HIS LOVE FOR ME

Greater hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)

Today was my last day with visiting with my children and grandchildren. I went to church tonight and heard my son preach. My heart was overwhelmed with joy. The love a mother has for her children is unexplainable.

I was thinking about my love for each three of my children and was taken away with the thought that my love is a one percent kind of love. Oh to me it's one hundred percent kind of love but compared to the love the Lord has for us its nothing.

Do your children do everything you reared them to do? Do they stumble and fall? Do they sometimes actually break your heart?

It doesn't matter how many times we have been hurt or worried about them, our love always outweighs the grief or sorrow.

If this is true, how much more does the father also love you? Once you have confessed your sins and you have been forgiven, when he looks at you he sees his wonderful beautiful child. The one he longs to spend time with, discuss the future, and just bask in the moments spent together.

But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.

(Psalm 86:15)

SILENT TEARS

There are thousands of children in our country today that are crying silent tears.  You may not recognize these tears as they come in different forms.  Drug abuse can be a form of silent tears.  Cutting one's self or alcoholism is another form of silent tears.  Silent tears manifests itself in a hundred different ways.  Stealing, murder, suicide and the list goes on of the ways these children are crying silent tears. 

What would cause so many tears to fall silently and us not even be aware of the depth of the pain and sorrow in these children's lives?  There are close to three million children in our country that are experiencing these silent tears.  Many of these children seem to be loved and cared for dearly.  They seem to come from wonderful homes of parents that are outstanding citizens but yet the silent tears still fall. 

We need to stop and evaluate these children's lives and see what is going on.  Their father, mother, aunt, uncle or cousin may be or may have taken advantage of them sexually, causing them to be living in torment.  Many of them have been threatened, beaten, and mentally abused and eventually these children fall into the trap of acceptance.  They don't talk about it because of the threats, the fear, or the outbreaks of abuse.  These children are not allowed to cry out loud but yet if you listen closely, you can hear the cries. 

A child that has been or is being sexually abused will start acting out.  There may be outbreaks of anger.   These children may start stealing, fighting or if old enough turn to drugs or alcohol.  This was not the path they wanted to take for their lives but they are not allowed to pour their hearts out, not allowed to weep over or talk about this abuse and therefore, it eats a hole in these children's lives. 

I have spoken with woman in their fifty's that have cried silently for forty years.  Once they were grown they could have spoken out but they had learned by that time to compress it so deep that even as an adult they couldn't break free from the silent tears.  As they grew older the sore ate away more and more of their heart until one day they found themselves in the doctor's office weeping, shaking and out of control.  Medication was prescribed but what their soul really needed was to be set free. 

If you have experienced sexual abuse you need to break the chain of bondage.  You didn't tie yourself up but the abuse itself put you into shackles.  You have drug those shackles to every town you lived in, every school you attended and you have even taken the shackles to church with you. 

It is now time to get the hack saw out and be set free.  The very first step to being set free is to admit to yourself that this horrible thing has happened to you.  Free yourself from guilt, shame and self blame.  It was not your fault.  You didn't ask for this to happen.  You are not the one that needs to carry the guilt so pull out the old hack saw and cut that chain loose.  Deal with the shame and self blame the same way.  Cut the chains loose, let them fall, and turn your back on them and walk away.  You are now free to move forward.

The second thing to do is absolutely the hardest but you need to talk to someone who is trustworthy and tell them about this horrible event or events.  You may find yourself curled up in a ball, physically ill or even feeling thoughts of suicide as you open up and reveal the abuse.  You may actually start throwing up.  It is normal to go through any or all of these effects during the first time you speak of the abuse.  Don't stop talking, if you do you only allow the chains to be tied right back onto your body, weighing your soul, body and spirit down to the point that you can't function.

The third thing is to continue to deal with it verbally and seek guidance from the Lord in the healing process.  Songs of praise or healing can be very instrumental in healing the silent tears.  Christ is there for you, he longs to set you free.  Scriptures on healing or comfort can also be part of the healing process.  Whatever you have to do to keep moving forward, then that's what you need to set your mind on accomplishing.

Fear is the greatest thing to overcome.  Nearly always, the fear has been planted by the person that inflicted the abuse, and most of the time it is artificial, just a way to silence the person.  This fear can be so great that the child or even the adult can't move past it, frozen in their steps weeping silent tears.  Go ahead and jump in and get rid of the chains.  Once this first step is taken the other steps are much easier. 

II TIMOTHY 1:7

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear;

but of power,

and of love,

and of a sound mind.

 

Once you have admitted to someone the abuse and you start to move forward in your life the following scripture will be helpful.  Do not ever go back and let the shackles be placed back on you.  You have been set free so stay that way.  You will have a tendency to go back to the bondage.  When you see that happening,  leave it there, do not pick it up.  It's in the past.  

 

GALATIANS 5:1

Stand fast therefore in the liberty

wherewith Christ hath made us free,

and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

JEREMIAH 29:11-13

For I know the thoughts

that I think toward you,

saith the LORD,

thoughts of peace,

and not of evil,

to give you an expected end.
Then shall ye call upon me,

and ye shall go and pray unto me,

and I will hearken unto you.

And ye shall seek me,

and find me,

when ye shall search for me

with all your heart

 

EPHESIANS 3:14-21

For this cause I bow my knees unto the

Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Of whom the whole family

in heaven and earth is named,
That he would grant you,

according to the riches of his glory,

to be strengthened with might

by his Spirit in the inner man;
That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith;

that ye,
being rooted and grounded in love,
May be able to comprehend

with all saints what is the breadth,

and length, and depth, and height;
And to know the love of Christ,

which passeth knowledge,

that ye might be filled with

all the fulness of God.
Now unto him that is able to do exceeding

abundantly above all that we ask or think,

according to the power that worketh in us,
Unto him be glory in the church

by Christ Jesus throughout all ages,

world without end. Amen.

THE STARS TEACH A LESSON OF FAITH

Our granddaughter is staying the week with us. One thing I have found out about my little granddaughter is she is very a visual learner and she takes everything literal.

Both of us love to look at the sky outside at night. My granddaughter will sit and have a conversation with me about the moon and the stars.

When I point to the stars and tell her God made them she agrees. Later while we are still looking at the stars I will ask, "Who made the stars?" She will answer, "God did!"

The next day I will try to reiterate the things we had talked about the night before. Here is how our conversation goes.

"Who made the stars?" She looks at me puzzled and says, "We don't have any."

I explain to her they are there but we can only see them at night. I tell her, "God made the stars!"

Again I say, "Can you tell me who made the stars?" She looks at me seriously and says, "MeeMee, we don't have any!"

I have found if I want to discuss the stars and the moon it must be done when it's dark and they are visible for her to observe.

There are many adults who think this same way. There are people serving the Lord with their whole heart and involved in ministry. If you ask them they will tell you they know God is real. They will express how the Lord brought them through many trials.

Later you see that same person and ask them about the Lord and they are much like my granddaughter. Instead of saying, "We don't have any" they might say, "He doesn't exist." Just because they can't see him moving or visible in their lives they feel the Lord doesn't even exist.

He might not be shining brightly at that moment in their lives but it doesn't remove the fact that he exists.

If I try to explain to my granddaughter the stars are in the sky but we can't see them because of the sunshine, she isn't going to understand since she is only three. Somewhere down the line she will have to learn to just trust us that the stars are there and they are shining even when we can't see them.

Faith is something all mankind struggles with. It doesn't matter if we are two years old or eighty years old there are things we face, that cause our faith to waver. There comes a time when people, even people who have been in the ministry for twenty years, even their faith wavers

There is a story in the bible about a man who had a son that inflicted pain on his own body; there were times the child would throw himself into the water or fire. This had been happening since the child was small. When the father came to Jesus he wanted to believe Jesus could heal him.

Jesus was walking on the earth and could be seen visibly but this father was still having trouble believing. What he did next is what we need to do.

Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. (Mark 9:23-24)

The Lord will help us, but at times we need to admit to him, we are struggling in our faith. There are other things that will help us also. If my granddaughter does not continue to read and hear about the stars being in the sky during the daytime she would continue to struggle with this fact.

We don't just give up on teaching her this truth. We tell her, books she will read will teach it, and she will hear this truth by people on television or in school. We will teach her in different ways and eventually she will come to the understanding the stars are in fact in the sky during the daytime, even if she can't see them.

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17)

Just as children need to read and hear about the things she can't see and understand, mankind needs to do the same. Faith comes by hearing the word of God. This tells me, if we are lacking faith we need to spend more time in the bible, listening to people teach it, absorbing it anyway you can. We need to ask the Lord to help us believe just as the man who had a son that was out of control.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

NEW BOOK - THE FAMILY BOOK OF ADVENT

 

COMING SOON

 

A FULL REVIEW OF THE FAMILY BOOK OF ADVENT

 

 

 

 

 

Carol Garborg is a dear friend of mine.  She came down this past summer and helped us with our Vacation Bible School.  She is truly an instrument of the Lord and if you have children you, will want to purchase this wonderful book. 

You can get this book from
 

amazon.com
christianbook.com

or Lifeway Bookstores

SAFETY PLANNING - TAKE THE LORD WITH YOU WHEREVER YOU GO

You never know when something is going to happen in your life. None of us are exempt from trials, illnesses and death. We need to be prepared for those times. The only way to be prepared is to take the Lord with you everywhere you go by hiding his word in your heart.

I worked for a company a few years ago that told their workers on a regular basis their need to live each day with caution. Each day at work the main goal became "Safety First."  The supervisors would say, "An accident can happen at any given moment and your life could be snuffed out." The only thing they didn't tell the workers was what happened if they were in an accident and their lives were taken from them. What would happen if they died that day and didn't know Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.

II THESSALONIANS 1:8-9

In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God,

and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction

from the presence of the Lord,

and from the glory of his power;
 

It is important to warn people not only about the dangers that lie before them but to also tell them of the two options that they have. Each person needs to choose which place they want to spend eternity if they do have an accident and their life is taken from them.
 

There are many people that laugh and say, "I'll just go to hell with all my buddies and we will drink, party and have a good time." You may drink, party and have a good time with them on the earth but whenever your soul goes to hell there will be nothing to drink, nothing to party over and if you think burning in an eternal hell right beside your friends is a good time then yes, you might just have a good time.

 

As you go through your life, be sure and do your safety planning. Take the Lord Jesus Christ with you everywhere you go and when things go wrong he will make them right. When you are faced with a tragedy, your heart will have a refuge. When disaster strikes, you will be safe with the eternal God as your refuge, and underneath his everlasting arms. Safe in the arms of the Lord; there is no better place.

ACTS 16:30-31

 ......Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
And they said,

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,

and thou shalt be saved,

and thy house.

 

JOHN 14:1-3

Let not your heart be troubled:

ye believe in God,

believe also in me.In my Father’s

house are many mansions:

if it were not so,

I would have told you.

I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you,

I will come again,

and receive you unto myself;

that where I am,

there ye may be also.

DID THE ELECTION TAKE GOD BY SURPISE?

Millions of people woke up this morning, the day after the election, in defeat. Great sorrow has moved across our country and in the hearts of many. There are comments posted everywhere about what we can expect now that Obama is president for his second term. People are showing signs of fear and worry.

During the days before election my heart was heavy and I could only fear what would happen to America if Obama was once again elected. Israel was my biggest concern. My heart's desire was that the Lord would allow us to have a president that loved Israel and would do all possible to stand beside her.

As the numbers started rolling in it appeared that Romney was going to win. I thought I would be filled with extreme excitement but instead I was filled with the sense that even if Romney won the election, our nation would still have something missing as a whole.

As time moved on it showed that in fact, Obama was going to win the election. I had planned all year what I would do if Obama did indeed win. I would post all my concerns on facebook as to why I thought Obama shouldn't be our president. Those plans changed at the very moment I heard what was taking place.

My hope in Christ became stronger as the numbers come pouring in for Obama. I realized that my hope is not in Romney or Obama. My hope is in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the maker of heaven and earth. Nothing Obama does over the next four years will take the Lord by surprise. He wasn't surpised yesterday and he will not be surprised by anything that takes place over the next few years.

 

 

In Revelation, the end times, during the great tribulation the nations will turn against Israel. Will the Lord be surprised by this? No, even during the great tribulation God's hand is on Israel.

 

 

If America turns against Israel then our country will suffer. We are a part of this nation so in turn we will suffer. Israel will still be God's chosen people no matter what our country does. I also realized that if God is in control then no one can touch Israel without going through him.

 

ISAIAH 46:9-13

 

 Remember the former things of old:

for I am God, and there is none else;

I am God, and there is none like me,

Declaring the end from the beginning,

and from ancient times the things that are not yet done,

saying, My counsel shall stand,

and I will do all my pleasure:

Calling a ravenous bird from the east,

the man that executeth my counsel from a far country:

yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass;

I have purposed it, I will also do it.
Hearken unto me,

ye stouthearted,

that are far from righteousness:
I bring near my righteousness;

it shall not be far off,

and my salvation shall not tarry:

and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.
 

 Am I saying we are in part of the tribulation?   No, what I am saying is we are seeing signs on every hand that is pointing us to this time. The tribulation period will be worse than anything mankind has ever experienced. We need to know more than ever before, whom and what we believe in. The scripture states that the deception will be so great that if it were possible even the elect would be deceived.

We need to keep our eyes fixed on the Lord Jesus Christ. There is nothing in the storm that he can't handle. He is our creature, redeemer and sustainer. He carries the controls in his hand and no matter what comes our way, our lives are in his hand.

MATTHEW 24:24

For then shall be great tribulation,

such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time,

no, nor ever shall be.
And except those days should be shortened,

there should no flesh be saved:

but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.
Then if any man shall say unto you,

Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
For there shall arise false Christs,

and false prophets,

and shall shew great signs and wonders;

insomuch that, if it were possible,

they shall deceive the very elect.

 

NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, JESUS IS LORD

 

If you wake up tomorrow and Obama is president.
Jesus Christ will still be the King of Kings. 

If you wake up tomorrow and Mitt Romney is president.
Jesus Christ will still be the King of Kings. 
He is in control when things are good
and he is in control when things go bad. 

Trust in the Lord.