Category Archives: Persecution

Light a lamp for me!

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I’m not crazy about the dark.

I struggle driving at night anymore. 

I have always feared going blind! 

I would claw your eyes out if you put me in a room with no windows and no lights.

Seriously.

Now you know a little more about me. Let’s look at someone else who didn’t like the darkness.

The Apostle Paul is standing before King Agrippa (the same one who says, “Almost, you have persuaded me to become a Christian.”) and explaining to him how he went from persecuting Christians to preaching the Gospel. He relates how he was on the road to Damascus to gather up more Christians and “put them in chains” but then a light came down from heaven, blinding Paul, and he head a voice say, “ ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’…” (emphasis mine)

Paul was blind for three days until Ananias arrived and told him that he was to be a messenger for the Lord.

You light a lamp for me

In Paul’s darkness, God lit a lamp for him! 

This “chief of sinners” was raised at the feet of one of the greatest scholars of that time, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today.” Acts 22:3 NIV

He was zealous for God but did not know Him! He had been in darkness all of his life and was still blind to the Truth, he did not know Jesus until the Lord came and turned on the light!

“In darkness God’s truth shines most clear.”
― Corrie ten Boom, The Hiding Place

In that darkness, God’s light shined through and reached down to the most dangerous man of that time. God transformed the Apostle Paul into the most influential and powerful preacher who ever lived. Something miraculous happened on that road to Damascus and Paul was never the same.

Will we be like Paul, allowing the Light to come in and push away the darkness? Or will we be like those Timothy speaks of in the last days? “…having a form of godliness but denying its power….always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.” 2 Timothy 3 NIV.

Lord Jesus, help us to allow the Light of Your Truth to shine in our lives! Push back the darkness and fill us with Your love, making us more like You so others can see Your glory!

It is crucial in this dark hour that we, The Church of the Living God, allow the Light of the Holy Spirit to shine through us. We must share this Gospel and not be laden down with the cares of this world. Our most important job that He has given us is to reach the lost. When we are filled with His spirit, others will see that Light and be drawn out of darkness to the One true God, Jesus Christ.

He will light a lamp for you! He will light up your darkness…if you allow Him to.

Light a lamp for me!

 

 

Comfortable with the evil around us

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Comfortable with the evil around us. Guest Writer today! So thankful God speaks to others to bless us here at Hope in the Healing. I am praying 2017 is a better year for me in this role but I decided a long time ago that I would only share it if I felt God had given it. It doesn’t matter if three read it or 1,000, He knows who it is for and I am so content with that. You will be blessed today by my friend and SIL, Sue Elkins. She writes from the heart!

Having trouble fighting evil thoughts? Is evil abounding everywhere? Has the evilness of people become worse?

In prayer, I was talking to the Lord about the evil that seems to be everywhere today. Two scriptures came to mind:

“Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse…” 2 Timothy 3:13.

“Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” Romans 5:20.

I don’t know if evil is worse or if the number of people committing those evils has become worse. Of course, the speed at which we can now know about those evils is much quicker! The age of technology is good and bad. It has made our lives easier but the bad news gets to us much faster. And it seems that bad news is all there is these days. We seem to be loaded daily with evil, so much so that I fear our minds have become used to evil.

It is all around us!

  • Another police office killed in the line of duty
  • Another school shooting
  • Another terrorist attack

These are all things that just 20 years ago were not common, every day occurrences. Has evil become common? Have we accepted evil as just another news event? And if so, perhaps this everyday bombardment of bad has made us lax in concern for the world around us.

corrie-ten-boom

Whoa!

In a world where Christians are trying to decide which evil will be worse in the White House, have we become accustomed to evil as a normal way of life? Everyone does it, so it’s not a big deal.

I am reminded of the water dripping on the rock…if it drips long enough it will make a crevice and change the rock! Seems unbelievable but it is true.

We have been pounded so long with evil that we need to be careful that we don’t accept it as just the norm. We need to check our thinking patterns and see if we view some evils differently than we did years ago. If so, why?

Have we been forced by the pounding of outside influences to decide that some evil is just normal or acceptable?

Wouldn’t the adversary be happy with that….God forbid!

I know one Rock that will not change, no matter how much evil is pounded against it! Jesus Christ, thou art my Rock. He alone is my Rock, the Rock of my salvation, blessed be my Rock!

Yes, lead me to the Rock that is higher than I because I am changeable, but Lord, You are not. I must be established in You so that no matter what force of evil comes against me I do not change in my determination to stand for You!

In Paul’s letter to Timothy, he was warning of things to come and yet I don’t want to leave my opening scripture at verse 13 of 2 Timothy 3. That could seem like a defeated, depressing place to be left, so let’s read on…

“Continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Timothy 3:14-17.

Thank you, Paul! You gave Timothy and all of us hope! If we continue in the faith which we know is TRUE, the faith that was taught to us by our spiritual leaders and elders; if we allow the scriptures to make us wise against the evil and bring us salvation; if we remember that GOD GAVE US the scriptures for our good, to guide us, correct us, bring us instruction…then we can be perfect in Christ Jesus. Not in ourselves, but in Him!

Oh Lord, let me read more of Your Word, let me study it and hide it in my heart, let me not take the evil of this world into my world, but fight harder to overcome it and therefore be able to help others to overcome it too.

Let me end with this thought and one of my favorite passages of scripture. NOTHING, NOTHING, NOTHING can separate us from God unless we allow it to.

“In all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:37-39.

sueSue is a mother of four, a grandmother of three, a long time Broker/Associate with Re/Max Realty Professionals, and was a pastor’s wife for many years. She and her husband, Dexter, are still very active in their church, aptly teaching, ministering and being helpers as the Bible calls us to be. She keeps the highways busy traveling to see her grandbabies as often as she can.

 

 

 

 

 

Sharing with Living Proverbs 31, Moments of Hope, Modest Mondays

When social issues keep us from being UNITED

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Friends, my blogging has been hit and miss at best. Please forgive me. I needed a break, needed to slow down after the Daniel Fast in January. Then I had the most horrific issues with my blog and host server. A two week nightmare. Then, along came Norah Jayne. She is a huge distraction but one that I will take any day. On top of that, we are preparing to move south to be near that little bundle of joy. So, I admit I am distracted, which is what our post is about. I am thrilled to be writing and sharing today for #FiveMinuteFriday and I pray it is a blessing to you. Thank you for your patience, I will be back on track soon!

When social issues keep us from being UNITED.

I can’t think of a time in my 54 years that I have longed for a reprieve from the constant barrage of disagreement over social issues. Obviously, the flood of technology has made it so convenient to air one’s opinion that everyone and their little brother can join the bandwagon.

To make matters even more overwhelming, we are in the middle of a presidential election, the most divided one I can remember. It keeps us stirred up all day long, every day, if we allow it to.

Friends, this is just what the enemy had envisioned, what he works for!

He is jumping for joy over our fascination with bathrooms right now. Of course I think it is an important issue and we shouldn’t just give in. Let your voices be heard but please remember Who we represent! Threatening to beat up someone who walks into the restroom isn’t the answer. (This is an easy fix as most businesses already have FAMILY restrooms; a single bathroom that anyone can use. Problem solved. #mytwocents)

But the world isn’t looking for a solution…they are looking for division.

And dividing Christians among themselves, keeping us stirred up on social issues and distracting us from our real purpose is all in the plans of the enemy.

When things like this, agreeably important, sidetrack us from our actual mission, the reason we were put here on this earth, we are no longer united for the sake of the Gospel. Because of all of the social media tools and television, radio, etc., we are bombarded all day long with negativity and division, all the while forgetting we are living in the Last Days and the Lord will surely come soon.

when social issues keep us from being united

So, what should we do to UNITE? 

Pray! Okay, so that sounds too simple and maybe to some too hard but it is our first weapon of choice! The Bible says to,  “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” Ephesians 6:10-11 ESV.

How can we be strong? Only by putting on the armor of God, which the chapter in Ephesians tells us is applying His Word to our hearts and minds. Read it!

Focus. The Lord told us in His Word that these things would come upon us before His return. Why are we surprised?! It’s going to happen and it’s going to get worse but we weren’t put here to walk the streets for social change. We’ve read the back of the Book, it’s not going to happen! Don’t get me wrong, as I said, we need to stand up for our rights especially to protect our children. But the bottom line is most of these things will continue and get worse as the persecution of Christians becomes more blatant and obvious.

Let us set our minds and efforts on telling others about the good things of God! Share your testimony of what He has done for you. Let them know about the wonderful services your church is having and how others are coming to Christ. Invite them to a home group Bible Study or to a church service…they just might come! Offer to pray for a specific need they might have and then actually take time to pray for them.

The millions of hungry souls out there do not really care what we think about separated bathrooms.

They want to know if there is any hope left in the world. YES! There is! Tell them Jesus died for them. Give them HOPE in a world full of hopelessness! 

They are watching you. The world is watching us. Many want to see The Church divided but that’s not what we were made to do.

Show the love of Christ, not the division of the Body.

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We are UNITED.

“One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” Ephesians 4:5, 6. ESV.

For the kingdom