Category: Family

The Lord’s blessing (the joy that accompanies right living – righteousness) is on all those who follow Him, who do His Word, who keep growing in Jesus, who keep being set free and willing to change in order to become like Jesus in all their ways.

Hallelujah!

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’m seeing God raise up more and more people who are committed to keeping their minds stayed on Him. Their focus is becoming sharper and more determined than ever to this mind set:

1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
Psalm 91:1-2

3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
Isaiah 26:3

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

Ann and I count on Jesus (The Word) every day. We count on the Word (Jesus) all the time. And we’re learning more and more about how to count on Him Who is The Word. This is why we emphasize memorizing The Word. This is exactly why we encourage everyone to get to know Jesus, God Almighty. This is the most important thing we will ever do in this life.

Do you count on God working all things together for the good of those who love Him? Are you learning to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ? Are you learning how to quench the fiery darts (lies) of the enemy by praising and thanking God in all things?

So come on. Let’s go and count on Jesus today, and every day. Put getting to know Him above all else. When you learn to count on Him, Life takes on a whole new excitement, contentment and clarity. He brings all of His joy to your life. There is nothing like Him. It’s what God intended.

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of
the wicked, when it cometh. For the Lord shall be thy
confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.
Proverbs 3:25-26

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7

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

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto
thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him,
and he shall direct thy paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6

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

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Romans 12:2

Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
Colossians 3:2

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee (God): because he trusteth in thee.
Isaiah 26:3

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

4 Abide in me (Jesus), and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
John 15:4-6

21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Matthew 7:21-23

In the above passage, Jesus is warning those who never really develop a relationship with Him, with the Word. He can’t know us and we can’t know Him without being involved with Him, with His Word.

These things I (Jesus) have spoken unto you, that in me (His dwelling place is His Word) ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer (I can’t be of good cheer without learning to apply His Word to my life each day); I (The Word) have overcome the world.
John 16:33

I know first hand the difference that doing His Word every day makes in my life. There is simply nothing like it. The Word is so powerful, but only if I put it into action through faith.

The more I do His Word, the more miracles I’m seeing every day. He really does back up His Word. The rewards of His peace, rest and joy are amazing as we put His Word to work in our lives. Be a believer. Do the Word. You’ll be so glad you did.

To know Jesus, to have a relationship with Christ, I need to be a doer of His Word, I need to be doing Him. He came to set me free with all that He is. Sin, doing things my way, will never set me free from the wages of sin. In fact, faith in Him can’t really grow without putting Him, His Word, to the test.

Do the Word and see the victory It will give you in this life. It will amaze you. And, as always, ask the Holy Spirit to enable you to do the Word. After all, apart from Him, we can’t do it.

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Hebrews 11:6 KJV

For everyone born of God is victorious and overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has conquered and overcome the world—our [continuing, persistent] faith [in Jesus the Son of God].
1 John 5:4 AMP

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
James 1:22

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.

The devil and his lies may have you convinced that you’re a mistake, that you’re a burden, that you won’t amount to anything, that your life will always be filled with doubt, worry, fear, etc.

Nothing could be further from The Truth, from Jesus, and His plans for you.

Get the picture?

So come on. Get out there and God will show you His plans, His purpose for your life, and the blessing you are as you seek Him with all your heart.

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

Prince Of Peace

Mmm…

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

Hallelujah!

It’s all about Heaven. Don’t get too caught up in this earthly life. Focus on the big picture, Heaven.

We love you all. ☺☺

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;

4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

Annie and I were talking this morning about what a comfort the Word is to our lives. We were talking about how amazing it is that God is redeeming our lives with Romans 8:28. That’s why we love to share this precious verse with as many people as we can. God wants to redeem so many who are trapped in their own understanding, the past, and in circumstances that have them so down and out spiritually, physically and emotionally.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.
Galatians 5:17

If The Truth (Jesus) will set me free, then lies (Satan) will bring me into bondage.

25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my (Jesus’) sake shall find it.
Matthew 16:25

I was conformed to this world. I was earthly-minded. And, I was trying so hard to preserve and save this wrong, sinful way of life. I didn’t know it until God began to show me what I was doing, what I was involved in.

I’m a sensitive guy. For far too long, I was sensitive to the wrong things. I was sensitive to shame due to my health, I was sensitive to what others thought of me, to the fear of man, to fearing not having enough money, to wanting nice vacations, to pride, to religious pride, to wanting the world, to “care,” to handling things in my own strength, to sudden fear, to wanting to be accepted and to be like everyone else around me. Being sensitive to these things was making me weak, robbing me of all that God had for me and taking me deeper and deeper into bondage. And, I didn’t really even know it because I thought it was normal to react this way.

This was my life. It was what I knew and was familiar with. And, I was doing all I could to keep my life this way. Crazy, right?

What God wanted for me was for me to be sensitive to Him, to His will, to His Word, to be Heavenly-minded. It was the only way I’d ever be able to be healthy as the sensitive person God made me. Being sensitive to God, to His ways, truth and life would set me free in ways I could not conceive before, and make me strong in Him. I would find His peace, love, rest and joy by giving Him my attention, by turning my sensitivity over to Him and His will. This was the life God had in Mind for me. He said if I would lose my “earthly” life by turning from the way I thought I should live as a sensitive guy and focus on Him instead, He would save my life and I would truly find Life, I would truly experience His Living Water and no longer thirst for the wrong things.

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark

God loves us enough to not let us take our own paths. He will do all He can to make sure we walk in His paths of Life. When you let that sink in, you recognize how much you’re loved by Him, by The Eternal One.

10 The thief (Satan – The Father of lies that lead to our destruction) cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I (Jesus) am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
John 10:10

Then he answered and spoke unto me, saying, “This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, ‘Not by might (strength) nor by power (force), but by My Spirit,’ saith the Lord of hosts.
Zechariah 4:6

So much of life is only discernible through the Spirit of God. There’s simply no other way to detect it, to see it, and then to live in it. This is why it’s so important to learn to walk with the Holy Spirit each moment of the day. He loves us so much. As we choose to walk with Him, He shows us more of His love every day in every way.

Through CCPTSD, migraines, a broken back, the fear of many, and so many other issues that were weighing heavy on me for decades, the Lord was showing me I needed Him. I needed to cast all my care on Him. He was about to begin to show me how to do that.

Truly, The Gospel, Jesus, is GOOD NEWS!

Wow, I read the Jeremiah 6:16-19 passage (below) this morning as part of my reading through the Bible each year. I knew these words were for Annie and me right now. The passage totally reinforced what God has been teaching us over the years. God wants to take all our care so we can rest in His loving, all-knowing, all-powerful care of our lives. He wants us to give Him everything, to hold nothing back from His love over our lives. He wants us to completely stop leaning on our own understanding that often contains so much camouflaged care and to trust Him with all our heart. His power and love are so far reaching, all consuming, peaceful, merciful, restful and joy-filled.

5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. (This scripture is a real place to live in. It’s part of the dwelling place of the Most High. The Holy Spirit can make its words a reality in our lives if were willing to let Him do this sweet, mighty work in our hearts, minds and spirits.)
Proverbs 3:5-6

Is there anything in your life God wants to relieve you of? Not sure? Ask Him to show you anything that He wants to bless you with by taking it on Himself and off of you. When He shows me something He wants me to give Him, I’m always amazed at the weight that comes off my spirit.

Judah Rejects the Lord’s Way (Mark and Ann, too? Not any more when He points out to us where we may be rejecting His way.)

16 This is what the Lord says:
“Stop at the crossroads and look around (Often my crossroad is where I ask myself, “Am I trusting in the Lord with all my heart or leaning on my own understanding?”).
Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it.
Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls.
But you reply, ‘No, that’s not the road we want!’
17 I posted watchmen over you who said,
‘Listen for the sound of the alarm.’
But you replied,
‘No! We won’t pay attention!’

18 “Therefore, listen to this, all you nations.
Take note of my people’s situation.
19 Listen, all the earth!
I will bring disaster on my people.
It is the fruit of their own schemes,
because they refuse to listen to me.
Jeremiah 6:16-19

Ask the Lord what is stealing, killing and destroying you. Do this as often as He reminds you to do so. He will be faithful to show you where you may be – knowingly or unknowingly – rejecting His ways so you can be restored by and in His truth that brings us back to His peace, rest, and joy.

We love you all.

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.

Happy Monday!

It’s true, when we’re trusting Jesus, it’s easier to be happy.

Ever feel yourself begin to believe Satan’s lies? Is there anything in your heart you’re having trouble trusting God with?

Annie and I were talking yesterday about some things the devil’s trying to bug us about.

Here’s the thought we had from the Holy Spirit while talking about the lies of the devil and how we just need to trust Jesus – all the time:

“Bottom line, all the devil wants you to do is to not trust God. That’s how this whole mess started in the Garden of Eden.”

Trust and obey for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, than to trust and obey.*

So come on, everybody. Let’s get out there and trust God while He shows us all of the wonderful things He has in store for us. Amen?

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark – 
_{*Lyric taken from the Christian hymn, “Trust and Obey” by John H. Sammis.}

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.

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
12 Corinthians 10:5

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

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28

So come on, let’s go, my friends. It’s Monday and that means another grand and glorious week full of opportunities for Jesus to show us His faithfulness and love.

Look for His favor!

Thanking and praising God in all things,

Mark