Good morning to all on this glorious Sunday morning. Waine and I are in Atlanta for a short weekend. Had a wonderful dinner with our son Aleron last night; Aleron finished his first full week of employment as a staff physician for Kaiser. Please continue to keep him in your prayers as he navigates the "ins" and "outs" of being a GREAT physician. Many of you know by now that Waine's email was hacked last week. Many people got a email saying that he was stranded in the Philippines and needed $2,000. So many people called with their concern, 1) to notify us that his email had been hacked, 2) many people wanted to help in any way they could. Malcolm Taylor always said, "If you have God, family and friends, you may stumble but will never hit the ground". Thank you all for your concern and prayers. We are both fine and were never in the Philippine and it is good to know we have friends that care about us.
I am continuing my journey in 1 John 2: 1- 29 " My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. We know that we have come to know Him if we keep His commands. Whoever says, “I know Him,” but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys His Word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in Him must live as Jesus did. Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.
I am writing to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of His name. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, dear children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the Word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one. Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. he world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many Antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what He promised us—eternal life. I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. As for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in Him. And now, dear children, continue in Him, so that when He appears we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of Him." Amen and may the Lord add a Blessing to the Reading and Hearing of His Word.
I have been CONVICTED lately that my life has to demonstrate the LIGHT and LIFE of Christ. I am reminded daily that Jesus Christ does not have a pedigree of strife, confusion, misery or bad outcomes. God, through Christ, ONLY bears fruit of abundance. Last week was a very stress filled week for me. There were so many things that seemed to be going wrong. The whirlwind of confusion and strife was overwhelming. I was caught up in it and felt hopeless until I remembered that this STRIFE and CONFUSION was not of God. I then rebuked Satan and begin to think on the PROMISES of God! The God we serve is not a God of confusion or hopelessness. He is a God of Victory and when we step out on faith and claim the victory our solutions are at hand. The temptation is to be caught up in the strife and confusion -- instead what we should do is to begin to praise the God of our salvation for our deliverance from the confusion caused by the father of lies--the evil one.
If this day finds you in the midst of confusion, rebuke the devil in Jesus name and he will flea from you. Satan can not be in the same space as God or Jesus so he will flea and his twin towers of confusion and strife will leave with him. We do not have power over the spiritual battle that is taking place but God is in the forefront of our lives to protect us and to ensure that we have abundance today. When you think about your spiritual pedigree, does it reflect the God that has brought you out of the mired clay? Others are watching so be blessed today so that you can bless others.
May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
Stephanie
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