Clothed in Christ!

Romans 13:11-14

And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.

Greetings, My Beloved!

I can't believe October is almost over. November will be here before you know it, and you know what that means... Election Time. Have you decided on a candidate yet. I have to be honest with you, this has been a difficult choice, I have spent much time in prayer as I contemplated my choice. We are going to go this weekend to early vote. I encourage you to vote, even if you lack confidence in any of the leaders. Remember, only God can change a nation, so vote for the candidate that will come the closest to standing for godly values. Sorry, I didn't mean to get all political on you.

Yesterday, we went to the Houston Photography Center, where they had a few photography exhibits. I love photography! I saw a couple of the exhibits to be political pieces, although I am quite sure that was not the artists' intent. One of them told the story of how they were affected by the economic downfall of Argentina. I have heard stories from various friends from Argentina of the economy in Argentina. How one day you have everything you need, and the next nothing. That was the story of this girl, remembering the day her television was taken away. Her father was a business man, and lost his company. Her mother was in tears as they sat in an empty house - everything taken out from them, except the clothes on their backs and a shoebox of pictures - memories of their lives before this day. Slowly the family one by one immigrated to Europe, leaving the shoebox of pictures behind, in the safe keeping of the grandmother. Upon this girl's return, a flood had occurred and destroyed the pictures. As she was going through them, she was amazed by the beauty of the colors left behind. Some pictures remained in tact, while others, were only traces of colors a reminisce of the past. She framed the pictures, some you can recognize right away as a family album, others, you can take in the beauty of the mixtures of colors, all told her story. It made me think about the position our government is in, any time our economy can collapse with as much debt as we are in. We can lose everything we have in a moment. Really, nothing is guaranteed here on earth. That is why it is so important to vote for a candidate that you can entrust to reduce and eventually eliminate the national debt. If we continue to go on the path we are on now, who's to say that we won't be the ones left behind with a shoebox of pictures? Perhaps that's the fate of our nation? Who really knows. All I know is that God's judgment on our nation is justified - look at the lawlessness that is abounding. I pray that God has mercy on our nation. Abraham pleaded with God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah, for Lot's sake. He thought surely there are enough righteous there to keep God from destroying the city, but alas, as he kept pleading, going down in numbers the end result - only Lot and his family was saved. However, Lot's wife turned back, and was turned into a pillar of salt. Let us clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, let us not look back to gratify the desires of our flesh, as Lot's wife did. I pray that we are continually cleansed in His Righteousness, that will be be found Holy and Acceptable for the Day of the Lord.

Let us look into our own lives. Is there anything that you need to repent from? Let us be cleansed by the blood of the lamb that God can see us as righteous, enough righteous to not destroy our nation. Just this week during my prayer time with the Lord, He brought to my remembrance of something I did in my rebellious college days. Something I completely forgot about, but nonetheless something, I never truly asked forgiveness from. I repented right there, and realized we are continually being washed by the blood of the lamb. Let us clothes ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, that we can be purified to join in true authentic worship to our King!

In Christ's Love!

Christina

Just Because You Can, Doesn't Mean You Should...

1 Corinthians 10:23-24

"I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.

Greetings my Beloved!

I trust you are having a most excellent week. My week has been filled with so much busyness. We have been preparing for our son's birthday ceremony, I've been taking my dear friend back and forth from MD Anderson for treatments, and I have been doing my daily work. You would think with all that is going on I would be exhausted, and I am. However, I can't wait for the ceremony, I love being a blessing to others, and I was able to share Christ's love with someone this week. What more can a girl ask for? However, I am exhausted, and I can't help but think, "Am I missing something?" Can you be exhausted and miss out on the greatest things in life?

This verse really stuck out to me during one of our devotion times this week. Basically it is saying anything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial. In other words, "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should." One of the hardest things I have a problem with is saying the word, "No." Surely I can do everything that I want to at 100%. But then I get the overwhelming feeling of exhaustion, and it makes me wonder - should I be doing all of this? Did God call me to do all of this, and if not, am I missing something that He has called me to do? The last thing I want is to be too busy to do the work of the Lord. He has called each of us to serve Him, but are we serving Him with all of our heart, or are we giving God the leftovers? When I was a kid, we used to watch this Christian children's television program, where they would give little devotionals with illustrations. I will never forget the illustration they gave regarding putting God first. They had a jar, dry beans, and 3 golf balls glued together. The jar represented us, the beans all of our daily activities, the 3 golf balls represented God. When you fill your life with all of your daily activities, and then try to fit God into your life - he doesn't fit. When you put God in first, then the rest of your activities fill in nicely and everything fits.

Let us do some self examining today. Have we forgotten God in the chaos of our days? If we continually fill ourselves up with God, doesn't it make life more fulfilling? Let us enter into His presence and worship our Lord - maker of the heavens and earth! My husband and I went to Armand Bayou Nature Center last weekend, and enjoyed reading about the different birds. It is amazing to think that God just spoke them into being, but yet thought about the intricacies that make them work, like the hollow bones so they can fly, the different shapes of beaks depending on their diet, the different types of feet depending on if they are walkers, climbers, or runners. God even thought about the intricacies of creating you. He knows what works in each of us, and what doesn't. That is what makes Him the Greatest Physician. Let us worship our Creator today!

Love,

Christina

Praying for our Leaders!

1 Corinthians 3:18-23

Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” So then, no more boasting about human leaders! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.

 

 

Hello my beloved,

I hope you are all well. I continue to fight this chest congestion, which is ever so annoying. We have also welcomed into our home a dear friend of mine. I am looking forward to playing the hospitality role, and be a blessing to her. I love being a blessing to others, after all isn't that what we are called to do?

 

 

This week, we started reading 1 Corinthians for our family devotion time. I have noticed how many of my favorite scriptures are from this book - yes I have lots of favorite scriptures, as I am sure you do as well. This particular one stood out to me today when I was soaking in the past few passages we have read this week. My mind is still weighing heavily on our leaders of this nation, especially as elections approach. I am praying that the right leaders are elected into office, and what my role in it is to play. I'm also praying for the salvation of our leaders. I believe no one is too far from God's reach. I will be honest with you, I do not agree with the stances of either of the lead presidential candidates. I do not agree with President Obama; however, I still respect him as our leader. And believe it or not, I do not agree with Romney either. I hold true to the Biblical values that once stood firm in this nation. However, the world has made Christians to look like fools, and why not - I'm sure we do look foolish compared to them, as our value system is so different. It is oftentimes overlooked, and we try our hardest not to offend anyone. Are we deceiving ourselves? We are slowly slipping into the mindset of the world, when we think success is measured by the big house, nice car, great career, high pay check, etc. While these are nice things to have, does this truly measure success? Do we see that the lie at hand during this presidential race to be wise or foolish? Is it tearing us apart from friendships because one agrees with one standpoint while the other agrees with another? Let us stay true to our heart this election - the heart of God. Let His values become our values, His wisdom - our wisdom. After all, it may seem foolish in this world, but God's world is eternal. Let us seek God as we prepare to vote. Let us continue to pray for our elected officials, and our future leaders in this nation.

 

 

Lord, I pray for our leaders in our nation. Let them no longer see your ways as foolish, but to seek godly wisdom. I pray for their salvation, if they do not already know you. Lord, I pray that our future and current leaders of our nation will find the saving knowledge of you as their lord and savior. Father, I pray that Grace and Wisdom will find them. I pray that they will not walk in the way of the wicked, or stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the company of mockers. I pray that their delight is in the law of the Lord, and that they will meditate on this both day and night. I pray that they will be like trees planted by streams of water, and will bear much fruit in season, and the leaves will not wither and fade. I pray that whatever they do will prosper. It is in your nane that we pray, Amen.

Signs of the Times

Matthew 24: 4-14

Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Greetings my Beloved!

I hope you are having a marvelous day! I continue to stand amazed with the life that God has given me. I am honored to be His servant, and constantly look to please and glorify Him. Yet I look at the world around me, and wonder - how can anyone live their life without the God Almighty? As the end times approach, I see more and more persecution of the church, more and more false prophecies of the Lord's return, and more and more deception within the church. I think it is so important to stay within God's word, knowing exactly His truths. Remember no one knows the day or the hour of the Lord's return, so we should live each day to the fullest. We need not fear the prophecies that are coming to fruition, but recognize the signs of the times, that we may be ready for the coming of our Lord and Savior. Have you stopped for a moment to reflect on your life, to see if you have done what the Lord has called you to do? Let us serve the Lord with all of our hearts, let us be ready for His coming, and know that when we endure persecution ourselves, that the Lord will be our refuge and strength. Things may look difficult in the physical realm, but in the spiritual realm we know that God has already obtained the victory. So what do we have to fear?

Let us take a moment, and pray for our nation. While we know the truth, the truth has been tainted within our culture. As the elections approach, we need to recognize that a man cannot save our nation - only God can. We need to recognize that only God places the leader in the land, so there is no need to worry about who will be elected. At the same time, we should use our God given right to vote, and vote wisely. Don't vote for a political party, or for a person. Vote for the issues at hand. Vote in accordance to God's word. I'm not going to tell you who to vote for, or who I am going to vote for (as I still do not know), but what I am telling you to do, is do what I am doing - and seek God and pray. Pray for our nation, our leaders, and what our role will be in all of this. So, I leave you with this prayer:

Oh Lord, our Father, maker of the heavens and earth. You are so majestic and worthy of all honor and glory. As the day approaches for your return, Lord, I pray that we can stay steadfast in your faith. I pray that we can hear your voice clearly, and that we can live according to your ways. I know that our nation is crumbling, and perhaps it is your judgment as we have allowed our nation to go directly against Your truth. I ask for forgiveness, forgive us for not standing up for your truth, and allowing the lies of the enemy to prevail. Forgive us for allowing those around us call good evil and evil good, and we never say a word. Forgive us, for not instilling Your values into our children, and allowing the culture to influence their lives. Forgive us for treating you common, and church as a social club. Forgive us, for not taking action in your Kingdom work, but rather allowing the chaos of our days rule our lives. Forgive us for being self-righteous and showing hate rather than your love. You did not call us to hate others, but to love others. At the same time, you have called us to hate sin, and to call our brothers and sisters out in their sin. Forgive us for not doing this in the church. Lord we want your will to be done in this nation. We want to take a stand, and be your ambassadors here in this foreign land. No longer, shall we be silent. but we shall turn from our wicked ways, and seek for you to heal our land. We love you Lord, and we want nothing more than for you to guide our steps as we prepare to vote this election season. Grant us wisdom, as we study each candidate to make sure we live a righteous life. We praise you Lord, for all of the things you have already done, and everything that you are going to do. It is in your name that we pray, Amen.