Featured

Like A Thief In The Night

One night a thief broke into a house he thought was abandoned. As he walked then the darkened house with a flashlight he heard a voice from the kitchen that said, “Jesus is watching you.’ He stopped and said, “who’s there?” There was no answer so he thought he must have imagined it. But after he took a few more steps, the voice said again, “Jesus is watching you.” He decided to walk toward the voice, just before he entered the kitchen, he heard it again, “Jesus is watching you.” He swung the flashlight up and saw a parrot talking in a cage. The parrot said, Jesus is watching you.” The their turned flipped on the kitchen light and said, “Why you’re just a dumb bird.” The he looked in the corner of the room and seen a huge Rottweiler couching. And the parrot said “Get him Jesus.”

You might think it’s strange that Jesus would compare Himself to a thief. Of course, Jesus isn’t identifying with the sin of stealing. But just a good thief (that’s a oxymoron).that tries to sneak in quickly and quietly and escape with His people. That’s an accurate description of how Jesus will rapture His church.

We should all be living as if Jesus was crucified yesterday; raised from the dead this morning, and is coming back this afternoon.

1 Thessalonians 5: 1-4 tells us, “But concerning the times and the seasons, you have no need that anything be written to you. For you yourselves know that the day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night. For when they are saying, “Peace and safety,” then sudden destruction will come to then, like birth pains on a pregnant woman; and they will in no way escape.

We should know these 4 things

1. Jesus will return, But we don’t know the exact day.

Can you imagine a thief sending you a text or email saying, “Just wanted to know that I’m coming to rob your house tonight.” Of course not. Thief’s don’t announce when they’re coming. They sneak in and out.

When I was growing up my Dad used to do military funerals when a soldier or veteran would pass away. My father would keep all the guns in his closet. One night when no one was home the house was broken into and all the M16 rifles were stolen. He was very upset because they trusted him with these rifles. For a long time there would be someone home, or a neighbor would be watching the house.

Jesus told us to keep watch, because you don’t know on what day the Lord will come. We need to understand, if the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and not let the house be broken into. So we must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you don’t expect him (Matthew 24:42-44),

There have been times throughout history when many people expected Jesus to return. We use the Gregorian calendar now, but when the Julian calendar turned from year 999 to the year 1000, people expected Jesus to come for a new millennium, the same was true in the year 2000. People were on their best behavior, In the year 1000 history says that worldly goods were sold and money was given to the poor. Prisoners were set free, and many traveled to Israel to wait for Jesus’s return,

In the second and third chapter of Revelation, Jesus gives messages to the 7 churches, which represent all churches of all time. When He wrote to the church at Philadelphia, He says, “Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I also will keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth” (Revelation3:10).

In Luke 17 Jesus compares His return to a couple of Old Testament events. “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the dat Noah entered the ark. Then the flood cane and destroyed them all. It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating, drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and suffer rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just like this on the day the Son Of Man is revealed (Luke 17:26-30).

Are You Ready?

The Greatest Gift

Daily writing prompt
What is the greatest gift someone could give you?
View all responses

The greatest gift I ever received is eternal life and salvation given to me through my faith in Jesus. This gift provides forgiveness of sins, hope, peace, and reconciliation with God the Father.

The Sword For Battling Fear -Psalm 27

“ For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self control” -2 Timothy 1:7

Psalm 27 is a powerful weapon against the enemy of fear and it’s power to insulate our hearts meditating on his truth, provides a key to unlocking the prison of anxiety, it just fails our fears, and gives us hope. 

It is called a sword for battling fear because it eclipse us with declarations of God‘s protection, guidance, and presence to overcome terror, shifting our focus from this stronghold to God‘s faithfulness. These verses urge us to be in deep pursuit of Him, and promises strength as we wait for His deliverance which can transform anxiety into confident worship.

It’s important to recognize the key themes and weapons in Psalm 27.

  • God as Protector

“The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom should I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom should I be afraid” -Psalm 27:1

  • Confidence in Adversity

“Though an army should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear. Though war should rise against me, even then I will be confident” -Psalm 27:3

  • Singular Focus on God

“One thing I have asked of the Lord, that I will seek after, that I may dwell in the Lord’s house all the days of my life, to see the Lord’s beauty and to inquire in His temple” -Psalm 27:4

  • Divine Shelter

“For in the day of trouble, He will keep me secretly in His pavilion. In the secret place of His tabernacle, He will hide me. He will lift me up on a rock” -Psalm 27:5

  • Joyful Worship

“Now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me. I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tent. I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord” -Psalm 27:6

  • Persistent Seeking

“When You said, Seek My face, my heart said to You, I will seek Your face, Lord” -Psalm 27:8

“Don’t hide your face from me. Don’t put your servant away in anger. You have been my help. Don’t abandon me, neither forsake me, God of my salvation” -Psalm 27:9

  • Unfailing Care

“When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up” -Psalm 27:10

  • Courage to Wait

“Wait for the Lord. Be strong, and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for the Lord” -Psalm 27:14

There are ways to use Psalm 27 as a sword.

Pray it: Turn you fears into prayers, praying these Psalms verses back to God.

Speak it: Use these truths as a weapon to counter the lies of fear and insecurity in your mind.

Live it: Cultivate a life centered on God‘s presence daily, not just in times of crises.

Conviction or Convenience

I still remember when I seen a young lady on the news in 1999 during the columbine shooting. She was asked by the shoo Ted if she believed in God, she said, “Yes,” and was promptly shot and killed.

It was later discovered that Cassie was not the only one targeted because of her faith in Jesus that day. You may ask, why didn’t they take the easy way out, for the sake of saving their lives, why simply say no?

I think that there was only one reason. They were convinced that the truth of Jesus was more important than saving their lives. When I think back to this, I have to ask myself a question would I have had the courage that they had?

People don’t die for beliefs. They don’t die for strong beliefs. They die for their convictions.

When America was being formed, was it formed by people who had a strong belief in freedom from tyranny?

No. I believe it was conviction that they had inalienable rights given to us by our Creator, and those rights were worth dying for, if necessary.

During World War I in World War II do you think they thought it was a good thing to do? No, they fought with the conviction that America was the greatest country in the world, and it was worth defending. And threatening our allies meant threatening us.

I think this is the point that many miss still miss today.

What are some things we should have conviction about?

Here are some things we need to be convinced about, in my opinion.

  1. The Word of God

We need to be convinced that the Bible is the Word of God. Not just a good book of nice writings, but the very Word of God, that is written by the Holy Spirit through men. And we have the word of the profits make more certain, we should pay attention to it as a light shining in the dark place. Understand that no prophecy scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. Prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoken from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. Isaiah 40:8 tells us, “The grass withers, the flower fades, the flowers fade, but the Word of our God stands forever.”

This is so important because in these times of turmoil we need an anchor to grab, something we can trust without reserve.

2. Jesus

We need Jesus more than ever for salvation. In the world, we’re seeing a clear choice between good and evil. In John 14:6 Jesus tells us, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

And in Acts 4:12 Peter says, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

If this is true, we need to start acting like it.

If you believe that Jesus’s blood was shed on the cross was exactly what we needed to save us from hell, and if we are convinced that He paid the price for us we need to start acting like it. We need to start acting like it because this will get us eternity in heaven. He did everything necessary to secure our salvation, by taking our penalty of sin on himself.

Jesus’s death and resurrection was not some meaningless ritual, He paid it all, and that should be enough to convince us to live for Him.

Jesus not only died for our sins, but He rose victorious over death, which opened the gates of Heaven for you and me.

The question is are we convinced or just believe?

Is it our conviction of Jesus was who He said He was and that He died and rose from the grave to bring us into heaven? If it is we should start acting like it.

Will we hold on to that conviction when times get tough and we are challenged as the truth of faith in Jesus gets harder?

We should act on our convictions about all else. I believe if we don’t share our stories and plant seeds every chance we get there will be people who will perish and will go to a godless hell.

I believe that it is our conviction that He really is the only way to heaven and we should be taking opportunities that are given to us to share the gospel.

Following Jesus is not a convenient path. Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 3:12 that all who live a godly life in Christ will be persecuted. “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Messiah Yeshua will suffer persecution.” But what is the alternative: to live a life separated from God, that leads to spiritual death, and being banished from God’s light, and joy.

College Experience

Daily writing prompt
What colleges have you attended?
View all responses

Going to college with a family and job is tough. I attended a college that wasn’t a four year college, which means if you needed a four or six year degree you had to move.
I studied psychology with a minor in Crime Scene Investigation. In the 1990s’ there wasn’t the internet for online classes. So, I would have had to move to finish my schooling, which would be difficult with 2 children and two people having to work full-time jobs. And when you have children, they come before anyone else.

College of Eastern Utah

The Beauty In The Struggle

We have been trained to assume that if the process does not come easy, there must be something wrong wrong. From the way we use technology, to the way we make shopping decisions, and even the way we learn and work, we often assume that struggle is bad.Everything should be intuitive and simple, with clear and easy steps towards keeping our goals or receiving whatever we want.

This mindset is often applied to our belief in God, and we start to assume that if life is still hard of choosing to follow God, there must be a problem. Dress in spite of the many words of Jesus, and the apostles indicate that we will face difficulty and obstacles and living, according to the Bible.

We expect the feeling of running high we had when we first met Jesus will last forever. It’s important to realize struggles may hinder us, they do not define us. We are not defined by the sins of the past or the struggle of today, but by the vision of the future.

Many believe a believer’s life should always feel like a runners high -that the struggle toward holiness and the fight against sin will always be inspiring.

As human beings, we seek to minimize struggle whenever possible. But struggle is part of the learning process. No matter what the struggle the beauty is keeping our eyes focused on Jesus, so that we can become full united with Him, and find the energy and strength we need to get back up. 

As believers, we shouldn’t expect to feel a “runners high” all the time while we run life’s race. Because a spiritual life will often feel difficult. But we can run it with joy because the Holy Spirit is working through us, and the struggle is a sign we are in the race.

A Covenant With God

God has made covenants with several key individuals in the Bible, including Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David, as well as establishing a new covenant through Jesus. These covenants are foundational to the biblical narrative and God’s relationship with humanity.

A covenant with God is a sacred agreement or promise between a person or group and God, where both parties make commitments.

God sets the terms, and in return for a person’s faith, obedience, and promises, He pledges to provide blessings, guidance, and power.

The key concepts of a covenant with God are as follows:

  • A mutual agreement

It is a two way relationship for a person promises to follow God and God promises to bless them in return.

  • God’s role

God initiates covenant and is always faithful to His promises, even when people are not.

  • Humans role

A person demonstrates their commitment by keeping God’s promises through faith, repentance, obedience to the commandments, and other acts of righteousness.

  • Divine blessings

The blessings of a covenant include receiving God‘s help, power, and guidance, as well as eternal promises like salvation and eternal life.

There are examples in scripture

  • Noah: God promised never to destroy the earth with floodwaters again. God set His rainbow in the cloud, as a sign of the covenant between Him and the earth.
  • Abraham: God promised him a great prosperity and a specific land.
  • Moses: God established the covenant with the Israelites, promising to be their God and asking them to obey His laws.
  • Jesus: A covenant is established through Jesus’s Atonement, with promises of salvation for all who have faith in Him.

We can have personal covenants with God. These are solemn commitments made by us, it often involves prayer and reflection, where we express our faith and dedication to live, according to God’s will. It is a deeper, more spiritual commitment that focuses on the reliance of God’s grace and guidance.

God promises to remain faithful to His promises in the covenant.

There are some people who speak of God breaking covenants with His people. This is not true according to the Bible.

In Ezekiel 16:59-60, God declares He will punish Israel for breaking their covenant, but will remember His everlasting covenant with Abraham promising future restoration.

In essence, God never fails in His commitments, but the nature of the covenant and its fulfillment evolve, culminate in the permanent unbreakable New Covenant in Jesus.

My Biggest Challenge In Life

Daily writing prompt
What are your biggest challenges?
View all responses

I think m biggest challenge in life is feeling too much. I have an inability to connect when there is too many people are around. I get easily overwhelmed by the emotions of everyone in the room.
I feel it is my inability to regulate my emotions and feel the energy of everyone around me. This is sometimes called “emotional dysregulation” Because of my childhood environment I wasn’t able to manage my emotions to be able to learn manage them. Mostly because I was always in a fear state constantly. My life’s was based on protection not connection.

While I am learning to cope with feeling everything around me, I still struggle at times because of the fight or flight that overstimulates my nervous system.

Celebrating Jesus at Christmas

Christmas is a celebration of salvation and Jesus’s reign and is centered on His divine kingship, which is fulfilled through His sacrifice and resurrection. It should bring hope, and peace that leads to eternal life.

The world often tries to distract us from the true meaning of Christmas by making us believe that expensive gifts are more important than Jesus. It sometimes drains our pocketbooks and leaves us feeling exhausted. This is not the true meaning of Christmas.

Jesus is the main focus of Christmas. It’s an annual holiday for believer to celebrate for the birth of Jesus Christ. It to celebration celebrate Jesus birth that brought hope, salvation, and divine love to a world through His life, death, and resurrection. It is commemorated with traditions like nativity scenes, and small gifts that are the center of His arrival in Bethlehem as “Immanuel” (God with us).

Feeling Nostalgic

Daily writing prompt
What makes you feel nostalgic?
View all responses

I cherished the holidays with my father here. He passed away suddenly at the end of October. I feel nostalgic when I’m making the Hungarian dishes he taught me to make.

I took care of him for 10 years after he lost my mother. We grew very close during that time. Every year I would buy him Christmas gifts and would take them to him every Christmas Eve knowing if I took them earlier he would just open them. Every time it snowed we would go for rides to the mountains so he could see the trees.

Every holiday reminds me of the memories he would miss.

Political Views

Daily writing prompt
How have your political views changed over time?
View all responses

My Political views are based on the Bible. I am neither a democrat or republican. I vote based on what the Bible says. Always have and always will.

The Bible is based on morals and values and is unchanging, no matter what the world wants us to believe.