Author: Sandie D

Last night was one of those nights like many nights for me. I have a difficult time sleeping because of medical reasons that are affiliated with Myasthenia Gravis and the CIPD which is the chronic form of Guillian Barre Syndrome. On nights when I have more pain that makes it impossible to sleep or breath comfortable my mind gets going on other things. Most of the time I fill my worst nights with thoughts of prayer and thanksgiving. I’m not meaning the kind of thanksgiving as in the one day a year where we are suppose to be thankful for all the things we have. We should be thankful each and every day.  My thoughts and prayers on people and the hurts of the world.

Last night and this week I have had many sleepless nights. Not only because of pain and difficulties, but my nights and dreams are about those I love. Most of my thoughts last night as I was laying in bed trying to get comfortable is how I need to work on my prayer life. I have many conversations with God, but He has been directing me to be more mindful and direct when it comes to praying. The movie War Room has shown me that I need to be focusing on praying for others continually and effectively for others.

I can’t help but pay attention to all the things going on in this world. If others can’t see it, they are blind. Everyday we hear more and more about the evils happening before our eyes. It is easy to get discouraged. But there is something we can do. God has given each of us the ability to fight evil and overcome things with the most powerful weapon possible and that would be prayer.

I fully believe in Jesus Christ and we are told that prayer requests and thanksgiving should be done for everyone. As a believer in Christ we aren’t exempt from praying for others. During this weeks Monday evening Bible Study one of the ladies brought up how we are in a spiritual battle with Satan. She is right, we have to pray for our own spiritual well-being and focus in praying for others. Without a doubt we are in the middle of a war whether we like it or not. We are all caught up in the spiritual war that’s taking place between good and evil. When we trust in God’s power we can trust that He is greater than any evil working against us and in the world. Our prayers can help stop bad things from happening to others. We are called to pray for others.

• Romans 8: 26-27, Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groaning too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
• Ephesians 6:12–18, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and shaving put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.”

Our church has a men’s prayer meeting on Saturdays and I have been really thinking on how prayer shouldn’t be limited to just the men or on one day. While I was talking to one of the ladies at church, we were discussing having a study on prayer for the ladies. We will be taking a break from our Monday night Bible Study this week, but prayer is something we never should take a break from. As I was laying awake, I kept thinking about or God put it on my heart that even though we won’t be doing the evening study, we can still meet and pray on Monday evenings. Give each of the ladies a journal and during the week they can write down their thoughts and prayers and when we meet, we can pray for those prayers.

As I was praying on this and thinking about how it would work out, there was a few things that came to mind. We would let the Holy Spirit lead us as we pray for our community, church family, friends, missions, or whoever or whatever else are in need of prayers.

God seems to put a lot of things on my heart at night. It must be because that is the only time when He really gets my attention since my heart and mind isn’t cluttered by all the other things going on in my life and in the world. My mind gets pretty cluttered during the day time. But a couple verses comes to mind as I think and ponder about a evening prayer meeting for the ladies. BTW, this is one of those things that is out of my comfort zone. I pray, but I don’t usually pray in groups. It must be something that God is wanting instead of me. And I can’t argue with God since He is always right. 🙂

• Acts 12:12 – Peter went to the house of Mary where others gathered for prayer.
• Acts 1:13-14 – scripture records that all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women.

In closing I just want to add that one of the things that has been heavy on my mind and heart is that our time in short. We don’t know when we will be called home or when Christ will come again. Nothing is impossible when we trust in God. When you pray about especially challenging situations. Commit everything you pray about fully to God. As I spend time praying I must keep in mind that I have to resist the lies that Satan by submitting your my life completely to God. While I am reading God’s Word (the Bible) I need to be praying for others and remember what’s true and what’s not.

Our life is full of obstacles and battles. Every time we turn around there are threats present. The awesome news is that we have the best weapon at our disposal and that is prayer. When we put on the full armor of God’s word, Jesus is there with us. We can face every enemy and we can be confident in knowing that we will be victorious. While we will always have struggles and we may get discouraged, we can rest assured that we are on the winning side because if God is for us then how can we loose.There isn’t anything that God doesn’t understand. As we learn more about God through His Word, we can face anything without fear. God will give us the strength if only we turn to Him.

• 2 Samuel 10:12 Be strong, and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do what is good in his sight.
• 1 John 5:4 For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.

This week has been overwhelming at times for me. A very dear lifelong friend lost her battle with cancer. Robin went home to be with the Lord last night. She loved the Lord and I know that while she is no longer here, she is resting in the arms of God. I can rest peacefully in knowing that God is with me and all of those who have faith in Him. God would never leave His children to battle the things of this world alone. God is more powerful than any army and any battle that we come up against.

• Psalms 28:7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him.

Listen to Victory In Jesus Video on YouTube.

I’m not sure about you, but there has been too many times in my life that I have struggled with things that are of this world.  I have been discouraged over bad habits and moral issues. What I have found is that with God’s saving grace He made a huge life changing difference in my life. I would think that we all have a part of us that we want others to see when they look at us. I call it the Sunday best attitude. I know I have the part that I want others to see, like my good behavior side. Then there is the part that is hidden away so nobody see’s them. There are those things we humans are ashamed of. Which by the way, God, always see’s, but not those around us. Which is intimidating to me. I don’t know about you, but to know that God is watching everything I am doing, makes me not want to do stupid things.

Has there ever been a time or a situation where you are trying to make new friends and in the pit of your stomach, you are hoping they never learn about whatever it is that you are ashamed of? As I was talking to a friend we got on the subject of accepting Jesus Christ and what it means to have a relationship with Him. She was heavily into drugs and lost her family because of it.  There is a misconception that we must be perfect in order for God to love us. Hello!!!! Satan would rather have us carry the guilt, shame and condemnation instead of us trusting in God. There is NO way we are ever going to be perfect, and God knows this. Satan doesn’t want us to focus on the Lord. When we have a personal relationship with God, we can’t hide who we are and we can’t hide all the bad stuff from Him. No matter how much I have tried to cover something up, God knew the truth.

Not so long ago (4 weeks), I started doing a Bible Study called Seamless by Angie Smith. When I first looked at the book, I was thinking I was going to just do it by myself. The problem with that is that I am a slacker and I put things off. I could easily come up with many excuses to not so a Bible Study, let alone lead one. I knew I needed to do a study that would really speak to me and not be over my head. I kept praying and researching studies I could do since I know that I need to get a better understand of God’s Word. I kept saying, “Nope, not going to do it.” .

After I got my book in the mail and thumbed through the pages, I realized that this isn’t the kind of study that should just be me studying it alone. It was a small group Bible Study. As I was reading it, I knew that I had to step outside of my comfort zone. My gift is not to teach others. I have always seen myself as a person that is great one on one. I thoroughly enjoy witnessing to others about how God changed my life and has been there for me. Don’t get me wrong, I have had my fair share of not doing what God wanted me to do. But, with this study, the message I received from God was that I needed to run this Bible Study since God put it on my heart to do this. I hesitated a great deal and went searching for others to do the leading. Eventually I decided I might as well bite the bullet and see how it comes out. Well, I didn’t decide, God opened the doors and made it possible. Without God, I don’t think this would have happened.

Angie Smith’s “Seamless” Bible Study made it easier. The layout and her way of simplifying how I look at the Bible has been more than helpful. If you have been looking for a study, this is a good one. I was extremely stressed over leading this group. Like I said, my gift isn’t to teach, it’s to witness and be a behind the scenes kind of person. That is where my comfort zone is at. I just hope the ladies are all going to learn something since I am leading this group in a way I would do it at my dining room table. It’s very casual.

There are many that believe that I know much more about the Bible than I do. Don’t get me wrong, I do know a good deal, but I am and always will be a work in progress. I find the New Testament much easier to understand. The Old Testament is another story. History is one of my weak points. I don’t get the whole genealogy thing and how things fit together. But, through this Bible Study, I am finding it easier to piece things together and see the importance of how everything makes sense. My church does a few other Bible Studies, but they are way over my head and makes me feel pretty stupid at times. Which makes me not want to participate. For those who can grasp studies like Precepts, that is awesome, but it isn’t for me. When I did go to them, I felt lost with all the terminology and the grand scheme of it all. I would come home and felt defeated the moment I opened up the workbooks. Thankfully there are alternatives to Precepts. My church has so many alternatives and Bible study opportunities, which makes it nice for those who are like me.

As I continue with this study(Seamless), I am finding that I need to put my trust in God even more, even when I don’t understand why or how things happen. I always thought I did, and then I find out that I need to totally give everything to Him and not hold back. It is an all or nothing kind of thing. If I try to hold onto a small amount of control, then I’m not fully trusting in God. There are a great deal of frustrations and stumbling blocks that I have had to deal with off and on, control freak kind of stuff is just one example.

Some of the questions in this study has been hard to answer since I would prefer not to focus on them right now or maybe forever. They are part of my past, not my future. But then, my past defines who I am to some degree. There were times when I didn’t think that God knew I was here. I didn’t know where He was. I know He was there, but I was a doubting Thomas off and on. Why would a loving God allow things to happen in my life or others peoples lives that are devastating? I have to admit that I was feeling like a modern day Job and I still do at times. OK, a lot of times.

At this point in my life I have chosen to not let situations from my past corrupt who I am now. It hasn’t always been easy to trust in God. But, I can sincerely say that because of the hard times, I am a better person for it. I left home very young. I ran away when I was a teenager. Shortly after I was out of the house, I got married at 17 and became pregnant with my daughter Jessica before Chuck and I were married. I have a great deal of medical issues and shouldn’t be here right now. This Bible study helped me understand that while I have made terrible mistakes,  I know in my heart that God wasn’t pleased by my actions. He still blessed me in ways that I know I don’t deserve. That’s when God’s grace and mercy comes in.  While I don’t like what has gone on in my life, I can say that because of my bad decisions and medical problems, God made it possible for me to use these hard times to reach other who may be going through the same things I did and still am.

One of the things that has really touched my heart during this study is that when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are a new person. Throughout the Old Testament, we see how God changed a persons name. Like Abrams name was changed to Abraham. Abram and Sarai were transformed into new people and God gave them the gift of new names. Basically they are were made new. Which is pretty awesome.  What I get out of the story of Abraham and Sarah is that when we put our faith in God, we aren’t the same person we use to be. For me this important and a game changer. I say that because I know that I’m not who I use to be. I don’t know about you, but to know that God has changed the person who you were into a new person with a new name, is pretty cool.

In closing, I just want to say that God wants us to come to Him and trust him in all situations. He is in control and knows what is best for me, even if I don’t understand why something is happening. Emotionally we become stable and I have found over and over again that when I do things based on how I feel, my decisions and choices have the ability to make things worse.

For me, I know that I must trust in God and that my faith is the key when it comes to trusting Him in all situations and circumstances. I don’t need to know all the answers because God is in control. At the end of the day I choose to trust in Him no matter what. God loves all of us and He has big plans for our lives. I can guarantee you that life isn’t going to be easy. God never said it would be. There will be times that you may not think you can make it through in one piece. Jesus tells us in John 16:33, “In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration.” I would say that it is important to keep in mind that we don’t need to understand everything, we just need to have faith in God and He will be there for us when life seems unfair, unbearable and difficult.

I have always considered myself a person who is open minded. In the past few years, I have revised my viewpoints. I’m finding that if I become open-minded over all things then I would be betraying God.  With all the things going on in the world, as a Christian, I feel like I need to show respect and at the same time be cautious when it comes to various things that are against the teachings of Christ. The best route to take is to hold fast to the Truth, while being compassionate. Jesus states in 1 John1:14 that we should be like Jesus, we must be willing to offer mercy and grace.

A friend of mine posted what they feel when it comes to tolerance that I wholeheartedly agree with. Pastor Bernie Larson said:

A lot is said today about tolerance. People plead for broad-mindedness,tolerance and charity. In some sense we need understanding and charity.In the Christian experience, there is a need for intolerance in certain areas.
In some things, Jesus Christ was the most tolerant Person who ever lived-but in other things, He was the most intolerant. He was intolerant toward hypocrisy,selfishness and toward sin. He was tolerant toward the sinner, but intolerant toward the evil that enslaves the sinner.
He was narrow about the way of salvation. See Matt.7:13,14.” Enter by the narrow gate…. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life.” Only the way of the cross leads home to heaven! Bernie

Some have wondered how Jesus can be loving and truthful and at the same time be intolerant.

We live in a world that has all forms of religion and faiths. While we must live in harmony with those of other faiths, we must also remember that our eyes and hearts are focused on Christ alone. I have friends and family members that aren’t Christians and they come from many different viewpoints. When I am around others that don’t worship or believe God, I try to make sure to not be hateful or judgmental.  As a Christian, I am committed to following Jesus Christ and the truths that have been revealed by God.  There are many religions that have been deceived by faiths that are corrupting our hearts and minds. It is as if mankind has been infected by a virus that’s deadlier than Ebola.  I have found that I pretty much have no problem letting others know what I believe.

I get rather ticked off when people worship another god instead of the God in the Bible. They say they are worshiping the same God, but in reality they are far from God. They say we needed to be united no matter what the differences are is pure hogwash and dangerous thinking. I know they have free will. But! When I hear pastors or church leaders say that we must accept all people for who they are no matter what they believe has me cautious of that pastor or church leader. There are a few church leaders that are OK with the “Everything is OK as long as we come together and unite as one thought”.  There was a time when I had no problem dealing with other religions organizations. I figured it was a good thing to work together for a higher purpose for the sake of community. Reality hit me smack dab in my gut and I’m not at the same place mentally or spiritually any longer.

We are told that we need to love our neighbors and our enemies. I have a tad bit of a problem with that one. In reality hating them won’t get me far.  I don’t think we should be tolerant if what they are believing doesn’t line up with the Bible. When it comes to false teaching and doctrines,  we shouldn’t  just say, “OK, you can believe that.” When people believe in false gods, they are lost. There comes a time when you need to talk to the person/group about who God really is and what the Bible has to say. Just because someone may have good intentions or they are a good person, it doesn’t matter if you don’t accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

As I close out this blog post, I just want to say that as Christians, we aren’t suppose to accept or support false religions. There is no fence sitting. When it comes to being a child of God and a child of the devil, there is no common ground. You cannot worship God and Satan at the same time. You either are or your not, no in betweens. While I respect other peoples view points, I will somewhat respect their free will since anyone has the right to worship whoever they choose or not at all. But and this is a big but, I will not compromisee when it comes to my faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the only way. When it comes to my faith in Jesus Christ and the Bible being the inspired Word of God, I would say I am narrow minded. I will not allow false teaching and doctrines to enter my brain or heart. My pastor did a pretty awesome sermon on this topic recently. This sermon has got to be one of my favorite ones that Pastor Ray shared with us. Pastor Ray was spot on…

When it comes to tolerance in the Bible it means to allow sin and evil to exist without doing anything to stop it. Look at what the Prophet Habakkuk said about God, “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong” (Hab 1:13).  Sin can be forgiven, but it is never tolerated. God commands us to forgive, but He never encourages us to tolerate sin. There is a clear difference.

At my church, our air conditioner has broke down. It needs to be replaced. While I don’t like being hot, my wondering mind was thinking about how spoiled we are in America. Some people were grumbling and complaining about how hot it was at church. I do NOT like the heat. I hate it. One of the main reasons I hate it is because it wrecks havoc on my body. I have the chronic form of Guillian Barre Syndrome and I have Myasthenia Gravis. Both of these are auto-immune diseases and from what my Drs say, I should not be here right now. Heat has a way of putting me into a crisis and anything can happen and I would not survive. OK, now I am getting off track.

Christians in America are spoiled rotten. I think about our missionaries in foreign countries. One of the families our church sponsors has 3 children and they live among the Gumuz people in Ethiopia. They started up a medical clinic and now they have planted a number of churches. It’s nothing for them to walk miles to get to church. They worship God in huts that have none of the amenities we enjoy. The Fowlers and those who want to attend church must walk miles to get there. They don’t have power-points or many of the modern conveniences we enjoy. Many times they hold church in what I would say is a leinto. It may not have walls. They have seats, but they are boards. They aren’t cushy. They may spend all day at church and we grumble over having to drive 15 minutes out of the way. We grumble because the clock says 12:15 and we should be out of church. People in other countries would love to be able to go to church and are grateful for every minute they are given to worship Christ.

There was a lady that is in Pakistan that believes that Christians are spoiled here in America. Some would say we are blessed while those from other countries say we are spoiled. This lady was saying how people in America think they need huge mega churches with soft comfy chairs with air conditioners that keep them cool. They also have pastors that tickle their ears instead of a multi-million dollar church building with air conditioners to freeze them and nice padded seats and a preacher to tickle their ears. They believe that Americans are not preaching the uncompromising word of God anymore. Many are more concerned with worldly pleasures and solicitations for money, then with following Christ and doing his will. I can’t totally disagree with her statements.

I was watching a video not so long ago about how this group of Chinese people received brand new Bibles. By the looks in the video, these people never had their own Bible. When they opened up the box and seen that they had them, they wept. They were so overjoyed to have a Bible. As I was watching the video, I realized that I too for granite that I can order one on Amazon or go to my local store to get one. I have several Bibles that vary in translations. In my house I have about 15 Bibles and I carry them in my car so I can hand them out to others that may need one. This is a luxury that many don’t have. To see how overjoyed these people were over getting a Bible of their own humbled me. One day I would like to show that video in church. We are a blessed people and we can’t get past the things that are petty. How many people get excited when they receive a Bible of their own?

Since our air conditioner went down, a few of the people are upset and they need it fixed right now according to some. Well, I am a grumbler also, but this last Sunday I was thinking about how nice it was to have the doors open and people singing worship songs to the Lord. In my mind I was thinking about how awesome it would be if someone that may have never heard the Gospel was walking by the church and they were listening to the music or message. Churches use to have it where the doors were opened and all who wanted to come in could.

I get rather frustrating when it comes to people getting butt hurt because the air conditioner is down. How awesome it would be if a stranger was walking by and he paused for a moment to listen to the service. There have been times I have grumbled over getting hot. But then, I need to remember that I’m not at church to have my ego stroked. I am at church to worship with other Christians, even if the air conditioner is broke. I won’t go into naming names, but if someone is grumbling about the AC and not thinking about the message the pastor is preaching, then why are they there?

A long time ago, I came to the realization that I’m not at church because it is a great way to socialize I’m not there to eat all the yummy stuff Barbara makes, even though they are pretty awesome. I’m not there because of the music. If that was so, I would be out of there. I like hymns, but I don’t like the songs we sing. If I judged my church on the music alone, I would be out of there.If I was going there because of the settings on a thermostat, I would not be there. All of these things are nice, but that’s not what is important.

I’m so very thankful that I live in a place where I am free to worship Christ the way I want to. I worship the very same God that is in the Bible. I’m thankful that Pastor Ray goes by the Bible alone. Last Sunday the sermon was awesome and one that I plan on sharing with others. For those who grumbled about the AC and couldn’t or wouldn’t open their minds to what was being said missed out big time.

I was reading an article about cute little piggies. I was also having a discussion with my grandson Tyson last week about eating foods at restaurants when they leave the heads on them. I have huge issues when it comes to eating food that still has the heads on them. For example, when I go to Red Lobster, the first thing I see when I walk in is the lobsters that are in a tank. You can choose which one you want to eat for dinner. I’m sorry, I just can’t get past the idea of how they were alive a few minutes before and now they are looking at me on my plate.

There are times when I think I could totally become a vegetarian when it comes to seeing the animals before they die. We had a bull and we named him Ricky. He was an awesome bull. Well, we didn’t own him, our landlord did. We just did everything for him since his landlord wouldn’t feed him or do anything with him. There came a day when the landlord came over to kill and butcher Ricky. We were suppose to get half the meat since we paid for everything for him. When the time came and we were given the meat, I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t get past the images of Ricky standing there by me and wanting petted. He would break out of his fence area and come up to the house and would look in the windows as if he wanted to come in. We ended up giving the meat away since I couldn’t handle eating him and neither could my husband.

When I was younger, my parents would race animals and then we would butcher them. One of the cows we had his name was Charlie. Us kids would play with him and he was so awesome. When the bus dropped us off, the first thing I seen was Charlie hanging from a tree. To this day, I have that image in my mind. I stopped eating beef until I knew that all of the meat was gone that was from Charlie. My parents did the same thing with a couple pigs we had. We called them Betty and Jerome. They were named after some good friends. We came home and Jerome was hanging on the same tree Charlie was. It was fruits and vegetables for me for a long long time.

On the page I went to, the people were told that they were going to do some taste-test sample of bacon. Instead they were shown a little baby pig. There is something about looking into the face of a cute baby piggy and then the idea that it will be killed so I can have bacon. I think I would like to keep the piggy alive and skip the bacon. When they seen the little piglet face to face, they melted away. I wonder if people were to look at the animals they are eating face to face if they would turn vegetarian. I can see myself doing that with no problem at all.

As I said earlier, my grandson Tyson and I were talking about the lobsters at Red Lobster. All I can imagine is these lobsters that was alive as I walked in are now being put in a boiling hot pot and screaming to the top of their tiny little lungs. They are saying, “Help Me, Help Me, Please“. Then boom, they get boiled alive. People say they can’t feel, I don’t know if I agree with that one. If they are screaming and trying to claw their way out of the boiling pot, then I would think they were hurting. If I order lobster or another seafood, I make sure there is nothing looking at me. I love Alaskan King Crab and lobster, but not if  I see it alive just a few minutes ago. I would be more apt to buy it and then set it free, lol.

Then there is fish. Specifically Trouts. I love Rainbow Trout. But, when a restaurant decides it is a great idea to give me the whole trout, head and all, I am sick to my stomach. Here is this trout that has these eyes and mouth staring at me. Even though I know it is dead, the reality is that it was once alive and gasping for air as it died. Oh my goodness, all kinds of thoughts runs through my mind at that point. So, I loose my appetite since I am looking at this face. I wonder if he is the daddy to a trout like little Nemo. Instead of taking care of it’s fishy family, it is deader than dead on my plate with a knife and fork ready to dig in. At that point I have to get a hold of the waitress to have the head removed or change my order. I am done by that time.

Down the street from me there is a restaurant called the, “Gun Barrel”. It serves all kinds of game meats and such. Now the issue I have is when I walk into restaurants like this and they have what was once alive heads on the walls. While I am eating whatever it is, there are eyes staring at you. Yes, the animals heads on the wall are dead, but at one time they were alive. Egads, I can’t have body-less animals staring me down. There are actually a number of restaurants that use these heads as decor. I hate it and I can’t handle it. One of my favorite restaurants has one placed over their fireplace. I can’t eat in that section.

I’m not sure why I am a person that eats meat since I feel the way I do. I love a good burger or whatever else as long as I can’t see the body before hand. I also know that if the animal is being killed to feed people, then that is fine as long as they are humane about it. It bothers me when people kill animals just to kill them. If they are going to go hunting, I would hope they are doing that to feed their families or others who need to eat. I don’t like it that animals are killed just for the sport of it or to have the animal sitting on a mantle or wall.

I have been trying to figure out the right way to write this blog post since it is a sensitive matter for Christians.

There is an ongoing debate among Christians as to how the end times will happen. The second coming of Christ is a controversial subject. You’re going to get all kinds of theories and beliefs when it comes to the end times. As we get closer to the final blood moon in this years tetrad, I have been noticing more of the prophecy’s coming about. “blood moons” falling on Jewish feast days and ending in September, 2015.

• Joel 2:30-31 states: “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.”
• Revelation 6:12 also prophesies that the moon will become as blood: “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood.”

When it comes to the occurrence of the four blood moons which is why there has been a great deal debate and controversy in the world. It basically states that, when four consecutive blood moons fall on Jewish feast days, a major event affecting the Jewish people will occur in close proximity to the time when Christ will return.

Pastor John Hagee is the author of  Four Blood Moons: Something Is About to Change writes about what he calls ‘celestial signals’. According to him, four blood moons or lunar eclipses appearing in close succession, is a very rare phenomenon – so the fourth lunar eclipse in two years which falls on September 28 could be the beginning of a series of terrible events on Earth.

There are others who have it on their mind that the Blood Moon is going to trigger the second coming or we are going to have a huge asteroid that is going to smash us to smithereens or we will become extinct like the dinosaurs did back in the ice ages. Those who believe this blood moon is nothing more than a lunar eclipse thinks that Christians have totally lost their minds.

Many Christians believes that the lunar eclipse that will occur on September 28 , which is part of a tetrad, could trigger the beginning of horrible events to happen. I’m not doubting this, but I also think it is dangerous to give specific dates when it comes to the end of the world. I do believe that these are important dates though. If something doesn’t happen, those who are naysayers will make a joke of it and opportunities are missed when it comes to reaching the unreachable.

Each of the four blood moons in 2014 and 2015 have also fallen on religious days significant for the Jewish people. Three of the four “Blood Moons” has occurred already, with the final one happening on September 28th, 2015.

• April 15, 2014—Passover
• October 8, 2014—Feast of Tabernacles
• April 4, 2015—Passover
• September 28, 2015—Feast of Tabernacles

Terrorist threats, lawlessness, school violence, devastating tornadoes, a plummeting economy, ISIS, the nuclear threat in Iran and North Korea–it’s enough to frighten and panic anyone. We are seeing horrific things playing out each and every day. Christians are being murdered as they attend church services, babies are murdered and people being imprisoned because they stand firm in their faith in God.

The upcoming “blood moon” and various other prophecies are happening before our very eyes. As I think about how Christians are coming under attack and being seen as “bigots and hateful”, I can’t help but long for the return of Christ. You would have to be living under a tree to not see who difficult things are for Christians who stand up for what they believe and whom they believe in. Christians are being sent to prison for speaking out against lifestyles that are now considered as “hate crimes”.

I see all the things going on in the world as a wake-up call and God is showing us that time is short. There isn’t a day that goes by that we don’t meet someone new.  My plan is to share the Gospel and talk to people about God is our only hope. Our focus has to be on Christ Alone. I hope and pray that we don’t miss an opportunity to talk to others about God. Yes, we need to be watchful, but we also need to do what we should be doing and that is spreading the Good News.

Something to think about when it comes to this tetrad  and what it could mean another prophecy fulfilled. This has to do with the prophecy that has yet to be fulfilled. That would be for Israel to rebuild the temple and/or a war described in Ezekiel 38 – which describes how Israel will be surrounded by enemies and attacked.

I want to close this up by giving you a little bit of information about the upcoming Blood/Super Moon which I will be taking pictures of.

•  It’s called a Blood Moon because it is a total lunar eclipse and pastors like John Hagee state that a lunar tetrad signifies the coming of difficult times.
• This is a Supermoon Total Lunar Eclipse so the moon will be the closest to the Earth. A Super-moon total lunar eclipse will not happen for another 33 yrs.

Click here to learn more about the Blood/Super Moon

This is the prayer that was posted on the prayer page for Pastor Saeed. There is also a story about the imprisonment of Pastor Saeed. Click here to read that story about him.

September 11
Day 6 (of 21) of Prayer and Fasting:

Jonah 1:1-3 and Jonah 4:10-11

Here is today’s prayer that was posted on the page for Pastor Saeed. Please keep him and the other persecuted Christians in your prayers.

Day 5 (of 21) of Prayer and Fasting

2 Corinthians 1:8-11 (NLT)

8 We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. 9 In fact, we expected to die. BUT AS A RESULT, WE STOPPED RELYING ON OURSELVES and LEARNED TO RELY ONLY ON GOD, who raises the dead. 10 And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us. 11 AND YOU ARE HELPING US BY PRAYING FOR US. THEN MANY PEOPLE WILL GIVE THANKS because God has graciously answered so many prayers for our safety.

Here is day 4 of the vigil for Pastor Saeed. This is from the Facebook page. Pastor Saeed is in prison because of his faith in Jesus Christ. I didn’t write this prayer, I am just sharing it with all of you. Please lift Pastor Saeed and all those who are dying and in prison because they are a Christian.

Day 4 (of 21) of Prayer and Fasting:

John 11: 4-6

4 When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.

Prayers are needed for all those who are being put to death in the world. I can’t help but wonder as Americans that we are use to our comfy ways. Many doesn’t understand how horrible things are for those who are being persecuted and imprisoned for their faith.

Voice of the Martyrs have been working with those who are imprisoned. As a Christian, I find it horrible to know that my brothers and sisters in Christ are being killed. For more information, click here….

Pastor Saeed is just one of thousands of Christians that are being put to death and persecuted each day. While we live our life and sleep in comfy beds, these people are sleeping in cold jail cells and have little if anything to eat.

Prayer Vigil for Pastor Saeed

Day 3 (of 21) of Prayer and Fasting:

Psalms 119:71
71 My suffering was good for me,
for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees.