The rain shall fall

 It was the day after Christmas and we were out of cheese. I thought that there is time to go to the outlet market and buy some cheese for my daughter and I. I bought two kinds of cheese; colby Jack and sliced mild chedder  I continued to shop until the market basket was full. I pushed the cart to go outside and "oh no", it was pouring down rain! I had parked my car a block away, I needed the excercise?  What I did not need was a downpour, the kind of rain that instantly soaks like walking into a lake and me a spong. Well, it is not going to quit, :so here goes, I pushed the cart in the direction of my parked car. Just as I came to the car, it began hailing bean sized hail, stinging rocks, "ouch", I fumbled the car door open and poked my head into the car to quit the pounding of the hail. "Get in the car", I thought as I abandoned the groceries and started the car to get some heat. The hail stopped, it was still raining as I unloaded the contents of the market basket cart. I managed to get home with my load and the cheese.

I changed into somethng dry and turned the space heater towards my chair by the computer. I heard the sound of my daughter closing her car door;sspirithe was home from work. We greeted each other and she was carrying a brown paper grocery bag. she said with a smile"I bought cheese". We have cheese.

 Is there a spiritual lesson in this? What does the Bible say about rain?

Mat 5:43  Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 

Mat 5:44  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 

Mat 5:45  That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

The important thing is to be on solid ground.

Mat 7:24  Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 

Mat 7:25  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 

Mat 7:26  And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 

Mat 7:27  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

On Jesus, the Solid Rock our foundation is sure. He is the Corner Stone of our faith.

Jesus shall reign forever

 Isa 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecy that an everlasting king would come from David's lineage. His moher was from the lineage of David and his legal father Joseph, was also from he lineage of king David. His throne would be everlasting because His Father is God. Jesus is the everlasting God man who will have an everlasting kingdom with judgement and justice.

Psa 89:36 His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me.

2 Sam 7:16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.

Psa 72:11 Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him.

The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. God came in a man; Jesus shall reign, forever with all who believe in him., amen.

Son of Man, Son of God

 Col 2:9  For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 

Col 2:10  And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

Godhead - the state of being God.

Who is this Jesus?  If he truly is the son of God, the word of God would say so. The prophets would declare him.  The prophets have spoken. God has come in a human, born of a virgin, in Bethlehem, the city of David. He had no sins and he gave up his body to take the punishment of sins as our substitute Savior. Jesus as a human called himself the son of man. He also in spirit is the Son of God. God is a Spirit.

John 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

By believing in Jesus we become the adopted sons of God.

The Bible speaks of God as being one God in the plural, Elohim.

The one God is God the Father, Jesus, the Son and God the Holy Spirit.  How can this be? We believe what the Bible says.  The prophet Isaiah prophesied of Jesus hundreds of years before his coming.  He gave the titles of God to Jesus.

Isa 9:6  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 

A child is born of a virgin, a miracle birth.  A Son is given, the Son of God who takes away our sins and who gives us eternal life. When he returns to earth he will be the supreme King of Kings. His name shall be called wonderful, counselor; he loves us and leads us.  The Mighty God and the Everlasting Father are His shared names with His Father. Remember now that God is one God in the plural. I cannot explain how,  but I believe the true word of God. Nothing is impossible with God.   Jesus is the Prince of Peace. Through believing in him we have peace with God.

John 14:27  Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

HANDRAILS AND SAFETY NETS

 I climbed the two steps from the garage to enter the house and  neglected to grab the handrail, then suddenly I was falling backwards. A slow motion fall, a helpless feeling as my hips and back hit hard objects on the ground. I called for my daughter and she called a neighbor to help get me up. I have a lot of pain with purple black bruising from side to side, and it was my doing or undoing. I had neglected to grab the handrail.

Some  people depend on the government as a handrail to be responsible for them.  There are laws that act as safety nets, but we also need to be personally responsible for our safety and needs. In the news, our government is at war with the drug cartels.  Our military are gathered on the ocean  near Venezuela.  Boats with drugs are shot down and exploded.  Tons of drugs are found hidden in warehouses and in underground tunnels.  Hundreds of millions of  dollars are stacked in bundles.  There are many of these drug places in our land yet to be uncovered.  Why so many?  Because too many of our citizens are using drugs. Why are they not being responsible? A drug addict will steal to get money to buy their drugs. Actual demons come into them to destroy their family relationships and their ability to be faithful at work. By making drugs an idol they disobey the laws of man and God. By turning away from God they invite in evil powers.  God is our help.  We cannot fight the darkness in our own abilities, we need the grace of God. 

Eph 6:12  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.

Only God can overcome the spiritual darkness.  He sent his son Jesus, to be our way to overcome sin and death.  The laws are good, but we cannot keep them. They accuse us and the end is our death.  Choose Jesus who was without sin and was sent to be our savior from our sins and evil.  He is our way to forgiveness and restoration, both now and in life eternal with God. 

The government uses tax dollars to help people. These are referred to as handrails and safety nets. We hear in the news that billions of dollars used to support the needy were stolen. The devil is a thief. He comes to kill, steal and destroy. Jesus is come to give us life, more abundant life. (John 10:10)  

If you are a drug user, or if you know some who are users, I pray to God for your recovery. Almighty God, you created us to be in fellowship with you.  You are holy, so much greater than your creation. You spoke the universe into existence. You are a life giver and a loving God. LORD God through your son Jesus, touch hearts and bring people out of the darkness. You are the eternal light, giving mercy and justice. Help us to trust you, in Jesus name, Amen.

Eternal Love

 John 15:12  This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. 

John 15:13  Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. 

Jesus tells us that we are to love one another. Love does not kill, so why do  people kill? That is not what God commands; this is the way of the devil. If you go along with the devil he wants to steal your soul from God. In John 10:10 he is called the thief.

Joh 10:10  The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. 

Joh 10:11  I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy. however Jesus, the Good Shepherd comes to give you a more abundant life. He came to us to give us life everlasting.   The people following the devil are filled with hate, anger and unforgiveness. They want to remove, to destroy those who they are not in agreement with. Are they reacting from fear?

We must  be careful not to speak destructive words. Our words are not to put down others. Look for the best in those you know. I like peace and seek to keep the peace. An elderly friend spoke to me that if we would shut up then we would avoid conflict. May we know when we should speak and when to be silent. We are to speak up for what is good.  Many have died for our right to speak and for our freedom. Stand for truth, and trust in Jesus. He knows our failings and will forgive you. He gave us his life so that we might live free in him.

Words Of Life

 Recently a well known Christian pastor died; John MacArthur was 86, and he was ten days older than me, He fulfilled his life calling. His father and grandfather were pastors.   John was a pastor in Grace Community Church for fifty five years. He knew what he believed and preached from the Bible that God has made a way for us in heaven through his son Jesus Christ.

People may say that there are many roads to heaven.  They may virtue signal that they are for all religions. Actually this is only confusion. Most people think that they are good people and will go to heaven on their own  merits. We may compare ourselves to others but no one can compare to a righteous  God.

 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Rom 3:23)

All have sinned, all come short of being accepted by God. knowing that no human could ever meet his standards he sent his son Jesus who fulfilled all the law and was without sin.  He died on the cross as our substitute. By believing in him our sins were paid for.  He was risen from the dead and became our way to eternal life with God. We will not be cut off and separated from God.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

Susie's Testimony and letter

 A few weeks before his passing I visited my oldest brother  in the hospital.  In my hand I had an unopened letter for my brother from Susy.  He did not know Susy but I did . She came to me in an Internet Christian chat room at two in the morning.  I was aware of her  rebellion and bad behavior. I and many others had talked to her to come to God through Jesus for a new life. God was reaching her heart and she asked me to help her,  That night at two AM she gave her life to Jesus. This is her testimony, and then we will talk about her letter to my brother. My name is Mr B

I pray God shines in your life in 2006 as he most definitely shines in mine.
That's where my screen name came from susy shines. God has been so good to me, I fooled around a long time before I trusted the lord. I was an atheist 25 yrs married to a Christian all them years, raised 7 children in a Christian home and I never knew the Lord....fooled a lot of people but i didn't fool the Lord ....

The last few years have been total hell. I was a computer whore. I had cyber sex with any bisexual man that needed me talk dirty to him; also enjoyed being with cross dressers. My husband knew that I cyber with men ....you see I thought it was a game. My husband asked me to quit doing it so that meant now I had to hide it, which started all the lies. I cant believe I'm telling you all this but i want you to see how God has worked in my life.

December 25, 2004 is the day I started getting sick. By February I had pneumonia 3 times. The doctor found out my heart was growing with copd, sugar diabetes I was really sick. June I had my first heart attack. By then I was out of cyber sex. I started going into Christian chat rooms I told them all what I thought about being a Christian; I would never be one. I gotta booted all the time. After awhile, they booted me as soon as I came in, I didn't even have to talk. Everyday savedthrufaith would tell me something about jesus. Everyday I said I'll think about it; he said ok. He sent me every verse in the bible, I bet. Then Sunday Oct 23, 2005, this guy I was talking to in chat got suspended, so he IM'd me. He said if you want to talk in a chat room, I'll make a room. So he did and the stuff he was telling me broke my heart.

The next day was Monday, I cried all day. When my husband came home, I was still crying. He said God was working on me. October 25, 2005 2:03 am, Mr B led me to the lord.

My life now is soooo different, been saved now 9 weeks 6 days. I have read almost the whole Bible. I'm a prayer warrior, my prayer list is longer then my buddy list. That's how you pray without ceasing, get a big list it will take all day to pray. God has answered a lot of my prayers. I use to be afraid to pray but God took his hand and put words in Jeremiah's mouth and he has to me too. I pray they are not my words, I'm nothing, but with God nothing is impossible.

I even have thoughts now that I believe come from God. Oh, I forgot to tell you that last week I went for my ekg to measure my heart. The doctor said it looks like my heart stopped growing 2 months ago. He said meds are working. I been saved 9 weeks. How many months is that ???? You figure it out...I already did ...PRAISE GOD!

Well this was and is my life God loves you and so do I.  susy

For several years Susy grew in the Lord sharing Bible verses with pictures and she was an encourager. God would often use her to encourage others. When she heard about my oldest brother she sent me a letter to be given unopened to him.  I am sure it was God speaking encouragement to him.  Susy died in 2022.  I trust that they are now with Christ Jesus in heaven,  She did nothing to receive mercy and grace. Jesus has paid the price we repent and believe.