I will Look in Triumph

 People loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. John 3:19-20 Holy Bible Amplified Version.

When I first became a Christian it confused me why certain folks hated me with a passion even though I did nothing to offend them.

After reading this first the Lord blessed me with understanding.

They hate all Christians because we who walk in the Light convict those that enjoy walking in the darkness. They know what they are doing is wrong ( the Holy Spirit convicts them ) yet steadfastly refuse to repent of their wicked ways. They laugh and say that either there is no God or He does not care.

When they encounter us true Christians their conscience is pricked and they do not like it.

Then in their evil perverted minds they conceive every torment they can upon us and laugh at our discomfort. They foolishly believe they are getting away with it.

Time and again it clearly states that Jehovah is a God of justice and He will deliver terrifying justice on His time and in His way.

From my experience those whom the wicked tormented will be witnesses to it. I certainly did not enjoy it, indeed , many times I wanted to cry watching them suffer, but accept that Jehovah cannot allow the wicked to go unpunished.

Those who walk in Christ will be avenged in Gods time in Gods way. Joseph- Anthony: Green

We do not gloat over it but allow it to digest into our heart and mind so that we can share this testimony with other tormentors in the hopes that they will repent.

As well, it is encouraging to those who are being wickedly persecuted. The Lord is on my side, He is among those who help me;

Therefore I will look [in triumph] on those who hate me. Psalm 118:6-7 Holy Bible Amplified Version.

Prayer: Thank You Jehovah-Hashopet (The Lord is the supreme Judge) for condemning the wicked ones and delivering true justice to the wicked ones that inflict pain and suffering upon the innocent ones. I praise You in the name of the Supreme Judge Jesus Christ . Amen

May the gentle assurance of Jesus’ sweet love encompass you today and every day.

Because of Them.

 I thank God, whom I worship and serve. 2 Timothy 1:3 Amplified Bible

We all know that Paul suffered a lot during his ministry and I believe all true ministers (we do not have to go through seminary school to be ministers) of Christ do as well. I believe this is done on purpose.

The purpose of it is when any accuser steps forward and asks us what do we know of suffering we can give life experiences.

As well, who better to reach the suffering than those who have walked the path before them.

Faith is realizing that I am useful to God not in spite of my scars but because of them. –Pamela Reeve

It is said that a drunk that desires to be free of alcoholism will listen to an ex alcoholic before he listens to someone with a degree on the wall.

So, even though we may not enjoy our trial and tribulations, sorrows and snares whilst enduring them, please look at the big picture: Chances are, Jehovah is using this experience now to prepare you to use it to help others some where, some time in the future and that through this you may be the catalyst that brings a lost soul to Christ.

There is nothing anybody else can do that can stop God from using us. We can turn everything into a testimony. Corrie ten Boom

Prayer: Thank you Jehovah-Tsori – Lord my Strength for blessing me with Your divine strength to endure the suffering and pain that is inflicted upon on Your faithful servants. I praise You in the name of He who endured six hours of agony on the cross for me Jesus Christ. Amen.

May the sunshine of Jesus’ sweet love bless you today and every day.

 

That is a Good Thing.

 And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose. ROMANS 8:28 Amplified Bible

This verse should be the greatest comforter, encourager and strengthener in every Christian life when going through trials and tribulations, sorrow and snare.

“How can you say that?” you may ask.

Think about it.

When we are going through a job loss and we do not know where the money is going to come in to pay the bills and it seems as if God is no where to be seen. That is a good thing. It may not seem like it at the time but through this process you will: A: learn to pray sincerely and deeply like you never have before. In this process you draw closer to Jehovah, which is His purpose. And that is a good thing.

B: it will teach you to depend upon Him instead of yourself or your company or anything else that will fail you. And that is a good thing.

C: this will teach you to love, respect and adore our heavenly Father. And that is a good thing.

The same thing will occur in every avenue of your life if you are a Christian.

Through your hard times you will learn to depend upon Jehovahs unending resources, appreciate Him more and draw every deeper into a Divine loving relationship with Him.

And that is a good thing.

Prayer: Thank you Jehovah-Jireh (God is our Provider) for providing me with Your divine wisdom, providence and assurance in every aspect of my life. The best part of this blessing is in developing an amazing loving relationship with you. I exalt You in the name of He whose sacrifice on the cross and resurrection made this all possible Jesus Christ. Amen.

May the sunshine of Jesus’ sweet love bless you today and every day.

The Furnace of Affliction.

 See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. Isaiah 48:10 Holy Bible, New International Version

We all have to go through it. We all have to go through the furnace of affliction in order to burn off the dross.

Burning off the dross refers to bad habits and dispositions in our lives that hamper our walk with Christ and growing into the children Jehovah desires us to be. It is not pleasant but on the other side of it we will thank Jehovah for it every day.

I know it was the most painful, difficult and horrible experience I have ever gone through. I also know I am so much better than I was before the time of my life I had to endure it. I thank Jehovah for it every day.

The Holy Spirit does not leave us alone but walks with us through our fiery trial and tribulations.

It is in the hard times that we grow the most. Joseph- Anthony: Green.

The only way we will survive it is through the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit. That is one problem with so much of todays society today. Parents, grandparents and teachers pound the false belief that we are special and life is easy. Then when the hard times come (and they will) today generation will be completely unprepared for it. Then their suffering will be exasperated all the more because of their unpreparedness.

Prayer: Thank you Jehovah-Chatsahi (The Lord is my Strength) for blessing me with the necessary burning off of the destructive dross in my attitudes and behaviors. Thank you for walking with me through them and blessing me with Your Divine strength and encouragement during this arduous time, I never would have made it without You. I exalt You in the name of He who You blessed with the strength to endure the cross for my filthy wicked sins so that I am blessed to be Your loving Child Jesus Christ. Amen.

May the sunshine of Jesus’ sweet love bless you today and every day.

You can Endure It.

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 Holy Bible, New King James Version

We all have addictions, that is why we need the power of Christ within us to be victorious over them. Joseph- Anthony: Green

We are all addicted to something and many have more that one so please do not behave as if you are the only one suffering from yours. The Bible confirms it with- No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. Those of us who are Christians have the greatest power to conquer them in the power of the Holy Spirit. Now He may heal you instantly like He did my alcoholism or He may guide you to resources to help you conquer it like He did my smoking addiction but He will always be faithful to guide you to the road to recovery.

Do you believe that God is near? He wants you to. He wants you to know that He is in the midst of your world. Wherever you are as you read these words, He is present.–Max Lucado

The temptation will never leave you for good. Sometimes it will be subtle and sometimes it will be strong to return to your addiction but the Holy Spirit will always bless you with knowledge and strength to defeat the devils snare.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 Holy Bible, New King James Version

Prayer: For the addicted:Oh please merciful Father in Heaven bless me with the Holy Spirits presence in my life to conquer this addiction. I know that it is too strong for me but that nothing is too strong for you. Please guide me to the resources needed to help me with this problem and the strength to be obedient unto your leading.

For the recovered addict: Thank you oh my amazing Father for smashing the chains of my addiction. Please help me to continue to walk in this freedom and bless me with Your powerful strength and wisdom to defeat the wicked one when he comes a knocking. I humbly request this and thank you in the name of He who has forever conquered all demons of addiction Jesus Christ. Amen.

May the sunshine of Jesus’ sweet love bless you today and every day.

How to Beat the Sneak.

Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. Luke 4:1 New King James Version

Satan is sneaky.

He does not charge into your mind, he is subtle and begins with just little thoughts. Then they become cemented into your mind and grow like cancer. Eventually they will consume you and you commit a sin.

To effectively defeat this creep use the best and only weapon available to you to soundly defeat him very time.

Carry a Bible verse with you constantly and when the scumbag comes just pull out that verse and with power and authority shove it tight down his throat. Then for the finale inform him that you belong to Jesus so just take a hike. Say it with conviction.

Thoughts become habits so surround yourself with Godly thoughts.

To accomplish this listen to sermons on sermonaudio.com (I like to listen to Allister Begg, A.W. Tozer and Spurgeon.) every day, read Christian devotionals like http://www.actsweb.org and Our Daily Bread listen to Christian radio like http://www.joyfmonline.org and http://www.praise1065.com.

Pray to Jesus to reveal to you your bad habits and the method of defeating them.

Sometimes they are too strong for you and can only be defeated by completely surrendering them to Jesus.

As well think of the things that are triggers and avoid them like the plague. So if you are an alcoholic you need to avoid your drinking buddies and do not even walk down the streets with the bars you used to hang out at.

That is what happened to me with my addiction to alcohol. It was too strong for me and the only way to defeat it was through completely surrendering it to Christ. It was defeated that instant.   That does not mean that satan does not still try his sneaky little tricks but I have the protection of the Holy Spirit to resist him.

Prayer: Thank you Jehovah Yeshua (God our protector) for the most powerful protection against the most devious liar and thief Lucifer. Your most awesome protection of this child that belongs to You has rescued me from the Highway to Hell and leads me on the difficult Pathway to Heaven. I in deep gratitude extol You in the name of my strong King who defeated our nemesis once and for all on the cross Jesus Christ . Amen.

May the sunshine of Jesus’ sweet love bless you today and every day.

He c=Can be a Twister.

What does Satan’s light look like?

Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. 2 Corinthians 11:14-15 New International Version

What does Satan’s light look like?

One way Satan deceives Christians is with the gospel of prosperity.

Oh yes, you become a Christian and God becomes your servant giving you everything you want like a spoiled brat.

Becoming a servant of Christ (where you serve Him, not He serves you) is hard and encompasses a lot of sacrifice.

From my own personal experience and that of others being a Christian means a lot of suffering.

How many so called Christians run away at the first experience of hafting to chose Christ and suffer for it?

Are you ready to lose your friends because you refuse to go out and get drunk on the weekend and have one night stands or to use vulgar language?

Are you ready to lose your job because you refuse to cheat a client?

Are you ready to walk away from your family because they give you the choice between being a Christian or of being a member of your biological family?

Are you willing to leave the comforts of your home country to serve Christ in very primitive settings (no internet, no mobile phones, no MacDonald’s)?

I can say yes I have to each and every one of them.

A non suffering Christian is an oxymoron of words. The two do not belong together. Joseph- Anthony: Green

He can give you all your hearts desire so that you become lazy in your devotion to Christ.

“Give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal and so dishonor the name of my God.” Proverbs 30:8-9 New International Version

There was a time when I lived a very comfortable life. In that time the Bible was never read and there was no communion between God and me (except when I wanted something from Him). Oh, I did plenty of volunteer work but there was no relationship between God and me. That is not a blessing but a curse. You are so content with your life you spend no time with Christ. He can pretend to be an angel of light by being judgmental. He will bring up filth in your past and or condemn you when you fall into temptation.

When I first became a Christian I bragged that I could defeat Satan. He tempted me to have a beer. Being an alcoholic of course one beer led to another and me getting blotto. When I woke up surrounded by empty beer bottle Satan was right there to accuse me. “Look at you, how can you claim to be a Christian when you are nothing but a good for nothing drunk?” I felt deep shame, but thankfully repented to Jesus and then opened the Bible to this verse.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free Romans. 8:1-2 New International Version

By the way, here is something for you self righteous to think about: When you are quick to point the finger accusingly at others, are you serving Christ, or are you serving Satan?

Do you drive people towards Christ or away from them?

He can pollute the law of grace. “Hey, Jesus died for your sins so it is okay to just go out and do what you want then say a few Hail Mary’s tomorrow.”

Do not ever abuse the precious painful sacrifice Christ made for you by believing you can willfully go out and commit any sin you want and Jesus will for give you.

Do you think you can go out and booze it up on Saturday night, them Go into Church, sing some songs, probably sleep last nights drunk off during the sermon and put the change from your pocket into the collection box and that is okay with Jesus? Do you think having an affair during the week, then pretending nothing happened on Sunday is okay with Jesus? Do you think Jesus understands of you cheated on that test last week is okay?

Unless you repent, you too will all perish. Luke 13:3 New International Version

Now repent not only means admitting what you did, admitting it was wrong and saying you are sorry, but also to STOP DOING IT!!!

He can be a twister.

He can twist Bible verses to say the exact opposite of what they mean. Just look at the above example.

Read about how he twisted the scripture to Jesus when he tempted Him in the desert.

That is why it is best to test what you believe is being said against other Christian teachers.

Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. Proverbs 15:22New International Version

Prayer: Holy Spirit Rabbi (Holy Spirit our Teacher) please open my eyes to Your truth and the wisdom to see through Satan’s destructive lies. I ask this in the name of He who saw through Satan’s wicked deception in the wilderness Jesus Christ. Amen.

May you be blessed with Gods divine love, peace and joy.

Do Not Give It Back.

To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. Luke 6:29 New King James Version                                                                                                                    

When Jesus commands us to turn the other cheek he is referring to an eastern custom.      

                                                                                                                                

In the east a slap on the face was considered an insult as it is today in that part of the world.         

                                                                                                                             

So what Jesus is referring to is that when someone insults you do not go into their level and insult them back.                                                                                                 

Never lower yourself to an idiots level. They are stupid and stubborn, no matter what you do or say, they always refuse to listen to you. It is like talking to a brick wall. They will beat you every time because of their mass experience and make you look like an idiot. Let it be like water off a ducks back.                                                                                                                                          

If you insult them back, from my experience it only leads to a yelling match and harsh words are said that you will regret later.                                                                              

As well there are the wolves that delight in using insults to bait you into a useless stupid argument to get under your skin and then stand there and laugh at you when you get upset. These people are very immature and insecure. They abuse you to make themselves feel important and feel good about themselves instead of facing much more serious problems in their lives than the ones they are being judgmental towards you about.                                                                                          

Prayer: Please Jehovah Chanan (God who is gracious) please bless me that my words will be filled with Your wonderful grace. When encountering jackasses please give me the wisdom to politely smile and walk always knowing it is the righteous thing to do. I humbly ask this in the name of He who was filled with grace when encountering the jackasses in scribes clothing Jesus Christ. Amen.                                                    

May the sunshine of Jesus’ sweet love bless you today and every day.  

My Double Blessing.

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10 New International Version

 

Every day I pray that Jesus molds me to be more like Him.

 

One day I wanted to go to the library to work on my writing. (it is very hot and the library has air-conditioning. As well they are doing construction where I live and it is very noisy).

 

There was a strong feeling to go grocery shopping instead.

 

When at the supermarket there was a one day sale where many of the items needed were half price.

 

While waiting in line an elderly Chinese female tried to queue jump in front of me.

 

I firmly but politely informed her to go to the back of the line as I stretched out my arm to prevent her from jumping in front of me.

 

Chinese are very stubborn and rude so the arm was put out because they just ignore you and do as they want anyway.

 

She tried to ignore me and push in front. I gently but firmly pushed her back and told her in a stronger voice to get to the back of the line.

 

She understood she was not going to get away with her rudeness and the cashier informed her she would not accept her groceries until she got to the back of the line so she angrily went to the back of the line.

 

The other Chinese females were happily impressed. Upon reflecting upon it later I realized that is exactly what Jesus would have done.

 

Please do not be politically correct and say the old female should have been allowed to get away with her arrogant rudeness. Jesus did not accept abhorrent behavior from anyone regardless of age or status and neither should a Christian.

 

Prayer: Thank you Jehovah Rabbi (God our teacher) for blessing me in the proper manner in how to deal with arrogant and rude men and women.

 

I give thanks for this gift in the name of he who did not tolerate rudeness Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

May the sunshine of Jesus’ sweet love bless you today and every day.

Give It To Them Bluntly

The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.

He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away.

Matthew 16:1-4 New International Version

The Pharisee’s and Sadducee’s when they confronted Jesus were just looking to pick a fight. Jesus gave it to them bluntly and then walked away.

That is what we are to do when confronted with those who get a perverted pleasure out of picking fights.

I do not try to reason with unreasonable people. I just tell it like it is and then walk away.

If you try to reason with them they will manipulate you into a stupid fight and laugh as they sickly watch you get all upset.

I speak from a lot of experience.

Many times I would try to use reason to no avail and get very frustrated and angry. Then the perpetrators act innocent and try to blame you saying it is all your fault.

They are truly the spawn of the devil and yes there is a special place in Hell just for them. (look up where Jesus says woe to trouble makers).

Now I politely but firmly tell them like it is and walk away.

They are the ones that look stupid and get angry while the bystanders laugh at them.

Prayer: Please Jehovah KalEl (the voice of God) bless me to be Your voice and convict the filthy wolves of their dirty little game and then provide me with the grace to leave in a dignified manner befitting of You.

I earnestly ask this in the name of he who gave it to His condemner’s right between the eyes when they attacked Him Jesus Christ. Amen

May the sunshine of Jesus’ sweet love bless you today and every day.