I try to be an upbeat person and project my love and joy towards others. But right now I’m feeling humbled
Over the course of 2 weeks my husband has lost 2 dear friends. One being his boss of 30 years, and other being a friend he has worked with and stayed in contact with for years.
I have been trying to support my husband cope with his grief.
But the truth of the matter death makes us think about our own. The fact that at any moment God can call us home.
If God were to call me home, what would I leave behind, and what would I wish I had done differently?
If makes me reflect on any words are left unsaid. What relationships need healing? And whether I have been living to honor God, or honoring my flesh.
In life, we are not in control of the clock. Life is not promised not even our next breath. These are the things that bring a deep awareness of how fragile and sacred our time really is.
I’m feeling a wave of sadness thinking about who has already been called home, the people you miss, whose absence aches. It reminds me of how suddenly life can change.
This awareness stirs a powerful desire to love more intentionally to both forgive and reconnect, to say things that matter now, not later.
I’ve never liked anyone to tickle my ears or sugarcoat anything. Just tell me like it is, so I can have the correct information up front.
Sadly many people in churches today seek out messages or teachings that are pleasing and comfortable. There is a Bible term associated with “itching ears” in 2 Timothy 4:3, “For the time will come when they will not listen to the sound doctrine, but, having itching ears, will heap up for themselves teachers after their own lusts, and will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn away to fables.”
I hear people talk about how Jesus is so sweet and nice “he would never do that, but the fact is Jesus talked more about judgment in the Bible than accepting everyone in their sin. I can love a person, but I don’t have to love their sin.
The concept of ticking ears it itching ears is about people rejecting difficult truths and embracing false teachings that align with their desires. It can result in a superficial understanding of faith, where people prioritize personal feelings over the truth of what Jesus accomplished.
The Bible challenges us to live according to God’s will, even when it’s difficult. It may involve warnings, corrections, and calls for repentance, as well as messages of hope and encouragement.
No one likes to feel uncomfortable, but it get to heaven it is necessary. Jesus spoke often about the importance of our discomfort. He called people “blessed” who are grieving, hungry, poor in spirit, or suffering persecution for His sake (Matthew 5:1-22). We cannot be “hungry for righteousness sake” if we are too comfortable.
There were many times Jesus asked pointed questions or told stories that greatly disturbed people.
Finley Peter Dune summed this up nicely when he said “Jesus came to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.”
What daily habit do you do that improves your quality of life?
My habit of being in daily prayer improves the quality of my life.
It boosts my mental and emotional well being because it calms my mind and gives me a break from daily pressures as well as boosting gratitude, positivity and promotes inner peace.
It encourages the habit of mindfulness and deepens a spiritual connection with God.
Prayer reminds me of what truly matters beyond the temporary frustrations or distractions. It helps me rise above the noise and reconnects me with deeper values.
Prayer doesn’t necessarily remove life’s difficulties, but it can transform how we see them and offer peace, strength.
My no complaining rule involves increasing my awareness of negativity, and promoting gratitude that shifts my focus towards solutions rather than problems.
I do this through gratitude journaling, and thanking God for the good things that I have. Because there’s a cost for negativity I established a complaint-solution process.
My action plan:
I monitor my thoughts and my words, by staying aware of my internal dialogue and outward expressions of negativity. This makes it easy to notice when I complain, and then I can identify the patterns in my complaining habits.
When I catch myself complaining, I shift my focus, by rejecting my focus to positive aspects of the situation and then find a solution to the problem.
When I do catch myself complaining, I add “but” and then follow it with a positive thought or action. Instead of dwelling on problems, I try focusing on identifying solutions and taking actionable steps.
It’s not about suppressing all complaints, but about transforming mindless complaining, into constructive action.
“God doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called” -Rick Warren
God often calls us then crafts us over time I preparation to serve Him. There are many examples in the Bible, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Elijah, Paul, Ester, Deborah, Mary Magdalene etc…
Our abilities to fulfill our callings often accompany the Holy Spirit’s nudging. If we think of Paul, who was a Pharisee and a fierce persecutor of Christians before God called him. Being an apostle for God was way out of his comfort zone. And he had to be put through several tests that equipped him to fully step into his monumental calling. Maybe you can relate:
1 A time of waiting
Paul waited at least ten years after his calling before he began ministering to the Gentiles. While none of us know the details of what Paul did I’m sure God did not waste this time of waiting.
2. A test of spiritual opposition
Paul’s spiritual opposition came during his first journey for God. It came from forces of darkness in Cyprus in Acts 13:6-12. It’s a reminder to make sure we grow our roots down deep before asking God to send us to graft the gospel into new soil, through writing and speaking.
3. A test of emotional opposition
After Paul traveled to a place called Iconium his motives were questioned and his character slandered.
This makes me think I will never be equipped to serve God. I can still cry at the drop of a hat. I don’t know if I will ever be ready for others to downplay, desecrate or discredit me as Paul was.
But God calls us to lean on Him emotionally in our time of calling. He wants us to bring our emotional hurts to Him, where He will enable us to serve with pure motives and a clear vision. So, even if I don’t think I can handle whatever God calls me to do, I will eventually have to step out of my comfort zone.
4. A test of praise
When Paul traveled to Lystra where they were worshipped as gods God began to do the unexplainable through Paul. The people began to praise the messenger over the miracle-working God. Paul passed the test. Can you pass the test or will you think you’re something special? It’s a fact that nothing collapses a calling like our pride.
Some people think I’m doing something special by writing this blog. I don’t think so, I just read and research things that pop into my head, and then share what I’ve found. Nothing special here, I just share my findings from my overthinking brain. Anything good comes directly from God.
5. A test of release
I’m sure that Paul wondered what effect he would have on the churches he visited on his journey. It would have been tempting to stay at some places he visited. But he knew there was more God called him to do. And that meant letting go and letting God.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking we are needed, as if God’s kingdom plans rest solely on our ability or involvement. It’s about doing good, planting seeds, and then walking away and letting God handle the rest.
Intentional Preparation
Whether you feel as though you are walking in your calling or waiting for it to be fulfilled, God calls us to intentionally prepare ourselves for what’s ahead. Passing tests in life will never be easy, but I think it will be worth it in the end. One thing is for sure we were not meant to endure life or our calling alone. God uses others to help us grow and prepare us for everything He has in store for us.
As a child I remember a few, but I spent most my time outside avoiding my mother. A few come to mind though. “Gilligan’s Island,” “Schoolhouse Rock,” “and “The wizard of Oz.” And “Bewitched” comes to mind.
Every year during Passover, my father and I would watch “The Ten Commandments.”
Israel plays a significant, complex role in the end times.
The Bible tells us of a future for Israel involving a return to their land, a period of tribulation, and ultimately the recognition of Jesus as their Messiah.
Here are a few beliefs and Bible Scriptures:
Many believe that the modern of Israel’s existence fulfills biblical prophecies about the Jewish people returning to their ancestral land.
Deuteronomy 30,3, Isaiah 43:6 and Ezekiel 36:24 show us some examples that predict Jesus’s return.
The Bible also speaks of a time of great tribulation which can be linked to Israel and Jerusalem.
Jeremiah 30:7 refers to a “time of Jacob’s trouble.” There are prophecies that describe a 7 year covenant between the Antichrist and Israel, followed by a breaking of the covenant of later persecution.
Ezekiel 38 and 39 gives details of a future invasion of Israel.
The Bible tells about the recognition of Jesus in Israel. Zachariah 12:10 is interpreted as a prophecy of Israel, ultimately recognizing Jesus as the Messiah.
There are some teachers that say this will happen only after a period of suffering and repentance.
Israel has a role in God’s Kingdom
Isaiah 2:2 and Zephaniah 3:20 speak of Jerusalem as a place of gathering for all nations and the center of God’s reign. Jesus is prophesied to reign from Mount Zion in Jerusalem.
These are just a few scriptures that speak about the role of Israel in the end times. There are many more.
It’s important to know that the Bible presents an eternal unconditional covenant with God and Israel.
The Bible clearly tells us to give no place to the devil in our lives.
“And don’t give place to the devil” –Ephesians 4:27
We are to have nothing to do with the devil because we are at war with him.
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” -Ephesians 6:12
We can be strong in God and in the power of His might if we will let Him work.
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might” -Ephesians 6:10
There is no need for us to come up short or fail God in anything He has called us to do, and we won’t if we refuse to give place to the devil.
The devil only seeks to find a way to get his foot in the door of our lives. He has no good intentions towards anyone, he doesn’t even love the people who follow him.
“The thief (the devil) only comes to steal, kill, and destroy” John 10:10
The devil comes to us with the worst, but Jesus came to give us heaven’s best.
“I come that they may have life, and have it abundantly” John 10:10
Jesus never said one good thing about the devil. He told the Jewish people that Satan (the devil) was a murderer from the beginning.
“…He was a murderer from, the beginning, and doesn’t stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own, for he is a liar, and the father of lies” John 8:44
Most people agree that there is nothing good about the devil, so why is he able to take advantage of them? They may think that just a small space is no big deal, but if you give the devil even one tiny piece of your life, he will seize the opportunity to move in and take control.
Jesus came to defeat the devil for all of us, so the devil is a defeated foe if we do what the Lord tells us to do and take the place He has called us to. Every one of us has a special place in the body of Christ. We can’t all be eyes, feet, or hands, but we have our place, and every place in the body of Jesus is important.
1 Corinthians 12:13-18 tells us,
“For as the body is one, and has many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body, so also is Messiah (Jesus). For in one Spirit we are all immersed into one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether bond or free, and were all given to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member but many. If the foot would say, because I’m not the hand, I’m not part of the body, it is not therefore not part of the body. If the ear would say, because I’m not part of the eye, I’m not part of the body. But if the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the smelling be?”
God set the members every one of them in the body, as He desired.
God has given each of us a place, and we must stand in that place.
The devil wants to shake each of us as hard as he can to get us out of the body of Christ and separate us from the vine. Sadly we can look around and see the devil is doing a pretty good job attacking God’s people. But we must never let him succeed in destroying us. Luke 22:31 tells Simon
“And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan asked to have all of you, that he might sift you as wheat, but I prayed for you, that your faith wouldn’t fail you.”
When the devil shakes us, let the chaff fall off, and then abide in the vibe stronger than ever.
John 15:4-5 tells us,
“Remain in Me, and I in you. As the branch can’t bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, so neither you, unless you remain in Me. I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in Me and I in him, the same bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”
Persecutions will make us stronger when we continue to do what the Lord tells us to do.
“Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for My sake. Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad for great is your reward in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you” -Matthew 5:10-12
Jesus let His many persecutions make Him stronger, and so should we. Jesus took on the image of man, but He became strong by using the things He had brought from heaven, and all those things belong to us. The Bible teaches that we can reach out to God and get anything we need at any time if our hearts are pure and clean before Him.
I hang on to this every day. Just thinking we are strong in the Lord isn’t enough. Peter told Jesus he would never betray Him. In Matthew 26:33 Peter said, “even if all will be made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.” Peter didn’t know himself. After Jesus was arrested, all it took for Peter to deny Jesus as a young lady identifying him as one who had been with Jesus.
Peter later wept bitterly over what he had done and repented. Matthew 26:75 says, Peter remembered the words Jesus, said to him. That Peter would betray Him 3 times. Peter finally realized how weak he was. God had to knock off Peter’s hard outer shell of self before He could use what was underneath.
The devil cannot rob us of anything when we are strong in the Lord. A thief has to first bind the strong head of the house before he can steal the treasures inside, and it is the same way with the devil, but he can’t bind us unless we give place to him.
“No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man and then he will spoil his house” -Mark 3:27
However, some people are so weak that the devil has easy access to them. There is no strong man he needs to bind first, so he can steal anything he pleases.
We can resist the devil by being steadfast in faith. 1 Peter 5:9 says,
“Withstand him steadfast in your faith, knowing that your brothers who are in the world are undergoing the same sufferings.”
“He shall not be afraid of evil tidings, his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord” -Psalm 112:7
When we are steadfast, the devil can’t do anything to us, but he never gives up. 1 Peter 5:8 tells us we need to,
“Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”
The devil is watching and waiting for us to give him a place in our lives, so we must learn to use Jesus’ blood on him and he will flee.
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” -James 4:7
Don’t go after him to find out why he is running, just know that Jesus had sent him on his way.
Through Jesus’s blood shred on the cross, He has given us power to trample the devil underfoot. So, we never have to let the devil take advantage of us.
From Pity to Praise 