Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Galatians 5:1
Stand fast… stedfast… half of this year’s word God gave me to concentrate on for 2023. Cara Whitney points out that wild horses seem to be free, but horses need help from humans to survive. Humans living without Jesus think they’re living free, but looking for love and provision in all the wrong places is not freedom. Knowing Christ frees us from the law of sin, death, and lack. God’s freedom offers us what we long for: unconditional love, purpose, and meaning. The yoke of Jesus is light, freeing, easy when you walk with him. Our adversary, the devil, is a hard taskmaster. Our selfish, fleshly nature is no better. Let’s surrender daily to our Lord and walk in true freedom.
9. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10. who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.
11. Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing. 1Thessalonians 5:9-11
Uta Milewski titled today’s devotion, Courage. God sad he’s done his part, so whether we live or die, we live together with Jesus. Praying in the Spirit builds us up so we can encourage each other. Praying in tongues, even for a short while each day, results in big change over time. Join in and see how you will become a source of courage for others, participating in the Kingdom of God. This explains what’s happening in my life these days!
12. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. 13. But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. 2Timothy 3:12-13
As I’ve said, my first book, Musings Along Life’s Journey, is available for purchase. It is not without persecution… let me explain. I have been working with my publisher and librarian to schedule a date to promote my book. The date has changed three times, my book printing being delayed. My books came in God’s Kairos time, my second word for 2023. This brought the first snag, not enough time for the library trustee board to read my book before promoting the event. I immediately signed a book for each of the 9 trustees, thanking them for being my pre-readers. I checked in with the librarian about a week later to set another date. She said she’s not gotten my book to all the trustees yet. Also, she is not allowed to use the library name for any promotional materials if it’s a Christian book or church event. I could see if the person scheduling the community room would let me schedule, then she could do the promotion without the library name on it.
The second glitch was that my Facebook account got scammed, and when I tried to log in, the password I’d recently changed, due to another scam, was rejected. After going through Facebook security measures, I was totally locked out. So, I made a new page. In my first post, I told how privileged I was having my Facebook scammed and blocked just when I was promoting my Christian book. Several people commented, giving links to use to unlock my original account. My so, Chris, messaged me not to click on any of them, they’re scams! So, if you’re friends with me on Facebook and get a friend request from me, it’s legit! Look for the selfie of me with Joyce from Tanzania on the profile.
I’ve been playing phone tag with my publisher, Sabrina Adams, for a week. I finally got her on the phone. She’s in the hospital, and they’ve found cancer has spread throughout her body. Last week, she told me that on the way to her treatment for the first cancer, she was ready to give up. In a vision, God told her she had two choices. He could end this and take her to heaven, or he had a mandate for her to start a publishing company named Zoe Life and publish Christian books for His glory. We’ll, you know which she chose. In the middle of publishing my book, her breast cancer was reoccurring, and she had a radical mastectomy. She refused chemo but agreed to radiation. She went for treatments for about a month, but chose to quit because it was taking so much out of her. Join me in praying for a miracle, complete restoration of her health!
For such a time as this! Keep tuning in to my musings, I will be making dates for signing events and will keep you posted. You can purchase my book, Musings Along Life’s Journey, at http://www.zoelifebooks.org, and if it still says, “Coming Soon,” ignore it because you can still order my book there.
Because of this Scripture, they believe you should not donate your blood. I marveled, with a bit of disgruntlement, that my young daughter could easily answer the questions in the readings we were doing. I also threw away my blood donor card and the fancy cross necklace I’d been given from my church. I came under a fear that if I didn’t come under the Watch Tower, the end was near, and I would not be saved. The woman invited me to a sledding party they were hosting, and I seriously thought of going to their Kingdom Hall. As a new believer in Jesus, I had not begun Bible reading on my own and did not know how to speak about my salvation and had no idea what it all meant.
I began to back off from wanting them to come into my home. The day they walked in to see I had put up a Christmas tree and was noticeably pregnant with our third child, she was not happy with me. Shortly after this we moved to the other end of town, and I did not tell her our new address. The Adirondack Home News, a free weekly paper, came into our new apartment. Looking through the classifieds, I saw an ad, “Are you involved with Jehovah’s Witnesses? Do you need help? Call Cheryl ‘555-666-8888′” I cut that ad out and never saw it in the paper again, but a few weeks later I got up courage to call the number and Cheryl answered. She said she’d love to come visit me and we’d talk. She came a few days later and gave me some cassette tapes that talked about abuses JW’s had done and told me her story and encouraged me in my young motherhood. She said she had hated going door-to-door and prayed no one would be at home when she had to knock. She gave me a couple of Scriptures that are supposed to speak truth to Jehovah’s Witnesses, and I used them the next time the couple came (yes, a kind neighbor near our old apartment told her where we’d moved). After telling her these things, she finally quit coming to my house. 
I got into a good Bible believing and teaching, Spirit led church soon after and spent years trying to search out what the Jehovah’s Witnesses had taught me to see which things were true and which were not and what really mattered as far as truth in Jesus. Yes, we need to have a firm handle on what we believe and why. Even the Bible says that zeal without knowledge is no good. Remember, God’s will is that none should perish, so we need to love people that have been deceived like this and share truth with them. In the 16 minute video above, Melissa shares clips of former Jehovah’s Witnesses that were never told the truth by any Christian. We need to learn how to lovingly share truth with those who are hurting like this. There are kernels of truth in each cult/false teaching. As they do, we should be witnessing to people in Jesus’ name and living a godly life that shows our faith. Yes, it is biblical to go out two by two.
Heaven’s economy has no lack. That means wealth is a renewable resource; the more you give, the more you have to give. The more you get and use knowledge, the more knowledge you have to give. It’s worth the risk, as long as you are intimately involved with God’s plan for you and those around you. The Gospel is free, but it takes finances to spread it! Let us do all things in the spirit of God’s love!
Musings along life's journey 