Walk Boldly With Jesus

God Will Fulfil Every Need!

Philippians 4:19 “I am convinced that my God will fully satisfy every need you have, for I have seen the abundant riches of glory revealed to me through Jesus Christ!”

This was in a letter from St. Paul the Philippians. When I read it this morning I wondered, are we convinced? I know St. Paul was convinced, he had seen God come through time and time again for him and his followers. However, what if we haven’t seen God come through? What if we have never really been in a situation where it felt like we needed God to come through? How do we become convinced that God will satisfy our every need?

What comes to my mind first is that if you haven’t seen God provide for you then you aren’t looking hard enough. I would argue if you have never had a time when it felt like you had to rely on God then God has blessed you even more because you never went without. I do think if you have little and you have no idea where your next meal or the money to pay the bills is going to come from, then you learn to rely on God more and you get to see Him work more in your lives. That does not mean that He is working more, it just means that you see it more.

God is working in each one of our lives. There isn’t a single one of us that He puts on earth and then just forgets about. He knows everything about each one of us. He not only knows your needs but He knows your wants and your desires too. He put them in your heart. He will take care of providing for you all that you need. However, He will also help you get the things you want as well. Oftentimes it is not in the time that we want.

For instance, we may have wanted to get married when we were 20 and instead, it happened when we were 40. I don’t know why this happens but what is coming to mind right now is two different scenarios. First, maybe we weren’t the person we needed to be earlier in life. Maybe if we had gotten married earlier it wouldn’t have worked out because we weren’t ready. The second is that God allows us to make our own choices so maybe we weren’t listening to Him and we were doing our own thing. God's ways are higher than our ways so I have no idea why things don’t happen in our timing. I wish I did. I wish I had an answer for every person who wanted a child and didn’t have one, or wanted to be married and hasn’t found the right person yet. I wish I could tell you why sometimes you have desires that weren’t realized. I honestly don’t have answers for that.

I do know it says in Romans 5:5, “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Hope in the Lord does not disappoint so we don't have to be scared or afraid to hope in the Lord for our dreams and desires to come true. I don’t think we have to be afraid our dreams are not His dreams for us either. I believe He put our dreams in our hearts and as long as we are close with Him, as long as we are doing our best to listen to Him, then we don't have to be worried about them not being His dreams for us too.

I just spent some time talking about how God will provide all we need for our heart’s desires. What I want to talk about now is something that I am not sure many people know or believe. God can and will provide for your everyday needs too. Did you know that God can give you money, food, cars, or whatever you need in miraculous ways? We tend to put God in a box and we think He has the same constraints that we have. We look at our situation and we don’t see a way and we assume there isn’t a way. However, God is a way maker. He doesn’t need to follow a path, He can create His own path. Just as He did for the Israelites when he parted the Red Sea.

However, it doesn’t have to be that dramatic. Sometimes He can create a miraculous answer to your prayer without a big show, without fanfare, without you even realizing it is Him doing it. My dad is a deacon and so I got a front-row seat to hear him talk about all the ways God helped our family. Honestly, I feel like he could talk about them all day every day and we would never run out of miracle stories. I don’t think my family is unique in this way. I think God is working miracles in many of our lives. I think there are two differences with my parents that others may not be doing.

First, they always went to God with their needs. They didn’t try to solve it first on their own. They didn’t save prayer for the last resort. Luckily they both knew the power of prayer and so it was their first response to a problem. Second, they were on the lookout for the miracle. They have this faith that they are absolutely sure God will provide. It is amazing to watch. They never told us growing up that we should pray and that if we were lucky, God would provide for us. They never told us God might come through. They taught us that God is a God who provides and if we ask He answers. I am more grateful for that lesson than for anything else they taught me. Sitting in the pews at church listening to my dad tell miracle story after miracle story, this belief was cemented in my mind.

In case you weren’t lucky enough to see or hear about all the miraculous ways God works in the everyday stuff, let me share a few so you can start to believe in his miraculous answers to our prayers. I know I have probably told these before but in my mind you can never talk about God’s glory too much!

One day my dad's car broke down on the way to work. He needed that car to get to work in order to make money to provide for the family as my mom stayed home with the kids because there were so many of us. My dad got home from work and decided to tell my mom after dinner so we could have a nice dinner together. In the middle of dinner a neighbor knocked on the door. My dad knew this man, but they were not friends. They had actually exchanged words over some thing the kids had done. This neighbor handed my dad a set of car keys. My dad asked what these were for and he said you need a car right? My dad agreed that he needed a car but asked how the guy knew as he hadn't even told my mom yet. The guy said he just got this feeling he was supposed to give my dad the car. His wife can't drive anymore so she doesn't need it. He's not lending it to my dad and he's not selling it to my dad he just is giving it to him with no strings attached. That is a miracle only God can do.

My parents were looking in the cupboard and realized they didn't know what we were going to eat for dinner that night. Then Friend called up and said there was an emergency and asked if my parents would watch their 10 kids. My parents said yes even though they didn't know how they were going to feed everyone. They knew God would provide and so they asked him for the food needed for all these kids. They were barely done the prayer when the neighbor knocked on the door and asked if they needed any groceries. He said his father-in-law moved into their house over the weekend but it was unexpected and so he had just gone grocery shopping at his house and so had they. There was no room in the cupboards for all the food and so my parents gratefully accepted. They noticed there is spaghetti and sauce in the bags, enough for everyone at the house. They were so grateful. They thought to themselves if we just had some meat it would be perfect. Another neighbor knocked on their door just after they had that thought and asked if they needed some meat. The neighbor had just gone hunting. He stuffed his fridge and his freezer and there just wasn't room for all the meat so he offered it to my parents and they gratefully accepted. Do you see how God works? If we are not looking sometimes we may miss the miracle.

Another time a friend of mine was sitting in her car with her daughter. She was making a shopping list sitting outside the dollar store. She only had $75 for a whole weeks worth of groceries for her family of five I think. She was writing down what she needed and realized if she only had 50 more dollars she could actually get all that she needed. I'm not even sure if she prayed about it or if she just thought about it. The next thing she knows her daughter open the door runs out into the parking lot and then comes back to the car. Luckily the store was not open yet and there was not another single car in the parking lot. When she asked her daughter why she got out of the car she said she saw something fly by the window so she got out to get it. When she gave it to her mom it was a $50 bill.

God created the entire universe with his words, he can create a $50 bill out of nowhere and send it to you when you are in need. I love these recounts of God's miracles because they show us that sometimes he uses regular every day things like other people to provide for us and other times he can do it just out of thin air. One of my witness Wednesdays I think it was Jasmine talked about how she didn't have enough money to pay her bills one month. She had checked her bank account and there was no money in it. She prayed and asked the Lord to provide and something inside of her told her to check her bank account again and she did and there was money in it. She called the bank and they didn't know who put the money in that account. It just showed up. God can do the same for you.

I am telling you about these miracles today so that if you don't have any miracle stories now you do. You have now seeing how God can work in your life. God is the same yesterday today and forever. You can look at the miracles written about in scripture and know that he can do that in your life too. It is true that God will fulfill every need! We just need to ask. Yesterday at the end of prayer group people were sharing the little ways God is working in their life. One lady was saying her grandson wanted to switch from flag football to tackle football now that he is in high school. She was nervous for him and just prayed that God would find a way for him not to be hurt in this new sport. She went to dinner with her family the other night and her grandson said he decided to do golf instead of tackle football. Do you see how God cares about every little prayer we send to him, even the things we might consider little.

I could go on and on as I love to talk about God’s miraculous power to provide for us. However, I know you all have things to do and this episode is already on the longer side. I want to invite you to take a look at the things that have happened in your life, in the light of these miracle stories and see if you can recognize God’s hand in them. I want also to invite you to be on the lookout more going forward to see how God is orchestrating all things to help provide for you.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless everyone listening to this episode. Lord, you are amazing and we are so grateful for all the ways you provide for us. We ask that you help open our eyes to these ways. We ask that you help us to see all the ways you are working in our lives. Help us to be more aware Lord! I ask that you reveal at least one miracle you have done in the lives of each person listening to this episode. We love you Lord and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name, Amen!

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to meeting you here again on Monday. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day and may the favor and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be upon you!

Today’s Word from the Lord was received in March 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email [email protected]. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “My children, I reward the little things done with great love. It's the great love that I look for. People think they must do grandiose things for me to notice. I notice even the littlest things that you do out of great love.”

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The Example of Jesus Christ

Philippians 2:6-8 “He existed in the form of God, yet he gave no thought to seizing equality with God as his supreme prize. Instead, he emptied himself of his outward glory by reducing himself to the form of a lowly servant. He became human! He humbled himself and became vulnerable, choosing to be revealed as a man and was obedient. He was a perfect example, even in his death—a criminal’s death by crucifixion!

What jumped out at me in this verse was the line that says, “He emptied himself of his outward glory by reducing himself to the form of a lowly servant.” Jesus did not just enter existence when He was born into this world. I guess I never really thought of that before. Have you noticed that God reveals things to us slowly? Or maybe it is just that it takes us a while to come around to being curious enough to be taught. I am not sure. I do know that I am always learning new things. You would think being Catholic my whole life, going through all the religious education classes as a kid, teaching them as an adult and even participating in RCIA, I would know all there is to know. However, I am always learning something new.

I am sure it is the same with you. The Bible is so vast, our Catholic religion is so rich, there is no way anyone can know everything. Even if we think we have it all figured out, the Lord opens up an old favorite scripture in a new way. That is so amazing to me. God is so good!!

It says in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” This is true. What is also true is that Jesus volunteered for the job. I sort of had it in my mind for the longest time that there was God, and he was alone. Then he decided to give us Jesus through Mary and the Holy Spirit. But I never thought about Jesus existing before He walked the earth. I never thought of the fact that He had a say in the matter. We read about Jesus in the garden the night before he was crucified. We read about how He was in agony because He knew what He had to go through and yet was willing to do it anyway. However, we don’t really talk about how it was His choice to live this life. Yes, God gave Him to us, but not without His permission.

Can you imagine, Jesus was up in heaven with God. He was/is God. He is sitting up there surrounded by the angels. He is being praised and worshipped all day and night. Everything is great, everything is perfect. There is no illness, there is no anger or hate, there is only love. Can you imagine sitting up in heaven and looking down at Earth and seeing how much we are struggling? Not only that though, He could see the brokenness of the world. He could see how cruel people were. He could see how much greed and jealousy there was. He could see all the pain and suffering. He could see all the violence. He could see all of that and yet His desire to save us was greater than His desire to stay in Heaven where all was perfect.

He decided to enter into a broken world. He decided to come down and join a world that He already knew would hate Him, mistreat Him, and eventually crucify Him. Can you even imagine that? I can’t. I know some people have died and gone to heaven but then were brought back to life. I can’t imagine being that close to heaven and then having to come back to this broken world. Heaven was His home. He was at home with His dad and the Holy Spirit and agreed to leave all that behind to save us.

We live in a world that emphasizes fame and fortune. Everyone wants to be on top and many are not afraid to step on others to get there. We definitely don’t see a lot of humility. We don’t see a lot of people who are willing to let others take the credit for the things they have done. But Jesus didn’t want the glory. When He first started healing people He would tell them to go in peace and not to tell anyone what He had done. He was happy to live in the shadows and not get credit for the work He had done.

I am not a big Olympics fan. I am not sure why I never really got into it. Maybe because my parents weren’t into it. Or maybe they were but we didn’t have a TV for a lot of years when I was growing up so we couldn’t have watched it if we wanted to. I did not watch the Olympics this year unless I happened to be out and about and it was on the TV. For instance, I was at a retirement celebration at a restaurant and they had the Olympics on the TV. It was a trampoline competition which I had no idea was even an Olympic event. They were awesome though. Most of what I learned about the Olympics this year came from my children filling me in or clips I saw on YouTube when I was uploading my podcast episodes.

There were so many good stories that I heard. One was about the second and third-place gymnastics winners bowing to the first-place winner to show her respect and show they honor her. Another one was not at the Olympics but at a different race. There was a runner from Kenya who mistook a line on the track for the finish line and he stopped running. The next runner came up behind him and instead of passing him showed him the finish line and allowed him to finish first. He could have easily passed him and took first place for himself but he didn’t. Everyone was shocked. What does that say about our world if everyone was surprised he did the right thing?

How about us? Are we going through life wanting to be in the limelight? Do we get upset when someone else gets credit for something we did? Do we want to be served or are we willing to be the servants? The verse says, “He existed in the form of God, yet he gave no thought to seizing equality with God as his supreme prize. Instead, he emptied himself of his outward glory by reducing himself to the form of a lowly servant. He became human! He humbled himself and became vulnerable, choosing to be revealed as a man and was obedient. He was a perfect example, even in his death—a criminal’s death by crucifixion!”

Jesus didn’t want his perfect existence up in heaven if it meant we couldn’t be with Him. He was willing to sacrifice it all and suffer immensely on our behalf so we could join Him in heaven one day. When I think about that, I mean really think about that, it makes my suffering less. It makes me want to be more humble. It makes me want to follow Christ’s example. I want to empty myself and become a lowly servant as Jesus did. I want to risk being vulnerable and I want to be obedient. I want to be able to follow God’s will even if it is the opposite of my will. I want to follow God’s will even if I don’t understand it. I want to follow God’s will even if I may suffer. What is one thing we could say yes to today that we have been avoiding because of our own will?

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless everyone listening to this episode. Lord, we want to follow your example, please show us how. Please give us the resilience and perseverance it takes to be humble and be a lowly servant instead of the one who is served. Change our will Lord, help our will be more and more like your will. We love you Lord and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name, Amen!

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I want to remind everyone that retreat registration for the Oct. 11-13th retreat is open. Also, the theme for September Mentoring is “Trusting in the Waiting.” If you feel you have been waiting for a long time then this may be the month for you to join mentoring. Click on the link below for more information on the retreat and about mentoring. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day and may the grace and favor of our Lord Jesus Christ be upon you!

Today’s Word from the Lord was received in March 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email [email protected]. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “Oh, my heart burns that the good news of my love for everyone will be inflamed throughout the whole world.”

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God is Good,

All the time.

All the time,

God is Good.

This very popular saying of ‘God is good all the time and All the time God is good’ has come up many times recently. Many people have embraced this and taken this thought as their own. And for good reason – God is the ultimate Good and He does it all the time and in every situation. We all know there is evil, and we question where God is when something bad happens. The answer is: He is there helping us in some manner to get through it. Sometimes the “Footprints” story comes to mind. But we know the ultimate evil of Christ being cruelly beaten and even more cruelly killed on the cross was changed from being evil to being our redemption. God has a way of doing this in every evil that happens if we accept the Graces that He wants to give us. Even that grace of Redemption we must accept if we want to go to Heaven. God the Father’s answer to evil is that He sent us His Son. His Son lived, suffered, died and rose to replace or remove the effects of what is evil with what is good- He saved us! He saved us from evil.

Another way of saying ‘all the time‘ or on all occasions is the word always. So, our God is a God of Holiness and takes every bit of time and any occasion to ultimately make something Holy come from it. And He does. All the time. He makes Holy moments. All the time God is with us. This was his promise. See Matthew 28:20 “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” It is different with everyone because we are all different. God will take an evil; a bad accident or a sickness, and thru His grace for us He somehow makes a Greater Good come from it. Most of the time we do not see this or find out why until we are on the other side of the vail but if we continue in our beliefs and accept Gods graces, we will be as fortunate as Job. If you are unfamiliar with the story of Job and how all of his great blessing were taken away from him and then given back twice as much because of his great belief, please see the Book of Job in the Bible. 

There is another ‘always’. "All ways" or "all the ways" means every manner possible. What happens when we think the same thing with God with this ‘all ways’. It is now a more complete picture of what God is. God is all the time good and every possible good. Can we say, “God is good all ways and all ways God is good”? God is in every manner possible good and in every manner possible God is good. God constantly is pouring out Graces on us. Does He ever give us something bad? No, He gives us everything we need. This is why we find that the saints had Joy no matter what. They say Saint Francis of Assisi was one of the saints most like Jesus. Not only was St. Francis poor like Jesus but he was Joyful like Jesus to a point of Loving Lady Poverty. He felt this great joy in his state of life because of the Blessings he received from God. In every manner possible God took care of him as he does now with us.

Joy is the work of the Holy Spirt. The Holy Spirit has many Fruits. St Francis and Jesus have the Holy Spirit. Jesus gave His Holy Spirit to St Francis and now He gives Him to us. The same Holy Spirit that filled Jesus and the Saints fills us today if we ask Him and accept His graces. Ask for many graces. Ask all the time for Graces for every possible need. Ask for all the graces Jesus wants us to have so we and the others we pray for get all graces always and all ways. We ask for too little. Ask for more. More Jesus, More Jesus. All of Jesus, all of His body, blood, soul and Divinity. It is ours; we receive all of Him in Communion. We receive these graces in Adoration.

More Jesus, More Jesus,

Shalom

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Making Scripture Personal

Habakkuk 3:17-19, “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”  

Have you ever personalized scripture before?  Have you ever replaced the word Israelites for your name?  Have you ever just inserted your name into scripture to make it more personal to you?  What do you think about this idea?  If you haven’t done it before, why haven’t you?  Is it because you never thought of it before?  Is it because you think it is wrong to add your name to the holy scriptures?  Is it because you can’t see how the Bible and the scriptures apply to you in your life? Take a moment and really think about this idea of personalizing scripture.  I will be honest with you, I haven’t done it a lot.  I have heard of this idea before and I though it sounded like an awesome idea, and then I just never really did anything with it.

When I was reading a book titled Built Through Courage by Dave Hollis, the author talked about something I think can really help us not to worry so much.  Dave talked about  his mentors and how they had tragedy hit and he said they relied on a specific scripture verse to get them through it.  He said they took a scripture verse and personalized it to their specific circumstances.  That scripture verse is Habakkuk 3:17-19, “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”  

There is a lot going wrong for the people in this verse.  The things mentioned here are not small things.  It might not seem like a big deal to us, as how many of us eat figs anyway?  However, it was a bid deal at the time.  The people who wrote this depended on those crops not just for food, but also for their lively hood.  If they did not have figs, grapes or olives, what would they sell at the market to get the other things they needed.  The verse says the fields produced no food.  What could they eat, if they had not fruits or vegetables?  Normally I would say at least they have animals to eat.  However, the verse also says, no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls.  

I can’t even imagine what I would do if I were in their circumstances.  This verse is basically saying they had nothing.  They had no food, they had no animals, and if they didn’t have any of that, then they didn’t have anything to trade with to get the other things they needed.  I know we often think our situation can’t really get any worse, however, for these guys I would say that it really couldn’t get much worse.  How did they react to these dire circumstances?  Did they yell and scream at God?  Did they question Him and ask Him how dare He take it all away?  Did they turn away from God? No, they didn’t do any of those things.  In that very same sentence, they said “yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”

Wow, that is incredible.  Don’t you wish you had their strength?  Don’t you wish you felt the same way on your worst days?  I will rejoice in the Lord.  Not, I will trust the Lord, not I will be ok with the Lord, I will rejoice in the Lord.  What did they have to rejoice about?  Then it goes on to say I will be joyful in God my Savior.  I was about to ask you what they had to be joyful about, and then the words “in God my Savior” rattled around in my head.  They weren’t joyful because of their circumstances, they were joyful because of God their Savior.  They knew God was going to save them.  They didn’t know when and they didn’t know how, but they relied on the fact that God was their savior and if He saved them before, He would do it again.  

Why is it so hard for us to remember this?  What came to mind was, maybe we haven’t seen Him save us before.  What if we have never needed saving before and so we don’t know He will save us this time.  If this is what you are thinking, rest assured whatever God has done for those who have come before us, He will do for us.  If He has saved His people in the Bible, then He will save us.  Those are our people.  Remember Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”  Because Jesus saved His people in the Bible over and over again, we know He will save us.  We also know that because of His promise in Jeremiah 29:11 which says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  

God will use all things for our good.  The problem is, we don’t want to wait for it.  We want things to happen when we are ready, or when we think we are ready.  When are we going to come around to the fact God’s timing is perfect?  If things are going wrong for us, God’s got a plan.  He might not have planned for you to get yourself into this trouble, but as soon as He saw you headed there He came up with a plan to fix it. That is what He does.  We mess up and He fixes it.  I truly hope He doesn’t get tired of doing that.  We would be lost without Him.  

Let’s say we are able to come to grips with our situation.  We acknowledge God is doing His thing and although we don’t know how it will work out, we know it will work out. Then what do we do?  We still need to figure out a way to lesson our pain so we can live to make it through to the other side.  The people in this verse decided although these terrible things were happening they were going to rejoice in the Lord.  Do you think you could persevere in this difficult time?  Do you think you could not only keep hope in the Lord, but to rejoice in the Lord?

What is it you are going through?  Whatever it is, would it help you to write your own version of this verse?  Would it help you to read that verse daily to remind yourself that God is your Savior?  Let’s not forget that important part of the verse.  I will be joyful in God my savior.  Reading this every day can give you a reminder that you are not alone and that you are not in charge of fixing everything yourself.  God is your savior.  Here is an example of how I rewrote this verse to fit my particular circumstances at one point in my life:

Habakkuk 3:17-19, “Though my marriage is falling apart and there doesn’t seem to be a way we can stay together, though the children are really struggling at school and at home, though our home is filled with anger and violence, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”  

Personalizing scripture can not only help you get through a difficult time, it can help you grow in your faith.  The Bible is not just a collection of words or a collection of stories that are nice to read.  The Bible is one of God’s ways of communicating with us. Using the Bible God is teaching us how to act, how to interact with each other, what to do, and what not to do.  He is also teaching us about Him and His ways.  He is teaching us about His love and His forgiveness.  He is communicating with us and if we can make that communication more personal then we will connect to it more.  When you were in school did you pay more attention when the teacher was talking to the whole class, or when she was talking to you individually?  What about at a work meeting?  Would you pay more attention if your boss said your name before he started talking, or if he was addressing the whole audience?  I think we can all agree that we would pay more attention if someone was talking to us directly.  It is the same with the Bible.  If you put your name into the Bible verse you will pay more attention because it will feel as though that verse was written directly for you.

There are many ways you can personalize scripture.  Rick Warren, author of A Purpose Driven Life, suggests that we can replace any pronouns or nouns in scripture with our name.  For example, if he were personalizing John 3:16, He'd write something like this: 'For God so loved Rick, he gave his one and only Son so that Rick would not perish but have everlasting life.”  Or, "Or, for Philippians 1:6: 'He who began a good work in Rick Warren will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.’"  Warren went on to note that if one uses the "personalize-it method," the results will "strengthen your faith and encourage yourself. Do this, and many passages of Scripture will literally bring tears to your eyes. You'll start to read the Bible as God's love letter to you," continued Warren.

There are articles out there that can give you more examples of how to do this.  I just wanted to introduce you to the idea today.  If you think it sounds like something you would like to try I say you just go for it.  There is no right or wrong way to do it.  Take a scripture verse and see how it can apply to your exact circumstances.  Instead of reading the Bible as if it is a collection of stories completely unrelated to your life, start reading it as if God is talking to you, right where you are, in the circumstances that you are in.  I bet the Bible will come to life in a whole new way.  Give it a try, if you don’t like it, no worries.  However, what if you do try it and it is life-changing?  Don’t let this opportunity pass you by.  

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless everyone listening to this episode today. Lord, you are amazing and we are so grateful for all you do for us. Lord, I ask you to increase our desire to read the Word of God. Help us to read Your Word and see ourselves and our situations in what we read. Don’t just let it be words to us, help it take root in our hearts. We ask this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name, Amen!

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I pray you will take some time the next time you read your Bible and try adding your name in, or personalizing the scripture in some way. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow with another witness. Wednesday. Remember Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day and may the favor and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be upon you!

Today’s Word from the Lord was received in March 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email [email protected]. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “Every single time you come to me in prayer. I kindle that fire. I feed it with new fuel. I make it burn bigger and brighter. That fire is my Holy Spirit, which I share with you.”

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Today’s episode is a bit different. I will be reading a chapter from my book, Total Trust in God’s Safe Embrace. Today’s chapter is called The Power of The Saints. I hope you enjoy it!

I love the saints! We can learn so much from them. I think we tend to put the saints on a pedestal and think that they were perfect and that we can’t really learn anything from them because they weren’t like ordinary people. We tend to think their lives were easy and they didn’t struggle with the things that we struggle with so we can’t relate to them. I am not sure how much you know about the saints, but I am not sure any of them had it easy and I know for sure that none of them were perfect because no one on earth is perfect. We are all human and we all struggle with human behaviors and sins. No matter what you are going through, there is probably a saint that has gone through the same thing in their life.

If you are struggling with parenting, or if you have a child who has turned away from the faith, and/ or is getting into all sorts of trouble you could look to Saint Monica. She is the mother of St. Augustine. Saint Augustine is a doctor of the Church now, but before the age of 31 he was known for running around with women and having mistresses. His mother would not give up on him and his conversion. She prayed for him and his conversion everyday.

Saint Monica was a Christian, but her parents married her off to a pagan. He husband wasn’t all bad, but he did have a violent temper and he was promiscuous. Saint Monica also had a mother in law that lived with them that was bad tempered and uncooperative. Even though her husband criticized her for her faith, she never gave up on praying for him and his mother. Her prayers finally proved fruitful and her husband and mother in law both became Christians. Her husband died one year after his baptism.

If you are struggling with a past that you are not proud of you could look to St. Augustine, or Saint Mary of Egypt who ran away from home at 12 and spent her years living on the streets as a seductress. She did her best to sleep with as many young Christian boys as she could. One day she went with some men to Jerusalem. They were on the way to see the life-giving Tree of the Cross that was being shown at the temple. She pushed to the front of the line, but when she tried to step over the threshold she could not get in. It was as if there was an invisible barrier was preventing her from getting in. She tried this several times and the same thing would happen.

Mary was too tired to keep trying to get in. She stepped aside and just stood there. She wondered why she could not get in. Suddenly she felt the word salvation and it occurred to her why she was not allowed into the temple. Her unclean lifestyle was the reason she could not enter the holy place. Upon realizing this she because to cry and was filled with grief and sorrow.

While she was standing there she looked up and saw an icon of Mary, the mother of Jesus. She begged Mary to let her into the temple to see the Tree of the life-giving Cross. She promised Mary as soon as she had seen the cross she would no longer take part in her unclean lifestyle and that she would renounce the world and its temptations. Mother Mary allowed her to enter and once she left that temple she crossed the Jordon and lived by herself in the dessert.

Maybe you are the mother of boys and you are not sure how to lead them with love through all their difficulties. You can turn to St. John Bosco who took care of all the boys in his town, most of them lived on the streets. He had them in church every Sunday. He never yelled at the boys he just loved them.

If you are struggling to forgive someone who has hurt you unforgivably you can turn to St. Maria Goretti. She was a child of about 12 I think when her neighbor tried to rape her. She tried to convince him that God did not want him to do that to her. He took out a knife and stabbed her several times because she refused to let him rape her. She was rushed to the hospital and before she died, she forgave him.

Are you struggling with a lack of faith? Do your prayers feel unanswered, or maybe you can’t even pray right now? Maybe you feel a complete lack of faith, and feel as though there may not even be a God. You could look to Mother Teresa. Most people do not know a lot about her story. She had a deeply personal encounter with Jesus on a train early in her religious life. She had a vision of Jesus and she told Jesus that she would do whatever he asked of her.

As time went on she began to feel this deep darkness. Almost as if she were in a pit. She did not feel the love of Jesus, she did not feel anything. She was such a powerful ambassador for God’s love, and yet she did not feel any of that love. This did not just go on for a year or so it went on for a very long time. She experienced this darkness for over half her life. She knew that there was a God because of her encounter on the train. However, she did not feel this for such a long time. She would go to her spiritual advisor and tell him she felt nothing. If you are struggling with your faith, you are not alone. Look to St. Teresa of Calcutta to see what she did and how she dealt with her struggles.

I was listening to The Jeff Cavins Show Podcast one day and he was talking about how everyone should have a saints posse. A group of saints that you can really get to know well. You can read about them and get to know who they really were, the good and the bad. They could be a like a group of friends that you rely on. You can talk with them, maybe start your mornings with them.

He said he got a small medal for each one of the saints in his posse and that he wears them around his neck so that they are always with him. That necklace can also serve as a reminder throughout the day of the person that you want to strive to be. I have photo cards of the saints in my posse on the wall by my desk. I see them every morning. Sometime I say hello and ask them to help me throughout the day and sometimes I forget. I also have a necklace with several medals on it as well.

I love this idea of having a group of saints that you can pray too. There are more than 10,000 saints that are recognized by the Roman Catholic Church. That would be a lot to learn if you learned about each one of them. However, if you focused on the saints that had similar struggles as you, that number would be more manageable. I have already talked about a few saints at the beginning of this chapter, there is not enough room in this book to talk about all my favorite saints, so I will finish with three of the saints in my posse.

St. Maximillion Kolbe is my patron saint, meaning he died on my birthday. I was told, that whether we know it or not, we have a special connection with the saint that is honored on your birthday. Before learning this, I had already been introduced to St. Maximillion Kolbe through the Marian Consecration that I participated in. Kolbe dedicated himself to bringing the whole world to know God through Jesus under the guidance of Mary. He started a newspaper called the Immaculate that was widely distributed throughout Poland.

St. Maximillion Kolbe was not always a well behaved child. One time when he was young he got into some some trouble at school. His mother told him that “She did not know what would become of him.” This shook him to the core. He went into their home prayer area and prayed. Mother Mary appeared to him holding two crowns, the white crown of purity and a red crown of martyrdom. She asked him which crown he wanted and he chose both.

He did a lot of amazing things in his life. One of the most amazing was when St. Maximillion Kolbe was put into a concentration camp. One of the prisoners in his cell block escaped. In order to deter that from happening again, the guards randomly picked 10 prisoners left in that block and sentenced them to death by starvation. One of the men that they picked was a husband and father and he begged for mercy. St. Maximillion Kolbe volunteered to take his place. It is reported that he sang songs and praised God the whole time he was waiting to die. Kolbe lasted more than 14 days in a starvation bunker with no food or water. The Nazi’s finally killed him on August 14, 1941 by lethal injection.

Saint Teresa of Liseux is know as the little flower. She was always saying that she was too little to do anything on her own. She told Jesus that she would do anything that he wanted her to do, but that she would need Him to lift her up. She said it was as if she was at the bottom of a huge staircase and that she was too little to even climb up one step. But that if she could climb in Jesus’s hand and he could be her elevator and lift her to the next step.

A lot of people relate to Saint Teresa of Liseux because it is easy to feel like we can’t do much. It is easy to relate to someone who was called to do more, but felt she wasn’t capable. Saint Teresa is known for her “little ways” of trusting in Jesus to make her holy and relying on small daily sacrifices instead of great deeds. I think people like this idea because it is a way to holiness through your ordinary life. Saint Teresa did not go on mission trips, she was a cloistered nun, she did not go out into the community to help the poor. She made lots of small sacrifices throughout the day and she did it without complaining and often without recognition.

Saint Rita of Cascia, I just love her. Saint Rita is known as, “The Saint of the impossible.” Saint Rita wanted to become a nun, but her parents did not like that idea. Saint Rita got married to a man from a prominent family in her town. He was not a nice man and she struggled with not wanting to stay in the marriage. However, she kept praying for him and eventually he left that lifestyle. The two of them moved away from his family and they had twin boys. They were finally living a happy life, when her husband was murdered. Saint Rita forgave her husband’s attackers publicly at the funeral because she was afraid her sons would seek revenge.

Saint Rita ended up sending her boys away to try to keep them safe. However, they got sick where they were and they died. She was very sad that they had died, and also relieved that they died of natural causes and did not have the stain of murder on their souls.

Rita wanted to joint the Augustinian convent but her applications were always denied. She was not able to join until God stepped in and cleared a way an obstacles. Saint Rita once asked for a rose from the garden to be brought to her. The only problem was that it was the middle of winter. The person she requested it from went down to the rose bush and to her surprise she found a rose in full bloom. This same thing happened one time when Saint Rita requested a fig from the fig tree.

Saint Rita loved the Lord and she never gave up her faith in him. She had plenty of heart ache in her life and she certainly did not have an easy life. She had plenty of reasons why she could have given up her faith in God. She had plenty of chances to blame God for the terrible things that happened in her life. She did not do either of these. She continued her pursuit to follow His will with all that she had.

As I said earlier, I could go on about the saints for an entire series of books. I just love them. I love how much they loved the Lord. I love how dedicated they were to their mission. I know we could learn so much from them if we took the time to read about them. I remember how uncomfortable it felt to read in the Marian Consecration book that we are all called to be saints. I was not sure I was up to that challenge. However, reading about the saints gives me hope that if I just keep doing the next right thing, I can get there some day. What saint are you going to start learning about?

Thank you for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. If you would like to buy my book you can get it on Amazon or on my website walkboldlywithjesus.com. If you would like me to write you a personalized message you can order it from my website and I will sign it before I send it out to you. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow! Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day and may the favor and Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be upon you.

Today’s Word from the Lord was received in March 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting please email [email protected]. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “My children, I say to you, here I am. And oh, how I love to hear you respond, here I am, back to me.”

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Live A Cheerful Life Without Complaining

Philippians 2:14-16a “Live a cheerful life, without complaining or division among yourselves. For then, you will be seen as innocent, faultless, and pure children of God, even though you live in the midst of a brutal and perverse culture. For you will appear among them as shining lights in the universe, holding out the words of eternal life.”

When I read this verse this morning, the part that jumped out at me was that it says, “For you will appear among them as shining lights in the universe.” I had re-written this part in the margins of my Bible. I started doing that a few years ago. Whenever I am reading a book or my Bible, and there is something I really like, I will underline it, but then also write it in the margins, so if I am flipping through the pages, I can see it more clearly as sometimes I underline a lot. Then, the essential stuff can get a bit lost.

After I read that part of the verse, I decided to go to the beginning of the paragraph and see what else it said. That is when I read the first line, “Live a cheerful life, without complaining or division among yourselves.” I instantly thought, “Yep, we need to hear that today.” And by we, I mean me and probably you too. Complaining is so easy to fall into. A lot is wrong with the world today, and we notice it daily. I have noticed I am complaining more in the car lately. I am talking to the other drivers. Yes, I know they can’t hear me.

However, I comment, “Really, you couldn’t get over?” or “You are not a very good driver.” I don’t think I used to do this, and I believe the Holy Spirit has been bringing it to my attention lately, as when I notice it, I don’t like that I am doing it. I feel I am focusing on the negative instead of the positive. Also, if I have kids in the car, they will hear me say these things about other drivers. I realize the things I say aren’t terrible and could be much worse, yet they are still not kind. Sometimes, I call the driver an idiot. They can’t hear me, so why am I doing it?

I don’t know why we feel the need to complain so much. Some of the people I spend the most time with complain about everything. They complain about drivers, co-workers, fast-food workers, and apps. They are never really happy. This is no way to live. I know a lot is wrong with the world right now, and I also know there are things to be cheerful about. There is a saying, “Where focus goes, energy flows.” The kind of energy we have is based on where our focus is. If we are focused on all the negative things happening in the world, then we will be negative. If we are focused on the positive things going on in our lives, we will be positive.

God is asking us to be his shining light in the world.  We can’t do this if we focus on everything wrong with the World. Instead of focusing on all that is wrong, the enemy's work, let’s focus on all that is right, God’s work. The way we can be a shining light in the world is to be a representative of Jesus. Jesus had a lot to complain about in His life. His dad died; we don’t know how old he was, but we know it was before he was 30 years old. Many people hated him and wanted to kill him. He was put to death for no reason. He was whipped and beaten. He was mocked and made to wear a crown of thorns. He was hung on a cross even though He was blameless. He had a lot to complain about, and yet He didn’t complain.

If we want to be a shining light in the world, which the world definitely needs, then we need to do things differently than the world does. We need to focus on the good in the world. We need to spread hope, not fear, worry and anxiety. There is a lot of uncertainty in the world, especially with an upcoming election. The country is worried about who will be running this country in a few months. I understand that this is important. Yet, worry never changes anything. We can change our focus from worrying about who will get in to the fact that the true ruler of this world is God, and He is all-powerful. He created this world with words and has power over every aspect. There is nothing too great a feat for our God.

What our country needs right now is hope. Hope that God is here for us. Hope that regardless of who gets in, we will be OK because God is on our side. Hope that no matter what we are going through, God can and will use it for our good. This is not the end. Whatever situation you are in right now, if it is not good, it is not the end. Keep going, keep moving forward, and there will be a happy ending for all of us. We don’t know when that happy ending is coming, but we are assured it with God.

The best way to be the shining light that God asks us to be is to live our lives so that people will see us and say to themselves, “I want what she has, or I want what he has.” People will notice if we can be filled with joy, no matter our circumstances. They will see when we are filled with peace, no matter the circumstances. They will notice if we love all those around us, even those considered “unloveable” to the world. They will notice if we are cheerful and not complaining. Joy, peace, and love are all gifts of the Holy Spirit. They are not dependent on our circumstances. I have had incredible peace and joy in tough circumstances.

If you are wondering how to have this peace, joy, and love in impossible circumstances, the answer is simple: ask the Lord. Pray for peace, the peace of Christ. Pray for a loving heart. Pray to see those you struggle to love through the Lord’s eyes. Pray for joy in all circumstances. Joy doesn’t mean you are laughing and having a grand old time when everything is falling apart. Joy means you have the joy of the Lord in those circumstances. Joy is often hard to explain. It is a feeling you get inside, knowing all will be ok. The dictionary defines joy as a feeling of great pleasure and happiness. Pray for joy; you will see how amazing it is and how hard it is to describe.

The verse above says, “Live a cheerful life, without complaining or division among yourselves. For then, you will be seen as innocent, faultless, and pure children of God, even though you live in the midst of a brutal and perverse culture. For you will appear among them as shining lights in the universe, holding out the words of eternal life.” Live your life so that when people look at you, they want what you have. What we don’t want is to be a negative example of Christ. We don’t want people to look at our lives and think, if that is what our lives are like with Jesus in them, then I don’t want Him. If we are constantly complaining and miserable, why would someone want what we have? Whether we like it or not, we are all representative of Jesus. If people know we are followers of Christ, then they will look at our lives to see the fruit of following Jesus. What is the fruit of your life? Is it peace, joy, and love? Is it complaining, worry, anxiety, and hate? If it is any of the negative things, how can you begin to change that so you can be a shining light to the world?

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless everyone listening today. Lord, you are amazing, and we want to be a shining light to the world. We want others to look at us and see you. We want to bring people to you. Please help us. Please put on our hearts all the ways we are not doing this now. Please purify us, Lord, so that some can be entirely yours. Help us to focus on your beauty in this world instead of the destruction of the enemy. Help us not to complain, Lord. Help us to talk about your miraculous ways. We love you, Lord, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name, Amen!

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. If this podcast is helping you in any way can I ask that you share it with at least one person today? It would really help getting these devotionals to more people. I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow. Remember Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day and may the grace and favor of our Lord Jesus Christ be upon you!

Today’s Word from the Lord was received in March 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email [email protected]. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “My children, hear my whispers of joy and love. Hear everything I say to you and then go out and put it into practice. It is not enough that you hear. You must obey. It is so important to obey.”

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Letting Go Of Our Past

Philippians 3:7-8 “Yet all of the accomplishments that I once took credit for, I’ve now forsaken them, and I regard it all as nothing compared to the delight of experiencing Jesus Christ as my Lord! To truly know him meant letting go of everything from my past and throwing all my boasting on the garbage heap. It’s all like a pile of manure to me now so that I may be enriched in the reality of knowing Jesus Christ and embracing him as Lord in all of his greatness.”

This verse stood out to me this morning. The words, “To truly know him meant letting go of everything from my past,” really stuck with me. I got to thinking about how great it is when we discover Jesus. At first, I thought that it must be so great for people who don’t know Jesus at first and then come to discover Him later in life. There must be such a stark contrast in their lives. I wonder if it is easy to tell what moment Jesus came on the scene in their life. I wonder if it was as if one day they were one person, and the next day they were completely changed? Or, maybe it was more gradual, and they slowly changed their lives as they got to know Jesus more and more. I am sure this journey is different for everyone.

I was a bit envious of people who didn’t just grow up knowing Jesus because they seemed to be more on fire for Him. It's like when you enter into a new relationship, whether a friendship or a romantic one. Everything is new and exciting; you can’t wait to learn more about the other person. You make time for that person and you ask questions, you get to know them and what they like, what they don’t like.

Those of us that have know Jesus our whole lives don’t seem to have that same awe and excitement about it. I know that is a generalization and I know plenty of people who have know Jesus their whole life and still have amazing awe and wonder about Him. They still spend time with Him daily and they learn more and more each day through conversations with Him and through reading His written Word. But that’s the thing, they are putting in the times. They are working at their relationship with Him. Are we?

I had a colonoscopy at the end of July. I work up during the procedure and the medical staff were talking about the difference between Catholics and other Protestants. I heard one of them say that the difference is that Catholics don’t read the Bible and Protestants do. I spoke up and let them know that wasn’t true, but then they put me back to sleep as I was not supposed to be awake. However, as much as I wanted to complain that they thought this, this is not an uncommon belief. When I first joined the Catholic Woman’s groups on the military bases we moved to, there were not a lot of Catholic Bible Studies. Sometimes we would join up with a study the Protestants were doing.

As Catholic’s we get to hear the Bible every week at church. Every three years, the Church has covered almost the whole Bible. So, to say Catholics don’t know the Bible is not true at all. However, I think Catholic Bible studies is fairly new, at least in my experience.  However, this is a great way to get to know the Lord. To develop a deeper relationship with the Lord. If you want to get to know someone, you learn all you can about that person. The Bible is a great way to get to know who God is and what He is all about. You get to see all the various parts of His personality and the many ways He loves us and has saved us over the years. This is important because if He did it then, He will do it now.

I said earlier that I was envious of people who newly discovered Jesus because they seemed more on fire for Him. Then, one day, I realized we all had that turning point. Whether we have been going to Church our whole lives or we have just learned about Jesus today at the grocery store, we all have a point where our relationship with Him changes. There comes a time when we realize we need more Jesus in our life. There comes a time when we don’t just know about Jesus, but we know Jesus. We enter into a relationship with Him. This is where the fire comes from.

Those who just learned about Jesus aren’t on fire because Jesus is new to them, they are on fire because they have been personally touched by Jesus and they know what it is to be with Jesus. They know Him on a personal level and that makes you hungry for more. You want to read scripture because you want to know and understand Jesus more. You want to know what makes Him happy. You want to see how He has helped others so you can see how He can help you too!

Whether you have know Jesus your whole life and now have discovered a personal relationship with Him, or you have just found him, the verse above is the same. “Yet all of the accomplishments that I once took credit for, I’ve now forsaken them, and I regard it all as nothing compared to the delight of experiencing Jesus Christ as my Lord! To truly know him meant letting go of everything from my past and throwing all my boasting on the garbage heap. It’s all like a pile of manure to me now so that I may be enriched in the reality of knowing Jesus Christ and embracing him as Lord in all of his greatness.” Once you know Jesus on a personal level, you no longer care about all you have done.

If we want to truly know Jesus we need to let go of all that is in our past that is holding us back. This means our past beliefs of who we thought Jesus was and what it meant to be a follower of Jesus. This means all of our past hurts. This means anything in our past that might get in the way of our future. When we first start to grow closer to the Lord, the enemy is going to attack us. He will tell us that we are not good enough to have a relationship with Jesus. He will remind us of all the bad things we have done in the past that make us unworthy. It is important that we don’t listen to Him. Jesus took our past sins to the cross with Him so that they would no longer have hold over us. Don’t let the enemy drag them back up again.

The person writing this verse was St. Paul. His name used to be Saul, and he used to persecute Christians. He would lock them up in jail or, worse, have them stoned. He had a past that would have been easy for the enemy to use against him. However, he didn’t allow it. He threw his past on the garbage heap. All he had done before was nothing compared to the reality of knowing Jesus. You can do this too. No matter where you are in your relationship with the Lord, you can grow closer to Him. It’s straightforward: read His word and spend time with Him. I know that may seem too simple, but think of all those you spend time with, whether you want to be with them or not. You will inevitably learn more about them when you spend time with them. Jesus is no different. If you want to know the Lord truly, give up your past and focus on Him. He is your future.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless everyone listening. Lord, we love you and we want to put you first. We want to have a more intimate relationship with you. We want to know you more and more with each passing day. Help us make time for you. Help us to make time to read Your Word. Help us to let go of our past so we can focus on our future with you. You are amazing Lord. You are so powerful and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name, Amen!

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I want to encourage all of you to check out the website for the upcoming retreat. I know many of us think retreats are for holy people. This retreat is for you and me. It is a time to get away from life and focus on Jesus for a bit. There were several people who had never been on a retreat before who came last year and they loved it. It will be laid back and fun and you will leave so refreshed and ready to get to know Jesus more. I hope you will consider joining us! I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember Jesus loves you, just as you are, and so do I! May the peace and favor of our Lord Jesus Christ be upon you. Have a blessed day!

Today’s Word from the Lord was received in March 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email [email protected]. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “I will always work in and through my children. I will never abandon you, not for one minute ever. You are my flock, and I love my flock.”

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Thank you so much for sharing your story with us. Did you all notice that before she received the healing she took a leap of faith and started testing out to see if she was healed? Sometimes, that is when we are healed, when we step out in faith to test the healing. Testing the healing means trying to do something you couldn’t do before. Like in Caitlyn’s case, she tried to see outside without her sunglasses on. This would have normally induced a headache, but she tried it anyway, and she did not get one. She also put her feet in hot water, which again would have usually been really painful, but there was no pain. She trusted that God gave her the healing she asked for, and He gave her the healing she asked for.  St. Augustine said, “Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.” Caitlyn believed she was healed despite no evidence of that healing. She stepped out in faith and tested the healing that was granted to her. I know praying for healing, even just hoping for healing, can be scary because what if we are let down? However, Romans 5:5 says, “ and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” I am so proud of Caitlyn. I am proud she was brave and went to the healing service. I am proud that she took the leap of faith to test her healing when nothing indicated she had been healed. I am proud of her for signing up for the class to learn to be the Lord’s instrument and help heal others. I can’t wait to watch her light get brighter and brighter and to see all the amazing things God has planned for her. I am so grateful he brought the two of us together. I know he has great plans for us and all those at the Encounter School of Ministry Boston Campus. Look out, Boston Diocese, a revival is coming, and we are here for it!

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Light To My Soul

Ephesians 5:11-14 "And don't even associate with the servants of darkness because they have no fruit in them; instead, reveal truth to them. The very things they do in secret are too vile and filthy to even mention. Whatever the revelation-light exposes, it will also correct, and everything that reveals truth is light to the soul. This is why the scripture says, "Arise, you sleeper! Rise up from your coffin. The anointed one will shine his light into you.”

I liked today’s verse because it talks about the light. I love to talk about the light. However, you can’t talk about the light without talking about the darkness as well. This is why I included the first part of this verse. It says, “And don't even associate with the servants of darkness because they have no fruit in them; instead, reveal truth to them. The very things they do in secret are too vile and filthy to even mention.” I like that the verse tells us not to associate with the servants of darkness. We spend too much time associating with the servants of darkness, and I am not talking about people you know who might be doing something you don’t like.

This verse is talking about the evil forces at work in this world. How often do we engage with that voice in our heads that fills us with worry and anxiety? That voice that tells us this bad thing will happen or that bad thing will happen. How often do we listen as the enemy tells us lies about not being worthy enough and the lie that no one likes us? This verse tells us that we should expose the lies and the darkness. This includes the lies the enemy is telling us. These consist of all of our thoughts that are unkind to ourselves. We must bring our thoughts into the light and see if they still hold up.

My favorite line in this verse is, “Whatever the revelation-light exposes, it will also correct, and everything that reveals truth is light to the soul.” Could your soul use a little more light right now? I know mine could. When we hold our thoughts up to God’s light, they don’t hold up. Have you tried bringing your thoughts to the Lord and asking if they are true? The enemy wants us to keep our private thoughts private because he knows we can see how ridiculous they are when exposed to the light.

The enemy tells us we are unworthy, yet when we shine the revelation-light on that lie we know it is not true because Jesus died on the cross to make us worthy. We are worthy, not because of our merit but because of what Christ did for us. The enemy tells us that we are not loved, yet when we hold that up to the light, we know it is not true because God repeatedly proves His love for us in the Bible. Especially in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” And Romans 5:8, "But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.” There is no doubt that God loves us.

In the darkness of our mind, the enemy can get in and tell us the lie that, yes, God loves most of his children, but he does not love you. Your sin is too great. We need to hold this up to the light, and we will see that it is a lie. When we examine this statement in the light of day, we can see it is an absurd thought. If this statement were true, that would mean Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, all he went through, was not enough. Do you really believe that? Do you believe there is anything you could do that is so big that Jesus’s suffering on the cross isn’t enough to cover it?

This is why the enemy whispers this stuff to us in the darkness of our minds and why he makes us too ashamed to voice these thoughts out loud. He makes us feel as though we are all alone, and if we share our thoughts with others, they will make fun of us, yell at us, or whatever it is you think will happen if you share your vulnerable thoughts with others. The enemy knows his lies start to fall apart when you bring them out into the light. This is why he makes us afraid to say them out loud. This is why he whispers them instead of shouting them. He doesn’t want anyone to overhear them and shine light on them.

I think it is essential to focus on the part of the verse that says, “Whatever the revelation-light exposes, it will also correct.” When we bring the enemy’s lies to light, they will be corrected. Once we know the truth, the lie is harder to believe. Once we know the truth, we can ask the Lord for the strength and courage to replace that lie with the truth. We know He will do this because the verse says that whatever the light exposes, it will also correct. Wouldn’t it be great not to have all those lies in your head anymore? What if you just said them out loud and then asked the Lord what truth he would like to replace those lies with? This activity does not take very long, yet the rewards can last a lifetime.

Take a moment, quiet your mind, and ask the Lord, “What lies am I believing right now?” Then, write down all those lies. Then, go through each lie individually, saying, “In the name of Jesus, I renounce the lie that…” Once you have renounced all the lies, take a moment to sit with the Lord again. This time, you will ask him, “Lord, what truths do you want to replace these lies with.” Then, write down whatever comes into your head. Once you have a list, you can go through the truths like you did with the lies. You can say, “In the name of Jesus, I declare the truth that…” and you list each truth individually.

I did this activity with several people, and they each felt more free afterward. The enemy wants you to feel stuck, like you will always feel how you feel right now. You don’t have to feel like this forever. You don’t have to believe the lies forever. If you let the revelation light into your mind and your situation, it will reveal what needs to change and help change it. The Lord is the one who changes our situation, and yet he often requires us to help. How can we let more light into our lives?

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless everyone listening to this episode. Lord, we want to let more light into our lives. Please help us. Help us figure out what lies the enemy is whispering to us, and help us expose those lies to your truth. Help put on our hearts the desire to sit and list our lies for you so that we can renounce them and then ask you to replace them with Your truths. We love you, Lord, you are amazing. You are the king of Kings and the Lord of Lords. You are the almighty one, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name. Amen!

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. Tonight is week #3 of our Grief Series in mentoring. I hope you will click on the link below to learn more about it and join us for tonight’s session. It is on Zoom at 8 P. M. EST. I hope to see you tonight. If not, I look forward to bringing you a new witness tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day, and may the grace and favor of our Lord Jesus Christ be upon you.

Today’s Word from the Lord was received in March 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email [email protected]. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “It is you that I say, share all that I tell you. Share of my love. Share of your time, your joy, and your hope. It's all you share that will also bring these people to my banquet. But you must dare to share, to step out in faith, to proclaim my name to all those you meet. Thank you!”

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God’s Armor (Part 2)

Ephesians 6:17-18 “Embrace the power of salvation’s full deliverance, like a helmet to protect your thoughts from lies. And take the mighty razor-sharp Spirit-Sword of the spoken word of God.  Pray passionately in the Spirit as you constantly intercede with every form of prayer at all times. Pray blessings of God upon all his believers.

Today, we are finishing up the discussion on the armor of God. In case you missed last week’s episode on Thursday, we were told we would be victorious if we put on all the armor God has given us. However, we can’t put something on if we don’t know what it is. So, on Friday and today, I am going over what the armor of God is and how we can put it on so we can be ready for the enemy when he comes. And make no mistake, he is coming.

Today we are discussing three things that I am passionate about. First, we are delving into the profound concept of protecting our thoughts. The reason I am so fervent about this is because I understand its transformative power. It may sound like an exaggeration, but if you can master the art of guarding your thoughts, you can truly change your life. This is not just a claim but a truth I stand by. I wish everyone could grasp the significance of our thoughts. In 2 Corinthians 10:5, Saint Paul says, “ 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.” This verse is a powerful reminder of the control we have over our thoughts, and the potential for transformation it holds.

We have the power to take captive our thoughts. You have the power to take captive your thoughts. The enemy doesn’t want us to know this. He wants us to be a slave to our thoughts. He wants our worry and anxiety, or anger and resentfulness, to get the best of us. He wants us to sit and let those thoughts take over our minds. He wants us to act out of that fear instead of acting out of the truth of who God is and what we know He can do in our lives.

God knows how important our thoughts are, so he tells us to take control of every thought and put on a helmet to protect them. In the verse above, God tells us to “Embrace the power of salvation’s full deliverance.” Deliverance is something I have learned a lot about in the last two years of encounter. Did you that God wants to deliver you from any hold the enemy has over you? Did you know that He has given you this power as well? You do not need someone else to deliver you from the hands of the enemy. You don’t need someone else to deliver you from the worry or anxiety that you have. You don’t need someone else to chase away the demons in your life. God has given you all the power you need to deliver yourself from the enemy.

This is something the enemy is for sure trying to hide from us. He wants us to remain helpless and dependent on him and his lies. He wants us to think there is nothing we can do. He wants us to believe we are just anxious people; it is who we are, and we can do nothing about it. This is a lie straight from hell. God did not create us to be anxious or worried. This is why it tells us over 365 times in the Bible not to be worried and not to be anxious. God created us in His likeness and image, and we have a right to stand by that identity.

What the devil doesn’t want us to know is that we have the power to banish him from our thoughts, and not just our thoughts, but from our lives. The enemy is bound by free will. He needs our permission to be in our lives. Sometimes, we don’t realize all the ways we can give the enemy access to our lives, and yet regardless of what open door he walked through, if we tell him to leave, he has to go. There are no “ifs,” “and,” or “buts” about it. If you tell the enemy to leave, he must leave.

So, what might that look like? It can be as simple as, “In the name of Jesus, I command worry to leave now.” “In the name of Jesus, I command anyone or anything not of God to leave now.” “In the name of Jesus, I command sadness to leave now.” “In the name of Jesus, I command fear to leave now.” Whatever thoughts or feelings are taking over your mind, you can command them to leave, and they must go. Then, you can ask the Lord to replace them with peace, love, or hope. Whatever you need, you can replace the unwanted thoughts with the thoughts you would like to have. I invite you to try this and see how it can change your life. Don’t believe the enemy’s lies that you don’t have control over your thoughts. You are more powerful than you know because you have the Holy Spirit inside you. The enemy knows how powerful you are, and it is time we all start realizing it as well.

Next, the verse tells us, "Take the mighty razor-sharp Spirit-Sword of the spoken word of God.” This is something I talk about a lot. It is so important that we read the world of God. We must not only read it but also study it and know what it says. The enemy is full of half-truths, and he will take the very word of God and try to twist it and use it against us. Or, at least, use it to try and convince us of something that isn’t true. He tried this with Jesus in the desert, and Jesus knew the scripture and put him in his place. We can do the same, but we must be armed with God's Word.

There is so much in sacred scripture. If you haven’t read it before, you might think it is just a book full of rules. Something to tell us what we can and can’t do. However, that is not it at all. The Bible is full of so much. It has love stories; it has mystery and adventure. It does have some rules, but it also has tales of heartache and tales of miraculous things happening. The Bible is full of every kind of story you can think of. You can read the actual words of God and Jesus in the Bible.

If you have tried to read the Bible before and you started at the beginning and you didn’t get too far, you are not alone. This is what trips many people up. May I suggest, if you want to read the bible cover to cover, that you read along with someone, like Father Mike, and his bible in a Year podcast? I suggest that because there are many interesting things at the beginning of the Bible, but you might miss them if you are reading through it on your own. I know that when I read through it with Father Mike, he explained everything, making it much more enjoyable. Even the things I had previously found boring now had more meaning because I knew the significance and why it is in the Bible.

If you would like to begin reading the Bible on your own, may I suggest you begin with the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, or any other New Testament books? The Psalms can be a good place to start as well, especially if you like poetry. It honestly doesn’t matter where you start. What matters is that you start. You could even start by just looking up the verse of the day. I have also seen various scripture-writing plans. This is where you would write one scripture verse in a notebook or journal daily. Often, the scripture writing plans have themes. For instance, in one month, all the verses would be about joy, love, peace, and other topics. I did this for a while, and I really enjoyed it. At the beginning of the month, I just searched for scripture writing plans and then picked the one I liked the best. However you decide to do it, I hope you dive deeper into scripture. You will see a change in you and your life.

The last thing mentioned in the verse is prayer. The verse says, “Pray passionately in the Spirit as you constantly intercede with every form of prayer at all times. Pray blessings of God upon all his believers.” I don’t have time this morning to go over how to pray in the spirit. However, I would like to mention that everyone who wants to pray in the Spirit can pray in the Spirit. It just takes a little practice, which can be challenging, as giving up control of our voice while doing it can be scary. Praying in the Spirit means the Holy Spirit is praying straight from our hearts to the Lord’s heart.

Praying in the Spirit is great because it is a direct conversation with the Lord. It is straight from the heart, so none of our human impure motives get in there. It is the most perfect prayer we can pray. However, it also says in this verse that we should constantly be interceding with every form of prayer at all times. This means we can use our voice; we can pray scripted prayers, we can pray unscripted prayers, we can pray the rosary, we can pray novenas, and we can pray however we like. God wants us to be praying all the time.

This may sound like an overwhelming call as we have to eat, sleep, and care for others. We tend to think that praying unceasingly is for those cloistered nuns and monks who dedicate all day to the Lord. This is not true. The Lord is calling us to pray without ceasing as well. This doesn’t mean we must be in an audible prayer with the Lord 24 hours daily. It means we are called to invite the Lord into every aspect of our day. We can offer each activity we do throughout the day up for the intercession of someone. We can think of people who need prayers as we vacuum the floors, do the dishes, or do the laundry. We can talk to the Lord while driving to and from wherever we go. We can turn our everyday tasks into prayer. I did an audio training on this, including some ways to turn the things you are already doing into prayer. If you would like to hear it, sign up for my newsletter below, and it will be sent automatically to your email.

As you can see by the three pieces of armor we covered today, the Lord is not sending us into battle without the tools we need to win. However, God can give us all we need, and it still won’t help us unless we put on the armor and learn how to use it. When David went into battle against Goliath, he didn’t put on the King’s armor because it was too big, and he didn’t know how to use it. He used what the Lord gave him, and he defeated the enemy. Take time to discover the armor the Lord has given you, and then make sure you wear it into battle. We are all in a battle right now between good and evil, and we will be victorious if we put on all the armor God gave us!

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless everyone listening to this episode. Lord, help us put on your armor. Help us to gain a greater understanding of what each piece of armor is and how it can help us protect ourselves against the enemy. Help us take captive our thoughts, Lord. The enemy has been in control of them for far too long. Help us to intercede for others more. Help us to understand what that means. Help us to pray unceasingly. Help us hear that as a call from you and not as a judgment that we aren’t doing enough. We love you so much, Lord. You are King of Kings and Lord of Lords. You are the almighty one, and we will be forever grateful to you. We love you, and we ask all of this in accordance with your word and Jesus’s holy name, Amen!

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. If you are enjoying this podcast and think you want more, I invite you to join me for mentoring on Tuesday nights on Zoom at 8:00 PM Eastern time. This month’s mentoring series is all about Grief. If you would like more info, you can click on the link below.

I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I. Have a blessed day, and may the grace and favor of our Lord Jesus Christ be upon you!

Today’s Word from the Lord was received in March 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting please email [email protected]. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “Come, my children, and prepare for the banquet that I have prepared. I have prepared it especially for each one of you. But before you come, you must make me known to each person that you meet. ”

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