Walk Boldly With Jesus

I want to begin today’s episode by thanking everyone who had done a Witness Wednesday for me and shared their story. Today is the 100th Wednesday since I started doing Witness Wednesdays, and it wouldn’t be possible without people being willing to share their stories. So, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I truly feel testimonies really do help people open their hearts to God, and then He comes in and changes hearts! Today I am sharing more witnesses from the popwe.org website. I love that Matthew West and his dad have this website where we can go and read all these testimonies of how God has changed people’s lives! Today, I chose to do healing testimonies because Encounter School of Ministry Boston Campus is doing a healing Service at St. Margaret’s Church in Burlington, MA, at 6:30. So I thought healing testimonies would be good for today. There are five different testimonies, and although they all have to do with someone being healed, they are not all the same. I hope as you listen to more and more testimonies, it will build your faith as to what God can do in your life too. He can heal your loved ones. He can bring your loved ones back to the church. He can take away that illness, that disorder, that anxiety, that alcoholism. Whatever it is, God can help. Bring it to Him and believe He can help. I hope you enjoy the testimonies this morning and if you get a chance, go on the popwe.org sight and read some of the testimonies. Share some on your social media pages so we can build other people’s faith too. God is doing so many good things, and people are not hearing about them.

GOD OF THE IMPOSSIBLE:  When I was a baby, I was diagnosed with RSV. If you are unfamiliar with this disease, it is a cold for adults but can result in a baby’s death. After spending a long time on a ventilator in the hospital, the doctors said that there was no hope. They said I wasn’t supposed to live. They said I wasn’t supposed to breathe. They said I wasn’t supposed to walk. Well, guess what? Seventeen years later, I’m a living, breathing, walking miracle redeemed by His love, power, and grace! In the words of Matthew, “We serve a God who turns impossible into living, breathing, walking miracles!”

IMPERFECTNESS:  Hi! I am a 15 year old (almost 16). I was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder when I was in 7th grade. Since then, I have had so many breakdowns and freak-out moments when I spiral and get into my own head and can’t get out. I have obsessive thoughts. I finally got out of counseling, and after much hard work, I have been able to shut off my thoughts. And that makes me very happy. I finally feel like I have some level of control over my life and my feelings.

Trusting God and learning about Him always makes me feel better. I turn to him in hard times and pray. He hears me and comes to help me. I listen to Matthew West's songs daily. Me and my twin brothers are big fans. We LOVE his songs, and as someone who wears her emotions on her sleeves, I really feel everything. From his song “Imperfections” to the first Matthew West song I ever heard, which was “Truth Be Told.” At the time, I was going through having obsessive thoughts and breakdowns and a lot of self-doubt. His music really helped. I’m a much healthier and kinder person to myself and others all thanks to fellowship and God and Matthew’s music. And I am always gonna be thankful for music and God.

KORINA: My life is one that I am truly grateful for. God, I know He has brought me through many turbulent times, and He has never failed me. I came from an abusive background as a child. I dealt with mental, physical, and sexual abuse. I made it through those years. I married and had my first child at 18. My son suffered a brain injury at birth. I did my best to raise him with little help.

I had another child at 21, and life just moved along. When I was 25, I had a lump in my neck that kept growing. I went in to have surgery to have my thyroid removed. They thought I had a goiter. Turns out I had a malignant tumor. Further tests showed that it was Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Cancer! I had little support from my husband through my treatments. Other families tried to help when they could. After many surgeries and treatments, I was cancer-free.

I then divorced my husband and started over with my children. I met someone a few years later and had another baby. A girl that the doctors said I would not be able to have after my treatments. But God said, “Yes, you can!” Life moved on. Cancer struck again. I was 45 and was diagnosed with Nodular Malignant Melanoma. I was devastated. “Not again!” I screamed, I yelled, and I had a pity party for myself. I told God I couldn’t do this again. I had already been through enough! I couldn’t do treatments again. I then wiped my tears and moved on. The surgery was all I needed for this cancer. It hadn’t spread! Thank you, God. Today I am grateful for my life. My first cancer was found early enough for survival. It’s been 30 years now! I’m a grandma to 2 wonderful grandchildren. My 3 children are doing well. GOD is my rock. He never fails me. He has always shown me how to find the light in my darkest hours!

Heather: My husband John was in a car accident when he was 4 years old. He died three times on the way to the hospital and was revived. He was placed in a medically induced coma and was told he wouldn’t be able to walk again or live a normal life. He had a severe brain injury.

Today he is 31, walking and living a normal life. He was told he would have to graduate with a special education diploma, but he was able to get his regular high school diploma. He rides dirt bikes, drives semi trucks and we even have a new baby together. He beat all of the odds of the doctors, and we know it was only by God that he is completely fine today.

Jeffry:  My name is Jeffry, and my story started 15 years ago. I was in my 12th recovery in-patient 30-day stay for depression and cutting myself. I hated my life as a drunk, but while I was drinking for years, I also would stay sober on my own for a year or 2, and I would run a marathon or 2. I have run 8 marathons, including Boston, 2 times (the 98th and the 100th).

So, I was in my 12th in-patient treatment center, and this lady that I didn’t know (I call her my guardian angel) gave me a church flyer for Kensington Church. I went the first Sunday, and in a one-hour service, God took away my complete desire to drink alcohol.  On August 10, 2023, I will celebrate 15 years of complete sobriety from anything not prescribed by my doctor.  Plus, I still volunteer at Kensington as a greeter, and I also volunteer as a coffee maker and other jobs at Celebrate Recovery. I also volunteer for contemporary Christian concerts; I have done 9 already this year, including Matthew West in Zeeland, MI. I love Jesus, and He is the head of my life today.

Thank you so much to Korina, Heather, Jeffry, and the first two people who shared their testimonies. I don’t know if you will ever hear this episode, but I hope you know how much your story and your testimony will help others deepen their faith enough to believe that God can help them, too. Your testimonies will give them hope that God can do for them what He did for you or for your loved ones. It isn’t easy to be vulnerable and share your personal stories with the entire world on the internet. Yet you were brave and did it anyway so that your story could help someone else. Thank you!

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Can We Control Our Tongue?

1 Peter 3:10-12 “He that would love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile; let him turn away from evil and do right; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those that do evil.”

I feel like today’s verse is a good lesson for everyone. Yesterday I was talking to a friend who is not really sure what she believes about faith. She has had a pretty traumatic history with faith, and so she is just finding her way back. Anyway, she asked what verse I was using yesterday for my podcast, and when I shared it with her, she said, “The Bible really does have some pretty good life lessons in it.” I thought this was funny because it is so true and yet I don’t think most of us think, “I should check what that Bible says about that,” when we are trying to decide what to do. There is so much wisdom and practical knowledge in the Bible.

Today’s verse is good because who wouldn’t want to love life and see good days? I think we can all agree those would be good things. So, let’s see what Peter has to say about how we can love life and see good days. First, he says to keep our tongues from evil and our lips from speaking guile—man, that right there. If we could just do that, I think all of our lives would be improved greatly. I wish my kids could hear this. I wish they could see how much better their lives could be if they talked better in general but also if they didn’t talk about others. They think that they are just venting about other people, but it puts them in a bad mood and affects their lives, too.

When we take the time to speak evil about people, then that puts our mind on evil. If we are constantly judging others, then that is where our mind will go to first. If we are constantly saying bad things about others, then those bad things are where our mind is going to focus. Soon, all you start to see is the bad in everyone around you. Imagine if we could control what we say. Proverbs 18:21a says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” Did you know your words were that important? Our words affect people far longer than we think they will. Do you remember that old saying we heard when we were growing up, “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” It is so misleading. Sometimes names can hurt more than any stick or stone could. If we are hit with a stick or stone, the wound will heal. Sometimes the wounds from things said to us when we are young never heal.

Our words have the power to change someone’s life. I still remember that my 8th-grade teacher told my mom I should be a lawyer because when doing a group project, I had a way of getting people to do what I wanted and making them think it was their idea. I still remember every teacher that was kind and built me up. I still remember some very unkind things that kids said to me when I was younger. If you believe in someone and you tell them how great they are, they will rise to the occasion. Likewise, if you don’t believe in them and you tear them down with your words or even your actions, they will live down to those expectations too.

We have to do better in this area. We have to stop and think before we say things. We, as a whole society, have to do better about what we are saying to people and how we are treating them. We will not change society with our words. The way that we have an impact on society is by living our life in a way that those around us notice the change and the grace God gives us for changing, and they decide they want that too. We need to lead by example, and we need to lead with love first and everything else second. If you take anything from this episode today, I hope it is that our words are so important, and we need to really think about what we are going to say and how it will affect the other person.

Next, it says, “Let him turn away from evil and do right; let him seek peace and pursue it.” We can probably all say that we know if we want to love life, we should turn from evil and do the right thing. However, in this world, it can be hard to know what the right thing is. Also, the world makes is seem like it is so great to do the wrong thing. If we listen to the world, all we hear is that if we want to love life, we need to do what we want to do. We need to do what makes us happy. We don’t need to be concerned about others; we just need to be concerned with our own happiness. It’s ok to have an affair if that is what makes you happy. It is ok to leave your family to pursue your dreams. The world is contrary to so many things the Lord is calling us to.

We need to turn away from evil and do what is right. If we aren’t sure what this is, we need to pray about it. We can ask the Lord to show us if there is any evil in our lives, and then we can work to change it. We can ask the Lord what he wants us to do to replace the evil in our lives. The second half of that line said we should seek peace and pursue it. How many of us would love more peace in our lives? How would you like your house to be filled with peace? Did you know you have the power to impart peace to others? Well, it’s not your power but the power of the Holy Spirit living inside you. You can pass peace onto others. You can walk into a house or even into a situation and ask the Lord to bring peace. You can ask the Holy Spirit to impart peace into that situation, or that home, or into that workplace. When Jesus sent the apostles out to go on a mission, He told them in Luke 10:5, “Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’” You can do the same.

The last part of this verse says, “For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those that do evil.” That right there is enough for many of us to hear and want to change our ways. Do we want the Lord’s face to be turned away from us? Or do we want His eyes upon us and His ears open to our prayers? I bet we all know plenty of people who are sick. It seems like everyone is sick these days. I am constantly getting prayer requests from loved ones who are not doing so well or who have loved ones who are really struggling. I don’t know about you, but I can’t afford to have the Lord’s face turned against me right now. I need Him to hear my prayers. I need His eyes to be upon me so He can see how much I need Him. Therefore, I will do my best to be righteous and to turn away from evil and turn towards God. How about you?

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless each person listening to this episode today. Lord, you are the almighty one, and we need you. We want you to hear our prayers, and we want you not to turn your face against us. Lord, if there is any evil in our life, please help us change that. Please help us control our tongues so we are not hurting other people and so we are not spreading more evil around the world. Help us to really understand how much our words matter. 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. The theme or mentoring tonight is The Power of Praying without Ceasing and how that is even possible. If you want to join me on Zoom for mentoring tonight, you can sign up on my website, walkboldlywithjesus.com, or CLICK HERE. Or, you can reach out on social media.I look forward to bringing you a witness tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!

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Don’t Be Bossy!

1 Peter 5:1-5 “To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.  And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. In the same way, you who are younger submit yourselves to your elders. All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another because “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”

Most of us have people under our care, whether our children, grandchildren, brothers and sisters, moms and dads, friends, or family. We also have people who aren’t necessarily defined as those under our care, but they do fall within our circle of influence. The way Encounter Ministries has described it is that your circle of influence includes those people around you that you interact with on a somewhat regular basis. Those who look to you for direction. Those who, when they see how you are living, might want to make some changes in their own life as well. These verses give us some instruction on how we are to behave with those under our care or in our circle of influence.

The first thing it says is to watch over them not because we have to but because we want to. This can be hard sometimes if you have a loved one under your care that is difficult. It might not even be their fault that they are difficult. Maybe you are caring for an elderly parent they have dementia, and they are difficult, but it is not their fault. They don’t understand what is going on, and they don’t have the mental capacity to remember what you are saying. When this is the case, sometimes it can be hard to want to care for this person. Not because you don’t love them but because it is hard to see your loved ones in that state. You would rather remember them how they were before they got sick.

It can also be hard when you are a new mom and you have a baby that cries all the time. You love that baby with your whole heart, but sometimes you are caring for that baby because you have to, not because you want to. What you really want to do is get some sleep. This is similar to the last scenario because, in both cases, the person you are caring for didn’t really have a choice. They weren’t trying to be difficult, and yet they were still difficult. God is asking us for a perspective switch when this happens. He is asking us to change our mindset, so instead of thinking that we have to take care of our loved ones, think of it as we get to take care of them. As difficult as it is to take care of them, we will miss it when they are no longer here with us.

Peter reminds us in this letter that we are not to take care of people for false reasons. For instance, we shouldn’t take care of our parents or our loved ones because we expect something in return.  It also says we shouldn’t lord it over them, either. The message translations of this verse say, “Not bossily telling others what to do, but tenderly showing them the way.” I like that translation for two reasons. The first one is that it reminds us to be tender when we are caring for our loved ones. This can be especially important if we are dealing with our parents.

Our parents raised us, and they are used to being the ones to tell us what to do and doing everything for us. Then, as time goes by and they get older, they need to ask us to do things, or we may know how things work better. However, if we are bossy and tell them what they need to do, that doesn’t go over very well, and that doesn’t make them feel very good about themselves or about us. We need to be tender with them and not bossy.

The second reason I like that translation is that it reminds us to show them the way. Actually, the translation above is good for this reason too. It says to be an example. If we live our lives in a completely different manner than what we are saying to others, we wouldn’t be a very good example. It wouldn’t make sense to tell our children they are not allowed to do something and they we do it. It wouldn’t be good to tell our children to be kind to everyone they meet and then yell at the guy who cut us off in traffic and be rude to the person in the parking lot. Our words are important, but our actions are even more important.

The verses go on to say, “And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.” All of the things I said are good reminders and yet can be very hard. However, when we get to this line, I think it makes all that hard work worth it. Can you even imagine a crown of glory that never fades away? God never promised us that life in this world would be easy. He did promise us we wouldn’t ever be alone in it, though. When things get really difficult, we can lean into Him, and He will help us and support us. He will lift us up when we think we can’t make it any further. I heard the song “Strong” the other day by Anne Wilson. Two lines of the song have stuck in my head. “Lord knows I’ve tried, but I’m good at falling down. Thank God you’re good at picking me up off the ground.” God is good at picking you up off the ground too. Just ask Him!

The verses also remind those who are younger that they should submit themselves to their elders. Then I love this next part. All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another because “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Humility is the key to all we do. If we are doing it with a humble heart, we will be doing it for the right reasons, and we will get it right. If we are doing it with a heart full of pride, it will be for all the wrong reasons, and we will get it wrong. God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble. This will go easier if you are a humble servant because God’s favor will be upon you. I feel like someone listening is really struggling with taking care of a parent whose health is declining, and I feel God wants you to know that you are doing a great job. Whether you are near or far, you are doing what you can. Just the fact that you are worried if you are doing enough shows how much you care.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, help us to be a faithful, humble servant. Help us to take care of those in our care with gentleness. Help us to be tender examples and not be bossy or to lord our control over their hearts. Lord, help us serve for the right reasons. Purify us of any wrong reasons, Lord. We love you, and we want to do what is right in your eyes. Please help us! We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen!

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. In my quest to help you walk more boldly with Jesus, I have started sending out a daily email that contains the words of prophecy that I put at the end of each episode. My goal for sharing the words of prophecy that the Lord is sharing with my praying group in Chelmsford is that the more you hear how the Lord is speaking to us, the more you will not only begin to recognize the Lord’s voice in your own life but also learn to recognize when it is not the Lord’s voice. If you would like to receive this daily email, you can Click Here or in the comments section, or you can email me at [email protected]. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Have a blessed day!

Today’s Word from the Lord is, “I watch over you. I protect you. I walk with you. I talk with you. You are my children, and I love you.”

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In Old Age They Still Produce Fruit

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure  because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.”

Today’s prayer point for the healing service is prayer for our old and retired priests. While reading the passages, I got to thinking about all those I know who are getting older. My parents are getting older. They are in their 80’s, although if you looked at them, you would never guess that. They still go out dancing several nights a week; they are on the board of the square dancing group, and they do so much in church and out of the church. They have a busier schedule than most of their kids, who aren’t really kids anymore. I get the pleasure of being around the ladies in prayer group weekly, or sometimes many times a week, and many of them are getting older, too. Well, I guess we are all getting older. Many of them are feeling it more and more.

There were a couple of verses that I really liked this morning—the one above stuck out the most. I hear a lot of older people losing heart because their bodies can’t do what they used to be able to do. They are tired more easily, and they might even need to take naps. They used to be able to get up and go first thing in the morning. Now, even though they can’t sleep that well and are probably awake early, they can’t get moving and get out of the house too early. I liked this verse because it reminds us all that no matter what is going on with our bodies on the outside, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. It also says this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure.

Can you imagine that? An eternal weight of glory beyond all measure. There is no way to measure how much glory we will encounter if you think of your best day or if you think of your favorite thing. If you think of the prettiest thing you can think of or the most expensive thing you can think of, the glory of heaven is even greater than that. Tony and I are watching a show called Billions. The eternal weight of glory is greater than billions and billions of dollars and all that money can buy you. The verse says the weight of glory is beyond all measure.

I know that might not make you feel better about your aches and pains. You may be going through some really difficult medical stuff right now, and it is hard to think about eternal glory. It might be hard to hear the part of the verse above where it says, “slight momentary affliction,” when it feels like you have been sick forever. Or maybe you aren’t sick, but you can’t walk the way you used to, or you can’t get around the way you used to. I am sure it is hard to wake up one day and not be able to do something you could do the day before. I don’t know if this verse brings you any comfort or not, but I thought it was a great reminder that no matter how much our human body fails us, God is renewing our inner nature every day.

Another verse that I thought might be helpful to hear is Psalm 92:12-15 “The righteous flourish like the palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. In old age, they still produce fruit; they are always green and full of sap, showing that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.” I know some of the ladies question what they can still do for the community. The prayer group I am blessed to be a part of has been around for over 50 years. Many of them joined when they were young and they did all the things they could do. They led the prayer group; they were on all the different teams, they went to conferences, and they did it all. Now, it is hard to do any of it, and they feel bad they can’t do more. I wonder if you are feeling this way too. Your heart wants to help more, but your body won’t cooperate.

If this is you, I want you to really hear what Psalm 92:14 says, “They will still bear fruit in old age; they will stay fresh and green.” You will still bear fruit. Your prayers bear fruit; your efforts bear fruit, and you are still bearing fruit after all these years. We often say, I guess all I can do is pray as if prayer wasn’t the most powerful thing we can do. Prayer is more powerful than anything action we can do on our own. Mahatma Gandhi said, "Prayer is not an old woman's amusement. Properly understood and applied, it is the most potent instrument of action.” It is ok that you can not do all the things you once did. It is ok that you can’t go to all the things you once went to. It is not the time for that. You have moved on to a new stage. Not a better or worse stage, just a different stage. It is ok that you need to take naps. If we are all being honest with ourselves, we would all like to take naps. We don’t judge kids for taking naps. Why are we judging our parents, spouses, and friends?

Yes, your body is getting older, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t do anything. Yes, your body is getting older, but your inner spirit is getting renewed daily. Don’t waste that. The Bible tells us that we are still fruitful when we are older, so what are we doing with this fruit? I want to leave you with Psalm 73:26 today, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode. Lord, we pray in a special way today for the elderly and for all retired priests and ministers. Lord, we pray you are walking with all who are feeling their age, whether that is young or old. Lord, teach us to appreciate each season we are in. Teach us to be patient with ourselves and to be patient with you. Your ways are not our ways, and your thoughts are not our thoughts, and that can be really hard for us. We love you, Lord, and we want to want what you want; it can just be really hard for us to do that. Although we know we can do all things through Christ, who strengthens us, so we will keep trying. Lord, help us have an incredible Lenten season. We love you 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 have been thinking about sending the word from the Lord out daily in an email. If you would be interested in having a daily Word from the Lord coming to your inbox, let me know. We all get a lot of emails, but it is often nothing we really want. I don’t want to be adding to your cluttered mailboxes if you are not interested. I look forward to hearing from you. You can email [email protected] or you can go to my website and click on the contact me tab, or you can click on the link in the show notes. I will also make a post on my Facebook account today. I look forward to seeing you here again on Monday. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed weekend! I get to spend the night with my niece tonight, so I know mine will be blessed.

Today’s Word from the Lord is in the form of an image one of our members had. “I could see many people were hesitating, and I could see his hand moving to tell them to come. I got the feeling that the Lord wants to use many people, and he will give them all the necessary gifts for whatever He asks. But people are still hesitant, so I could see both His hands telling them to come, and He was looking deeply and trying to convince them that this was the thing to do, and those who did not answer, I could see how sad that He was.”

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We Have Been Set Free

1 Corinthians 6:12 “ All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are beneficial. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.”

The prayer point for the healing service team today is to free the captives. This instantly made me think of my friend who I am praying for this week. I have asked those I know to give me a Bible verse, and I will assign a different verse to each week of the year. Then I will pray for that person during the week I have assigned their verse.

This week, I am praying for my friend, and instead of praying for herself, she has asked for prayers for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and for food and medical aid to reach the sick and injured. When I read free the Captives this morning, I thought of all of those who were captured in the Gaza Strip many months ago. Then, when I started reading the scripture verses we were given, I realized there are many ways that we can be held captive. Some of us are physically held captive, like those in war-torn countries, those who were abducted and forced into human trafficking of all kinds. There are also many of us who are held captive by our own beliefs, addictions, or wants and desires.  

This morning, while I was reading over the various verses, I asked the Lord to highlight the one he wanted me to talk about. I asked Him to make it clear to me. He actually highlighted two verses. The first one that jumped out was the verse above. 1 Corinthians 6:12 says, “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are beneficial. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.” I thought this was particularly fitting for today since yesterday was Ash Wednesday, and so Lent has just begun. Lent can be a difficult time of year because it is a time of sacrifice. It can also be a sad time of year as we remember all Christ went through to save us from our sins, to save us from ourselves.

Lent is also a great time of year to show ourselves that we don’t have to be controlled by our wants and our desires. We get the chance to show God that although we love chocolate, wine, alcohol, beer, swearing, desserts, TV, or whatever else we decide to give up, we don’t let them as much as we love HIm. We get to show ourselves that it is ok to deny ourselves something we want and that when we do we will be even more stronger for it. I have a friend named Sarah Jane. I remember she came over to my house one time, and I asked if she wanted a brownie. She said she gave up chocolate for the month. It wasn’t lent so I asked her why she gave it up. She said each month, she gives something up for the month to show herself she can and so that she does not get too attached to anything.

This is an awesome idea. I actually did this for a few months last year, but I don’t think I made it past May. I do think it is important that we know that just because we can do something doesn’t mean we should do it. It also doesn’t mean it is good for us. If we want to be holy, we must go beyond the letter of the law. This is what the Sadducees and Pharisees were doing. They were following the letter of the law but not the spirit of the law. They were so focused on doing things perfectly that they lost all sight of what God was really about. They forgot about the love God had for His people. They forgot about His mercy. They got caught up in all the laws and the rules and somehow got lost.

What I felt the Lord wanted me to remind you of today is that you do not have to become slaves to things of this world. The second scripture He highlighted to me is Galatians 5:1, which says, “For freedom, Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” This shows us that we have a choice. Before Jesus came to save us, we had less of a choice. Before Jesus came, we had the laws to tell us what we should do, but we didn’t have the Holy Spirit inside of us to give us the strength to resist the things that were not good for us. Then Jesus came, and He died on the cross to set us free from sin. Then He went to be with His Father, and they sent the Holy Spirit to be with us so we would no longer be left on our own. Because of this, we no longer have to accept the yoke of slavery. Because of this, we have been set free.

However, this does not mean that we are all free. We must make a choice to be free. We have to decide that our freedom in Christ is worth more than that cookie, that drink, that drug, that extramarital affair. Christ died so we could be free, but we still have to choose to be free. God has given us free will and He won’t force us to follow Him or to love Him. He won’t force us to choose Him. We have to do that on our own.  Well, not really on our own because He gave us the power of the Holy Spirit living inside of us. We can rely on that power. We do need to make the choice, but then we can rely on the Holy Spirit to help us keep that freedom. We can rely on the Holy Spirit to help us stay on the path we want to be on.

When we feel like we want to be free of something and yet we don’t think we can, we can’t see a way to give it up. We can call on the Holy Spirit. We can ask the Holy Spirit to take away the desire for this thing. We can ask the Holy Spirit to come and give us strength. We can say, “Come, Holy Spirit, come.” The enemy wants us to think we don’t have a choice. He wants us to think we can’t do the hard thing. We can’t give up drinking. We can’t give up the drugs, the affairs, the food. The devil is a liar. Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” It doesn’t say some things, and it says all things. You can do all things because you have the mighty power of Jesus living inside of you. All you have to do is call upon that power.

So, this Lenten season, let’s remember that we are no longer slaves to our desires. Whatever you gave up for lent, it may seem like it is going to be a long 40 days. You might be thinking about it and thinking there is no way you make it 40 days without that thing. If so, remember that you are not dominated by anything. You are a free son or daughter of Christ and of the one true God. You can do anything with Christ! You have been set free!

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, you are truly amazing. We are so grateful you sent your son to set us free. We owe you a debt we could never pay, so we offer you these 40 days as a small token of our love for you. Please help us through these next 40 days. We ask that you help us every day. Lord, remind us when we forget that nothing will dominate us. Remind us when we forget that we do not have to accept the yoke of slavery. Remind us of your love and mercy each time we forget. We love you so much, 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 seeing you again tomorrow. If you are interested in receiving my monthly newsletter so you can be the first to know what is going on or when I am planning an event, please CLICK HERE or go to my website, walkboldlywithjesus.com. I will be sending out a newsletter in the next day or two, and it will have a link to watch the retreat I just did last Saturday on Zoom. I did a talk on God’s reckless love for us and I did a talk on God’s unfailing, never-ending forgiveness. I hope you check them both out! Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!

Today’s Word from the Lord is, “Be not afraid to say yes to the Lord. When the Lord calls, He equips. He will give you everything necessary to fulfill what He asks of you. Be bold. Do not fear to answer the Lord. He loves you, and He will take care of you. You are His children, and He is your God, so go in boldness and answer the Lord's call.”

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Website where I found these witnesses: https://popwe.org/category/addiction-deliverance/

Katie: So it’s Sobriety Awareness Month, and I feel led to share a testimony. My drug of choice was methadone. I thought it was okay because it was prescribed. I got on it to get off opioids but ended up being on it for almost 6 years. So me, and my mother were in addiction together. A very toxic relationship. When the methadone got too expensive, she turned me to meth. I lost everything within two months…

On December 31, 2020, me and my mom were going through withdrawals pretty bad so she begged me to find something. I ended up getting some and split it with her and the last words I remember her saying was, “if this doesn’t help I’m going to sleep.” Two days later, I called 911 and they rushed her to the hospital and I had to make the hardest decision I ever made. I called and told my sister about my addiction and begged her to take my daughter so she would be happy and safe and I could get help. The hardest thing in my life was watching my baby girl get in that car with all her toys and clothes and drive away.

Fast forward to January 4, 2021. I was put in St. Bernard’s Behavioral Health and found out over the phone that my mom was on life support and wasn’t gonna make it. I would have to sign to remove care. The dope had cut the oxygen off to her brain. I was taken to see her. She had wires in her head, her hand was cold and stiff, her feet were purple and molded. I couldn’t stay 15 minutes with her. As soon as I got back to SBBH, they faxed me a paper to sign and on January 6, 2021 they removed care. She took one breath and died. Two days later I went to Restoration House Ministries and not only got sober but encountered God and I’ve never been the same. September 17th I’ll be 17 months clean from the bondage I thought I could never escape. This is so hard for me to share but I pray it opens someone’s eyes. I handed my mom her death sentence just for one more high. It ain’t worth it. The guilt, shame, self hatred you feel ain’t worth it. We do recover and it’s through Jesus.

“We do recover and it's through Jesus.”

Christopher:  I was blessed to see you in Beaumont, Texas recently. I live in a town called Lumberton and my youngest daughter was my plus one that night. We got to be part of the blue couch and the meet and greet. The thing is, it never should have happened because I honestly shouldn’t be alive today.

For 37 years, I had a severe alcohol problem. I was drinking no less than 2 fifths of vodka a day. I sit here and cry because I can’t remember most of the childhood days of my kids. I have 3 daughters and one son that are all grown today. I got to the point that I could drink what is called Everclear (95% alcohol) straight from the bottle. Only by God’s grace I don’t have any issues or side effects today.

The day He turned me around, I had flown into New Orleans, Louisiana for work and landed around 11:00 AM. I bought a bottle of vodka in the airport and finished it before I had walked the 200 feet to the rental car location. At the rental car outlet they told me all they had left for me was a Dodge Challenger called a Hellcat, so I took it. Now here I am in a ridiculously fast car, drunk, and headed for a bad day. I was on the interstate and decided to see how fast this car was. I was driving in excess of 140 MPH and I lost control of the car. It went into a spin. After it came to a stop, I crawled out of the car without a scratch and a voice in my head said, “how much more proof do you need that I have plans for you?”

After that I called my wife and poured everything out to her. I was an alcoholic when we got married, so my wife and kids had never seen me sober.
Now, today (4 years later) I have 3 beautiful daughters, 2 grandchildren and a son who is an amazing man and a decorated US Marine. I am an ordained minister and I love nothing more than talking to people about my life. If God could take a wasted case like me and do what He has done, there is nothing we can’t overcome with Him.

At your recent concert in Beaumont, Texas during the blue couch session I asked you to sing “Broken Things” and you did. You have no idea what that meant to me and my daughter that night. So much of your music centers around how God takes the broken and makes something amazing and you are such an inspiration to me.
Sure, I have tough days and it would be so easy to slip back into those old ways, but then I remember my God uses broken things!

“God takes the broken and makes something amazing.”

Adrienne:  In 2014, I began praying to God to remove these addictions from me. My life was a mess and all I cared about was my cigarettes and alcohol. God led me to the right resources, and I did manage to quit smoking and drinking (although not at the same time and I experienced some slips.)

In 2018, with the help of God and a stop smoking community, I gave up cigarettes for good. Then on June 23rd, 2020, God helped me once again and both my husband and I stopped drinking. The freedom and joy I feel from having both of these substances out of my life is amazing and like nothing I’ve ever known. The “buzz” I get now from a life well lived is so much better than any buzz I received from cigarettes or alcohol.
I am so incredibly grateful to be free of those chains. If you are struggling with overcoming an addiction, my advice to you is don’t give up on yourself and trust God. You may not break free immediately but with patience, perseverance and the love and help of our Savior, you can overcome even the toughest addiction.

With God, ALL things are possible!

Cindy:  I was molested as a young child. My way of coping was to self harm, which became an addiction for me. If I was stressed, anxious, sad, or mad I would hurt myself. The self harming behaviors escalated to cutting and burning myself. It was something I could control. I decided how often I cut, how deep the cut would be, and how many marks I would make. I believed that my control was stolen from me as a child and this was my way of taking control back. What I needed was to give that control over to God.

In 2012, I finally gave God control and surrendered my addiction to Him. I had given my life to Christ as a child, but I finally realized He never intended for me to carry that load all by myself. He didn’t need my scars, I needed His.

I am so thankful that God placed people in my life who supported me through that difficult time period of healing, but mental illness is still somewhat of a taboo subject. We aren’t supposed to show signs of weakness. I’m here today to share His-story for me. I am only here because of God’s mercy and grace. I tried multiple times to end my life, but today I try to offer hope to those who are struggling with self harm, depression, and mental illness.
I want to share how great our God is. He can take a misfit like me and use my story to show He can take a mess and turn it into a message. My story isn’t over, it’s only the beginning.

“He can take a mess and turn it into a message.”

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God Is Our Refuge

Psalm 46:1-3 “God, you’re such a safe and powerful place to find refuge! You’re a proven help in times of trouble— more than enough and always available whenever I need you. So we will never fear even if every structure of support were to crumble away. We will not fear even when the earth quakes and shakes, moving mountains and casting them into the sea. For the raging roar of stormy winds and crashing waves cannot erode our faith in you. Pause in his presence.”

Today we are praying for those with mental health challenges. This covers a wide range of things. It seems mental health challenges are everywhere these days. The world can be a pretty scary place at times. However, in these last few years, I would say it has gotten particularly scary. Most people were pretty anxious during the 2020 pandemic. Everything was so uncertain, and the news was not very helpful. I am not generally an anxious person. However, when I would watch the news during the first few months of the pandemic I could definitely see why so many people were so anxious. I do believe the news was at one time meant to inform the citizens of what was going on in the world. Now, it seems like its sole purpose is to appeal to people’s emotions in whatever way necessary. How else do you explain two competing news channels giving the complete opposite news?

The key to us staying sane in this crazy world is to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. Whenever I see that, I am reminded of the scene in Matthew 14:22-33, which was depicted in the series The Chosen, where Peter steps out of the boat to walk on the water to Jesus. Peter is doing great and actually walking on the water while he is looking right at Jesus. However, as soon as he turns away, as soon as He looks at all the chaos around him, he starts to sink, and Jesus reaches out and saves him. It is when we take our eyes off Jesus that things start to go awry.

The first line of the verse states, “God, you’re such a safe and powerful place to find refuge!” God is our refuge. We can always turn to Him, no matter what we are going through. Even if it is something you think He would be disappointed in you for doing. Turn to Him. It says in the Bible that God will rejoice more in heaven over the one sinner who repents than the 99 righteous who don’t need to repent. We will worry less when we realize that we don’t have to be perfect to go to God. We can go to Him always, no matter what we have done.

Thinking we have to be perfect to come to God is something the enemy wants you to think. He wants you to think you aren’t good enough to talk to God because He knows how powerful you will be when you turn to God and allow Him to help you. Jesus didn’t wait for us to stop sinning and be perfect to die on the cross for us. He died on a cross for us while we were still sinners. No matter what you are feeling or thinking, you can bring it to God. He is our refuge. There will never be a time here on earth where you can go to the Father and ask Him for help. He loves when His children come to Him and ask for help.

The next line says, “You’re a proven help in times of trouble— more than enough and always available whenever I need you.” This reaffirms what I just said, God is available whenever you need Him. It also says you are a proven help in times of trouble. If you look back over your life, I bet you will be able to see this statement is true. Can you look back over your life and see all the ways God has helped in the past? Can you see that He has proven time and time again that He is a great help in times of trouble? When you call upon Him, He will be there.

I like how the verse specifies that God is more than enough. Sometimes I think we forget this. We don’t bring things to Him because we think they are either too big, and we can’t see how he would make it happen, or they are too small, and we don’t want to bother Him with it. Neither of these is true. Nothing is too big or too small for God. God wants us to bring everything to Him. He can make a way where there is no way. He is the God of the impossible. He also cares about all the little details of your life, so nothing is too small for Him.

The verse goes on to say, “So we will never fear even if every structure of support were to crumble away. We will not fear even when the earth quakes and shakes, moving mountains and casting them into the sea. For the raging roar of stormy winds and crashing waves cannot erode our faith in you.” This shows how deep our trust can go when we have our eyes fixed on Jesus. When it feels like every structure of support is falling away, keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, and he will be your refuge. When it feels like you are in the storm of a lifetime, keep your eyes fixed on Jesus.

It occurred to me that saying to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus might not be that helpful. What does that even mean? To me that means keep looking to Him for help. When you are feeling lost, read the Bible. Ask the Lord a question, and then you can open the Bible and read whatever you find. Another way would be to sit and talk with God. You can even yell and scream if you want to. I think sometimes we think we have to always be on our best behavior with God. We don’t. He can handle our anger and our yelling. He knows what we are going through. He knows what we are thinking even before we say it. Although I think He likes it when we say it because we are being honest with Him and trusting Him with what we are feeling.

Jesus got angry when He was in the temple, and they were using it to sell stuff and other things. He got angry, flipped over tables, and yelled at them. He wasn’t yelling at God, but I think God understands when we need to let off some steam. Isn’t yelling at God better than yelling at family or friends? At least we know God can handle it. Another great thing to do when all seems like it is falling apart is to listen to praise and worship music. There are so many songs out there reminding us of all that God does for us. There are so many people who have seen God turn things around, and they have written great songs about it to encourage us and remind us that God will be there for us, too. If He was there for them, He will be there for you!

The very last thing this verse says is, “Pause in his presence.” This is so important, especially in a hard time. Sometimes we just need to pause in his presence. In the quiet is when God enters in and heals us. If we are keeping so busy that we don’t think about our troubles, then we aren’t giving God any time to come in and heal us. Something I am just learning is that we don’t always have to be doing something when we are spending time with the Lord. He likes it when we invite Him into the quiet as well. He likes it when we sit there with Him and let Him do His thing. What if we each just spent 5 minutes in quiet with the Lord today?

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, there are so many people anxious and worried these days. Please help us. There are so many who are struggling with mental health challenges, and we ask you to be our refuge. Lord, help all the suffering see that they can rely on you. Help them to see you and that you love them. Help them to feel your presence so they know that you are not alone.  Help us to trust you and rely on you, Lord. Help us to come to you. We love you, 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 hope everyone is staying warm and safe wherever they are listening. We are supposed to get more snow today. Schools and workplaces were canceled last night in anticipation of the story. It just started snowing now. I am hoping it is not too bad out but I do like the snow. Tonight is mentoring, so if you would like to join, CLICK HERE or go to my website, walkboldlywithjesus.com. You can also send me a message on social media if you would like to check it out before officially joining. I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!

Today’s Word from the Lord is, “Look, my children, look. See with My eyes. See the world around you. See those that I love who are living in a way that is not what I have come to deliver to them. Pray for them. Pray for them. Pray for them continually. I have placed in each of my beloved people all of my creation, a mark that is truly connected to me. They need to have that mark stimulated, excited, and brought forth. In some of them, it's like a dying ember. I need you with the gift of the spirit to breathe on that. To breathe new life on that, that the ember will not go out that the ember will become a flame. I need you to see my people in a way you have never seen before, and I alone can give you those eyes to see. I alone will give you a heart to feel. I alone will give you the grace that your Will will say yes because you will feel my love for them.”

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For The Lonely, For The Ashamed, The Misunderstood, And The Ones To Blame

Psalm 102:1-2, 6-7, 27-28 “Hear my prayer, Lord; let my cry for help come to you. Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress. Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly. … I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins. I lie awake; I have become like a bird alone on a roof. … But you remain the same, and your years will never end. The children of your servants will live in your presence; their descendants will be established before you.”

Today’s prayer point is to pray for those with a spirit of loneliness. It surprises me how we can live in an age with so much technology and yet have so many people who feel lonely. It is easier than ever to stay in touch with people. When my mom and dad were dating, my dad joined the military. They would write each other letters and then have to wait for them to arrive in the mail. Now, you can send an email, and the other person can get it instantly. You can also send a text message on your cell phone; you can send a Facebook message, an Instagram message, a Snapchat message, and so many more messages that people will get immediately. Our teens are on their phones all day, every day, and they are on social media often. They have hundreds of friends online, and yet they feel so alone. I was talking to someone the other day who said she can be in a room full of people yet feel alone. Why is this?

It is because that is how the enemy wants us to feel. He wants us to feel alone so that we pull away even more. He wants us to feel like no one will understand what we are going through and no one likes us. He wants us to feel like we are different, don’t fit in, and are awkward. He whispers these things in our ears even when we are in a room full of people. That way, we don’t take a risk and meet someone new. He persuades us not to talk about what we are going through for fear of judgment because he knows if we talk about it, we will find others going through the same thing, and then we won’t feel so alone.

Even though we have more ready access to communication, it is not meaningful communication. My kids have Snapchat, where you send messages, which they call snaps, back and forth to each other. The app has a streak system to count the days you “snap” back and forth with each contact. The kids obsess about getting and keeping these streaks. In theory, this might be good as it motivates the kids to stay in contact with their friends. However, they aren’t actually writing anything important. They can snap a photo of the wall, the ceiling, or the floor and send that. So, it is not actual communication; it is just something to keep the streak going. I think this is why they feel so alone. They see how many “friends” they have on social media, yet most don’t know them.

There has been a song in my head all morning since I read what the prayer point for today was. The song is called God Only Knows by For King and Country. I want to go over the lyrics with you. It begins with:

Wide awake while the world is sound asleep and

Too afraid of what might show up while you're dreaming

Nobody, nobody, nobody sees you

Nobody, nobody would believe you

This is what the enemy tries to get us to believe. He convinces us that we can’t talk to anyone about our feelings because they won’t believe us. And sometimes our loved ones can make us feel this way. It is hard when a loved one tells you they feel all alone and depressed. If they are good at hiding it, we might disagree with or downplay it. We might say they will be fine. We might tell them things will be ok and that they need some sleep. We might tell them things aren’t as bad as they think. We might tell them they have nothing to be sad about. I am not saying these are things we should say; I am saying these are things we do say at times, and they don’t help the situation. They make the person feel more misunderstood and alone. If someone comes to you and tells you they are sad, lonely, or depressed, then they have probably been suffering in silence for a long time before coming to you. Do all you can to take them seriously and get them the professional help they need.

Every day, you try to pick up all the pieces

All the memories, they somehow never leave you

Nobody, nobody, nobody sees you

Nobody, nobody would believe you

Those who are lonely and afraid try each morning to pretend they are fine. They try to get out of bed and put on a happy face so no one knows what they feel inside. They do their best to smile while around others. However, inside, they still have all the bad memories of what happened. They still have all those negative voices from the enemy telling them they aren’t good enough, don’t fit in, and don’t measure up. They truly feel like nobody sees them, and nobody would believe them.

God only knows what you've been through

God only knows what they say about you

God only knows how it's killing you

But there's a kind of love that God only knows

This is what we need to help our loved ones understand. God sees them. God knows what they have been through. He knows how they feel. God knows the depths of what they are going through, and He is there for them. We need to help them realize they are never alone. God is with them now, then, and forever. There was never a time when God wasn’t with them, and there will never be a time when He is not there. They can always talk to Him, and He will always listen. They can invite Him into any situation.

You keep a cover over every single secret

So afraid if someone saw them, they would leave

But somebody, somebody, somebody sees you

Somebody, somebody will never leave you

God sees them. God sees you. If you are listening to this and know exactly what I am talking about because you feel like you could be the person in this song, I want you to know that God sees you. That God will never leave you. He knows what you are going through. He hears you crying out, and He is working on your situation. He is right there by your side. We learned in Encounter School of Ministry that we can ask God to show us where He is right now. You can ask Him where He was during a particular memory. You can ask Him how He is loving you right now. You can ask God anything you want to ask Him, and if you are willing to listen, He will answer.

For the lonely, for the ashamed

The misunderstood and the ones to blame

What if we could start over?

We could start over

We could start over.

This part is great because it asks if we could start over. What if we could begin again? What if we did things differently? What if we spoke up? What if we didn’t pretend we were fine? What if we let people in? How would things be different? It is also a great question for those of us who have loved ones who are lonely, feel ashamed, misunderstood, and the ones to blame. What if we could start over, too? What if we believed them? What if we supported them? What if we got them the professional help they needed? What if we loved them through all of it?

God only knows where to find you

God only knows how to break through

God only knows the real you

There's a kind of love that God only knows

This last part is really important. God knows where to find you. You are never hidden from God. You may not want Him to see you. You may not want to share your innermost thoughts with Him, but nothing is hidden from God. He sees them, and He is crying with you. God knows how to break through to you and how you can break through the darkness to the light. Turn to Him, ask Him. If it is a loved one in the darkness, ask Him to give you the wisdom and knowledge to help your loved one break through. God is the answer!! God knows the real you. The enemy will try to get you to believe lies about yourself. He will try to convince you that God couldn’t love you. That God couldn’t forgive you. That God doesn’t like you. These are all lies. You are a beloved son or daughter of God, and He loves, forgives, and likes you. He knows the real you. Not the you that you show everyone else, the real you. Who you are down deep inside. He knows the real you and loves all of you!

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, we ask you to touch all the hearts of those listening today. Lord, we ask you to reach out in a special way to the lonely today. Lord, fill their hearts with love. Help them feel your presence today, Lord. Help them to see the lies the enemy has been telling them. Help them to know that you are with them and that they are never alone. Help them to see that it is never too late to start again. Help them know how loved they are. Lord, we ask you to show their loved ones how to be there for them. Show their loved ones what to say and how to support them. We need you, Lord; they need you, Lord!! 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. Reminder: tomorrow is mentoring day. If you want to join, you can go to my website, walkboldlywithjesus.com, or click the link in the show notes. I hope to see some of you tomorrow night, Tuesday, at 8 P. M. EST. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!

Today’s Word from the Lord is in the form of an image someone received. “I saw a large pit, and thousands and thousands of people were around that pit. We, as believers, were surrounding the people who were headed for the pit, and we were trying to convince them not to go there. Not to go there. So, every prayer we say, every lifting up of a soul that we do, we actually turn them around and bring them back to the Lord instead of falling into the pit. No matter what you do, if it's a phone call if it's saying hello to somebody, you change their hearts in mind just by being in their presence because you are His disciples. So your presence is Magnificat to those who have fallen.”

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Love Covers A Multitude Of Sins

1 Peter 4:8 “Above all things have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins [forgives and disregards the offenses of others].”

Today’s prayer point for the healing service preparation is to pray to strengthen marriages. This is something that is so needed. Marriages are something that is definitely under attack. Satan is working hard to destroy our families. He is attacking our children, and he is attacking our marriages. I went to a marriage retreat in Germany when we lived overseas. The retreat was sponsored by the Military Arch Diocese but was put on by a German organization. I can not remember their name right now. They told us that Germany was trying to pass a law so that marriages would have a time limit or an expiration date. I don’t remember all the details, but I think they said it because they thought there would be fewer divorces if people just got married for 10 or 20 years, and then they could decide if they wanted to continue being married.

This is crazy. When we say “I Do,” we are saying it forever. However, this doesn’t tend to be the case these days. The divorce rate in America for first marriages is 33% within the first 10 years; for second marriages, it is 60-70%. That is pretty high. We definitely need to be praying for our marriages. The reason I say that Satan is attacking our marriages is because I believe he is behind all the pornography in the world. He is behind the normalization of many things that weren’t normal once upon a time. It seems like cheating on your spouse used to be something you did privately and hoped you didn’t get caught. Now, it seems as though “open” marriages are something that is accepted. In an “open” marriage, the couple can sleep with other people.

The act of sexual intercourse is no longer a special bond between a husband and wife. It is shared with others outside of the marriage. It seems more common to have an affair. I know adultery was happening long before Jesus came into the world. Back then, it was not something to be celebrated, though. Nowadays, it seems like it is normalized. It seems like if you hear someone is cheating on their spouse, it is hardly shocking. You almost expect it. It is really sad.

What I love about the verse above is that it reminds us to have intense and unfailing love for one another. This is something that takes intention and is not always easy to do. When we talk about love, we talk about falling in love. We talked about how we met and fell in love with our wife or husband. However, after you fall in love, you must stay in love; that is where the work comes in. When you first get married, everything is new and exciting. You are deeply in love and can’t imagine anything changing. However, as the years pass, you settle into a routine. You both get busy with work and if you have a family, that keeps you busy as well. If you are not careful, you start to grow apart. There is nothing major that happens and yet you are slowly growing apart.

It happens so slowly that you hardly even notice. Your schedules are different, so you don’t see each other as much. You are both working so much you are like ships passing in the night. You make sure one of you is home to be with the kids while the other is working or doing what they must do. You are both exhausted at night and so you go to sleep. There is no time for talking, let alone any intimacy of any kind. When this happens, the enemy gets in there and starts to point out all the annoying things about your spouse. All the things that didn’t really bother you before because you were so in love with this person. However, now you see all the flaws as if they were highlighted.

Everyone listening knows exactly what I am talking about. The reason I picked this translation is because of the language it uses. It resonated so much with me. It says, “Above all things have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins [forgives and disregards the offenses of others].” Did you catch that last part? It says our intense and unfailing love for one another forgives and disregards the offenses of others. Did you notice when you first met your husband or wife that their little idiosyncrasies didn’t really bother you? You either didn’t even notice them, or you did, but you were so in love that you thought they were cute.

We are who we are. I doubt you or your spouse have changed that much since you married. It is more likely that we have forgotten to have intense and unfailing love for one another, which is normal if we are not intentional about it. We need to nurture our love for our spouse and even our kids with intention, just like we would nurture anything we want to grow. This verse is straight out of the Bible. God is showing us what is needed for a good marriage. God is showing us how important love is. Not just any love, either. We need intense and unfailing love. If you have noticed lately that you are taking offense to what others are saying to you, you may need to nurture your love for that person.

One way to do this is to ask the Father to give you his heart for that person. I have heard two stories in the last week of people who have been given the Lord’s heart for someone. They said it was strange because they didn’t really know this person well, yet they had this overwhelming love for that person. It was a love that made no sense to them. They couldn’t explain it, and yet it was there anyway. You can do the same for anyone in your life, especially if you are taking offense easily or if the little things they do annoy you. Just ask the Father to give you His heart for them.

Something else you can do to help rekindle this intense and unfailing love is to spend more quality time with your spouse. What do they like to do? Can you do that with them? What do you like to do together? What did you do while you were dating? When was the last time you had a real conversation with your spouse that was not about the weather or the kids? I have also found regular physical contact is so important in a relationship. I still remember one time when I was upset, and my neighbor hugged me. I had no idea that was what I needed, but I will never forget how it made me feel.

Sometimes, we get stuck in our routines and forget to make time for one another. We forget that intimacy is always important. When we were little, we used to be grossed out by seeing our parents kiss. As an adult, I see that has helped them stay married for over 60 years. We can’t let the little things like kissing, hugging, and holding hands slip away. When we do, we will grow apart even faster. We might think we don’t need these things, but we do! I notice that when Tony and I do those things regularly, we complain less. We are less nit-picky. This verse is a great reminder. “Above all things, have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins [forgives and disregards the offenses of others].”

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless everyone listening to this episode. Lord, we ask you to bless all of our marriages. Lord, strengthen our love for our spouse, children, and loved ones. Lord, we ask you to give us your heart for our loved ones. Let us see them as you see them, Lord! Lord, help us to fall more in love with them. Help us not to take offense or get annoyed. Fill us with so much love for them, Lord! We love you, 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 wanted to mention a retreat I am speaking at tomorrow morning. It will be on Zoom from 10-12 EST. The theme is God’s Reckless Love. If you aren’t busy tomorrow morning, what better way to start your day than learning about how much God loves you and how much He forgives you? It will be a great time. I hope you can join me. CLICK HERE  for the Zoom link. I will put a link in the comments section if you watch this on YouTube. I look forward to meeting you here on Monday. Remember, Jesus loves you and so do I!  I pray you have a very blessed weekend!

Today’s Word from the Lord is, “I have a path. I have a direction for each and every one of My children. You will not wander in the desert. You will have My Voice and My Spirit to guide you. So fear not; I am present always.”

Topic: Watchmen Retreat God’s Reckless Love
Time: Feb 10, 2024 10:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

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https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82241775665?pwd=OU5oRzdTdG8rWC9lL0wzNzhIb2VpZz09

Meeting ID: 822 4177 5665
Passcode: 966517

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Our Youth Need Prayers

1 Timothy 4:12 “Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.”

Today’s prayer point for our healing service prep is to pray for the youth. When I read this verse, I liked it for a couple of reasons. First, I like that it instructs our youth not to let people look down on them. We can often dismiss our youth and their contribution simply because of their age. We look at them as children and question what they could know about God or any situation. We sometimes exclude them from the conversation because we assume they don’t know as much as we do. We assume we are wiser than they are because of our years of experience. However, this is not always the case.

I also like this verse because it tells our youth to be an example of speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity. I love that it does not tell the youth to fight back or stand up to their elders. This verse does not tell them to argue and explain all the reasons why they are worthy or why they should be taken seriously. It tells them to show what they are capable of with their actions. I firmly believe that actions speak louder than words, so I love this idea.

Another thing I believe this verse is teaching our youth is humility. It shows them that they don’t have to justify their age. It is ok if people don’t see what God sees at first. It doesn’t matter what others think of them; what matters is what God thinks of them and what they think of themselves. This is hard because knowing others think you are too young can be hard. It is hard when others judge you on what they see on the outside when they don’t really know you.

I have run into this often over the years. I have always looked younger than I am. People would look at me and think I was a child, even as a young adult. People would think they knew me just by looking at me. When we were at meetings, people wouldn’t listen as much to me as they would to others because they felt I was so young. My suggestions weren’t always taken as seriously as others were. I did not yell and scream. I did exactly what this verse says. I showed them I knew what I was talking about with my actions instead of my words. Let’s take a closer look at his verse and how it tells our youth to be an example.

The verse says, “But rather in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.” So first, it says speech. We need to pray for our youth when it comes to their speech. Not speech, as in bad language, although I definitely need to pray for my kids to clean up their language. I think it is more important for us to pray for our kid's speech about themselves and to others. We can pray that the youth see themselves through God’s eyes. We can pray that they start to be kind to themselves. Our brains believe whatever we tell them. If we are constantly saying we are not enough, we are ugly, no one likes us, no one will ever love us, then that is what their brains will believe. If teens start changing how they talk to themselves, they will be an example to all of us, as this is not something just teens struggle with.

Also, we could pray that teens start paying attention to how they talk to others; how they talk to each other these days is awful. A common saying these days is, “Kill yourself.” They say it nonchalantly as if saying, hi, how are you? It just almost slips out of their mouth. I am sure this is a tactic of the enemy. He has made them think this is not a big deal. He has taken away the shock of this phrase so much that kids always say it and don’t even feel bad about it. Our youth are struggling and they need our prayers!

The next thing the verse says is conduct. We can definitely pray for our youth’s conduct. I would love to pray for a return of innocence to our youth. Too many of them are forced to grow up too early. I pray that kids can be kids. We can pray that they make good choices and have loved ones in their lives to help them make those good choices. We can pray for protection over our youth. We can pray their conduct and their actions don’t harm them. Suicide is on the rise in our youth, and we have to pray against this. More than 50,000 Americans died by suicide in 2023, more than any other year on record. These were not all youth, but it shows we have a real problem. We need to pray for our youth. We need to pray they do things to help themselves instead of things that harm them and those around them. We need to pray the find interests and hobbies they can join.

The verse next lists love. This is a big one with our youth. They want nothing more than to be loved and accepted, yet this world tells them they are neither. With social media, they are constantly comparing themselves to others. They have constant access to each other yet feel more alone than ever. We can pray they feel the love of God. We can pray they have a personal encounter with the Lord and never again feel alone because they know they always have the Lord with them! How great would it be if each teenager knew that no matter what friends or family they had, they were still never alone because God was always right by their side? This seems impossible, yet we know all things are possible through Jesus.

The fourth thing it says in this verse is faith. Yes, please. Lord, we pray that these youth find faith. Faith in the one true God. Faith that hope can be found. Faith that you can use all things for their good. Faith that God does not make mistakes, so they are not mistakes. Faith that people can be good. Faith that it is ok to love. Faith that not everyone will hurt them. Faith that they are good. Faith that God has a future planned for them full of hope and good things. Faith that things will be ok. Faith that they are loved and accepted for who they are. Faith that they don’t have to change who they are to be liked and accepted.

The final thing the verse talks about is purity. This is another one we really need to pray for. Lord, we pray for the purity of our youth. We pray that you protect them from the wickedness of the world. We pray that you help them see how valuable they are so they don’t give themselves away to try and gain value. Help our young people see they have so much more to offer than just their bodies. Help our young people to see the benefits of living in your kingdom far out weigh any benefits of sin. Help our young people to see that they are enough. Help them to see they are worthy. Help them to feel your love, Lord.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, we ask you to protect our youth. We ask you to take back our youth from the grasp Satan seems to have on them. We know they are your children. Lord, protect our youth from suicide. Protect our youth from speech and conduct that will only lead them to trouble. Help them to find faith and love, Lord. That is what they are really searching for. They are trying to fill that God-sized hole they have. Help them find you, Lord! We love you, Lord, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen!

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. Today’s episode was a bit different. We are preparing for a healing service on February 18th from 3-6 at St. Jude’s in Waltham for local people. Today, we are praying for the youth, so I thought I would have you all join in. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!

Today’s Word from the Lord is, “How often would I have gathered you into my bosom, my children? Follow your elder John into my bosom. There I have consolations for you. There, I have whispers for your heart. There, I have easing of your burdens. There, I have a profound love to flood you with.”

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