Here are a few resources for your faith and reflections. May they bless you too. With love and prayers from your librarian, JSW.

1. Father Stu

There are many women in our prayer group who are Catholics. If you have a Catholic background then you will appreciate this new movie called “Father Stu”. It is available in streaming TV. Even if you are not from a Catholic background, I think everyone will still find great value in Father Stu’s story of struggling with life’s tragedies and fiercely wrestling with God. It is easy to love, follow and serve God when life goes well with your faithfulness and obedience to Bible principles and rules. But what happens when it does not? Will you still keep yourself yoked to Jesus Christ and be led by him and still serve? Father Stu decided to keep his eye towards heaven and I’m sure today he would tell us from heaven that Jesus Christ is worth it all. Have tissues nearby when watching the movie. 😭

Here is a little information about Father Stu – https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252094/father-stu-honored-catholic-award-finalist-mark-wahlberg-movie

This lady’s major health issues in her mid-20s started her path of wrestling about the theology of suffering. I think she reached a similar conclusion as Father Stu did. – https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/calvinism-changed-suffering/

2. Yoke according to the Bible

I’ve been thinking about Jesus’ teachings about the yoke. I realized that without a farming background it’s not possible to understand what this means. I found this great short article to help us. – https://www.christianity.com/jesus/life-of-jesus/teaching-and-messages/the-yoke-of-jesus-biblical-meaning-and-importance.html

I may not have wrestled so intensely and overtly like Father Stu did, but I sure did wrestle with God. I wrestled with the goodness of God as a good Father, and even took off my yoke with Jesus Christ a couple of times out of great doubts. I thank the Holy Spirit that at just the right time 12 years ago, I had a “burning bush” moment like Moses had; and here I am today back with the body of Christ, the church community. Praise the Lord Jesus!

When you are yoked to Jesus Christ; he will lead you to work in a field of his choosing for you. And it is a good thing to work or else you will get yourself in foolish trouble like a teenager who has too much leisurely time. When an idea or opportunity comes along for your service and talent, pray about it first and ask other believers to pray for you too. If your desire to serve there grows, then move forward into the work field with faith and reassurance that Jesus is leading you there. 

There are so many different types of farms and fields that need help and plowing. Don’t feel bad if you are not pulled into another person’s field work. And don’t make others feel bad if they don’t feel called to work in your work area. Just keep plowing your field where Jesus has assigned you. That’s where the anointing is for you to experience the words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 11:28-30 as you are serving and working. 

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” – Jesus Christ, documented on Matthew 11:28-30

3. Dangers of Prophetic Chaos and Avoiding Deception

I don’t have much personal experiences with or knowledge about prophets. I just recall two times in my college church where I experienced a prophetic word over me when I was being prayed over. I don’t remember anything these two church leaders said over me. Except for this one statement – that one day I will be sent to Tanzania to do God’s work. Maybe I just remember Tanzania since I have never heard of this country. It’s in Africa. Well, ever since then whenever I see any news reports about Tanzania, I pay attention.

I believe that the prophetic gift can be used mightily to build up the church and to reach the nonbelievers. However, it can be abused mightily too. I thought this Pentecostal evangelist explained very well about the dangers of prophetic chaos and avoiding deception. Since I want to be open to prophetic words, I want to also be forewarned about this powerful gift too. I don’t have a prophetic gift and I’m thankful that I don’t. It sounds like a very hard gift to manage and job to have! If you also want to be open about prophetic words, then please listen to this message about the abuses of the prophetic gift in the church community to avoid deception. Even if you are not open, I still think you can learn a lot about sound, biblical principles of good church leadership using the prophets as an example, and to make sure that the church leaders that you are listening to are trustworthy according to the scriptures. 

Here is the YouTube teaching by evangelist, David Hernandez on the dangers of prophetic chaos and deception:

One more thing, the prophetic gift is not only prophesizing about the future, but it is also for edifying and building up the body of Christ. I heard of a Christian woman who was devastated after her Christian husband left her. She was filled with shame and sadness. But one encounter with a prophet during her Christian broadcasting assignment work changed her outlook completely and turned her back to the promises of God and to believe/hope again. It was so remarkable how quickly she went from depression to hope! If I can find that short testimony video again, I will share it with you.