Persecuted but not crushed

Act IV
Final scene
setting: Galilee, mountaintop
the disciples, Jesus

Jesus enters....

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20

Curtain. Lights out.

Those are the last recorded words of Jesus while he was still on the earth. His final command. Make disciples. Share my love. Otherwise known as the Great Commission.

But he never promised that it would be easy. On the contrary he warned us about persecution and opposition.
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:11-12

Recent statements by the Pentagon have raised some eyebrows in the Christian community. Statement such as “Religious proselytizing is not permitted within the Department of Defense. Court-martials and non-judicial punishments are decided on a case-by-case basis and it would be inappropriate to speculate on the outcome in specific cases.”
The definition of proselytizing, according to Webster Dictionary is “to recruit or convert especially to a new faith, institution, or cause”. The definition of evangelizing , according to Webster dictionary is “to preach the gospel to; to convert to Christianity”. It is a very fine line between the two and it would appear that Christian rights are being attacked.

What are we, Christians, to do? 

Rejoice! Yes rejoice!

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” James 1:2-3
We are to evangelize following Jesus’ commands and when face with this kind of situation he commanded us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44).

Friends I urge you to pray and love on those who are attacking the basic right of sharing your faith. More things will be done for the Kingdom if we follow his commands. Let us not respond with harsh words but with love. Let us not point the finger and belittle those who do not believe but pray for them.

Let’s forgive them for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34).

National Day of Prayer

Take a stand today and pray.

Pray for our nation.

Pray for our families.

Pray for our children.

Pray for our soldiers.

Let's all set aside this day to pray and draw close to God.

Let us diminish and let Him increase.

verse of the week

"See" like a cat

Did you know that of all the senses, a cat's hearing is its sharpest. Felines can perceive the slightest noise and accurately judge where it's coming from. In a way a cat sees better with its ears than its eyes.

You have also probably heard that you should not believe everything you see. Well cats do not, they believe what they hear.

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. Romans 10:17

With tragedies happening at our doorsteps and images of those tragedies replaying on TV screens and newspaper it would be easy to believe that this world is in chaos. Yet God promised us that he would never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

When you see other people pass you for promotions because they spread rumors and make themselves look better, it would be easy to lose heart. But God says that he will avenge us (Romans 12:19).

There are two ways to live in this world. You can go by what you see or you can trust God’s promises.

Faith comes by hearing.

Do you hear Him? He speaks to you daily. Be attentive. Be still (like a cat) and listen. See with your ears. Trust what He is telling you.

Let the temporary pains, disappointments and chaos fade away. Know that if God is for you, then who should you fear.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18

The affairs of your household

I like to believe that my house is a reflection of who I am. The way I decorate, the colors I choose, the pictures on the wall, the kind of furniture I have. I also believe that most days it is also a reflection of how I feel. When I feel good, the house looks good. When I feel bad, well it looks bad......
There are days when I feel so overwhelmed that the simple task of doing the dishes seem too much. There are days I pretend that all the laundry is done simply because it is in the dryer and the hampers are not overflowing. And yes the laundry in the dryer has been dried for a while now and I have even reset it a couple of times but facebook was calling my name and I will get to it eventually.
There are days when I cannot get to cleaning the floors because I was researching on Pinterest the best non toxic floor cleaner recipe.
Procrastination is my evil twin. I live with it, invite it in all the time and deeply despise it. When I procrastinate, I feel bad about the things I did not get to do and in return the things I did not get to pile up and depress me even more.
All this to say that I have a love/hate relationship with the Proverbs 31 woman. She has it ALL together and make me look bad and I do not like to look bad. Yet at the same time she encourages me to try harder and strive to become a Proverbs 31 woman.

"She watches over the affairs of her household" Proverbs 31:27

What does it mean to watch over the affair of your household? Well I believe that it means that we make sure that there is food on the table (healthy food), that clean and neat clothes are available for everybody, that regular cleaning is done and that the atmosphere of the house is one of joy and peace.

Watching over the affair of your household does not mean that your house always look like the cover of Architecture Daily or that your children are styling in the latest fashion or that dinner should be featured in Gourmet magazine.

It took me a while to realize this and I pray that you will find encouragement this week in simply focusing on watching over the affairs of your household.

We will provide you with some tips and ideas later this week so make sure to come back and check it out. In the meantime stop striving for perfection and start watching over the affair of your household.

Verse of the week

Selah

As I am reading through the book of Psalms, I find myself pondering on this one word,

Selah

Selah does not have a translation.Some believe it means forever, others believe that it is like an amen. Another explanation comes from the root word Celah which is used in the Bible to indicate weight as in scale or value (cf Job 28:15-16).

Another modern theory is that it means lift up. 

This mystery word occurs seventy-one times in the book of Psalms and three times in Habakuk.

It is a mystery word and I love mysteries!

    When I come across something I do not know or understand, I tend to pause and think about it. So let’s look at some examples of that pause that can mean “amen” or “forever” or “valuable” or “lift up”:
Psalm 3:8 From the LORD comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people.  

Selah (pause-amen-forever-valuable-lift up)

Psalm 4:2 How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods?  

Selah (pause-amen-forever-valuable-lift up)

Psalm 4:4 In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. Selah (pause-amen-forever-valuable-lift up)

Psalm 85:2 You forgave the iniquity of your people and covered all their sins.  

Selah

Hab. 3:13 You came out to deliver your people, to save your anointed one. You crushed the leader of the land of wickedness, you stripped him from head to foot.  

Selah (pause-amen-forever-valuable-lift up)

I encourage you to read through the rest of the Psalms and Habakuk and find the other Selah.

    So why pause and weigh what you read? 

Who has time to pause and weigh in the situation? 

Surely not me! I have children to take care of, a house to upkeep, laundry to clean and fold and put away (yes I do skip the ironing....), groceries to buy and the list goes on and on. There are days when I barely have time to shower and brush my teeth so why would I pause? Because God said so. He asks us to pause, reflect and praise Him seventy one times in the book of Psalm. “From the Lord comes deliverance”, pause, weigh in, amen, lift up your hands and praise Him forever! “You came out to deliver your people, to save your anointed one”, pause, weigh in, lift up your hands and praise Him forever amen! Nothing else matters. Put God first and reflect on His goodness and your world will be a better place.
    There are Selah all through the Bible, written on all the pages right after that verse you read that seems to speak straight to your heart. Take the time to pause, weigh in and praise Him! He is gently whispering to your ear

“be still my child and know that I am God, be still, selah....” 

I am challenging you in the midst of your busy days to pause and remember what matters the most. Pause at the exact moment you think you ought not to or do not have the time. Recite a verse and pause. I guarantee you that this pause will add time to your day, peace to your mind and joy to your heart.

    You are His beloved. No one can snatch you out of His hand (John 10:38). He will never leave you nor forsake you (Deut. 31:6). Take His yoke and give Him yours so you can find rest (Mat 11:29-30). Above all be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10). 

Selah