Tag: last days

Stand Firm

Posted on by Dorci

Today I feel like I have about, oh, a million and one thoughts and feelings running through my mind. It’s a day of grief and sorrow for so many reasons, for events from long ago and some much more recent. And woven throughout all those thoughts and feelings are prayers to and thoughts of my Lord Jesus and of so many of the precious, Holy Spirit-inspired words He’s given us for times such as this. 


“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your Father in heaven'”
Matthew 5:43-44


“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Romans 12:21


“Be still before the Lord
    and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
    when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil.
For those who are evil will be destroyed,
but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.”
Psalm 37:7-9


“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.
With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”
Ephesians 6:10-18


“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.
In this world you will have trouble.
But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been feeling the labor pains intensifying for some time now. The enemy knows his time is short and he’s prowling, and besides the obvious destruction we see, he’d love nothing more than to cause destruction in the hearts of believers by using those events to lure us into hatred, then resentment, and then bitterness, ultimately hardening our hearts.

But Jesus warned us:  “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:12

And that brings me to one particular thought over all else that overwhelms my mind today. May our God and Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ, by the indwelling of His precious Holy Spirit, bless you and keep you.

 

“Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.”
Mark 13:13

“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you.” 
1 Cor. 15:58a

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.”
1 Cor. 16:13

“Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ.”
2 Cor. 1:21

“…because it is by faith you stand firm.”
2 Cor. 1:24b

“Stand firm, then…” 
Gal. 5:1b

“Stand firm then…” 
Eph 6:14a

“Therefore, my brothers and sisters…stand firm in the Lord”
Phil. 4:1a, c

“…that you may stand firm in all the will of God…”
Col. 4:12b

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Resist him, standing firm in the faith…”
1 Peter 5:8-9a

“You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.”
James 5:8

“So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm…”
2 Thessalonians 2:15a

 

What God’s Doing – Cementing

Posted on by Dorci

The last year and a half have been something else. It’s been a long journey slogging through marshes, dark, creepy forests full of eyes glowing in the dark, deep shark-infested waters, rocky, steep exhausting climbs and riding avalanches down the other side. And that’s on top of an exhausting three years, on top of an excruciatingly painful fifteen years, and so on and so forth. 

Up until the last year and a half, I handled the stresses pretty well; not perfectly of course, but I’ve held on to Jesus through it. But this last trial has been different. It’s a long story in itself, but suffice it to say it came just as I felt I was finally coming back from the stroke, and it came on with vengeance. One thing after another, after another, after another…

I’ve prayed my heart out until I’m blue in the face. I’ve been worried, upset, frustrated, at the end of my rope. And yes, I’ve gotten angry. I’ve lobbed up those prayers we sometimes pray when we feel up against a brick wall – “Why God? Why more? Haven’t I had enough?!” And there have been days I’ve wondered what was the point. Why keep praying? Why keep trusting? 

Then this morning at church we sang a song that reminded me of a truth Peter spoke as many around them started to become disillusioned with Jesus and walk away. 

Jesus asked the Twelve “You do not want to leave too, do you?”

“Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.'” (John 6:67-68a)

It seems not only in my life, but in the lives of so many others, the trials and suffering of all kinds is ramping up. The time to Jesus’ return gets closer every day, and God is preparing us. God is cementing our faith in Him and giving us a strength we’ve never known before. 

Yes, the journey can be confusing, frustrating, painful, and some days it can be downright maddening. It can creep up on you like a riptide and threaten to carry you away. I know.

But keep holding onto Christ. Keep telling Him how you feel. He can handle it, and He wants to help you through it. It is His grace and mercy that He disciplines us, His children, to mature us. There is no where else to go where we can find the eternal truths found in Christ, no where else we can find the kind of pure, genuine and lasting love He has for us. No where else we can go to find His peace, His joy, His hope. 

Let’s let Him cement our faith in the way He knows we need so it will be absolutely unshakeable, in the way that will bring Him glory upon glory, and take us into the Promised Land where our reward awaits with Him. Oh, what a glorious day. 

Please, if you need prayer, I’m here. You can leave a comment or email me. 

For His glory, 

Dorci
<*)))><

 

Heavenly Father, I lift up each person reading this. May you hold them tight and comfort them as they each walk their journeys, identifying with Jesus in His suffering. May you bring much good out of it – a strong faith, godly character, obedience, perseverance, wisdom, the salvation of souls around them, and the spreading of your love far and wide. I pray it all in the precious name of our Lord Jesus, amen. 

Martha, Martha

Posted on by Dorci

“As they went, He (Jesus) entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. She had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to His teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she came to Him and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Then tell her to help me.’

Jesus answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed. And Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken from her.’” Luke 10:38-42

Ouch. As a fellow Marthaian, reading these words of Jesus have always made me cringe a little bit.

Have you ever had thirteen people, or more, (including the Son of God) show up at your house unannounced to hang out for a while? What do you do? Maybe you start by running to the fridge to scrounge up something to drink. And what about food? Are they staying for dinner? What could you put together? You start pulling all the food you can find from every shelf and drawer, you think as fast as you’re sweating, taking out pots and pans, plates and cups, you run around the table setting it…  And you’re getting more and more frustrated by the minute.

But maybe it doesn’t end there. Maybe you’re busy finding enough chairs and cleaning the bathroom and washing the dishes and sweeping the floor, and on and on and on.

That was Martha. (And yes, I may have been known to exhibit this kind of behavior.) And then she stops, out of breath.  She can’t take the stress of it all anymore, and she marches herself over to Jesus.

“Don’t you care?”

In other words, aren’t you paying any attention? Haven’t you noticed that I’m doing all this work by myself and I’m stressed out?

Jesus’ answer to Martha was “you are worried and upset about many things.”

He had noticed, and He did care. He saw all Martha was trying to do. He saw she was trying to serve, and while that’s a good thing, He also saw she was doing it with an anxious and frustrated heart. And so He waited until she got to the end of herself and came to Him. I can imagine Him holding out His hand to her, inviting her to join them.

I know how hard it is to stop worrying and racing around trying to do all the things that need to be done in a day, a month, a lifetime, and just sit at Jesus’ feet.

Yes, some things need to be done, but some things can be left for a day, a month, or altogether. There are always things to be done, but Jesus calls us to come sit with Him.  

Martha was worried about giving them temporal food for their bodies but Jesus wanted to give her and the rest of them eternal spiritual food for their souls.

He knows we can do nothing without Him. Anything He calls us to do He wants us to do, not with anxiety, but in His strength, with His wisdom, His knowledge, and most of all, His love. Our first and greatest need is always to sit at His feet and learn from Him.

Who knows, if Martha had joined the rest of them, maybe afterward Jesus would have set a meal before them a la “wine at the wedding in Cana.”

I think we all have at least a little bit of Martha in us sometimes. We can get so stressed about life that we wonder if God even sees what’s going on in our lives. Doesn’t He care?

He sees and He cares, more than we can imagine. He knows that’s why we need Him. In the midst of it all He wants to give us His wisdom, to prepare us for things to come, to show us His will, to give us rest for our weary souls.

Sometimes God has ways of making us sit. When He has something to show us He will hold out His hand to us, one way or another, inviting us to come sit at His feet. And when we do, He’ll make a provision for all those things we are worried and upset about.

For weeks after my stroke He made a way for us to have dinner first by our church family and then for six months by our gracious neighbors. My husband took over many of the responsibilities I’d always had, and my job was to heal and to seek Him, to read His Word, and to write what He’d show me.

It’s been a hard road of frustration and sweat and venting. And every now and then I try to get up and run around, worried and upset about many things. But He keeps “double-naming” me like He did Martha, not in a condescending way, but with love and compassion, and He pulls me back to the thing that’s needed most: sitting with Him and letting Him feed my soul.

 

 

Heavenly Father, we know this life is short and you have much to teach us. Help us not get sidetracked and instead do the most important thing: spend time with Jesus. As we do, please give us His mind and heart and transform us by the power and love of your Holy Spirit. We trust you to provide and make a way and we give you all the glory for what you’re going to do. In Jesus’ precious name I pray, amen.

Born King of the Jews

Posted on by Dorci

Each year we’re reminded of the humble circumstances of Jesus’ birth. Born in a stable, laid in a manger. But oh, He was so much more than just another baby born that night or any other night. (And by the way, why do babies love to come in the middle of the night?!)

That very night would begin the proclamation of who this Child really was as angels gathered in a holy chorus of praise glorifying His name, and shepherds ran to see for themselves this baby who was the Savior, the Messiah, the Lord.  

And not too long after, the truth of who He was began to spread.

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.’”
Matthew 2:1-3

“And this was his (John the baptist’s) message: ‘After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

“Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life…’”
John 6:35

“I am the light of the world…”
John 8:12

“Jesus said again, ‘I am the door…”
John 10:7

“I am the good shepherd…”
John 10:11

“I am the resurrection and the life…”
John 11:25

“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'”
John 14:6

“I am the true vine..”
John 15:1

“So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
Mark 2:28

“Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” 
John 8:58

“…He was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
John 5:18b

“Now Jesus stood before the governor. And the governor asked Him, saying, ‘Are You the King of the Jews?’ Jesus said to him, ‘It is as you say.’”
Matthew 27:11

At the beginning of His life, wise men called Him the King of the Jews.

And at the end of His life (well, a very temporary end!), Pilate called Him the King of the Jews.

This Christmas season, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus – the Son of God, the Word of God, the Creator, the Healer, the Anointed One, the Prince of Peace, the Beginning and the End…let us also remember that He is the King of Israel.

He sits on His throne in a place we can’t yet see, but He is there nonetheless, reigning over all. And someday soon He will return in full regalia as Judge and King. 

May we keep our hope and faith in Him who is not only full of grace and mercy, but is also faithful, righteous, and just. Praise His Name! 

Merry Christmas, everyone!
Dorci

The Battle for Our Minds

Posted on by Dorci

 

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true,
whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is 
pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable
-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-
think about such things.
Philippians 4:8

 

 

This is not an inspirational thought or a suggestion, this is survival. This is a weapon God gives us for the battles that wage in our minds and in our hearts. What are some of these things you think about?