Words Hurt

“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”

~Ephesians 4:29

I was listening to a woman speak to her young child one day and wondered how she could say the things she did to him. I know people say things to one another that are not meant seriously, but do we really pay attention to the words of our mouth? We say evil things to the ones we love, we call them names when we’re angry, and even in jest, we use crude terms when speaking to others. But once the words are out there, they can’t be unheard or taken back. I remember when I was young, my father called me “Chubs.” I was a chubby child but the teasing I endured for it affected me my entire life. Words hurt.

“The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned (Matthew 12:35-37).”

When we speak to others, we must remember that every word is being recorded in Heaven and we will answer for them. The Bible tells us to make sure our speech is seasoned and full of grace (Colossians 4:6), and to speak in love (Ephesians 4:15), and that harsh words stirs up anger (Proverbs 15:1). Everything we see and hear on TV, in social media, and other places are full of foul words, cursing, anger, and crude jokes. When we hear these things, they do invade our subconscious, and eventually, we begin to use the same words. We have to guard our hearts and our ears in order to keep our minds on Christ and our mouths full of lovely words.

“Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.  For whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.  For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil (1 Peter 3:9-12).”

Read 1 Timothy

©2018 Marie McGaha

Love Is A Verb

“Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ To the contrary, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.”

~Romans 12:19-21

Christian life is much different than life in this world. In fact, it’s the exact opposite. We are to live in peace, help others, feed our enemies, and overcome evil by doing good. That may be contrary to the life we had before accepting Christ as our Savior, but that is what the nature of Christ is all about—changing lives by changing our perspective. And when our perspective changes, how we treat others changes. When we treat others the way Jesus treated people, their perspective changes. Christ did not change the lives of those He met by some magic spell, He changed them through love, one life at a time. And He is still doing that through every person who accepts Him as their Savior.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:34-35).”

Love is verb, not a noun—not a feeling but an action. Christ showed love to everyone He met. He showed love by feeding the hungry, healing the sick, and treating people with respect. That may be contrary to the world we live in, nevertheless, we are commanded to love others the way Christ loves us. It doesn’t mean we have to approve of the way someone is living, but it does mean if we can give them a hand to change their life, we should. Actions will always speak louder than words, and when we act in love, we are fulfilling God’s commands.

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another (1 John 4:7-11).” 

Read 1 Thessalonians; Weekend Reading 2 Thessalonians

©2018 Marie McGaha

Consuming Fire

"Therefore, let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire."

~Hebrews 12:28-29

In Deuteronomy and Exodus, the Lord is mentioned as “fire.” He is a fire leading the children of Israel out of Egypt, and a consuming fire taking out their enemies. As all of us know, a fire can be a good thing or something terrible. Burning in our fireplace, a fire is warm and comforting but when that fire engulfs a building, it is destructive. Like the children of Israel, we can be comforted by the fire of the Lord when we trust in Him. But for those who do not accept Jesus Christ as their Savior, the consuming fire will be Hell.

"The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling has seized the godless: Who among us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings (Isaiah 33:14)?”

Accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior is the only answer in this life, and for the one to come. Our life here is fleeting. The Bible calls our lives a mist, vapor, shadow, and in 1 Peter 1:24, we are compared to a flower that withers and dies. But what is on the other side of this life is eternity, and where we spend it is determined during this vapor we call life. And the fire of God will reveal it.

“Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).”

Read Colossians

©2018 Marie McGaha

He Is Holy Still

“My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Distant from my salvation are the words of my groaning. O my God, I cried out by day, but You did not answer, by night but there was no rest for me. Yet You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.”

~Psalm 22:2-4

There are times we go through dry periods where God can seem far away, as if He doesn’t hear us. Our prayers seem just as dry and go unanswered, and it’s all we can do to offer up words of worship. But no matter how we feel, it’s important to remember that God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, and He is not dependent on our feelings. No matter how we feel, He is holy still.

“Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why are you murmuring within me? Hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, for the salvation of His presence (Psalm 42:6).”

David lived a complicated life. He went through periods of depression, sadness, and grief. He lived through dry periods where God seemed far from him and everything that could go wrong, did. Even in the times when he cried out to God, his feelings raw and his life seemingly on the brink of disaster, David could draw on the one thing he knew to be true – God is holy and worthy to be praised.

When we find ourselves in dry times where God seems far away, we can draw on David’s wisdom—why are you downcast, O my soul? Hope in God! And no matter my circumstances, or my feelings, I will praise Him!

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:35-39).”

Read Philippians

©2018 Marie McGaha

The End Days

“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.”

~2 Timothy 3:1-7

I personally believe we are living in the end days and the Lord will be returning soon. I talk with a lot of people and the theme seems to be that even those who don’t claim to be Christians also believe life as we know it is coming to an end. While I am not a “prepper” I do believe we are about to see significant changes that will change the course of our lives. The world has gotten so out of control, even if there wasn’t a foretelling of these events in the Bible, I would believe WW3 looms in the not so distant future. The political climate is in upheaval; governments are pushing for a one world government, one world currency, and a one world religion; and all of this is prophesied in the Bible (Daniel 12; Revelation 13 et al).

“As He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains (Matthew 24:3-8).”

Anyone who has given birth can tell you that labor pains are not fun. They begin slowly but increase to the point of severe pain until finally, the entire body is engaged in just one function – to push that baby into the world. Jesus says the end of days will be the same way – a gradual build-up of lawlessness and disasters until it all gives way, and someone pushes the button. The labor pains began around the turn of the 20^th century but specifically after WW1 in 1914 when President Woodrow Wilson began The League of Nations. WW1 was the worst war ever seen on earth and President Wilson wanted to put a stop to anything like that happening again. However, The League of Nations never really got off the ground.

In 1945 WW2 occurred and 52 million people died. Then President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin, and Winston Churchill got together and agreed what had not been accomplished after WW1 needed to be accomplished then. The United Nations was born. Although President Roosevelt was gravely ill, he pushed the UN charter forward through his diplomatic assistant, Alger Hiss. Mr. Hiss wrote the charter for the UN and it stands to this day. Three years later, Alger Hiss was exposed as a communist spy, was tried, convicted and sent to prison.

So, you can see that the New World Order has been in the works for a very long time. I don’t know when the end will come but I do know it’s getting close. Our only answer is Jesus Christ. If you are not assured of your salvation right now, at this very moment, don’t wait until it’s too late. Accept Christ as your Savior so your place in Heaven is guaranteed and no matter when the end comes, you will be welcomed with open arms.

“And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come (Matthew 24:10-14).”

Read Galatians; Ephesians

©2018 Marie McGaha

Satan's Con

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

~Colossians 3: 1-4

Life is cheap. Murder, suicide, abortion, human trafficking, prostitution, drugs, gambling... Life has been cheapened to an all-time low. Listening to the news is the most depressing thing, and sometimes, I have to shut it all down because I can’t bear it. I have to seek those things that are above and set my mind on them because the things of this earth are vile. I have to remind myself that no matter what the world around me looks like, it’s a cheap fake ruled by satan and his minions, and it won’t go on forever.

Everything God has done, satan has manufactured a fake counterpart. Everything God says is good, right and pure, satan twists for his own evil purposes. What God says don’t do, satan says won’t hurt you. What God says to do, satan calls a burden to hold you down. God made love and satan turns it to misery. And the saddest part is, since Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, we continue to fall for the lie.

“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its Creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all (Colossians 3:5-11).”

Seeing that we are all unable, on our own abilities, to put away evil and walk in righteousness, God came to earth as Jesus Christ as the perfect sacrifice for sin. His love for us is so great that He gave Himself completely, so we don’t have to believe the lie and follow satan to hell. We can try to be good, to be righteous, to do the right thing, but we will fail time after time unless Christ is working within us. None of us are righteous, none of us seek God, we are worthless (Romans 3:10-12) on our own. It is only when we seek God, when we accept Christ as our Savior, that we can rise above satan’s con and be the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21).

“Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the Name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Colossians 3:12-17).”

Read 1 Corinthians 11-16; Weekend reading 2 Corinthians 1-13

© 2018 Marie McGaha

His Strength

“And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.”

~1 Samuel 30:6

In the above verse, David and his men had returned to Ziklag and found the Amalekites had burned the city and taken everyone hostage, including two of David’s wives. All the men were grieved and angry, and lashed out at David, threatening to stone him to death. David had a couple of choices—he could have lashed back, he could have run in fear, but instead, he turned to the Lord God and strengthened himself.

While we may not face death by stoning, there are many times in life when we face adverse situations that bring us to our knees. It is in these moments of weakness that the devil stirs up seeds of doubt that can wreak havoc on our lives and our faith. The devil’s goal is to divide and conquer, to make us feel as if God is far from our lives and doesn’t care about our situation.

“I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing (John 15:5).” 

It is only through our complete dependence upon the Lord that we are able to persevere through any situation and have victory on the other side. When we begin to think we can overcome on our own ability and strength, it is then that we truly fail.

“But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).”

Read 1 Corinthians 6-10

©2018 Marie McGaha