GUNPOINT

GUNPOINT

It was summer at the Bible college, and we were paired up for an outreach challenge. We had two days to get from our campus in Kansas down to an onion farm in Texas. We were sent out in teams of two. My partner was blind, so I took the lead in our venture. Neither of us had cars, so we had to hitchhike. An 18-wheeler stopped, and up we innocently climbed.

 

My partner folded his white cane and felt his way up into the back seat. I got in on the passenger side of the front seat.

 

The driver was a burly, unshaven man, around fifty-something, I guessed. He seemed okay at first. In a low, gravelly voice, he barked, “Where you kids goin’?”

 

“Down to harvest onions on a farm in Texas,” I answered.

 

“Uh huh, Uh huh.” He wasn’t much of a talker, so we drove on in uncomfortable silence. The A/C was on, but his forehead was red and sweaty and his brown hair was all greasy looking and sweaty too. He was getting fidgety, and I could hear him breathing louder and louder. His hand snaked down under the seat between us, and I saw the gun come up in slow motion. He pointed right at my face.

 

He drawled, “You’re gunna do whatever I want.”

 

I stiffened and gasped, holding my breath as my body froze for what seemed like forever. At that point I had no cognizance of my blind partner in the back seat. I was all alone, physically frozen in time, but my mind was racing frantically, “Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Help me!”

 

My body seemed to melt, but then I felt instantly strengthened from the inside as a palpable and powerful peace poured down over me and through my soul. I drew in a deep breath and slowly made myself as tall as I could in the seat, as I slowly turned sideways in the seat to face my aggressor.

 

My action obviously confused him, and he turned a little frantic himself, trying to hold the gun in my face and watch me and the road at the same time.

 

I spoke with loud and clear authority, “You put that down right now in the name of Jesus Christ!” He did it, obeying my words like a robot. “Now pull over.” He did. I knew he didn’t want to let us go, but under the authority of the Lord, it was like he was a prisoner to my words, and he couldn’t do anything but obey. “Now we’re getting out!” And we did.

 

Even as I write this, I’m a little amazed that it was real, but I shouldn’t be surprised. Jesus was in the midst of a group of Pharisees who wanted to kill him, and He walked right through. “They up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by” (John 8:59).

 

In another life-threatening situation, Jesus stopped a raging storm. “And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.  And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, ‘Peace, be still.’ And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm” (Mark 4:37,39).

 

When Paul and Silas went to Philippi to preach the gospel, the magistrates “thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks” (Acts 16: 24). But after Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises, a miracle happened. They were immediately able to walk right out of that prison. (Acts 16:24-34).

 

In John 14:27, Jesus said: “My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

 

We can’t always avoid trouble, but we CAN walk through it with Jesus Christ as our Lord. When that man pointed a gun at my face, I cried out to Jesus, and instantly, he gave me his peace, strength, confidence, and the exact words to speak to attain my and my partner’s freedom.

 

Jesus lived on earth as a man. He knows how to do it right. As our Lord and leader, he often guides us away from trouble. But if we get into trouble, he will do amazing things to get us out. He loves us, and we can trust him.

 

Reading about his life in the gospels, we learn that he could get around and through every kind of situation, and we can, too, with his help.

 

Let’s pray to get to know him better, trust him, and love him even more.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

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PSALM 51:6 - WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

PSALM 51:6: “WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?”

The other night, I asked the Lord what I should read before bed. “Psalm 51.” I love that Psalm, but there are verses that I don’t fully understand. I know that happens to you, too. But there are easy resources online for doing a quick study or even an extended one. So, I decided to take a closer look and do a word study on verse six:

 

“Behold, you [God] desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part, you [God] will make me know wisdom.”

 

When we look up the words in their original language, we can better understand what the verse really means. It’s a way to meditate on a scripture and let it make a more profound impact, sinking into our hearts, because we take the time to focus on it longer than the time it takes just to read it and move on.

 

David says: “You, God, desire truth in the innermost part of me.” The first word I want to look at is “desire.” The Hebrew word “chaphets” means “delight in, take pleasure in, like.” But there’s more I wouldn’t have known about unless I looked it up: In the definition of “desire” is the idea of bending down toward someone, inclining yourself toward them. So this tells me God actually takes so much pleasure in us having truth that He bends down toward us, delighting in when He sees truth in us.

 

So, what is this “truth” God likes bending down to see in us? The word “truth” is the Hebrew word “emeth,” meaning all kinds of amazing things. Among them are: “faithfulness, reliability, trustworthiness, peace and stability.” But again, there is more to it. This is “truth that is spoken,” “truth as it pertains to divine instruction,” “truth in ethical knowledge,” and “truth in judgment.” So, God delights in leaning down toward us to smile at our faithfulness, our trustworthiness, His truth that we are speaking, our receiving the truth of His divine revelations to us, doing the right thing when we have ethical decisions to make, and truth in good judgment.

 

Where does God see these wonderful truths in us? The verse says He sees them in our “inward parts.” The Hebrew word for “inward parts” is “tuwchah,” and it means “the seat of the mind and thoughts.” In other words, these truths are not just flighty thoughts off the top of our heads but come from a deeper place in our minds. If someone took the time to seriously ask you: “What do you really believe?” you would go to this part of your heart and mind and say with the most conviction: “This is what I believe.”

 

God bends down lovingly toward us to see if we have embraced His truths and if they live steadfast and unmovable in the depths of our hearts.

 

The rest of Psalm 51:6 tells us what God does when He sees His truth in our hearts:

 

“In the hidden part, you [God] will make me know wisdom.”

 

The “hidden part” is one Hebrew word, “satam,” which is the ”secret part, storehouse, treasury.” The word “know” is the Hebrew word “yada,” which means to “see and know, to be sure of, discover and know by experience, feel, understand, and be able to teach.”

 

Then, the final word, “wisdom,” is “hakma” in Hebrew. Wisdom is always about applying knowledge. However, the definition of wisdom here is specific to certain areas.

 

It is defined as ‘wisdom in administration, prudence in religious affairs, wisdom in ethical matters, shrewdness or cleverness, and skill in war (both spiritual and physical).’ One example is Matthew 10:16: “Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves (AMP).”

 

In studying the words used in Psalm 51:6, we find that our loving God is inclining Himself down toward us. He delights in seeing what He’s taught us, dwelling in the deepest parts of our hearts. When He finds them there, He can attach the blessing of discovering, experiencing, understanding, feeling, and being able to teach, like David, excellent skill in war (physical and spiritual), administrative skills in all categories of life, cleverness, prudence in religious matters, and godly ways to handle ethical issues as well.

 

Studying the words God gave David to speak in Psalm 51:6 really helps us see the bigness of God’s heart of love toward us. He bends down to us, desiring to see His gift in the innermost part of our hearts and seeing us discovering and knowing by experience His wisdom in ethical matters, religious matters, and skills of spiritual warfare.  

 

Studying a verse is easy to do online. Just go to the link below, put a word or scripture reference in the search box, choose the Bible version, and click the arrow. Then click where it says “STRONGS.” That gives you the option of looking at the definitions of the original words. I found in this resource that I had to use the KJV or the NASB, but there may be other sources if you prefer reading a different version.

 https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/psa/51/6/ss1/t_conc_529006

 

Try this, even if you only look up a couple of words. I think you will really be blessed.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

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TALKING TO JESUS

TALKING TO JESUS

Several years ago, I realized I didn’t know Jesus as well as I wanted to. I’d been taught a lot about relating to and praying to God, but Jesus somehow got bypassed. I’d been taught that it was Christ in us but not how to connect with Him as a real person. I couldn’t help questioning, “If He is our brother, shouldn’t we be able to talk to Him? We don’t have to go through our parents to talk to our human brothers, so why should it be different with Jesus?”

 

In Acts 2:36, we’re told that God “made the same Jesus, both Lord, and Christ.” Hebrews 13:8 tells us it’s “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” We read in the Gospels that when people came to Jesus, they called Him “Lord.” When the disciples talked to Him both before and after the resurrection (John 20:26-21:25), they also called Him “Lord.” Should we do any less?

 

The Greek word for “Lord” here means “supreme in authority; by implication, Master (as a respectful title).”

 

According to Romans 10:9, “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

 

I was born again when I was about eight years old. But it wasn’t until I was a teenager that I consciously realized I wasn’t doing such a great job at being my own master. I went back to Jesus, confessed that I was a mess and needed Him to rescue me and be my Lord in guiding me in life. He was here on earth and experienced everything we’ll ever face, so He knows how to handle every situation, and he can guide us through. But sometimes, we slip up a little in that category. We direct all our prayers and communication to God Almighty and leave Jesus out.

 

I was reading Acts 7 about Stephen: “And they stoned Stephen calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (v. 59). In the King James Version of the Bible, whenever a word is in italics, like the word “God” in this verse, it means that the translators added it. Since the word “God” was added to the original text, we can take it out, and the verse reads: “Lord Jesus receive my spirit.” And guess who was standing right there? Saul of Tarsus!

 

“The witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul” (v. 58). Saul heard Stephen speak to Jesus.

 

Later, when Saul was on his way to Damascus, “breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord” (Acts 9:1), a light from heaven shone, and Saul fell to the earth, and everyone there heard a voice. When Saul asked, “‘Who art thou?’ The Lord said, “‘I am Jesus’” (v. 5). When Jesus Christ spoke to Saul, it didn’t surprise him at all because he had been there when Stephen talked with Jesus.

 

When Saul got to Damascus, the Lord Jesus told a regular disciple, Ananias, to talk to Saul.

 

“And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit’” (Acts 9:17).

 

Isn’t that awesome?! Many more verses in the Epistles document a real and personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Paul tells the Corinthians: “Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord?” (1 Cor. 9:1). Peter writes: “Even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me” (2 Pet. 1:4).

 

I’m not trying to direct anyone away from praying to God Almighty, our Father, and the kind of relationship we have with Him. I’m saying that our relationship with our Lord Jesus can also grow.

 

I learned a long time ago that my secular work is directed and orchestrated by Jesus Christ. That realization wasn’t an instantaneous revelation. It didn’t come in a dream or audible announcement or anything flashy. I prayed to God about it; then, one day, I just knew in my heart that Jesus was the one in charge of my work. He would supply the jobs and money I needed to live, pay the bills, and do what I needed to do.

 

Whenever I was out of work, I consciously went to Jesus, expecting direction as to what’s next, and I thanked Him for what He was arranging. In this category of my life, I know that God wants me to trust in the directions of His son Jesus Christ.

 

First Timothy 1:12: “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry.”

 

I believe there is a wonderful balance in our spiritual lives: things that God handles with us, things that our Lord Jesus handles, and things the holy spirit teaches too. We have all the help we need at our fingertips, closer even than breath itself.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

This preach letter is part of Volume 2 of my book series WINGS: A Journey in Faith. I write books that can be used as spiritual workbooks, with 52 anecdotal stories showing how to apply Biblical principles to daily life and grow into the spiritually sharp person we’ve always wanted to be. At the end of each story, there are questions to ponder or talk about, to personalize your experience with the message. The following are the ones for this story:

.

1. In addition to praying to God as your Father, do you talk to Jesus Christ as your Lord? How often would you say?

2. Name three or four Bible figures who spoke with Jesus after He was raised from the dead. Document this with scriptures relating to these encounters.

3. If you haven’t talked much with the Lord Jesus, name some possible ways you might begin to acknowledge Him more often in your daily life.

 

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THE PRESENT

THE PRESENT

“Blah blah blah blah blah.” My best friend Jane was talking, but my mind was racing ahead on something else, and I didn’t hear a word she said. Some of us have the habit of letting our minds go ahead of where our bodies are. We’re already thinking about the next thing, and our focus strays from the present moment. Sometimes, we get lazy and let our minds wander off. But this isn’t a good thing; it isn’t considerate of others. And if we want to get good at hearing from the Lord, we must practice listening better to people, especially those we care about.

First, John 4:20 says: “For he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” Listening does take some real effort, especially if you know you’re not that good at it. People want to be heard. They want to have people interested in their lives. Listening is an act of love.

 

There are more verses in the Bible about God listening to us than verses saying we need to listen to Him. That’s because God is love, and He’s an expert at listening. If we want to be more like Him, we have to want to be good listeners.

 

Here are a couple of ideas that can help:

1. As soon as you can, after a conversation, go over the conversation in your mind and try to write down what the other person said. If you know you’ve missed some things, apologize and try to remember to ask them again later. Most people will forgive you and be glad you made an effort to ask again.

2. If you ask a question and get a complicated answer, or you aren’t clear on the person’s answer, repeat it back to the person to see if you got it right.

These are two straightforward and practical ways to build listening skills with people. But we can also use these with the Lord. If you feel He’s telling you something, write it down. If you’re unclear on what He’s saying to you, repeat it back to Him. He’ll let you know if you got it. Remember, He loves you. He’s a great listener and wants us to be great at it too. “MY SHEEP HEAR MY VOICE” (John 10:27).

 

To live in the moment is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present!

“Who hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Matt. 13:9).

Love, Carolyn

 

Are you wanting to live a more spiritual life?  I have a variety of books and booklets on living a more spiritual Christian life. You’ll find the keys to receiving your heart’s deepest desires. 😊

 

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ANGELS, DREAMS, SIGNS, AND WONDERS

ANGELS, DREAMS, SIGNS, AND WONDERS

How do you “hear” from the Lord? Have you ever had an angel come to give you a message? Does the Lord sometimes give you a message through a dream or an open vision? How about a wonder? The Lord has many ways to get our attention, and it’s good to remind ourselves of the different ways He’s communicated with us in the past. But if you are wishing that He would talk to you more, I have a suggestion.

 

I’ve found it helpful to go to the Bible and check out the various ways He’s communicated to others. It gives us an idea of what we might pray for and believe to receive. Like it says in Matthew 7:8: “For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” And when I am claiming something from the scripture, I like to follow it with the words of Mary, the mother of Jesus: “Be it unto me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38).

 

Today, I want to take you to the story of Gideon. God used a combination of ways to communicate with Gideon, so if we pay attention, we’ll learn a lot about how our Lord is willing to communicating with us too.

 

The people of God had turned away from Him, leaving themselves open to oppression. When their way of living was demolished, they finally turned back to God and cried out for help. It’s recorded in Judges 6 - 9. For brevity’s sake, I won’t go over every verse, but I hope you’ll read it for yourself as soon as you can.

 

“And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them” (Judg. 6:3).

 

“They came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it. And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the Lord” (vv. 5-6)

 

Enter, an angel from God, to begin the deliverance of His people:

 

“And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak” (v. 11) “And said [to Gideon], ‘Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites” (v. 14). 

 

This next verse is important for us to remember for later when God gives Gideon a message from a dream.

 

“And he [Gideon] said unto him, ‘Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house’” (v. 15)

 

Then Gideon asks God to give him a sign that all of this about him being a hero is for real:

 

“And the Lord said unto him, ‘Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. And he said unto him, ‘If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me. (vv. 16-17).

 

Up to this point, Gideon thinks that this person who came to him is actually a flesh and blood man who is delivering a message from God. Gideon wants to know if the message is really from God, so he asks for some kind of a sign. He then tells the “man” to wait while he goes and prepares a meal for him. When he brings the meal back out to the person he thought was a man, a very interesting thing happens:

 

“The angel of God [who Gideon thought was a man], said unto him, ‘Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth.’ And he did so. Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes.

 

“Then the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight. And Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord” (vv. 20-22)

 

So, Gideon got his prayer answered and God gave him the first sign that he asked for. We need to realize that God is more than willing to give us whatever it is that we need, to carry out our missions for Him. We may be the ones who pray the perfect prayer for our neighborhood, or we may be the perfect person to speak to the parent/teacher group. Whatever it is that God is urging us to do, we can do it, but God never expects us to do it alone. He will give us an angel, a sign, a dream, a wonder, whatever it takes to help us to be the heroes He’s called us to be.

 

Then later in the story, it’s time to actually go into battle. All the Israelites are enthused and ready to go for it, but God tells Gideon no. God can’t let everyone do the fighting because He knows they are too egotistical.

 

“And the Lord said unto Gideon, ‘The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, ‘Mine own hand hath saved me’” (Judg. 7:2).

 

God showed Gideon how to minimize the number of soldiers from the 10,000 he had, down to only 300!

 

“And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude” (7:12).

 

Gideon must have been terrified at this point, or at least hesitant about taking only 300 soldiers against a huge multitude of enemies. And this is where God sends Gideon a message through another man’s dream.

 

“And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, ‘Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along. 

 

When Gideon heard this man recite his dream, Gideon knew instantly that it was another message from God for him. Remember how Gideon responded to when the angel first came to him? He said: “My family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house” (Judg. 6:15). Barley for the Israelites was considered poor men’s bread. So when Gideon heard this dream, he knew that the cake of barley bread that would take down the Midianites was none other than he himself and his mere troop of 300 men. Finally, Gideon was totally convinced.

 

“And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, ‘Arise; for the Lord hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian” (7: 13-15).

  

Gideon and his 300 men went on to defeat the enemy and there was peace in the land for the next forty years.

 

We see with Gideon that God was willing to communicate in many different supernatural ways. The Lord is no less compassionate toward us. We’re all heroes like Gideon in His eyes, and all worthy of angel visits, signs, miracles, wonders, dreams, and visions, all to the glory of our God and to bless us as individuals.

 

You’ll really enjoy reading Judges 6-9 for the whole story.

 

Love, Carolyn 

 

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COUNT TO TEN AND BE MORE CHRIST-LIKE

 

COUNT TO TEN AND BE MORE CHRIST-LIKE

I was sitting quietly in a coffee shop with my laptop, notebook, and Bible, totally engaged in a word study, when out of my peripheral vision, a nightmarish face invaded my space. It startled me, and I grabbed my purse from the empty chair next to me and slid it onto the floor by my feet. I had earplugs in so I couldn’t hear what the grizzly-looking man was mumbling. A few moments passed, and I heard Jane’s clear voice coming from the next table: “We’re working here. We don’t have time to talk.” The man angrily mumbled something about the Bible and got up and left in a matter of minutes.

 

Later on, Jane and I talked about it. She told me she was ready to fry the guy with her words the minute she saw him approach me, but she’s been practicing counting to ten before she speaks. It was amazing. Her quiet, honest words only got one low, grumbled complaint before the nightmare man left.

 

I thought about a lesson I’d heard as a child: “When you get angry, count to ten before you speak.” Jane counts “one one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand, etc.” I learned it as: “one dimension, two dimension, etc.” I think it works with any three-syllable word, but the point is, it does work.

 

My tendency is to sit there and boil on the inside until I can hardly stand it and can’t concentrate anymore. Either that, or I fire off some snide remark out loud or under my breath.

 

Not Jane. She counted to ten and calmly and clearly told the man we didn’t have time for conversation. And it was true. I was studying for an article, and she was working on promotions.

 

There are several verses in the Bible that say God is slow to anger. We are to “be imitators of God, as beloved children” (Eph. 5:1).

 

Nehemiah 9:17 says this: “Thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness.”

 

Counting to ten is one way to make sure we don’t fly off the handle in rage, but instead, be more like God, slow to anger. By calming ourselves, we give the Spirit a chance to work, instead of being led by emotion.

 

Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve had a hot temper (maybe partly my Sicilian background?), but the truth is that no matter where it came from, only God can really change those built-in character bents. Unlike one who “flies off the handle,” the Lord is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy” (Ps. 103:8).

 

Psalm 145:8 tells us: “The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.” Anyone who knows the old Jane, knows she can cut to the bone and turn a live person to sand (figuratively) with her words. But her answer to the scary man in the coffee shop was full of compassion. She spoke the words calmly and straightforward. After counting to ten, she had no anger, just truth.

 

Solomon's wisdom on slowing down our wrath is found in Proverbs 15:18: “A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife.”

 

And Solomon goes on to say, “Better to be slow to anger than to be a mighty warrior, and one who controls his temper is better than one who captures a city” (Prov. 16:32). These are some powerful words.

 

Is it worth it to count to ten to calm our anger? Definitely! It is God’s will that we do it, as we can see from these scriptures.

 

In the Amplified version of Colossians 3:1-3, the Apostle Paul admonishes us as Christians: “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting on the right hand of God. [We’ll be there soon.] Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For [in reality] ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” He goes on to say in verse 5: “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth.” Anger is among the things he lists.  

 

If you know any other way to be slow to anger, God bless you. For now, since I’ve seen the amazing true results in Jane, I’m going with “one dimension, two dimension, three dimension, four dimension, five dimension, six dimension . . . . With the Lord’s help, we can definitely change some of those bad habits from our past.

 

A few days after the first incident, the same man walked by Jane in the same coffee shop, and the demon in him audibly growled at her! But Jane had no fear, and the man left. I pray that one day, this man has the same experience as the man of the Gadarenes in Mark 5:15: “ And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind.” And though we were not led to minister to this man at the time, I totally believe it is possible for him to be delivered and made completely whole. All things are possible with God.

 

One dimension, two dimension . . .

 

Love, Carolyn

 

I have a variety of books and booklets on contemporary Christian living. I know you can find something that will resonate with your life and heart during these challenging times.

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HURRICANE AFTERMATH

The hurricane disaster is the uppermost thing in my mind today, so I'm sharing this video. And of course I encourage you to pray as you watch it.

Very real video of real people in the area of North Carolina Hurricane aftermath. Please watch. Here are a few of the places that seem to be helping, for real, in the area. Check them out and send some money if you can. United Cajun Navy, Grind Stone Ministries, Operation Eardrop, Mountain Mulepacker Ranch - P.O. Box 653, Mount Ulla NC 28125. (those of you who know me, know where I sent $$)

 https://beforeitsnews.com/prophecy/2024/10/what-is-actually-going-on-in-north-carolina-2024-2556494.html  

STAND TALL

            

STAND TALL

The Lord is involved in everything we do, including our choices politically, socially, and emotionally. When we voice our choices publicly, we better be ready to be criticized. Nobody craves criticism. It can be hurtful, but we need to learn to deal with it. It’s better to stand for something and be criticized than remain apathetic and fearful. Even in olden times, kings respected strong enemies brave enough to stand tall for what they believed. God’s Word has a strong Word for those who He deems lukewarm:

 

“I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth” (Rev. 3:15-16).

 

Wow, that’s powerful!  I used to fear offending friends and family more than offending God. I wanted people to like me, and I didn’t want to argue or get into any debates where I had to defend what I thought. But after a while, I learned that no matter what I did, I wasn’t going to please everyone. Many adults are still trying to get their parents’ approval like they did when they were children, but it doesn’t seem to work. I was one of them.

 

Finally, in my mid-forties, I realized I didn’t have to try to please my parents anymore. The very middle verse of the Bible says: “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man” (Ps. 118:8). When I changed my focus to pleasing God, it was shortly afterward that my parents began to totally respect me as an adult person and not as a needy child anymore.

 

I was taught to be polite (which I think is a good thing), but polite became timid, and timid became fearful. I’m not fearful now; you don’t have to be either. We can speak our minds openly and disagree. Paul and Peter disagreed about certain things but didn’t hate each other. They were loud and proud. I’d rather say what I think and be criticized than be lukewarm and have God’s opinion be that I’m too “milk toast” to even swallow!

 

Peter was a bold guy. He boldly told Jesus that He shouldn’t have to die. Well, Jesus rebuked him. But Jesus didn’t forsake Peter. He just corrected him, and they went on being friends. If we think that not voicing what we think is going to make us a better person, it’s not. We all have opinions, and God knows what they are. When we don’t speak them out, we might not be fully aware of what we think.

 

Putting a pen or a voice to our thoughts helps us articulate what we think. When we know what we think, we can either keep thinking it or we can change it. Changing what we think is part of growth. People change what they think all the time. There’s no fault in that.

 

But when our thoughts are fuzzy and unspoken, they aren’t clear, and they aren’t cold or hot. They become lukewarm like the Bible says.

 

Taking a stand, hot or cold, on what we think requires boldness. Boldness is a quality God admires. Look at your concordance to see how many times the word “bold” is used in the Bible!

 

Let’s be brave. Let’s step out without fear and voice our opinions, not just mimicking or agreeing with what others think, but what we truly think. Our true friends will remain friends, just like Peter and Jesus. Right or wrong, we’ll find out right or wrong later, which means that sometimes we will definitely be wrong. But so what? We’ll be right sometimes too. And don’t even think for one minute that you have to wait until you’re totally right before you speak up. The last totally right all the time person got up and out of here over 2000 years ago!

 

Stand and be grand!

 

Love, Carolyn

I have a variety of books and booklets on contemporary christian living. I know you can find something that will resonate with your life and heart during these challenging times.

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SIN, REPENTANCE, AND A CLEAN HEART

SIN, REPENTANCE, AND A CLEAN HEART

I let myself get emotionally distraught by the way someone was acting, and what did I do about it? The wrong thing! I started bad-mouthing the person in my mind, and then it came out of my mouth. By the end of the day, I realized I’d really messed up. But then the Lord reminded me of the times people had said about me that I had a pure heart. Being emotionally mean and having a pure heart just don’t go together. So I repented. I was totally carnal in how I reacted. You know how certain things people do really set you off, and sometimes you just don’t even know exactly why? Well, that was me. I was mad and didn’t even bother to ask myself why I was so riled up.

 

Maybe it was because I was reacting to something in myself I didn’t like? That’s often the case. We see something we dislike about ourselves in someone else, and we react to them because it’s easier than taking the time to examine the same thing in ourselves! But the Lord constantly gives us opportunities to change lingering sins from the past and become the new creation in Christ that He’s called us to be.  

 

And by the way, we have at least one angel or two, from the time of our birth, to help us to get to our final destinies. In Matthew 18:10, Jesus tells us: “Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.’” Angels minister to us as children, and the Bible never says they’re taken away. Think about that for a minute.

 

Back to my story. I felt bad about being so weak as to let my emotions get to me, and God urged me to go back in my mind to a time when I was around 15 years old, reading the Beatitudes in the Bible. I read Jesus teaching his disciples, saying:

 

“³Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ⁴Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. ⁵Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. ⁶Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. ⁷Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

 

⁸ “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Matt 5:3-8).

 

I remember thinking, “I want to be blessed,” and then asking, “Which of these do I want the most?” Verse 8 rushed into my heart. I wanted to see God more than anything, so I wanted to have a pure heart.

 

So, when I was awful last week, and God reminded me of my desire from so many years ago, I went to Psalm 51. Many of the times when I don’t act in a Godly way, the Lord has taken me to these passages that David wrote after his sin of coveting Bathsheba and purposely setting up her husband to be killed.

 

Psalm 51:

 

“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. ³ For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.

 

“Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

 

“Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities” (vv. 1-9).

 

The next verse is the one that, for me, speaks louder than all the rest: “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me” (v.10).

 ^“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise” (v.17).

  

The shepherd David, who became the King of Israel, had a heart of repentance. He trusted what he learned about God, which was that God would not only forgive him, but create a clean heart in him, renew a right spirit within him, and make him strong again. We have the same privilege from the same God who cares for us.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

I HAVE A VARIETY OF BOOKS AND BOOKLETS ON CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN LIVING. I KNOW YOU CAN FIND SOMETHING THAT WILL RESONATE WITH YOUR LIFE AND HEART DURING THESE CHALLENGING TIMES.

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EL SHHADDAI - ALMIGHTY AND ALL SUFFICIENCY

EL SHADDAI - ALMIGHTY AND ALL SUFFICIENCY

In the Bible, El Shaddai is one of the names used for God. It’s mostly translated “Almighty,” but that doesn’t give the full picture. Wilson’s Old Testament Word Studies tells us that many Hebrew scholars say El Shaddai is derived from two words, “sufficiency” and the prefix “who is,” showing God’s infinite sufficiency for all beings. Other scholars say El Shaddai is derived from a word meaning “breast,” indicating that God is All Bountiful. Think about it. When a baby breastfeeds, what does the little one get? Plenty of good nourishment, for one thing, until he or she is satisfied. The baby also gets antibodies that protect the baby from getting diseases and fight the disease if it attacks. The breast of the mother also gives great comfort to the little one and a connection with one who deeply loves them.

 

Whenever we are studying a word or phrase in the Bible, God set it up so that we learn a great deal about the meaning of the word by looking at the first place it’s used. The first usage of the Hebrew El Shaddai is found in Genesis 17:1:

 

“When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him. He said to Abram, ‘I am God Almighty. Live in my presence with integrity.’”

 

The word “Almighty” here is El Shaddai. The Almighty God told Abram to live in God’s presence with integrity. Like the phrase my grandparents often used, “Honest to God.” Other translations read: “Always do what’s right,” “Be blameless.”

 

God was telling Abram to be honest and do what’s right because He, El Shaddai, was going to take care of all the things Abram needed. It wasn’t worthwhile for Abram to have to live any other way. Nothing he could get by fraud, stealing, or lack of honesty would be better than what El Shaddai would give him.

 

El Shaddai was going to be his sufficiency in all things. El Shaddai would be more than bountiful to him; He would supply endless nourishment; He would give Abram every weapon he would need to triumph over any enemy. And El Shaddai was going to be Abram’s intimate companion forever. What in the world could be better than that?!

 

But like in any generation or nation, we are continually presented with opportunities to serve other gods: Indian, Buddhist, and, more recently, the sly insertion of self as a god.

 

Abram, too, was presented with many opportunities to choose another god. In fact, he came from a family that worshipped other gods: “Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, ‘Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods’” (Josh. 24:2).

 

But Abraham chose our God, El Shaddai, and our God promised to be his strength, protection, and endless sufficiency.

 

Choosing to serve our God is a free-will choice. In New Testament times, just like in any other time, people turned away from the one true God and began to mix their attention and loyalties to other activities and ties that were not connected to the will and ways of the true God.

 

We find in 2 Corinthians 6 that Paul is inspired by God to remind the followers of Christ to turn back to El Shaddai. In this passage, Paul speaks the words of our God. First, he gives them instructions on what to do and then the why. And the why includes the very same usage of the word used for God in the Old Testament with Abram: El Shaddai, translated Lord Almighty in the following passage. God wants His followers to come back to Him as their father, provider, protecter, and all sufficiency in all things.

 

So Paul prophesies: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, ‘I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty’” (2 Cor. 6:14-18).

 

Let’s heed the Apostle Paul's prophecy and get back to recognizing and knowing our wonderful father, El Shaddai, like Abraham did—All sufficiency, All Bountiful, Endless nourishment, Supplying every weapon we would ever need, and lntimate companion forever.

 

Love, Carolyn

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