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Romans 8:38-39

38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[a] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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Signs from Jesus Christ all around town. 💞

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Psalm 107:1

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.

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Philippians 4:7

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

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Romans 1:20

20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

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Romans 8:28

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love

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Jeremiah 29:11-13

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.

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John 8:12

Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.

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Joshua 1:9

This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

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2 Timothy 1:7

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

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John 3:16-17

For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

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Mark 12:30

And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.

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Isaiah 43:1-2

But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you.

O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. 2 When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.

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Acts 20:24

 But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.

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If Only We Knew.

So, as you can see my dog Clay looks a little scared taking this photo. It's because he is scared of the statue behind him and was nervous to be near it. He is the most gentle, sweetest, yet cowardly dog. He is scared when the wind blows, he's been frightened by balloons, and even got chased down by a chihuahua dressed up in a tutu! No, this isn't some post about the mislabeling of Pitbulls (he is an American Staffordshire Terrier 100% which falls under the umbrella term 'Pitbull') though it's true, this is a post for the Christian believers out there. Though I do pray that a non-believer feels inspired by the post too this is mainly for those who already believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. So here is how Clay is involved - Clay and I were out on our typical weekend walk when we got in sync with a gentleman and his Belgian Malinois (if you've seen John Wick or know anything about these types of dogs, they are amazing, tough, and well trained. To my understanding they can be trained to be great protectors, they are quite powerful). Clay, nervously, strayed away from it as did I because a 'Pitbull vs Belgian Malinois' is not a fight I'd like to encounter or witness as both these dogs have a particular reputation of strength and violence. But, of course, this made me wonder - "Oh, man, who would win in that fight?" And I looked down at my poor, scared, dog with his tail tucked, ears folded back, and hunched back as he falls off the path and into the dirt because he wanted absolutely nothing to do with this other dog and thought to myself: "Clay, if only you knew the strength and power you really have inside of you." And BAM it hit me - So many of us believers are held back by our fears, our anxieties, our nerves, our doubts, and of the things we feel make us w e a k. (Well, I guess I can only speak on my own behalf with these feelings but perhaps y'all can relate.) Yet, we have this power and strength inside of us - the Holy Ghost!! When baptized into a life with Jesus Christ we are given the gift of the Holy Ghost to help us each and every day with the challenges we face - whether the challenges be within our control or out of our control, we CAN face them through Christ our Lord. He who lives in us. We have the ability to make a difference in the lives of others and within our own lives, we have the strength and power inside of us and with the Holy Ghost we can push past everything that holds us back - one step at a time. I'm not claiming it will be easy and I'm not claiming it won't be scary but I'm saying with the power of the Holy Ghost, we can do it! 2 Timothy 1:7 "For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power and of love and of a sound mind." In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray that the burdens upon your shoulders are lifted up to the Lord. May the struggles you face be rebuked in His almighty name and may the Holy Ghost give you the strength, power, wisdom and understanding to face any and all opposition. Amen. | S.M |

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I'd actually like to let this video speak for itself though I strongly advise it is watched. May God give you the guidance, wisdom and understanding you're seeking for. Amen.

| S.M |

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Christians still suffer.

It's disheartening when people assume that because I believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior that life is easy. It's not.

I'm still h u m a n. You're still human.

In Hebrews 11:32-36 the author has a brief summary of the two paths of a Christian life. Some have shut the mouths of lions, quenched the flames of fire, escaped death. Others were tortured, mocked, beaten, chained, stoned, hungry, oppressed, mistreated, k i l l e d.

If we were to dive deep into the stories of those seemingly blessed, you'll see that they had suffered too.

But we as Christians, rather suffer with God than without God and that is what, I believe, is our strength in faith and hope.

I've lived a life in which I did not invest in God as I should have and now, I live a life in which I do.

I would not go back to the former on any account.

I'm currently in 1 Peter. In it are sections such as "Suffering for Doing Good" which states 'But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don't be afraid and don't worry.'

And "Living for God" which states 'So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had and be ready to suffer too.'

I find these types of passages to be important - especially to new Christians learning the way of Jesus Christ (even I'm still learning).

It's important to know that life will still be life, we're still going to have hardships. Life will not be perfect because we do live in a broken world. Our Christian walk cannot change what other people do in this world, it cannot change the fact that we will be challenged. What it does change is who we turn to in those times, how we heal from those times, how we grow from those times, how we endure those times, what we do in those times.

In my experience, my choices and my reactions have been changed by God and I, by His grace and mercy, am blessed by the changes to my mental and emotional health.

1 Peter 5:10-11: In His kindness God called you to His eternal glory by means of Jesus Christ. After you have suffered a little while, He will restore, support, and strengthen you and He will place you on a firm foundation. All power is His forever. Amen.

| S.M |

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Romans 1:20:

"God's divine nature and eternal power are visible through the things he has created."