GOOD NEWS DAILY – NOVEMBER 25

The Lord in my ministry work has given me far more than I could possibly ever do in my human strength. And I can only do it by forsaking all for Him including a typical American lifestyle to include a social and entertainment life, marriage and family, vacations, a traditional salary, settling down in one place geographically long-term and enjoying long-term community, etc. But friend, I am so madly and passionately in love with the Lord Jesus Christ and so utterly devoted to Him and to telling the world about Him that I wouldn’t have it any other way. That said, I need to constantly die to self in an incredibly big way so that I can live wholly for Christ.

Please, please, please pray for me as often and as big as you are led as I continue to chase after Jesus and my life’s calling! THANK YOU!

PLEASE ENJOY TODAY’S EDITION OF GOOD NEWS DAILY AND REMEMBER TO SCROLL ALL THE WAY DOWN TO SEE THE FULL ISSUE!

IF YOU NEED HELP BEGINNING OR PRESSING ON IN A FOREVER RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT AT 843-338-2219 OR lara@GoodNews.love

love & blessings,

lara

In my alone time with Jesus this morning, I wrote these words to the Lord when seeking Him about something He is calling me to do in my ministry work:

“[My idea] would be easy and simple and seems more practical.”

My flesh had spoken. We humans tend to flock to what is easy, simple, and seems more practical, don’t we? Our flesh craves comfort, security, pleasure, contentment, happiness, and satisfaction, doesn’t it?

A true servant of Christ is willing to forsake ALL for Christ knowing that being in His forever presence and living to please and glorify Him is unfathomably more valuable and marvelous than anything else!

We who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord are His sheep, and we as His flock need to follow our Great Shepherd rather than the flesh.

I knew what I needed to do. I needed to let go of my idea and follow the Lord and His will instead.

Forsake all for Jesus, friend. NOTHING and NOBODY in the world is more beautiful and satisfying and invigorating and indescribably incredible and joyful than HE – AND BEING HIS FOREVER – IS!

“So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.” Luke 14:33

love & blessings,

lara

I’m not a big cheese eater. I rarely ever eat it. But I sure did as a child. And I remember the kind that had big holes in it all over. Yum. I think it was one of my favorites. Whatever it was called. So I had no trouble getting a mental picture when the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart that my faith has holes in it. Then He proceeded to explain. For far too long, I have listened to the devil’s lies and allowed doubt to eat big chunks out of my faith until it became filled with holes. Cheesy faith.

The devil’s main mission is to steal, kill, and destroy. And, if we’re not careful, we may allow him to sink his sickening teeth into our faith and to eat big chunks out of our faith. Sure, on the outside it may look like we have loads of faith. But inside? There may be holes.

The Lord told me the problem – and the fix. Stop listening to and believing the devil’s lies. Get rid of the doubt. Be strong in faith. Next time the devil comes around with his mouth wide open to eat another chunk out of my faith, resist him in the faith. Yes, FAITH. AMEN!

Is this message also for you?

“Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38

“Mercy,” I told paralyzed doggy Miss Mercy, “It’s not going to do you one ounce of good headed in the wrong direction.”

I was preparing paralyzed dogs Mr. Simeon and Miss Mercy for their walks. Not easy especially in a small apartment with two big wheelchairs. Miss Mercy had turned her wheelchair around and was facing the wrong direction. She wouldn’t be able to walk with me and Mr. Simeon unless she turned back around. I had to turn her around to walk with us.

How can we walk with the Lord when we’re faced the wrong way? Going the wrong direction? Living according to the world’s ways? Living in darkness instead of His light? Living in sin instead of godliness? We can’t!

But we can turn around! We need to turn from our sins, believe in Him as Lord who died to pay our sin punishment and was raised from the dead, truly turning to God and His ways, and walk humbly, lovingly, reverently, thankfully, blessedly, obediently, and delightedly with the Lord!

If you’re going the wrong way, turn around! Turn to the Lord! AMEN!

365 BLESSINGS is a devotional book I wrote that is available in print by contacting me at 843-338-2219 or via lara@GoodNews.love.  

Blessing #211

“So when they were sent off, they came to Antioch; and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the letter. When they had read it, they rejoiced over its encouragement.” Acts 15:31

Please read Acts 15 if you would like to learn of the senders and recipients and contents of “the letter”. The blessedness isn’t just in the sending and receiving of it and in its contents. It’s this. That “ITS ENCOURAGEMENT” caused rejoicing. The Lord moves on the hearts of His followers to encourage other followers. We who follow Jesus are all one family belonging to the Lord Jesus Christ. And we are to love each another – and TO ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER! We have a WORLDWIDE FAMILY IN CHRIST, and the possibilities are just about endless when it comes to Christ’s followers coming together in person, by phone, by letter, by email, etc. to give to one another love and encouragement. We are blessed to receive this love and encouragement from our fellow followers, and we are blessed to give it. And to the Lord belongs the glory, oh yes!

I was standing at the front counter in the post office listening to the customer next to me talk with two of the postal service workers. Not about the mail. About the lottery. About what would happen if the customer won the lottery. About one of the post service worker’s wonderful idea. That, of course, they would all share the big winning!

That’s when it dawned on me how much the Lord has changed me. I wouldn’t take all the money in the world in exchange for my personal, intimate, ever deepening, ever more beautiful personal relationship with Jesus and my calling to tell the world about Him! Not any amount of money nor anything I could buy with it would come even remotely close to the amazingness and awesomeness and wonder and splendor of being in the presence of the Lord now and forever.

I used to live for myself and this world. Now I live for Jesus and to help others to believe in and forever follow Him. The lifestyle of forsaking all and following Jesus is hard and sometimes exceedingly so when it comes to having to die to self and the fleeting pleasures of this life, but the joy of being in fellowship with Jesus Christ as Lord forevermore is priceless.

I don’t play the lottery nor do I believe the Lord would want me to do so. But if I ever won a zillion dollars, I know what I’d love do with it. Get myself an RV, get myself a good driver, pack up my few belongings & my beloved handicapped streets ministry doggies, print and ship my tracts, devotionals, and books to no end, get some big help getting the word out about my writing and ministry so more people can hear about and get help in following the Lord, and keep telling this world that Jesus Christ is Lord forever and the only way to everlasting life! Hallelujah!

No sooner was I all ready to excitedly sit down and start working on my newest writing project following a wonderful walk with the Lord on a cold sunshiny Saturday in New York City, a loving phone call with my beloved Mom, and the feeding and walking of my handicapped streets ministry doggies than I looked down at the bottom of my bright red sneaker and saw a big bunch of the nooks and crannies on the sneaker sole were filled with dog poop. Not poop from one of my own doggies which I pick up, mind you, but a stranger’s strange dog’s poop. UGH!

As I stood over the kitchen sink carefully picking out the poop with a dental floss contraption that could fit into the grooves of the sole, I considered the perfect analogy to years of one of the devil’s greatest tactics in my life when it comes to his trying to stop me from persevering in my ministry work. He has tried to get me so irritated, so cranky, so angry, so discouraged, so down, so troubled, so vengeful, so self-pitying, so resentful, so bitter over the “dog poop” in this life left behind by others that I would be simply too upset and exhausted to carry on in my work. Or I would continue in my work – with a terrible attitude and accomplish little to nothing as far as glorifying the Lord was concerned.

Let’s watch out for the “dog poop” in life when it comes to serving the Lord. Let’s not get so upset over what others do and don’t do and say and don’t say and the yucky stuff they leave behind that we can’t lovingly, humbly, thankfully, effectively serve the Lord!