HEAVEN HELP US

https://www.amazon.com/Dream-Heaven-Nineteenth-Spiritual-Originally/dp/1577944704/ref=as_sl_pc_as_ss_li_til?tag=jmbcsds-20&linkCode=w00&linkId=0afcc902ac26d3583cc008d473b4cd2e&creativeASIN=1577944704 

HEAVEN HELP US

“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints” (Ps. 116:15). One of the definitions for “precious” is “costly.” It cost God something when one of his children dies, not only when someone dies too early, but also because God sees the pain and sorrow of those who have lost a loved one. God knows how sorrow feels. Most Christians believe in heaven, but how many of us are totally convinced we’re going, and have confidence in how wonderful it will be? My Dream of Heaven, written by Rebecca Springer is the most beautiful, heart-warming testimony to what is on the other side of death. Even the first few pages will bring tears of joy and hope from deep within you, and it will change you forever.

Reading this small and humble book, written so many years ago, is an experience no serious Christian should miss. I can’t tell you how many times the images I recall from this book have helped me in times of grief. Here’s just a little bit from the first few pages:

Note: This was written in 1898, so you need to get used to the old English, but I think you’ll see that the meaning is clear. 

“Let me in the beginning reassert what I have heretofore stated: that I have never claimed that this strange experience is either a revelation or an inspiration. It came to me during a period of great physical suffering and prostration, and I have always considered it as sent in compensation for that suffering. Be this as it may, it has been a great comfort and help . . . .  Thus I can but think, if any meaning can be attached to this strange vision, that it is simply a lesson in a general way of what we may expect and hope for when we reach the thither shore.”

                                                                                                       --- Rebecca Ruter Springer

And another passage from the author’s preface:

“The pages of this little volume contain no fancy sketch, written to while away an idle hour; but are the true, though greatly condensed, record of an experience during days when life hung in the balance between Time and Eternity, with the scales dipping decidedly toward the Eternity side.

I am painfully aware of the fact that I can never paint for others the scenes as they appeared to me during those wonderful days. If I can only dimly show the close linking of the two lives—the mortal with the divine—as they then appeared to me, I may be able to partly tear the veil from the death we so dread and show it to be only an open door into a new and beautiful phase of the life we now live.”

The Bible tells us that when we believe God raised Jesus from the dead and we accept Him as Lord, we get born again of spiritual seed, and it is incorruptible. “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever” (1 Peter 1:23).

And 1 Peter 1:3-4 tells us: God has “begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you.”

I urge you to please read My Dream of Heaven. I feel strongly about this because I don’t want anyone to ever worry about dying.

Love, Carolyn

THINGS WE DON'T UNDERSTAND

THINGS WE DON’T UNDERSTAND

Janice was the perfect candidate for leadership. She met the basic requirements, participated in all the meetings and added real insight and help to the other members. Several of the leaders recommended her, and it looked like a lock. But when the final job interview came, she was denied. Why God? Why? There are just some things we’re not going to be able to figure out or understand. God is all-knowing. But we are not, and we can’t figure it out with reasoning or logic. We’ve heard the phrase, “There’s a reason for everything.” But the second half of that should be, “But we don’t get to know all the reasons.” The Lord is always going to know more than we do. He sees the bigger picture beyond what we can see.

Job 9:10 says He “doeth great things past finding out.”

That’s where trust comes in. With trust and obedience, there’s always going to be some unanswered questions: “Why, God?” “How?” “When?” We trust and obey from our hearts, not our minds. Our minds are too small to handle all the data it takes to answer every question all at once.

We have problems at times waiting on God and trusting Him. But we’re not the only ones. Take a look at Gideon.

The Midianites were destroying the land. The Israelites were hiding in caves, and they were in poverty. Gideon was threshing some wheat to hide it from the Midianites when an angel came to him and said: “The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour” (Judges 6:12).

Then Gideon questioned: “But if the Lord is helping us, then why have all of these awful things happened? And where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of?” (v. 13). But the angel didn’t bother to explain why it was happening. He just told Gideon what to do next, and said: “Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites” (v. 14).

One vitally important thing we need to tell ourselves over and over is that we are important to the Lord. He doesn’t want to lose us. Just because the Lord doesn’t explain things to us all the time, doesn’t mean we’ve done something wrong, or that we are not worthy. Most Christians are way too quick to feel guilty for something and get fearful. But we are the Lord’s mighty ones, wherever we go, whatever we do. It took an angel to come to Gideon and set him straight, reminding him of who he was in God’s eyes. But we can also do this for ourselves, and we probably need to do it more often.

Daniel 4:35 says: “He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’” We need to let God be God. He doesn’t have to tell us everything. He tells us He has a good plan for us and sometimes that’s all we need to know and then just keep trusting and doing the next thing.

Janice did the next thing God opened for her. She later found out that the company she had applied for was corrupt. Because of her integrity, she wouldn’t have lasted there even if she’d gotten the job.

So many things are like that; we don’t find out until later why our prayers weren’t answered in the way we had expected or in the time frame we were wanting. However, we see in the instruction book (the Bible) that everyone who trusted God and just obeyed, got great results, whether or not they understood the why and wherefore.

A word of caution: Many have listened to and obeyed their preachers and pastors without really verifying their actions or beliefs with the Word of God. We want to make sure we are trusting God, not just what some TV evangelist says. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). You don’t need a pastor to tell you what to do. Those of us who minister in the capacity of gift ministries are there to help, but God says: “The Spirit himself speaks to our spirits and makes us sure” (Rom. 8:16). We’ve sometimes trusted more in our teachers than in God and His Word.

Even though we may not know why things happen sometimes, the good thing is we have eternity to catch up on everything we couldn’t figure out. Meanwhile, we trust the Lord; and we bravely confess that we are His mighty ones; and we obey what we believe He is telling us is the next step. We let God be God and then we see the greatness of what He wants to do in our lives.

Love, Carolyn

FREE THRU TUESDAY

SAMPLE BOOK : COMMITMENT

http://www.amazon.com/WINGS-Journey-Faith-Sample-Commitment-ebook/dp/B00KBAKRZ2/ref=as_sl_pc_as_ss_li_til?tag=jmbcsds-20&linkCode=w01&linkId=4d043017c1421df8db964fa151b20470&creativeASIN=B00KBAKRZ2

NOTE: This SAMPLE book contains 6 of the 61 chapters taken from the complete book.

CHAPTERS

1.  GOING THROUGH THE EYE OF THE NEEDLE

2.  COULDN’T STOMACH IT? LET IT GO

3.  PREACH YOURSELF HAPPY

4.  BEING LIKE BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN

5.  SEEING IN NEW WAYS

HOLIDAY CHAPTER

THANKSGIVING – RECEIVING YOUR HARVEST

THE LIGHT COMES ON

THE LIGHT COMES ON

I climbed up the 12-foot ladder with my camera in my hands, ready to photograph the rocks I painted; I heard a big crack of thunder and the lights went out. The warehouse had enough natural light for me to see to get off the ladder and go over to check the breakers, but not enough light to get an accurate picture of the rocks to send my boss.

It reminded me of how Jesus is the light of the world. Without Him we’ll never get an accurate picture of anything that’s going on—just smoke and mirrors, what we make up ourselves, or what other people want us to think, but not necessarily the truth. The source of all truth is God, the creator of truth in the first place. His son Jesus Christ shines a light on the truth so that we can see and understand.

“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth [is following] me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). Light dispels darkness, “For thou art my lamp, O Lord: and the Lord will lighten my darkness” (2 Sam. 22:29). What a great promise. We can repeat this scripture to ourselves until we believe it and expect the Lord to shed light on any dark areas in our lives.

We all have aspects of our life experiences that we don’t quite understand. I was a born-again Christian for many years, without feeling like I had an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. I desired it with all my heart. I prayed about it, and I faithfully read my Bible, but somehow I still didn’t get it. After a while, I forgot about it and just kept reading the Bible and praying about other things. Then one day He just came to visit. It wasn’t a special day, and He didn’t come for any particular reason, except to just visit and watch TV with us. And He’s come many times since, just to hang out. I know what His presence feels like now.

The lights in the warehouse came back on slowly. Sometimes it’s that way with things for us too—we want to understand; we need more light from Jesus on the subject; we pray about it, and the truth comes to us slowly, a little at a time. Sometimes we get clues dropped into our paths from all different people, media, experiences, and then suddenly, bam! They all fit together, and we know those clues were all from the Lord.

At other times Jesus illuminates our circumstances like a floodlight and everything becomes crystal clear instantly.

I’ve learned to trust the Lord on how He wants to deliver the message. I figure it’s always going to be in a way I’ll understand and be able to assimilate the truth it into my life so that I won’t forget.

So today I pray, “Lord turn on the light in our relationships, our finances, our Christian walk, our understanding of current events, and our community. And shine your light on the critical choices we make every day.”

Love, Carolyn

MORE INSPIRING STORIES FOR ADVANCEMENT IN YOUR CHRISTIAN WALK

WINGS: A JOURNEY IN FAITH FROM THE EARTHLY TO THE HEAVENLY

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=as_li_ss_tl?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=wings+carolyn+molica&sprefix=wings+carolyn+molica,aps,353&crid=EZNJZZUP3KHG&rh=i:aps,k:wings+carolyn+molica&linkCode=ll2&tag=jmbcsds-20&linkId=db88efb13727dcb484eb29f5b1683284

JESUS VISITS THE CRITIC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEsCs97-hOQ

JESUS VISITS THE CRITIC

This morning Jane and I watched a YouTube video of an atheist doctor who decided to prove that his Christian neighbors were wrong. It blessed me so much to see how the Lord got to this man and changed his life around miraculously. Living in Las Vegas, I look around and see lots of people with great potential; but they put a stop to their dreams by indulging in their addictions, specifically to alcohol, drugs, sex, and gambling. I’ve lived here long enough to see the circle of addiction pull the net of bondage tighter and tighter until it seems they just can’t escape, no matter what they do.  And yet, I know from the Word of God, that there is always a rescuing available, a miracle just around the corner. There is no such thing as a hopeless case.

I was looking for the verses in Psalms that talk about God being everywhere and there being no place a person can hide from God. As I was doing this, the Lord told me to tell you to start reading the Psalms. And He was telling me to do it too, starting at Psalm 89. As I was speeding through Psalm 89 to Psalm 139, this is what happened: My heart became newly refreshed, encouraged, assured, rescued and delivered to a higher level of believing. It will happen for you too.

Watch this short video of the doctor and begin to read these Psalms as soon as you can. God promises in Jeremiah 29:11, a great future. And it begins NOW.

Love, Carolyn

FREE THRU TUES: 

WINGS SAMPLE BOOK C with 6 of the 61 chapters from the complete book. The chapters I chose for this sample book are true life stories about actions that proceed from faith: 
THANKS IN RELATIONSHIPS
THE ADVENTURE OF PLANTING SEEDS
NIT-PICKING
NO GLASS CEILINGS
MAGNIFICENT MONEY MANEUVERS
APRIL FOOLS DAY -- BEING AN APRIL FOOL

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DFPWNZM?creativeASIN=B00DFPWNZM&linkCode=w01&linkId=5NKRC25YSDUAWK37&ref_=as_sl_pc_ss_til&tag=jmbcsds-20

If you can’t get it on Amazon, let me know, and I’ll send a pdf or word doc to your email. cjmolica@hotmail.com

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

REMEMBER, GOD LOVES YOU, THE LORD JESUS LOVES YOU AND I LOVE YOU TOO - - -

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

UNDER HIS WINGS

UNDER HIS WINGS

Sometimes I just want to breathe a sigh of relief and be comforted. And that’s when I like to picture myself snuggled under God’s wing.

Psalm 91:4 says, “He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust.” I love to revel in that image. It brings peace to my mind and heart.

David said, “How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wing” (Ps. 36:7). Almighty God is willing to put His powerful and protective wings over us because He loves us so much.

In another Psalm David prayed, “Hide me under the shadow of thy wings” (Ps. 17:8). Under God’s wing nothing can hurt or harm us.

Ruth was a Moabite. When she lost her husband, her mother-in-law told her she should go back to her people. But Ruth wanted to stay and take care of her widowed mother-in-law. She decided, “Thy people shall be my people and thy God my God” (Ruth 1:16). Boaz saw Ruth’s meekness and said, “The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust” (Ruth 2:12).

I imagine Ruth was in some ways very alone in this new place and with new people, so it must have been a wonderful feeling that she could rely on and really feel comfort from God.

So, if you’re like me or Ruth and sometimes feel like you need a break or some extra comfort, or you feel like David and just need to hide, you can picture yourself cozy under the wing of God.

Love, Carolyn

Some great true stories on miracles:   FREE Friday thru Tues.  

MIRACLES  https://www.amazon.com/WINGS-Journey-Faith-Sample-Miracles-ebook/dp/B00BMW8Y7Q/ref=as_sl_pc_as_ss_li_til?tag=jmbcsds-20&linkCode=w00&linkId=4b0d4566122782f9fa78824a995ed8ff&creativeASIN=B00BMW8Y7Q

If you can’t get it on Amazon, let me know, and I’ll send a pdf or word doc to your email. cjmolica@hotmail.com

IF WE SHOW UP, HE SHOWS UP

IF WE SHOW UP, HE SHOWS UP

I was telling Wendy that I get a little nervous every time I go to write one of these preach letters, and sometimes have no idea what’s going to come out. I told her, “I do know this much: If I just show up, He shows up.” Later, I got to thinking about that statement. We all have certain places we can go where the Lord meets us, a certain chair we like, a bench out in the yard, a path in the woods, or behind the wheel of the car on a favorite roadway. For me, it’s in my chair at my desk where my laptop lives. If we show up, He will be there every time.

Our Lord Jesus had His favorite places to go, where He could talk to God alone. One of those places was a mountain. “And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone” (Matt. 14:23). And John 6:14: “When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.”

John 7:53 to John 8:1 tells us that after a long day of preaching and ministering to the people, “every man went unto his own house. Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.”

Just think about it a few minutes. When you have a really tough situation you’re facing, where do you go to get calm, or clear your head? Jesus had his favorite locations. You do too. You may not have recognized it as such, but let’s start paying attention to what touches our souls. Intimacy with the Lord has to look like something in our natural realm.

Jesus went to a mountain, and sometimes He went to a garden. “When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a garden, into the which he entered, and his disciples” (John 18:1). “Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, ‘Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder’” (Matt. 26:36).

Where is it that you feel the closest to God? Sitting in your bed in the middle of the afternoon, when there’s no one else around? Or is it on a brisk walk around the block in your neighborhood? Or is it sitting quietly in your church on a day and time when hardly any people are around?

Inside of you, you already know where one of your special places is, a physical place where the Lord has met you before. If you are really trying to think of where it is, and you don’t really think you have one, that’s okay; this will be a new adventure for you to find it.

Prayerfully ask the Lord to show you and then do the first thing that comes to mind. Often when we’re learning to hear the voice of the Lord, we practice by asking a simple question and then just doing the first thing that comes to mind. 99% of the time, it will be the Lord. He wants you to hear His voice even more than you do! Don’t second-guess yourself. Take the first thought and go for it. Don’t be afraid. If you just show up, He’ll be there the first time and every time after.

Our real-life intimate locations already exist. We don’t have to go overseas to find them. They are within easy reach of where we live. Recognize and report for duty. The Lord is waiting for you.

Love, Carolyn

God is everywhere, but intimacy with Him needs to look like something. The relationship needs to be real to us.  

FREE – SAMPLE BOOK ON MIRACLES

 https://www.amazon.com/WINGS-Journey-Faith-Sample-Miracles-ebook/dp/B00BMW8Y7Q/ref=as_sl_pc_as_ss_li_til?tag=jmbcsds-20&linkCode=w00&linkId=4b0d4566122782f9fa78824a995ed8ff&creativeASIN=B00BMW8Y7Q

If you can’t get it on Amazon, let me know, and I’ll send a pdf or word doc to your email. cjmolica@hotmail.com

COMFORT FROM OUR GOD

COMFORT FROM OUR GOD

My last name is Molica. It’s Italian, and it means the inside of Italian bread. That’s me, hard and crusty on the outside and soft on the inside. Most of the time I pay more attention to my hard, crusty, fighter nature. But God knows me well. He told me today is not the day for fighting, and He showed me some of His softer nature. God says: “I, even I, am he that comforteth you” (Is. 51:12). God wants to take good care of us if we let Him!

John 16:32 tells us we are never alone: “I am not alone, because the Father is with me.” Psalm 23:1 tells us: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want [lack].”

David knew that God could be very tender: “Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O Lord: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me” (Ps. 40:11). Jacob had to leave his country for a season. But God told him: “Behold, I am with you and will keep [careful watch over you and guard] you wherever you may go, and I will bring you back to this [promised] land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you” (Gen. 28:15).

God is kind. “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart” (Ps. 34:18). “He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds” (Ps 147:3). He is “a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress: a refuge from the whirlwind, a shadow from the heat” (Is. 25:4).

Jesus tells us that God is “my Father, and your Father” (John 20:17).

And Isaiah 25:8 tells us: “He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.”

It’s not healthy to be in constant fight mode. Let the Lord, your best friend ever, give you a little bit of His soft side today.

Love, Carolyn

THIS WEEKEND THRU TUES:     I’M OFFERING MY SAMPLE BOOK:    COMFORT 

True life stories about the various ways God provides comfort for His people in the midst of chaos. Chapters include 1. RISE LIKE THE EAGLE
2. DO WE HAVE TO WAIT TIL WE DIE TO GET SOME HEAVEN?
3. HOLDING YOUR GROUND
4. LEARN FROM THE CICADA
5. WHEN EVERYTHING GOES WRONG
6. NO NAGGING NECESSARY

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EBG117U?creativeASIN=B00EBG117U&linkCode=w01&linkId=7ERGELRBMCR2EPLZ&ref_=as_sl_pc_ss_til&tag=jmbcsds-20

If you cant get it on Amazon, let me know, and I’ll send a pdf or word doc to your email. cjmolica@hotmail.com