Month: March 2021

On Tuesday, 3-30-21, I was listening to a pastor talk about what Jesus endured on the cross. The pastor was saying that not only did Jesus take on all of the sins of mankind for all time, but that Jesus took on all of the punishment all of those sins would be punished for in hell. Wow. I was telling Annie about it when I got choked up.

The other day I was thinking about Hebrews 12:2

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:2

“For the joy that was set before him” really spoke to me. All I could think about was that I just want to have Jesus’ joy and to never focus on my problems. This is the type of good work Jesus is doing in me and it’s so wonderful.

That’s when it hit me – Jesus is my joy. And what immense joy He’s given me. I began telling Annie that Jesus is teaching me how to give Him all my care, He has made it possible for me to be careful for nothing and tells me I can really trust in Him with all my heart at all times. And Jesus has given me the biggest gift I could ever have in this life…Romans 8:28. I was so sick, confused, lost, oppressed and hurting before Jesus began to do His mighty work in me by getting me into His awesome Word that sets us free indeed. I could never thank Him enough for never leaving me nor forsaking me.

To be getting healed of all the poison Satan’s lies had brought into my life is just a miracle. I know how lost I was, and I know Jesus’ power to set me free. That brings tears of His pure joy to my eyes.

Thank You, Jesus, for all you’ve done for me.

Being confident of this very thing, that he (Jesus) which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Philippians 1:6

It’s amazing how much my confidence in Christ is growing as He performs His good work in my life.

Thinking about Jesus just overwhelms me. I love Him so much.

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

The words of the blessing are meant to remind us of God’s care of our lives. He watches over the lives of His children and brings them to His place of rest. Seek Him with all your heart and let Him give you His peace, rest and joy.

The Lord bless you and keep you
The Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious unto you
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace
And I put the Name of the God of the children of Israel on you and bless you in Jesus’ Name, the Name that is ABOVE every other name.

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7

Thank You, Jesus, for Your Word…

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

Remember, we don’t wrestle with flesh and blood, but with powers of darkness…

The Lord bless you and keep you
The Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious unto you
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace
And I put the Name of the God of the children of Israel on you and bless you in Jesus’ Name, the Name that is ABOVE every other name.

For the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.
Deuteronomy 20:4

Have radical faith. Believe God and live in victory!

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. 4 Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength:
Isaiah 26:3-4

Before going to bed last night, I was turning down the bed and some other things when it hit me that I was kind of in a funk. I wasn’t really down, but I wasn’t really walking in the Spirit either – My mind wasn’t stayed on God. I stopped right there and began thinking God thoughts and how wonderful He is and how He created the universe, brought Annie into my life and everything I should be thankful for. What a difference listening to the Spirit can make in our thought life.

For we walk (live) by faith, not by sight…2 Corinthians 5:7

I woke up just after 3:30am this morning with a lot of fear. I mean it was really intense. Sugar can sometimes give me anxiety so I thought about what I ate last night. Couldn’t really think of anything that could be bringing on this much fear and that’s when it dawned on me again that there was a spirit of fear trying to intimidate me. I began praising God and telling Him how wonderful He is, etc. Boy, the spirit of fear began leaving the room and I told Annie what had just happened. It was like the Lord was telling me we need to have radical faith today. We need to have faith that chases down fear and exterminates it. We need bold faith in order to defeat the enemy’s schemes in our lives and in the lives of others. Hallelujah!

Feeling dull and just not on top of things?

Happy Monday, everyone.

Remember, when the enemy comes in like a flood (with lying fear), the Lord will raise up a standard against him – faith.

Keep your mind on Christ and let Him show you how wonderful He is each moment of the day. What a Savior we have.

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
Ephesians 5:20

The Lord bless you and keep you
The Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious unto you
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace
And I put the Name of the God of the children of Israel on you and bless you in Jesus’ Name, the Name that is ABOVE every other name.

20 Now unto him (Christ) that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
Ephesians 3:20

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

17 Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:

18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

19 The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.
Habakuk 3:17-19

“It makes no sense at all to praise and thank God for the mess I’m in. I don’t know anyone else doing it. I just don’t feel like doing it right now. I think it’s a waste of time. Besides, I’m kind of mad at God right now.”

Sound familiar? It does to me.

Back in the 80s, in our new Oregon home, Ann lay on the couch with our oldest daughter, Faith, in her arms. Ann was crying out to God. She really thought we’d end up divorced or that I was going to kill myself leaving her one choice – to move back to Southern California and in with her mother and dad. We had a good marriage and really loved each other, but I felt like such a burden to Ann that I thought I needed to leave her so she could marry someone who could give her the kind of life I didn’t seem to be able to provide her. I felt so cursed and beyond help with no constructive way out of where my life was heading.

Then, Ann began doing something she’d heard on the Merlin Carothers audio cassette tape she’d played until it had worn out. She began to praise and thank God for exactly how things were at that moment. Literally, within days, God began to give us some answers to our dire situation.

It took me way too many years to figure out that praising and thanking God in all things was such a huge weapon and blessing – Anger, stubbornness and pride probably kept me from doing it – great ingredients for developing a hard heart. That’s why I tell others not to wait to use praising and thanking God at all times. There is no reason to be a miserable, defeated Christian when our obedience to praise and thank God in all things (even when we do it in our minds and not out loud) can deliver us in ways we can enjoy all throughout our lives.

Don’t wait to praise and thank Him in all things. There is supernatural strength when we say, “I will praise you, Lord.”

for the joy of the Lord IS your strength.
Nehemiah 8:10d

When we praise and thank God, Heaven immediately realizes that we’re exercising our faith in God and His faithfulness to us. Praising and thanking Him in all things is like we’re putting in an urgent phone call to the “Lord of Heaven’s Armies” office and our call immediately goes through to the Lord’s attention. It’s up to God how He chooses to inhabit our praise and faith call. He does what is needed to rescue us asap. I can tell you from personal experience that it’s like He immediately dispatches ministering angels to my location to fortify my faith and to encourage me to stand – even when I’m tired, in bed, or weary from any battle I’m in. The Lord gives me the words and thoughts I need to keep believing Him, to keep believing that He loves me, to keep believing that He’s working in the situation, that He’ll never leave me and that it’s His plan to give me a victory in the situation.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.
2 Corinthians 1:3-5

God knows we’re in a faith fight here on earth and He’ll do everything to help those who will call on Him when battles come their way.

Praise and thank Him in all things. It’s His commandment and for good reason. He – all that He is – inhabits the praises of His children. When God shows up, the enemies (lies, fear, doubt, and unbelief) flee in all directions.

1 I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever.
2 Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever.
3 Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.
4 One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts.
5 They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
6 They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds.
Psalm 145:1-6

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west and His glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.
Isaiah 59:19

The enemy loves to scare us into submitting to worry and into dropping our faith. This is always a lie. It doesn’t matter what the source is. The sooner we learn to recognize this, the sooner we’ll be able to recover when tempted to lose faith.

When you get tempted to fear or feel confusion, keep praising God because He will show you the way back to strong faith. Always remember, God inhabits our praises and that means we will win! He will always give us the victory in every battle if we’ll believe and continue doing His Word. When God inhabits our praise, He displaces fear and instills almighty faith in Him and His faithfulness.

Be strong and of a good courage…Only be thou strong and very courageous…Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: For the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest…Only be strong and of a good courage.
From Joshua 1

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

Conditions on earth are pointing directly to Christ’s soon return and to the tribulation period the Bible speaks about. So many will find life unbearable in the coming days. As Christians, we know the conditions we see around us are leading to life in Heaven with Jesus. What joy lies ahead for those who know Christ, for those who hear Him say, “Look up.”

The Lord bless you and keep you
The Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious unto you
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace
And I put the Name of the God of the children of Israel on you and bless you in Jesus’ Name, the Name that is ABOVE every other name.

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

I’ve heard a lot of good Christian teaching and solid sermons over the years. I attended a number of Bible colleges and worked in ministry.

While taking Ann to work this morning, I was listening to a really great, and challenging talk by a radio minister. It dawned on me that unless I put what he’s saying into practice, what he’s saying does me no good.

God wanted Annie and I to put His Word into practice in our everyday lives. He would see to it that that happened. We’re so thankful for His faithfulness to bring that about.

24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Matthew 7:24-27

Years ago, one of my co-workers (my manager) asked me, “Are you from here (Southern California)?” Ever had someone ask you that? I could tell he was asking me that question because I didn’t seem “normal” to him. I actually told him I needed Jesus and that I could not live apart from Him. Don’t know what he thought of that, but he appeared to respect my reply. A couple of years later, my manager was being threatened with losing his job at the company and I was the first person he came to about it. He was pretty upset and I tried to calm him down the best I could…

While growing up, very few homes on my street had families who didn’t attend the church of their choice each week. As a result, life was totally different from today.

The New Normal – Ann and I wanted so much to have a “normal” life – Good job, nice home, family, dog, neighbors, vacations, and retirement. We found out the new normal Jesus had for us was, “when you seek me with all your heart, you’ll find Me.”

Our normal was going to be knowing Jesus with all our heart. Jesus was not going to let us find any other kind of “normal” because He knew the normal life we wanted could never save us from our destructions, from the plans Satan had for us, and from the “perfect life” we sought, but would never truly be able to find in this world. Because He knows the future, God knew we needed to plant our feet on the rock (Christ) and to leave behind the type of life that tends to build on the sand – on anything other than Christ, alone.

11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.

13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:11-13

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

The Holy Spirit points out areas He wants to bring His healing touch to. Isn’t that amazing? He wants to minister to us in so many wonderful ways. As I do His Word, I realize more and more how much He Loves me. I simply need to let Him Love me with His Words of Life that massage His Love deep into every area of my life. Wow.

The Lord bless you and keep you
The Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious unto you
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace
And I put the Name of the God of the children of Israel on you and bless you in Jesus’ Name, the Name that is ABOVE every other name.

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

Have you ever had a massage? Has anyone ever rubbed your head, shoulders, back or feet? I love to be rubbed. It relaxes me, calms me down, makes me feel loved, makes me sleepy and even rejuvenates me…and more.

I was saying my verses this morning when I realized I was being so ministered to by Jesus. His Word ministers to me. As I agreed with The Word I was reading, it was like He was massaging me deep in my heart with the Love in His Words. It was so soothing and wonderful. He is so wonderful in His Love for us.

This precious little verse stopped me and really captured my attention. Believing and “doing” this one scripture has been so soothing to my life that had so many knots, and sore muscles of fear, bitterness, striving, shame, doubt and so many others.

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
1 Thessalonians 5:18

Hallelujah! It is my Father’s will to give thanks in everything. All He wants to do is minister to me through this precious, soothing verse. God knows just where I’m sore and rubs me with His Loving hands of mercy, grace, peace and joy.

And this is just one of the verses He uses to bring His all-knowing, strong hands to bear on my areas that need His healing, loving touch.

What an amazing God we have. Jesus. What a Savior. Let Him minister to you, child of God. He knows just where to rub.

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

These passages can really calm me down and remind me to trust in God’s Word rather than my own understanding.

Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
Psalm 55:22

Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:21

Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
Romans 12:19

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
Matthew 5:44-46

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

Can I always trust God? Yes. Trusting God puts us inside His protective, secure and comforting peace that passes understanding. Truly, the joy of the Lord – all of Who He is – is our strength.

1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.

4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
Psalm 46:1-4

The Lord bless you and keep you
The Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious unto you
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace
And I put the Name of the God of the children of Israel on you and bless you in Jesus’ Name, the Name that is ABOVE every other name.

Doing (applying it to our lives each moment) God’s Word places us ABOVE our circumstances as we reside in His matchless dwelling place where He alone is our refuge and fortress.

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

Note: While we may not agree with everything a particular church or Christian group teaches or believes, there are times when we can be blessed by something outside the realm of our current understanding of God.

I emailed Annie earlier this week at work telling her I was having trouble breathing and feeling really panicky. I told her I was okay because I was trusting God with how I was doing physically following my recent Botox treatment for my migraines.

Here is her great reply.

“Yep. We’ve both had to take authority over how we feel a lot over the years. It’s not fun to have to do it… but HE has taught us how to do it and then walk in His freedom and peace that passes understanding. If everything is fine, we don’t need His peace … we have peace that we understand. His peace is the unfaltering solid rock!”

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

Note: While we may not agree with everything a particular church or Christian group teaches or believes, there are times when we can be blessed by something outside the realm of our current understanding of God.