Have you ever seen the bumper sticker “Christians aren’t perfect – just forgiven”? We have to be careful with this, but it’s a true statement. We are not perfect, and we all have ‘feet of clay’. If you’re not familiar with that term, I’ll show you what it means:
FEET OF CLAY – “The phrase comes from the Old Testament (Dan.2:31-32). There the Hebrew captain Daniel interprets a dream for Nebuchadnezzar, founder of the new Babylonian Empire. READ MORE
What could be more unlikely than a pile of human bones living again? It doesn’t seem like a very intelligent question to ask and an even more impossible thing to actually occur.
Yet, God Himself asked the question of Ezekiel as he looked out over the valley of dry bones:
And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live?
and I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest.
—EZEKIEL 37:3
As Ezekiel looked at the dry valley of bones, he had no hope. He saw only bones that appeared to be dead, dry and beyond hope.
There was a reason God asked Ezekiel if the bones could live. God wanted Ezekiel to know that the bones could live, and that he had a very important role to play in their living. Let’s read on:
Ezekiel 37:1-10: Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5 This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.
In these last days, there are many of God’s people that appear to be dead, dry and beyond hope. The battles have been fierce, and while they appear to be defeated, don’t count them out just yet. In fact, it is the Lord’s heart to count them in! The Lord is raising up an army – a vast army from the bones of those who appear to be lifeless and without hope!
It is the prophetic call and responsibility of the Church to speak life to the dry bones within. The Lord said “I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it!”
From my own personal experience, when you have been down for such a long time, and someone tells you that you CAN get up – it’s as life-giving as the very breath you breathe! You can rise again! You may have been told it’s over, you’re done. But, God says NOW is the time, NOW is your time!
Jesus came to give hope to the hopeless. It’s time we learn to speak life to those who need encouragement and hope. When you speak words of life, you are literally creating the will to live – and that is Jesus’ heart!
NOW is the time to speak life to someone!
I am convinced that during the times of calamity that are about to come upon the world, some of God’s people will receive massive amounts of material goods. I believe that when the tough times come, many of this world’s prized possessions will be given to the church and placed in the hands of God’s people. But don’t set your heart upon them. God is not opposed to our having stuff, but he is very much opposed to stuff having us.
Scripture says, “though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them” (Ps. 62:10 NIV).
Keeping a right perspective toward making money and acquiring material wealth is a heart issue. Jesus told us that if we would abide in Him, we could ask whatever we wanted and it would be done. (John 15:7)— if we abide in Him and His words abide in us. If He is truly Lord of our lives and His word is in our hearts, we will not ask Him for things to use for our carnal desires.
Materialistic Christianity was not the message of the early apostles, nor was it what motivated the great preachers, missionaries, and world-changers down through church history.
Brethren, we ought to learn — and learn it very soon — that it is much better to have God first and have God Himself even if we have only a thin dime than to have all the riches and all the influence in the world and not have God with it!
I thought of another Bible verse I had memorized: “I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten.” God was doing that in my life, giving back the years I had lost because of my sin and rebellion. He had done it in several areas already.
Having made the choice to have five abortions, I lost the opportunity to ever have children. Yet God had blessed me with many spiritual offspring—like “my girls,” Kelli, Nicks, Morgan, Nina, and Michelle Murillo. He’d given me an inner-city family—Margie’s family—complete with a namesake, Little Lori. READ MORE
I couldn’t say anything at first. I simply looked into his adoring eyes, brimming with tenderness, and my eyes began to fill with tears as well. I knew in my heart this was not something Jim had said lightly or on the spur of the moment; it was something he must have thought about a great deal. God had given me a man whose unconditional love for me was almost beyond my comprehension, and his desire to make such a sacrificial gift—to become a father again at the age of sixty and to raise a child that would not even be his biologically—overwhelmed me for a few moments.
“We couldn’t adopt a baby right now,” Jim said, “But we won’t always be on the road. Things are going to settle down soon, and when they do, you can have a little buddy.”
We talked about how much fun I would have dressing up a little girl and taking her places with me and doing things together. “But I know longer need a baby to fill me,” I said. “ My life has been filled with children—my nieces and nephew; my namesake, Little Lori; my “girls,” who are like my own daughters. Then there’s Armondo, who will always be my foster son. And especially your two children, whom I adore. I even have two grandkids now!”
But I still longed for a child of my own.
When I reflect on my past, I realize that the number one thing satan tried to rob me of was family and children of my own.
He shouldn’t have done that.
Motherhood – Part 1
Motherhood – Part 2
Motherhood – Part 3
Motherhood – Part 4
Motherhood – Part 6
Motherhood – Part 7
Interestingly, it is the scientific community, not Christian theologians, announcing that we are living on the precipice of destruction. Hollywood is heralding the news that the earth is about to encounter something cataclysmic.
A few brave prophetic voices are being heard, crying out in the wilderness of our world, warning us that our days are numbered. The earth itself is groaning and creaking, seemingly in anticipation of a major shakeup of the status quo.
Ironically, the one group with relatively little to say about Christ’s soon return is the evangelical church. Instead, we spend most of our time and energy trying to help people succeed in this life, rather than getting them ready for eternity.
Now is the time to get our lives aligned with God’s Word, to establish correct priorities, to invest in those things that will last a million years from now, rather than fickle, foolish, transitory material things. Even more important, now is the time for the Church, that group of true believers from every denomination, to begin functioning as the true body of Christ, caring for one another, helping one another as the family of God.
Knowledge that we are truly living in what the Bible refers to as “the last days” should also motivate Christians to more actively seek out opportunities to share the gospel with their unsaved friends and family members. In a very real way, the clock is ticking and time is running out.
If you are astounded that more than two hundred specific prophecies were fulfilled regarding the first coming of Christ, get ready for a surprise.
Over three hundred Scripture references point to the Second Coming.
But when Jesus Christ returns, He will not come as the Babe in Bethlehem’s manger.
The first time He came to Earth, Jesus came as the Man of Sorrows; at His Second Coming, He will appear as Almighty God.
He came first as the Lamb of God; when He returns, He will be the Lion of Judah.
At His incarnation, Jesus came as the Prince of Peace; when He comes again, it will be as King of kings and Lord of lords.
He came the first time to atone for sin. When Jesus Christ returns the second time, He will judge sinners.
The signs of His appearing are all around us; you needn’t be a Bible scholar to sense that something unusual is happening on Earth. Newspapers and news magazines practically shout from their pages, “These are getting – ready days!”
Mother’s Day 2000
I gave Jim a quick kiss when I read his cards, and then I opened the package, which he had meticulously wrapped himself. Inside was a darling little doll in a green travel case. The pretty blond had on a frilly dress and tiny little socks and patent leather shoes.
“She’s adorable honey. Thank you.”
“She’s blonde and beautiful, just like you.”
Jim served me lunch, and we chatted about our ministry schedule and upcoming events as we ate. When we finished our meal, I stood up and started to clear the coffee table.
“Leave that for a minute,” He said. “I have another present for you—“
“Jim!”
“No, its not something tangible, so don’t protest.” I sat back down on a small sofa beside him. “Come here, baby.” He put his arm around me and pulled me close.
I studied his face for a minute. He looked very serious and yet very caring. “Tell me about this gift,” I said.
“The doll reminded me of you,” He began, “But it’s real just a symbol of my love. It represents the one thing I’d give anything in the world to be able to give you —-a baby.”
He paused as his eyes grew moist, and his voice was husky with emotion as he continued.
“I know that the greatest dream of your life was to be a mother, but that’s not possible anymore. So my real Mother’s Day gift to you, Lori Beth, is to tell you that if you still cherish that dream of being a mother, we can adopt a baby.”
Motherhood – Part 1
Motherhood – Part 2
Motherhood – Part 3
Motherhood – Part 5
Motherhood – Part 6
Motherhood – Part 7
“Empty and Angry”
1980
After my hysterectomy, the anger and resentment I had stuffed down inside of me because of the abortions began to erupt, and I knew then my marriage would never survive my hatred for Jesse. “It’s me or the baby,” he’d said every time I’d gotten pregnant. Then he would lead me on. “Someday we’ll have kids. There’s plenty of time for that.” He’d never meant it, and I finally realized that. And there hadn’t been plenty of time. Now I was twenty-two years old and going through surgically induced menopause.
I was sick beyond sick, and I didn’t think I would ever get over it. I couldn’t watch a diaper commercial on TV without falling apart. More than anything in the world I had wanted to be a mother. Even as a little girl I would stuff a pillow under my baby-doll pajamas and walk around pretending I was pregnant.
God must have intended me to be a mother of many; I was a Fertile Myrtle, and I got pregnant every year from the ages of seventeen to twenty-one. Except for the first pregnancy, I was using birth control. But because of my drug use, I would forget and miss taking a pill here and there. I invariably got pregnant. Then I had an IUD for a while, but I took it out because it was painful… So I went back on the pill . . . and still managed to get pregnant.
But not anymore. The chance for that was gone forever. And as I began to realize that, I was incredibly angry with Jesse for taking away my dream. I was angry with myself too, because abortion was ultimately my choice.
Motherhood – Part 1
Motherhood – Part 2
Motherhood – Part 4
Motherhood – Part 5
Motherhood – Part 6
Motherhood – Part 7
Why do you think the world is so hell-bent on taking Christ out of Christmas? Saying “Merry Christmas” is confessing Jesus Christ is real and that He lives. It is confessing Jesus is part of our salvation!
Romans 10:9-10 says “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” READ MORE
