Encouragement

 Here is my Christmas gift to you: a bit of encouragement. 

I say these things in all humility, as a work in progress, willing to be corrected. When any person states definitive "truths" we consider the source, and I am the source here, so please take this knowing I can only speak from experience, my reading, my studies, and I KNOW my status before the Most High God. 

Through my extreme loss this past year I have found God to be my Comforter. 

Worldview matters.

Knowing about genetics has helped me considerably through facing this Covid 19 crisis.

Knowing Bible Prophecy has helped me considerably through this crisis. 

Friends matter, and crisis reveals who really is your friend. They come through, through thick or thin. God has blessed me with incredible friends. 

To have a friend is to be a friend. Give, without expecting anything in return. God sees, and He does reward you! (This is true!) 

God appoints your days, so live each one to His Glory. Stop worrying----about ANYTHING! He set your birthday, your dying day, or your rapture day in the "stone" of His glorious timeline. Live for Him. 

Accept His blessings. Don't rebuff the one who blesses you! 

Be kind. Be kind to those that hurt you. When Jesus says "Love your enemy" He meant this. It is perfectly okay to have boundaries with those people. There is nothing in the Christian life that demands slavery to being abused. God will deliver you. Scars are scars. They leave a mark that never goes away. Forgiveness is commanded (70 x 7) but scars remain. Lessons are learned. Directions are changed. God closes doors (and doesn't always open windows!).

Here is truth you need to consider: Jesus is God. Jesus believed the Septuagint (Old Testament). Jesus said that He fulfilled the law, He did not nullify it. Righteousness matters. Righteousness reaps reward!

I was reading about R.A. Torrey's prayer for revival. Revival caught on (in relation to his church praying!) on the north side of Chicago. As I've developed a relationship with Chicago since my childhood (I went to school there, briefly, too) I noticed something: Chicago has neighborhoods. Some are avoidable, some are fine to drive through. Guess where the nice ones are? 

Of course there are a zillion factors, economic and geographic, that can be added to the reasons why the north side of Chicago is nice and the south side isn't. I wonder about righteousness and its effect 100 years ago, and the subsequent prosperity it divulged on following eras. Seeing things from a spiritual perspective I'd give God the glory. 

I know that the poor inhabitants of those "gold coast" dwellings are rife with troubles, despite their wealth. Believe me, I know. That is now, though. God will bless righteousness. That is a truth. 

Righteousness will have a purifying effect on all of society. We are responsible to keep righteousness as our goal, chart our lives with righteousness, and see how GOD provides. 

We need to repent from sin daily, plead for guidance and wisdom. I have cried out to God daily for guidance and wisdom since June, in particular. 

I'm a pessimist. I imagine the worst. That is how I conquer fear! I imagine the worst, and then I give God the glory for keeping me from that! (This is the true key to happiness and overcoming fear, I believe)

I am Mrs. Dismal Forebodings in Hannah Hurnard's books. 

The Bible is God's Word-----or it isn't. If Jesus quoted it, referred to it, taught it---then I am convinced it is true, inerrant, infallible, reliable, and historical. This argument about Scripture is so simple that a small child can come to faith in Jesus knowing a few truths from the Bible. All the higher criticism is merely fluff. 

Higher Criticism is actually a tool of the devil. 

"Did God Say?"

We can study God's Word each day, every day, all day of our entire, decades-long lives, and we will NEVER run out of truth and guidance, wisdom, and encouragement. That is the power of God's Word. Who dares to apply "higher criticism?" Not I. 

I just love JD Farag, a pastor from Hawaii. His sweet love for Jesus and enthusiasm is catching. He ends each prophecy update with the ABC's of salvation. 

Here is my variation of his simple plan:

Accept/Admit that you are a sinner.

Believe and trust that Jesus died and rose from the grave as a sacrifice for sin. 

Confess that Jesus is your Savior, say it. The spiritual beings around you cannot read your thoughts (but they've been around a long time, so they are pretty good at guessing) and they need to hear you SAY that you belong to Jesus. Say it out loud. Say it to the people around you. How else will they hear without a preacher? 

You need to pass this truth on to others. 

I've got a Corgi to walk, some baking to do, a house to clean, and laundry. I work at the hotel on Christmas Day, so I am trying to get things done early. Swedish Smorgasbord is being prepped by all of us. It is so nice to share the work! Ed just finished his last test. He's going to be making Swedish meatballs for tomorrow night. I'll post the recipe. They are GOOD. This year we are using just grass fed beef, raised by my cousins up north. What a blessing. 

I hope this encouraged you. I feel like it was counting my blessings. That is always wise.