When You Feel Alone

Have you ever felt like you were going through something alone? You didn’t feel like anyone understood?

We have felt this way at some point in our lives.

There are even times when we wonder if even God is with us during the dark times we walk through.

There are many examples in the Bible of people who felt alone but learned otherwise.

• Elijah: After his victory on Mount Carmel, Elijah fled from Jezebel, felt he was the only faithful person left, and sat alone in a cave, wishing to die.
• David: Despite being king, David described himself as "lonely and afflicted" while fleeing enemies (Psalm 25:16) and was betrayed by his own son, Absalom.
• Job: While surrounded by comforters who misunderstood him, Job felt alone in his suffering and felt God was not answering his cries (Job 30:20).
• Jesus: Experienced the deepest isolation—40 days in the desert (temptation), in the Garden of Gethsemane (loneliness in prayer), and crying out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46).
• Moses: Felt isolated while fleeing to the desert and leading a complaining nation.
• Jeremiah: Known as the "weeping prophet," he sat alone because of the intensity of God's message (Jeremiah 15:17).
• Hagar: Wandered alone in the wilderness of Beersheba, feeling abandoned (Genesis 21:14).
• Paul: Suffered loneliness in his ministry, particularly when he was abandoned during his trials.

The important thing to note about all of these people is that didn’t have a cheering section or praise team getting them through it. They didn’t have friends posting praying hands in their Facebook comments.

With God you have the majority.

Romans 8:31 tells us that “…if God is for us, who can be against us.”

Being a friend of God is more powerful and effective than 100 people who offer their “thoughts and prayers”. While some might be sincere, no one is in the fire with you in the same way that God is. 

We may feel alone but we are not.

"When you feel alone, May the stars remind you how God lightens up the darkest moments."

Encouragement during Crisis

This week at a moment when I needed encouraging words I got this: 

If it have a start it will have an end, stay strong and keep pushing.

It set me back a bit because I don’t want this current situation to end badly. I’m not sure these words were as comforting as they were meant to be. I have come to the conclusion that I just need to survive this without a need for comforting words.

People are more excited to pray for a need when it is fresh and new but if it lingers and there is no miracle people get bored. Unfortunately when it affects you directly, you have to push through it every day whether the miracle comes or not.

God can deliver regardless.

There is a story in the Old Testament where David’s own men turned on him and wanted to stone him when things were looking bad.

And David was greatly distressed; for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God. (1 Samuel 30:6)

David proactively drew strength from his relationship with God, recalling past victories and seeking divine guidance. David did not wait for encouragement but immediately sought God through prayer.

When can’t always rely on encouragement from others or expect others to have magical words of comfort. It is our personal responsibility to maintain our spiritual resilience to preserve even when surrounded by crisis.

Tortured by the "What ifs"

I often torture my thoughts with countless “what ifs” that go through my head.  I am one that will overthink anything and everything.  I will rehearse conversations in my head which may or may not happen. It’s a curse.  

The what ifs can ruin your peace. I pray but then my mind still asks the what if question.  

What if God doesn’t answer my prayer?

What if it gets worse instead of getting better?

I spend way too much time trying to figure everything out. It stresses me out. I guess you could say that I stress myself out. 

I have a lot of what ifs going through my head right now in my life. The worst case scenarios are the what ifs that cloud my mind.  My world is chaotic because I ultimately know that I have absolutely no control over what happens.  

I’m sure that I irritate God with my overthinking and attempts to figure things out with my what ifs.  I admit that I have a problem. I need help.  I need to get better at just letting go and accept whatever happens.  It’s hard for me to do that. 

There is a Bible verse that tells us to “cast your cares” but I don’t really know how to do that.  I haven’t put that into much practice.  How can I just simply let my what ifs go and accept what happens?  God is in control regardless of my attempts to overthink it.  

My soul needs rest.  I can’t carry all of this on my shoulders right now. I have to let it go.  There is no way I can be prepared for every scenario in my life.  I need only to live right now and deal with the now and not think about what may happen later.  

The act of casting our cares means that we have to intentionally transfer the responsibility of our what ifs on Christ through prayer and meditation.  We have to allow ourselves to release these things and stop dwelling on them. Doing this is an active decision on our part.  If you are like me you may try and fail but the important thing is to keep trying and practice letting go.  

I don’t like feeling out of control and worried about what might happen.  If I don’t learn to handle this better I am going to burn out and be a total wreck.  I don’t need to wait until that happens to decide that I need to do something about it. 

So if you are an overthinker like me, join me in the practice of casting our cares instead of trying to keep them on ourselves.  

Life Is A Roller Coaster

 

My PaPa once said that life is like going up a steep hill. You have clean out the briars along the way but if you keep on, you will get to the top. 

I have another take on what he meant by comparing life to riding a roller coaster.  There will be ups and downs, twists and turns along the way. Through it all we have to let God strap us in and then hang on.  

When I was younger I loved riding roller coasters.  The very first one I conquered was The Great American Scream Machine at Six Flags over Georgia.  It took a lot of time for me to work up the nerve to attempt it.  It seemed so high and so fast.  When I finally rode it I was terrified and the ride was so rough that I desperately held on to the safety bar in front of me. 

Life sometimes presents us with times where we are overcome with fear We have to tighten our grip and hold on.  Hanging on during tough times requires mental, emotional and spiritual strength. We have to keep our focus and remember that the tough times are temporary and only do what we can do. 

Psalm 63:8 (the Amplified Bible) states it very appropriately when it tells us “My soul (my life, my very self) clings to you; Your right hand upholds me.”   This was written by David while he was in the Judean desert while running away from his enemies.  It shows the importance in being anchored in God during the tough times. 

Someone once said of roller coasters that you have a choice to scream or enjoy the ride. We too have the choice of how to ride the roller coaster of life. We can complain about it or we can just ride it out. The ride is out of our control. We have to believe that it will work out the way it was meant to work out in the end.

 

Scary Faith

There are hard times that we all must face in life.

Difficult decisions. Heartbreaking moments. Losses that are painful.

I am sure we all could tell the stories. 

I was raised in a church home.  I believed in God at a very young age.  Although I have wavered and failed at times I have always returned to the God of my salvation. My experience has also evolved over the years.  

We all go through the storms of life.  The hard times come.  I don’t like the hard times.  I do all I can to avoid the times I am scared. 

I am in one of those scary times.  

Will God come through for me this time?

Even with past answered prayers, there is always another hard time where our faith is once again tested. 

I never expected this one.

It makes you wonder if anything is too hard for God.  That seems like a silly thing to think but when you are going through the hard times you think a lot of thoughts. 

I replay all the stories of God’s miracles and answered prayers during my lifetime.  I know that God CAN answer my prayer but the scary part is how will He answer it. He doesn’t always answer it the way we want.  That’s the scary part.

Sometimes God chooses not to heal or provide the miracle we are asking for. 

I immediately think of a scene in "The Chosen" when Little James approached Jesus about why he had not been healed.  James had seen the healings that Jesus had performed and now Jesus was asking Him to go out and minister to others.  How could he do it when he hadn’t been healed?

Although this is not an actual Biblical account, it explains a lot about why Jesus doesn’t always heal in the way we expect. 

James asks why he hasn’t been healed despite being give. The power to heal others. Jesus explains that his endurance despite his physical ailment serves a higher purpose, demonstrating that faith exists even through suffering. 

Watch the scene here:  https://youtu.be/KZDvcEkjthA?si=6nahtFW0pY9tOGCQ

This means that our faith has to be strong even if our prayers are not answered the way we want them be answered.  Do we only believe if God does what we want?  

That’s a difficult belief but we can’t always expect to have our way.  It takes more faith to believe if prayers are not answered than when they are.  Our faith is only strong if it is based on God and not what He does for us. 

I don't like that answer. None of us do. So what can we do?

We pray and believe until something happens. God is on our side even if it doesn't seem like it because the prayers aren't answered the way we have prayed them. We don't always see God's higher purpose for us.

What Happens Now?

I cut my teeth on the church pews
Listened to every Sunday School lesson
Thousands of sermons
Heard the stories
I still believe it
I just need to see it
Faith that responds
Things hoped for
Evidence not seen
If ever before
I need this
The answer I seek
The healer
Will it be today?
Will it happen?
Strength is not my strength
Overthinking is my curse
The woman with blood issue
Only need to touch his clothes
She believed
She was healed
I believe
Will He heal?
What happens now?
Time for a success story.

Is My Faith Enough?

Do I have enough faith?

How much is enough?
A mustard seed is supposed to be enough
I’m not casting a mountain into the sea
Just need what’s ahead of me
Is it enough?
Praying the words looking for the formula
What works with others doesn’t for me
It’s the moment when God shows up
Or He doesn’t
This is the time faith is tested
Will it pass or will I fail?
Living each day renewed
Clinging to the strength of each day
Where will this lead?
I need whatever faith is enough
Enough faith to overcome this.

Old Requests, New Faith

Prayer requests get old
People pray on to new ones
They want immediate miracles
Only good news
We face our need every day
This is what we pray
David had to encourage himself
I am there
Can’t depend on others
God has to do it
Where is He in this?
I wake up wondering
Another day where my faith needs renewed
I depend on it and seek it
One day at a time
One step at a time
Can’t live past that
Each day is a roller coaster
Filled with ups and downs
Only thing we can do is hold on tight
Push through each and ride it out
Healing can come today
I believe until something changes

I Got Nothing

I got nothing.
Inspiration is on empty.
Nothing is stirring me to write.
No words of wisdom to share.
This is real life.
Job knew how this feels.
I wonder if God hears me.
People will ask: “Where is your God now?”
A make-believe sky wizard of no proof?
Do I even know how to pray?
Tough times asks questions.
How can I be strong?
When I feel incompetent and weak.
Job didn’t understand.
Neither do I.
The answers are easy when it isn’t you.
Will my faith be strong enough?
No Bible verses or cute cliches
Time to strengthen my grip and hang on.

Reasons to Believe

The decision to be a Christian has a public relations crisis.

There are too many reasons for people to choose not to believe. Honestly it is not too appealing to be a Christian.

It really requires a commitment to be a believer in today’s world. People easily look for reasons not to believe.

Why not find reasons TO believe?

Don’t look at other people who claim to be believers.
Don’t decide based on church affiliation.
Don’t make a decision for political reasons.

There’s only one reason to believe. It’s plain and simple. It is all about one person.

Jesus

No other reason.

We are all free to make our own choice but don’t look at the negatives to rule Him out. Look for the reasons to believe.

Belief doesn’t require debate.

Simply believe.

Belief doesn’t mean you have to be weird and no snake handling required. Let Christ make you be the best version of you that He has created.

We all have a place in the world.

I know what it is like to deal with the doubters. Some want to discredit the Bible and say it isn’t the divine Word of God because it was written by men and how can it be accurate? The only way the Bible makes sense is through a relationship with our Creator. You won’t be able to understand it without that relationship. The Holy Spirit - not a degree in Theology - is the only way you can understand it.

In this day of fake news, Artificial Intelligence and social media, it’s hard to know what is true. They make us question and doubt anything we see or hear. We can’t let it shake us. These things don’t establish our faith.

You either believe or you don’t. I’m not going to convince you. My words here on this blog won’t make a difference to you. You have to make your own choice but are you basing it on the right thing?

Don’t take my word as a reason to believe, look for it yourself.

Thoughts About Medical Appointment Waiting Rooms

I have spent a lot of time in various waiting rooms for medical appointments and I have observed many issues that annoy me about these experiences.  I am convinced that nobody cares about the people around them.  

Here are some simple waiting room rules of etiquette that I would like to implement:

1. If you are sick (which most are) and hacking/coughing you should WEAR A MASK!  I don't care about any politics or whatever.  Wear a mask!  Don't spread your germs all over the dang waiting room.
2. Please don't discuss you ailments out loud with others or on your speaker phone.  We don't want to hear it.  We have our own issues we are dealing with and don't need to hear more.
3. While we are on the subject of using the phone, if you need to use your phone listen to music or watch videos put in some ear buds/headphones.  We don't all agree on music or your choices on videos.  
4. If there are enough seats in the waiting room, you don't have to plop down right next to someone.  Give some space.  None of us want to be there and this isn't a special club we're in.  At least allow one seat space.  

I know no one is going to do this but just wanted to vent.  Even if these rules were posted on the wall, people still wouldn't follow them and the staff wouldn't enforce them.  In fact, we often go to one waiting room where there is a sign posted that it is a "quiet zone" but it is ignored.  Even the television volume can be heard down the hallway.  

Waiting is never any fun and even less fun when you are sick.  It doesn't take much effort to think of others while you are waiting.

When Prayer Requests Get Stale

Growing up in church I remember many services when someone would say “please pray for my loved ones”.  Just a routine prayer request.  

Prayer requests are good when they are fresh and new but when time passes and there is nothing positive to report, we tend to lose steam and the newness wears off. 

I’m feeling that now.  

When I first made my request for prayer people were interested but now that it has been a month, the interest has gone away.  It’s old news now.  No miracles to report so people lose interest.  

Unfortunately for those of us going through the desperate moments of our lives, the prayers are urgent and fresh every day because we are face-to-face with it.  

People want good news and positive results when they pray.  When they don’t or when things get worse they lose momentum.  

Sometimes prayers aren’t answered immediately and they become long term endeavors. There aren’t any magical prayer words or rituals.  You just take each day and have faith that God will help you get through it.  People may lose interest in praying for your request but it doesn’t mean God loses interest.  We hold on to the hope we have in Him.  

I try not to ask many people to pray for my needs.  I know how it is.  If it doesn’t affect you personally you lose interest.  That’s not being mean, it’s just human nature.  We aren’t very patient even in praying for others.  

Praying requires effort.  Some days it’s just not easy.  

I can tell you that I have very rarely had prayers which were answered immediately. Most of my experiences have required marathon intercessory prayers.  I can’t say I’m good at it.  I get weary.  

If you’re like me.  You are a results oriented person.  You desire to see progress.  It bolsters your faith when you pray and something happens.  When you pray and it doesn’t, it becomes demoralizing. You wonder if God even hears your prayers. 

All I can do is my best.  I never claimed to be good at this.  Sometimes I don’t even know if I’m even doing it right.  I want to feel something.  It’s hard to press through when my prayers aren’t yielding results.  

When people grow weary of praying for our request we can’t lose heart.  We need to practice in casting our burdens on Jesus.  We don’t always have to pray in words but we can simply rest and be still instead of forcing our prayers.  

There are no magic formulas.  People write books with steps to getting your prayer answered or unusual methods but prayer is just doing it.  

When you and others are tired and you feel like your prayers are not moving, you can trust that His grace will sustain you. 

He's Alive!

Easter has always been one of my favorite days of the year. Fortunately I was taught from an early age that this day isn’t about the Easter Bunny but it is about a risen savior.

With this day representing the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, it also gives us the promise of eternal life.

I always think back to a song called “He’s Alive” which I first heard performed by Bubba Cardin who is an old church friend at a church summer camp. The song gave me chills and excitement that Jesus is alive.

The chorus explodes with this proclamation:

He's alive, He's alive, He's alive, and I'm forgiven
Heavens gates are open wide
He's alive, He's alive, He's alive, and I'm forgiven
Heavens gates are open wide

If you’ve never heard this song, you need to listen to it. Here is a link to it:  https://youtu.be/aidWs3tceYw?si=-WVgzQk9F2ByHEnv

We celebrate the resurrection. Jesus defeated death. While this means we have the hope of eternal life when we die, does it also mean some could be raised from the dead now?

I have wondered about that many times. The reality is that more people die than are raised from the dead but there are some situations where it has happened. I have heard stories but I have never had personal knowledge of anyone being raised from the dead.

When I was younger I experienced the tragic death of two young people in our church. Weeks after their deaths I was still praying for them to be raised from the dead. I believed it and I prayed earnestly for it to happen. It never did. That was hard for me to comprehend.

Even with stories of someone being raised from the dead, some will always come back with a scientific explanation on these accounts. Even if these stories are true, they will still have to face death again. The story of when Jesus called Lazarus out of the tomb is an amazing miracle but Lazarus eventually had to die again.

The resurrection power that Jesus has is the finality of death does not mean it is final for those who believe in Him.

Here’s what the Apostle Paul wrote in Corinthians:

But let me tell you something wonderful, a mystery I’ll probably never fully understand. We’re not all going to die—but we are all going to be changed. You hear a blast to end all blasts from a trumpet, and in the time that you look up and blink your eyes—it’s over. On signal from that trumpet from heaven, the dead will be up and out of their graves, beyond the reach of death, never to die again. At the same moment and in the same way, we’ll all be changed. In the resurrection scheme of things, this has to happen: everything perishable taken off the shelves and replaced by the imperishable, this mortal replaced by the immortal. Then the saying will come true:

Death swallowed by triumphant Life!
Who got the last word, oh, Death?
Oh, Death, who’s afraid of you now?

Easter is the hope we have in the resurrection! Death is not the end.

Does It Matter How Many People Pray?

When we are in a desperate situation, we will usually ask others to pray for us. I have seen requests for prayer in church and on social media.  When we are in need and we reach out to others for help in praying.

But does it make a difference how many people are praying?

The number of people praying does not necessarily increase the chances of God answering in the way we want, prayer is not about "numbers" or manipulating a specific outcome. However, shared prayer is highly valued for unity, encouragement, and communal worship, with promises of presence when even two or three gather. I know that we like to read the passage in Matthew 18:20 when it says "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."  We often mistake that to mean that our prayer will be answered but this just assures us that Christ will be in our presence.  It doesn't mean we tip the scales in our direction.

The sincerity, faith, and alignment with God's will are generally considered more important than the number of participants.  Personal, private prayer is considered just as valid and effective as group prayer.

There may be some situations when prayer can change God’s mind but this isn’t dependent on the number of people praying.

I know when I ask people to pray for my need, I only seek out those I have confidence in and know who will pray for my need and not just say they will pray and then forget about it.  Sometimes I just don't have the words to pray or I feel weak in my faith so I reach out to others who I know will hold me up.

Ultimately, the answer to our prayers is in God’s hands. We can’t assume that we know what it is. Sometimes His answers do not make sense to us.

In my opinion, when you have a desperate need you do all that you feel you need to do in prayer. Tell no one or tell everyone. Desperate times calls for desperate measures.  Even if numbers don’t make a difference, having the support of others can be encouraging to help us during our time of need.

Red Sea Moments

One of my favorite scenes from the “Ten Commandments” movie is when Moses leads Israel to the Red Sea. They suddenly find that the Egyptians are pursuing them. They are trapped with no place to go. 

Immediately they turn on Moses. The Carlton Heston version of Moses tells the people that they are going to see the salvation of the Lord. Moses lifts his staff and the Red Sea is parted. 

There are times in life where we find ourselves in situations where we feel trapped. We trust and believe in God but we see the waves of our Red Sea and the enemy approaching. It’s a scary moment.

We can still be scared and trust God. Our faith sees things that we don’t see with our physical eyes.

It’s easy in these moments to complain as Israel did to Moses about the situation.

The pharaoh character in the movie played by Yul Brenner was leading the charge of the Egyptian armor toward Israel. When they got close he said “Their God is a poor field general.”

There are times when we wonder why God has led us to a place that has us trapped with no deliverance in sight. It would seem that God is not in control.

It the moments where is appears God has been a poor field general, He opens the way to our greatest victory.

The Red Sea scares us. We wonder where God is. Our faith is tested. Will God deliver us this time or will the enemy destroy us?

The only thing we can do is stand still. Does it guarantee that things will turn out the way we want it to turn out? Not always but where else are we going to turn?  Some times it simply comes down to the fact that either God will deliver us or He won't.  None of us knows the mind of God and what His purpose is in what we are facing.  

God’s faithfulness and our faith do not guarantee our deliverance. Likewise, ongoing pain and lack of deliverance do not indicate a lack of faithfulness on God’s part or lack of faith on ours. Whether God parts our Red Sea moments or not, we still put our trust in Him.  Stand firm and endure.

When Your Faith is Tested

Faith. That’s a powerful word. This is what connects our relationship to God. 

Faith is a great word to talk about. Even better to sing it loudly in a praise and worship song in church.

It is different when faith and fear meet.

It’s what I call the scared place. When you have that scared feeling when your faith is tested.

I’m in that scared place right now. While I have faith God will answer my prayers, I’m scared because I don’t know how this will turn out. God has a plan that He doesn’t always share with us. It’s a scary place because we don’t know.

I don’t like being in this place but whether I like it or not, I am here. Trusting God isn’t always easy. Sometimes He gives us things that are painful to bear. I don’t like the painful part.

Is my faith strong enough? I can’t say for sure but I won’t give up easily. I will fight as long as I have fight in me.

As I face this test to my faith, I keep reminding myself that I can only do this one step at a time. I only need strength for today and when I wake up tomorrow I will start again.

Having faith doesn’t mean it won’t be a struggle or that I won’t shed some tears along the way. It’s going to hurt but I have to push though it.

When It Happens To You

It’s different when it happens to you.

Being a believer is exciting and fun until something happens to you. Your faith is tested and suddenly the world isn’t filled with praise and worship choruses. All of the preaching, quoting Bible verses and claiming things in Jesus’ name doesn’t mean much when you are going through some of the hard things in life.

Life will throw you. You can’t always plan for it either. It will come at you whether you are ready for it or not.

I remember many years ago when I was stationed at Dyess Air Force Base near Abilene, Texas I was attending a small church near the base. Tragically one of the teens in the youth group was killed in a freak car accident. It was devastating. When I later went to the family house, I sat next to the mother and wanted to be a help. I made the mistake of saying “I know what you are going through” with which she came back with “You have NO idea what I’m going through!” and left the room.

I learned a value lesson. We don’t always know what someone is going through until we go through it ourselves. Words rarely do any good to ease the pain.

The super religious people will act like nothing bothers them. They have their hands in praying position and always looking to the sky while the rest of us mortals absorb the realities of living in a fallen and imperfect world.

Being a believer doesn’t mean we are immune to hurt and pain. We still shed tears when we are hurting and - yes - we also question God. He doesn’t always share with us what He is doing. He doesn’t have to. As for me, I like answers! I want to know why! God does what He does and never obligated to answer to me.

Where is God in this?

That’s a common thought. He allows things to happen and we just don’t understand why. It’s not so easy to have faith then. It is in these times when our faith is truly tested. Having faith and enduring pain doesn’t mean we will go through it with a smile nor doesn’t it mean we won’t go through it without being battered by it.

The only way to get through it is to go through it. There aren’t always shortcuts. We can’t avoid feeling pain. When we walk through the storms of life, we will feel it but we have to keep going.

If you know I am a believer and ask me “where is your God now?” I can only tell you that I don’t really know. I know He promised not to leave me or forsake me but I certainly can’t tell you how or why. You can’t have faith until it is tested.

Life happens to us all. Don’t look at me. I don’t have it all figured out. Just doing the best that I can and putting one foot ahead of the other.

Thoughts About Waiting

One of the hardest things to do in life is wait. 

As that famous philosopher Tom Petty used to sing, “The waiting is the hardest part.”

We don’t like to wait. We want it now!

Some of the difficult times of waiting is when we have medical issues and the doctor is running tests to determine what the problem is. We get anxious and obviously assuming the worst case scenario. Not knowing tests our strength. We want to know!

Unfortunately many times we simply have to wait. Waiting can be minutes, hours, days or even years. I want waiting to be the shortest time possible.

I think you would agree that it is hard to be strong when we are waiting. I know that I am not good at it.

Sometimes things just take time. We don’t want to hear that. We want answers.

During the times of waiting, we need to develop the right mindset. We have to ground ourselves in the present. Developing the right mindset will help reduce frustration over the uncontrollable delays we encounter in our lives.

Waiting happens. That’s just the reality of life. We have to get better at waiting and develop habits to help us endure the times of waiting. Some rely on their faith - like I do - but it may be different things for others. Whatever it is, strengthen your mind to get you through it.

Being There

What do you say to someone who is hurting?

Most of us hate to see the people we care about in pain. We want badly to say or do something that will take the hurt away. Many times there is simply nothing we can say but we can just be there.

Sometimes all we can do is sit with them.

Being there.

I read the story of Job this week and we know that everything he had was taken from him. The interesting thing to notice is how long his friends sat with Job in silence.

While Job’s friends are criticized for their later poor treatment of his troubles, at first they simply sat with him. They sat with him for seven days and seven nights without saying a word to him, because they saw how much he was suffering.

This shows us that when someone we love is hurting, it’s our presence that often matters most. Their example reminds us that even though we may not always know what to say, simply sitting with someone in their suffering may be the best thing we can do for them.

Silence makes us uncomfortable, so we may try to fill that void with words thinking there is some magical thing we can say to give comfort. But in times of great suffering, words alone are often inadequate to express the comfort or help that the hurting person truly needs.

I have been guilty of feeling compelled to say something. I think I have learned that people don’t need our words - they just need us. They need our shoulder, a hug or bring them a meal.

It’s difficult when our loved one is hurting but just simply be there. No Bible verse, no Christian cliche or comparing situations. Be the anchor that helps them get through the storm in their life.

Holy Deception

I have a problem with the recent photo depicting a group of Christian leaders in a prayer meeting with Donald Trump. I honestly don’t know how to explain this.

What is the end game here?

Trump is throwing Evangelicals a bone to keep them on the hook. He needs their support to keep his base going. It is deception like we’ve never seen before.

Sadly I see two men in this photo who I once had on my playlist and I even attended one of their churches. It has been a betrayal that still stings me.

Among those present were Trump’s longtime spiritual adviser Pastor Paula White, who also leads the White House Faith Office. California megachurch pastor Greg Laurie was also seen in the room, alongside pastor Jentezen Franklin and evangelical leader Johnnie Moore.

Jesus warned us that the very elect would be deceived and it is happening right before our eyes. Nothing has destroyed the unity of Christians more than Donald Trump’s pandering.

There has been no effort in promoting unity only division.

When Trump returned to the White House I initially thought that he might be the Anti-Christ however the more time that has passed, I am more inclined to believe that he is preparing the way for the Anti-Christ to take the world’s stage. He is the forerunner much like John the Baptist was for Jesus.

The one major obstacle for the Anti-Christ had been the strength and unity of the United States. Our country had to be weakened from the inside for any outside leader such as the Anti-Christ (and later the Beast) to take their place as a world leader. The weakening is happening before our very eyes although some are deceived in thinking Trump is supporting Christianity when he is actually manipulating people and prophetic events which will ultimately be a betrayal.

I’m still puzzled and profoundly disappointed in the support Christians are giving Trump even with blatant evidence that he is not a Christian himself.

During the recent National Prayer Breakfast, Trump rambled, lied and cursed for 77 minutes. A prayer breakfast?? What is wrong with these prominent Christians? They would have revolted if a previous President had even worn the wrong colored suit to the same event.

Why are we condoning this? I can tell you for certain that I am not. This photo is blasphemy. It is a stench to the nostrils of God and our country will be punished for it.

It is fine to pray for our president but to lift him up as if he is our Moses is not okay. All Christians should turn to God to deliver us from evil and not glorify a politician who is seeking his own agenda.

In the end Trump will be the destruction of Christianity in America. It is already taking place and we all need to cry out to God to save us.