Hello friends! I hope you and your family are doing well. This summer has flown by as expected, which makes me think about the brevity of life.
Pastor RT Kendall recently delivered messages about hell and heaven. I’ve heard plenty of sermons and even read couple of books about heaven and listened to many testimonies of those who’ve been to heaven. They are always so encouraging. However, Jesus spoke more about hell than heaven during his ministry on earth, to warn us. Therefore I think every Christian should at least hear one biblical message warning us about hell. It is a dreadful topic but this knowledge about hell keeps me from getting into trouble by staying away from willful sin and pride; and staying close to Jesus Christ and his people in the church. Here is the link to his messages delivered at TSC:
https://sermons.tsc.nyc/speaker/r-t-kendall/
By the way, I still wrestle a lot with this topic of hell especially since I have so many family members who are not saved, including my own children and husband. God has been good and merciful so that their lives have been spared from death in accidents and health crisis. Still, time is running out especially for my elderly family members. They need supernatural intervention. Please help your unsaved family members by continuing in your prayers for them and live your life in a way that honors and glorifies God which comes by studying the Bible diligently so that you can live an obedient life.
From my experiences, this Christian life is a very tough journey. It is no wonder I abandoned it in my mid-20s in a time of transition and being without Christian fellowship. We really need one another for accountability and safety. This is why I keep urging people to get plugged into a local church and a small group. It is so easy to get hardened in your heart when trouble comes or you get hurt in life and relationships. I don’t think you can loose your salvation by hardening yourself but I think you can prevent others from coming forward to the faith. This was another reason why I left my faith so I don’t hurt God’s reputation. I don’t think that was a very good solution but in my isolation, it made sense to me as a young person. Please don’t do that. Reach out to me if you are getting disheartened and discouraged. We will pray together and God will answer our petition for your encouragement and softening of heart.
My ministry friend, Prudence Shapcott is interviewed here. She is one of the first women I met when I joined my church about 13 years ago. We met at the church’s moms-in-prayer small group. We even co-lead a women’s bible study together for couple of years. As iron sharpens iron, she challenged me often in my biblical theology especially on healing. In our years knowing one another, I’m not sure why but I never asked her how she got saved. In this interview, she shared her testimony. It was so nice to hear her story and to see that today she has recovered from her cancer too. If I need health and healing in my body, she would be one of my first ministry friends to reach out to for support and prayers. She also has a prayer ministry that meets in central NJ. Please check out their website for more information on meeting dates.
https://youtu.be/oE-DzjnsUBg?si=Dflwns2GPxt8sKIs
Pastor Greg Laurie explains the difference between rapture and second coming of Jesus Christ simply and well. I studied from 6 different bible teachers* on the book of Revelation during the pandemic lockdown. This pastor believes in pre-tribulation rapture of believers. I never thought when I studied the book of Daniel ten years ago that I’ll be close to the rapture possibility but now I am not sure…birth pangs are coming faster and faster. If anyone hasn’t studied bible prophecy yet then I recommend Greg Laurie’s teachings. He explains the book of Revelation very simply and clearly. This article will give you links to his church and sermons. (*Greg Laurie, Gary Hamrick, Amir Tsafarti, Derek Prince, Tony Evans, Stephen Armstrong)
Our Esther prayer group has been praying together for our children and their schools since 2016. For three years, I organized two prayer meetings per week. During the pandemic lockdown, we would pray Monday to Friday for about a year. The schools that are represented in our group have received a tremendous amount and frequency of prayers. In my opinion, Princeton High School has received the most amount of prayers. It’ll be interesting to see how God answers our prayers. My son has two more years left at PHS…it’ll be amazing if I can witness the harvest of our prayer work before he graduates. As I am getting ready to start another academic year of corporate prayer meetings, I’ve been getting prompted by the Holy Spirit to ask about our harvest this year to the Lord of Hosts. That’s definitely a new direction for me! 😳 Not sure what harvesting will look like…
Journal of Faith 