How Can I Get God in My Life?

Posted on September 29, 2016 by Kathleen

One Sunday afternoon at the beach a man came to our Bible table and asked, “How can I get God in my life?”

I gave him the simple message of the Gospel—how Jesus came to live a sinless life so He could then purchase our salvation on the cross. If we want forgiveness of sins, all we need to do is be willing to turn away from our sins and then give our lives to Him. The Holy Spirit will then come to live inside us and will begin to make new changes in our thinking and in our lives.  He said this was what he wanted.  He was eager to pray with us to receive Jesus.

Afterward he told us his story:  He said his wife had left him six weeks ago, taking the children.  He had become so depressed he was considering suicide.

Then last night a thought came to him:   “Perhaps I need God in my life.”  However, he did not know one person who attended church, who could give him some counsel.

He opened the phone book and discovered so many churches he was afraid he’d pick a bad one,  so he closed the book and prayed for the first time:  “God, if You’re out there, show me how to find You.”

“Today I came down to the beach and there you were!”

We gave him a Bible and invited him to church.

  • Those who diligently seek Me will find Me.    Proverbs 8:17                                                         
  • You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.                   Jeremiah 29:13
  • SONG:  I LOVE THE LORD – by Kathleen

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Jesus Save Me!

Posted on September 25, 2016 by Kathleen

I  was asked to visit a very ill 90-year-old woman.  She was hard of hearing and I knew her time was short.

I asked her if she knew Jesus and she yelled her reply, “No! But I’d like to!”

I asked if she were to die, does she know where she’d go?
She yelled again, “Probably hell!”

I loudly explained, “Jesus loves you and wants you to be with Him in heaven someday.  If you are willing to turn from your sins and follow Jesus, the Bible tells us that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.  Would you like to do that?”

She yelled so loudly, I’m sure she was heard outside: “JESUS SAVE ME!”

That was it. I don’t know what’s in her past. Only God knows her heart. But according to Scripture I believe she is saved. The Holy Spirit is now free to indwell her and make changes in the way she thinks and acts.  It’s never too late.

Have you ever prayed with someone to receive Christ?  Would you have handled this situation differently?

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Posted in DOCTRINE, ILLNESS or HOSPITAL, PEOPLE | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Nightmares in Fourth Grade

Posted on September 23, 2016 by Kathleen

When Matt was in public school fourth grade, he began having nightmares.

He said his bad dreams were about the scary stories he had to read in school!  They were not in a textbook, but were handouts that he brought home.  I looked them over and discovered they were stories about the occult!  They were about witches, magic and casting spells.

I wrote a letter to Matt’s teacher explaining that in my opinion the stories were inappropriate, and why.  The next day I hand-delivered the letter to the teacher and asked him to read it while I waited outside.

He apologized when we talked later.  He said he’d never thought of the stories as improper, or unsuitable, but rather fascinating and exciting.

I explained that as Bible believing Christians the occult is something we believe is evil and harmful.  I assured him that I am not alone in this matter,  that many families in this school share our faith and would be equally alarmed if they were aware of what their children were reading.  He said he appreciated me coming to him and assured me that he would change to another curriculum!

I came away quietly praising God that Matt’s teacher did not appear threatened or angry at my concern.

A few days later Matt said his teacher had asked him where we attend church.  The following Sunday we were introduced to his wife.  They were sitting across from us in church!  A short time later they joined our church and were baptized!

“Thank You Precious Lord,  for using me to influence not only a change in curriculum, but a change in a teacher’s life.”

  •  Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.    2 Timothy 2:15
  •  See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.    Colossians 2:8
  • As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.                           1 Peter 1:14-15
  • SONG:  GOD IS READY – Music by Kathleen

 

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Gateways to Better Education

Posted on September 20, 2016 by Kathleen

The mission of  Gateways to Better Education’s  is to create faith-friendly public schools where students have the freedom to express their faith and learn about the importance of the Bible and Judeo-Christian history, thought, and values. They envision public schools as learning communities enriched by appropriately and lawfully including this important information.

Gateways does this by equipping parents, teachers, administrators, and school board members in America’s 99,000 public schools. Many public school children are learning only the secular side of Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. They don’t understand that these traditional holidays teach important lessons about Christianity.

The problem goes beyond how Christianity is treated during the holidays. Even the mention of God is now suppressed in many classrooms. Both teachers and students are uncertain about their rights of religious expression. Many feel the law forbids any discussion of God or even praying privately over their lunch.  But this is not true!

The Holiday Restoration Campaign is designed to help correct misinformation and restore accurate teaching of the religious nature of these traditional American holidays. This is done in a positive, relational way.

The goal is to have as many Christian parents as possible give a Gateways Holiday Card to their children’s teachers. This is an 8-page card that looks like a beautiful greeting card. In a light-hearted story a public school teacher is informed about what is legal and appropriate in the classroom. They will find the legal documentation and lesson plan ideas helpful and reassuring. Check out Gateways’ website: http://www.gtbe.org

Learn how you can join in restoring the real reasons for the seasons for public school children at: http://www.gtbe.org/holidayrestoration/

  •  Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.     Deuteronomy 11:18-20

 

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Porn in the Auto Shop

Posted on September 17, 2016 by Kathleen

Yesterday my car was due for an oil change.  I entered the waiting room of the auto shop and discovered the television was blaring what first appeared to be porn!

It was actually an offensive talk show with a guest who was a stripper doing an erotic pole dance punctuated with obscenities.

There were two men sitting opposite me, both focused on their mobile phones.  There was a young mother of a 4-year-old boy and me.  The mother was telling her son not to look at the screen, which made him want to look all the more.

It only took a moment before I was off to find the manager to either turn it off or change the channel.  He was apologetic and found the boy some cartoons.

The young mother turned to me and whispered,  “Thank you” while the two men opposite continued staring at their cell phones.

Why didn’t the young mother take action herself?  I don’t know.  I do believe I was more intimidated when I was younger.   But as a grandmother, God has given me boldness–for which I am grateful.

Has this happened to you?  What did you do?

  •  Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.  Philippians 2:4 ESV
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I’m Fearful About My Future

Posted on September 14, 2016 by Kathleen

A young man from Indonesia wrote me through www.godlife.com .  He said he was worried and had fears about the future.

I shared with him something our pastor once said: “There are three things we should never worry about: the future, our circumstances and people. Yet those are the three things we most often worry about.”

Worry is sin because it indicates we are not trusting God. Trusting God is what the Christian life is all about.

Fear is not from God, it is from Satan.  Satan does not want us to trust God. He desires that Christians be fearful and powerless. We need to reject fear.  Psalm 56:3 says, “When I am afraid I will trust in God.”  That is God’s Word and God’s Word is power!  It is also a decision you make!   I WILL trust in God!  Repeat that over and over and the fear will lift.  Speak aloud to Satan: “Get behind me Satan.  Jesus is Lord!”

Choose to thank God and praise Him for your difficulties. Why?  He asks us to.
It isn’t easy to give thanks for some things, but I have personally experienced that when I obey God, He blesses. There have been times when it was so hard to give thanks I had to grit my teeth to do it. But immediately the peace followed. God is faithful!

  •  Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life.    Matthew 6:25 
  •  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow…     Matthew 6:34a 
  • Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.                  1 Thessalonians 5:18
  •  …always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.     Ephesians 5:20
  •  For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.     2 Timothy 1:7
  •  But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.         Revelation 21:8 KJV
  • SONG: INTO THE LIGHT – by Kathleen  

     

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Don’t Divorce!

Posted on September 11, 2016 by Kathleen

I’ve known my young friend Jacqui since before her marriage.  She has a loving husband who is a devoted father to their children.  Jacqui is also very beautiful. She recently received a substantial inheritance, but she’s unhappy.  She claims she no longer loves her husband and wants a divorce.  She’s never been willing to discuss spiritual things.  I decided to write a letter:

Dear Jacqui,   Dan and I were saddened to learn that you had filed for divorce.  You don’t know this, but my mother divorced her first husband.  My older sister and brother were from her first husband.  Three years after their divorce she married my father and I was born a year later.  I have two younger sisters.

Several times while growing up I’d hear my mother say,  “Divorce was not the answer!  I have just as many problems with my second husband as I did with my first.”  Moreover, she now had two sets of kids, and still had her first husband in her life as they shared their children.

People say kids are resilient. They will adjust.  Besides, today there are so many kids from broken homes they won’t feel any different.  It’s not true.  Kids are resilient on the outside.  They adjust on the outside.  But their hearts will yearn for their parents to be together again.  Your children will observe other kids from intact families and they will know they are missing out.

We’ve heard that a child’s security comes from knowing their parents love them.  That’s only partly true.  A child’s real security comes in knowing their parents love each other.

What is love?  Love is a commitment of the will to the true good of another person. Love does not depend on feelings.   Love is a choice.  Love is something you do.

I’ve been where you are.  I’ve been tempted to escape from my marriage and enjoy freedom…and a new life.  But I suppose it was always my faith in Christ that kept me obedient.  I’m so glad now that I WAS obedient.  Because looking back, those times I thought would never get better, are gone. God was faithful to my obedience.   He’ll be faithful to yours, as well.

This life is short.  VERY short!  This life has a purpose:  you see, this life is a test.  I want to pass the test.  I want my kids and grandkids to pass the test.  This life may be short, but eternity is forever.

We each have a soul and that soul is the life inside our body.  Once our body dies our soul will continue to live.  The most important question is:  Where will your soul live?  Many believe that if they are good they will go to heaven.

Being good or bad has nothing to do with it.  Because nobody is good enough for heaven.  We all need a Savior to save us from eternal separation from God.  We all need a Savior and there is only ONE.

There are two kinds of people:  those who will be saved in the next life and those who will not.   But as far as I know, I don’t believe you’ve ever come to know the Lord Jesus, nor the joy, peace and purpose that only He provides.

There WILL be a time when you wake up and realize you’ve made some serious mistakes and you need God in your life.  Don’t wait.  You’ll be very sad if you do.

When we come to the end of our lives, the only question that matters to God is, “What did you do with Jesus?” When you are ready to investigate the God life, you might check out this site:  http://godlife.com/faith

Or even this one:    http://www.godlife.com/connect

I love you!   Kathleen

  • For “I hate divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel.  Malachi 2:16 NASB
Posted in DOCTRINE, Love & Romance, RAISING KIDS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Sunday Fun on the Beach Promenade

Posted on September 8, 2016 by Kathleen

Sunday our team was on the beach promenade again. What fun! We had just set up our table and Renee started playing her accordion when a man walked up. He saw our signage: “Free Books,” “God Talk,” and “Need Prayer? Let us Pray for You!”   He looked over our books and Bibles and asked us a few questions about our beliefs.  Then he opened his wallet and handed me a crisp $100 bill.

I said, “We’re not selling anything. Everything you see is free.”

He said, “And I’m not buying anything.  I like what I see.  I’d like you to take this and buy more Bibles.”

I thanked him and said I would. He hung out with us for 20 minutes and watched for awhile as we interacted with others.

A bubbly high school student stopped. She was from out of town, and a participant in the surfing competition in progress up the beach.  She was excited as she looked at our Bibles and began asking questions.

She said, “My mother is very spiritual, but she doesn’t really know what she believes—she’s kind of mixed up. My father is a strong atheist. I’m in the middle and have been searching for truth since junior high. I’ve read and studied about every religion I can.  The one that makes the most sense to me is Christianity. But I do have some questions.” She asked one question after another, smiling and eager to learn more.

It was getting close to the time of her next heat and she had to hurry. She said she wished she could talk with me further. So I told her I was an online missionary with Global Media Outreach. I suggested she go to http://www.godlife.com/connect  where she could learn a great deal. If she wants me to mentor her, she could click on “Talk to Someone.”  She will see a place to make a comment. I gave her my code name so she could enter it there.  She said she would.

Before she left I loaded her down with some tracts, a Bible and a DVD from http://www.JesusFactOrFiction.com .   As she ran off she said, “Thank you! I’m so happy!”

  • He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.    Luke 10:2

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Astrology in Myanmar

Posted on September 5, 2016 by Kathleen

We learned a great deal from our Buddhist guides while in Myanmar. For example, the people there don’t have family names (surnames). Their last name is the day of the week they were born.  They divide Wednesday into two days: Midnight to 12 noon is one day; noon to midnight another day. That way there are eight days in the week—and eight is a “lucky” number.

It is their belief that the day of the week they are born determines their personalities. There are certain days of the week—let’s say Monday—if you’re born that day, then you would not make a good match with a person born on another day—let’s say Wednesday. An astrologer is consulted before a wedding to ensure a good match according to the astrological chart.

As a follower of Jesus, I believe astrology is the “interpretation” of an assumed influence the stars and planets have on human destiny. According to the Bible, this is a false belief.

  1. In Daniel 1:20 the royal astrologers of the Babylonian court were put to shame by God’s prophet Daniel.
  2. The astrologers were powerless to interpret the king’s dream in Daniel 2:27.
  3. God specifies astrologers as among those who will be burned as stubble in God’s judgment in Isaiah 47:13-14.
  4. We read in Deuteronomy 18:10-14 that astrology as a form of divination is forbidden in Scripture.
  5. In Deuteronomy 4:19 God forbid the children of Israel to worship or serve the “host of heaven.”
  6. We read in 2 Kings 17:16 that the Israelites fell into that very sin several times. Their worship of the stars brought God’s judgment each time.
  • In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.     Daniel 1:20
  •  Daniel replied, “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about.     Daniel 2:27
  • All the counsel you have received has only worn you out!  Let your astrologers come forward, those star-gazers who make predictions month by month, let them save you from what is coming upon you.  Surely they are like stubble; the fire will burn them up.  They cannot even save themselves from the power of the flame. These are not coals for warmth; this is not a fire to sit by.     Isaiah 47:13-14
  • And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the Lord your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.          Deuteronomy 4:19
  • They forsook all the commands of the Lord their God and made for themselves two idols cast in the shape of calves,and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the starry hosts, and they worshiped Baal.     2 Kings 17:16
  • SONG:  THE PARALYTIC – Music by Kathleen, Lyrics from Mark 2:3, 5-12

 

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Nirvana? Reincarnation?

Posted on September 2, 2016 by Kathleen

Our guide in Myanmar explained that Myanmar  (formerly Burma) is the most religious Buddhist country in the world, in terms of the proportion of monks in the population and proportion of income spent on religion.

A Buddhist’s ultimate spiritual goal is Nirvana. The various schools of Buddhism understand nirvana in different ways, but they generally agree that nirvana is not a place. It is more like a state of existence.

Our guide explained that Buddhists seek to be reincarnated over and over until they reach Nirvana—a state of peace, joy, contentment, freedom from suffering and freedom from the power of lust and evil in our lives.

Can a Christian experience Nirvana?    This is the way I see it:  When a person surrenders his life to Jesus Christ he/she receives the Holy Spirit.  He also receives the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Eternal life in Christ is what some might call Nirvana.  It begins at the moment of our surrender.

When a Christian experiences physical death and passes from this life he then enters the presence of the Lord God and fully experiences heaven (Nirvana).

Can a person be reincarnated into an animal or insect?   According to our Buddhist guide, Buddhists from Myanmar believe a human can only be reincarnated into another human being, never an animal.  Apparently, Buddhists and Hindus in some countries believe humans can be reincarnated into animals or insects.  He explained that in some countries people don’t wear shoes for fear of stepping on an insect that might be someone’s relative.

  • Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.  Hebrews 9:27-28
  •  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23
  • Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water.  And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.     Revelation 7:16-17

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