Rejoice Always

It was a rough night for sure: Paul and Silas had been preaching the gospel in Philippi when they fell into trouble with some of the Gentiles in the city. A miraculous exorcism led to a great big mess that got the two apostles arrested. They were beaten, chained and put in prison without a trial – injustice pervaded all circumstances. (Acts 16:16-40).

Just how did Paul and Silas react to all of this? Did they seek revenge? Did they retreat into a depression? Did they wonder if the gospel they preached was really worth all this trouble?

None of the above. Actually, they rejoiced and sang hymns of praise to God in the midst of all their pain.

While their bodies were bleeding and their bones ached, their hearts were full of faith.

It was this form of holding onto his faith, even in most difficult situations, that inspired Paul’s words to the Thessalonians: “Rejoice Always.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16)

Advent is a time for all Christians to rejoice. It’s a time to reflect on the Old Testament prophets who announced that a Messiah from God would come to rescue His people. It’s a time to meditate on Mary, to look at why she could rejoice, even as her world was turning upside down. It’s a time to look at Paul and ask, “Why was he able to rejoice even after he was beaten and imprisoned?”

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Let’s face it: things just don’t always go our way; life can sometimes have a few painful twists and turns. When Paul told us to rejoice, it wasn’t because he thought that Christianity is about “doing the happy dance” – quite the contrary! Paul is speaking about rejoicing in the Lord always because God has done great things for us; because He is always with us and because He loves us unconditionally.

Remember on Christmas night, the angel of the Lord announced “good news of great joy” (Luke 2:10). Then a host of angels appeared, proclaiming: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.” (2:14). These words tell us to rejoice because God is going to help and strengthen us when things are going well in our lives as well as when we face difficulties.

Father God, as the earth makes way for the coming of Your Son, please prepare our hearts and remove anything that hinders us from feeling the joy and hope that Paul describes in His writings.

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Judi Lynn Lake has kept up with leading edge business trends throughout her varied and successful career. She had already had her "15 minutes of fame" over and over again before starting her family. Judi and her family now reside in South Carolina, but, having been born and raised on Long Island, NY, it is clearly evident that she will always be a "New Yorker." Today, she successfully runs her own advertising agency which handles everything from logos, branding and package design while she continues to work closely with self-published authors from design to promotion. For more information, visit judilake.com

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The following video, O Come, O Come Emmanuel, courtesy of You Tube.

A Prayer For Lori

This Advent Season, I feel the urgency to gather prayers for an amazing, God-filled woman, Lori, who is battling breast cancer; what better gift to have bestowed upon her and her family this Christmas Season than the gift of healing?

I encourage each of you to acquaint yourselves with Lori's courageous spirit of love by visiting her blog: http://lorimoon.com/

I humbly [and boldly] ask all whom happen upon this post to join me in prayer for Lori’s healing:

Jesus, Master Physician of all times, Your Divinity did not require a Ph.D. Eagerly, You resurrected the dead, Restoring the health of the sick. Be it physical or spiritual torment, None were a great obstacle to You: For Your loving power is omnipotent.

Oh, Lord, who are the only source of health and healing, the spirit of calm and the central peace of this universe, grant to Lori such a consciousness of your indwelling and surrounding presence that she may permit you to give her health and strength and peace, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

I request also that this "prayer-chain" be passed on to others because we know that our Jesus tells us that when two or more are gathered in His Name, He is always present with us.

God bless all of you this Christmas Season.

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Judi Lynn Lake has kept up with leading edge business trends throughout her varied and successful career. She had already had her "15 minutes of fame" over and over again before starting her family. Judi and her family now reside in South Carolina, but, having been born and raised on Long Island, NY, it is clearly evident that she will always be a "New Yorker." Today, she successfully runs her own advertising agency which handles everything from logos, branding and package design while she continues to work closely with self-published authors from design to promotion. For more information, visit judilake.com

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The following video, Jesus of Nazareth - The Centurion, courtesy of You Tube.

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The following video, All things are possible - Hillsong, courtesy of You Tube.

Our Father...

Reflecting on our nation's future, my mind wanders towards God's mercy and prayer. Discouraged and tired, I think of The Lord's Prayer; Jesus' own formula for how we should all pray.

True prayer should take us out of ourselves; out of the narrow confines of our self-conscious preoccupation with our own thoughts and feelings. Jesus' prayer immediately does that:

"Our Father who art in heaven." We are out of ourselves, addressing our Father, calling upon God Himself as our Father.

And this other centeredness continues:

"hallowed be Thy Name." God's name defines who He is and we pray that His name always be Holy with reverence, respect and adoration of whom we are daring to address.

"Thy Kingdome come," Praying for God's Kingdom to come is saying yes to all of salvation history and yes for all that is yet to come in the plan of God.

And then perhaps the hardest prayer of all:

"Thy Will be done." God's Will! To say yes to that is to accept the totality of what has happened, is happening and will yet come to pass as it is willed by the Father. And that means suffering and sorrow as well as happiness and joy.

This whole first part of The Lord's Prayer has been addressed to the Father and has been wishing for Him everything He wants from man:

That He be our Father,

that His Name be holy,

that His Kingdom come, and

His will be done.

And we pray for all of this not to My Father, but to Our Father because we are one with all mankind whose common Father is our personal Father as well.

Only then do we pray for ourselves and for all of mankind.

"Give us this day our daily bread." We trust in our Fathers loving providence to care for us from day to day. We live and pray in the present and God answers our present needs, not those future needs we imagine are coming.

"And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." No prayer is possible without forgiveness. We must forgive those who offend us if we are to expect God to forgive us our offenses. A heart that cannot forgive is a closed heart and God will not enter there.

"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." We acknowledge our fallen nature and our dependence on God. Only in Him can we be victorious over evil, and only a humble awareness of our need for Him will keep us from succumbing to temptation.

"For His is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever, Amen." As we began with praise, we end with praise; and everything in between flows from that praise.

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Father God, on behalf of our nation, have mercy on us; America needs you.

©2008 Judi Lynn Lake. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

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Judi Lynn Lake has kept up with leading edge business trends throughout her varied and successful career. She had already had her "15 minutes of fame" over and over again before starting her family. Judi and her family now reside in South Carolina, but, having been born and raised on Long Island, NY, it is clearly evident that she will always be a "New Yorker." Today, she successfully runs her own advertising agency which handles everything from logos, branding and package design while she continues to work closely with self-published authors from design to promotion. For more information, visit judilake.com

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The following video, The Beatitudes/The Lord's Prayer, from Jesus of Nazareth courtesy of You Tube.

A Light To A Dying World

I don’t blame non-believers for being “turned off" by Christianity; not one bit. Sometimes we become so obsessed about “winning" that we lose the substance of “the message." We want to win souls for Jesus, period. In the process, we let ourselves become the focus and all witness to the Lord disappears.

Jesus wept over Jerusalem, and I submit, He weeps over what He sees of Christianity today. Because some of us [Christians] almost by definition see ourselves as “on a personal mission from God," we unknowingly act smugly and condescendingly towards others and each other.

Recently a young woman shared, “As a Christian, I am most often hurt, attacked, put down and disregarded by other Christians. Christians in the workplace are the worst. I love The Lord but Christians hurt me terribly…."

Why do some Christians hurt others?

Interestingly, Mark Twain once said, "If Christ were here, there is one thing He would not be — a Christian."

Is he correct?

When asked about Christianity, Mohandas Gandhi replied, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."

Gandhi also said that what passes as Christianity these days is a negation of the Sermon on the Mount.

I think he was right.

Not everyone who claims to be a Christian is actually part of the Body of Christ. And just because someone is in the Body, doesn't make them perfect.

Why do we as Christians sometime allow our egos to get in the way of the Holy Spirit?

Ahhh…because we hold our beliefs and our words to be the ones most pleasing to God. At best others are less good or less pleasing.

We continue in the original sin and eat of that tree. For most, the fruit seems sweet but it is bitter.

We continue to fall from grace when we judge others. When we judge others we take another bite of that apple and satan smiles.

Outwardly, Gandhi lived according to the teachings of Jesus. He lived a life of service and sacrifice. Did he have the indwelling spirit of Christ? He certainly unveiled it to a great degree.

Robert McCracken was a gifted preacher at the Riverside Church in Manhattan. In one of his books, Questions People Ask (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1951), he wrote:

Do you recall the ground on which Gandhi criticized organized Christianity? His complaint was not directed at the Christian ideal-for the Sermon on the Mount he professed admiration again and again-but at the failure of Christians to put it into operation and at their refusal to take it seriously. Stanley Jones once said to him: "Mahatma Gandhi, I am very anxious to see Christianity nationalized in India, so that it shall no longer be a foreign thing identified with a foreign people and a foreign government, but a part of the national life of India and contributing its power to India's uplift and redemption. What would you suggest that we do to make that possible?" This was the reply: "I would suggest, first, that all of you Christians must begin to live more like Jesus Christ. Second, I would suggest that you must practice your religion without adulterating or toning it down. Third, I would suggest that you must put your emphasis upon love, for love is the centre and soul of Christianity.

Christian’s are not called to win but to serve. I think Jesus cares more about what we “do" instead of what we “preach."

So how are Christians to act? Jesus plainly told us when He taught The Sermon on the Mount. It begins with the utterance of "moving lyrical strains of the Beatitudes." They constitute the string of pearls which adorns the crowning of Christian ethics. The Beatitudes are independent exhortations of blessedness to mold the character of the Christian believer:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the earth.

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. — Matthew 5: 3-12

So who enters the kingdom first? Those, who profess Jesus or those living the Christ?

Here is a hint:

“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." — Mathew 7

For those of us who profess to be Christian, may God guide us to live in the true Spirit of the Christ so that we can be salt and light to a dying world.

©2008 Judi Lynn Lake. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

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Judi Lynn Lake has kept up with leading edge business trends throughout her varied and successful career. She had already had her "15 minutes of fame" over and over again before starting her family. Judi and her family now reside in Charleston, South Carolina, but, having been born and raised on Long Island, NY, it is clearly evident that she will always be a "New Yorker." Today, she successfully runs her own advertising agency which handles everything from logos, branding and package design while she continues to work closely with self-published authors from design to promotion. For more information, visit judilake.com

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The following video, "Jesus of Nazareth-best scenes-"Blessed are They," from the movie, Jesus of Nazareth, courtesy of You Tube.