Heavenly Supply Chain

 Happy Sunday!

"And with all his abundant wealth through Christ Jesus, my God will SUPPLY all your needs."(Philippians 4:19 GNT).

We've been hearing quite a bit about Supply Chains in the last few years.  Throughout the Bible we are constantly reminded not to worry, and not to fret.  Abraham called the place where God provided the ram in the bush, Jehovah Jireh.  This means the God who sees beforehand and provides.  God doesn't wait until the crisis to try and figure out how to provide for us.  He knows far in advance what we will need and how to get it to us.  God created the heavens and the earth before he created man.  Everything Adam would ever need was there before he ever had a need.  Aren't you glad Adam didn't have to tread water until the dry ground appeared?

How can we be sure God will provide?  Great question! I'm so glad you asked.  We can be sure God will always provide for us by Faith.  Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]."(Amplified).  We must have Faith in God, and Faith in His Word.   The Word of God has stood, and will continue to stand the test of time.  In Matthew 5:18, Jesus said, "Heaven and earth may disappear. But I promise you not even a period or comma will ever disappear from the Law. Everything written in it must happen."(CEV).

We also need to obey!  Do exactly what the Lord tells you when he tells you.  One of the prayers on the Living Word Christian Center web site has a phrase that I love to pray for pastors, myself, and those I love.  It says, "He is always in the right place at the right time with the right information and the right understanding"(https://www.livingwd.org/uploadedFiles/CONFESSION%20FOR%20PASTOR.pdf). 

Don't miss this!  During the drought and famine in the land the Prophet Elijah had to obey God, and go to the places God told him to go to.  If he hadn't gone to Zarephath he would never have met the widow, and both of their lives would have turned out differently.  You know the story, she was going to make a last meal for her son and herself and then die of starvation.  But because she made a cake for the prophet, her barrel of meal, and cruse of oil lasted until the drought and famine ended.(1 Kings 17:8-16).

2 Corinthians 9:8 says, "God is ready to overwhelm you with more blessings than you could ever imagine so that you’ll always be taken care of in every way and you’ll have more than enough to share."(Voice).

Love and prayers, Cynthia

No Fear of Death

 Happy Resurrection Sunday!

"For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is a delusion and you are still lost in your sins. It would also mean that the believers in Christ who have died are lost.  If our hope in Christ is good for this life ONLY and no more, then we deserve more pity than anyone else in all the world."(1 Corinthians 15:16-19 GNT).

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is one of the major tenets of our faith.  Without the resurrection there is no hope for us after death.   Hebrews 9:27 says, "Everyone has to die once, then face the consequences. Christ’s death was also a one-time event, but it was a sacrifice that took care of sins forever. And so, when he next appears, the outcome for those eager to greet him is, precisely, salvation."(Message).  Unless Jesus returns for the Church before we die, we will all face death.  Hebrews 2:15 says, "Since the children are made of flesh and blood, it’s logical that the Savior took on flesh and blood in order to rescue them by his death. By embracing death, taking it into himself, he destroyed the Devil’s hold on death and FREED all who cower through life, scared to death of death."(Message).

We don't have to fear.  We don't have to fear death.  One man asked another man if he wanted to go to Heaven. Several times the man responded, "No!"  The man asking was puzzled, and asked the question differently, "You don't want to go to Heaven when you die?"  The man said, "Sure, I do ! But I thought you were getting up a load now!" LOL!  We don't want to die today, but we are not afraid of death.  I personally agree with the Psalmist, "I will move past my enemies with this one, sure hope: that with my own eyes, I will see the goodness of the Eternal in the Land of the Living."(Psalm 27:13 Voice).  

The Apostle Paul encouraged us, "On signal from that trumpet from heaven, the dead will be up and out of their graves, beyond the reach of death, never to die again. At the same moment and in the same way, we’ll all be changed. In the resurrection scheme of things, this has to happen: everything perishable taken off the shelves and replaced by the imperishable, this mortal replaced by the immortal. Then the saying will come true:

Death swallowed by triumphant Life!  

Who got the last word, oh, Death?

Oh, Death, who’s afraid of you now?

It was sin that made death so frightening and law-code guilt that gave sin its leverage, its destructive power. But now in a single victorious stroke of Life, all three—sin, guilt, death—are gone, the gift of our Master, Jesus Christ. Thank God!"(Message).

No wonder Jesus said, "I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of."(John 10:10 Message).

Love and prayers, Cynthia

Trust in the Lord

 Happy Sunday!

"This is what the Lord says: “Bad things will happen to those who put their trust in people. Bad things will happen to those who depend on human strength. That is because they have stopped trusting the Lord."(Jeremiah 17:5 Easy-to-Read Version).

We grew up singing, "I will trust in the Lord. I will trust in the Lord.  I will trust in the Lord, until I die."  But singing about trusting God and really trusting God are very different actions.  When we sincerely trust God, we will trust His Word.  The Word of God is the will of God.  The Holy Bible is the most read and highest selling book in the world.  This is not a coincidence.  Jesus said, "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."(John 6:63 KJV).  Many people were offended at the words Jesus spoke, and some stopped following Him.  He asked the twelve Disciples if they were planning to leave as well.  "Simon Peter answered, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words (the message) of eternal life.
And we have learned to believe and TRUST, and [more] we have come to know [surely] that You are the Holy One of God, the Christ (the Anointed One), the Son of the living God."(John 6:68-69 Amplified).

When we trust God we are eligible for amazing benefits...

"Many pains will come to the wicked, but the Lord’s faithful love will surround those who trust in him."(Psalm 32:10 Easy-to-Read Version)

"God blesses those who obey him; happy the man who puts his trust in the Lord."(Proverbs 16:20 Living Bible)

"He will keep in perfect peace all those who trust in him, whose thoughts turn often to the Lord!"(Isaiah 26:3 Living Bible)

"Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.
In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths."(Proverbs 3:5-6 Amplified)

Love and prayers, Cynthia

Jesus Did the Hard Work

 Happy Sunday!

"No weapon that has been made to be used against you will succeed. You will have an answer for anyone who accuses you. This is the inheritance of the Lord’s servants. Their victory comes from me,” declares the Lord."(Isaiah 54:17 GW).

We are in a war.  Not against Russia, or Ukraine.  We are in a battle for our lives against the forces of evil, the Devil and demons.  We have nothing to fear because Jesus already won the Victory, but in this earthly life we may face challenges and obstacles.  Jesus said, "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have PEACE. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."(John 16:33 KJV). 

Dow Bathroom Cleaner has a slogan, "We work hard so you don't have to!" I can't vouch for Dow Scrubbing Bubbles but I know that Jesus did the hard part so we don't have to.  The Apostle Paul acknowledged this and called the life we should now be living, "Rest".  Hebrews 4:6 says, "So the opportunity is still there for some to enter and enjoy God’s rest. But those who first heard the good news about it did not enter, because they did not obey."(Easy-to-Read Version). OUCH!  I sure don't want to copy the example of those that refused to obey.  The Psalmist said, "Again and again they turned away and tempted God to kill them, and limited the Holy One of Israel from giving them his blessings."(Psalm 78:41 Living Bible).

So if Jesus paid it all as we so happily sing, what do I have to do?  Great question!  I'm so glad you asked!  "When Jesus came near, he spoke to them. He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. So wherever you go, make disciples of all nations: Baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to do everything I have commanded you. And remember that I am always with you until the end of time.”(GW).  

Now just in case you think He was only speaking to the Disciples and Apostles, Mark 16:15-18 makes it clear these instructions are for all Believers. "Then he said to them, “You must go out to the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. He who believes it and is baptized will be saved, but he who disbelieves it will be condemned. These signs will follow those who do believe: they will drive out evil spirits in my name; they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up snakes, and if they drink anything poisonous it will do them no harm; they will lay their hands upon the sick and they will recover.”(Phillips).

The Devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy(John 10:10).  Jesus came to destroy the works of the Devil(1 John 3:8).  As Believers we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to do good works, and even greater works.  Jesus said, "I tell you for certain that if you have FAITH in me, you will do the same things I am doing. You will do even greater things, now that I am going back to the Father."(John 14:12 CEV).

Love and prayers, Cynthia