Prepare Ye The Way of The Lord

"Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold." (Matthew 24:12).

As Jesus sat atop the Mount of Olives, He answered the disciples who were asking, “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3).

The one thing that always gets me is how He tells them about the way men will begin to lose their love for others.  It is imperative as Christians that we make sure that we do not lose our love for not just our fellow Christians, but for our fellow man/woman as well.  No matter what, Love will always win out, so do not fear but rather respond to all things with a loving heart and you will be protected by the Holy Spirit who dwells within you, for "you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength."  (Philippians 4:13). 

I pray for all of my fellow men/women every day that the Lord may open all of our eyes even wider, and make us more awake, for the hour of His return to snatch the Bride away, is drawing nearer and nearer!  "For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall ever be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words." (1st Thessalonians 4:16-18)

I usually try to keep this really simple, but the Lord has put it on my heart to not only return Home to His will for my life, but to shout to the blogosphere every chance I get that the TIME IS SHORT!  When God calls you to do something there is nowhere to hide! 

"O Lord, You have searched me and known me.  You know my sitting down and my rising up;  You understand my thoughts afar off.  You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.  For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.  You have hedged me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me.  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it." (Psalm 139: 1-6)

I have made a choice to live the life Jesus would have lived if He had not died in my place.  I am fully awake, alert and sounding an alarm that all Christians should heed!  Go back to church, take your family, talk to everyone you know about Christ and make sure that none are left behind!  "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to Salvation!"  (Romans 1:16).

Hide bibles in boxes under your home with instructions for what has happened when they suddenly see millions just disapper from the face of the planet!  With the Rapture, not only is Jesus removing the Bride from the earth, the Holy Spirit is going to leave the planet with us, leaving the people on earth in total chaos!  There will be no restraint!  People will be searching for guidance and won't find it unless we leave it for them!  At least give them a fighting chance to be saved if they do not heed the signs and give their lives to Christ before its too late?

I'm sorry folks to even have to ask this, but are you sitting on your hands and not willing to leave your comfort zone?  Well, that's just no longer good enough!  Live the Life!  Be a  light for all to see!  Let the world see JESUS IN YOU!  You WILL be blessed for your obedience and your faithfulness to Christ!  Don't let those rewards slip away from your hands!  Live for CHRIST!

People Sinking Down

I am truly burdened for people that are battling through the same sorts of issues that I have battled for several years.  Issues like pain, depression, anxiety, panic, all tools of the devil to keep me asleep in my sin, and unable to be used by God. 

It came to my attention that a person I don't even know, is suffering in a way that is causing them to just give up.  I don't know all of the circumstances, but I was in that same place just less than 4 weeks ago.  I was blessed though.  I started to see things in a different light and in that different light, I began to see all of my problems for what they really were.  Fear, anxiety, severe depression over my lack of ability to do anything about my situation, the pain that had me physically unable to even drive a car, take a shower, leave my home....I was in real trouble.  I had become so hopeless about my life, that I just wanted to die.  I was even crying out to God in my own pathetic little pity pot way asking Him to "Just take me out Lord!  I can't take another day of this pain, emotional torment and this aching in my heart to just come home."  But my attitude and belief system were all messed up!

Then something happened inside of me that I never expected would happen.  God reached into my 'pathetic, sad, sorry, loser, not gonna make a thing of myself life' and began to make my life into something beautiful.  He is turning me around in a big way, and has totally changed my mind, my heart and Glory to God, my attitude!  

He is making me the person I was always meant to be in Christ.  He is now using me to help others find Him, find peace and find joy in their lives, no matter what their situation!  You see, when we learn to live in humility and love God, trusting Him like a little child, things start to change in your life.  All I had to do was ask God "Please find me worthy."  WHOA - BE CAREFUL IN ASKING THAT!  HE WILL MAKE YOU WORTHY!  I am now starting to truly enjoy the moments of happiness that we all know and love, but I really can't wait for that permanent forever joy, happiness, peace, contentment and best of all, that perfect, unblemished, uncorruptible body!  WOO HOO! I don't know about you, but at 50?  I can hardly wait!

So do you see someone sinking down into a depression unlike anything you've ever seen?  They are either in a physical/chemical imbalance and need to seek treatment, or they need you to speak the Words of God in FAITH over them, to them, in your prayers about them, ask your prayer groups to pray for them, and then stand back and WATCH GOD MOVE!!!!!

THE WORLD IS SITTING NEXT TO YOU IN THE PEWS AND THEY ARE DEAD IN THEIR SINS!  AND WHAT ABOUT YOU?  ARE YOU FULLY AWAKE YET?  

"Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed."  (Revelation 16:15)

Anger, Forgivness and Moving On

Have you ever had one of those days?   You know where someone hurts you so bad, you feel like a little piece of you just died inside? 

Unlike smoking or other vices, some things are much easier to eradicate than others and boy did I ever pick the wrong week to stop getting angry about an issue that is extremely painful, hurtful and just down right wrong!  What's worse is how I feel about myself for losing my temper and "reacting," to the situation I came home to tonight, rather than being quiet in Christ's forgiving spirit and just disappearing to my room to cry like usual.  This night was different.  I had just gotten home from Bible Study where I haven't been in almost 11 years and that wiley ole devil just couldn't wait to put a bad "finishing touch" on my evening.

I'm sorry, but there are just some issues that are so far out of line with what God would want for my family, that sometimes I forget that I am to love, rather than to  judge.  When I forget this little tidbit that should be fixed 1st & foremost in my mind at all times, I wind up blowing up, which is playing right into the devils slimy hands! Worst of all is that when I do reach my limit and blow up, he sits in the balcony cheering as the demons shout and applaud from below in the cheap seats.

Jesus?  I'm sorry I lost it Lord.  I have no excuse, but you know why I did it and I know that you are just as saddened about this great pain in my heart and mind as I am, and the sin by my husband which is causing it.  But instead of getting angry, I was supposed to "not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord."   (Romans 12:19). 

Lord you You know how sensitive I am to this ongoing situation, so I will trust you to bring me to the other side of this horrible emptiness and pain that fills my heart and soul. 

Please help me to be forgiving, no matter how much it hurts Jesus.  Please help me live for you and no body else?   Bring me back into right standing with thee and direct all my paths?  Please take my sensitive heart and mold it in your hands?  Help me to not get angry at the person, but their sin, and to continue to pray for them instead of being angry and upset about something I obviously have no control over.  

You are in control of it all dear Heavenly Father.  How grateful I am that you are there no matter what!  I just ask....I need a miracle or I need a way out of this situation! 

Thank you Lord!  Amen!

Memories of Mom

I didn't have the best of upbringings, always feeling unloved, I was extremely insecure and fought like crazy to make everyone around me happy!  (Approval addiction can begin at a very early age when you feel like even your parents don't think you're good enough, or there is an older child creating nothing but havoc in your home).   I tended to put myself in a corner of the closet to avoid these tirades out of fear.

Because of the verbal and emotional abuse especially, I haven't always been the best mom, and for that at times I feel very ashamed.  God has forgiven me I know, but I I have continued to ask forgiveness of my chidren and ask for His grace!  I've apologized to my kids in the past, but I can never say I'm sorry enough for the mistakes I have made  and I want to apologize to my kids, again, including my new daughter in law for how I have treated her as well. The Word of God states, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."  (1 John 1:9);  Jesus death on the cross paid for every sin I've committed or will ever commit!  I must hold onto that or the devil will continue to win the "Battlefield of the mind!

My mom, Beverly Jean went home to be with Jesus on November 22, 2009 after a horrible  cancer, that took her way too soon at only 74,  Some weird things happened that week, and after all the years of praying, witnessing to her, and trying to get her to come to church with me, I know for an absolute FACT where she is!  She is in heaven with Jesus and I can't wait to see her again!  And believe me, I have this Word of Knowledge and promise from the best source possible - God Himseslf!

I got to speak to her one last time on the Thursday morning before she passed and I would have been right by her side praying for her, but she wouldn't let me even come to her side!  That truly saddens me to this day and always will that I didn't get a proper goodbye.  I spoke with her that morning just 3 days before she passed.   When I hung up the phone that day, God wrapped me in His arms and this feeling of peace covered me, for less than a second, in which I heard, "It's okay.  She's mine," and the spirit of peace lifted almost immediately. The peace of that moment resonates every time I think of it!   See God wasn't just answering one prayer, He was answering SEVERAL of my prayers for my mother to return t0 the fold!

I want to encourage all of you son's and daughters, regardless of what your circumstances were growing up to reach out for your final RELIEF from the Lord!  He is your ABBA DADDY!  LET HIM BE!  Forgive your mom and dad, after all, they are/were just human beings?  And don't forget, that without your Mother, you wouldn't even be here!

I challenge all those who read this to go re-read  Psalm 139 and see what it says about  you and how you were formed in the "secret place."  Our parents are merely "stewards" to raise us up properly but they are not perfect and they make mistakes out of wrong thinking!

This is for you Mom!   I miss you so much, I do not have words.  Thank you for pushing me when I didn't want to be pushed.  Thank you for making me try to fly when I was so clueless that I couldn't yet fly!  I love you Mommy.  Miss you more, but I know where you are and I can't wait to see you again on the day we are called home to be with Jesus! 

Until Then Mom!  
Love your baby,
JeriAnn

An Adventurous Heart

So what are your plans for such a beautiful Saturday afternoon?

I'll probably be doing some sort of study, cause it is a desire I just can't seem to walk away from right now!  I'm reading a great book by Joyce Meyer called "Be Anxious for Nothing," and it is having a great impact on my life, but only because Joyce doesn't teach anything except for the Word of God.

  

After that, perhaps a nap, or maybe a NASCAR race which I truly enjoy, even though I'm a girl, (Don't mess with my football picks during NFL season either!  I can pick from 10-14 games out of 16 any week of the year a gift I attribute to growing up with a Step Father and 3 brothers who all loved football, which caused me to love it too!  lol.).   

Then later I'll be back studying God's Word which is a fortress where I can hide and know I am safe!   God is always faithful and as it states in  Joel 2:38, "I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions."

I cannot contain the joy, for it truly is like a rushing wind going through me when I give in to Him, which is so easy to do when I feel His arms envelop me and He whispers, "it's alright my child, I am with you from everlasting to everlasting."  I may be alone in my life, but only for a greater purpose!  It's really the only way He can get my attention, help me get well, bring me up out of illness, a lonely life and restore me completely!  (I still dare you to look up what "confirm" means in 1 Corinthians 1:8!  That is a promise for all who believe!

So what is the plan today?  Mow the lawn?  Do the shopping?  Do the laundry?  Washing the dishes, cleaning the refrigerator for the new groceries, or maybe a hectic afternoon of little league games and trying to enjoy your family, or maybe the drudgery of cleaning the pool for the kids as you curse the equipment for not working quite right....all replaced by happy children splashing in the now clean waves 4 hours later?

Nobody said life was easy, but YES INDEED IT IS AN ADVENTURE!  You just have to learn to lean on God's arms before you look at your circumstances through the arm of the flesh which will just make you MISERABLE! 

We are called to "give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:18).  Just imagine how doing that would make you feel inside?  You will be filled with joy!  Now wouldn't that be much cooler than losing your cool at stupid stuff like I used to do?

Do everything you do, work, chores, fun, with a smile and a heart full of gratitude for just being alive, and I guarantee it can change your whole outlook!  So whether drudgery or fun, remember that "We (should) demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:5).

Now, Let's Play Ball and have the adventure of our lives today before being exhausted and content at such a fantastic day and give God the glory!