Shining in Darkness

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  April 2022 Newsletter

  April-2022-newsletterDownload

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  Trouble

  Trouble will either define you or refine you. We do not get to choose our troubles, but we must choose what we do with our troubles. Either we will let them be a fire that consumes us or let them be a fire that refines us. 

  Job 23:10  But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

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  REMEMBER

  My last personal post was in 2016. So much has happened since then. The number one reason for that huge gap is feeling inadequate. I am not a gifted writer. I can go on and on with my excuses not to write. But God reminded me why I am writing: To remember His wonderful works in my life. HIS works not mine.
  
  I have been studying a discipleship material the past few weeks. Today’s study focuses on forgiveness. I smiled as I thought how timely this topic is for me. The last part of Jeremiah 31:34 says “for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” The note says that an all-knowing God does not forget; He chooses not to remember. Remember means to bear or keep in mind; to attend to; to preserve the memory of; to mention; to remind; to think of; to meditate.

  I forget a lot of things. But there’s one thing that I can easily remember: it’s when someone offended me. God has dealt with me about past offenses. I struggled with it, but later learned from it and chose to not remember them. But when there’s a new offense, I may not fight with the offender but I would muse on it and talk about it in different ways. It can be in my prayer or prayer requests. I may use it as an example as I speak to someone else concealing the offender’s name. I may even tell my husband about it because he is my best friend, he understands (?). The problem with how I handle offenses is the expectation that it will bring healing to the hurt but what I am actually doing is hurting myself even more by remembering the offense!

  To not forgive means to become bitter, to be tormented, and to surrender control to the Devil. Ephesians 4:26-27 says Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil.
  

  I wanted to be liberated of those three things so I began to look at verses on what I should remember:

  1. Remember the name of the Lord our God (Psalm 29:7)
  2. Remember the works of the Lord and thy wonders of old (Psalm 77:11)
  3. Remember that God is our rock and our redeemer (Psalm 78:35)
  4. Remember His commandments and do them (Psalm 103:18)
  5. Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth. This reminds us (not just the youth) to be thankful and glorify God because everything we have (our talents, our money, our possessions, our job) belongs to Him. (Eccl 12:1)
  6. Remember Lot’s wife. Don’t look back! Don’t set your hearts on the world. (Luke 17:32)
  7. “Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.” (John 15:20) We should not expect to be treated better than Jesus. Jesus was persecuted, therefore, expect persecution in our lives.
  8. Remember the poor. (Gal 2:10)
  9. “Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;” (1 Th 1:3)
  10. Remember the persecuted. (Heb 13:3)
  11. Remember what you were without Christ (Eph 2:11)
  12. Remember the resurrection of Jesus Christ (2 Tim2:8)
  13. Remember what it is to be close to God (Rev 2:5)
  14. “Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt now know what hour I will come upon thee.” (Rev 3:3)

  Today, I meditated on some of the those verses. Boy, those few verses kept my mind busy that I had no time for the offenses. Remember, the next time we are offended: forgive, quit thinking and talking about the offense, instead, meditate on the Word of God.
  
  2Co 10:5  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;

  
  Php 4:8  Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

  
  What a joy to only remember what really matters!

  “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way. To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”

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  Are You 100% Sure You Will Go to Heaven?

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  Znaš Li 100% Sigurno Hoćeš Li Doći U Nebo?