“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:18 KJV
“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” ~ Colossians 3:15, 17 KJV
May Our Heavenly Father bless you all with a beautiful New Year in 2021! May He keep you and your precious families all healthy, safe, and close to His heart, and fill you with His peace and grace, in Jesus’ name, amen.
Love always and forever on Christ, Suzanne, Mark, and JJ ❤️
Lord, please heal my loved one Walking now with Thee On a narrow, thorny path Dark and shadowy…
Lord, please heal my loved one Hold, I pray her hand, Fill her mind with peace Give her strength to stand In faith upon Thy promises Renew her hope in Thee, May she feel Thy Presence, Around her like a seal.
Sing to her, Lord, in her heart Like angels long ago Sang to the shepherds in the fields About the Christ foretold… Sing to her like the angels About Thy holy peace That You, Lord Jesus were and are And ever to us bring… When we let you in our hearts To cleanse and heal our sin Lord, heal us all this holy night Hearts blind and deaf within.
And may we sing Thy praises For Thy great mercy For Thy everlasting love And life eternally. Lord, please heal us all And heal my loved one too, Whose lamp lies in the shadows Who’s love burns strong for You.
Lord, please heal my loved one, This Christmas may You raise Her up as if it’s Easter Thy resurrection grace, Our song of hope and faith, In Jesus’ holy name, amen.
Heavenly Father, please heal Mama, in Jesus’ name, amen. Thank You, I love You.
And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.” Luke 2:1-7 KJV
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, “Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.”
And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.” Luke 2:8-20 KJV
Jesus is Circumcised
And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord; (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.
And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.
And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,
Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,
“Lord, now lettest thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word:
For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, Which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel.”
And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him.
And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;
(Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity;
And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.
And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.
And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.” Luke 2:21-40 KJV
There has been so much bad news lately that sometimes I find myself feeling very anxious and unsafe. Psalm 103:19 reminds me that God truly is in control of all things no matter what is going on in the world.
“The Lord hath prepared His throne in the heavens; and His kingdom ruleth over all.” ~ Psalms 103:19 KJV
The Psalmist tells us, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits:” Psalms 103:2 KJV
The word he used for “forget” means “to forget, ignore, cease to care…”
He then goes over all of the wonderful things the Lord does for us: “Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; Who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” ~Psalms 103:3-5 KJV
Imagine spending a night in an agonythat affects every fiber of your body, unable to feel Christ’s loving presence, certain that you’re the chief of sinners, unforgiven, forever condemned to this abyss of torment.
Whenever there is a bad storm or rainy weather, I get violent migraines that rupture my mind with as severe emotional pain as the physical and neurological symptoms they cause.
Suddenly it seems I’ve fallen into a bottomless pit and that no one loves me—not even Jesus. I feel as if I’m the most despised of souls by everyone, even my family. I’m completely cut off, isolated in an abyss of pain. The burden of all the sins in the world are fastened around my aching head in a crown of thorns as sharp as daggers. My legs will not be still and seem like a thousand snakes are crawling inside of them. “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?”
I see Jesus on the cross crying to His Father and I cry out in tears for the Lord to come rescue me from this horrible torment. But I neither see nor feel Him. I’m a condemned sinner screaming and weeping in the darkness for I can’t bear to look at any light.
There in the Abyss I weep tears of remorse. Surely I must have been unkind to my husband, been the worst of mothers and grandmothers, daughters, siblings, friends, and citizens. I’m certain that I must have failed God and everyone else. And the most tormenting of all—-I must have committed the unpardonable sin— why else would I keep having these wretched migraines? Why else would God keep letting this happen to me?
In that pit of Sheol showers of condemnation pour mercilessly upon my soul like the rain drumming endlessly upon our windows and roof as the pain and neurological symptoms torture me.
My precious husband comes and prays for me, while I weep and pray unable to feel either Christ’s presence or love, nor even Mark’s, until at last I fall asleep, exhausted.
The next morning my symptoms are gone. I awake as if resurrected to new life. I’m filled with wondrous joy and peace, How grateful I am that Jesus went to the cross for me; that He has washed my sins away as far as the east is from the west. “Bless the Lord oh my soul. Forget not all His benefits. Who forgives all our sins, who heals all our diseases…” The beautiful sense of Christ’s love and presence enfold me in His arms.
I know then that He has held me throughout the night. He had not really abandoned me. Yet the dark storm of pain from my fierce migraine made me feel hidden from Christ’s presence and forsaken by Him who had promised to never fail or forsake me.
The Psalmist once experienced something like this. “Will the Lord cast off for ever? And will He be favourable no more? Is His mercy clean gone for ever? Doth His promise fail for evermore? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? Hath He in anger shut up His tender mercies? Selah.
And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.” Psalms 77:7-10 KJV
He goes through the bad things he suffers but then he says, “Ok, this is happening because of my afflictions. But I won’t dwell on the suffering. I will remember the good things God has done for me.”
In other words, “Bless the Lord oh my soul! Forget not all His benefits!”
Nationally we are experiencing a stormy path of darkness. Severe pain and troubling circumstances can make us feel isolated from the loving presence of God and cut off from all His promises.
God’s word promises that He heals all our diseases, He forgives all our sins. God is watching over all of us. He is still on His throne. He has not hidden His face from us. He hears all our prayers. Just as He eventually heals me from my migraines, I believe that the Lord will ultimately heal our nation from our current plague of troubles.
The definition for the word the Psalmist used for healing is interesting: (BDB Bible Dictionary Definition of original translation~ rapha~Strong’s H7495) To be healed of national hurts (figuratively) Of personal distress (figuratively) Of national defects of hurts (figuratively) To heal (literally) Of hurts of nations (Involving restored favor)
“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will He keep His anger forever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us.” Psalms 103:8-12 KJV
Not one of us deserves the grace that has been given us by the Lord through the cross of Christ, for the Bible declares that all of us are sinners.
The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Psalms 14:2-3 KJV
I guess our world reflects what the Bible declares we are. A mess. Jesus, the Son of God, came to die for us all to make us holy and to clean our souls up~to forgive our sins and heal us spiritually~to make us one with Him. This is very good news and fills me with such joy and peace!
Peace I Leave with You
Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27 KJV
I appreciate Christ’s gift of salvation and forgiveness more than I can ever say because of my chronic migraine affliction. Therefore I pray that I will never forget, mislay, or cease to care about this wondrous benefit from God, this gift and treasure of everlasting life and peace with God that my Lord Jesus suffered and died on the cross to give me and everyone in the whole world who will receive it.
“Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits…” Psalms 103:1-2 KJV In Jesus’ name, Amen and amen.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your Gift of Salvation in Christ, the forgiveness of sins As far as the east is from the west, Your measureless love for us, Oh thank You and may we never forget Or mislay, or cease to care about all You do for us every day For Thy mercies are new every morning, In Jesus name. Amen and amen.
