NASB.

“…for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light.” Ephesians 5:8 NASB.

“For so the Lord has commanded us, ‘I HAVE PLACED YOU AS A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES, THAT YOU MAY BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH.'” Acts

When babies don’t feel welcome in The Church

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When babies don’t feel welcome in The Church

If you are acquainted with me or Hope in the Healing even just the least little bit, you are aware that we have been blessed with a miracle grandbaby, Norah Jayne. With us now just 4 1/2 months, she already trumps every plan and every move we make; our lives are centered around this little bundle of joy.

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Our family took a vacation together to the mountains to celebrate my DIL’s birthday and to just be together this past weekend. We also dedicated our precious miracle and gave her back to the Lord in a beautiful, intimate ceremony in the Smoky Mountains. Norah had her Mommy and Daddy of course, norah1her cousin Liam who read a beautiful tribute he had written,norah5

her Nanny on Mommy’s side,IMG_3246

her Uncle Krisnorah0

and Uncle Koreynorah4

plus The Sweetheart and Yours Truly, a.k.a., Nana and Poppy.norah3

It was beautiful!norah

Norah’s pediatrician had given the go-ahead for baby cereal to be introduced and Mommy decided that when we were all together would be the perfect time to let Norah be fed with a spoon for the first time.norah8

I truly wish someone had been there to take pictures of all of US taking pictures of Norah. Eight people hovering around cheering her on as if she were the only person on the planet to ever eat cereal. (She wasn’t overly thrilled at first but caught on pretty fast!)

Then, Sunday night, we were privileged to be in service in Knoxville where I heard a pastor compare the attention we give to new babies, and rightly so, to the attention, or lack of, that we give to newcomers and visitors to our churches.

when babies dont feel welcome in the church

Ouch.

When you welcome a new baby into the family (btw, that term has always intrigued me…are there any OLD babies?) they don’t have to beg for your attention, do they? They don’t have to ask to be loved, held, hugged and snuggled or to be included in family functions! In fact, it is quite the opposite, they are the center of all the attention. The baby is usually the reason we gather together. There isn’t anything they do that we aren’t overjoyed with and more cell phones are pointed at that newborn than Jennifer Lopez on the red carpet.

Do we make over them as we do a newborn that has just entered our family? The Bible says the angels rejoice when ONE sinner repents!

What about when they walk in the door? Is it only the ushers that greet them? Are they then left to feel awkward as they make their way to a seat and hope it doesn’t belong to someone else? After they are seated, what about those in front and behind them? If that is you, do you turn around and speak?

“Well, I am shy. I wait until they speak to me.” Seriously? Is that what we do with a baby? Wait until they notice us, or speak to us? No, because they are a baby! They are the newcomer in the room and need someone to care for them, to love them, to help them find their way.

Anyone can say, “Hello! So glad you are here!” Especially if they are new converts or visitors that do not know the Lord, they need to feel as if they belong so that they will return. We want them to feel the presence of God and His love and it begins with us because He is IN us!

I have been a newcomer, more than once. I have also been the pastor’s wife so I have seen all sides. Recently we made a major move to another city, another state, to be near Norah Jayne. Our new church family has been amazing in making us feel at home. Some of them we have known a while, some only from a distance, and most we are just learning their names. But every time I walk in those doors, not just one person speaks and welcomes me but several. Others have given up their seats so we could have a place to sit! I have never felt as if I was taking someone’s seat and that is a testimony to great leadership, teaching and examples of servanthood.

A baby that is ignored, not fed, not loved and not made to feel welcome will do one thing.

It will die.

And a new baby in Christ will do the same thing if they are not made to feel as if they are the most important person in the room…because they are.

Love on them, welcome them, invite them out for Sunday dinner or over to your home for conversation. Go shopping with them, to a ballgame, INCLUDE them in church activities or group events. Have a Bible study going in your home? Let them hear about it! If announcements are made about something going on at the church, a dinner, fundraiser, etc., make sure and tell that newcomer that you will be looking for them there and then follow through. Invite them to sit with you so they don’t feel uncomfortable. It makes all the difference in the world.

Yes, babies are a lot of work. It takes time to care for them, nurture them and give them the tools they need to grow. But they will grow and they will become workers in the Kingdom who will then reach out to other babies and so on and so on. Remember, they are not ready for steak and eggs. It takes time for them to learn so don’t expect them to get everything right. In fact, we can learn from them! Babies are filled with wonder with everything they come into contact with. Everything. Their eyes light up with every bit of knowledge they take in.

Babies, kind of like puppies, also think YOU are wonderful and new converts are no different. Just as a baby and toddler will copy their parents or siblings, so will a newcomer to the Lord. They will imitate you and watch your every move. Make sure you practice what you preach so as not to be a stumbling block to them. Remember what it felt like to be the new kid on the block whether it was at school, a job or your church. You don’t want them to get six weeks or six months down the road and say they just couldn’t fit in or feel as if they didn’t belong.

You do not get to pick and choose who enters God’s family. He does the calling, you just love.

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This is the Gospel in action. This is what Jesus came to do and this is the commission He gave us as well. Preach the Gospel, walk in love so that we can point others to Him. It’s not about us when the baby enters the room, it’s all about them.

Love those babies, He has entrusted them in your care!

For the Kingdom

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