White as Snow

When we say we trust in God...and we pledge our allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, one nation, under God.....with liberty and justice for all, and to the republic for which it stands...what does that mean? Do we put God first? Do we stand up for the people? Let us remember that we are here to serve God by serving and by encouraging others. Let us put God back on the throne and trust His Word as the way. Let us trust that His will is done, on earth as it is in heaven. He is in charge regardless of who sits in the oval office. He chose us for His purpose. AMEN.

Every day is a DAY of MEMORY MAKING - let us remember all those who gave up their life so that we can enjoy freedom. Freedom is not without a cost. The truth is that suffering and pain are a part of this life. "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.  But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed.  If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you." 1 Peter 4:12-19

When things do not go according to our plan, do we ask "Why me Lord?" Do we wonder if God forgot all the good things we did for Him? Our natural inclination is to feel sorry for ourselves, and not rejoice in our sufferings. Recently a pastor was put in prison in Iran. He is being tortured for his faith and wrote a letter rejoicing that his persecution is bringing various churches together. The living Word of God paints a picture for us. Imagine the seven dwarfs, those uneducated yet uniquely gifted smallpeople. Those happy little fellas who whistled as they went off to work ~ they suffered persecution

because they were short.  Snow White suffered the jealousy of the Queen because of the pure innocense of her soul.  These cherished people wisely chose to listen to what the spirit was saying. Snow ran from evil. She was alone and terrified while seeking refuge. The dwarfs welcomed her and they showed her kindness. As it is written, Snow was blessed, for the glory of the Lord shone all around her. God's earthly presence rested upon her, and He gave Snow rest. The Spirit of glory gave her refreshment and a brief intermission from toil. 

Snow had the gift to easily encourage others.  With authentic grace she spoke highly of Sleepy's kindness, Dopey's delightful humor, and the compassion Sneezy had developed as a result of his constant allergies. The dwarfs directed Snow to consider God's living Word and that victory was hers over the evil plots to steal her position as a princess of the most High Priest, Jesus Christ. Satan does use religion to subject the world to himself, but Snow read what God wrote to the angel of Thyatira: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire... He knows your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance little ones. God sees all, and knows all of our true intentions. He knows why you work, and why you say you love God. He knows what you are doing today is more than when you first came to believe. Nevertheless, God  is holy and cannot overlook sin. He holds this against you:

You tolerate that evil woman Jezebel, the wicked queen who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads many servants of God into acts that dishonor the Holy name of Jesus. Actions that show the watching world that we do not need God. That our wicked human ways of satisfying our desires is superior to God's way, His will and His Word. God gave Jezebel time to admit her wicked ways, to confess her hopes to influence others to do evil, but she remained unwilling to repent. So our righteous Lord cast Jezebel down on a bed of suffering.  God is just and He searches all hearts and minds. He will repay all according to our wicked deeds and the true intentions of our hearts. TRUTH IS: God knows our intentions. 1) We are serving God because we desire to honor Him, or 2) We are doing what we do to gain a good reputation for ourselves. Selfishness and pride are not hidden from God.  Our Lord is full of compassion and He writes to us to warn us; 

"To you who do NOT hold to Evil's twisted teachings, to those who have used their shield, and worn the helmet and rejected the words of man, to all who denied Satan's cunning temptations and schemes to seductively ensnare, to all who used the Sword of Truth to chase off false teachings and polluted insights into the ways of God....Our Father warns those to HOLD ON to what you have, your FAITH and TRUST in God."  To each of you who overcomes, to each of you who remains faithful until Jesus Christ returns, God will give authority to rule over the nations. God issues His power through small and large acts of kindness. (Revelation 2:26)  "He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."  God has compassion for His chosen and 

He sends us people to bend our ears. Let us listen to His still small voice and be moved to act in ways that bring God glory. The village in which you work and live is much like Thyatira. A place where man finds work, a town with many trades. A city that is governed by people who are very capable of being deceived. God is delighted and He commends you for growing in good deeds, but He encourages us to grow in love, faith and trusting in His words alone.  Rise up and capture every thought. Sweep away any thought of revenge, of doubt, of fear. Choose to listen to what the Spirit of God is

compassionately warning. Our Lord speaks of seven seals, seven bowls, seven plagues, and in the end... Jesus declares 'It is done!' ~ Because we are loved, because of God's compassion and kindness, He tells us the truth. Evil ever lurks to destroy us, to tempt us to deny Christ. In your weakness, the Holy Spirit will rise up and give you understanding and strength. "Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. " (Rev 16:17) REMEMBER ME when you eat the bread of life and drink from the cup.

God is merciful, but He has a limit to His patience. After 3 years of revealing Himself physically on earth as the Son of Man, and after demonstrating His love to a group of pride filled theologians, Jesus showed His power by raising the dead and healing the sick. Jesus spoke with astounding authority in the synagogue. The proud students of God's word were unable to recognize Jesus as the Messiah. They were unable to let go of what was familiar, what was their way, and they felt threatened instead of humbled by the living Word of God. These proud men, demanded throughout nine hours of trials, that Jesus be crucified so that their teaching, their understanding of scripture would be upheld. ~  After 2,000 years  of displaying His grace through His chosen

people, Jesus will extend His compassion, grace, patience and mercy another 3.5 more years after the great tribulation, when He returns to rescue His bride, the church.  All who have ever claimed Jesus as the Son of God and personal Savior, as His beloved, we will dine with Jesus and all the saints of history at the wedding of the Lamb.  Jesus warns the world of His coming final judgement by His living Word. The vision of His ultimate Glory is found in the book of Revelation.  He reveals the truth, one chapter at a time. With each of the seven seals opened, and with each bowl of deserved wrath our Father encourages us "So do not fear, for I am with you; do NOT be dismayed, for I am your God, I will strengthen

you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Our Lord Jesus proceeds to assert His power, lifting up His own while cleansing the world of its sin and rebellion against a Holy God. If evil has sought to destroy your faith, if evil has enlisted others to persecute you, if evil has caused you to suffer unjustly for your faith in Jesus Christ... "Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord." Do not withhold forgiveness, be kind, be compassionate to those who seek to harm you for they know not what they are doing. Do not initiate a lawsuit, just

move on. Do not lash out with a sharp tone, do not keep retelling of how you were wronged. Do not attempt to destroy the reputation of the person who acted willfully to harm you. Our Father, Who knows all, Who sees all from heaven, respect His Word, His name. His kingdom come, His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Revenge belongs to the Lord. AMEN ~ Draw close to Jesus, read His word, speak His name for there is HOPE for you "In Christ". We will be changed according to how much of our mind, body, beliefs we surrender to the MIND OF CHRIST. The truth is:  "That He who began a good work in me, will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."  What we will be

like "has not yet been made known. But I know that when He appears, I shall be like Him, for I shall see Him as He is."  

PRAISE GOD!  The day fast approaches when we will no longer struggle with sin, or be inconsistent, nor shall we stumble and fall. "Everyone who has this hope "in Him" purifies himself, just as He is pure".  MAKE YOURSELF READY as a bride makes herself ready for the wedding feast.  The wedding of the Lamb, of the Lord Jesus to us His bride, His church, is an occasion of unsurpassed JOY! Halleluiah! The robe that was stripped from Jesus on the cross,

that same robe that was gambled for while Jesus bled His royal blood for us on the cross, this same robe shall drip in the blood of those who ever denied His authority as God. "HIS NAME IS THE WORD OF GOD"  Revelations 19:13.  The bible is the written Word of God, and Jesus Christ is the living Word of God, both are revelations of God. Read it with reverence, with a humble attitude, with a repentant heart. God considers our reception or rejection of the Bible to be our reception or rejection of Himself.  His identity is firmly stated with these words written on His robe and on His thigh: KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS.  Do you not stutter in

shock and awe knowing that "  Jesus showed us the way to live in the world but not be changed or threatened by it.  Jesus saw the work of the Liar at work in his friend Peter and He loved Pete enough to speak the truth.  Peter denied Jesus three times and still Jesus bestowed him with the important role of establishing the first church. The living Word in this segment of Peter's reality show. It is clear documentation that demonstrates our Father's forgiveness for our frequent mistakes, moments of pride, and 

embarrassing bloopers. God forgives and forgets.  He does not remind us of our faults, but He lets us know that He will make use of us regardless of our human frailty. Whoever believes in Jesus, though they suffer and die, they shall enjoy life "in Him" eternally. Peter suffered the shame of being rebuked by Jesus.  Our father loves us enough to discipline us.  Peter was able to see his human tendency to seek the admiration of man, instead of the grace of God. Peter in a moment of stupor attempted to correct the living Word, Jesus the bridegroom!  Married or single, we are to submit to God.  When we die to ourselves,

we submerge the urge daily to cast stones or speak before we listen for His still small voice of wisdom. Completely dependent upon our Lord Jesus, we obey the Word of God by His grace.  When our peers, our family observe the pure and modest way in which we conduct and interact with respectfully with others, they will rightly perceive our reverence, our genuine honor and esteem for our Father, our Lord Jesus Christ. Our inward adoring of the hidden person of the heart, the Holy Spirit (Who has incorruptible and unfading loyalty to God)  when we recline

into His presence, we are not anxious or fearful of any temptation or any person.  Like when Sarah obeyed Abraham, she willingly followed his guidance and acknowledged his authority over her, she called him her husband, her leader. As we are of Abraham's seed, we are His true daughters and we are not terrified. Men and women are to consider the intelligent design of both man and woman. We honor the woman as physically the weaker, but we acknowledge that both man and woman are joint heirs of the God’s unmerited favor, His grace.  Finally,

men and women are to be of one and the same mind, united in spirit, sympathizing with one another, loving each other as brethren of one household, and be compassionate, humble and courteous.  Never return evil for evil or insult for insult. Scolding, tongue lashing, or destroying the character of another are the ways of the lost. As our Father inhabits the prayers of His chosen, we also likewise inhabit the blessings of God. Let us obey and pray for the welfare, happiness, and protection of

those who persecute us. We have been set apart and equipped to forgive as we have been forgiven. Let him who wants to enjoy life and see good days do the will of our Father, and love others as we are loved by Him. JESUS was reviled and insulted, yet He did not revile or offer insult in return; when Jesus was abused and suffered, He made no threats of vengeance; but he trusted Himself and everything to God Who judges fairly.  Jesus offered Himself on the cross, that we might surrender our will to His. Let us cease to seek to satisfy our wants by our selfish, inferior ways.  Let us VALUE what Jesus has done for us and put on His robe of righteousness. Let us boldly declare in faith that "by His wounds I have been healed."  Say outloud, "I am healed of fear, and uncertainty"

I now speak with confidence about who I am to the King of Kings. Jesus Christ is my Lord, and I stand firm in the truth that I am His, and He is mine. Admitting that before we met Jesus on our road to destruction, we were all going astray like so many sheep.  YOU were worth it in the eyes of the Lord, that He would come down from His throne, to be known, to be rejected, to be tortured, to die and then return to pay the price for your sins.  Jesus Christ is worthy to be praised!