GOOD NEWS DAILY – Sept 13

I struggle with pride every day of my life, and my sense is we probably all do in one way or another. Prideful thoughts can be SO subtle. And God sees our every single thought.

One of the endless blessings the Lord has given me is He has answered a big prayer I prayed some time ago that His Spirit who lives inside His followers would bring conviction every time I fall into pride – right down to my very thought.

When the prideful thoughts come, and He shows me, I get rid of them.

Please do the same! Pride is an abomination to Jesus. In loving Jesus, and living for Jesus, let’s obliterate pride!

p.s. Today, by God’s grace, I finished writing my 7th book. I am thrilled for a number of reasons which I will share if, when, and as the Lord leads me. One of the reasons I am compelled to share right now. I LOVE the fact the Lord has taken me to a place in which I GIVE EVERY OUNCE OF GLORY TO THE LORD for anything and everything good in me and that comes through me writing included. I won’t take any credit for anything good in my writing. May ALL the glory go to THE LORD!

^“And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Matthew 23:12

Blessings 129-132

“Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me!
For my soul trusts in You;
And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge,
Until these calamities have passed by.” Psalm 57:1

Four more blessings. First, we can cry out to the Lord Jesus Christ for mercy, and His mercy is for us when we turn to Him in true sorrow for our sins and genuine belief that He is Lord! Second, we can place our trust in Him! Our hearts and lives we can place in His kind and loving and everlasting hands. Third, we can find refuge – shelter – in the shadow of His magnificent eternal wings! Four, we can stay safe and sound in the shelter of Christ until evil has passed us by! Does this mean life is always easy? No! That we won’t face challenges? No! That bad things won’t happen? No!

But for those of us who believe in Christ as Lord, who have entrusted our very lives to Him, who have sincerely devoted our lives to Him and are dedicated to living according to His ways, we are promised forever with the Lord! Forever and ever, yes, AMEN! And, even on this earth, even when we go through incredibly tough times, times so tough we don’t think we’ll make it through, we know the Lord is right there with us to help us, to guide us, to carry us through. Amen, yes, AMEN!

P.s. Looking back at what I had written so far in this book, I found I had written on this scripture twice! Not only that, but I was getting ready to write on it again! Better “edit” the book, make it “perfect”, and get rid of “the repetition”. After all, I was educated and trained as a writer and editor. But my most important education hasn’t come from the world, friend. It has come from the Spirit of Christ and the Bible. That said, I feel compelled to leave “the repetition”. Perhaps somewhere in the double mention of this verse is a blessing, or multiple blessings, for a reader. Maybe even you! Be blessed, then, be blessed!

I LOVE to snuggle with my sweet paralyzed doggy Mr. Simeon. I love all 4 of my streets ministry handicapped doggies just as I have loved all the blessed rescued dogs the Lord has placed in my life through the years. I most assuredly have fallen terribly far short in loving them the way they deserve at times, and I thank God for His mercy and the doggies for their forgiveness. That said, as I no longer have up to 19 rescued dogs at a time to care for, I get with only 4 left now to enjoy little snippets of time unwinding between stretches of ministry work – and, well, doing whatever. Like snuggling with paralyzed doggy Mr. Simeon.

Snuggling and cuddling are two such sweet blessings from the Lord. Snuggling with special doggies most assuredly. Cuddling with people we love absolutely. With husbands, wives, children, elderly grandparents in wheelchairs, etc.

But there is nothing in the world more wonderful than opening up the pages of the Bible, setting everything and everyone else aside, and snuggling up with the Lord and diving deep into His Word as His Spirit loves us, teaches us, transforms us, and leads us forward in believing in and forever following Jesus Christ as Lord.

I beg of you with all my heart to make the commitment I did years ago to READ THE BIBLE EVERY DAY ALONE WITH GOD NO MATTER WHAT. Cuddling with Jesus and the Bible? Spending time alone with the Lord? Utterly amazing. Life-giving. Life-changing. Astonishingly unfathomably beautiful.

Please make the commitment – and follow through!

The most important way in the world to serve the Lord Jesus Christ is to LOVE HIM WITH ALL OUR HEARTS – and to TELL THE WORLD ABOUT HIM! If we truly love Jesus with all our hearts as we are commanded to do, we should WANT to tell everyone about Him.

You might be surprised by how few people I’ve met through the years that believe in Jesus Christ as Lord feel led and are willing on a regular basis to go out and tell people that Jesus Christ is Lord and the only way to a forever relationship with God.

Yes, I am called as an evangelist. I’m called to go from place to place doing streets ministry and writing and publishing Gospel tracts, devotionals and books with my streets ministry handicapped dogs in tow. We do not all have this calling.

But all those who profess Jesus Christ as Lord are called to tell others about Jesus. This may be as simple as telling friends and co-workers, it may involve going on missions trips yearly, it may involve giving Gospel tracts to co-workers, or anything else the Lord places on our hearts.

Let’s not miss the point. Nor the opportunity. We are all called by the Lord to help spread the Gospel message. That Jesus is the only Son of God, died on the cross to pay our sin penalty and was raised from the dead, and that we need to turn from our sins and turn to Him as Lord with our hearts and lives truly devoted to Christ and His ways!

Just because I finished writing my 7th book by God’s grace alone doesn’t mean I’m finished with my writing. Not only has the Lord spoken to my heart I need to do a light edit on the book and then get it ready to publish and distribute as He leads me, but I have a stronger sense than ever that He has loads more writing for me to do – in the way of Good News Daily devotionals online, pocket-sized tracts and devotionals in print, and books. I leave the details up to Him. I am utterly in His hands. I want to do only and all that He wants me to do ALL for HIS GLORY not mine.

That said, it’s not like I’m going on a long vacation now – to say the least. I’m in New York City. I’ve already been out on the streets today since finishing the writing talking to people about Jesus. I’m still caring for my beloved streets ministry handicapped doggies. And I have plenty of catching up to do with telephone ministry work as well as email ministry work.

So if you’re led to keep praying for me and this ministry, and if you’re led to help and give in any way for the glory of the Lord, I would be thankful beyond measure.

love & blessings,

lara