BIBLE MEDITATION

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Mark 11:24;

ENCOURAGING WORD:

As I sit down at my computer, I always ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to me the message that he would like me to share. But every now and then something may come up throughout the day or week where someone may say something, or some strange event might take place that will trigger a topic. This week that happened to be the case. Most of us in America have turned our attention to the NFL playoffs. This last week something was said on Fox NFL Sunday by one of the commentators that has moved me to share this message. Just before the game between Minnesota and New Orleans they were all going over what they thought the outcome of the game would. It was an overwhelming consensus that New Orleans would win. Even I didn’t think there was a chance that Minnesota could win, until I heard one of the commentators say, and I quote, “Minnesota doesn’t have prayer” Right after I heard that statement, I turned to my wife and said, “Minnesota is going to win this game.”This particular commentator obviously used it as a figure of speech, but he really didn’t think through what he said, or he obviously doesn’t know the power of our God. Galatians 6:7 tells us, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” The statement made by this commentator says, that even God could not help the Vikings win this game. You may say, “Aren’t you getting a little technical” and my response is “Absolutely not. “The point that I want to make is this, “there is nothing that God cannot do, even if it means doing the unthinkable.” If I was a betting man, I would have bet against Minnesota just as everybody else did, but no matter how bleak something may seem, God is still in control.

Let us take a couple of stories from the Bible that paint the perfect picture of what I am trying to say. We have all heard the story of David and Goliath. We read in 1 Samuel 17:10-11 where Goliath says, “And the Philistine (Goliath) said, “I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.” When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid. In verse 4; we read “And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.” A cubit is generally around 18 inches. That means that Goliath stood at least nine feet tall. As we read verses 11-25, we finally get to verse 26 where we hear David say, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”David had no fear of the enemies of his God. Then we read verses 44 – 51; “And the Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!” Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And we all know the rest of the story. David did go out and face Goliath. Even though Goliath was all decked out in his armor from head to toe, Goliath did have one weak spot within his armor. All David had was a slingshot and five stones. It was not that David was unconfident that he could kill Goliath with one stone, he chose five smooth stones because Goliath had four brothers, and David was readying himself to dispatch all five giants. Well, as we know, David fired his slingshot and planted a stone right between Goliath’s eyes. David did not have a sword with him, so he took Goliath’s sword and took off his head. Most people would have said, “David didn’t have a prayer.” All David needed was the trust and confidence in Gods Word and nothing else. This kind of faith I believe is absent in the world in which we live in today! I say this because, I do not know of anybody (including myself) that would go up against the odds that David went through with the confidence that he had.

God will not be mocked. Another story that we are all acquainted with is the crossing of the red sea. We read this account in Exodus 14:11-13; “Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness. “And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvationof the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.All the Hebrews thought that it was over, they were probably thinking it was over, they didn’t have a prayer. However, Moses had faith in God and knew that God would not leave His people to die in the wilderness, especially after being told that God promised they were going to the land of milk and honey, and if God says something, there is nothing that can stand in the way of its fulfillment. Once again, we would most likely have said also, the Hebrews didn’t have a prayer. I’ve heard a few people go as far as to say, that it was only three feet of water that they had to cross, Oh really, then the whole Egyptian army drowned in three feet of water, which was even a bigger miracle! I just had to add that bit of humor!

There are always those that try to discredit the Word of God. People will go through hours and hours of reading the Bible to try to find out how to disprove it, you know what, many have tried, and none has ever succeeded in doing so. The most obvious question that I have for those people is this, instead of spending all your time trying the rebuke the Word of God, why don’t they spend the same amount of time trying to understand the truth of the Bible. The rewards are much greater. The answer to me is obvious based on scripture, there is an evil force in our universe that is bent on destroying man kind and the best way to do it is to take away absolute truths, make people believe that the Bible is just a bunch of made up stories, and tell people that they have evolved over millions of years from cosmic sludge. Sound familiar! Unfortunately, this is what our children are taught in the universities today and we wonder why we get incidences like Columbine and other school related shootings. I could expand on this topic for hours, but I will move on.

There are so many more stories where God went out of the way to help His people through their prayers. But one thing that all these people had in common was this, they knew the Lord personally and trusted in Him completely. The biggest issue that we have today when we pray is that we really do not believe that God will hear our prayers or worse yet, not answer our prayers. Let me give you an example of what I am saying. If you knew someone that had something very valuable that you wanted, but you didn’t really believe for a second that he would ever give it to you, would you still ask Him? Most likely, not. Then let me ask you this, why are you praying to God for things that you don’t believe He will give you? I mean really believe. When you pray, you need to believe that you will receive, if there is a smidgen of doubt, then God will most likely not answer your prayer because of that doubt. We read in Matthew 7:7-11; “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? ¹¹ If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!“Do you think for a moment that God would say this if He didn’t mean it? God means what He says and says what He means, the problem lies within us, our unbelieving hearts. When I say us, I mean me also, I am as guilty of this as anybody. There is nobody that I know personally that has this kind of faith, but we do all need to strive for this kind of faith and the way to do this is by entering into fellowship with Jesus Christ daily and get to know Him personally. This will show God that you are moving in the right direction. It is why God judges the heart because we cannot live up to His standards. If you wanted to do something for someone because in your heart you felt it would glorify God, and then something fell through that didn’t allow it, God would still judge you by the intent of your heart and not the result. He will judge us by the intentions of our hearts. I understand this very well, because there were times in my life when I had a job to do and someone would always say to, “How are you going to get it done that way?” My reply was this, “Do not judge my technique, judge my results.” I always had a different way of getting things done, but when the job was done, it was always done right.  Romans 12: 22 tells us; “Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” God knew that nobody would ever be able to live by His perfect standards, therefore it was necessary for Him to come down from heaven in the personage of Jesus Christ and bring us to righteousness through the blood sacrifice that He suffered for you and me. There had to be a reconciliation (the state of being reconciled ) for our sins, otherwise none of us would be saved.  

ACTION POINT: 

Friends, there is no way that any human being could live up to the standards that God has set for us. That is why we need to understand that good works cannot save us, nobody would qualify, and perfection is required. James 2:10; tells us, “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.” This is saying that if you have broken one commandment you are guilty of breaking them all. Here is a commandment that I’m sure that every man is guilty of, Matthew 5: 27-28; “You have heard that it was saidto those of old,‘You shall not commit adultery.’But I say to you that whoeverlooks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Any man not guilty? My point is this, there are 613 actually commandments in the Bible and to earn your salivation by your own merits, means you have to keep everyone perfectly. So that puts us all in the same situation, we all need a Savior. Might I suggest my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, He has not let me down and I don’t believe for a second that He ever will. But if you want to try to make it on your own God will not invade your sovereignty! It is your choice; God will not make that choice for you! “Written To the glory of God.” Amen!

A Commentary from our Chaplin – R. Fritz

We don’t know how good we have it. We just have to let our God know what we want. I look at the simple things that he does for us. For instance, a couple of days ago I have a 15 year old dog that would not quit barking, he barked for about 5 minutes and I could not figure out what he wanted, I finally asked God to give my dog what he needed, within 20 seconds, he stopped barking and I did not hear any barking the rest of the night. That was something simple that God did for me. I just say, “Thank You” Lord. When I went to work, there were a number of times that all the traffic lights were green, sometimes 4 or 5 lights, I again tell God “Thank You’,  You see even the little things God does for us. We need to look at what is going on around us to see the things he does for us. You should now be looking at the little things you thought was just a coincident.

If you read the Bible, you will see all the miracle that Jesus carried out, some very big and some very small. But one of the big things we see throughout the scriptures was how many times He is healing the sick. Many people believe that these miracles only happened during Jesus time. Let me assure you, it still happens today. It happened to me! About 18 years ago, I could barely stand up at work. First, I visited a chiropractor for a month before He finally said he could not help me and decided to send me to an orthopedic doctor. After spending some time talking with the orthopedic doctor, he said I needed an MRI. After getting the results from the MRI, he said that I needed surgery for a herniated disc. I told him that my God would take care of my back issue and I left. A few weeks later I attended a church that had somebody special. As I was sitting in my pew, he called me out and told me I had a back problem. He proceeded to pray for me and immediately I felt better. The thing I needed to do was believe, I truly believed, and I was healed. Most people do not understand that Satan will tell you that are not healed and give you some spiritual pain to make you believe it. Within a few days I was good as new, and I have never had a problem with my back since. What I never realized was that our God makes house calls. About 12 years ago, I all of sudden I had a problem going to the bathroom, and God said to me “Trust me” The next night I woke at midnight and knew my God was doing something. I was awake for about 3 hours and when I got up in the morning, I was healed and was good to go.

If you look at John 11: 1-44 in the Bible, verse 42-43 where Jesus says “And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.” Jesus brought Lazarus back from the dead after 4 days! Jesus gave first the disciples, then his people authority to use the name of Jesus to do the things he did. Mark 16:15-18 says “And he said unto them, Go you into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”

You now see that Jesus gave his true believers the ability to heal others and do the miracles and wonders He did. All we have to do is believe, remember Satan does not want you to be healed and will tell you are not healed, you need to get rid of those thoughts and “believe”. We have a God that “Loves” us and wants us to have a good life. We need to be around people that have a high degree of Belief. Learn from them!

In Conclusion – R. Nelson

After reading the first part of Rick’s commentary, it made me think how important it is to open our eyes to the small prayers that God answers each and every day all day long. When we go to prayer, we should not just focus on the big things we feel we need, like maybe winning a ball game or getting healed from some minor illness or something else that we feel is important in our life. How about just going to bed at night saying, “thank you Lord” for the air that we breathe, the food that we have on our table or the beauty that surrounds us. These things we just seem to take for granted, but in reality, they are more important that most of the things that we pray for. Instead of asking all the time, we should spend more time thanking God for what He has already blessed us with. Do you know, if you have a roof over your head, food on the table and clothes on your back, you are in the top 15 % of the world’s wealth. Like Rick said, we don’t know how good we got it. Another way to approach prayer is to just simply say, “God, I die to myself today and turn the life over to you, let your will be done”! I can guarantee if you mean that from the bottom of your heart, God will bless your day. But also keep in mind, God will allow us to go through various trials to get us to the point where He can work with us and have His will done in our life. We read this in John 12:24-25; “truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.” Jesus is saying that a death must occur before any fruit can be borne. He is also saying that we must die to ourselves and live for Him. This simply means being born-again into the Holy Spirit and giving your life over to His will. So tonight and every night, ask the Lord to take residence in your life and guide you through the life that He created you for. You won’t be sorry and I can guarantee this based on the written “Word of The Holy Bible” Give it a go, you will eventually realize that it is the best decision that you ever made. Trust in the “Word of God” and have “Faith in all His promises,” it will change your life! “Written To the glory of God.” Amen!

BIBLE MEDITATION:
“…for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” Hebrews 13:5-6

ENCOURAGING WORD:
There were some men years ago who were on a leaky old ship in the middle of a rough and stormy sea, fearful for their lives. They didn’t know whether they were going to sink or not. So one of them went to see the captain and said, “Captain, are we safe?” He said, “Well, I’ll put it to you this way. The boilers on this ship are very weak and may explode at any moment. Also, the ship is very old and she’s taking on water. To be honest with you, we may have an explosion or we may sink. “We may go up or we may go down. But,” he continued, “At any rate, we’re moving on.”

That is the way we are to think as we face this New Year. Jesus may come for His bride at any time and we may go up to meet Him in the cloud as we read in 1 Thessalonians 4:17; “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. “Or we may just pass on and be forever with the Lord. But at any rate, we’re moving on even though we don’t know what the New Year is going to bring. Colossians 3:2; tells us, “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.” In other words, don’t get caught up with all disturbing news that we hear about daily and all the evil that is going on, focus on the eternal. 1 John 2: 15-17; we read, “Do not love the world nor the things in the world, If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” Jesus Christ is in control and if you have received Him as your Lord and Savior, and accepted the Holy Spirit into your heart, you are spiritually protected and nothing can harm you without His consent. We need to stay focused on Jesus Christ and then we can be sure that everything in our life is working out for the good as we read in Romans 8:28; “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” That does not mean that you won’t go through rough times, it just means that Jesus will guide you through each trial and bring you on the other end more purified than when you went in. It is the purifying process that we, as Christians must all go through if we choose to serve Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. When you truly trust the Word of God and His promises, you should be able to go through life without fear, and then you will experience the joy of life that God had intended for you to live. 

Friends, this coming year may be difficult for you, only God knows, but I am telling you that you can stand upon the promises of the Word of God. Our God is a God of love. He will guide you through every situation that may come into your life. But whatever that may be, you can be certain that whatever happens in your life is Father filtered. The trials that we go through are a necessary component of our spiritual growth. As we go through these trials, we need to stay focused on the Word of God, otherwise we will be drawn into the world and the evil therein. Romans 12:2 tells us, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” It is an absolute fact that if you don’t follow Jesus Christ and get to know Him personally, you will conform to this world. There is no middle ground, you are heading in one of two directions currently. We read in Matthew 6:24; “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” You may have been told that mammon is money, well money is a source of mammon, but it goes a lot deeper. Mammon is anything that you put before Jesus Christ. Jesus did not throw words around, so it is significant that he used the word “mammon” at least four times in the New Testament. When he used it, he did not simply mean money. He deliberately used the word “mammon” to show us what happens when we become attached to money. But mammon’s influence does not just stop with wealth. If we are not watchful, the evil spirit will indwell in to every area of our lives and convince us to trust in material possessions instead of God. He tries to motivate us to do put more faith in stuff, with the ultimate goal of replacing God as the source of what we feel we need. In the book of Exodus, this evil spirit convinced the people that they did not need God, and its strategy has not changed.

This evil spirit will deliberately lead us astray and then abandon us, but God will always extend his mercy and grace when we need him. We need to understand, that money in and of itself is not evil, it is the love of money that is evil. 

There are many prominent citizens in our society that are extremely wealthy, and still serve Jesus Christ. With that being said, there are also a lot of rich people that hind behind the banner of Christianity. You would be surprised to see how many of America’s pastors are doing just that. I am mostly referring to the mega churches. Without mentioning any names, they are the wealthiest churches in America. They are known as prosperity churches and are in it for the money only! We read in the Old Testament in Genesis 13:2; “Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold.” Abraham is one very good example of a man of wealth being used for Gods purpose. Another man in the Old Testament was Joseph, one of the sons of Jacob. We read this in Genesis 41: 40-41; “You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.” And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” The story of Joseph and how He became second in command only behind the Pharaoh is one that we all should read and understand. Nobody but Pharaoh was richer than Joseph at that time or had more power, but God used Him to bring into existence the nation of Israel. Joseph and His brothers went into Egypt as a family, but came out of Egypt four hundred years later as a nation! God does give riches to certain people, but those that He gives it to are people that He knows will use it for His glory! That is the difference. Ask yourself this question, if God gave you great wealth, what would you do with it. If you are honest you would most likely do what everybody else does. They use it to buy stuff, gain popularity and all kinds of things that God abhors. You may say, “I wouldn’t do that,” but let me tell you, God knows exactly what we would do and in many cases I believe God keeps His believers in a position where we need His daily provisions, otherwise we may go astray. We read in the Lord’s Prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread.” He did not say give us this day our yearly bread. We need to call out to Him every day of the year. If you do, He will provide for you your daily needs. 

ACTION POINT:
My Friends, face this New Year by squaring your shoulders, lifting your head, and saying “The Lord is my helper, I will not fear. “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” The greatest thing you could do to begin with, if you have not done so already, would be to give your heart to Jesus Christ. This would be the beginning of a brand new life. With Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, nothing can harm you unless it is working out for the good. Are you willing to openly and publicly acknowledge Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior? The choice is yours! It will be the best decision that you could ever make! We don’t know what the coming year will bring–sickness, heartache, or some form of trouble, but you can boldly say, “The Lord will be my helper. I will not fear what man shall do to me.” Find your contentment, your companionship, and your confidence in Jesus Christ. In Him you will find your comfort and your courage. The beginning of a New Year is a great time of year to start a new life. Give it to Jesus Christ and watch the transformation that takes place in you as the New Year moves forward. 

The Lord is My Helper – Commentary from our Chaplin – R. Fritz

Those that have submitted to Gods will for their lives are a Blessed people. We have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and believe he will take care of us. “Belief is an action not just a thought.” If we truly believe, we will act on that belief. Nobody knows for sure what is going to happen during this upcoming year. In other words, are you prepared for whatever is going to happen this year? What I am saying is this, is there anybody or anything that you can you believe in during this upcoming year? Who or what has a history that you can believe in, is it the Government, yourself, people around you. Maybe they will contribute, but what I am really talking about is who can change your life. I only know of one, He is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. You need to read the Bible and read about the history of Jesus Christ and the future events that are yet ahead. What you need to read and understand are the number of “Promises” that are written in the Scriptures of the Bible. The Bible is where you read about Gods promises, then “you need to Believe” it.  Again, “Belief” is an action word, so you need to live this year with a boldness because of your belief in God’s “Promises.”  I believe when the Bible uses the word “shall”, it is a “Promise”. Isiah 40:28-31 says “Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint”. It so easy to find this information on the internet. Just google, what are God’s “Promises” in the Bible. you will hardly believe it. Unfortunately, this is what most people including those that claim to be born-again are not being understanding. 

So now, you have something that you can believe in. We can all look back at the issues that we had last year, whether it be mental, physical or money, and make sure that we don’t repeat the same mistakes again. Let’s take a good look at the mistakes that we made and make sure that we don’t go make the same mistakes that way we did last year! This is what I know, when you believe in something and act on it, our Lord honors that belief and the issues you have, He will change. It comes down to your own level of belief, which will ultimately change when you make it through your issues and move on. This is how I went through my issues. You now have a choice to make, whether you are going to live the same way as last year or are you going to trust in the Lord and let Him help you overcome your issues one by one. Your actions are tied to where you are now in life. We only see what’s in our life at the moment, by our history we speak only what we have and what we have done throughout our whole life. We need to speak the things we need or want in our life and believe it will come to pass. This is what I have done. The words we speak curse or bless ourselves and also people around us. We speak about disease or poverty in our lives because that’s what we see. For instance, when we have sniffles, we tell everybody we are getting a cold, you have now accepted your symptoms and the outcome by speaking it out. I have learned to not allow the devil to know what I am thinking. He puts thoughts in our heads, and then we speak them out. Learn to speak positive things about your life or people around you. You may not understand everything I have said because it is new to you, but trust in the Word of God, and let the proof speak for itself.  Proverbs 18:21 says “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” You see how we curse ourselves by the words we use. We will get into more details about our words at a different time. Ask the Lord to send somebody to help you or “Pray” for wisdom and understanding.

In Closing – R. Nelson

I want to share an example of what I believe our Chaplin is trying to get across, that should make it easier for you to understand: “You can believe a chair will hold your weight, but until you put your belief into actions, you can’t say that you truly believe.“ Our Chaplin hit the nail on the head about belief controlling our actions. We read in 1 Thessalonians 2:13; “And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.”We also read in Acts 16:31; “They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Notice: it does not say, “Might be saved” it says, “Will be saved.” The Holy Spirit is our helper in all of life’s dealings if you just believe and give it to Him. I need to express a point that I have brought up in the past. If you are being told that you cannot know for sure that you are saved or not until you die, you need to get away from that teaching and get into the truth of Gods Word. One more verse that I would like to share comes from Romans 10:9-10; “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” Once again, “you will be saved.” If you truly believe in the Word of God, how can you doubt His promises? Stop accepting lies about your salvation and trust in the Word of God for eternal security and know that you are saved. Let’s all move on to a new beginning, and put the past behind us. The past is gone, the future is ahead, and today is a gift, that is why we call it the present!

“Written To the glory of God”. Amen!

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:” John 10:27;

ENCOURAGING WORD:

How does God speak to us? That is a question that so many wonder about. The truth is, there are many ways that God speaks to us, but it is up to us to do the listening! I think the biggest issue with people is this, they pray to God with hopes of getting an answer immediately, and they don’t wait on the Lord for their answer. The verse above really sums up why people don’t always get an answer, it is because they have not submitted to Gods will for their life. Jesus says that “His sheep” hear His voice. If you are not of His sheepfold, you will not hear from God in any way, shape or form.

God speaks in a language that only His true followers with understand. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, “seeing is not believing, believing is seeing and also hearing.” Let’s say that you are an English speaking American at a foreign speaking convention that doesn’t speak English, you would not understand a word that would be spoken unless you learned that language. In the same way, you will not understand the Word of God unless you first receive the Holy Spirit into your heart. If you have not received the Holy Spirit into your heart, then you will not understand the Words of the Lord. We read in 2 Corinthians 4:4; “In whom the god of this world (Satan) hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” If you are not a born-again Christian, then you are in the category of an unbeliever according to the following verse. We read in John 3:3; where Jesus Himself tell us the following, “Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” These are the Words of God, not man.

Once you have become born-again, the there are various ways God will speak to you. I believe the number one way is certainly through scripture. If you are in the Word daily, you will understand a lot of things that you have questions about. Other ways are through other people that God will use to answer you. God will also speak to you through His Holy Spirit. All believers know how this works, all of a sudden something pops in your head and gives you an answer to a question that you previously had. I think this is a very common way for God to speak to us. We read in Act 2: 17; where Peter says, “And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams.” These are three more ways above that God will speak to man. Then there are those that have actually heard the audio voice of God. In the Old Testament, God spoke to His prophets and other devout men of God often in an audio voice.

We read about an interesting account about Paul when He was on the road to Damascus where suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. This we read in Acts 9:4-7; “Then he (Paul) fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do you want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one.” Here is an example of Jesus speaking in an audio voice. There are many such stories in the Old Testament where God spoke in this manner. Today, you don’t hear of it as often but it as a fact that God still speaks to us occasionally in a voice that we can actually hear.

I personally had such an experience. A while back when I was just getting into the Word of God, I obviously didn’t understand much, especially all the evil that was permeating throughout the world. So one day in total dismay and confusion, I cried out to God and said, “God, what is going on in this world with all the evil?” That night while I was lying in bed trying to get to sleep, I heard what I thought was a voice. It said, “John 16.” I thought I was just hearing things but then couple minutes later, I heard again, “John 16.” I knew I heard a voice that time so I listened a little longer and one more time I heard, “John 16.” At that time I had no knowledge of scripture or verse memorization. I eventually got to sleep that night and when I woke up, I went right to my Bible and read John 16. I stated reading John 16, but nothing jumped out at me as to why I should read that verse. And then at the end of John 16: 33, it said, “These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” From that day going forward continually reading the scriptures I understood what was happening and what was coming to the world.

Once again as I stated above, I believe that the most common way today for God to speak to us is through the Holy Spirit in a spiritual voice. You will be driving along minding your own business and all of a sudden a thought will enter your head that you had no clue where it came from. It might be an answer to something that you prayed for a while back or it may be something that God wants to reveal to you. When you open your mind to the Holy Spirit you will receive divine intervention at times. But with all this in mind you also need to be aware that there is an adversary out there called Satan that is trying to get into your head as well. He is a great deceiver and that is why you need to know Jesus Christ personally so He will protect you from these attacks from Satan. Without Jesus, we are powerless against the evils of the world as we read in Ephesians 6:12; “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Jesus said in John 15:5; “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without me you can do nothing.”

If you are sincere in your heart and really want Jesus in your life, you will hear from Him in one way or another, but don’t be impatient, you will hear from God at the perfect time when you need Him most. Matthew 7:7-8; “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” If you truly believe that the Bible is the true and inherent word of God, then once again, be patient, you will get an answer. We also read in Mark 11:24; “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” These promises in the Bible are to true born-again believers that put their full trust and faith in the Word of God. When you start to believe and understand the Word of God, you will see things that only true believers can see, but you will wonder how everything now seems so obvious where before it was unknown to you.

ACTION POINT:

I remember a song we sang called “Oh what A Friend we have in Jesus” Back then, it was just a bunch of words that we memorized, but now, I realize that Jesus is not only our Friend, He is our Lord and Savior and God of all. You have a Friend that will never leave you not forsake you under any circumstance. I’ve had some pretty good friends in my life, but none that came close to Jesus Christ. I wish I knew Jesus back when I was young, because I look back and see times when I really needed a true Friend. Here are the first two verse to that song, “What a friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear, and what a privilege to carry, everything to God in prayer, oh, what peace we often forfeit, Oh, what needless pain we bear all because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer.” The writer of this song hit the nail on the head! We should take everything to God in prayer. (EVERYTHING) Receive Jesus Christ today as your Lord and Savior, and reach out to Him in prayer. “Oh, what a Friend you will have in Jesus! “Written To the glory of God.” Amen!

A Commentary from our Chaplin – R. Fritz

Our God speaks to us in every way possible and imaginable. Let me tell you a story that happened to me. I was on vacation in Colorado about 8 years ago. My wife, son, his fiancé and I went to a Colorado Rockies night baseball game. We decided to leave the stadium before the game was over. As we were walking out, I happen to notice this guy walking with a sign, it was at least 12”x12” that read “Jesus Saves” and I said to God, what do you want me to do? The next day we got to go to a gold mine and as the owner of the mine was talking, I noticed a post that was in the mine. There was carved on that post, going downward with the message, “Jesus Saves.” The next day we went to the Farm Market in Vail and I see this guy holding up what looked like the same sign saying “Jesus Saves.” It was the same one I saw as we were coming out of the baseball game. God wasn’t done yet. Before I left Breckenridge, as I was getting onto the highway, I saw another guy holding that same sign that said, “Jesus Saves.” God’s not done yet, about 500 miles down the road, I read on the back of camper that had a decal on it that said “Jesus Saves.” You think God was trying to tell somebody something. Our Lord and Savior is speaking to us and most of the world is not paying attention. That is what most of God’s people need to understand. Just pay Attention to things going on around you. I had many times where at work I heard a voice (God’s voice) saying my name. For me it was different to accept. God was sending messenger after messenger to teach me, and then a time came when I started to hear the Holy Spirit answer questions before I would get the questions out of my mouth. The Holy Spirit said He would teach me. The Holy Spirit will reveal answers to questions sometimes before you even get the question asked. There are often times when God also sends people to me to give a word of encouragement or an answer to something I’ve been praying for.

Prayer is a wonderful gift from God where we can actually enter the throne room of the universe and ask Him for answers to our questions and concerns. If you are a child of God you can expect an answer from Him. The problem is, we have a preconceived idea of something that we want, but God knows what’s best for us. In other words, we are asking for something specific and he gives something else, but we don’t know it or see it. This is what I can tell you, I normally get an answer, but again if I don’t get an answer, I keep on asking and by talking to him and being persistent and by not giving up, we learn from the scriptures that this is what God is looking from his people, an attitude of never giving up! In Mark 11:24 it says “Therefore I say unto you, what things so ever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them”. Sounds good doesn’t it. The problem is in the next 2 verses, “and when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have fought against any: that your Father also which is in Heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in Heaven forgive your trespasses”. In other words, because of your unforgiveness, there is a spiritual separation between you and God. If we have any un-resolved issues in our life that we haven’t taken care of, we need to ask God what those issues are. We need to take care of those issues and if God doesn’t answer your prayer, the next prayer should be to ask God to have somebody around you to help you. Those issues will hold back Gods healing or answers until they are resolved. This may be a big reason why some prayers are not answered. Forgiveness and spiritual issues are one of the biggest reasons. Take care of that sin! “We will put out a blog on forgiveness at a different time.”

When we are born-again or saved, God accepts us the way we are. He tries to help us to get through the issues we have. We have to be a willing participant in what God is trying to change in our life. When we get through those issues, we get to have a much better relationship with Him. Now you should have a better understanding of what we need to do for that relationship to grow. It took me years to overcome the issues that I had, but you can do better. I just would not give up. The words in the Bible come alive for me and the Holy Spirit shows me how to use them. It took me years to overcome “Fear”, but the Holy Spirit gave me tools I needed to overcome “Fear.” The tools are Bible Verses. “We will discuss this at a different time also.” It’s all up to you now, only you can choose the path you want to take. If it is a decision to get closer to Jesus Christ, you will have to make some changes. Let me tell you, it’s not easy, but if that’s your choice you choose, you will not regret that relationship with Him! “Let’s get started!”

In Closing – R. Nelson

There is no doubt that if you are a child of God, you will hear from Him and He will guide you through life. You are His child and He will watch over you morning, noon and night, 24-7. You will never be alone. If you happen to be an unbeliever, reach out to someone that is a born-again Christian and listen to their story of how God changed their life, they are all inspiring. Whether we know it or not, we all need Jesus Christ, He is just waiting to hear from you, so He can give you the life that he created for you. You have a choice to either continue in life as you are, which ultimately ends up on a dead end road, or you can receive Jesus Christ today and have the security of knowing that you will live forever! What will you choose? “Written To the glory of God.” Amen!

Inspiring Letter from our beloved Christian Sister – Alexandra Ader

“This is a powerful message that God spoke to Alexandra through Spiritual Inspiration!

My Dear One,
​I wish I could fully explain my love for you, but it is unfathomable, it is too great to fully grasp, (1) but my words are all I have to share. Look at this world around you. The glorious mountains, the breath-taking ocean with all its mysteries, the starry night sky in all its beauty, the birds that fly, the leaves of the trees, this world is magnificent, but it is nothing compared to you. (2) You are more precious than any of that. You are my treasure. (2) You were created to reflect love. (3) You are a light in the world of darkness around you. (4) I find such bliss when I look at you and I can’t help but sing. (5) You are the apple of my eye, I cherish you above all else. (6) My love, I want to spend eternity with you. (7)
How you feel is so important to me. I know when you are mourning, I know when you are filled with sorrow. Even if you can’t see me, I am there when you cry, each tear that falls I catch it and keep it. Each of your tears are precious to me. (8)
Sometimes you may feel distant, there are times that we are both hurting. But I want you to know that I’m not going anywhere I’m always here. (9) No matter how much you think you mess up, there is nothing you could do to make me stop loving you. (10)
I have searched all the earth for you (11) and now that I have found you, I won’t let go of you. I promise to always do what is best for you, (12) I promise to always fight for you and I do go to battle for you.(13)
I carry you close to my heart (14) my dear, my love for you is everlasting, and my love for you is the greatest power in existence. There is no other power that is great enough to separate my love from you. (15)

Always yours, God

Bible verses in support of the letter from Alexandra Ader

1) – Ephesians 3:19; “to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
2) – Matthew 10:29-31; “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Isaiah 40 is where I got my inspiration. God is so big and He created everything but He called you a treasure, He calls you precious, His special possession.
2) – Proverbs 3:15; “She is more precious than rubies, and all the things you may desire cannot compare with her.
2) – 1 Peter 2:9; “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”
3) – Genesis 1:26; “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth” “we are created to reflect God”
3) – 1 John 4:16 God is love; “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
4) – Matthew 5:14-16; “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
5) – Zephaniah 3:17; “The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”
6) – Psalm 17:8; “Keep me as the apple of your eye; Hide me under the shadow of your wings,”
7) – John 3:16; “but this is the story of the entire Bible, that He wants to have a relationship with you and He died so that He could be with you for all eternity” “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
8) – Psalm 56:8; “You number my wanderings; Put my tears into your bottle; Are they not in your book?”
8) – Psalm 136:2-3; “Oh, give thanks to the God of gods! For His mercy endures forever. Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords! For His mercy endures forever:”
9) – Isaiah 59:1; “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear.”
9) – Joshua 1:9; “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
9) – Matthew 28:20; “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”
9) – Hebrews 13:5; “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
10) – Romans 5:8; “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
10) – 1 Corinthians 13:7; “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
11) – 2 Chronicles 16:9; “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.”
12) – Romans 8:28; “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
12) – Jeremiah 29:11; “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
13) – Isaiah 40:11; “He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young.”
14) – Titus 3:7; “that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
15) – Romans 8:38-39; “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Emmanuel.^”

– Isaiah 7:14

ENCOURAGING WORD:

Some Bible scholars suggest there are more than 300 prophetic Scriptures completed in the life of Jesus. Circumstances such as his birthplace, lineage, and method of execution were beyond his control and could not have been accidentally or deliberately fulfilled. At least 109 of them have been fulfilled concerning His first coming. Here is the statistical improbability of one man, whether accidentally or deliberately, fulfilling just eight of the prophecies Jesus fulfilled. The chance of this happening is 1 in 10¹⁷ power. For those of you that don’t know what that means, it is 10 with 17 zeros behind it.  Let’s suppose that we take 10¹⁷ silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They will cover all of the state two feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars with an “X” and stir the whole mass thoroughly, all over the state. Blindfold a man and tell him that he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up one silver dollar and say that this is the right one. What are the chances that he would pick up the right one? Just the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing these eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man. The mathematical improbability of 300, or 44, or even just eight fulfilled prophesies of Jesus Christ stands as evidence to his Messiahship. The proof is indisputable, yet millions of people try to do just that!

Let’s take some Bible verses from the Old and New Testament that reference the events leading up to the Birth of Jesus Christ! We read in Matthew 1:19-21; Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Back in those days, adultery was punishable by stoning, and since Joseph wasn’t aware of Mary’s conversation with The Angel Gabriel, he felt he had to protect her by keeping her out of the public eye. We read that in the 19^th verse above. Then we read in verses 22-25; “So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Emanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus. This was all foretold in the book of Isaiah, chapter 7, verse 14. In Isaiah 10:13-14; we read where the Lord himself gave a sign to King Ahaz, “Then he said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Emmanuel.” After King Ahaz appeared to show respect for God by saying that he would not test Him (Isaiah 7:12), amazingly, God went even further to save Judah from imminent danger. He told them about the coming Messiah named Emmanuel, a name that means “God with us.” God was informing His people that He planned to come to earth as a baby so that all of humankind could have access to His saving power. Some 700 years later, Joseph and Mary, who were from the city of Nazareth, were engaged to be married. Mary, still a virgin, was “found to be with child from the Holy Spirit” Matthew 1:18. An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him that his wife-to-be would deliver the Christ child. Can you imagine what Joseph had to go through? Joseph is an example of true obedience to the Word of God. We read in Matthew 2:13-14; “Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.” When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt,” Here Joseph had to leave his business and pull up stakes and leave for Egypt until it was safe to return. This was foretold by Hosea in chapter 11:1; “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.” When you read this verse in Hosea, you wonder why Jesus would be in Egypt. This verse could very well appear to be a verse about the Exodus from Egypt, until you read the rest of Matthew 2:15; “and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.” This is why you need to read and understand the Old Testament so that you can also read and understand the New Testament. There is a saying in the Christian Body that goes like this; “The New Testament is in the Old Testament concealed and the Old Testament is in the New Testament revealed.” There are so many times when reading the scriptures that you come across a passage in the New Testament that has an Old Testament picture or story that explains it more clearly or vice versa, it may be a New Testament teaching that explains an Old Testament story.

Now we take a step back to a passage in the book of Jeremiah 31:15; where Jeremiah tells of a future event of the  slaughter of all the first born children of Bethlehem, ages two and younger. “Thus says the Lord: “A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted for her children, Because they are no more.” This prophecy was fulfilled in Matthew 2:16-18; where we read, “then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: “A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more.” I believe that this is irrefutable evidence that the Christ Child was about two years old when the Wiseman showed up to worship the Child King! There may be some relevance to why they showed up without any real time frame mentioned, but then again maybe so. The Bible has a lot of hidden messages that have not yet been revealed to man, but as the Word of God says, Knowledge will increase in the last days and it is increasing at an unprecedented pace.

There are so many prophecies of the first coming of Jesus Christ that have all been fulfilled with 100% accuracy! It is extremely hard to understand how people can reject the truth of Jesus Christ when it is so obvious based on the facts of everything being foretold hundreds of years in advance. But the Word of God explains this to us where we read in 2 Corinthians 4:4; “whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.” I guess this is something that unbelievers won’t understand which takes me back to the saying’ “Seeing isn’t believing, believing is seeing when it comes to the Word of God.”

I want to ask everybody this question. What is the central part of your family Christmas celebrations? There are many good answers to this, but I’ll bet the exchange of gifts is at the top. The gifts that we give should be perfect mirrors of the gift that God gave to the world. But unfortunately, the giving of gifts very seldom simulates the gift that God gave us. Most people take the greatest gift of Jesus Christ and treat it as if it is something of no value, but those same people will rip into a Christmas present like a monkey on a banana.

I like to give examples that people can relate to and here is a perfect example of what this message say. Suppose that you bought the most wonderful gift you could ever think of for a very special person. It comes time to open the gift and a as they tear off the final wrapping, they show no sign of appreciation or even worse, they appear as if they don’t even want the gift. How would you feel? I know how we would feel, like we have just had our heart ripped out. Well, let me assure you that every time we reject God’s gift of His one and only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, we tear His heart out. He gave the world the most precious gift imaginable, but yet it is rejected by most of the world’s population. Most of us I believe would agree, that it is more blessed to give than to receive. God loves us so much, that He had to do something about the sin that fell upon the world. Can you imagine how God felt when His Son, Jesus Christ was born. He knew that by entering His creation, He could now make propitiation for sins by paying for our sins through His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead. The greatest love that anybody can show to someone is by laying down his life for a friend as we read in John 15:13; “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” This is exactly what Jesus Christ did for us, and all He expects form us is, acceptance, love and obedience. Acceptance: Receive Jesus Christ today as your personal Lord and Savior. Love: Love Him as He loves you…unconditionally. Obedience: Read His Word and be obedient to His commands. If you truly accept Jesus Christ all these things should just follow.  

Jesus Christ is not just some imaginary spirit floating around in the sky as most people imagine, Jesus Christ is alive and well sitting at the right hand of God the Father and do you know what He is doing. Romans 8:34 tells us “Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.” (Prayer, petition, or entreaty in favor of another) He is constantly witching over His children and intervenes on our behalf. A young boy once ask, “Can God see me all the time? His father said, “God loves you so much that He can’t take His eyes off of you!”

ACTION POINT:

If you have already received Jesus Christ, you are in His protective custody. There is no better place to be, so why wouldn’t you want the creator of the universe who knows everything about to watch over you? Would you want to be taken care of by someone else’s father here on earth or your own? If you are not born-again into the family of God, then you automatically fall under the family of the adversary, (one that contends with, opposes, or resists:an enemy or opponent) you know who I am talking about! There are only two choices. Take this Christmas season and really get to know our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In this world in which we live, we need every soldier that we can get. Please join us and share the love that Jesus Christ has bestowed on us. The gift of eternal life! “Written To the glory of God.” Amen!

The Statistical Proof – Commentary from our Chaplin – R. Fritz

We that have a relationship with Jesus Christ know without a doubt that Jesus is real. People wonder if God or some people call a higher power really exists. Jesus is God who came to Earth as a man. How real is God? So real all you have to do in the time of trouble is call out “Jesus” to help you. He is waiting for you to do that. I can tell you this because that’s exactly what I do. One particular incident that comes to mind is a while back it looked as if I  was going to slide in the ditch in the winter with my car and I said ”Jesus” and my car became instantly in my control and I don’t go in the ditch, I used to yell Oh sh_ _ , which did me no good. That phrase Oh sh_ _ was my human expectation that I was going in the ditch. That’s what I believed at that time, Now I say “Jesus”, that’s my expectation that Jesus was going to help me. If you don’t have that relationship, I ask and pray that you find Jesus Christ or if you feel that you do know him, just ask him how you can get to know him better with a personal relationship. That belief comes from going through life issues every day and trusting that when I call on him (Jesus) he will be there. In the Bible in Philippians it says “wherefore God also hath exalted him, and given him a name above every name: That at the name of Jesus Christ every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth”. This is how Gods people are able use this name, “Jesus”, it has power.

The Bible in Isaiah talks about “for unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulders; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace”. Who were they talking about, “Jesus”. They were fore telling that Jesus was coming and who he is.

During this Christmas season be thankful for God coming to earth as a man to understand us humans and giving his life so we can have an everlasting life with him. Be thankful for his Love. Be thankful the name Jesus has power and using that power can change situations in our lives when we get in. Be thankful that the people around us show unconditional love and forgive us even when we don’t deserve it. Jesus was the Light of the world, Gods people can be the Light of the world now. Show that Light to the people around you year around. God’s people got that from Jesus. He was the example. We need to understand the Bible. The Holy Spirit gives us the ability to interpret the Bible.

In Closing – R. Nelson

The evidence and statistical proof of Jesus Christ being exactly who He said He was is off the charts. Jesus Christ is the second part of the trinity, but equal in every sense of the Word to God the Father and the Holy Spirit. Something that we will never be able to wrap our finite minds around is the fact that God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit are all one. So many people cannot wrap their mind around this concept of all three being one, so they try to explain it in a way that people might understand. It is impossible for us to understand. So what happens are religious leaders start to allegorize all scriptures to bring it to their level of understanding! The Bible talks a lot about faith and that is exactly what true Christianity is, a faith in a God that is all powerful and all knowing. Hebrews 11:1 tells us, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”  Faith comes from reading the scriptures and letting The Holy Spirit fill your heart with truth and knowledge to the point that you will know without a doubt that God exists and every Word in the Bible is absolute truth. The Holy Spirit will reveal all truth to you, all you have to do is receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, allow the Holy Spirit into your heart and get into the Bible and trust in Him. The ball is in your court, so make your move today and receive the greatest gift ever given…Grace!

“Written To the glory of God.” Amen!

All of us from Faithinchristjesus.net would like to wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a prosperous and Happy New Year.

BIBLE MEDITATION:

 “For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6;

ENCOURAGING WORD:

It seems that every religion in the world tries to deny the deity of Jesus Christ from His birth all the way to His death. There are 109 verses throughout the Old Testament that clearly lay out specific prophecies about the first coming of Jesus Christ. They have all been fulfilled to 100% accuracy. The probability of this happening is off the charts to the point it is impossible for one man to fulfill over one hundred prophetic messages about His first coming. If you read and study the Bible in its entirety, you must conclude without a doubt that Jesus Christ is exactly who He said He was. “The Son of God” Emmanuel (which means ‘God is with us’

The fulfillment of the Prophesized Birthplace

The birthplace of Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of just one of the many prophesies concerning the birth of the Messiah. We find the prophecy concerning the birth place of Jesus in Micah 5:2. “But you Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me, The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.” This alone is incredible when you understand why Mary and Joseph had to be in Bethlehem at that precise time. The fulfillment of this prophecy is found in the gospel of Luke 2:1-7; “And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.” This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So, all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” It is not a coincidence that Jesus was born the exact time that the decree was made for Mary and Joseph to return to Bethlehem, it was orchestrated by God Himself to fulfill the prophecy in Micah 5:2. The name of the birth place of Jesus is Bethlehem just as prophesied. The word means “house of bread.” Bethlehem is also known as the “City of David.” Mary and Joseph were both of the royal linage of David and that is why they had to journey to Bethlehem to be counted. Is it not proof of the wonderful sovereignty and the completeness of the plan and purpose of God that the One who was born to occupy the throne of David, the Lord Jesus Christ, was born of the line of David in the very same city that is referred to as “The City of David”

Bearing Witness from the Angel Gabriel

We read a very interesting event in Luke 1:26-33 where we read, “And in the sixth month (This is referring to the pregnancy of Elizabeth who was carrying John the Baptist in her womb) the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, “Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.” And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” There are people that try to say, that Jesus was just a man who purposely tried to fulfill as many prophecies as he could so he could claim to be the Messiah. How ridiculous it is to believe a man could arrange his own birthday and then to top it off, be born of a virgin. There is only one deity in the universe that could pull that off, and that is our God. Also, every time we look at a calendar, it should be a reminder of the birth of Jesus Christ. No other man in history has had the impact on our world like that of Jesus Christ. His birth was foretold thousands of years before it came to fruition and it is still a major debate to this day. Jesus Christ is Lord!

Bearing Witness from the Shepherds

Luke 2: 8-14, “Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” 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, goodwill toward men!” Luke 2:15-16 also shares with us the experience of what the Shepherds had witnessed, “So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.” The Shepherds were looked down at as the least respected citizens of their day, yet God reached out to them to share the joyous news of the birth of their Messiah. This is another example of how God uses the most unlikely people to fulfill His plan of salvation. The shepherd, being different than a hired keeper might run away in the face of danger, but the owner of the herd would not run from any danger. The shepherd who owned and herded the flock would stay and defend them against any danger that might arise. He had a genuine loving concern for what belonged to him. In the book of John, chapter 10, Jesus illustrates how the shepherd cares for his flock, protecting them from weather, thieves, and predatory animals. He loved and shielded them and if necessary, he would lay down his life for them. That is exactly what Jesus Christ did for us, Our Good Shepherd laid down His life for us, His sheep. When we read throughout the scriptures, Jesus is often referred to as our Good Shepherd. It is interesting how the shepherds that were the first to see Jesus in the manger, were looking down at the One that would eventually be The Good Shepard that would watch over them.   

Bearing Witness from the Wisemen

Matthew 2:2; we read “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.” Many people read this verse and take it out of context. The wise men could not have shown up when Jesus was in the stable, we read in Matthew 2: 11 where is clearly states the following; “And when they had come into the house, (Not a stable) they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” At this time Mary and Joseph are now living in a house and Jesus is referred to as a young child, not a babe in a manger. The logical time frame before the Wiseman reached Jesus was within two years. There is another clue as to how old Jesus was when the Wiseman showed up and we read this is Matthew 2:16 where it reads, “Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.” If Jesus were still a newborn, King Herod would not have had all the babies two years old and younger murdered. Also, the trip that the Wiseman took to reach Jesus covered many miles and there would be no way for them to get there that soon on the backs of camels. It may be irrelevant as to when the Wiseman showed up, but I thought it would be interesting to share my thoughts.

King Herod bore witness of the Birth of Jesus Christ

We read in Matthew 2:3-6; “When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ” Here is the King of Judea fearing the birth of a young infant. King Herod referred to the babe in the manger as the Christ, even he knew that Jesus was the one that was foretold about to the point he had to kill all the first-born males two years old and younger. His kingship was threatened by a newborn baby that was prophesied to rule the world.

As I was gathering information for this blog, a thought came to me that got me thinking! If the star shown so bright that the shepherds and the wisemen could see it, why couldn’t Herod the King see it. I believe the answer is obvious if you apply it to today’s principles. The only ones that could see the star was those that believed that the Messiah would show up around that time because of what the prophets of old predicted. In today’s realm of things, it is the same reason that most people cannot see the signs of His second coming because of their unbelief. Which brings me to a quote that often applies to the Word of God, “Seeing is not believing, believing is seeing.” When you understand and believe the Word of God as it is written, you will see everything in a new light. When you become a believer, the truth will jump out at you like never before. In John 20:29; we read this interesting verse that applies to what I am saying, “Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” When you believe, you will see the Word of God as it was meant to understand and as it says above, blessed are those that believe yet have not seen! It is called faith!

ACTION POINT:

Today in our world, most people are blind to the prophecies of the second coming of Jesus Christ just as they were blind to the birth of their Messiah. They did not believe then and they don’t believe today.  Those that are born-again into the Holy Spirit and believe in what the Bible says are very aware of where we are on Gods prophetic calendar. If there is one thing that history teaches us, it is that we learn nothing from history. History is repeating itself and it is going to have the same results. Just as in the days of Noah. You need to have faith in the Word of God and start believing that what is written is true, and then the blindness will be removed, and you will see things like you have never seen before. Jesus Christ was born a King and His Kingship will soon rule the world just as it says in the scriptures. “Thy Kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” Do these words ring a bell?

“Commentary from Our Chaplin – Bearing Witness – R. Fritz”

We should understand that if Adam and Eve were not disobedient and not sinned, we could have been in heaven on Earth forever. The truth is that it was God’s Plan, they sinned and as a result, God put them out into the world we now occupy. That is history. Gods people had a momentous change in their life, God was there trying to get them to listen to him. They would listen for a while then, do it their way and try and find another god to help them. The Israelites were always complaining and not trusting God or the prophets that He sent to give his words to the people in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament there was a price that they paid for their disobedience, (death, left in the wilderness, turned into a block of salt) these are stories from the Old Testament. God really wanted to be with his people, but they would not turn from their wicked ways.

He had a 2^nd plan and that was come to Earth as a man. The Bible foretold of this happening through Prophets in the Old Testament. Jesus was born through a Virgin named Mary. Both Mary and Joseph were visited by Angels telling them what was happening and what to do. They were obedient to God. Jesus first tried to tell his people about God’s plan, they turned him down. He next turned to the Gentiles who were born again and grafted them in to be God’s people.  Romans 11:17-19; “But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in. We also read this in Ephesians 2:19; “So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family.”

Jesus came to set people free from sin and religion. I say that because, at that time the Pharisees and Sadducees were interested in their interpretations of the law, traditions, rules that were made by man. They never knew who Jesus was when they spoke to him, they were just interested in making sure all the rules were followed. There are over 600 commandments in the Jewish Torah. Violation of one of them was Sin. That was why they had animal blood sacrifices in the Old Testament for atonement for sins. Jesus Christ came to Earth as a scapegoat and once and for all took all the sins of the world when he died. His death and his blood were the last sacrifice that was needed. When the veil in the temple was tore from top to bottom when Jesus died, we had the opportunity to have a spiritual relationship with God through the Holy Spirit. Sin is what kept us from being in his presence. Jesus gave us the ability to be in his presence. When he died, he got the keys of death and so if we are one of his (have a relationship with him) the Bible talks about the sting of death being sin, to the born again, there is no sting. When you die you go immediately to Heaven.  The Old Testament had Ten Commandments. In the New Testament, Jesus said two commandments were the most important, 1. Thou salt Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 2. Thou shalt Love thy neighbor as thyself,

We now can have life abundantly. We just must choose him and have a relationship with him. I think most people are afraid or don’t trust the Lord. When things go bad, we just need to call out his name, “JESUS” and He will help, and when things are going well, we need to thank Him for all the blessings in our life! The Lord is a gentleman and will not invade your sovereignty or intervene in your life if you don’t ask. Most people think they can do it themselves. The Lord gives me wisdom and answers to questions as people are asking them. You can have a relationship better than me, be obedient and ask him to change your life. Without change, your life and the issues you have won’t change. I challenge everybody to make this change your life, you will see a change in your emotional and physical issues. With Jesus, all things are possible, we just need to spend time reading the Bible, which gives you trust and belief and talking with him.

In Closing – R. Nelson

There should be absolutely no question about it, Jesus Christ is the Son of God, Israel’s Messiah and the Savior of the world. The evidence is indisputable to support this fact. For those that don’t believe in Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior, here is a verse in the scripture’s that explain why. We read in 2 Corinthians 4:4; “whose minds the god of this age (Satan) has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.” If you are not a believer, then Satan has blinded you to the truth and there is no way for you to understand Gods plan for salvation. Trying to explain the details of the Gospel to an unbeliever is like trying into explain color to a blind man. They cannot and will not understand until they ask Jesus Christ into their life and receive the Holy Spirit into their heart. If a blind man eventually gained his sight, then he would know what color is. In the same way, if an unbeliever were to turn to God and received Jesus Christ into his heart, he would see the gospel crystal clear. I’ll say it once again, seeing is not believing, believing is seeing! Jesus Christ came into this world for one purpose, to save mankind from their sins and spare the world from the torment of eternal separation from His presence, in other words, as the Bible refers to it, “The Lake of burning fire.”  Receive Jesus Christ today and celebrate the birth of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, your Savior, during this magical time of year! “Written To the glory of God.” Amen!

BIBLE MEDITATION:
“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6;

ENCOURAGING WORD:

We are once again entering the time of year when people are planning for Christmas parties, social gatherings, parades, and other events to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. When I was a young child, Christmas time was a time when I truly felt good will was in the air. Eddie Arnold sang a song that is special to me, one of my all-time favorites, “Christmas Can’t be far Away.” The song truly sums up the way Christmas used to be.

“A neighbor tipped his hat to me this morning, the landlord even smiled and said good day, and I want you to know a stranger said hello, ‘Christmas can’t be far away’ Old tight-wad down the street is buying candy, To pass out to the neighbor kids at play, The town is on the go the weather man said snow. ‘Christmas can’t be far away’ The small fry on our block have all been saving, And now they’re hiding things and looking sly, Mom will get that do-dat she’s been craving, And dad will get his usual Christmas tie, Both young and old are planning sweet surprises, They’ll soon be tied with ribbons bright and gay, Good will is in the air you feel it everywhere, ‘Christmas can’t be far away.’

I want to share these lyrics with you because, to me they hold a lot of meaning! It used to be the simple things in life were what mattered, but now, I feel a dark cloud has come over what the true meaning of Christmas is all about. When we were growing up in the 50’s through the 70’s the following verse was very meaningful to all Christians. We heard it at every Christmas program that we went to. Luke 2:8-14. “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 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.” For those of you that have watched “A Charlie Brown Christmas” you’ve heard Linus tell the Peanuts Gang that “this is what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown.” I’ve been watching a Charlie Brown Christmas for about 55 years and I still love it when Linus takes the stage and brings the meaning of Christmas to all of us.

But, like I said, Christmas has now taken on a whole new meaning. Over the last ten to twenty years I have noticed the falling away from the true meaning of Christmas, and honestly, it pains me to see our country falling away from our Biblical roots! Jesus Christ is the only reason for the season and it’s because of our Biblical faith that has kept America the greatest nation in the world. But we have truly turned away from our true Biblical routes. People have taken the concept of gift giving to an unprecedented level that far exceeds anything that we could have ever imagined. People are running back and forth in the malls in search of that special gift for someone that in some cases may not even appreciate it. They are spending money they don’t have to buy gifts that will be soon forgotten, and the bills that you rack up, will sometimes take a whole year to pay off. I am not saying that buying gifts for people that you love is wrong, but the reason for those gifts is not being tied in with what Christmas is all about.

When we read about the gifts of the three wise men from the East, most people don’t have a clue what those three gifts represented. “The three gifts had a spiritual meaning: gold as a symbol of kingship on earth, frankincense (an incense) as a symbol of deity, and myrrh (an embalming oil) as a symbol of death. This dates to its original origin, “gold, as to a king; myrrh, as to one who was mortal; and incense, as to a God.”

What really grieves me is the lack of biblical knowledge that surrounds this time of year. I talked with an atheist a few years back and just out of curiosity, I asked him, “Why do you celebrate Christmas if you don’t believe in Jesus Christ?” I have to say, the answer made me sick! He said, “Because I’m just celebrating giving presents and getting together with friends.” But what is even more disheartening to me is that most of the people that call themselves Christians have fallen into the same category. It’s all about the parties and the presents. Let me ask you a question, “If you knew about a group of people that were going to get together to celebrate your birthday, but as it would turn out, you were not even invited, how would you feel? That is exactly what is happening every time we gather for Christmas and don’t invite Jesus Christ to the celebration. I can tell you with certainty, with the Bible as my authority, Jesus Christ grieves as well, only on a much higher scale. Millions of people all over the world are celebrating our Saviors birth and yet very few, if any invite Jesus Christ into their homes. I have been to quite a few Christmas parties over the past 40 years and I can say without hesitation, I have never heard anybody mention the name of Jesus Christ once. Even though this is very appalling to me, it is no surprise at all. We read in  1 Timothy 4:1, where the Apostle Paul tells us, “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils” We, as a nation, have fallen away from the true doctrine of the scriptures. But with that being said, there is a very comforting scripture that we read in 2 Chronicles 7:14; “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” Even though this was spoken to the Hebrews of that day, it also refers to us as a nation. If God is in charge, and He is and always will be, there is always hope. We need to bring Jesus Christ back into our homes not just on Christmas, but in every day of our lives.

There is another reason that I heard for people not celebrating Christmas. People are arguing about the day that Christ was born. It is causing a division in the Christian body, which, in my opinion is ridiculous. We, as Christians quite often find something to grumble about and our target is usually each other. Let me give you my opinion of the day that we celebrate Christmas, December 25^th. I am one of many that believe that Jesus Christ was not born on December 25^th. You can come to that conclusion by just understanding the scriptures. It is more likely that Jesus was born sometime in late September or early October. But this is just my opinion, not fact! But to me that is not important, the day should not be an issue, we are to celebrate the birth of Christ, whether it be in September or December. Why, and who decided it should be December 25^th, I don’t know, but if you feel that celebrating on December 25^th bothers you, then celebrate it on a day that you feel more comfortable. It is not the day that we celebrate, it’s what we are celebrating, the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In all honesty we should be celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ every day. But if you are one of those that call people a heathen because they put up a Christmas tree or some other decorations around the house to spruce up the season, stop it! Even though there are a lot of pagan routes associated with Christmas, most people are not aware of what they are, so when they go with the Christmas traditions that they have been brought up with, it’s just something that they feel brings them closer to the emotions of the Christmas season! They are not intentionally honoring the pagan routes. If Jesus Christ is not the reason for the season in our hearts, then it really does not matter what else you do. At that point, then it becomes pagan rituals. God knows what is going on in the hearts of man, He knows why we do the things we do, and He alone will judge us for the decisions that we make.

We read in Matthew 1:21-23; “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. “So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” This little child that was born in a manger was God in the flesh! He came to this world for one reason and that was to redeem mankind back to God. It was the only way for man to be saved. Let me ask you this, do you think He really cares what day you celebrate His birthday on? He requires fellowship throughout the entire year, not just one day out of 365.

ACTION POINT:

With all this being said, please take the time this year to focus on what Christmas is truly all about. Jesus Christ was born in a manger and came to this world to save you from your sins. It cost Him dearly, the pain and suffering that he had to endure was the pain and suffering that He saved us from. If you have a hard time sharing the good news, then take it into your prayer closet and spend some time alone with Jesus. Let’s all focus on bringing a huge smile to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ this Christmas season. Invite Him to every gathering that you are a part of, He will be happy to make His presence known. Here is a very heartwarming verse from the book of 1 Peter 3:8; “Finally, [be ye] all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, [be] pitiful,

courteous” Let’s take this verse to a whole new level, lets show the world what true Christianity is all about. Jesus loves you, all He wants in return is for us to love Him back. Is that asking too much…if it is asking too much, then you need to re-evaluate your heart because Jesus is returning one day, and it could be soon? So, my heartfelt wish this year is that we all remember the real reason for the season which is the birth of Jesus Christ and have a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! “To the glory of God.” Amen!

Commentary from our Chaplin – R. Fritz

We spend too much time debating what people should be doing. It has to be in their heart. The Holy Spirit is what gives people their values, conscience, and the wisdom to do what is right. Without that, people will do what they have always done. We should remember Jesus Christ every day, not just a couple times a year. We should have respect for Jesus Christ and his love for us. The truth is Jesus came to set us free. Jesus is the reason for the season. I see people trying to be extra nice during this time of the year. The truth is, we should be extra nice every day of the year, not just during the Christmas season. We should be giving time, love, and money to people year around and not during the holiday season. We have fallen into the marketing and business culture of trying to make money off the season rather than truly helping others. We need to look at our sanity and the anxiety that happens because everybody is in a rush to get that perfect gift for someone special.

With Christmas and the Holidays, there is also a spike in depression, anxiety and other illnesses that can sometimes lead to suicide. Holidays are a depressing time for many and as a result suicide tends to show up more during this time year in comparison to other times of the year. It speaks to people about the belief that life isn’t always fair. They start to believe that they are alone, and they start believing their thoughts, thoughts that the devil uses to give them an opinion about their situation, like how bad life is. Satan gets them believing that there is no “Hope.” Anxiety comes because we try to do something, we have no control over, but we think we do. We need to put it in Jesus hands, whether it is money we don’t have or if we are trying to find that perfect that will most likely be taken back for something else. This is where the Christmas spirit shows up.

I believe that the devil uses that mind set and our inner feelings for that reason, to give people a false sense of how much they are loved. We should show true love year around, not just at Christmas time. Why should we be judged by how much we love somebody just by what we give them? What does the Bible say about Love,” Love is Patient, Love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs”  I pray everybody would remember this verse. Does this verse match our version of Love and the Christmas holiday season?

Jesus was sent here for an example for us to live by. Love is what the New Testament is all about, we need to remember Jesus Christ every day. Do not let the season change your attitude on Life. Treat people every day like you want to be treated. Focus on Jesus 365 days a year. That will change your life! The Bible talks about “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.” What Christmas spirit do you have, Jesus’s “Love” or what the devil wants you to believe is “Love.” You make that choice. I learned for myself from that expectation of gifts. I choose Jesus “Love.”

In Closing – R. Nelson 

-My friends, Christmas time is a very special time of year for so many people, but for some, it is a very emotional time of year. We need to reach out to those that are alone, to those that have very little. We read in Proverbs 19:17; “He that hath pity upon the poor lends unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will He pay him again.”  We also read in James 2:14-17; “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” Here is where we need to put our trust in God’s Word. The scriptures tell us that whatever we give in the name of God, will be given back. If you say you love Jesus Christ, then show the kind of love that Jesus shows. This is the time of year that we should go out of our way to help one another, regardless of what it costs us. Make it a point to do something special for someone in need. And then when you get a taste of how good it feels to help someone, then maybe you might consider helping others throughout the rest of the year! “Written To the glory of God.” Amen!

BIBLE MEDITATION:
“So it was that the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.” Luke 16:22-23

ENCOURAGING WORD:

Most people in this world believe in a heavenly dwelling but shrug off the concept of hell. Sadly, this includes many pastors and priests that should be held accountable to their congregation, to share the whole truth, not just the feel-good ear tickling messages. I need to make one thing perfectly clear; I do not find pleasure in sharing this message, but I believe it is a message that everybody should know. Hell is a real place and it is one of only two places where we will spend eternity. We read a very disturbing verse in Matthew 7:21 where Jesus says; “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. This is often a mis-understood verse because the will of His Father really has nothing to do with good works as most people think. In John 6:29 we get the answer to what is the will of the Father, “Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” Then Jesus follows up in Matthew 7:22-23 with these Words. “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” These two verses make it extremely clear that we are not saved by good works. There are people that believe in Jesus Christ but will never bother to get to know Him on a personal level. We need to be in fellowship with Christ and build a relationship with Him. Jesus Christ requires and desires a loving relationship with His children. We need to understand that true Christianity is a relationship with Jesus Christ, not a religion as most people are taught to believe. Without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ you will undoubtedly wind up in hell for all eternity, there are no if, and or buts about it. It is a choice that you, and only you can make.

There is only one way to escape the eternal condemnation of hell and that is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross. We read in 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9; “In flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,” This should not be taken lightly, this should be the most important question to ask yourself. “If I died today, would I be certain that I would be with the Lord or would I be separated from Him for all eternity?” The answer to this question must be answered yes, or no. The birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ was foretold by many prophets of old. Some people go as far as to say, “Jesus Christ was not who He said He was, He was just a man who fulfilled some of the prophecies so people would believe He was the Christ!” First, how could someone arrange to be born and fulfill all the prophecies about His birth? Not possible! You can stop right there with the foolishness; it is absurd to believe that for a moment! Furthermore, let me ask you a question, would you die a severe death as Jesus Christ did for a cause that did not exist? If you are taught that hell doesn’t exist and nobody will go there as a result of sin, then why did Jesus Christ come to this world to die the most vicious agonizing death known to man, if it wasn’t for an extremely necessary purpose? Do you think for a moment that God the Father, would allow His Son to go through the horrific death He did if there was no reason?

Jesus Christ had to pay for the sins of the world, in order for those that would believe in Him to escape the eternal confines of hell! If hell didn’t exist, there would be no reason for Jesus Christ to do what He had to do. Hell is more real than the blue earth that you are standing on, the only difference is, hell is forever, this earth that we currently occupy today is temporary. If there was no hell, Jesus Christ would not have done what He did. If there is no hell, then Jesus Christ died for His people to keep them from a destination that does not exist. We need to think logically.

I don’t find pleasure in discussing this horrible place called hell, however, let me put it in a way that will make it clear why I felt it necessary to share this message. If someone were to take you to a faraway land and didn’t tell you anything about it, you most likely would not go, but let’s say you really trusted this person. After a couple days of travel, you finally get to your destination. It turns out to be the most hideous, despicable, most disgusting place that you could ever imagine. How upset would you be if your friend didn’t fill you in on the truth of where you were going before you went. Wouldn’t you like to have been warned first of this horrible place? Well, here are the comparisons, if you do not accept Jesus Christ you will go to a place that your pastor, priest or whoever you trust to tell you the truth, didn’t tell you about. They try to sugar coat it and tell you that everybody is going to heaven, so they don’t give you the alternative option. I am here to tell you what the alternative is, so that you can get your affairs in order and understand that hell is a real place. Here is a verse that you should take to heart for those that believe we are all going to heaven. Jesus says in Matthew 7:13-14; “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.” Notice it says a few, not everybody, not most of the people, but few will be that find the way!

Many people don’t understand that hell was not created for mankind. God created it for Satan and his fallen angels. But, unfortunately, back in the Garden of Eden when man was deceived by Satan, sin entered the world and from that point on man had a choice, to serve Satan or to serve God. Before the fall of man, the earth was a perfect environment for man to dwell in. Once sin entered the world, God turned the world over to Satan. Hells gates were then opened to those that rejected God and would choose to serve the creation instead of the creator. We read in Matthew 25:41 what will happen to those who reject God and the provision that He made for the redemption of mankind. “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”

When sin entered the world, God knew that the only way for man-kind to be saved was through a plan of redemption. Man had to somehow be redeemed. And because sinful man could not save himself, God had no other choice than to come to the earth, in the personage of Jesus Christ, live a perfect sinless life, and then take the sins of the world upon His shoulders and nail them to the cross. Jesus Christ fulfilled that purpose, and by doing so, man could be redeemed and found righteous before the God of the universe by accepting the greatest gift ever offered…” Grace.” We read in Romans 3: 24-26; “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth

a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, [I say], at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” Can it be made any more clear? So, you see, there is a way to be saved from an eternity in hell but it is up to you to make that choice. Will you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior or will you continue to live in your sinful state which puts you on the outside of the loving care of God the Father? The choice that you make will determine where you spend eternity.

We need to understand that there will always be those that will try to teach us that hell does not exist. If hell does not exist, then the Bible is not absolute truth. Jesus Himself taught more about hell than He did about heaven, so if hell does not exist then heaven doesn’t either neither does heaven. I once heard of a professor that was questioning hell and he asked this question, “How can hell be both fire and outer darkness?” I pondered this question myself for quite a while. Then I recently heard that a scientist discovered that there are these black dark holes in our universe. These black holes could very well be total darkness filled with heat and fire. This thought that came to me is an explanation of how outer darkness and the lake of fire could coexist. Everybody knows that the more intense a fire gets, the darker the flame gets. Our finite minds can only recon what we can see, but suppose that heat can get so hot, beyond what we can manufacture or imagine, that it is actually black? Outer darkness could be so hot that it would feel like a lake of fire and because it is so dark, it would appear as if it were total darkness. This thought is by no means confirmed in the Bible that I know of, just my own thoughts of what it could be.

ACTION POINT:

You and only you can decide for yourself which path you will take. When you stand before the creator of the universe, you will have no one to blame but yourself for the decisions that you have made. We read in Romans 1:20; “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,” In other words. Ignorance of the law will not be an excuse. You need to make that choice today whom you will serve, and like Joshua said in chapter 24:15; “And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Will you serve other gods, or will you serve Jesus Christ? I agree with Joshua, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Amen!

“Commentary from Our Chaplin – R. Fritz”

“Heaven or Hell”

We all have choices to make in our life and what I believe to be the most important choice is our decision of where we want to spend eternity, heaven and hell. We show evidence of that choice by our words and actions. We will be judged by our words and actions and our yard stick that measures us is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ entered His creation to set us free from sin. You must read about him to be able to follow him; with him life will be much more meaningful. I can say this because of the choices I made and because of that choice my life has changed. Changed for the better, this doesn’t mean that every day is perfect. Because of that relationship with Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit gives me words to speak and the knowledge to get through the things I go through every day. This is something everybody can have if they choose Him. I decided to give all of myself to Jesus, not just a part of me. I did that because I wanted to win the battle of life and at that time, I did not really know him, I just trusted in His Word. This is where I learned to be an overcomer. What you don’t understand is that you’re going to go through rough times in your life but now you will go through them with Jesus Christ. He will never leave you, nor forsake you as we read in Hebrews 13:5; “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” You can trust in the Word of God.

If we “LOVE” him, we will obey him, this is when our lives will change and our relationship with Jesus will go to a new level. Now, He can use you for his “Glory,” and because you have chosen Him, the trials and issues that you go through will be with Jesus by your side, “Trust” Him. The Holy Spirit now knows that you can be trusted to do God’s work. You will now be entrusted to take on a greater role for the work of His kingdom and for the working of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 25:29; “‘for to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. In other words, the more you do for the eternal kingdom, the more you will be given in return.

You now have an opportunity to have a life like me or better than me, you just must decide, this decision of choosing Jesus will change your life forever! With that decision, you now have chosen “Heaven” in a big way. Your life will be filled with more joy and gladness than you ever dreamed of with the Holy Spirit directing your path.

Hell is real, people have left their body on their death bed and went to Hell and were sent back to their body to inform us what it was like, so we can be warned about the horrors of hell and can make the right decision. Look at some of the testimonies out there in books or videos for people that don’t read the Bible. The Bible has verses in Revelations on who will be going to Hell. For people who don’t read the Bible, google, “What does the Bible say about “Hell”? You will get an answer, then, ask Jesus Christ to change your life.

In Closing – R. Nelson

God has created every one of us for a purpose, to serve Him and be redeemed (to free from captivity by payment of ransom) to Him through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. But, being the loving God that He is, He gave us a free will to choose to love Him or reject Him. He could have made us all robots, but God wants our true love and devotion and He wants fellowship with us for all eternity. Ask yourself this question: “How can you not love a God that willingly came to earth for the soul purpose of redeeming mankind back to Himself. He willingly suffered for you on the cross so that you wouldn’t have to suffer for all eternity in hell, and all you have to do is believe, trust and obey.” You, and only you can make that decision. Give God your heart today he gave it to you in the first place, but He sure would like it back in the form of love and obedience through His Son, Jesus Christ! “May God fill your hearts with joy and gladness unto the day of His reckoning (a settling of accounts.)” Amen!

It seems that in this world we are hearing more and more about suicide and how it is taking over the minds and actions of young and old people alike. Suicide does not discriminate, it happens to the rich, to the poor, to the young to the old and everybody in-between. Here are a few alarming statistics about suicide. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the US for all ages. Every day, approximately 123 Americans die by suicide. There is one death by suicide in the US every 12 minutes. Suicide takes the lives of over 44,965 Americans every year. Yes, these are alarming statistic to say the least. The question that a lot of people are asking is, why? One reason that we hear about is that people are having a challenging time coping with life in general.

We first need to understand where the original thought of suicide comes from. The scriptures of the Bible give us a truly clear indication as to why we are seeing so many suicides as compared to previous years. 1 Peter 5:8; tells us, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” Satan has been seeking whom he may destroy since the Garden of Eden, but as of lately, the suicide rate has been escalating at an all-time high. Those of us that are watching the signs of the soon return of Jesus Christ are well aware of what is taking place in the spiritual world. There is spiritual warfare going on in the unseen world that very few people are aware of. The battle is for the hearts and souls of men. The mind is where the devil seeks to indwell and will eventually get control if allowed. We have 3 places where our thoughts come from, God, if we know him, Satan, or ourselves. We need to be aware that if allowed, Satan can enter our mind at any time. It is our responsibility to control our thoughts and remove any thoughts immediately that come from Satan.

If you start to find yourself falling into a state of depression, you need to call out to Jesus Christ at once, do not think for a moment that you can defeat this on your own. Call out to Jesus to fight your battle for you. Here is a promise for James 4:7; “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” You have the power to keep Satan out of your life just by calling out to Jesus Christ. There are at least seven men of God that I can recall that suffered some kind of depression in the Scriptures, so you need to know first and foremost that you should not feel like you are different in any way, you need to know that depression can happen to anybody, it’s how you deal with it that makes all the difference. King David was troubled and battled deep despair. King David’s honesty with his own weaknesses gives hope to us who struggle today. Psalm 42; 11 is David’s response to his struggles. “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” Another man of God who suffered depression was Jeremiah as he wrestled with great loneliness, feelings of defeat, and insecurity. Jeremiah is quoted as saying in Jeremiah 20:14; “Cursed be the day I was born…why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow and to end my days in shame?” Even Jesus Christ Himself was deeply anguished over what lay before Him. Mark 14: 34-36, we read; “And He said to them, (His Disciples) ‘” My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch.’ And He went a little beyond them and fell to the ground and began to pray that if it were possible, the hour might pass Him by. And He was saying, ‘Abba! Father! All things are possible for you; remove this cup from me; yet not what I will, but what you will. My point in giving these examples is this, do not keep your depression inside, let it out and talk to someone. It will not go away by itself.

I know of a recent situation where a pastor of extreme faith took his own life. That was when I felt the need to rethink my thoughts on suicide and try to understand it from a Biblical point of view. This local pastor was very pivotal in helping young and old alike work through rough times of depression in which they were on the brink of committing suicide. Then one day not too long ago I heard the news that this pastor took his own life. It was a shock to the community because no one would have even thought this man had any problems that would prompt taking this kind of action. This made me think, so I tried to figure out what could have caused this pastor to end his life. Being a born-again Christian myself, I understand times of despair to the point where somedays I wish I were not here. If you have received Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, then you are engaged in a fierce spiritual battle with unseen spiritual forces of the universe. We read this in Ephesians 6:12; “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” We also read in Ephesians 6:10-11; “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” We, as humans underestimate the power of the spiritual world. Born-again believers can get beaten down by these evil forces of this world at times where we feel that we are at the end of our rope and cannot continue to go one. This is the moment that I believe suicide could enter one’s mind, and if it isn’t given over to Jesus Christ right away, it could end up in death. We need to turn it over to Jesus Christ and give the battle over to Him at once.

1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us this, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. The act of suicide is a spiritual battle that comes from within a person’s mind, so our only defense is also from within. You cannot win this battle by any acts of the flesh, such as drinking, engaging in pleasure of the flesh or anything else that might feel right for a moment. These actions may escalate the problem even more in the long run.

Here are two common areas in which suicide can and will become the final outcome if not dealt with right away. We hear about a lot of bullying going on in the adolescence years of life which causes young boys and girls to feel they can’t go on, so they ultimately choose to end their life. The other obvious reason is loneliness. We often read about rich celebrities or people that seem to have it all that for some reason feel they need to end their life. These are situations that start on the outside, but ultimately give entrance to Satan where he can enter your mind and start his spiritual destruction. We just sit back and wonder how someone that has everything can possibly have a reason to want to end their life. If you are a victim of either one of these situations, know that Jesus Christ is the answer no matter how brutal life can get. These are both areas where Satan can work in your mind and get you convinced that death is better than living. Romans 8:31 tells us; “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? No spirit or demonic entity can do you any harm once you are filled with the love of Jesus Christ. You will, however,still have spiritual battles, but none that will defeat you.

For those that are lonely, Satan will tell them, “Nobody cares for you, you have no need to live, so just take your life and end the pain of loneliness.” Satan, however, does not tell you that if you take your life and end your pain here on earth, your fate in death will be far worse than anything that you can experience during life if you have not received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. You need to know that if you reach out to Jesus Christ and fellowship with Him, you will realize that Jesus Christ is really the only friend you need. Jesus will guide you through those lonely days and bring you to a place of complete comfort. There is a saying that goes something like this, “You never know how much you truly need Jesus until you realize that Jesus is all you have. “

As for being bullied, know this, if you turn your circumstances over to Jesus Christ, He will give you the power and confidence that you need to defeat the evil around you. The Holy Spirit will do a work in you that will allow you to stand up and defeat the bullying that is plaguing your life. Romans 8:15; tells us, “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” Would your earthly father allow you to be bullied if he was aware of what was happening? Not likely! Then how much more will your Heavenly Father protect you? We need to trust the Lord Jesus Christ.

When people (Christian or non-Christian) focus on their situation, instead of Jesus Christ, whether it be physical illness or mental illness, whatever the illness maybe, if not dealt with, the situation will get worse. Usually, mental illness and the pain associated with it will eventually require some kind of medication to help controls their thoughts. Eventually, you end up needing stronger medication down the road, and the pain and feeling of worthlessness gets worse. This is where the spiritual disease Depression shows up. Feelings and emotions dictate how our life goes day to day. This is where Fear or Faith operates in our lives. Fear tells us nothing will change, and hope is lost. Faith tells us all is not lost. Too many people think that all the thoughts belong to them, they just don’t understand. What we need to know is this, suicide is a spirit. When it shows up, it tells you that things aren’t going to change. People listen to those thoughts and accept them as their own and go on thinking there is no hope. Since they are focused on their issues and their situation only, they eventually believe that suicide is their only option for getting rid of their pain. Suicide persuades people to only think of themselves and their situation. Most people don’t understand that In Jesus Christ there is hope and you need to fight this battle with spiritual warfare. We are helpless in this battle if we try to fight it on our own. We read in John 15:4-5; “As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without me you can do nothing.” Jesus is telling us that apart from Him, we are helpless, but if you abide in Christ Jesus, all things are possible including winning spiritual battles that may rage within us. We read in Romans 8:9; “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” If you have not the Spirit of Christ, you are extremely vulnerable to the attacks of the devil and his angels. You virtually have no defense. This is why we also read this verse in Romans 12:2; “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” If you keep renewing your mind to be transformed into the image of Jesus Christ, you will prove what that good and acceptable perfect will of God is for you. It is not death!

This is where bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ will get rid of the spirit of suicide. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 tells us; “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;” “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” Our battle has to be won in the mind and that can only be accomplished by defeating the evil that indwells us. Jesus Chris is our victory and outside of His intervention, there is really no hope. Our hope lies in Christ and Christ alone! We have the strongest weapon known to man, Jesus Christ, our God, our Lord, and our Savior.

The Name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous man runs into it and is safe. Where do you run for protection and safety? In this spiritual world, the Lord tells us we can run to Him and stand strong behind the power of His name. This may be as simple as calling on His name with prayer when we need His protection. As simple as it sounds, so often it is easy to forget where to run to when we are in need. Stay focused on Jesus Christ and He will never leave you nor forsake you! AMEN! 

Here are a few more Bible verses to take in when suffering from things of the flesh:

Romans 8:5; “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.”

Romans 8:6; “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”

Romans 8:7; “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”

Romans 8:8; “So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.”

Romans 8:10; “And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.”

Suicide Pt 2 “Spiritual Aspects of Suicide”

In our last blog we focused on why people feel that suicide is the only option. This segment we will focus on the spiritual aspects of suicide and how these thoughts enter your mind in the first place. Approximately 1 million people worldwide die by suicide each year. With a prevalence rate of 0.0145% and suicide accounting for 1.5% of death by all causes, it is the 10th leading cause of mortality worldwide. Suicide is complex, and is believed in many cases to be an inherited behavioral phenotype. There is growing evidence that inheritance and genetic factors contribute to the risk for suicidal behavior. Major psychiatric illnesses, including bipolar disorder, major depression, schizophrenia, alcoholism and substance abuse, and certain personality disorders, which run in families, increase the risk for suicidal behavior. This does not mean that suicidal behavior is inevitable for individuals with this family history; it simply means that such persons may be more vulnerable and should take steps to reduce their risk.

The medical doctors of today will in most cases prescribe certain medications such as Prozac, Prednisone to mention a couple along with hundreds of different kinds on medications for psychiatric illnesses. There is no way for any doctor to prescribe the perfect medication for your particular illness right up front. What I have seen over the course of my life time, in many cases, the person with the illness will try many different prescriptions to allow them to carry on as normal as possible with every day activities. At this point I need to say, I’m not against taking prescription drugs if it truly helps, and in most cases, it does, but the main thing that most people seem to omit in their healing process is this, they don’t give it to Jesus Christ and trust in the Word of God. We read many verses in the Bible where we are taught to trust in Jesus Christ for everything as we read in Philippians 4:6; “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;”  This verse hits the nail on the head. It hits us with the word “anxiety” which in and of itself can lead to so many different kinds of mental illnesses.

I can relate to this personally. I’ve always been a somewhat high-strung personality, so I was always anxious to get something done quickly even when it was obviously against my own ability to do so. Over the years, it did begin to consume me and I eventually fell into a minor state of depression, and yes, I did have suicidal thoughts, but not to the point that I could ever carry it through. I do want to add however, this was before I knew the Lord Jesus Christ and gave my life to Him. I finally had to realize that I had a problem that I could not deal with anymore, so I broke down and seen a specialist. After being evaluated by the doctor, he came to the conclusion that I basically had a chemical imbalance that took place in my mind over time. So, like every physician, he prescribed for me a medication that would help me deal with the anxiety and depression that I was having. He told me that I would probably have to be on this medication for the rest of my life. The problem was that the medication that I was on, even though it took care of my anxiety, it had other side effects that I didn’t particularity like. I was determined at this point that I was going to try to ween myself off and get my life back to normal, however, it didn’t work and eventually my anxiety came back. I still didn’t want to have to rely on any of drugs to get me through life. That was when it hit me, after years of reading and studying through the scripture of the Bible, I had read in so many verses about the power of prayer. I still wasn’t at the point in my walk with the Lord where I had complete trust in His Word. This is a huge step to take when giving your life to Jesus Christ. We all say we believe, but, do we trust. When we say we believe, no matter what it is, the only way to know for sure if we trust something is to put it into action. So, over time, as I continued to read through the scriptures of the Bible, It really started to sink in that the Bible is the true and inherent Word of God, every letter and every word is supernaturally engineered by the Holy Spirit. If God says it, He means it. We read in Psalm 119:160; “All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal. “ We either have to choose to believe it or deny it. I chose to believe and trust in the Word of God like never before. The healing that needed to be done, rested on me to believe and trust. God is always willing to help, no matter what we ask, but we need to believe without one bit of doubt. Jesus say in John 14:13; “And whatever you ask in my name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” What most people don’t realize when they go into prayer is that they don’t pray in the name of Jesus. If you truly are born-again and pray in the name of Jesus, your prayers will be heard and you will get an answer. It may not be right away, it could be over a course of a long time, but God will deal with you in His timing.

What we need to understand is that we are all prone to various types of illnesses, whether they be physical or emotional. We need to also understand that demonic could very well be behind these health issues and they will attack you at your weakest moments in life. This is why we need to start every day by putting on the full armor of God as we read in Ephesians 6:10-11; “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” You need to read what the whole armor of God is in Ephesians 6: 10-20. Read it and study it so you are equipped every day to withstand the attacks of Satan. Outside of the protection of the Holy Spirit, you are helpless against any of Satan’s weapons that he will use against you. One of the biggest omissions in the teaching of our churches today is we are very seldom, if ever taught about the power of Satan. If you don’t believe that Satan exist, try opposing him. You will know very quickly that he exists in our world and has a mission for your destruction. If you start to feel anxiety or fear creeping into your minds, you need to rebuke this evil in the name of Jesus Christ and find peace from the Spirit of God who gives us His power, love, and self-discipline. We read this in 2 Timothy 1:7; “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” If we forget for a moment how week and vulnerable we are to the forces of evil, they will jump up and bite us before we know what hit us. The battle between the flesh and spirit always starts in the mind. I truly believe that if we stay focused on Jesus Christ, we cannot be over taken by any demonic spirits, but as soon as we let our guard down, even for a moment, we open the door to let the enemy in. The way that Satan can find open doors is when we fall into a sinful act, such as drinking to intoxication, taking any kind of mind altering drugs, taking part in some demonic act such as a séance or dabbling in games such as the Ouija board. These activities are extremely dangerous.  If you saw the show, “The Exorcist,” know that even though it was a movie, it was based on an actual event.  If you haven’t seen it, don’t watch it. Even just watching the movie can allow an entry for evil forces. Psalm 121: 7-8: tell us, “The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.” Our only defense from all the evil in the world is Jesus Christ, outside of Christ, there is no hope. The only way for us to battle the evil within is to fight fire with fire, in other words we need to give the battle to God and trust totally in Him for victory!

In America, we seem to hold off on prayer until it becomes our last hope. It should be the first thing we do every morning before you step out into this God rejecting world. You know, the only way to fight evil, is through prayer. If you feel an evil thought enter into your mind or some other feeling of confusion that comes over you, you need to call out to Jesus Christ immediately. Whatever you’re doing, stop and go into prayer, it’s a simple as having a conversation with God. Jesus said to Peter in Luke 22:31-32; “Satan demanded to have you that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.” In other words, Jesus gives us an example here how He opposed a specific satanic threat with prayer. Even though Satan demanded to sift Peter like wheat, Jesus, Instead of defending Peter, which He could have done with a simple thought, prayed for Peter that his faith would be strong enough to fight off the desires of Satan. We can gain victory over any attack by Satan, just be simply calling out to Jesus Christ, He is our advocate.

I heard an interesting conversation between two Pastors, one from America and the other from India. The American pastor was well aware of how much more spiritual healing was taking place in India compared to that in America. So, he asked the Pastor from India why that is. His answer was somewhat startling but when you think about it, simple. The Pastor from India said, “We don’t have a second protocol.” In other words, they don’t have the physicians and doctors that we have in America so they have to depend on prayer for healing. They’ve come to believe and trust in Jesus Christ and for them, it is all they have to rely on. The only way here in America for us to believe that Jesus is really all we need is when Jesus becomes all we have. We put more faith in man and his accomplishments than we do in the creator of the universe. God can do anything with just a thought, so why don’t we believe He can heal us from whatever life can throw at us. He can, the ball lies in our court to believe. I’m not supporting faith healing by any sense of the word, but we need to trust more in God than we do in man. By doing so, the door to evil will not be as wide an entry. James 4:7 tells us; “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” We also read in Ephesians 6:2; “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Our battle has to be one in the trenches of our heart. Romans 12:9 tells us, “Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.” We fight the spiritual battle with spiritual wisdom, and how do we get that wisdom, by reading and understanding the Word of God and submitting to His will.

Now, with all this being said about protection and healing from our Lord, you need to know that there are various ways He will accomplish His will. There have been cases that I know of first hand where God actually healed people just by removing their illness that was overtaking them with no explanation what so ever. But in most cases that I am aware of, God has guided the person with the illness to see a specialist or some form of medical help. Through the advice and direction of the physician, the person got healed, but keep in mind, even though the doctor may look like the hero, it is God that guides you through the process to provide you with the right medication to get you through.

If you lived in the days when gun fights might have been a common thing, as we see in the westerns that we grew up watching, would you engage in a gun fight if all you had was I knife? Of course not, in the same way you cannot fight a spiritual battle with the flesh. We need to be fully aware at all times that evil is just waiting for us to slip up and it doesn’t necessarily take too much. When we hear of a good Christian that committed suicide, we ask, how can that be, well, it only takes but a moment to fall out of grace and into sin and that is where Satan will pounce on you. I believe that the reason a Christian might commit suicide is because they fell into a sinful act and because there conscience took over, instead of going right to Jesus Christ and repenting, they took matters into their own hands. It only takes a thought and second to pull a trigger once it is put up to your head. Suicide is a horrible thing, but it can be conquered at every level when given over to Christ. Mark 11:24; tells us, “Therefore I say unto you, what things so ever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. We need to truly believe. Jesus has already won the battle of good and evil when He gave Himself as a sacrifice for our sins, it is up to us to believe and trust in His never ending love for you and me! Through Jesus Christ, the victory is ours! If you feel that suicide is the only way out, trust in Jesus Christ, He will take you in His hands and guide you through each and every step of your life and he will not allow any evil to come upon you or harm you in any way that can’t be overcome. If you give your life to Jesus Christ, here is a promise that you can take to heart. Romans 8:28; “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Notice, it says all things, not some things! So, even if something happens in your life that just doesn’t seem right, you can know that it is Father filtered and it is working out for the good. Rest assured.

We read several verses of scripture that will encourage us to fight the battle of good and evil and know that victory is those that put their faith in Christ Jesus.

2 Thessalonians 3:3; “But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.”

2 Corinthians 10:4-5; “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

1 Peter 5: 8-9; “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, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”

James 4:7; “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

Romans 8: 37-39; “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

1 Corinthians 10:13; “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”

So, mediate on these verses and bring them to memory so you are equipped to deal with the forces of evil! The victory is ours through Jesus Christ…Amen!

Pt 3“Our Response to a Potential Suicide Victim” – R. Nelson

If you are dealing with a potentially suicidal person, you must take immediate action. Please take all threats of suicide seriously. Some people may kill themselves by mistake. They may have only meant to act it out, to cry for help, or just to get attention. But whatever the cause may be, it should be taken seriously. Treat all suicidal threats as real and respond accordingly. If the person that you know is only looking to get attention, he/she will quickly learn quickly that he/she does not want this kind of attention and will try something different next time. It is no fun when you wind up in a hospital emergency ward having your stomach pumped and then get transferred to a psychiatric ward for evaluation. The attention seeker will not go through that very often. If the person that you know has a suicidal plan that you believe will work, and has the means to carry out that plan, their potential lethality is high. React by: (A) not leaving them alone even briefly, (B) escort them, or have them escorted (local police officers are quite good at doing this in a very professional way, don’t be afraid to call them) to a mental health crisis center where they can be evaluated for suicide, and hospitalized if necessary. While mental hospitals are not fun places, they can serve a purpose in that they can physically prevent a person from killing themselves for a while, until you can minister to them.

There are many probable ways to bring people out of their suicidal state of mind, but, the most effective ways are as follows. (A) Lead the person to Jesus Christ. Explain the Gospel to them, that we are all sinners separated from God, but He loves every one and desires fellowship with them, and therefore God sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for them, (John 3:16) bearing the punishment that we deserve, so that if they will believe on Him, their sins will all be forgiven, and God will give them the gift of eternal life. In most cases, not all, that I am aware of, the suicidal person did not have a relationship with Jesus Christ or any affiliation with Christianity. This doesn’t mean that Bible believing Christians are exempt from suicidal intentions, it just means that the likely hood of carrying out the act of suicide becomes less likely. There are actually seven recorded instances of suicide in the Bible, but what is interesting is that in none of these incidents was there a comment as to the right or wrong of their action, and with no mention what happened to the person’s soul after they died. (B) Pray for them to be filled with the Holy Spirit. This person needs the power of the Spirit to resist the enemy and stand in Jesus Christ. Pray for them to be baptized, immersed in, filled with, and anointed with, God’s Spirit. Most Christians don’t really understand the power of prayer. It is the strongest weapon that the Christian has against evil and spiritual warfare. (C) Disciple them. Get the person involved in verse by verse Bible studies that apply God’s Word to their daily life. Through prayer, fellowship, and get involved in a Bible study, encourage them to grow and keep growing in Christ Jesus. A suicidal person that is hurting somewhere inside, is most likely confused, and needs a loving, vital relationship with someone who knows and walks consistently with God through His Son Jesus Christ. (D) Give an ear to the person and take time to listen to them, they may be in dire need of just having someone to talk to. This person could have a great deal of inner pain. Listen to them carefully, regularly, and continually. Then, pray with them and read Scripture to them that applies to their situation. The Bible is filled with promises to help the lonely, the dying, those feeling hopeless, and those needing love and forgiveness.

I remember back in the late 60’s and early 70’s as the Viet Nam war was nearing its end and a lot of our brave soldiers were returning home after they had fulfilled their service to our country. Within a short period of time, we started to see an increase of suicide and unsolicited killings. Based on projections from two population-based mortality studies, the authors estimate that fewer than 9,000 suicides occurred among all Vietnam veterans from the time of discharge through the early 1980s. The question that we are all asking is what could have caused these feelings of hopelessness that made them feel that suicide was the only choice. The obvious answer for those of us that never had to report for active duty or serve in the military is this, we don’t know. We don’t know what evil was harboring in the memory of the person contemplating suicide. A thought that I often pondered was this, before our young men were sent to active duty, they had to endure a demanding training process (Basic Training & Bootcamp) which was meant to prepare them for an environment that was extremely hostile. They needed this training to equip them for what was ahead. They had to make them fighting machines, in which they did! Now here lies the problem and I am sure that many will agree with me. We took these innocent young men, made them into fighting soldiers and then, when they came back home to America, we didn’t reprogram them to mingle back into society. Many of these young soldiers saw things that we could never imagine. The things that they experienced during the war were things they would never forget, but what we as a society didn’t realize is this, we didn’t have any programs that I am aware of that would help them overcome their memories of war and welcome them back into society.

Those suffering the loss of a Loved One – R. Nelson

I have in the last couple of years seen two separate occasions where a son has committed suicide. One was from a family that did not know the Lord Jesus Christ personally and the other from a family that has put their full faith in Christ Jesus. I have witnessed the reactions from both families. Just let me say right up front, what a huge difference there was in the healing process of these two different families. The father of the family that did not know the Lord, has been cursing God every day since their son has taken his life. The disturbing part to all this is the unbelieving family is cursing a god that they don’t believe in anymore. I’ve personally tried to witness to this father and bring him hope, but he wants no part of it, apparently he would rather continue with the pain and sorrow that he is feeling instead of giving it over to Jesus Christ and trusting in Him for comfort. Every day they curse and blaspheme God for allowing their son to take his own life. Here is where I need to add, God is not responsible for any act of suicide. God has given us a free will to do as we like and if suicide is one of our choices, then He will allow it. He has a plan for every one of us and I can guarantee that suicide is not predestined for anyone. It is once again, a choice that only we can make. Now, with the family that is in constant fellowship with Jesus Christ, they have come to a level of comfort that only God can provide. It’s been about seven years since their son took his life. Because they trust in Jesus Christ, they put their faith in the hope that they will see their son again. That is the hope that only a true born-again believer can have. With this being said, they still have pain from the loss of their son that I’m sure will never go away, but they have stayed the course with trusting in Jesus Christ. This Christian family has shared with me the details of what had taken place, and I believe without a doubt that their son is in heaven. They will see their son again.

There is, however, a lot of controversy about what happens to a soul that commits suicide. I have come to the belief that people that commit suicide can very well go to heaven. We confirm this in Matthew 12:31-32; “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.” The only unpardonable sin is the rejection of the Holy Spirit. Once you become born-again into the Holy Spirit you become justified before the Lord and from that point going forward every sin that you have ever committed and will commit is forgiven. And because you did nothing to earn your salvation, you can do nothing to lose it once you are saved. You cannot become unborn! John 10:28; “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any [man] pluck them out of my hand.” If you have been written in the lamb’s book of life from the foundation of the world, you cannot lose your salvation. No one can pluck you out of the Fathers hand, not even yourself. 

A Commentary from our Chaplin – R. Fritz

It appears to me, that when people are feeling down and out of control with their lives, possibly due to a major change in their life, is what eventually leads to hopelessness and fear! We all seem to have a problem dealing with change and trying to get through major changes by ourselves without involving Jesus Christ will most likely lead to disappointment with what you are trying to accomplish. Sometimes change can very well be initiated by God. We do not realize that Jesus Christ is there for us, so we are reluctant to turn it over to Him in the process. When we get to the hopeless stage because of our inability to cope with change is when the thoughts of suicide may start to enter our mind and it may begin to look like a possible option. When we get into these situations where there seems to be no other choice but suicide, that is when we need to cry out to Jesus Christ at once. He is just waiting to hear from us. We really need to listen to what we are hearing and seeing to make sure it is from God, because the devil will use what we hear and see to manipulate our thoughts if it isn’t coming from God. If we only listen to our own thoughts and ideas, that is when Satan will make his entrance into your mind and then we start to dig ourselves into a deep hole and most likely without expert help (Jesus Christ) that hole will get deeper and deeper over time. We need to understand that suicidal thoughts are an evil spirit and over time it will take control of your thoughts and in many cases, your actions. We think that the thoughts we have are our own, but they don’t always belong to us, they are very often thoughts from the spirit of Satan. It gets back to taking your thoughts into captivity. If we only understood that our thoughts do not always belong to us, it would change our lives. When falling into diverse temptations and evil thoughts, remember this, love is always the answer, and that answer comes from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Getting back to control, we need to understand that if we are in control of our own lives, then Jesus Christ is not. That is an extremely dangerous place to be in this day and age. Jesus gave us a free will to be in control of our lives and the consequences that we endure are from within. If we give it over to the one who created us in the first place, (Jesus Christ) then we can be rest assured that He will do what’s best for us. This is confirmed in Romans 8:28 as we read, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Our job is to be in constant prayer and wait on the Lord for the answer. We need to trust him, when we do, our belief level goes up. This is how we grow in Christ.

God has put people into roles for the main purpose of praying for people. I say this because God has often called me to pray for people and in many cases it’s a situation where suicide is involved. I needed to pray for somebody in the middle of the day that I knew a while back because he had possible suicidal intentions. My point is this, you can pray and reach out to pray to God any time, morning, noon and night. God has a twenty-four-hour hotline for anybody that needs to talk with Him. This time I prayed for this person for over half an hour not knowing if he was really thinking about suicide or not. It was a completely different kind of prayer than what I’ve ever had to do for somebody before. So, when I got done with the prayer, I called another person who is also a chaplain to call on this person to see if he was okay. She couldn’t reach this person until the next day but when she was able to get a hold of him, she found out he was okay. We also found out that day that he was to be committed to a treatment for suicide as he was waiting for an opening. What very few people understand is that God does send certain people to pray and to speak to others on His behalf. I believe that this is one of my many callings that has been given to me as a gift of the Spirit. It is what I do!

We all get involved in spiral battles at one time or another, but when you give the battle to Jesus Christ, the battle will be won. If we choose to fight a spiritual battle in the flesh we will undoubtedly lose. Our main tool is the Bible and the living word in it. The words in the Bible come alive in the spirit and that’s what wins the battle. The devil knows how to make us angry. If we forget that and we try to fight the battle in the flesh we will lose. We need to fight the spirit by using the Spirit of God as our defense. I say this, because for years that is what happened to me and so I learned that I needed to fight my battles in spirit and then I would win the battle. The Holy Spirit will give you the words to win the battle, you just need to speak them. God gives us these words of wisdom in Ephesians 6:12; “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

I look at it this way, if I can’t win the battle I’m going to make sure that the devil knows who he was fighting against, I call it bloodying his nose, I want the devil to know that the next time he comes against myself with the Holy Spirit it is not going to be easy and he’s going to pay the price. Suicide has a root cause and we need to find out with every person what it is. I have learned by talking to people and listening to them with the Holy Spirit’s help. If the root cause can be discovered suicide will not be an issue. If you want to help people, you must first help them to get rid of the issues in their life and then you can help others to find comfort in their lives.

Coping with PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder)

Soul injury and PTSD are issues that the military have had to deal with in the last few years. There are also issues with certain people in suicides with the public.

Veterans with PTSD carry unresolved grief and unforgiven guilt that continues to sabotage their lives for decades. Veterans very often bury that kind of pain and shame and carry it inside for a long time. It is when people prepare to meet their maker that what they have held inside for many years becomes more relevant, perspectives quickly shift; these issues surface unsolicited, sometimes causing agitation that complicates peaceful dying.  Helping veterans forgive themselves and grieve their losses has become the primary tool to promote peacefulness among those suffering from PTSD. Neglecting soul injuries has created a gap in veteran services that may be contributing to their alarming suicide rate.  

Soul injury is not just limited to those who serve in the military. They can also include first responders, victims of domestic violence or other crimes, those abused or traumatized, and people suffering chronic illness. They can also help by looking beyond the mental and emotional injuries to their deeper soul wounds. People with PTSD shift from trusting themselves to trusting their fear.  Developing faith in themselves again means “disarming the heart” through grieving and forgiveness.

A soul injury is a penetrating wound within our deepest self that pierces the defenses of our ego.  It disrupts our fundamental identity, shrinking our sense of inner goodness. It can even fuel a haunting sense that we are defective in some way. A soul injury often perpetuates a profound aching caused by disconnection from the part of the self that is carrying the pain, creating a sense of meaninglessness.

While programs for treating of PTSD focus on the importance of managing symptoms, soul injury interventions concentrate on opening up to the symptoms and connecting with a part of the self that generates them. The process starts with breaking through the long-suffering that has taken place in their lives, allowing people to “re-own” their pain. Once we stop the fear of our pain, we can begin to work the part of the self that is carrying it.  Exercises are then introduced to strengthen the part of the person that handles the self-compassion and self-protection.

In Closing – R. Nelson

For those people out there that are contemplating suicide, please stop and think about what you are doing. First, if you’re not saved by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, the place that you will most likely find yourself will inflict more pain than anything that you can suffer here on earth. That is not a threat, it is a promise from the Word of God. If anybody tells you that hell does not exist, they are lying to you. Hell is more real than the earth that we are now occupying. Secondly, and even more importantly, think about the loved ones that you are leaving behind. I have seen families lives absolutely destroyed because of suicide by a loved one. This is where suicide becomes an act of extreme selfishness. You may end your pain here on earth, but you will cause every one that loved you to suffer dearly. You will hurt the ones that you love most, and most likely forever in one-way shape or form. If evil thoughts begin to enter your mind, you need to turn at once to Jesus Christ and ask Him to rebuke the evil that is invading you from within. Keep in mind, Satan hates everybody, so his ultimate goal is to destroy mankind and take as many with him to hell as he can. Do not let Satan get a foothold on you, Jesus Christ is there for you every step of the way, you just need to ask Him into your life, and He will take care of the rest. 1 Peter 5:6-7 tells us; “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” I’m going to leave you with these last three verses in Romans 8: 37-39; “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” You need to trust and obey, after all, “It is the only way.” Amen!