S IS MADE TO BE SHARED

GREATNESS IS MADE TO BE SHARED

We are all familiar with lines from Ecclesiastes 3. The first verse reads: “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” As we know, some things happen immediately, and some things take longer. It took the Israelites 40 years to get to the entrance into the promised land. I believe many of us are at the entrance into our promised land as well.

 

But as the Israelites discovered, when they first went into the land God gave them, there were giants and mighty kings they had to battle. And God wouldn’t allow anyone to fully enjoy the fullness of what this new land promised until everyone was in!

 

That’s how I feel about this upcoming year. We, as individuals in the body of Christ, are stepping into a new place, a wonderful place. We are leaving behind what is past and not letting it dictate or captivate our futures. We have places to go, people to see, new adventures, new delights, and new encounters with greatness.

 

But we are not alone. We need to stretch out our prayer to encompass more individuals in the body of Christ, reaching out in our empathy, reaching higher in our faith. People desperately need our sincere, Christ-inspired prayer, as well as our giftings in our many other fields of service.

 

The Lord Jesus will show us as individuals and groups, how to do the Father’s will in every aspect of our lives, and let’s expect an amazing year.

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A WONDERFUL AND AMAZING 2023 TO ALL!

 

Love, Carolyn
 

TRUSTWORTHY?

TRUSTWORTHY?

Last night I was thinking about the birth of Jesus, and I gave this thought to God: “How amazing it is that You had a solid family for Jesus to grow up in, to take care of Him as a baby, and to be responsible parents. They weren’t perfect, but they endeavored to do the right things, living honestly before You, and teaching Jesus the Bible.”

 

I was thinking that God chose people He could trust. Can He trust me? Can He trust you? With many of us, our hearts are good, but our actions don’t always show it. And yet, He still favors us like He did Mary. “And the angel said unto her, ‘Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God’” (Luke 1:30).

 

And when Joseph found out that Mary was pregnant before they had sex, he didn’t want to make a spectacle of her. He was “a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily” (Matt. 1:19).

 

“But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.’

 

“’And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus’” (Matt. 1:20-21).

 

God sent Jesus into our world to give us a better life. We want Him to trust us to do our best to live it and pass it on.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

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A NOSE FOR GOD

A NOSE FOR GOD

Just a normal day as a nurse’s assistant in the hospital. I walked the antiseptic green hallway of the orthopedic floor and smelled that awful odor once again.

 

I was a baby Christian, just beginning to pay attention to how the Holy Spirit works in me. I could smell a killing cancer. At first, I thought it was just a smell that came with cancer, but when I asked, I found out that others couldn’t smell it. God was using my spiritual sense of smell to point out certain patients that needed special prayer and compassion.

 

What about our visual senses? I wanted to buy some new furniture. I prayed about it and I remember getting a mental picture (in color) of three pieces of furniture: two nice dark cherry chairs and a recliner in the same dark cherry with a leather seat. I kept seeing that picture every time I prayed for my furniture. It was the Lord’s way of assuring me that I could have it. In a couple of months, I found it on sale and was able to buy all three pieces without going into debt.

 

What about hearing? People hear the voice of the Lord in several different ways. He can talk in an audible voice, seeming so natural that the person might look around to see who’s there. I’ve had that happen a few times. When the Lord talks to us from within ourselves it can sound like our own voice or even the voice of someone we know. Often the Lord speaks to our spirit in a “still small voice” from deep within or we get a feeling of just knowing something that we hadn’t thought of ourselves.

 

A spiritual sense of taste? There are times when I've taken a taste of something and though it didn't annoy my regular taste buds, I knew I wasn't supposed to eat it. One time I got the message, but I took a couple extra bites anyway and felt bad all afternoon.

 

As for the spiritual sense of touch, there have been times when I've nearly jumped away from someone who wanted to touch me and pass on something bad. On the other hand, the spiritual sense of touch comes into play often. Sometimes, by the spirit, I know to just touch someone’s arm, to pass the love of God to them.  Nothing weird, just compassion and God’s love. I really don’t even think about it too much; I just do it.

 

The Christ in us will guide us and let us know the will of God in every situation. How does this work? Through the guidance of the written word and through the spiritual five senses we receive when we get born again and filled with the Holy Spirit.

 

Hebrews 5:14 tells us:

 

“For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

 

“But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

 

In other words, if we want to grow up, we need to exercise our spiritual five senses. As we practice using our spiritual five senses, we begin to “know” spiritual things about people and situations. It says in Luke 5:22 that “Jesus perceived their thoughts.” And in 6:8 “He knew their thoughts.” Knowing a person’s motivation, or the thoughts behind what they say or do helps us to get the Lord’s strategy for our part in handling the situation or person. Do we need this? I’d say a definite YES.

 

In a world where people twist words, and they don’t really say what they mean, the Lord Jesus knows already what’s in their hearts. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit in us, it’s easy for Him to let us know the truth of what’s really going on. This is not only vital in our personal lives but it’s an important tool in the body of Christ, to protect, enlighten and bless others as well.

 

If we are willing, the Lord will teach us more about what our spiritual senses can tell us and how to listen better. We will become more acutely aware of His presence, live on a higher spiritual level and be of more real help to those around us.

 

Love, Carolyn

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A SMALL VACATION

A SMALL VACATION

Peanut smiles a lot now. When we first rescued him, he had no smile. He was starving and scared. It took 4 ½ years before he started to smile. All we saw in his first smiles were a few of his bottom teeth—so cute. But in his fifth year with us, he started to lift his lip on the side to expose his bigger smile. He got rewarded for smiling, so he did it more and more. Someone told me that smiling and laughing are like a small vacation. Both are good for the soul and a blessing to others too, when they come from a good heart.

 

Let’s take a lesson from Peanut and practice our smiling. Even when things get tough, we can always find at least one little thing to smile about, no matter how obscure that little thing may be. A smile is a start to a better attitude, but it has to come from within and be genuine. If someone tells us to smile, it rarely works, because even if we do smile, it’s not heartfelt, and more likely to be a smirky smile. We all know that a smirky smile usually hides disgust or anger. It’s not worth much.

 

I smile at Peanut because I love him, and he smiles back because he knows he’s loved. It’s the same with our relationship with people and with God. And when people disappoint us, and we don’t have any smiles for them, well, we need to find something from God we can smile about. He smiles back at us even though we can’t see Him. But the Bible guarantees that if we turn our hearts toward God, He is quick to make things better for us.

 

Psalm 34:5 tells us: “If you look to him for help, he will put a smile on your face.”

 

Only God knows the real truth about any situation, and He tells us what it is. Sometimes just having God’s insight, His point of view, makes me smile no matter how bad or crazy the situations may seem at the time.   

 

Ecclesiastes 8:1 says: “Only the wise know what things really mean. Wisdom makes them smile and makes their frown disappear.”

 

When God makes us smile, then we have a genuine smile to give.

 

Let’s be like Peanut and keep finding a reason and opportunity to smile. Once we let it out, the smiles seem to come easier and faster, and our hearts are rewarded.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

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TIME TO RECHARGE

TIME TO RECHARGE

9 o’clock the other night I’m watching TV and the lights go out. No electricity in the whole neighborhood. Thoughts fly through my mind in rapid succession like bullets from an automatic rifle: “I’ve got a generator. I need to take it outside. I have to get my flashlight. It’s dark. I won’t be able to see out there. Sh..t, I should have recharged the batteries the last time. Do I have any other flashlights?  In my car. Phew!” 

 

I’m just about to get up out of my chair and all the lights and sounds come charging back to life.

A couple days later I thought about not having the batteries ready for my flashlight when we had the power outage. It reminded me of the Bible story about the ten virgins with the oil lamps. They took their lamps to meet the bridegroom and go to the wedding. But only five took extra oil for their lamps so they’d be prepared. The bridegroom was late so the five without extra oil were running out of light. They thought they could borrow some from the others but that wasn’t going to happen.

 

“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. 

 

“And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, ‘Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.’”

 

“And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us.’ But he answered and said, ‘Verily I say unto you, I know you not.’ Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh” (Matt. 25:1-13).

 

We learn from this passage that each of us is responsible to get his or her own oil. No one else is responsible to read the Bible for us and no one else can do our believing for us. The women who were prepared, went on to the party and the others missed out. This parable is about being ready when Jesus comes back. Nobody knows when that will be, but there will be a day when Jesus returns and everything changes.

“The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (2 Pet. 3:10). “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God” (1 Thess. 4: 16).

 

Jesus said that when judgment day comes, every man will have to account for every idle word he speaks (Matt. 12:36) and fire will try every work. Our works are to be built on the foundation of Jesus Christ. “If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss” (1 Cor. 3:13-15). “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be?” (2 Pet. 3:11).

 

People want to feel that their lives are meaningful and that they are contributing good things into this world. Once Jesus comes back, we don’t get the chance to do it over again. We only have one life to live here on earth right now, no reincarnation. We need to make every day count.

 

We don’t want to miss a chance to say something kind, do something significant for someone else, give a smile, help someone, minister healing, cast out a devil spirit, etc. “We are all the children of light” (1 Thess. 5:5) and we can “walk as children of light” (Eph. 5:8). “Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel” (Matt. 5:15). Let your particular light shine.

 

The end of our world is imminent and according to the Bible, it could be any day. Let’s make a difference here while we can. If we think more often about Jesus’ return, we will live our lives more like the women who carried extra oil, rather than the ones whose light ran out.

 

Like it says in Romans 13:12, “The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.”

 

If we live like today could be our last, it just could be our best.

 

After the lights came back on the other night, I recharged the batteries for my flashlight. Today I’m recharging my heart for the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

More TRUTHS from God’s Word

And HOW TO APPLY these truths in everyday living—

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STAND AND SEE THE SALVATION OF THE LORD

STAND AND SEE THE SALVATION OF THE LORD

One of my Facebook friends told a story about a neighbor’s tree leaning over the fence into her backyard. Several times it caught on fire, and my friend and her daughter prayed for the fire to go out, and it did. Had the fire not been stopped by God, it would have destroyed their house. The weird thing about this tree being on fire is that there was never any evidence, no scorching, no evidence at all of a burn. The final fire was the most ferocious, and once again, mother and daughter took a spiritual stand against it. The neighbors called the fire department each time, but after this last fire, the neighbors cut down the tree.  That ended Satan’s plot to destroy my friend’s house.

 

Reading this story reminded me of how important it is for us to take a stand on what is right. My friend and her daughter would not allow that demon fire to take them down. They stood against it every time, and the devil had to back down.

 

That’s how we need to be. The Lord tells us in Ephesians 6:4: “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness.” When we know the truth, we stand boldly for what is right without wavering.

 

I can tell when I’m standing in faith for the right thing to happen; there’s a sense of deeply-rooted peace inside me. It’s unnatural, considering the circumstances, but it’s become one of those Biblically normal feelings for me. Philippians 4:7 calls it the peace that passes understanding. The context of this verse is prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving for true, just, and right things.  

 

“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

 

We feel a solid sense of peace, but it seems like it doesn’t make sense because, in the natural, we feel like we should be apprehensive or distraught. But when we recognize this supernatural peace, we know that we really can’t worry because God says He keeps us in peace through Christ.

 

What does it mean that we’re “kept” in peace? The word “keep” comes from the Greek word which means “to guard, protect by a military guard, to prevent hostile invasion.” In other words, this peace is impenetrable.

 

After God rescued the Israelites from Egypt, they had second thoughts about this crossing the wilderness thing, and they didn’t like it one bit. They wanted to return to their old lives; yes, they had been in undeniable slavery, but they were used to it. With all the new challenges and hard decisions, this wandering business was not going to be comfortable at all. They were willing to follow Moses at first, but suddenly they decided Moses was the enemy, and they hadn’t really wanted to leave Egypt in the first place. They complained like crazy, saying:

 

“Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.’

 

“And Moses said unto the people, ‘Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever.

 

“’The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace’” (Exod. 14:12-14).

 

God knows what the right things are that need to take place. When we trust Him, we can stand firm for what is Biblically right and be guarded by peace through the storm. God is already fighting for us, individually and in the nations, and He will perform all His will.

 

Ezekiel 36 hints at what is on the other side of this journey. (This was a prophecy to Israel, but Jesus brought the Gentiles also into the flock of God).

 

“Thus saith the Lord God; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities, I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded. 

 

“And they shall say, ‘This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited.

 

“Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the Lord build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it’” (Ezek. 36:33-36).

 

Let’s stand against those demon fires as my friend did. We will stand for truth. We will stand to see the salvation of the Lord, and the peace of God will guard our hearts.

 

P.S. I just read the whole chapter of Ezekiel 36. WOW!  I think you’ll love reading it as soon as you can. I believe it speaks loudly to our world today.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

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JESUS KNOWS US AND IS WITH US EVERY MINUTE

JESUS KNOWS US AND IS WITH US EVERY MINUTE

I chose this picture because it’s simple and quiet, like a child’s coloring book. I wanted to show that not every choice we make is an ultra-dramatic, Las Vegas-style, spectacular life-changing event. But, every choice is significant. We make big or tiny daily decisions that ultimately contribute to many-faceted lives. Jesus made choices every day too. He wasn’t a God robot. He had total freedom of will to choose, just like we do.

 

Jesus “was in all points tempted like as we are” (Heb 4:15). He could have chosen to be disobedient, just as Lucifer chose in the beginning.

 

But instead, Jesus chose to be obedient to God because of us. He believed in what obedience would bring. He believed in his Father’s goodwill for humanity. The first chapter of John tells us Jesus was there when God created everything: elephants, rabbits, tiny electrons, mountains, flowers, and everything else—all things for humanity to explore, utilize, and enjoy.

 

Jesus knew God’s intention from the beginning. After Adam sinned and the devil began to have so much influence on earth, Jesus was willing to come to earth and go up against the devil to rescue men and women from his clutches.

 

To do this, Jesus would have to beat Satan at every turn. He would have to live as a man and face all the temptations any man or woman would face. And He had to handle them by choosing God’s way every time.

 

He didn’t give in to even one temptation to make a bad choice.

 

As we accept Jesus Christ into our hearts, he gives us the ability to turn to him for better choices in every situation. He’s been there. He knows us more intimately than we even know ourselves.

 

God was sure Jesus would do the right thing, but because He loves us so much, He was willing to let Jesus come to earth and live as a man and have freedom of will. Jesus could have chosen differently if he wanted to. But he decided to go through with God’s plan at every turn because he, like God, loved us too.  Jesus took the horrible results of every bad decision we make and paid the ultimate price of death.

 

Then God raised Jesus pure and free forever.

 

Romans 8:34 says Jesus is at the right hand of God, now living to make intercession for us. He is also right here with us to help us with our choices. And Colossians 1:27 says we have Christ in us. How can He be in so many places at once? He is Spirit, and scientists are now proving that things can be in two places at one time. It’s awesome.

 

Just like Jesus had decisions to make, let’s make an effort to give God honor by making good decisions ourselves and when we honestly don’t know what choice to make, take it to Jesus because He always knows the best option at that time. He’s been through it. He took our place on the cross so that He could always be there to help us.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

More TRUTHS from God’s Word

And HOW TO APPLY these truths in everyday living—

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