Living Testimony

1 peter. 4:10 “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”

Living Testimony

Did you know that people who are terminally ill don’t have a choice where or when they die?

"As of June 2016, human euthanasia is legal in the Netherlands, Belgium, Colombia, and Luxembourg. Assisted suicide is legal in Switzerland, Germany, Japan, Canada, and in the US states of Washington, Oregon, Vermont, Montana, and California."

A couple of months ago my husband went for a yearly check-up and we were told about A Living Will. His doctor said, that although we were young and presumably healthy, we should have one prepared in the event that if anything happened to either one of us, where our families might feel they know what we want in the end, this would be our notarized decision.

I boldly told hubby that I would never want to be kept alive by feeding tubes or on machines. We’ve never thought of stuff like that before and oddly this was what we were to think about but never got around to and here I sit today.

No, don’t worry, this is not going to be a downer post this is going to be the uplifting inspiring posts that you’ve come to expect from me! You see, nobody wants to think of death, yet it is a natural part of life. We want to think of uplifting positive journeys and what we need to do before, well you know, the time comes when we’re called home.

1 Pet. 4:11 “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”

I always see the positive in the negative and this illness is no different. I don’t see this as a time to roll over and let the doctors do with me what they will, I see this as a time to stand up as my ancestors before me weren’t strong enough to do. I’ve always been a rebel of sorts, going against the grain. For crying out loud, I chose St. Joan of Arc as my patron Saint when I was a young girl in a Catholic school when the nuns were against my CHOICE.

I’m no longer a practicing Catholic but I still do somewhat admire Joan of Arc for all she stood for. Standing for Christ when all others rejected her and thought that she shouldn’t fight in a long-running war at a very young age. What is strangely odd is that unbeknownst to me, her father's name was Jacques d’Arc. Years ago, I named one of my dogs Jacques. Yup, same spelling. Weird, huh?

Some St. Joan of Arc quotes:

“I am not afraid... I was born to do this.”

“If I am not, may God put me there; and if I am, may God so keep me.”

“I was in my thirteenth year when I heard a voice from God to help me govern my conduct. And the first time I was very much afraid.”

From History. Com. “Against the advice of most of his counselors and generals, Charles granted her request, and Joan set off for Orléans in March of 1429 dressed in white armor and riding a white horse.”

I only bring Joan of Arc up because this is what I feel like from the doctor’s trying to force me to get chemo and feel they will burn me at the stake as soon as I mention talking to God about this decision. They can’t burn me at the stake here in a free country but if I was under eighteen, you can bet they WOULD force me single-handedly to take the chemo route. 

My mother's aunt had breast cancer, went the chemo/butcher route and it was the family’s belief that by opening her up it allowed the disease to spread. The same thing happened to my father’s aunt and my own aunt and uncle. Ancestrally, many family members all went the same route and I’m not defying the doctor’s, besides me doing this with God, I am doing this for my deceased family members who might not have known any better or any other treatments at the time. I’m doing it for my son, my nieces, and nephews and their children who might find themselves dealt the same hand as I am dealt. I am doing this for God who keeps reminding me of Romans 8:31 “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?”

They need to know that it is okay to go against the grain! It’s okay to be a martyr and listen to God! It’s okay to swim against the tide, away from the fish all heading in the same direction. Stand alone if you must but always think of the greater things outside the box. This is the one legacy I’ll leave to my son and my nieces and nephews. They’ll know first and foremost I stood with God and this is where He led me and never did I doubt or fear where I was being driven. I trust Him with my life, literally. That’s what we all must do. 

As you thought this post would be a downer, you were led to a place of hope. Hope in tomorrow and hope in the Lord our God and where He leads us. The hardest part is giving Him 100% trust but when we do… I can’t explain the liberating freedom that comes along with the trust. All I do know is that I’d rather be in no other hands but His! Praise Be to God!

1 Pet. 4:12-13 “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.”

The Martyr

Rev 11:7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

The Martyr

I’m sure you’ve all heard of the Christians beheaded by the ISIS group?

I read that they were Coptic Christians and I thought, what’s the difference, isn’t a Christian a Christian?

A Coptic Christian is called Coptic because this is the language of the Afro-Asiatic. I’m intrigued to know more about them. They are Christians living in a predominantly Muslim world, which is why they are persecuted on a daily basis.

This isn’t the first beheadings and certainly won’t be the last we hear of this atrocity. So why do these beheadings warrant an outcry more than the others?  I can’t say. I do know the bible says that we will be persecuted for His names sake so why does it shock us that prophecy is being fulfilled?

These people live in the very land where Jesus and His followers walked. His shoes were filled with the sand of the land and the same that were persecuted in Moses day and Jesus’ day are the same men and women being persecuted in this very day. Can you think of any difference in then and now?

I thought about it and the main thing I found different was the way we, in the safe zone called America basically thousands of miles away from the Middle East and these horrendous acts, hear the stories by the click of a button.

We’re sitting at our desks, all snug in our warm socks, possibly wrapped in a warm blanket, drinking our freshly brewed coffee, relaxing behind a screen. All the while Christians are being persecuted all around us in record number.

Imagine a time when we were fed our news via mouth. “I heard this...”

Yup, word of mouth, then it was the written word via a long article in the newspaper, now we click a button of our preferred news source and then we become the relaters of the words like little gossipmongers.

“He said this.”

“She said this.”

It must be the truth because they said this and that.

I’m wondering if anyone else has noticed that not only is God working here but satan as well? God is trying to hold us to our commitment to Him while Satan is waving his arms all around garnering our attention and it is working. Yes the crimes are horrendous, yes it is despicable to think that one must die proclaiming Christianity but it is also saddening to watch ‘Christians’ walk right into satans hands. How? By spewing hate, that’s how. This is his goal and all too many are the gullible, willing recipients. He spews hate, they spew hate, and the line of hate flourishes and grows.

Yes, we are called to despise evil but when YOU spew evil am I to despise you? Think about that. There are always two sides to every story. Did Jesus use just one disciple to spread his word? Did God have one man spread His word across the nations? No, He didn’t and as such we have the books that form the Holy Bible in front of us today. And an FYI, the Bible was not written in verse form I believe, so that one verse couldn’t/ shouldn’t be taken out of context.

We are in the midst of nation rising against nation. God and Satan are at war. Prophecy is being fulfilled and we cower and spread hate? We are divided spiritually, religiously and politically. I do not pretend to know the religion of my acting president no more than can I know who my fellow Christian brother/sister is. Just because I clicked a button and was fed lies am I to believe them as truth?

I am neither democratic nor republican, I am neither a Jew nor a Muslim but in this world I am persecuted no matter what I believe. I believe in truth. God’s truth not man and his twisted truth. Do you get it? If you partake in the spewing of lies and hate, you are no different than the men of the ISIS group; you want to be heard, you want to be right, you my friend are doing just what satan wants you to do, not what God wants you to do.

You say you’re a Christian but would you defend Christianity in death? Can you place yourself in the beheaded Christians place and say you too would die for your belief? I see Americans and people worldwide being persecuted for Christ and we don’t hear anything about them, they are all hidden deep within the information highway so you only SEE the most gruesome of crimes being committed. We FEED off this brutality hence become a part of the atrocity. To my eyes, you are fulfilling satans task at destroying us.

To be called a Christian you must act like one. Name-calling is not what Christianity is about. If our government stood firm and called themselves Christians and not ACTING like Christians, the fingers would be pointing, shouting even, you’re a liar, you can’t be Christian, but when the government takes no stance on religion they are called other names and the vicious cycle of satan-born hate goes round and round.

Instead of hate-spewing, I read this yesterday:

...whatever the world news may say about the Brave, Martyred 21 Christians who were beheaded by ISIS, Lord, we know Your Word speaks the Truth: "The world was not worthy of them." (Heb.11:38) However any evil thinks it's winning & overcoming, Your Truth declares that they are the Overcomers, that they overcame "because of the blood of the Lamb & because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death." (Rev.12:11) And wherever Your people are tonight, God, We will remember every one of their names because they did not forget You or forsake claiming Your name, We will pray for their families because they are our literal family, And we will pray that our faith *in You* is worth laying down our life *for You,* We will pray that we don't live lives of cheap grace but of costly Christianity, We will pray that their sacrificed lives will stir us to live sacrificial lives And we will weep prayers for the persecuted Church because we are *bound* to them through Your Heart & in Your heart they are UNBOUND, UNDEFEATABLE, UNDAUNTED, & UNFORGETTABLE.  ~ Courtesy of Ann Voskamp of Smoky Mountain Christian

I don’t know if the author is Ann Voskamp but instead of shouting injustices she took the high road and showed her CHRISTIAN faith! This is what it’s all about people, PRAYER! Not hate-filled, dogmatic words of prayer, genuine heartfelt, fervent prayer.

I am a child of God. I will not judge you for whatever road you choose to get to where you are at in life today, and I should hope and pray that YOU don’t judge others for whatever path THEY are choosing. Don’t let satan have the pleasure of deceiving you.

 Matthew 5:10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”