STARTING THE NEW YEAR FREE AND CLEAR

STARTING THE NEW YEAR FREE AND CLEAR

Want to start 2018 free and clear of emotional, mental, and perhaps even spiritual baggage? Then do this exercise. It will surprise you in several ways and will set you on a clean and happy path for the upcoming year.

Thanks Margo for sharing this with me so many years ago!

STEP 1: Make a list of every grief, major or minor, that others caused you this past year. List names and incidents. The more details, the more liberated you’ll get.

STEP 2: Add to the list any past hurts people have caused you that are still bugging you.

STEP 3: Go through the list and categorize the grievances. I’ve listed some of the categories I’ve addressed over the years, as examples to get you started:

-egotistical people not caring about other people’s feelings

-good people letting evil people bully them

-people getting angry when confronted with the truth and trying to hide from it or ignore it

-people who use their power or position to manipulate others

-broken promises and deliberate deceptions – outright lying

-people who know they need help but don’t seek it

-people who pervert the truth and lead others that way

STEP 4: For each of the categories ask yourself, “Have I ever acted this way toward God?”

When I did this exercise for the first time, this fourth step was a great awakening. And every year since has been a huge refreshing. I realize I am just as much of a sinner as anyone who has offended me. I acknowledge what God has forgiven me for and then I know I have no right to withhold forgiveness from anyone else. 

So, I let them go. I am for-giving, in favor of giving those I need to forgive over to God because I can't deal with them as well as He can. I make an effort to forgive because it's the right thing to do, not necessarily because I want to. After we confess forgiveness, God works in our hearts to get around to really meaning it!

If I feel any lingering hurt or anger, I need to give it to God. I remind Him I need some help: “God, I’m not doing so well with this, so You’re going to have to do something from here.” And, of course, He does.

The servant in Matthew 18:21-35 was forgiven, but then he turned around and wouldn’t forgive. The Bible tells us this unforgiveness tormented him, and that’s how it is with us. When we don’t forgive, the disturbing thoughts are going to be still attached to us and be like arthritis or cancer, that just wants to grow, spread and take over. Doing this one small exercise is the floodgate to awesome freedom as we begin 2018.

Charge ahead! Like the Bible says, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Phil 4:13). We are what God says we are and we are not weaklings or doormats. Romans 8:37 tells the truth: “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.”

Love, Carolyn

WINGS: Journey /With Jesus: A compilation of short true narratives to entertain, inspire and enhance your spiritual growth. If you haven’t read it yet, check it out. https://www.amazon.com/WINGS-JOURNEY-JESUS-Carolyn-Molica-ebook/dp/B01HLPCQPS/ref=as_sl_pc_as_ss_li_til?tag=jmbcsds-20&linkCode=w00&linkId=17df1629f3a0495e0e4e159e6c208129&creativeASIN=B01HLPCQPS

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR

 

HOPE YOU HAD A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND WILL ENJOY A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR! GOD BLESS YOU; AND I PRAY THAT THE LORD TOUCH YOU AND EVERYONE YOU LOVE WITH HIS PRESENCE.  

Love, Carolyn

PS: I'm sorry you didn't see any posts from me over the past couple weeks. My house was broken into and computers taken. I'm back now and blessed! Yay, God!

EXHALE. TODAY YOU RULE!

  

EXHALE. TODAY YOU RULE!

A heaviness came on me. Jane and I talked and prayed and the Lord revealed the source of my burden. Then I opened a birthday card from Jane’s sister Marie. It said, “Every day you sparkle, but today you rule!” I instantly realized that I had been going out into the world without being as prepared as I need to be. I was allowing circumstances to push me down. When I looked at the card, I knew that I should put it up on the door to my garage, so I take notice every time I go out. “Today, with the Lord, I rule!” I’m an ambassador for the Lord and I need to act like one, every day, not just when I’m writing preach letters!

Then, after I texted Marie to thank her for the card, she texted back with something so simple, but so revitalizing! She instructed:

“Stand up by the open patio door. Put your hands down by your ankles and sweep them up to your head and throw all that negative out the door. Let the wind carry it away. Do a big exhale.”

I’m asking you to do it right now.

Her instruction was straight from the Lord. She gave it to me; I did it right away, and all the heaviness left. It was so amazing. I’m smiling and happy now.

God wants us to be happy, healthy, whole and free. What a great God we serve!

Love, Carolyn

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CRACKS IN 7 MOUNTAINS

CRACKS IN 7 MOUNTAINS

Jane and I have been praying for “Snowdens” to expose the corruption in the 7 Mountains of the world. We didn’t know how God was going to put big enough cracks in the evil strongholds of these mountains, but today we saw it start. TIME Magazine announced the “Person of the Year”: “The Silence Breakers of the ‘Me Too’ movement.” These are the women who finally got the public’s ear, as they spoke out about their experiences of sexual abuse and harassment. This evil cuts across all 7 societal mountains: Arts and Entertainment, Media, Government and Law, Business, Religion, Education, and Family.

Sexual assault crimes toward both women and men have crossed every race, nationality, culture, and system of the world.

To those who are guilty of these acts and accusations, I say: “If you have a conscience at all, you know better than that! God’s will, His glory, and His vengeance will prevail.”

Today is just the beginning of some of the more exciting current moves of God in our world. I’m humbled and glad that we are living in these times, and can take part in God’s magnificent plan.

Take a look at these wonderful scriptures from Psalm 119: 1-16.

“Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways.

“Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently. O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.

“I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments. I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word.

“With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.  Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

“Blessed art thou, O Lord: teach me thy statutes. With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth.

“I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.

“I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.”

Love, Carolyn

Don’t forget;  GREAT GIFTS for  * * Christmas* *

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NEHEMIAH'S PRAYER - A NEW WAY TO PRAY

NEHEMIAH’S PRAYER

Nehemiah was one of the Israelites who was taken into captivity in Persia. God favored him and made him the personal assistant to the King. When Nehemiah found out that there was a big problem in Jerusalem (over 900 miles away), his heart went out for the people. The first thing he did was pray. It was a different kind of prayer. Nehemiah asked God for a hearing, like in a court case. We need to learn how to pray this way.

There are several places in the Bible where God requires Nehemiah-type prayer.

God asked this kind of court-case prayer of Isaiah. He says to Isaiah: “Meet me in court! State your case and prove that you are right.” That’s the Contemporary English Version. The Amplified reads: “Remind Me [of your merits with a thorough report], let us plead and argue our case together; State your position, that you may be proved right.” And the KJV: “Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified” (Isa. 43:26).

The elements of Nehemiah’s court-case prayer are as follows.

1. RECOGNIZE THE FEAR OF GOD. Nehemiah addressed Him: “I beseech thee, O Lord God of Heaven, the great and terrible God” (Neh. 1:5). The word “terrible,” in the Hebrew means “to be feared, or morally to revere. It means to cause astonishment, to be held in awe or godly fear.

Nehemiah was well aware of the wrath of God Almighty, the vengeance of God that took place when He merely took His hand of blessing off of people and let them reap the consequences of bad behavior. The results, as Nehemiah had experienced personally, were perilous, destructive, miserable, full of anguish, failure and deep depression—all the things the devil loves to put on God’s people.

Nehemiah verbally recognized God’s right to be angry.

2. REMIND GOD THAT HE IS A GOD OF MERCY. Nehemiah reminded God that He is the God “that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments” (v.5).

3. CONFESS AND REPENT FOR SINS. Nehemiah not only confessed and repented of his own sins, but he also confessed and repented for the sins of the people. “I pray before thee now, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father’s house have sinned. We have dealt very corruptly against thee and have not kept the commandments” (vv.6-7).

Notice that Nehemiah mentioned the sins of his father’s house. There are sins we commit on purpose; we know better but we do them anyway. Then there are “sins of our fathers.” The Bible term for this is “iniquity.” These are patterns of thinking and acting that we “naturally” fall into, sins in our blood. They are sins we may or may not even be aware of until we see the painful consequences they bring to our lives. Nehemiah’s heart was broken when he heard about the people in Jerusalem, and he knew that they had fallen back into bloodline sins: apathy, moral compromises, rebellion, stubbornness, pride, abuse, ungodly priorities.

Nehemiah understood and repented for the people.

4. PRESENT THE EVIDENCE. This is where Nehemiah went back to the scriptures to present evidence of God’s mercy to His people even after they sinned. He reminds God of how He worked in the time of Moses, how He told Moses if they didn’t do right, they’d be scattered and how if the people would turn back to Him, He’d gather them back and bless them. Then Nehemiah put his plea forward and basically said: “Since you did it for Moses, how about us?”

5. ASK FOR PARDON AND A WAY TO MOVE FORWARD. Nehemiah then asked God: “O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer” (v.11). In the same verse, Nehemiah also asked God: “Prosper [move forward and make successful] thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man [the King of Persia].”

Nehemiah’s court case with God was a huge success. As it turns out, God blessed Nehemiah by working in the King to send Nehemiah to Jerusalem to take care of the problems. The King also sent letters to those in authority to make sure Nehemiah had all the physical supplies he would need to totally rebuild the walls and gates of the city. Building the walls and gates turned out to be much more of a blessing than just protection. It unified the people, strengthened their hearts, turned them back to God’s ways and healed them.

Just to confirm the five elements of Nehemiah’s prayer:

1.      RECOGNIZE THE FEAR OF GOD

2.      REMIND GOD THAT HE IS A GOD OF MERCY

3.      CONFESS AND REPENT FOR SINS

4.      PRESENT THE EVIDENCE

5.      ASK FOR PARDON AND A WAY TO MOVE FORWARD

I pray that God will help us to remember this type of prayer when we need it.

Love, Carolyn  CHRISTMAS SPECIAL GIFT

NEXT WEEK,  the 14^th THRU the 18^th,   G E T    YOUR  F R E E  DOWNLOAD OF THE ENTIRE BOOK -- WINGS: JOURNEY WITH JESUS

If you can’t get it on your device, let me know and I will send a free pdf or word doc to your email. cjmolica@hotmai.com

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THANK YOU SO MUCH!

THANK YOU SO MUCH

The other day I had the opportunity to talk to a guy at work, but when I began to tell him about my writing, I could tell that he tuned out. I know I should be more thick skinned, but I have to admit that it hurt my feelings.

And then there’s you. J I want to say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, to everyone who read my blogs. This Christmas card picture is for you. I find it inspiring, and I think you will too. There are so many teachings that could come from just this one picture. I hope it blesses you and if it sparks something in you, share it.

I’m praying that the light of God illuminates our every day through this Christmas season.

“Jesus saith unto him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Ps. 119:105).

Thanks, Wendy, for this Christmas card that you and John gave me many years ago. I still treasure it as one of my greatest possessions.

Love, Carolyn

Don’t forget; you can buy one of my books or booklets online to send to a friend this Christmas. Or you can print a copy from a pdf or word doc.

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GOD KEPT IT PROTECTED - KEYS TO UNDERSTANDING THE SCRIPTURES

The Old Testament was written in Hebrew, and protected by the Massorah. On the attached copy of a page from the Hebrew manuscript, you can see the smaller writing around the edges of the text. This is the Massorah, giving the necessary information for that page so that there could be no loss or misplacement of a single letter or word. It locks all the words and letters in their places by recording the exact number of times the different letters occur, the precise number of words, and the middle word of each book. The Massorah also records the number of verses for each book, the middle verse of the book, and many other minute and important details. The Lord set this up to protect His Word over time so that all people from all generations can trust it.

When the English translators got a hold of the Hebrew text, they chose English words to best express their understanding of the Hebrew. A good concordance gives me that same opportunity. I can look up the etymology of any Hebrew word and the intricacies of its definition. As I meditate on the definitions, the Holy Spirit teaches me beyond what I get from just reading the words the particular translator has used.

Often the extended definitions from Strong’s Concordance can give us a much deeper understanding of even the most familiar scriptures. (You can see Strong’s online @ https://www.blueletterbible.org/search/search.cfm?Criteria=buckler&t=KJV#s=s_primary_0_1 )

We’ll look at two verses from Psalm 91, and I’ll show you how I look up the meanings of the words, meditate on them, then make them personal without compromising on integrity or how the scripture fits with the rest of the Bible. All of the definitions I’ve used come from Strong’s except as noted in the definition of “Almighty.”

The first verse is Psalm 91:1. “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”

The word “dwelleth” is the Hebrew yashab defined as sitting down with, remaining, settling down with, continuing with, marrying, being still with. “Secret” is cether, a place where you’re covered, a hiding place, a place of protection. “The most High” is El Elyon, the Highest, Supreme, uppermost. There is no one and nothing higher. “Abide” is the Hebrew lyin which means to stop (usually overnight), implying to stay permanently, remaining, continuing. “The Almighty” is El Shaddai. Young’s Concordance defines this as the God of overflow, constant supply, and source of all sufficiency.

When I meditate on those definitions and put it all together this is what I come up with for myself: “Carolyn, sit down a few minutes and make yourself relax. Settle down, be still and picture yourself snuggled up in the protected hiding place of God, up next to the One Who is the Highest Being ever to exist. He wants you there. You can stay overnight, and then in the morning you’ll be right by His side, and go wherever He goes, close enough that you’re in His shade, enjoying a constant overflow from Him. This is where you are always protected and where the source of everything good comes from and it’s your special place. No one and nothing bad is allowed to get to you here.”

The next verse I want to look at is Psalm 91:4. “He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust: His truth shall be thy shield and buckler.”

The word “cover” is translated from the Hebrew sakak which means to join together and shut up, entwining as a screen, to fence in or hedge in for protection and defense. “Feathers” are from the root word abar which means to soar or fly. “Truth” is emeth meaning stable, certain, sure, faithful, established and right. “Shield” is the Hebrew tsinnah, a word for pointed hook, prickly like thorns or a cactus hedge. It is a large shield that guards by prickliness. It also carries the definition of being piercingly cold. “Buckler” is translated from cochera, a shield that completely surrounds a person.

I meditate on these definitions and put this verse in words that communicate to me: “I am joined together close to the Most High, entwined so close in His screen that nothing and no one can come close to me to cause me harm in any way. I soar with Him and trust His wings over me as we fly together. I only need to believe and speak His truth, which is certain. Since He is the Most High God, His truth is always right. With it I have a shield which not only protects me, but encases me entirely. With it I am the one who hooks and pierces the enemy, not the other way around. When the enemy tries to come against me, the certainty of God impales him as if he fell into a hedge of barbed cactus. The piecing cold freezes the enemy, and without remorse I pierce him through, destroying his power and rendering him ineffective.”

Studying the scriptures by meditating on them in the method I’ve shown here, is something we can use to personalize God’s truths and make our everyday lives more victorious.

Love, Carolyn

QUESTIONS FOR PONDERING OR DISCUSSION

1.      Look again at the definitions I’ve given you from the verses in Psalm 91. Meditate on them for a few minutes. How would you write up those verses for yourself without compromising the integrity of the scripture?

2.      What are some other passages you’d like to look at, using this method?

FOR FURTHER STUDY

The Companion Bible with notes and appendices by E.W. Bullinger

            Appendix 30 – 33 pages 31-33 The Massorah

            Appendix 93 –  page 133 The Alleged Corruptions of the Hebrew Text

THIS IS A CHAPTER FROM MY FIRST BOOK. A SAMPLE BOOK BIBLE STUDIES, WHICH INCLUDES THIS CHAPTER AND OTHERS, IS FREE thru TUESDAY.

If you can’t get it on your device, let me know and I will send a free pdf or word doc to your email. cjmolica@hotmai.com

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