In Loving Memory
April 29, 1947 - September 5, 2020
Update: On Saturday, September 5th, 2020, the founder, administrator, and head moderator of this forum, Valerie S., went Home to be with the Lord. Her obituary can be found on https://memorials.demarcofuneralhomes.com/valerie-skrzyniak/4321619/index.php.
1 Thessalonians 4:15-18
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
2 Timothy 4:7-8
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing .
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He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. (Proverbs 2:8)
Reflection
Take heart, O children of Abraham! The justice of God is inescapable. No fiery terror escapes His sight. No murdering tyrant hides from His eye. No perverse malcontent might flee His presence. Those who persecute and make martyrs of God's people will receive the end they deserve. In fact, they will receive the end that even we deserved-if they repent not. Pray for even the most wicked of your neighbours that they, like you, might find their justice in the blood of Christ.
https://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/promises/
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The LORD [is] good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him. (Nahum 1:7)
Reflection
My prayer: Lord, You are so good to Your children! You have shown us the utmost tenderness and grace as You hold us in Your mighty hand. It is such a wonderful honor to be called Your people as we take delight in Your sanctuary. Thank You for Your mercy and abounding love for us!
https://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/promises/index.cfm?doy=79
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That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:15-16)
Reflection
The promise of salvation is offered to those who simply believe. Eternal life is the gift to the believer who places their trust in Jesus Christ, God's one and only son.
https://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/promises/index.cfm?doy=80
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United in Praise
by Anne Graham Lotz
March 20
http://www.annegrahamlotz.org/category/messages-from-gods-word/joy-of-my-heart/
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God. - Isaiah 61:10, NKJV
Who is praising Jesus because you are? If your praise – and mine – is interrupted by . . .
our circumstances or our complaints,
our selfishness or our suffering,
our desires or our depression,
our indifference or our insistence,
or by anything at all . . .
the light will grow dim in our lives as we sink into the mire of self, and instead of causing others to praise Him, we will drag them down into the darkness with us.
So would you praise Him? And keep on praising Him! Praise Him for __________. You fill in the blank with an attribute of Christ.
From Pursuing MORE of Jesus
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Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in [his] goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. (Romans 11:22)
Reflection
Those who abide in the love of Christ are assured his kindness. He cares for His children, the sheep of His hand. Never shall those whom He grants drink of the living water grow faint. So trust in the Lord. Lean upon His abounding grace. Abide in the life of His vine and you shall never feel the severity of God's hand!
https://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/promises/index.cfm?doy=81
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By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as [in] a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker [is] God. Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, [so many] as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of [them], and embraced [them], and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that [country] from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better [country], that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. (Hebrews 11:8-16)
Reflection
God here promises not only His pleasure in those who look to the heavenlies rather than toward earthly treasure, but He also promises a holy and heavenly dwelling to His people. For all believers say the same: that they seek not a homeland with foundations of stone and metal, but one made of heavenly hands.
https://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/promises/index.cfm?doy=82
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He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth; (Psalm 104:14)
Reflection
The Lord is ever our provider! Never shall our souls stand in need of any necessity. When God's child lacks strength in time of trouble, the Lord shall supply it. When Abraham's son is beaten down under worldly woe, his heavenly Father shall certainly revive him. When the believer's soul is parched and dry, then shall the High King of Heaven fill him to overflowing with rivers of living water.
https://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/promises/index.cfm?doy=83
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Thank Him Now
by Anne Graham Lotz
March 24, 2018
http://www.annegrahamlotz.org/category/messages-from-gods-word/joy-of-my-heart/?dd=0324
He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities. - Isaiah 53:5, NIV
Perhaps thinking to satisfy the crowd’s thirst for blood without actually going so far as to execute Jesus, Pilate had Him flogged. The flogging would have ripped the flesh off of His back, exposing His internal organs. History records that flogging victims either passed into unconsciousness, went insane, or died. The miracle is not that Jesus survived the whipping, but that He submitted to it! How easy it would have been for Him to defy them and, without cursing but in righteous judgment, send them all to hell!
Why? Why would God allow His Son to endure such physical torture? The answer had been given years earlier, when Isaiah solemnly prophesied, “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows. . . . He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isa. 53:4-5, NIV).
Thank Him now for bearing God’s judgment that should have been yours!
From Just Give Me Jesus
I Thank God for you Regina, for all your help with posting updates and messages on Rapture Flight to Heaven. May your rewards in Heaven be many, and may I one day meet you in our heavenly home, via the Rapture.
Much love, and hugs, in Jesus. Valerie
:revolving_hearts: :latin_cross: :heartbeat: :place_of_worship:
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And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Acts 2:21)
Reflection
How beautiful! How simple! Amazingly, God pours forth all His mercy, love and great blessings to those who call upon His majestic name. By placing all faith in Christ, the believer is given the ultimate promise: glorious eternity with his Creator and Saviour. This demands praise and rejoicing to the Most High God. For He is worthy.
https://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/promises/index.cfm?doy=84
God bless you Valerie, I hope to meet you too. It will be better by far where the Lord Jesus is present and righteousness, peace and love will be normal. down here, its another story
:bread: :wine_glass: its almost passover, I can't help but hope for this spring :cherry_blossom:
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For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks. (Psalm 18:27)
Reflection
Humble are the people of God and they will be saved! Humble are they that trust upon Christ for they have given up hope in their own worth, power, and strength to sustain themselves. All will be saved who reject themselves and trust upon the life, death, resurrection, ascension, and deity of Christ Jesus. They shall taste the life everlasting!
https://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/promises/index.cfm?doy=85
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God Lifts the Pressure
by Anne Graham Lotz
March 25
http://www.annegrahamlotz.org/category/messages-from-gods-word/joy-of-my-heart/
The Lord will give strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace. - Psalm 29:11, NKJV
Do you feel overwhelmed and smothered by pressure? Are you desperate for “breathing room”? Do you try to escape the stress through . . .
an extended vacation,
therapeutic counseling,
alcohol,
drugs,
entertainment, or
a romantic liaison . . .
only to find when you stop to assess your condition you are no better than you were before, because the pressure is from within?
Only God has the power to lift the pressure from within you. Your circumstances may remain the same, but He has the power to give you breathing room. He can give your spirit peace and rest, even as He gives your life a new dimension. Just ask Him.
From God's Story
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Set Free
by Anne Graham Lotz
March 26
http://www.annegrahamlotz.org/category/messages-from-gods-word/joy-of-my-heart/
You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. - Romans 6:18, NIV
With blood flowing from His wounds and streaming down His face from the thorns in His brow, Jesus stood before Pilate. As part of the Passover celebration, it was Pilate’s custom to release any prisoner the crowd chose. It just so happened that “at that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. So . . . Pilate asked them, ‘Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus Who is called Christ?'” (Matt. 27:16-17, NIV)
The rulers shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” (John 18:40, NIV). Barabbas! Barabbas was a thief and a murderer and a rabble-rouser! The religious leaders of Israel were demanding that Barabbas be set free and Jesus be crucified. And so Barabbas became the first person to be set free by the death of Jesus.
Jesus died, not just in the place of Barabbas, but in your place and mine. Because He died, I am free! Free from my sin and its penalty.
From Just Give Me Jesus
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Blessed [are] they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. (Matthew 5:6)
Reflection
Try as we might, there is no human satisfaction to be found in earthly things. No created thing can hope to fill us, to complete us. For all created things are finite in their very nature. Yet our longing for satisfaction is infinite and therefore can only be filled by One infinite in nature. The righteous are those who are filled by the Spirit of God—they are, therefore, satisfied.
https://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/promises/index.cfm?doy=86
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And this is the promise that he hath promised us, [even] eternal life. (1 John 2:25)
Reflection
God has promised us life after death-life forever with Him. Amen!
https://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/promises/index.cfm?doy=87
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The Silence of God
by Anne Graham Lotz
March 27
http://www.annegrahamlotz.org/category/messages-from-gods-word/joy-of-my-heart/
He who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him. - Psalm 32:10, NKJV
Is God silent in your life? What prayers has He not answered for you?
At a time of unanswered prayer in my life years ago, my mother taught me the verse to a hymn that I still quote when I am totally baffled by events that seem to careen out of the orbit of what I have asked:
Trust Him when dark doubts assail thee,
Trust Him when thy strength is small,
Trust Him when to simply trust Him,
Seems the hardest thing of all.
Is your focus on your immediate need blinding you to a greater purpose that God is working out? Would you choose to be patient and simply trust Him? Sometimes God does not answer our immediate prayer because He has something greater in store for us.
From Pursuing MORE of Jesus
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Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:5)
Reflection
Throughout this life, we are kept safe by the power of God. All that we are is because of the power of God. The salvation that we have been given will never be complete until we reach heaven. We should strive towards that completion with all that we are.
https://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/promises/index.cfm?doy=88
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Carrying the Cross
by Anne Graham Lotz
March 28
http://www.annegrahamlotz.org/category/messages-from-gods-word/joy-of-my-heart/
"Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple." - Luke 14:27, NIV
Imagine what it would have been like to be Simon, and to have carried the Cross of Christ while following Him up Calvary.
What would it have been like to have shared in the humiliation of rejection as He was cast out of the city?
What would it have been like to have felt the sticky warmth of His blood from the Cross on your skin?
What would it have been like to have felt the encroaching horror as the place of execution neared?
What would it have been like to have looked up through the sweat that trickled down your face, and seen the executioners who stood waiting impassively with hammers in hand?
What would it have been like to have the burden of the Cross lifted from your back as someone said, “This is His Cross; you’re free to go now,” and He was nailed to it, not you?
From Just Give Me Jesus
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The Blood of Jesus
by Anne Graham Lotz
March 29
http://www.annegrahamlotz.org/category/messages-from-gods-word/joy-of-my-heart/
How much more . . . will the blood of Christ . . . cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death. - Hebrews 9:14, NIV
Do you know people who arrogantly insist that if their good works outweigh their bad works, God is somehow obligated to accept them? As you look around, what “fruit” do you see others bringing to the place of sacrifice instead of humbly approaching God through the blood of His Son? The “fruit” of
religious activity,
good works,
morality,
or philanthropy?
Many people do not want to come to the place of sacrifice, the Cross of Jesus Christ, because it intensifies the conviction of their own sin and judgment and is a reminder that heaven’s gate is closed to sinners. God warns that “a man is not justified by observing the law,” (Gal. 2:16, NIV) because “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” of sin (Heb. 9:22, NIV). So humble yourself, come to the Cross, and thank God for the blood of Jesus that is sufficient to forgive any and all sin.
From God's Story
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Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. (James 4:10)
Reflection
This conditional promise can be misused by some who have ulterior motives, but when we truly humble ourselves in the Lord's sight it can in no way be for our own lifting up. True humility would put ourselves last and that is what makes this paradoxical truth so amazing. We cannot lift our own selves up; it is only God who is able to do that and He only does that when we are humbled before Him. We also saw this demonstrated in Christ who "humbled Himself to the point of death-even the death of the cross" yet "God exalted Him" (Philippians 2:8-9).
https://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/promises/index.cfm?doy=89
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Clothed in His Righteousness
March 30
http://www.annegrahamlotz.org/category/messages-from-gods-word/joy-of-my-heart/
And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take. - Mark 15:24, NKJV
When Jesus finally arrived at the place of execution around nine o’clock in the morning, if His treatment followed standard procedure in those days, He was stripped of all His clothes. Possibly He was allowed to retain a loincloth.
Yet because Jesus was stripped “naked,” you and I can be clothed! The Bible tells us that all of our righteousness, including the very best things we ever do, are so permeated with sin and selfishness that they are like filthy rags in God’s sight (Isa. 64:6). But at the Cross, Jesus gave us His perfect, spotless robe of righteousness and took our filthy garments of sin in exchange (Phil. 3:9). On Judgment Day, you and I will be dressed in His righteousness before God because He wore the filthy garments of our sin. We will be clothed because He was stripped!
From Just Give Me Jesus
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More to Life
March 31
http://www.annegrahamlotz.org/category/messages-from-gods-word/joy-of-my-heart/
I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. - John 10:10, NKJV
There is more to life . . .
than being healthy,
than being happy,
than being problem free,
than being comfortable,
than feeling good, than getting what we want,
than being healed.
There is more to life even than living!
And the “more to life” is the development of our faith to the extent that our very lives display God’s glory!
Jesus does not protect those He loves from bad things happening but uses bad things to fulfill His greater plan. He is glad, not that we suffer, but that we have the opportunity to grow in our faith and display His glory, which is the fulfillment of the very purpose for our existence. Don’t settle for less than more!
From Why?
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For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. (Romans 8:29-30)
Reflection
God chose those who would believe from the foundations of the world to be justified and glorified according to His purpose. Because God foreknew all things, there is nothing that can separate His children from His excellent love and grace. Even as evil powers come against us, we are made conquerors by the justification and glorification through the blood of Christ!
https://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/promises/index.cfm?doy=90
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For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of [his] government and peace [there shall be] no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:6-7)
Reflection
By the miraculous coming of Christ, the kingdom of God was brought to man bestowing all His incredible peace and joy. His dominion shall never fade but continue to increase in all its glory and magnificence. Simply the establishment of His kingdom will proclaim righteousness and justice forevermore! Indeed, He is great and greatly to be praised!
https://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/promises/index.cfm?doy=91