And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
2 Corinthians 12:9 NASB
https://bible.com/bible/100/2co.12.9.nasb
An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels Proverbs 31:10
Today we celebrate the birthday of my wife Heidi, and although I usually try to refrain from posting about personal topics, I felt it necessary to write about my wife today. Not only because my wife is the greatest wife and mother , but also because I want to reflect on how important she is and blessed I am to have Heidi as my wife.
Recently Heidi has been going through some health problems, and of course when going through these times, the dynamics of the family change. Heidi being superwoman and self dependent, has to now rely more on us for her for daily life. And although this can be frustrating and challenging for her , it provides us an opportunity to reflect on how blessed we are as a family to have each other.
The old question or topic of Christianity always is suffering, how can God allow this to happen? I feel God allows these times to happen, to bring us closer to him, to bring us down to our knees. I feel we have gotten closer as a family, because we are relying on each other more and also relying on God
Heidi is an excellent wife and mother ,she is the center of our family. When she suffers, the whole family suffers because she is the heart of the family. We appreciate her more for all that she does for us! I know Heidi will make it through this because she is a strong and courageous person, and we know that God will get us through this!
Happy Birthday Heidi and Thank you God for providing , healing, and blessing us in Jesus Name Amen!
But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; Acts 9:15
How can this be? Paul made a living persecuting Christians and now Christ wants to use him for his ministry? There has to be a mistake, this cant be happening! This must have been the thoughts of Ananias and the other Christians when they heard the news that Paul was going to be “a chosen instrument or vessel” for God
However the truth of the matter is, it doesn’t matter what our opinions are. If we are truly Christians and servants of Jesus Christ, then we listen and follow his commands. Many people probably had bad feelings or opinions of Paul, so still don’t like him today. However God is not concerned how we feel , he has a plan , and his thoughts and ways are higher than ours! (Isaiah 55:9)
Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5
Even Christians today, instead of faithfully obeying God, they question his plan. For example, even though homosexuality is clearly forbidden throughout the entire Bible, there are those who will try to refute Gods commandments and plan, to fit the worlds agenda and please people
Lean not on your own understanding, God has a plan and design that he knows will work. Stop trying to change God to appease people. The same was with Paul, why God would use him is beyond our understand. However he went on to preach the gospel throughout all the Gentile nations in Jesus Name Amen!
God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;
Psalms 46:1-2 NASB
https://bible.com/bible/100/psa.46.1-2.NASB
Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom.
Psalms 45:6 NASB
https://bible.com/bible/100/psa.45.6.NASB
and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” Acts 9:4
Saul (Paul) loved God, he devoted his life to worship and service to him. However even though Saul loved God he was listening to false doctrine. See Saul (Paul) was training to become a Pharisee, and followed their doctrine instead of following the Messianic prophecies foretold throughout the scriptures. So Saul was essentially persecuting God , even though he believed he was being loyal to God
We as Christians need to be careful also of not following false doctrine. Even though our hearts may be in the right place, following false doctrine could be persecuting God also. This is why its important every Christian devotes time to studying the Bible, and going to Church.
“Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Matthew 24:11
Jesus warned us multiple times that there will be many false prophets and religions created to mislead and stray us from true Christianity. Some of these false prophets and religions are so convincing they will even fool the elect. Its important to validate every Churchs and preachers doctrine with the Bible. If there message doesn’t align with scripture , it is false doctrine
Jesus asked Saul why are you persecuting him and the Church? From Sauls perspective he was serving God, when really he was doing work for Satan. Be careful who and what doctrine you are following and serving, if it doesn’t align with The Bible, then your not following God
Be careful of false prophets in sheeps clothing but are ravenous wolves Amen!
I will say to the Lord , “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!”
Psalms 91:2 NASB
https://bible.com/bible/100/psa.91.2.nasb
And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Acts 8:31
There was an Ethiopian man who was reading the scriptures from Isaiah, however he couldn’t comprehend what he was reading. He said how could I understand these scriptures unless someone guides or teaches me” Often we may feel the same way, maybe you try to read the Bible and it makes no sense to you at all, don’t be discouraged the Holy Spirit will guide you
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. John 14:26
Before Jesus ascended into Heaven, he revealed that the Holy Spirit would be sent to teach us among other things. The Holy Spirit is called the Counselor, Advocate, and Comforter, the Holy Spirit provides wisdom beyond human comprehension. In fact the Bible says those who reject Christ are without the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:14)
The Holy Spirit led Philip to the Ethiopian man to help him decipher the prophecies of Isaiah and reveal they are about Jesus Christ. Once the Ethiopian man understood the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, he accepted Jesus as his Savior, and became baptized.
The Holy Spirit is essential for our teaching and understanding of Gods word, allow him to lead and guide you in Jesus Name Amen!
In God we have boasted all day long, And we will give thanks to Your name forever. Selah.
Psalms 44:8 NASB
https://bible.com/bible/100/psa.44.8.NASB
But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! Acts 8:20
Do you think you can buy your way into Heaven? Do you think you can purchase the Holy Spirit? There was a sorcerer named Simon who thought he could buy the power of the Holy Spirit from the apostles. Not only was this mans heart far from God, but also he didn’t understand what Jesus Christ has already done for us!
At the cross, when Jesus said “It is Finished” and died for us, he paid our debt to God. We are purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ. There is no money or deeds you can do to obtain salvation and power from God. This is a gift that was earned by the atonement of Jesus Christ and given to us because God loves us
So how can we obtain this salvation and power? First we need to repent for our wickedness. This sorcerer Simon, who was driven by demons, had no intention of repenting or worshiping Jesus. He just wanted the power of the Holy Spirit. You cant obtain the Holy Spirit, until you obtain the salvation of Jesus Christ
Another take away from this story is even though this Simon had demonic powers, which he displayed great wonders. The power of The Holy Spirit was greater than any demonic power, as Philip was casting out demons on the Samaritan people.
If you want the gift of Salvation and the power of the Holy Spirit, you must get right with God and repent. There is no money or works that you can earn your way into Heaven, only through Jesus Christ can we obtain access to God Amen!
Unashamed of Jesus 