These are trying times, but for those of us anchored in Christ, we have the huge benefit of being His.
 
Life has seemed surreal for many of us all over the world since the outbreak of Covid 19. Some would say it has been like living in the “Twilight Zone.”
 
I believe with all my heart, we are all caught in the middle of the battle of good and evil. I believe the evil are trying to birth their global plans and in order to do that, they are implementing many strategies that they have worked hard on for some time.
 
America as a constitutional republic, stands in their way. True Christians stand in their way. True conservatives who believe in individual liberty and a free flowing commerce, stand in their way. All who are are deemed “enemies of their agenda,” are considered just that: enemies. And as they increase in power, all who are their enemies will feel and know it more and more.
 
Many years ago, this would be considered conspiracy theory. But the globalists are not in hiding any more and their agenda is seen easily by anyone who looks.
 
As Christians, no matter where we live in the world, we must all be firmly anchored in Christ and His Word, the Bible. We must set our hearts now, that if things do no go pleasantly or even if they go harshly, to hold on to our faith. Because we are the children of the Lord, we know we have His favor, but just like Christians living in China today or how all people were affected globally by World War 2, we as believers, will have to endure hard times ahead. This is not gloom and doom, this is saying to get one’s ship in order and be “anchored for stormy times.”
 
As big a hurry as America was in after Pearl Harbor was bombed, she still sent every soldier through boot camp. There are basic instructions that are important for every soldier to learn and then additional instructions for their unique military positions.
 
We as Christians, need to accept that we are living in the last days of the last days. Whether one is pre, mid or post rapture, or “Second Coming only” believers, it does not spare us from the hard times we are in or possible harder times that may be ahead.
 
So what can we do? We can get closer to the Lord. Read His Word and pray more. In the natural, we can pay off debts as much as possible. We can keep a little more extra food and supplies on hand. The evil anarchists of this world are not playing softball, they are playing hardball. The punches they are throwing are real.

• Revelation 12:11-12 (NKJV) “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time."

 
This means Christians will overcome the attacks and persecution by 1- being born-again, 2- the spoken words of their testimony and 3- being willing to lay their lives down for the Lord.

• Luke 9:23-26 (NKJV) Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels.”

 

• Matthew 24:12 (BBE) "And because wrongdoing will be increased, the love of most people will become cold."

 
I believe the apostasy has started, and if not, it cannot be far away.

• 2 Thessalonians 2:3a (NKJV) Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first...

 
So, my message today is “draw close to God” and be “securely anchored in the Lord” for stormy seas are here and perhaps stormier ones on the horizon.
 
The Lord is the only Anchor that truly holds.

Information about salvation can be found at this link: SALVATION
If you have found your self off the path the leads to heaven, you may find more information at this link: RETURN TO THE LORD

Emotions may easily take control of our lives, if we are not careful. In the current global context, where fear, worry and uncertainty reign, it is very easy to fall prey to negative emotions. God created emotions so that as we live in these physical bodies we are able to relate the environment, to enjoy what is beautiful and beneficial for us, to express our delight when we like something, but also to avoid what it can hurt us.
 
The level of sin around us has reached unimaginable levels, evil is called good while good is blasphemed, and as a result, emotions had become greatly affected, leading to widespread depression and a large number of other mental illnesses. Statistics show that depression is one of the most widespread diseases of the 21st century, affecting many more people, including Christians, than in previous centuries. Whenever hopelessness and depression set in, a person loses motivation to get out of bed and be active and responsible.
 
But God created us to enjoy life while living in these bodies as we prepare for heaven and has a wonderful plan for each of us. God created us out of love and wants us to live in a close, loving relationship with Him both here on Earth and in the perfect heaven for all eternity. In John 14: 2b-3, Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” And the following verses show how important it is who we choose to follow:

• John 10:10 "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

 
Joy, fear, anger, sadness, surprise, pleasure, disgust and shame are the main emotions, from which all other human feelings derive. God's character includes emotions, too and we find them listed in Galatians 5: 22b-23a as the fruit of the Holy Spirit: "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."
 
If we choose our lives led by the Holy Spirit, in total surrender and obedience to God, the fruit of the Holy Spirit will manifest itself more and more in us and will change our character. We will become better, calmer, more loving, more patient. We will smile more and overcome difficulties more easily. I know from my own experience, as well as from those I have ministered to over the years, that these are the result of being born again.
 
What we hear and see has a great impact on our thoughts, emotions and actions. If we do not guard the "doors" of our heart and mind, we will suffer. The distorted information in the media, the panic and worries of those around us, the rules that are imposed on us, the emotional and spiritual atmosphere in public places that we cannot avoid, can make us fear and lose our peace.
 
It is up to us to not allow negative emotions to take control but rather to proclaim the truth of God’s Word over everything that affects us. We cannot change circumstances, but we can change how we react to what is happening to us. Let us not forget that "our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Philippians 3:20).
 
The fear of losing something may have an effect on us, only if we love that something. If we love Jesus more than life and more than anyone or anything, we will not be afraid of what terrifies our fellow men. For the born-again Christian, physical death means only instantaneous moving to heaven, where we will be with our Lord forever. I am not saying to be unwise and not take care of our physical bodies, but we can be responsible and live from a position of victory, trusting that our Lord loves us more than we can love ourselves and that He will not allow anything to happen that may separate us from Him, and miss heaven. No suffering on this earth can be compared to spending eternity in hell, so let us choose to live a life of obedience to the Lord, fulfilling His will, and we can be sure that no one and nothing can snatch us from the hand of our Lord (John 10: 28-29).
 
Let us spend as much time as possible praising the Lord, studying and meditating on Scripture, so that we may know who we are and what we have in Jesus as well as what God's will is. We do ourselves the greatest favor if we renounce living our lives led by our flesh and instead seeking to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit, fulfilling God's plan for each of us. Only by living this way can we reign in life and be forever in His presence.
 
Carmen Pușcaș

In a world of pressure, peace can be hard to keep and sometimes even hard to find. Thankfully, the Lord has made a way for us that we can have peace, when we heed what He has directed us to do. He loves us and always wants what is best for us.

• Isaiah 26:3 You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.

 
Keeping our mind “stayed on You” means just that, keeping our minds stayed on the Lord and it says why. The reason is because “we trust in Him.”
 
We can trust the Lord for taking care of us. We do our part by being diligent with what we are blessed with and living our life unto Him. And the Lord, blesses the work of our hands and takes care of us.
 
I have found that if I look at a mountain, it is so big, that it consumes my sight. And if I allow my troubles to overtake my view, no matter how big my trouble really is, they become mountains when I let them consume me.
 
We have to face our troubles squarely, especially if we are responsible for others. But we can do it from a place of security, knowing we are not alone and that we can have all the direction and wisdom from the Lord that we need.
 
The choice is up to us. The Lord’s eye is always upon us and our situations but we have to choose to keep our mind stayed on Him and trust Him.
 
We can do whatever we have to do in this world with the supernatural peace and with the supernatural strength that come from Jesus Christ. Even in the face of knowing that He was about to be tormented physically by the devil’s human servants, Jesus kept His peace. And even when He was hanging on the cross, He helped the thief next to Him, His mother’s situation that was about to happen in needing a son, in a world where a woman, needed a male to stand with her. He helped all of us by giving His all and taking the time to pray, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” This was not only for those that did Him wrong that day, but for everyone, for all of us. Jesus kept His peace. Even when His body was severely beaten and crushed to death. Even being separated from His Father, He hurt desperately but He did not despair. He went on to conquer sin and the grave completely. If His grief had overcome Him, He would not have been able to do so. He went on to take the keys to hell and death from the devil.
 
Jesus has shown us the way. And the Lord has sent us His Spirit to be with each of us. God is closer than our breath for those that are born-again!
 
The Lord loves being our God and us being His children. It is why He created us. We do not have to be God. He is. Only He has all wisdom, all knowledge, all provision, not only for the physical (including mental) but for the spiritual. He is El Shaddai.
 
The name of God “El Shaddai” was taught to me when I was young, as “The Lord, Our God Almighty Who Is Our Everything.” I said, how can He be our everything? They said, like a baby in a womb, is completely dependent of the mother taking care of through the umbilical cord. The cord is a lifeline for everything. All is provided. And we find all we need in trusting God.

• John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

 
Look at the context that this verse was given.

• John 14:26-27 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

 
This same Jesus, who was born Emmanuel, left and went to be with the Father, but He did not leave us empty-handed. He has sent us His Presence that we can all have Him with us at the same time. Jesus in the physical could not do that, but in leaving, He made this possible. You can even close your eyes and feel His closeness. We are never ever alone.
 
The disciples became apostles. All were martyred but one, whose life was attempted to be taken, but failed. They and the entire early church went through terrible times of tribulation and even persecution. But they chose to stand fast in their faith. Paul and Silas stood fast in hard times.

• Acts 16:25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.

 
They were wrongfully beaten and cast into jail, even to being put in stocks in jail. And they chose to sing praises to the Lord.
 
And we know what happened next.

• Acts 16:26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.

 
When they chose to praise the Lord, even in terrible circumstances, God not only helped them but God used them to help the jailer and his family come to Christ and countless other prisoners were affected for the better.
 
When the three Hebrews were cast in the fiery furnace, as told of in the book of Daniel, the one who had them cast in, saw four in the fire and the One was like unto the Son of God. And when the fire could not hurt them, they were released and not even the smell of smoke was on them and the only thing that had changed was that the ropes that they were bound with, were gone (Daniel 3:1-30).
 
By keeping our minds stayed on the Lord and trusting Him, by choosing to praise Him no matter how crazy or despairing this world gets, we can have peace. We can have supernatural peace and supernatural strength. We can operate from a place of joy and peace and have all the strength we need as true followers of Jesus Christ.
 
The other option, is to let the troubles consume us. We could even share our pit with others or join them in theirs. But why would we do that when we can have the fruit of the Spirit and share our fruit with others. Those that have peace, strength and joy fare much better and are certainly better to be around than those that are in depression, despair and are deflated. The choice is up to us.


Prayer: Thank You Lord that You are our God and we are Your children. Thank You for meeting our needs, physical and spiritual. I choose to take my eyes of the stress and worries and think about Your goodness and the good things. Help me to continue doing it even when it the pressures try to come back. Thank You Lord for Your mercy, grace, peace, strength and joy. All our hope and trust is in You and we know You hear our prayers and will help us. In Jesus' name, amen.