Hello friends. I pray that you and your family are doing well. Our women’s prayer group ended last week for the spring semester. As we enter into the summer season, please keep up with your friendships, especially the ones forged in the church community. Why? Because they are the ones to reach out to when you or your family members need God’s divine intervention and protection.
Below are some resources that I listened to this past week. May they encourage and inspire you as well.
1. If you are the first person in your family to following Jesus Christ wholeheartedly, then this message is for you. It is not easy being the first person so it’s super important to hear encouraging messages like this one to keep you moving forward.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jentezen-franklin-at-free-chapel/id506354054?i=1000710810783
If you have extra time, here is a second part of Pastor Jentezen Franklin’s message:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jentezen-franklin-at-free-chapel/id506354054?i=1000712043518
2. A friend of mine shared this good prayer with me about the spiritual practice of weeding diligently.
https://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/your-nightly-prayer/the-spiritual-practice-of-weeding.html
It reminded me of a powerful vision that I had in the first months of following Jesus Christ. Please read and consider my vision. After seeing this vision, I have been warned and that’s why I am very disciplined about my daily Bible reading and prayer time.
I was shown this vision during a mom’s prayer meeting at church. (I just recommitted my life back to God and I was trying to figure out how this is going to work out.)
In my vision I was shown a field of garden. Some places were nicely cultivated. Some areas had high weeds growing and not cultivated yet. As my sight was drawn in closer to the weeded area, I saw the weeds moving, and then suddenly horrific-looking demonic spirits came out of the weeds and they fled away.
Holy Spirit told me that demons hide inside the weeds. He told me the importance of daily weeding my garden – by prayer, reading the Bible and repentance. I took the warning very seriously. It was quite a vision! I don’t think I ever shared this vision before. Back then I didn’t want to scare away any new church friends.
3. I was very blessed to hear this very successful music industry leader talk about his work in secular music industry as a Christian. With more of our children going into the workforce, I have been more interested to hear testimonies of Christians who work in secular workplaces.
In this interview, he talked about contracting COVID and how it nearly killed him. However because he had really bad case, they did chest X-rays and found cancer tumors all over his lungs. If he didn’t contract COVID that made him very sick, then the tumors would not have been discovered and probably would have spread all over his body. You’ll have to hear the interview to hear how God helped and healed him. He comes from a Christian family and so he had many believers praying for him too. If he didn’t have parents, church friends and family members praying with faith and fervency; I am not sure if he would have survived. His case was very severe probably because of the lung cancer tumors.
Nate Butler is really funny too. I think our kids will enjoy the interview, and learning about how God opens doors in the workplace very unexpectedly. Christians are needed in secular workplaces. The Holy Spirit will lead people to come to you when they are in great need and in trouble.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/heaven-meets-earth/id1806665471?i=1000712042704
Nate Butler’s bio on Wikipedia:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nate_Butler
4. I heard this excellent message from the late Pastor Tim Keller and I am still amazed that he used a very difficult passage in the book of Ephesians about slavery to teach us about work and character in today’s workplace. I also learned a lot about the slavery situation in the Greco-Roman period during Jesus’ times. It was very different from the slavery situation in the south in America. I think it’s important to understand the differences because this scripture has been taken out of context to justify slavery or denounce Apostle Paul’s teachings.
5. With Pope Leo being American, it has brought more attention to the Catholic faith. There are an estimate of 85 million Catholics in the USA. I would not be surprised if more people join the Catholic Church in America. I think it’s important that we, Protestants should learn more about their beliefs and history – not to argue but to understand their beliefs and point of view.
My Catholic and Orthodox Christian friends told me about the Nicene Creed. Here’s a brief backstory on why it came about. It’s interesting that one charismatic bishop Arius and his songs created great apostasy in the people. Hence, the council of bishops was brought together and the Nicene Creed was created.
https://wng.org/podcasts/history-book-affirming-christs-divinity-1747618174
“The council debates for two months. Finally, in August, they vote. And Arius, who voted for himself, only had two other bishops on his side. So it wasn’t close. It was like 312 to 3.”
Wow, songs are very powerful! We really need to pray more for our Christian musicians and that their doctrines line up with the Bible.
6. My Catholic and Orthodox Christian friends have taught me by example about loyalty to the church and about suffering well for Christ. It’s not doctrines that are popular to teach on. But it’s important we learn this. I hope this good article helps you on this doctrine.
https://www.crossway.org/articles/how-can-we-do-all-things-through-christ-who-strengthens-us/
7. CS Lewis is another great teacher to learn from. I like this short devotional from the Daily Bread booklet on how to view our lives on earth. (By the way, just because you accept this doctrine doesn’t mean that you will suffer more than nonbelievers or believers who adopt only a prosperity doctrine. When your doctrines are aligned to the whole Bible then you will survive the battlefields of life and your house will stand. Please read Matthew 7:24-29.*)
8. It’s so interesting that so many college football players are turning to Jesus Christ in the past two years. Lord, please keep it going and may revival continue to spread in all the colleges in America and beyond. 🙏
9. Speaking about college campus revival, I just learned a lot about Princeton University’s Christian history from watching their recent campus tour. Wow! 😮
10. As I have thinking about how revival might be like in our area, I’m reminded about the New York City businessmen’s revival during the Industrial Revolutionary era in 1850s. Please read this article about that revival. It’s not flashy like the revivals in California during the Azusa street revival in 1910s and the Jesus Revolution in 1970s, but God knows best.
* Matthew 7:24-29 (NKJV)
Build on the Rock
24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
28 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, 29 for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%207&version=NKJV—
Journal of Faith 