OUR NEW NORMAL

OUR NEW NORMAL

Several years ago, when I was doing some painting for my sculptor friend (that’s me on the upper left), he asked me to paint on the figure’s hand. But I wanted to finish what I was painting on the leg. My rebellious nature wanted me to argue and give the reason why my idea was better. But I didn’t say anything because something in me had changed. That rebellious nature I’ve exhibited since childhood had dissipated and I watched myself take on a much humbler and more yielding attitude. It’s like being outside myself looking at a different person. The old carnal nature goes, and Jesus gives me a better way to react. Sometimes I hardly recognize my new normal.

 

Unfortunately, my first response too often is still a “knee-jerk” negative, but anyone who knows me knows that if they just wait a minute or two, my true spiritual nature kicks in and my response turns positive. It’s my genuine new normal.

 

Only Jesus Christ could make that change in me so remarkable and permanent.

 

I was a rebellious child, an even more rebellious teenager, and it continued in my personality over the years. I think most people have issues with rebellion of one sort or another. It’s because rebellion was inherited from the first man, Adam, and it was passed down through generations in the blood.

 

But the birth of the second Adam, Jesus Christ, changed the nature of human blood for those who receive Him: “The first man, Adam, became a living soul (an individual); the last Adam (Christ) became a life-giving spirit [restoring the dead to life]” (1 Cor. 15:45).

 

Once Jesus was born, there was one man with an uncontaminated, non-rebellious nature in His blood. That is a big deal; no wonder a multitude of angels showed up and were rejoicing at His birth: “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men’” (Luke 2:13-14).

 

New blood and consequently a new nature was introduced on Earth. Jesus didn’t get His blood from His mother, Mary, but from God. Jesus’ blood was not prone to disobedience, rebellion, pride, or other human failings.

 

When people get born again, they receive that new nature of Jesus. There are at least 19 million cells in one square inch of skin, and each one is affected by DNA and blood. The pure lifeblood of Jesus impacts every cell in us.

 

The old nature begins to fade, and Jesus’ nature takes over. Some things may change immediately; others take time, but they will happen when we keep seeking the changes only He can produce.

 

Jesus’ meek nature was working in my blood for years until it just suddenly popped out as the new true me, and I’m so much happier now.

 

Jesus says this about being faithful: “Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matt. 25:23).

 

“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment” (Mark 12:30). He knows that if we continue to love Him, the gift of His son Jesus Christ will continue to bless us and change our very natures to be more like His.

 

Second Corinthians 3:18 tells us: “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

 

The word “glory,” that we change into is translated from the Greek word “doxa” which means “magnificence, majesty, brightness, personal excellency, dignity, and grace.” When we continue to read the Bible and apply it to our lives, we change from glory to glory, sometimes instantly and sometimes over a period of time.

 

God created us, every human being, with the ability to assimilate the spirit and nature of Jesus Christ into ourselves. We hopefully are willing to let God’s Holy Spirit filtrate throughout our bodies, minds, and emotions. The Spirit of Christ in us (Col. 1:27) can change us into the new and better version of us. We don’t want to ever give up on reading the Bible, praying, and doing our best to communicate with the Lord often. Stay faithful, because like me with the disappearance of a huge rebellious nature, we never know when those good changes will show ups and we become a new person in our habits with the new normal of the Christ within us.

 

Love, Carolyn

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY

 

WELLS OF LIVING WATER

WELLS OF LIVING WATER

I was involved in a Bible group for several years until it became spiritually corrupted. I knew I had to leave it behind, but what to do next? At first, I felt at a bit of a loss, but after a while, I recognized I’d been given a gift of free time to get closer in my relationship with the Lord alone. I didn’t want to immediately jump into another Bible organization, but rather, to explore my personal relationship with God, through Bible reading and prayer. But I had a bit of a dilemma.

 

In 1 Corinthians 12:27-28 we’re told: “Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.” And Ephesians 4:25 tells us: “We are members one of another.” So how was I going to stay away from another organized church denomination, yet remain an active part of the body of Christ and continue to receive the living water Jesus promised? And my journey began.

 

In Genesis 25, God shows us, through the life of Isaac, a real-life way to take this life journey.  In Genesis 25:11 He tells us Isaac was settled near Beer-Lahairoi (“the well of the Living One who sees me”). He was there for quite a while, raised his sons there, and had a good life. But then “there was a famine in the land” (Gen. 26:1). And that was the beginning of his next journey.

 

No matter where we are on our spiritual journey, we all have felt the famine a time or two. It’s when we feel we are lacking something necessary for the abundant life God promises us in the Bible. We may feel we don’t know enough about healing; we don’t have the skills to deliver people from demons; we don’t have the loving human relationships we seek. We’ve all been there. When famine hit Isaac, he knew he had to move on. He trusted God. He needed to find a new well for his life. One of the great keys to walking by the Spirit is truly walking out on a limb in trusting God, and not automatically going where others have gone.

 

When Isaac’s father, Abraham, found himself in a famine, he went to Egypt, so Isaac would have thought to do the same. But God told Isaac differently: “Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of” (Gen. 26:2).

 

We have Holy Spirit in us, and if we are willing to be led by God’s spirit, rather than our own will, He will show us where to go physically, like with Isaac, or as in these days, traveling the highways of the internet.

 

Isaac had a big need, but his journey with God was different from Abraham’s. When you listen to different Bible people on the internet, or you try out different church groups, the Holy Spirit within you will resonate with some and not others. We need to test it out as quickly as we can, so we don’t waste time with preachers and teachers that are not part of our path right now.

 

God told Isaac to go to where the Philistines were, in Gerar, which was North, the opposite direction from Egypt. He went, and he prospered. “Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him. And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds and great store of husbandry: and the Philistines envied him: (Gen. 26:12-14).

 

Isaac prospered in Gerar, but now he was met with another type of famine. The people around him were not favorably responding to him anymore. It became time for him to move on. He had a big need for water for all the people and animals who relied on him. He tried to dig in the old wells, but “the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth” (v.15).

 

Then Isaac found what he thought was a great well of water. “And Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of springing water” (v. 19). “Springing water” is “living water.” Verse 20 says: “And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac’s herdmen, saying, ‘The water is ours.’”  Isaac had to keep moving.

 

This part of the story is so amazing and pertinent. Isaac found living water, good water, and others said it was theirs. He called the well, “Esek,” because there was contention there. It wasn’t for him at this time. So, he kept looking. He dug another well, and again, it wasn’t good for him. Then he dug another well, and the Philistines finally let him be. It was good for the time being, but the journey continued. Eventually, Isaac left the wells in Phillistine, and he went East to Beersheba and dug a new well, where he stayed and prospered.

 

When we feel like we are in any kind of spiritual famine, we need to keep moving until we find something that truly resonates with our Spirit, something that feels totally right. We check it out with God and test it. Then if it doesn’t really resonate in our heart, and if it’s not giving us the living water we need, we mustbe willing to move on.

 

One of the great things about the story of Isaac and the Philistines is that after Isaac moved to his well in Beersheba, the Philistines came to him.

 

“And Isaac said unto them, ‘Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me and have sent me away from you?’ And they said, ‘We saw certainly that the Lord was with thee: and we said, ‘Let there be now an oath betwixt us.’” (vv. 27-28). And he [Isaac] made then a feast, and they did eat and drink” (v. 30).

 

Walking by the spirit of God is a marvelous journey. Let’s be sensitive to where we are on the journey and sensitive to the Lord’s urging to move on if need be. Let’s not criticize others on their journey or doubt our own. Instead of getting mad or disappointed with others who aren’t on our same journey, let’s let God play it out and let’s be willing to feast with all the body of Christ in the end, (or along the journey, any time we can.)

 

Our individual journeys may take many turns, and like Isaac, we’re not afraid if a well dries up. We never quite know where Jesus, who is the living water, will lead us. We trust and we follow.

 

As a side note: Why do you think we find so often in the Bible that our God is called “The father of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob”? What is it with each of these men that God is showing us? And it’s not just their genealogy.   

 

Love, Carolyn

 

REMOVING THE EFFECTS OF WORDS SPOKEN AGAINST US

REMOVING THE EFFECTS OF WORDS SPOKEN AGAINST US

“Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” When my brother, sister, and I would fight as kids, we’d retort using that phrase. But looking back, I think you’d have to be superhuman not to have spiteful words affect you. Many of us as adults are still affected by the things spoken against us. We can reverse and eliminate that baggage.

 

In many Pagan religions, when they got together to put a curse on someone, they believed that spirits went out with the curse to make sure they got the results. Curses were powerful in the old days but are still very much in effect today.

 

The story of King Balak and the Israelites in Numbers 22 gives us a prototype of what curses do and the antidote. The principles still apply today, over 3000 years later.

 

The Israelites were on their way to the blessing, the peace, and the good life God promised them. They met with two renowned kings and asked to pass through their domain. The kings said no and came against the Israelites. Everyone figured the Israelites would get wiped out because these kings were very well-equipped and strong, but instead, the two kings were defeated. The defeat of the mighty kings shook the world around them. When King Balak heard about the fallen kings, he feared for his land and kingdom because the Israelites were coming there next.

 

“Balak saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites and was sore afraid of the people because they were many: [He] said ‘Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field’” (Num. 22:2-4).

 

Balak and the people back then believed in the power of the words spoken by prophets and soothsayers. They believed in the spiritual powers backing the words these people said. There was a very famous soothsayer named Balaam. He was not an Israelite. He lived over 400 miles north of where the Israelites were now traveling and Balak’s kingdom. Balaam could be compared to a current day psychic, who may have some truth but also bad stuff. In Balaam’s case, God wouldn’t let him say anything against Israel.

 

King Balak sent his messengers up to get Balaam and bring him down to where he was. Balak was willing to send his men over 400 miles one way and pay Balaam a large amount of money for the curse because he knew it worked. Balak sent the following message to Balaam: “Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I wot [know] that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed” (Num.22:6).

 

We can see from this verse many things about curses. First, curses are directed not toward weak people but against “mighty” ones. Next, we see that the purpose of the curse is to “smite” them. The word “smite” in Hebrew is powerful and has many synonyms, including: “to strike home, strike deep, to wound or kill. It means to “beat, to overpower, overcome, crush, stop, ruin, plunder, suppress, lay waste, attack and destroy.” This word “smite” also refers to being smitten like a plant is smitten when it begins to wither.

 

King Balak believed that just the words of Balaam in a curse (with the attached devil spirits to go with it) would “drive them [the Israelites] out of the land.” The word “drive” in Hebrew implies violence, power, anger, and hatred. It means to expel or cast out like mire is cast up by the sea. It carries with it the idea of shame and disgrace. It is a sentence of banishment.

 

Even today, when negative words and phrases have been spoken against us by people who believe in what they are saying, the same motivation and intent are behind it.

 

The Lord says we are His people. We are mighty in His sight. If you ever feel like you are on the right path with the Lord and you are being beaten at every turn or stopped or any of the other definitions of what it means to be smitten, then it just may be that someone uttered words to stop you.

 

Yes, there are witch covens and other groups of Satan worshipers that get together in our villages, cities, and suburbs for the exact purpose of speaking curses against God’s children. But often, the curses come in a much subtler way.

 

Curses can come in answer to the simple question, “How’s so-and-so doing?” Answers like: “Oh, she always has problems with her finances.” “He can’t seem to make a marriage work.” “She is sick all the time.” These seemingly innocent responses can act like sections of a chain-link fence, combined to make a monstrous barrier preventing the person from the freedom they seek. Word curses have power, good or evil.

 

But things we often think and say about ourselves are even more insidious than what others say about us. Things like: “My father died of a heart attack, and it’ll probably get me too.” “I probably won’t ever get a better job.” When we say things like that, they can keep us in a state of being cursed, smitten, withered, or even violently spewed out of our own promised lands.

 

BUT THERE IS AN ANTIDOTE. On Balak’s second try to get Balaam to come and curse God’s people, Balaam did go. King Balak took Balaam up to the mountaintop, where he had a good view of the Israelites, but when it came time to speak the curses, Balaam opened his mouth, and blessing words came out! After three tries from three different viewpoints, Balak was furious because Balaam could only speak what the Almighty God gave him, which were words of blessing over the Israelites. Finally, on the last try, an amazing thing happened:

 

Balaam not only did not curse the Israelites, but he prophesied a wonderful blessing instead. In many situations, we need to do the same. It takes wisdom to respond to spoken curses in a more encouraging and positive way, but not phoney! God doesn’t want us to call a snake a puppy! I know you know what I mean.  

 

Balaam spoke of the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, who would cut down and eradicate every possible curse ever! 

 

“I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near. A star shall come forth from [the descendants of] Jacob. A scepter shall rise out of [the descendants of] Israel and shall smite [remember the definition of “smite”] the princes of Moab and destroy all the sons of Sheth. And Israel shall do valiantly. Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city” (Num. 22: 17-19).

 

Balaam prophesied how Jesus, the King of Kings, would rise out of Israel and “smite” the princes (devil spirits that instigate the curses) of Moab. And Jesus shall have dominion and destroy any curses that remain to this very day. And that “day” includes the present day.

 

We have the privilege to use the powerful name of Jesus to rebuke and halt any curses spoken against us. Jesus took all those things that have been and will continue to be spoken against us, to the cross. He took them and destroyed their power. In His name, we stay vigilant to confront and destroy them now.

 

1 John 3:8b says: “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

 

And Galatians 3:13 tells us the truth about curses: “Christ purchased our freedom and redeemed us from the curse of the Law and its condemnation by becoming a curse for us.” All the things spoken against us, including the things we have recently said about ourselves, are wiped away when we believe what Jesus has done for us, not only in the spirit but in our hearts, minds, emotions, decisions, and bodies.

 

Deuteronomy 28:15-68 lists curses of the Law of Moses. The King James Version says God brings them, but truthfully, God only allows them if people aren’t willing to accept redemption from them or maybe don’t know that they can be free or know how to get there.

 

That’s why we have to get more of Jesus, less of us, less of our intellect and reasoning, and more simply believing and receiving. I am right there with you on this.

 

Among the curses and their effects in Deuteronomy 28 are:

 

Vs. 20 – despair, confusion, and rebuke in every enterprise you try to do

Vs. 22 – consumption (emaciation, anorexia perhaps?), fever, inflammation

Vs. 27 – tumors

Vs. 28 – insanity, blindness

Vs. 29 – oppression, not prospering, being robbed

Vs. 30 – adultery, failure in business

Vs. 32 – sons and daughters turning away

Vs. 35 – problems with knees and legs

Vs. 61 – every sickness and every disease

 

Suppose we take a look at some of these verses and see those things in ourselves. In that case, we’ve probably been cursed by thoughts that have turned into words from our own mouths, words from others in our lives, other communication’s media, and even curses that have come down into our lives through our ancestors, down into our blood and DNA.

 

We rebuke those curses in the name of Jesus Christ. We call on the King of Kings to crush the powerful spirits who backed King Balak, and we accept new freedom and release as we both meekly and boldly follow the leading of Jesus Christ, the curse breaker, receiving our victory in Him.

 

Love, Carolyn

My book, WINGS: A Journey in Faith – an awesome spiritual adventure and great interactive workbook. Find it on Amazon in paperback or Kindle.

 

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GOD'S LOVE

GOD’S LOVE

God loves us unconditionally. Matthew 5:45 says God “maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” And Romans 2:4 tells us: “The goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance.” Sometimes it takes a lot of convincing, but even in our human relationships, if we absolutely know and see it in action, that someone truly loves us, we want to reciprocate. 

 

Everyone wants to feel that they matter to someone, and you matter to God. He has a wonderful plan for your life. I once heard a Bible teacher give the listeners this challenge: “I want you to say, ‘God loves me unconditionally,’ 50 times a day and then watch for His love.’” So, I tried it.

 

Wow did I have some big surprises. I was doing pretty well until I went out on my patio and started to re-pot a few plants. One of the plants was super heavy, and I was very intense on getting it out of the one pot and into the other without hurting myself. Then I was moving everything around and sweeping and working hard. I love doing this, but I realized that I was so intense that I didn’t think about God much.

 

During those intense times when we’re working so hard to produce, we may forget that the Lord is right there with us. The first time I did the “God loves me” challenge, the transplanting project knocked the challenge right out of me. I didn’t say, “God loves me unconditionally,” even one time! Maybe if I’d relaxed a little more and said my quote, I would have enjoyed myself more and not stressed out my shoulder muscles!

 

But the next day after the flowerpot incident, I was at work, and I had a project that was on a tight deadline. All day long I was saying “God, You love me unconditionally. I matter to you. You have a wonderful plan for my life.” I kept a tally, and during work alone, I said this or a version of it 75 times. And in spite of the difficulty of my project, I finished it in time. I was happy while I did it, and it turned out well.

 

How about taking on this challenge for the upcoming week? Keep a record and try to say some version of “God loves me unconditionally” 50 times each day.  Let’s see what happens.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

All of my books and booklets are available on Amazon. I’m now working on Volume 3 of  WINGS: A JOURNEY IN FAITH. Thanks for the prayers, as I have a lot of material to go through for this one. Thanks!

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THE WOMAN WITH THE SPIRIT OF INFIRMITY

THE WOMAN WITH THE SPIRIT OF INFIRMITY 

 The Gospels are filled with some of the wonderful healings and deliverances God did through Jesus Christ. By faith, we too can receive and give the same kind of miraculous blessings. The record of the woman who Jesus “loosed” from the demon of infirmity is what the Lord gave me to talk about today, because it is one of the demons attacking and trying to attach itself to many of God’s people in our world today. The story is in Luke 13:11.

 

“And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.”

 

The Greek word for “infirmity” is astheneia. This is the definition:  The “want [lack] of strength, weakness, infirmity A. of the body, its weakness and frailty, feebleness of health or sickness. B. of the soul, want [lack] of strength and capacity requisite [required] to understand a thing, to do things great and glorious, to restrain corrupt desires, to bear trials and troubles.” All of the above is in the definition of what infirmity is.

 

We all know people with this problem, or you may have it yourself. In this woman’s case, her frailty even affected her posture, and she was bent over under the overall strain of life itself.

 

“And he [Jesus] was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.  

 

“And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, ‘Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.’ And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God” (Luke 13:10-13).

 

The woman knew this was from God and she honored and celebrated Him for healing her. Life could no longer push her down. Jesus gifted her with the understanding and the strength to do great things and overcome corrupt desires and bear up under trials, things she could never do before.

 

We all have things that bother us about ourselves, but Jesus is here to heal us of all that. As He said to the man whose son was suicidal: “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth” (Mark 9:23).

 

Got a problem? Jesus has the answer. Let’s respond like the man who had the suicidal son: “And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe” (Mark 9:24).

 
Hebrews 11:1 tells us: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” The Amplified version puts it this way: “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].”

 

Faith believes what God says, before it’s seen in our reality. God wants us to “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7).

 

We have the kind of faith like the woman in Luke 13. She went to where Jesus was. She sought his teaching, his wisdom, his love. And she received what he offered. She was lifted up—she was straightened up and set free, relieved from all her weaknesses. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ makes us strong. And faith connects us to God.

 

For more examples of faith, check out Hebrews 11.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

STAND AND BE GRAND

 

STAND AND BE GRAND

The Lord is involved in everything we do, including our choices politically, socially, and emotionally. When we voice our choices publicly, we better be ready to be criticized. Nobody really likes criticism. It can be hurtful, but we need to learn to deal with it. It’s better to take a stand for something and be criticized than to remain apathetic and fearful. Even in olden times, kings respected strong enemies who were brave enough to stand tall for what they believed. God’s Word has a strong Word for those who He deems lukewarm:

 

“I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth” (Rev. 3:15-16).

 

Wow, that’s powerful!  I used to be more afraid of offending friends and family, than of offending God. I wanted people to like me, and I didn’t want to argue or get into any debates where I had to defend what I thought. But after a while, I learned that no matter what I did, I wasn’t going to please everyone.  There are many adult children who are still trying to please their parents, and it just isn’t happening.  I was one of them.

 

Finally, in my mid-forties, I realized I didn’t have to try to please my parents anymore. The very middle verse of the Bible says: “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man” (Ps. 118:8). When I changed my focus to pleasing God, it was shortly afterward that my parents began to totally respect me as an adult person and not as a needy child anymore.

 

I was taught to be polite (which I think is a good thing), but polite became timid, and timid became fearful. I’m not fearful now, and you don’t have to be either. We can speak our minds openly and disagree. Paul and Peter disagreed about certain things, but they didn’t hate each other. They were loud and proud. I’d rather say what I think and be criticized than be lukewarm and have God’s opinion be that I’m too “milk toast” to even swallow, but rather, as He says in Revelation 3:16: “I will spue thee out of my mouth.”

 

Peter was a bold guy. He boldly told Jesus that He shouldn’t have to die. Well, Jesus rebuked him. But Jesus didn’t forsake Peter. He just corrected him, and they went on being friends. If we think that not voicing what we think is going to make us a better person, it’s not. We all have opinions, and God knows what they are. When we don’t speak them out, we might not even be fully aware of what we really think.

 

Putting a pen to our thoughts, or a voice to our thoughts helps us to articulate what we think. When we know what we think, we can either keep thinking it or we can change it. Changing what we think is part of growth. People change what they think all the time.

 

But when our thoughts are fuzzy and unspoken, they aren’t clear, and they aren’t cold or hot. They become lukewarm like the Bible says. And that goes for what we say to ourselves as well as what we say to others. Our thoughts about ourselves need to be lined up with what God says about us. Isaiah 61 is a prophetic word about what Jesus Christ would do for those who believe. It’s our job to boldly declare His truth if we are to be true disciples of the Lord.

 

Verse 1 says he was anointed “to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.” So, if a person feels like they are bound to some addictive action, for instance, Jesus is here to set us free from that, and we must boldly claim ourselves free in Jesus’ name. Later, in verse 3, part of Jesus’s mission is “to give unto them beauty for ashes.” This gives us the right and responsibility to boldly declare to ourselves: “I am beautiful.” Or a person could boldly say: “I am not beautiful,” and in the 5-senses that may be true. But our mission is to get to where we are “hot” to God’s truths, helping others to do the same.

 

Taking a stand, hot or cold, on what we think, requires boldness in either case. Boldness is a quality God admires. Just take a look at your Concordance to see how many times the word “bold” is used in the Bible!

 

Let’s be brave. Let’s step out without fear. As Paul writes in Romans 13:11: “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation [wholeness] nearer than when we believed.”

 

We want to keep growing, “with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor, 3:18).

 

It’s time to Stand and be Grand!

 

Love, Carolyn

 

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HOPE AND VICTORY

 

 

 

    

 

 

HOPE AND VICTORY

This past week I was inspired to move my HOPE chime out to the end of my trellis. When I went to take a photo of it, I noticed that one of the sticks that the chimes are attached to is broken and ragged, like we all were before Jesus came into our lives, and the trellis formed a cross, like the cross Jesus bore for us so many years ago.

 

The trees are still blooming, the doves are still loving on each other and making babies, and we have the ultimate victory because of that cross and because God raised him. When Jesus was killed and put into the tomb, it looked like all was over. But to those who had hope in the scriptures of old and in the words Jesus spoke himself, after three long days of grief and fear, their dream came true, and their prayers were answered. Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, thus defeating death for every person who believes.

 

Matthew 28:6 – “For he is risen, as he said.”

Mark 16:6 – “He is risen.”

Luke 24:6 – “He is not here, but is risen.”

John 21:14  - “This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.”

 

JESUS IS ALIVE NOW, AND WE WILL BE WITH HIM FOREVER.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

PALM SUNDAY

PALM SUNDAY

Jesus went to Jerusalem several times to celebrate the feasts, but his final entry into Jerusalem had a special meaning. He was solemnly entering as a humble King of peace. Traditionally, entering the city on a donkey symbolizes arrival in peace, rather than as a war-waging king arriving on a horse. I found an article on the history and Biblical background to the event we call Palm Sunday, and I think you’ll enjoy it. I hope you’ll take the time to look up the additional scriptures that help give us a more extensive understanding of what Palm Sunday is all about. Read the record in the gospels for yourself this week and see what the Lord himself wants to teach you.

 

Excerpts from “The Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem" by Wayne Jackson (ChristianCourier.com)

 

“The significance of the event is underscored by the fact that the circumstance is recorded in all four Gospel accounts. For brevity’s sake, we will produce only Matthew’s record.

 

“And when they drew near to Jerusalem, and came unto Bethphage, to the mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying unto them, ‘Go into the village that is just ahead of you, and straightway you shall find a donkey tied, and a colt with her: untie them, and bring them to me. And if any one says anything to you, you shall say, The Lord has need of them; and immediately he will send them.’

 

“Now this is to happen that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, ‘Tell the daughter of Zion, Behold, your King is coming to you, Meek, and riding upon a donkey, And upon a colt, the foal of a donkey.’

 

“And the disciples went, and did just as Jesus had instructed them, and brought the donkey, and the colt, and put on them their garments; and he sat thereon. And most of the crowd spread their garments in the road; and others cut branches from the trees, and spread them in the road.

 

“And the crowds that went before him, and that followed, cried out, saying, ‘Hosanna [save now!] to the son of David: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.’ And when he was come into Jerusalem, the entire city was stirred, saying, ‘Who is this?’ And the crowds said, ‘This is the prophet, Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee’” (Mt. 21:1-11).

 

The setting of this episode takes place on the Sunday, just prior to the crucifixion later that week, as the Lord and his disciples made their way toward Jerusalem. This day is commonly called “Palm Sunday,” the appellation being taken from the events that occurred subsequently on this notable occasion.

 

As they approached a village called Bethphage (“house of figs” — specific site unidentified) on the western slope of Olivet, Jesus dispatched two (un-named) disciples into the community to obtain a donkey for use in the remainder of his journey into the sacred city.

 

Evidence of the Supernatural

Christ informed the disciples that as they entered the village they would find a female donkey secured by a “tie.” With her would be a colt, also hitched. The disciples were to “unloose” and bring back both animals. They would be questioned by the animals’ owners (plural — Lk. 19:33) as to what they were doing. Their response was to be, “The Lord has need of them.” Immediately permission would be granted.

 

This was not a pre-arranged agreement; rather, it provides a dramatic example of the Lord’s exercise of supernatural knowledge whenever the circumstances demanded such (Luke 19:32). It is worthy of note as well that the owners of these donkeys were obviously disciples of the Master, as indicated by their unhesitating response to the designation “Lord.”

 

When the Savior’s men returned, donkeys in tow, the two animals were adorned with the outer garments of the disciples, reflecting perhaps the fact that they did not know which of the two beasts of burden he would choose. Jesus selected the colt, upon whose back no man had ever sat (Mk. 11:2; Lk. 19:30). It is not without significance that the young animal made no resistance (divine sovereignty over the animal kingdom — Num. 22:28; 2 Kgs. 2:24, etc.).

 

The Adoring Crowds

As the Savior rode down the road toward the capital city, two throngs of people converged upon him – a massive crowd coming out of the city; another group following him (Mt. 21:9; Mk. 11:9). These were mostly disciples who had been awed by the effect of the Lord’s miracles – especially the recent resurrection of Lazarus (Lk. 19:37; Jn. 12:17).

 

Some “paved” the road with their garments; others with layers of leaves, at least some of which were from palm trees (Jn. 12:13), hence the expression “Palm Sunday.” Spreading garments before a dignitary was a symbol of submission (see 2 Kgs. 9:13).

 

Palm branches were employed also as token of victory. Some Jewish coins from the first century had palm leaf engravings with the accompanying inscription, “the redemption of Zion.” Note the “palm” symbolism that is portrayed in the book of Revelation (7:9). The Jewish disciples doubtless were expressing the hope that Jesus would be the one to lead them to victory over their oppressor (Rome).

 

Prophecy

Both Matthew and John contend that this incident was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. The former cites Zechariah 9:9 specifically; the latter alludes to it more generally.

 

The prophet Zechariah was among the 50,000 or so Jews who returned in the first wave of Hebrews released from Babylonian captivity in 536 B.C. He wrote about five centuries before the birth of Jesus (520 B.C. – Zech. 1:1). The prophet’s main emphasis was to rekindle spiritual fervor in Israel’s hearts after they had fallen into a state of listlessness. Chapters 9-14 are heavily Messianic in argument. The prophecy under consideration reads as follows:

 

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, your king coming unto you; he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon a donkey, even upon a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zech. 9:9).”

 

Zechariah spoke the exact thing that would happen on Palm Sunday, over 500 years before it happened!!!

 

Oh Lord, please don’t let it be that long for us to wait! Please make our waiting be on the short end, like you said in 2 Peter 3:8 :“Beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” Please make our waiting be on the short end of time. I don’t know if we can stand a long waiting! God willing!

 

In spite of how long we may have to wait, let’s make our mission this week to be like that of Zechariah: “To rekindle spiritual fervor in our hearts” lest we too fall into a state of listlessness. We, as believers in Christ Jesus and in the majesty of our God, are powerful on the earth to effect change.

 

Let’s be the ones who are willing to put down our earthly accoutrements, thoughts, ambitions, coverings, and everything else at the feet of Jesus, the Messiah, the perfect man and son of God.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

DON'T BE AFRAID TO FAIL - GOD IS FAITHFUL TO A HUMBLE HEART

DON’T BE AFRAID TO FAIL - GOD IS FAITHFUL TO A HUMBLE HEART

I remember the day when I discovered I was totally okay with my own failure. After three days of trying to make a piece of Masonite look like a piece of maple, I’d run out of ideas. I’d completed hundreds of wood samples that looked great, so I was shocked with myself when I realized I just could not do this one. I had to admit failure, and the result was surprisingly wonderful! In that moment, I was totally set free. I did fail, and I was actually happy for myself. Odd, yes, and yet this was a deliverance for me! I was very prideful growing up. Failure was never an option. I was good at almost anything I tried, and I avoided activities I couldn’t do well. No one really likes the idea of failing. But sometimes it can be a good thing – a lifesaver, actually.

 

Though I’d accepted Jesus as my Lord and confessed my sins, pride kept popping up in other categories. It’s funny how God can use the most mundane things in our lives to show us the most important spiritual things we will ever experience. This incident with the wood sample was one of those things.

 

Many of you have experienced similar awakenings. We go along in our regular life, no real “Las Vegas” moments to speak of, no bells and whistles, just plodding along, and all of a sudden, in the middle of doing something we normally do, God opens an amazing realization about a very big thing in our lives that we never expected.

 

One thing I’ve learned over the years is that if we are faithful to seek God and read His life manual, the Bible, He is faithful to us, to reward us with revelations, insights, and deliverances that we not only wanted but some we didn’t even know we wanted! A preacher once said: “God can make taking out the garbage the most exciting thing you’ve ever experienced.” I‘ve found this to be absolutely true.

 

The key on our part is to be faithful to Him. Jesus tells us a parable in Matthew 25 about a man going to a far country who gives his goods to his servants to take care of while he was away. 

 

“And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several [own] ability; and straightway took his journey. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.

 

“And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.

 

“After a long time, the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.

 

“And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, ‘Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.’ His lord said unto him, ‘Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.’

 

“He also that had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them’. His lord said unto him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.’

 

“Then he which had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.’

 

“His lord answered and said unto him, ‘Thou wicked and slothful servant’” (Matt. 25:15-24).

 

The servant that received one talent was afraid of failure. He didn’t even try, didn’t risk anything, didn’t step out in faith to gain anything more. He buried what he had. He reminds me of Christians who stop reading the Bible, stop praying, stop exploring and questing after more of the Lord’s intimacy in their lives. They bury their desire for Him or get snared by fear that it might not work, or they may look foolish even trying.

 

In the above parable, the two servants who were faithful to do more with what they had, were the ones who were brave enough to step out. And look what the Lord told them: “Enter into the joy of thy Lord.”

 

As Christians, we are still human, and we are going to fail sometimes. But failure isn’t a crime. “As it is written, ‘There is none righteous, no, not one’” (Rom. 3:10).

 

We were failures when we came to Jesus the first time and admitted we weren’t very good at being our own Lord. Don’t be afraid of being a failure at something. It’s worth a try.

 

We must pick ourselves up when we fall and continue to seek the Lord’s guidance. Let’s be like David, who said to God: “Unto thee lift I up mine eyes” (Ps. 123:1).

 

Humility is a sweet smell to our God. And pride is a stinker. Shut it down by going back to the scriptures with a humble heart for truth.

 

God is faithful to us. “Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations” (Deut. 7:9).

 

In the New Testament, the Lord promises: “He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6). And God keeps His promises.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

Other teachings and true-life stories I’ve written to help you live the Bible way:

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Carolyn-Molica/author/B007GZO1HA?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_15&qid=1651431514&sr=8-15&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

 

CULTURAL EXPLANATION OF THE JAEL AND SISERA STORY

Bishop KC Pillai was an expert on the culture and customs of the people of the Bible. My friend, Doug, sent me this write-up on the story of Jael and Sisera that I talked about on last Sunday’s preach letter. I think this will give everyone a deeper understanding of that record – well worth the reading!

 

Eastern Customs and Idioms of the Bible: Orientalisms

Bishop K.C Pillai

Jael Defends Her Honor

Judges 4:18-21

And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my Lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle. And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink: for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink; and covered him. Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any doth come and enquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? That thou shalt say, No. Then Jael, Herber’s wife, took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.

And then, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said to him, “Come, I will show you the man whom you seek.” And when he went into her tent, there lay Sisera, dead with the peg in his temple. (Added for clarity, it was her tent.)

 There was a war at one time between the Israelites and the Canaanites in which the Israelites defeated the Canaanites. The captain of the army of the Canaanites was Sisera, and he ran when he saw defeat. He came to a tent where Jael lives and (1) she gave him refuge. He asked for water and (2) she gave him milk. (3) She also covered him with a mantle. These three actions of her were very significant. Jael belonged to a neutral party, so Sisera was sage there. In the tents, there is one part for men and one part for women, divided with a tarpaulin. Men could never enter the women’s side and vice versa. Only family could visit back and forth. Even military or lawmen could not go into a woman’s apartment. Sisera was a stranger to Jael, so why should she help him? It is believed that to give a man refuge who is running for his life is doing the word of God. Otherwise, it would have been against her culture to speak to the man.

She put him in the men’s side of the tent and covered him up with a mantle. A mantle is a three to four foot long cloth, folded in four parts and worn around the neck. The mantle represents authority, or protection, or when it is torn in two, it signifies an outward sign of inward grief or anger. Authority may be transferred by transferring the mantle from on to another. Jael invited Sisera in. Whenever a guest comes under the shadow of one’s roof, he is treated as if he were God or an angel. The host would rather die than allow any harm to come to the guest. He may be “no one” but when serving him, one is serving God. Receiving a guest is a religious thing and even the government would not interfere with it.

When Jael gave Sisera milk (buttermilk) in which there is salt, she took a covenant of salt with him, which is inviolable. She gave him three assurances of protection: (1) invited him in, (2) covered him with a mantle, and (3) took the covenant of salt with him. Being an Eastern man, he should have understood the significance of these three things. He then asked her to tell a lie. In their philosophy is an unwritten law: one can tell a lie to save someone’s life, but one can never tell a lie to profit or save one’s self.

She was offering to Sisera God’s assurance for protection. She would lay down her life for him (indicated by her standing in the doorway for him), rather then betray him. Later on, she comes inside from standing in the doorway and found him fast asleep. Sisera had three assurances, but he snuck into the women’s apartment. He did not stay where he was put. Any man can come into a man’s side of the tent. So Sisera began thinking, “maybe they will chase her away and come into the tent—although she means well, she could not defend me if men walked in. But if I get into a woman’s tent, no men, no power, no army can come in. I will be safer here.” So his unbelief in the three “securities” or assurances, led him into her apartment of the tent. His unbelief killed him. The woman found him in her apartment and carried out her part of the contract. She took a nail of the tent and drove this nail through his temple and he died. Why? 

If a person makes the covenant of salt with another person and one of the two breaks this covenant, the punishment is death. The reason that she drove a nail through his head was because he moved over into her side of the tent (verse 22). He broke the covenant of salt by doubting her protection, so he deserved only death. She was dealing with his unbelief by driving tent nail through his head. She had no animosity, she was not his enemy. She covered him with the mantle, exchanged the covenant of salt and she called him inside.

Because we do not trust in God, we try to make our own securities. Because of our unbelief, we forsake the sufficiency give to us in God. We do not believe because we do not understand. Knowing God is different from knowing about God. We must understand our security, freedom, heritage and rejoice in God for the rest of our lives.”