Riot of Love

Happy Sunday!

Psalm 34:1 says, "I will bless the Lord at ALL times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth."(KJV).

I've had to make a conscious effort this week to always bring myself back to the Word of God.  It's been a week to remember, with so much we'd like to forget.  But God has been faithful.  When I've been down he has lifted me.  When I thought my thoughts were crazy or far-fetched, he's encouraged me with others of like minds.

John 10:10 says, "The thief approaches with malicious intent, looking to steal, slaughter, and destroy; I came to give life with joy and abundance."(Voice).  Ok, I know what you are thinking.  "Cynthia you always use that scripture!"  Yes, I have to admit it is appropriate in so many instances.  The Devil is a fallen angel, a spirit.  To do damage in this world he must have a physical body.  So he employs the weak-minded, the un-regenerated, and the foolish to do his dirty work.  He whispers in the ears of the wounded telling them this is the way you can be heard.  He convinces those that feel powerless to do the unthinkable to feel power and control.  He confuses, and deceives the masses.

Revelation 12:9 says, "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."(KJV).  Don't miss this!  It says he deceives the whole world!  You may know when you are right, and you may know when you are wrong.  But do you know when you have been deceived?

The Apostle Paul said many times that he did not want the Believers to be ignorant.  He especially didn't want them to ignorant of Satan's devices, intentions, and strategy.  1 John 3:8 says, "The one persisting in sin belongs to the diabolical one, who has been all about sin from the beginning. That is why the Son of God came into our world: to destroy the plague of destruction inflicted on the world by the diabolical one."(Voice).  The Voice translation used this caption for the scripture above..."If you are wondering if your faith is authentic, take a look at your life. Are you doing what is right?"(Voice).

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 says, "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, and it is not proud.  Love is not rude, it is not selfish, and it cannot be made angry easily. Love does not remember wrongs done against it.  Love is never happy when others do wrong, but it is always happy with the truth.  Love never gives up on people. It never stops trusting, never loses hope, and never quits. Love will never end."(Easy-to-Read Version).  Jesus said the world will know that we are His by our Love..."This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other."(John 13:35, Message).

Love and prayers, Cynthia

Are We There Yet?

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

For Mother's Day I asked for books and I was blessed to get them.  I finished "The Life and Ministry of Healing Evangelist Raymond T. Richey" overnight.   He lived from 1893 to 1968 and ministered the Gospel to millions.  The original biography entitled, "What God Hath Wrought" was written by his wife Eloise May Richey in 1925.  He was hit in the eyes with a tree branch as a child and by early adulthood he was almost completely blind.  God miraculously healed him from blindness, and later from Tuberculosis.  He dedicated his life to the ministry.

I truly enjoyed this book, and I bet you are wondering where I'm going with this.  Well, today I had the pleasure of being in a Zoom meeting with some of my favorite people in the world.  My Aunt Sophia asked what does the Bible have to say about everything that is happening in the world today.  The Bible has a lot to say, and it's been said for generations.  Raymond T. Richey lived during the "Terrible Flu" or Spanish Flu of 1918.  The book tells about how he's ministered to hundreds of soldiers who had the flu.  Some survived and many died.  Thankfully, many accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior and we will meet them in heaven.  Even back then, the people of God were anticipating the return of our Lord.  They looked at World War I and later World War II and thought surely this is the end times.

Jesus said, "And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the END is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and PESTILENCES, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows."(Matthew 24:6-8, KJV).  He goes on to describe some scary times for believers.  Then he says, "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."(vs 14).  Don't miss this!  The Gospel of the Kingdom must be preached in ALL the world before the END of the world.

This reminds me of a day when I was riding the Metrolink from East Saint Louis, Illinois to Saint Louis, Missouri for work.  A young man stood up and calmly gave a quick message from the Lord.  He sat down and we all went on about our day.  Most people on the train probably had no idea what had just happened.  They heard the Gospel.  When we stand before God, no one will be able to say they didn't know.  No person arriving in Hell will ever be able to convince the Judge(God) that they were ignorant of the Gospel.  Even if you never set foot in a church, and never watched a church service streaming live, or never heard the Gospel on a commuter train, the earth screams that there is a God.  Psalm 19:1-4 says, "The heavens tell about the glory of God.  The skies announce what his hands have made.  Each new day tells more of the story, and each night reveals more and more about God’s power.  You cannot hear them say anything. They don’t make any sound we can hear. But their message goes throughout the world. Their teaching reaches the ends of the earth."(Easy-to-Read Version).

God wants us all to spend eternity with Him.  He did not create Hell for humans, it was meant for our adversary the Devil and the fallen angels.  But he allows us free will, and the opportunity to choose.  He loves us, and wants us to love him back.  But just like Bonnie Raitt sang, "I can't make you love me, if you don't." (You younger ones probably enjoy Tank's rendition, but I digress).  God won't force you to do anything.

Technology is allowing the Gospel of the Kingdom to be spread faster than ever, and we know that Jesus will be returning soon.  In the meantime, we have an opportunity to be a blessing to everyone we come in contact with.  People should see us living large and ask, "what must I do to be saved?"(Acts 16:30, KJV).

Love and prayers, Cynthia

Is that you?

Happy Sunday!

2 Timothy 3:1-9 says, "Don’t be naive.
There are difficult times ahead.
As the end approaches,
people are going to be self-absorbed,
money-hungry,
self-promoting,
stuck-up,
profane,
contemptuous of parents,
crude,
coarse,
dog-eat-dog,
unbending,
slanderers,
impulsively wild,
savage,
cynical,
treacherous,
ruthless,
bloated windbags,
addicted to lust, and allergic to God.
They’ll make a show of religion, but behind the scenes they’re animals.
Stay clear of these people.

These are the kind of people who smooth-talk themselves into the homes of unstable and needy women and take advantage of them;
women who,
depressed by their sinfulness,
take up with every new religious fad that calls itself “truth.”
They get exploited every time and never really learn.
These men are like those old Egyptian frauds Jannes and Jambres,
who challenged Moses.
They were rejects from the faith,
twisted in their thinking,
defying truth itself.
But nothing will come of these latest impostors.
Everyone will see through them,
just as people saw through that Egyptian hoax."(Message).

I split these scriptures up on purpose.  I want you to slow down and read each descriptive word again.  Prayerfully, you will not find yourself in any of these words.  If you do, repent and the Holy Spirit will help you to do better!  Do you know anyone like this?  If so, do what the Apostle Paul told Timothy, "Stay clear of these people".

The Bible is always relevant.  No matter how many years pass, the Word speaks to what we are seeing and experiencing right now.  Dr. Bill Winston challenged us to move up to the next level!  We are responsible for the Word we have heard.  What we do with this revelation is very important.  Church is not for entertainment, but enlightenment.  We should be growing, changing for the better, and advancing.  Temptations that tripped you up last year should not  cause you to fall this year.  Generally, the content in one grade must be mastered before a student can move to the next grade.  In an imperfect world, we know this is not always the case.  But with God you must master the current level of revelation before more will be given to you. 

Hebrews 5:11-14 says, "There is much more I would like to say along these lines, but you don’t seem to LISTEN, so it’s hard to make you understand. You have been Christians a long time now, and you ought to be teaching others, but instead you have dropped back to the place where you need someone to teach you all over again the very first principles in God’s Word. You are like babies who can drink only milk, not old enough for solid food. And when a person is still living on milk it shows he isn’t very far along in the Christian life, and doesn’t know much about the difference between right and wrong. He is still a baby Christian! You will never be able to eat solid spiritual food and understand the deeper things of God’s Word until you become better Christians and learn right from wrong by practicing doing right."(Living Bible).

The Spirit of Fear is running rampant in our world today.  Most of the fear is centered around death.  We all will eventually die.  Let me say that again.  We all will eventually die.  How and when are uncertain, but God did not intend for us to cower in anticipation of death.  Jesus conquered death for us.  He removed the sting of death, and later the Apostles compared death to simply falling asleep.  We do not have to fear, but we each get to make the choice to stand in Faith or live in Fear.  1 John 4:18 says, "Love contains no fear—indeed fully-developed love expels every particle of fear, for fear always contains some of the torture of feeling guilty. This means that the man who lives in fear has not yet had his love perfected."(Phillips).

Jesus comforts us with these words, "I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]"(John 16:33, Amplified).

Love and prayers, Cynthia

Long Lost Mother

Happy Mother's Day!

Lately I've been watching old episodes of Long Lost Family - UK on YouTube.  It's always good for me to see families reconnected.  It's like missing pieces of a puzzle finally being found.  The family resemblances are uncanny.  It reminds me of my Aunt Betty.  I would walk in the room and she would exclaim that I looked just like my biological father, and even walked like him.  She'd say it gave her chills.  Do you remember that I never met him?  He saw me when I was less than 2 years old, but before getting pictures from my Uncle Lee A. Green, Sr.  I wouldn't have been able to pick him out in a police line up. LOL!

I've noticed a few similarities in most of the cases portrayed on the show.  First, the mothers generally do not want to give up their children.  Many felt hopeless, and had no where to turn.  Their families turned against them, and some were told by their parents they could come home, but the baby could not come with them.  Second, the mothers for the most part saw an opportunity to give their babies a better life.  Episode after episode when meeting their children the birth mothers ask if the child had a happy life.

Isaiah 49:15 says, "But the Lord says, “Can a woman forget her baby? Can she forget the child who came from her body? Even if she can forget her children, I cannot forget you."  Don't miss this!  God says even if you were forgotten by your mother He will never forget you!  Isn't this awesome?  God is all about fixing things, and making life better.  Jesus told us, "The thief comes with the sole intention of stealing and killing and destroying, but I came to bring them life, and far more life than before."(John 10:10, Phillips).  We must remind ourselves often that God is always good.  When we are confident of his character it's easy to rest in his protection and promises.

Third, I noticed that many families waited too late.  I can relate.  When I seriously  searched for my biological father I was a few months too late.  He'd passed away in February of that year, and it was May when I met my Uncle Lee and Aunt Lois in person. I wish I'd looked for him much sooner.  On the show when the parent has died, they often try to soften the blow by letting the child know that they have siblings.  I'm thankful that I've been so very blessed to connect with my sister, Emelia, and brothers, Christopher and Anthony.  Still hoping to meet an older sister we were told was born in Shreveport, Louisiana when our father was just 16 years old.

What can we take away from all this?  Good question!  I'm so glad you asked!  Don't put off what you can do today for tomorrow.  Be merciful, people are imperfect and make decisions based on their situations. Even if you don't like the way things happened, remember God loves you and he will make bitter experiences sweet.  In Psalm 27:10, the Psalmist declared, "My father and mother abandoned me. I’m like an orphan! But you took me in and made me yours."(Passion).  If your mother is still living, shower her with love, appreciation, and gifts.  If your mother is in Heaven, thank God that you will see her again one day.

Love and prayers, Cynthia

Again, I Say Rejoice

Happy Sunday!

What day is it?  Oh, it's Sunday!  Some days in quarantine I do have to ask myself what day it is, and check my phone or calendar.  The Word speaks about forgetting so many times.  God encourages us to remember and not forget. 

Romans 12:12 says, "Do not forget to rejoice, for hope is always just around the corner. Hold up through the hard times that are coming, and devote yourselves to prayer."(Voice).  Don't miss this!  Don't forget to REJOICE! 

Philippians 4:4-9 says, "Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!  Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life."(Message).

I can hear you now!  What do I have to rejoice about?  Well, for starters you are reading an email or blog post.  That means you have Internet access, you have eyes, you have hands, and you have a computer, laptop, tablet, or a smartphone.  Multiplied millions in the world don't have these blessings.  You have a roof over your head, and if by chance you are homeless you are still connected to family and friends.  You have opportunities, and you have options.
You still have a chance to change for the better.  Jesus said, "All of us must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent me, for there is little time left before the night falls and all work comes to an end."(Living Bible).

You have time.  Time is valuable, precious, and non-refundable.  Use your time wisely.  Rejoice!

Love and prayers, Cynthia