Friday's Mad Mad World!

Happy Crazy Friday, sons and daughters of the Most High!  Here we go again!  Honestly, I thought there might be a chance we'd be out of here by now, but summer is upon us, and the Lord has not yet shouted for us to join him above.  Though I'm disappointed, I know that means there are still souls to save, so we must march on like any good soldier. Still I know we are close. 

Things that struck me

• Volcanoes!  Have you ever seen so many volcanoes going off? Never. It's amazing. Also earthquakes. The Bible is true! Jesus said that would happen.
• Canada seems to be on a rampage against the Bible and Christians. We are next
• Can you be an LBGTQ and be a Christian?  4 out of 10 LBGTQs say yes. 
• Fake news. I don't remember a time in my life when most people didn't trust the news or media.

 

Earth Groaning!

Fernandina volcano erupts, lava flow reaching the ocean, Galapagos
Nigeria plunged into darkness by power grid meltdown
A strong eruption took place from Sakurajima's Minamidake crater volcano
100 tons of dead herring wash up on Russian shore
New strain of bird flu kills over a third who come in contact
Mysterious explosions in past 2 months rattle Pennsylvania residents
Baseball sized hail in Canada
Worries rising over a horrible hurricane season
Earthquake swarm in Iceland 
Deadly storms continue in India, killing and injury many 
Hawaiian volcano in its 7th week of eruptions 
Powerful earthquake kills 4, injures hundreds in Japan 
Loud unknown sounds frighten people in Chile 
Floods in India affect over half a million people 
Lava from Kilauea is now hotter and more fluid 
Record breaking monsoon rains strike Myanmar 
The world's driest place covered in lakes after cyclone hits 
454 earthquakes strike Kilauea summit in 24 hours
Earthquake swarm under volcano in Chile raises alert 
New Zealand volcano ready to erupt!

Global Gov/Mark of the Beast/Tech

AI machine can predict your next moves 
Merkel urges Europe to unite into a New World Order
CA bans state-funded travel to Oklahoma because of its politics 
Mega-church forced to remove "America is a Christian nation" billboards 
Fake news and privacy concerns cause people to ditch social media accounts

Persecution

Canadian Supreme Court rules against the Bible 
When you get death wishes for sharing the truth of the Bible in love 
City bans congregation from holding worship services in their own place of business
Philadelphia bans Catholic agency from placing foster kids with Christian Families 
Canadian Supreme Court says Christian Law school can be denied accreditation for position on homosexuality  

Wars and Rumors of War

Global Peace Index continues to decline 
Israel experiences worst rocket attack in years 
Turkey's Erdogan's Holy War Obsession

Israel

UN Condemns Israeli force against Palestinians
Kushner meets with Jordan's Adbullah about the Israel-Palestinian peace plan

Signs in the Sky

US stepping up Earth's protection from asteroids

 

Sodom and Gomorrah

Father's day confusion as trans-fathers want to be mothers
Gender wars: The end of Girls' sports
Canadian judge rules that having 2 Dads and 1 Mom is best for a child 
Facebook allows Planned Parenthood to target teens with sex ads 
Owners of the bar that launched LBGT movement call it a Gay church
Virginia school board determines that "sex can be assigned at birth" will be taught to students
Male librarian who identifies as female sues state of Alaska for not covering gender reassignment surgery
Elite girls school in New York now admitting transgenders

Apostasy

4 in 10 LBGT claim to be Christian

Evil

Ex-Evangelist says unborn babies are not more human than zombies

Good News!

Scientific evidence supports the legitimacy of Jesus's crucifixion

No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
And their righteousness is from Me,”
Says the Lord.

Isaiah 54:17 

You must have intimacy with God or you aren't saved

Can I admit to you that I have a tremendous fear. It is a fear that keeps me up at night, a fear that prompts me to spend hours posting on this blog and months writing my novels. It's a fear that brings tears to my eyes, causes my heart to seize, and prompts me to give everything I have,(time, money, sleep) to prevent. What is that fear?

It's a fear that many many people who claim to be Christians are going to end up in hell. 

You see, it's not a prayer, a "belief", attending church, or doing a host of great deeds that gets you into heaven. It's a relationship.

You may recall the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10 when Jesus was in their house teaching a large group of people. Martha was busy working hard trying to prepare a meal for all of them, while Mary was sitting at Jesus's feet, listening to every word He said. Martha complained that her sister wasn't helping her

And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.  But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her. 

I'm a Martha. I am a worker. I rarely sit down for more than a few minutes. Type AAA personality. So I was always on the side of Martha in this Scripture.Yeah, Mary should help her!  But through the years, I've come to realize that being busy all the time, even if it is in the service of the Lord, is NOT what pleases Him. He wants a relationship with us!  He doesn't just want it, but it is a condition of true salvation.

Remember when Gabriel came to the Virgin Mary to tell her she was going to give birth to the Messiah? 

Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”

In other words, Mary was saying that she had never been intimate with a man.... how could she become pregnant? 

The word "know" in that verse is the greek word, ginṓskō – which means  to know, especially through personal experience (first-hand acquaintance) "experientially know"  also as in sexual intimacy.

In other words "know" in this case means a very personal, intimate relationship.
Now, let's tie it in with another Scripture that most of us would prefer wasn't in the Bible


 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.  Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’  
Matthew 7:21-23 

The word "knew" in this passage is the SAME word Mary uses in Luke for "sexual intimacy".  This is the word Jesus uses to describe the relationship we must have with Him if we are to enter Heaven. 
We can see here that these people Jesus is talking to are very busy working for the Lord. They are doing all sorts of good things for the Kingdom of God. But in the end, they never took the time to have an intimate relationship with Jesus. And because of that, they are cast out and denied entrance into heaven. 

Can we be too busy doing good? Too busy volunteering at church, too busy with church meetings and activities, too busy listening to sermons and attending conferences, to actually stop and spend time with the Lord, one on one?   Sounds like, from the above Scripture,  "MANY" will do that and many will end up in hell when they thought they were going to heaven. 

Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.  Matthew 7:13-14

How do you have intimacy with Jesus? Like any relationship you spend time alone with Him. You find a quiet space, open the Bible, read, and then discuss it with Him. Tell Him your fears, sorrows, hopes, dreams, ask Him to help you understand the Bible, ask Him questions, ask Him to reveal Himself to you. Praise Him, thank Him, worship Him. Do this every day. Set aside as much time as you can. Then throughout your day, speak to Him, thank Him for every little blessing, ask Him for wisdom, just talk to Him like you would a best friend.  Nurture this relationship because it's the most important relationship you'll ever have. 

Take it from this Martha. The more time I spend with the Lord, the more time I want to spend with Him. He's my best friend, my prince, my knight in shining armor, my rescuer, my help, my king, my hope, my joy, and my everlasting love. He loves you more than anyone on earth every will and He longs for you to be with Him. 

 I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars;  and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.  Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. Revelation 2:2-5

Don't be one of those whom Jesus casts away on judgment day. Be one of the few He beckons forward and embraces saying, "Welcome precious one, you're home at last!" 


 
 

Friday's Mad Mad World!

Welcome back, precious sons and daughters of the Lord!  Here we go again. Another week of incredible news that will both make you cringe and get excited to be out of here soon!  Believe me, I'd rather just relay cute, happy stories about angels and puppies, but that wouldn't do you any good. It's important for us to know what's going on, and we won't hear it on the news.

What struck me this week? Everything. Volcanoes, Persecution, Perversion, Apostasy (Most Christians think Porn is okay) and the rise of the Global Government.
Praise God for the success of President Trump in peace negotiations with North Korea. I think it's wonderful and hope it works out for good. However, not to be a Debbie Downer, but it brought to mind this Scripture in 1 Thessalonians 5

For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.  For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.
  

Persecution

UK Hospital bans beside Bibles
Death penalty mandatory for all who blaspheme Islam in  Mauritania
Christian CrossFit spokesperson fired for saying celebrating Gay Pride is a sin 
Churches bombed and burned in latest ethnic cleansing in Burma 
Nigerian pastor's life threatened for leading a Muslim to the Lord 
Christians told to shut down church in Pakistan 
Christians face harsh consequences for marrying under an Islamic Regime
Spain's new Prime minister seeks to integrate Muslims and remove Catholicism from schools
Arizona court rules against Christian Business 
China cracks down on Korean missionaries 
City stops church from holding worship services in their own coffee house

The Earth Groans and Moans

4.5 Earthquake rattles Oklahoma
Measles outbreak in Romania kills dozens of children 
2nd Volcano erupts in Guatemala 
US evacuates citizens from China consulate after outbreak of mysterious illness 
Lava from Kilauea volcano has destroyed over 600 homes 
Earthquake swarm detected under volcano in Chile 
Hawaii hit by more than 12,000 earthquakes in past 30 days!
Strange sounds coming from the sky in Florida
Ozarks shaken by massive boom from possible meteor explosion 
Baseball sized hail breaks windows in Texas 
Hundreds of birds fall dead from the skies over Russia 
Death toll rises to 62 in Guatemalan volcano eruption  
Earth's Crust is in turmoil! 
Freak weather in UK - snow, twisters, fireballs, and lightning
Yellowstone geyser erupts for the 8th time in 3 months
Catastrophic overflow of lava rivers sparks fears
River sink hole created a whirlpool that dragged a man to his death
Hawaiian crater almost doubles in size as eruption continues 
Flash floods strike Mexico, leaving some areas under 13 feet of water
Cat 4 hurricane headed toward Mexico
A yellow alert has been issued for two major volcanoes in North America 
First case of plague since 1992 confirmed in Idaho 
Brain-eating amoeba found in Louisiana water 
Tennis-ball sized hail damages homes near Colorado Springs 
Earthquake swarm detected under Colombian volcano

Sodom and Gomorrah

Child born to transgender man is first baby without a legal mother
Parents fight 6th Grade Sex Ed policy 
Church sued for not hosting LGBT Event 
Franklin Graham says San Francisco is a "little picture of hell"  (I can vouch for that)
Teacher fighting for his job after refusing to call students by transgender names
They are coming for your children. (video)
Christians need to repent for their Anti-LBGT stance
Teacher forced to resign for not following new transgender policies
Amazon has a secret lab working on cancer and other ventures 
California is the first state to legalize non-binary gender on documents 
Maine allows for a third gender on state documents
Ontario passed a law allowing Gov to seize children from parents who don't allow gender transition 
UK to ban sex question on census to avoid offending gays and trans 
Pregnant male models steal the show at London Fashion show
California University website says it's okay for kids to engage in sexual play and watch porn
Fort Wayne's VA hospital replaces military flag with LBGT flag

Evil

Suicides now 10th leading cause of death in the US
1 in 5 young deaths linked to opioids in US 
Catholic hospitals forced to preform abortions in Ireland

Signs in the Sky

Mysterious object spotted over Whidbey island, Washington

Global Government/Deception

Germany can legally spy on it's citizens
One organization is the Media gatekeeper for determining hate speech
DHS plans to compile a list of all influential bloggers, journalists, and social influencers 
Government and Social media companies sensor anyone questioning "Official narrative"  
NASA to make major announcement about life on Mars 
Hollywood actress declares we are teaching children lies 
China installs chips in windshields to track people's cars

Apostasy

Record number of Christians think pornography is acceptable
UMC Minnesota Conference removes "Father" from Apostle's Creed 
Does Jesus require a $54 million dollar jet? 
Jesus is no longer the only way for many American Christians 
Transgender Jesus play performed in Brazil 
The end of European Christianity 
Episcopal church removes terms, Husband and wife, to be more gay friendly

Wars and Rumors of Wars

China hacked a Navy contractor and obtained a huge amount of sensitive data on submarine warfare
Taiwan conducting war games as tensions with China increase
Putin warns that WW3 will be the end of civilization
Hezbollah threatens Israel : The day of great war is coming !
Turkey president anticipates war between cross and crescent 

Good News

Whitney Houston performed "Jesus Loves Me" to huge crowd the night before she died
Christian baker wins Supreme Court case not to bake Gay Wedding Cake 
Pastor released from N. Korean labor camp says he shared the Gospel with Korean official
Appeals Court rejects Atheists attempt to remove "In God we Trust" from currency 
How an angel rescued her from getting mugged in a dark alley


Have a blessed weekend!!  Love you all!

And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought,  but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Revelation 12:7-9 

Why don't we get whatever we ask for in prayer?

Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
Mark 11:23-25

Wow, what a promise!  Look at what it says, WHATEVER, you ask for in prayer. Whatever? That's one incredible promise. Then why doesn't it work for most people? I've seen countless believers pray for things that they never get. They claim that Scripture, they beg, plead, fast, and get others to join them in prayer. But still nothing.

So, is God a liar?  Did He mean something else? Are we misinterpreting Him? I don't think so. The real key here is the phrase "believe you have received it".  NOT "believe you will receive it" NOT "hope you might get it" but you must believe you have already received it. Even though you don't see it with your natural eyes.  The first part of the verse clarifies that by saying "does not doubt in their heart".  This is not a head belief. This is a heart faith. Faith is present, hope is future. Hope is in the head. Faith is in the heart. 

You may remember that I posted on this topic recently, but I felt I needed to expound a bit, not only on the type of faith, but on the "whatever" you pray for.  You see what you pray for and the strength of your faith go hand in hand. 

A baby Christian may look at this verse and pray "Lord, I want a new car or please get me this better job, or I want to marry this man"  And when they don't get what they asked for, they get mad at God and begin to doubt Him. 

The key is found in your walk with the Lord. The kind of faith that believes before it sees and acts on that belief is the kind of faith ONLY found when a person is walking very very close to the Lord. This is a person who loves God with all his heart, soul, mind, body and strength, who hears from the Lord regularly, who thinks about the Lord all the time, prays continually, who is obedient, who sacrifices personal comforts and desires to follow Jesus. This is a person who is completely led by the Holy Spirit.  When a person is like this, they not only have the faith to believe for something before they see it, but they also would never ask for anything outside of God's will. Since they hear from God, and they know the Bible inside and out, they would know what His will is. And because they are close to God and know Him, they would have no trouble believing that if they prayed for something within God's will, He would do it!  

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. 1 John 5:14-15

But you must know the will of God and to do so, you must have a close walk with Him. Jesus wasn't kidding when He said to take up your cross, deny yourself and follow Him. He wasn't kidding when He said that you must seek FIRST the Kingdom of God... and then all these things would be yours. 

The other key, of course, is believing in your heart without any doubt and then acting on that faith as I said in a previous post.


What prompted me to write this post was a few email exchanges I had with a young man who was asking the Lord for a certain girl's hand in marriage. He said that several "prophets" had also given him words that he would soon be dating this woman.  When nothing happened, he took a nose dive into depression and began to doubt God. His emails became more and more depressed and angry, the last one saying something about getting drunk and going back to the world.   I tried to help him as much as I could. I encouraged him to read the Bible and spend time with the Lord, to seek a Godly mentor to talk to, to rebuke the enemy, etc... but none of it seemed to work.  Honestly, it broke my heart while at the same time made me angry. 

We expect God to fulfill all of our dreams, to make our lives happy and comfortable, and to answer all our prayers. The fact is, God doesn't owe us anything, but we owe Him everything. If He never did another thing for us but sacrifice His only Son so we could be saved, that is absolutely enough! Yet... He does want to answer our prayers, He does want to help us get through this life, and He does want to supply all our needs. 

Want to receive WHATEVER you ask for in prayer? 
If we are to claim our inheritance as His children, we must behave as His children. We must walk with Him, know Him, love Him, obey Him, and follow Him. Then we will know what to ask for in prayer and we can then claim the Scriptures above and have the faith to believe we already have our answer. God is a Father. He wants a relationship with you. And take it from my personal experience, knowing God intimately is far better than anything this world has to offer.

Vacation Miracle! and the winner of your hero picture selection!

Hi everyone!  Sorry no news today. I just flew back into town and haven't had time, but for those of you who look forward to my Mad Friday report, it will be back next week. ( not if the rapture occurs, of course) 

Hence, without further adieu, let me present to you the winner of my Hero picture selection survey last week!

Yeah, enuff said. Is it hot in here? LOL.  But thank you all for your votes!  There were some awesome choices, weren't there? Oh, my.  If you didn't get a chance to see them all, click here to go to Pinterest

Vacation miracle!

Last week I flew to Tennessee to visit my Mom and my Sister. For my Mom's 85th Birthday, we drove down to Panama City Beach and spent three nights there. It was my Mom's birthday request. I'll post a few pictures below. The beach was gorgeous! I've never seen sand like this before... it was like white baby powder! And I got to swim in the water for the first time in years. (The ocean here in Northern California is freezing)  I swam out to a sand bar where I could stand up! It was awesome.

On our way driving back to Tenn, we were making our way through Atlanta and this horrible screeching sound starting coming from our car. It was horrible! I was driving and in the commuter lane and slowly made my way across the traffic (it was rush hour) to the next exit, thinking all along that the car was going to blow up or something!  I got off the exit and made a right into a mini mart parking lot. My sister and I popped the hood and stood there staring at the engine with no idea what to do. LOL Then we checked underneath the car and nothing seemed out of order. When we tried to start the car and go again, the same screeching (I mean, it was loud!) sound happened. My sister got on the phone to AAA, but they were going to take 4 hours to get to us. It was 2:30 so that meant we'd be sitting there in the hot humidity for 4 hours, only to be towed to a station that would be closed and then have to get a cab to a hotel for the night. Mind you, my mother would not do well in a hotel.  In fact, none of us can really sleep in the same room. Then we would have had to wait for the car to be repaired the next day before we could drive the remaining 5 hours home. That would have been my last day there before flying out. In other words, it would have been miserable and very upsetting, especially to my Mom.

So, I'm standing there praying and staring at the car when this man comes up, a complete stranger, and asks me if we are having car trouble and could he take a look. He's a mechanic. I say "Yes!" . He determines that our break pads dropped off, and that he would fix them if he had the tools... but right across the street is a Jiffy Lube that would do it for under $200. He explains to me exactly what to say to them so we won't get ripped off.  I thank him profusely and we head over there with much noise and prayer. This Jiffy Lube was not busy and had the nicest people working there I've ever met. They got our car right in and we were able to wait in an air-conditioned room with my Mom. I even went and got her a smoothie at the store next door!  They finished the car in under an hour and never tried to rip us off. The man who fixed it waved as we headed out and said "God Bless you".  We were then able to get home before dark.

Now, why do I say this was a miracle? Because if the break pads hadn't fallen off at that exact place on the freeway and I wasn't able to slowly get off at that particular exit where this nice man was at that mini-mart at that exact moment and saw us, and was able then to help us and tell us to go to that Jiffy Lube (Which I would have never done cause I didn't know they fixed cars), which wasn't busy and full of Christians who fixed our car right away.... well, then we would have had a miserable night and following day. Too many coincidences for me not to realize that God's hands were all over that event!  Too many things had to line up for us to get that car fixed and get back on the road. Even my husband said it was a miracle.  You can bet I was praising God all the way home!!  

I'm telling you this because this is how much our Father loves us and watches over us!!  You must believe that. You are never out of His sight!  Things don't always work out perfectly like this, but you are never alone and He has a plan to help you! I want you to always remember that!

Me and my Mom

My Sister and my Mom on a catamaran we went on

The View from our balcony!

That's me out there!

This cool storm came up!

Me and my Mom sitting on that gorgeous sand!

I always find a pirate on my vacations

He let me sit on his lap. Actually he forced me. See the pistol?

Have a great weekend!!!