MEDITATING ON GOD AND THE RESULTS

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO MEDITATE ON GOD AND WHAT ARE THE RESULTS?

The double slit experiment in Quantum Mechanics has shown that a photon of light existing in a wave form changes into a particle form when observed.

 

In the same way, the Lord tries to get His messages to us. But they can be floating around, waving at us for days, even weeks and we don’t even know they are there. To get those messages from a wave, to a particle of concrete truth, we need to be able to observe the message. But how?

 

The answer is Meditation. Lots of Christians will balk at this answer, but remember, the Bible is an Eastern book. It was written in a culture where meditation was common practice. Though most people associate meditation with Hinduism or Buddhism, it’s just as much a Christian thing.

 

The dictionary defines “meditation” as “to think about, contemplate; reflect; ponder.” When the angel came to Mary to announce God’s words to her, Luke 2:19 tells us: “Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.” The word “ponder” is one of the words that describes what it means to meditate, and ponder is defined: “to weigh in one’s mind, to consider carefully; to think deeply about.”

 

 

We will be able to capture more of those messages from our Lord if we will make the time to meditate. It doesn’t have to be a long period of time and we don’t have to get in a certain bodily position, wear special clothes or have special music going.

 

These things may or may not help to get us to a place of quiet thinking, depending on our different personalities.

 

The main thing is JUST DO IT. Even if we take only 5 minutes at the beginning or end of the day or even on a break in the middle of the day.

 

Genesis 24:63 tells us “Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide.” Eventide is early evening.

 

Psalm 119:148 tells us David meditated morning and night: “My eyes anticipate the night watches and I awake before the call of the watchman, That I may meditate on Your word.”

 

Notice in this scripture David also tells us what he is meditating on: God’s Word. I don’t think he had a scroll out there with him, so he was probably thinking deeply about, and reflecting on the scriptures he knew by memory. We have a written Bible available to us, but either way would be a good way to meditate.

 

We can also meditate on the work of God or the Lord Jesus Christ. How has He been working in your life lately? How has He worked before? How do we see Him working in the Bible? Psalm 77:12 says, “I will meditate also of all thy work.”

 

Joshua 1:8a tells us “Thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do.”

 

There’s three things going on here. First Joshua is to meditate. By reflecting upon, weighing it in his mind, and thoughtfully contemplating the words of God, he is making himself observe. In prayerful meditation, a person can read a verse or section from the Bible and be shown by the Lord the message He wants us to get. Then once Joshua observes the message, he is to do it.

 

That’s the goal for all of us: Meditate on the scripture, think about it, ponder it. Then we will catch what the Lord wants us to observe. We stop the fleeting wave and it becomes a particle. Then we do it, we apply it.

 

We want to grab those important messages the Lord is telling us, so let’s be like David: “I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways” (Ps 119:15).

 

Look at what the end of the verse in Joshua 1:8b says: “For then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” What successes does God have for you in 2024? The Lord will individually show us what He has in mind, so we stay strong and continue to seek Him in everything we think and do.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

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BE IT UNTO ME ACCORDING TO THY WORD

“BE IT UNTO ME ACCORDING TO THY WORD”

In the story of Christmas, the angel Gabriel came to Mary and told her she would be having a child by a miracle of the Holy Spirit and this child would be Jesus, the son of God. Mary believed that if people would just stick with what God told them, His Word was always going to come to pass. “For with God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37).  She had heard of the miraculous things God did and totally believed that God’s Word was true. She believed that the Red Sea really did open up miraculously to let the Israelites cross over on dry land. She believed the story about the ax head that was lost, but then floated up out of the water, defying the natural laws of gravity (2 Kings 6:5-6). She believed what she heard about the Hebrews just looking at the brass serpent in the wilderness and getting healed of their snake bites (Num. 21:8-9).

 

So when the angel Gabriel told her that she was the one who would miraculously birth the Messiah, the son of God, the promised seed from the Bible, she believed it: “And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38).

 

Peter also was taught to believe the records of the many miracles God did. And he, like Mary, believed beyond what looked impossible by natural laws. Peter literally stepped out of the boat, after hearing and believing just one word from Jesus: “Come” (Matt. 14: 29). Peter saw that Jesus was walking on top of the water, even as the ship was being tossed around by the waves. When Jesus said, “Come,” Peter figured Jesus meant it, so he dared to do it.

 

We all have verses that mean a lot to our hearts. We can probably name a few right now. Those are the very ones the Lord has been trying to speak to us personally all along. If you’ve not done this before, you can take a slightly new approach to those favorite verses. Focus on the verse then be like Mary: Believe the miraculous and say, “Be it unto me according to thy Word.”

 

‘MARY’ MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OF YOU!

 

Love, Carolyn

(painting by Henry Ossawa Tanner 1898)

 

My latest (and I think my best) book just came out on Amazon! Though it is a combination of stories, it reads like a novel (something God planned, not me). Very exciting. You can get my book and read a sample on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/BIBLE-LESSONS-NATURE-Carolyn-Molica/dp/B0CQ8PQNVG/ref=sr_1_1?crid=29RDC1SXA1TMA&keywords=bible+lessons+in+nature&qid=1703276435&sprefix=%2Caps%2C171&sr=8-1

 

TAKING A MOMENT TO PONDER GOD'S WONDERS

TAKING A MOMENT TO PONDER GOD’S WONDERS

Many years ago, I received the above beautiful Christmas card from my friends, Wendy and John. I treasure it as one of my greatest possessions. I find it inspiring and have a copy hanging on the wall right across from my chair, where I sit to pray every morning. There are so many wonderful ponderings that come from just this one picture. If it touches your heart and sparks something in you, please share it.

 

My prayer today is that the light from God that this man on the camel is beholding comes through to illuminate something in us every day through this Christmas season.

 

And Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).

 

Love, Carolyn

 

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PUTTING ON THE SPECIAL CLOTHING GOD GIVES US

PUTTING ON THE SPECIAL CLOTHING GOD GIVES US

God sent Moses to the Egyptian Pharaoh with a message: “Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, ‘Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, ‘Let my people go’” (Exod. 5:1). But the Pharaoh wouldn’t do it, so God sent plagues throughout the land, but the Pharaoh still wouldn’t give in. Finally, God told Pharaoh that if he didn’t let the Israelites go, all the firstborn would die. To protect the Israelites, God told them to put lamb’s blood on the top of their front door and on the sides.

“For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you”(Exod.12:23).

The blood was like a huge body wrap over the whole house, so that the destroyer would know it couldn’t touch that house.

“And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead” (Exod. 12:29-30).

The Egyptians were so scared, they rushed the Israelites out as fast as they could. “The Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, ‘We be all dead men’” (v. 33). The Egyptians saw that our God is a God of action, and if he could kill all the firstborn, he could kill them too!

Today, the blood over our houses is not that of lambs, but, the blood of Jesus, and it protects us same way the blood protected the Israelites in Egypt. Every day when Jane and I pray, we symbolically spiritually pour the blood of Jesus over our house, our property, our neighborhood, and our bodies.

The protection of Jesus is always close. It’s kind of like the inner garment Jesus wore himself, like a body wrap. It was a special undergarment that was worn next to the skin. It had no seams, so there was no breach in its protection. It was such a unique piece of clothing that even when he was crucified and the soldiers divided up his clothes, they were afraid to cut the inner garment, so instead, they gambled for it.

“Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat[undergarment]: now the coat[undergarment] was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore among themselves, ‘Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be’” (John 19:23-24).  

In Isaiah 61:1-3, we read this about some clothing Jesus would give us:  “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me. . . to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.”

The “garment of praise” is a protection from the spirit of heaviness. We put it on with righteous pride like the banner of victory Moses held up for Joshua when he was fighting the Amalekites. We praise God and continue to carry the banner of victory, claiming it high in our minds and in our mouths.

“And Moses said unto Joshua, ‘Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.’ So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

“And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

“And Joshua discomfited [overthrew] Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

“And the Lord said unto Moses, ‘Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.’ And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi: 

The name Jehovah-nissi means “the Lord my banner, the Lord my victory.” (Exod.17: 9-15).

As God promised, He would wipe out all the Amalekites, and though they were not all destroyed in this battle with Joshua, the very last ones were destroyed by Solomon’s sons later in history.

Another important part of our attire is the shield of truth.

“His truth shall be thy shield and buckler” (Ps. 91:4).

The Hebrew word for shield indicates that it is a large shield that covers the whole body. It has fierce, sharp protrusions that are pointed like hooks. It guards by prickliness and is piercingly cold. It’s the “cold truth’ and people don’t like it, but we’ve found out that God’s truth isn’t always the cuddly kind, right? Look closely at the shield in the painting by Steve Gould, that I’ve included here. I think it’s pretty awesome!

So what do we look like today in our God clothes? We have the covering protection of the blood, the body wrap of Jesus, the garment of praise in our mouths to keep us from getting depressed, the powerful and prickly shield of truth, and we’re carrying the banner of God’s victory into every battle we enter.

Go get ‘em!

Love, Carolyn

 

FIRST STEP TO THE FINAL DESTINATION

FIRST STEP TO A FINAL DESTINATION

Do you ever feel like you’re being pushed into something bigger than you’re ready for? This week, I realized how much the Lord is involved in the painting I’m currently working on. He keeps giving me directions that make more work for me! I think I’ve had to change one particular section of the background at least five times, and yesterday, he showed me another change I have to make in that section, too. Since I was getting a bit frustrated, he explained to me why I needed to make the change. Of course, when I thought about it, he was perfectly right, and I saw how much better the painting would be because of that change.

 

There have been many changes in other sections of the painting, too. At one point, he told me to go out and get the folder that contains several cloud photos I’ve taken over the years. And another time, he told me to go out to the garage and grab a couple of books I have of paintings by N. C. Wyeth, who painted dramatic scenes that included clouds. I have to admit I didn’t really want to do all the extra research; I’ve already done tons of research, and I just wanted to paint! But yesterday, I realized that I don’t have to be in a hurry. The Lord is teaching me detail by detail, and I really like that, and I’m listening. The painting is a little daunting and honestly exceeds my skill level, but I was inspired to do it, so I’m going ahead with it.

 

There’s always a first step to a final destination, even if we don’t know what the destination is.

 

I just watched SOUND OF FREEDOM last night again—got it from the library since Jane didn’t get to see it in the theater. My favorite line in the movie was when Vampiro told Tim Ballard, “When God tells you what to do, you cannot hesitate.” I didn’t intend to start this detailed, and difficult painting, but when God pushes, you can’t say no. And did you know that Jesus faced the same thing? John 1 and 2 tell us the story.

 

Jesus had just been baptized by John the Baptist, marking the beginning of his ministry. John said of him: “ This is he of whom I said, ‘After me cometh a man which is preferred before me’. . . And John bare record, saying, ‘I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. . . And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God’” (John 1:30, 32, 34).  

 

John the Baptist prepared the people for the coming of Christ, and when John baptized Jesus, he told his followers to start following Jesus. They did, and they got others to follow him, too, and Jesus began to teach them.

 

“And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there” (John 2:1).

 

So what did Jesus’ mother do? She invited Jesus and his new disciples to the wedding. When they got there, they wanted to join the celebration, and they wanted a glass of wine.

 

“And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, ‘They have no wine’” (v. 3). They all knew that Jesus had been proclaimed as the Christ, the promised one who would save the world, and mom was no exception. She expected her son to find a solution to the wine problem, and she pushed him.

 

But, like us, Jesus wasn’t so happy about being pushed. Hebrews 4:15 tells us that Jesus went through every thought and emotion we go through, including being annoyed when we feel pushed to do something we may not feel ready for!

 

So Jesus basically told Mom to back off. “Jesus saith unto her, ‘Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come’” (v. 4). He was saying something like, “Hold on a doggone minute! I just got baptized the other day, or did you forget? I’m not quite ready for this stuff yet!” But his mother knew who he was, and she trusted whatever decision he would make.

 

“His mother saith unto the servants, ‘Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it’” (v. 5). Jesus’ mother was wise—she was a thinker. When it came to her son, she absolutely knew what God said about who her child was going to be. Remember in Luke 2 when Jesus was born, and the shepherds came and corroborated what the angel had told Mary about birthing the Messiah, “Christ the Lord.”

 

“And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:18-19).

 

So when Jesus was baptized into his ministry, she gave him a little shove, but left the decision totally up to him. And what did he do? He tapped into the spirit of God within him and took the first step, and immediately he was on the fast track to his destiny. Jesus did his first public miracle and made water into wine and it was the best wine they ever tasted!

 

When we feel like we’re being pushed a little too hard or a little too fast into something we feel we may not be ready for, if we’re pretty sure it’s of God, let’s not fight it, but just say, “Okay, let’s do this”. After all, we only have to take one step at a time and Jesus is always there, and our guardian angels too, to help and guide us to our final destinations. No matter how old or young you are, it’s a great journey!

 

Love, Carolyn

 

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BEING FLEXIBLE FOR OUR LORD

 BEING FLEXIBLE FOR OUR LORD

Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about being mentally flexible. My best friend, Jane, used to do my promotional work, and I call her a river. Every time Facebook blocked her from going one way, she believed for the Lord to show her a different way around and He did. Our dance with disappointment was brief. We believe “God will make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert” (Isa. 43:19). And He always does. That’s why we know we need to be open to the Holy Spirit guiding us in a different direction if necessary.

 

When we feel that we’re on the right track and it’s God’s will, nothing can stop us, but we may have to be a little flexible in our ideas about how it happens. We can’t be making all kinds of our own rules about how we think we should always be doing things, or always be thinking. We need to open our hearts to God and let Him direct our steps.

 

Proverbs 16:9 says: “A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.” In other words, we can get to know what’s really in our hearts, what we truly want, but only the Lord can help us get there. If we try to direct our ways, without asking for the Lord’s guidance, it’s not going to work out as well. The Lord knows the end from the beginning, and we don’t. Jesus Christ is the leader; we follow. He is very concerned about each individual’s path.

 

When we make too many rules for ourselves, we can become too brittle and we break. When something new comes up, we halt and get mad or scared or both. We get even more determined to defend our firm beliefs instead of being willing to look at something in a new way. Instead of staying tender-hearted toward God, we get hard-hearted and refuse to budge.

 

That’s what happened to the Pharisees. They knew it was God’s will to heal people, but they also knew that the Law of Moses said they weren’t supposed to do any work on the Sabbath. They became overbearingly inflexible about not working on the Sabbath to the point that when Jesus went to heal a man on the Sabbath, they couldn’t take it. They were not going to be flexible about their rules, even when it came to someone who desperately needed help. They wouldn’t even listen to Jesus:

 

“And he [Jesus] entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, ‘Stand forth.’

 

“And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness [blindness] of their hearts, he saith unto the man, ‘Stretch forth thine hand.’ And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.  But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea” (Mark 3:1-7).

 

I know none of us would want to be as rigid and ridiculous as the Pharisees. We don’t want to lose sight of the bigger picture. When obstacles come up against the traditions and rules we’ve set up, we want to let the Holy Spirit take us around some new bends in the stream and teach us some new things. It may be more thrilling and more satisfying than we ever imagined.

 

Let’s keep our hearts tender and flexible, open to Lord’s leading, even if it means going in a slightly different direction or considering something we haven’t taken into account before. Let the Lord open new doors. The Bible tells us there will always be things for us to discover if we’re willing. We never know it all, and that’s a good thing.

 

Life is to be a flow, not a stagnant pool. And God delights in being our father, teaching us new things. He wants us to be thankful to Him for the new things we learn. Just like any father wants his child to look up to him and appreciate what he teaches. God wants the same from us. God will always know more than we do, so we need to be humble and flexible in our thinking.

 

Isaiah speaks God’s message to the people of Israel: “I have shown thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them. They are created now, and not from the beginning; even before the day when thou heardest them not; lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew them.”

 

Let’s keep moving forward as children of a loving father, God, without fear. He will continue to teach those of us who are willing to be flexible. He’ll guide us, take care of us, and show us new things.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

QUESTIONS AND EASY CHALLENGES

1. Have you ever gotten stiff from standing, sitting, or sleeping in one position for a long time? Describe it. What action did you take to alleviate the stiffness?

2. Describe a situation where you had to be more flexible than you maybe wanted to be.

3. Have you been in a situation where you believed something was right and much later found out it wasn’t? Describe it.

4. Recall a circumstance where you or someone you know remained rigid like the Pharisees on some rule that was kind of foolish.

5. How have you been flexible in the past month?

6. Are you exploring anything new in the Bible at the moment? Or anything new in life in general? What are you learning?

7. Have you ever put unreasonably rigid rules on yourself? How did it make you feel? What did you do about it?

 

 

This revised PREACH LETTER is from a sample book with 6 of the 61 chapters from my first book: WINGS: A JOURNEY IN FAITH Volume 1. The chapters are true life stories about the tremendous and varied benefits you can receive from making a commitment to the Lord. There are pertinent questions at the end of each inspiring story to help you see where you can apply what you've learned for a more exciting and satisfying life.

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THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

I was up on the ladder with my camera in my hands, ready to photograph the rocks I painted; I heard a big crack of thunder and then the lights went out.

 

The warehouse had enough natural light for me to see to get off the ladder and go over to check the breakers, but not enough light to get an accurate picture of the rocks to send my boss.

 

It reminded me of how Jesus is the light of the world; without Him we’ll never get an accurate picture of anything that’s going on, just smoke and mirrors. “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world: he that followeth [is following] me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life’” (John 8:12). Light dispels darkness, “For thou art my lamp, O Lord: and the Lord will lighten my darkness” (2 Sam 22:29). What a great promise. We can repeat this scripture to ourselves until we believe it and expect the Lord to shed light on any dark areas in our lives.

 

The lights in the warehouse came back on slowly. Sometimes it’s that way with things for us too—we want to understand; we need more light from Jesus on the subject; we pray about it and the truth comes to us slowly, a little at a time. At other times Jesus illuminates our circumstances like a flood light and everything becomes clear.

 

Lord, bring on the light in our relationships, our finances, our ability to follow You, our understanding of current events and end time events, our part in politics and community, and our many small or big choices in everyday life.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

VOLUME 2 OF BIBLE LESSONS FROM NATURE is being proofed now and should be out by Christmas 😊. Get your copy of Volume 1 today at https://www.amazon.com/BIBLE-LESSONS-NATURE-Carolyn-Molica/dp/B0BV4GC859/ref=sr_1_1?crid=QACB0S8NH0BF&keywords=bible+lessons+from+nature&qid=1676485121&sprefix=%2Caps%2C222&sr=8-1

 

DISAPPOINTMENT OR DECISION

DISAPPOINTMENT OR DECISION

Many of you know that I was very passionate about the midterm election in 2022. Well, it turned out that except in the case of a few judges, I was not with the majority on my voting. And every issue I voted down, the majority voted to pass through. So, what do I do? Pout? Get mad? Give up? Well maybe a little pouting, and some disappointment, but I definitely won’t give up. I truly believe God has this handled. So many times I’ve seen that God’s ultimate plan was, and still is much more far-reaching than my eyes could see. So, I trust and let Him do His job, and I get busy with His next assignment for me.

 

I’m getting better at being able to move ahead past disappointments. I can’t let discouragement get a toe-hold. It’s not healthy for my body or my soul.

 

God says: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord” (Is. 55:8). Sometimes God lets us know His thoughts and His ways before a thing happens, but sometimes we don’t catch the understanding until a time afterward. It’s necessary to rely totally on faith and trust in Him. And He promises us that He always has our best in mind.

 

I learned a long time ago that the loss of anything or anyone requires a period of grieving, even if it is a very short time, we have to take an honest look at the loss and deal with it.

 

Grieving is a universal phenomenon. There’s plenty of studies on sorrow and grief, but there’s still much to be learned about how it works, how long it takes, and the effects it has. The one thing we do know is that it’s a process and it varies with situations and people.

 

We can see from the Bible different examples of the grieving process. Signs included tearing one’s robe, demonstrative weeping, putting dust and ashes into their hair, and/or shaving their hair or their beard. Other indications of sorrow included wearing black clothing, removing all jewelry, neglecting personal hygiene, and/or wearing sackcloth. Sackcloth was made of goat or camel hair and was coarse and very uncomfortable. The idea was to mourn life itself.

 

These were things that exhibited in ancient times, but the grieving process hasn’t really changed much over the years. Just one example I can think of is female friends who’ve done something to change the style or color of their hair after a divorce. I don’t know if it’s even a conscious decision or just part of the inward, inherent grief reaction. Many get depressed, angry or just want to isolate themselves from everyone, when they’ve lost something or someone.

 

In the Bible, the days of mourning varied. In the case of Jacob, it was 70 days (Gen. 50:3). In Saul’s case, only seven days (1 Sam. 31:13). In Moses’ time, the official period of grief was 30 days.

 

When Moses died, and the allowable 30 days was over, God told Joshua it was time for him to get up and get going. I think that a lot of times we need someone with insight to help us get going too, to wake us up out of our grief and get us to move on before the sorrow destroys us or makes us morose.

 

I know I needed a push when my dog Spike passed away. I was so sad I couldn’t see getting a new dog and had convinced myself that I couldn’t get one because of the cat. My friend Miki kept pestering me with pictures of rescue dogs that needed homes, and I kept pushing the idea away. Then my best friend Jane rescued a dog from the alley. We made two failed attempts at giving him away and finally got the message: “Keep the dog!” My time of grief was supposed to be over, and God was working through insightful people and a little lost dog, forcing me to move on.

 

When God pushed Joshua, it was a new thing for him. Moses was gone, and now he had the responsibility to lead God’s people. I’m sure it was a little intimidating. Any time we’re forced to embrace something new, after losing something or someone we loved, it’s hard. But we don’t have to do it alone. God told Joshua: “Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest” (Joshua 1:9).

 

When we lose our loved ones, or if we lose our homes, our jobs, or anything else, it’s okay to grieve those things. It’s good to recognize and face the loss head-on, then realize the loss has opened up an opportunity to seek and trust the Lord for what will be next.

 

In Isaiah 48:6 God promises He will show us new things, hidden things that we’ve never known before. “I have shown thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them.”

 

“Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert” (Isa. 43:19). God will show us that there’s more good to come, so I’m ready and willing to believe and see.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

https://www.amazon.com/BIBLE-LESSONS-NATURE-Carolyn-Molica/dp/B0BV4GC859/ref=sr_1_1?crid=QACB0S8NH0BF&keywords=bible+lessons+from+nature&qid=1676485121&sprefix=%2Caps%2C222&sr=8-1

 

 

OH SO CLOSE

 OH SO CLOSE

The included picture is entitled “Three-feet-from-Gold.” How many times have we seen ourselves or others quit just before achieving the success we were after? Too many times we are tempted to give up on something we really wanted. But isn’t that part of the devil’s plan? John 10:10 tells us specifically: “The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I [Jesus] came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows] (John 10:10 AMP}.

 

The devil is a personal enemy who wants to steal, kill, or destroy any benefit God plans to give us. I found that out when I was getting to retire from the painters’ union. I knew I would have to do my part to get what I was owed, and they didn’t make it easy! I was on the phone for over an hour with an agent from the pension plan. I needed some paperwork that was delayed because of the coronavirus. The agent was super helpful, and after several tries, she got the packet sent in an attachment that I could download and print. I thought I was finished, but as I read the paperwork, I couldn’t find anything about the extra amount I was promised from working extra years beyond the normal age for retirement. I was bothered, but since I was exhausted, I wanted to wait until the next day to call back.

 

Jane could see that I wanted to quit, but she also knew I wouldn’t be able to let it go. I would be worried, irritated, and grumpy, and probably wouldn’t sleep well either thinking about it. And besides that, I couldn’t be assured of getting the same agent who had taken the time to help me, so Jane urged me to call them back right away. I didn’t want to do it. I wanted to quit, but I knew she was right, so I called, and in a matter of a few minutes, everything worked out great. What helped me to get to the prize? The words of a friend and bad experiences in the past from giving up too soon.

 

I found an interesting article about how and why people want to quit things right before success. The author talks about how culture has changed over the centuries, but our brains have not.

 

“Why we quit (often right at the tipping point of success)” by Jay Parekh

 

“Success doesn’t suddenly come barreling down on you all at once. Though it does tend to sneak up on you, without you noticing, if you’re putting in the work everyday.

 

That is exactly the hard part, because our brains tend to overestimate immediate rewards and underestimate rewards in the future.

 

Why is this?

 

Imagine the world when man first emerged. In this world dominated by predator and prey dynamics, man’s priority was the present moment. The hunter gatherer lifestyle fared much better when immediate rewards such as shelter, food, and sex were given priority.

 

Fast forward to our modern world, and most of our day to day activities are geared towards long term rewards. For example, we work at our jobs to get a paycheck at the end of the pay period, we exercise today so we can look better in the future, we invest today to prepare for retirement.”

 

Though we live in a world where actions that benefit us long term turn out to be more valuable than those that benefit us immediately (usually), our outdated brains still view the world as it always has.

 

The author goes on to say that because our brains tend to want the instant gratification still, the only way to do something about it is to re-train our brains. That’s what the Bible teaches us too.

 

When Moses died, Joshua had to lead the people of God. In the very first battle, God taught Joshua about the benefits of pushing all the way through to the end.

 

God told him how to take down Jericho and get what God intended for him and his people to have. But the way God told him to take the city was grueling. He and his whole army and all the men, women, and children too, had to march around the city for seven days, around and around, not saying a word, and then on the seventh day they had to march around seven times and then blow the trumpets and shout.

 

Don’t you think those people got tired going around and around for seven straight days? Just think of how their feet felt, for one thing. They had to get up at dawn every day too. The children probably were rowdy, and they were instructed not to say anything, so you can imagine what it must have been like for those poor parents. So many aches and pains. And never mind that it seemed like a pretty silly way to capture a whole city, right?

 

But Joshua led the people in God’s ways, and the people followed. They all pushed themselves to the very end, without quitting.

 

“And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times: only on that day they compassed the city seven times.

 

“And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, ‘Shout; for the Lord hath given you the city.’

 

“So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city” (Josh. 6:15-16,20).

 

When we get to the place where we feel like quitting on something we really want, and we’re pretty sure it’s the Lord’s will, let’s get determined, maybe get a trusted friend to honestly advise, then kick into high gear and make that extra effort to get to the end. God’s rewards are always worth it.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

LISTENING TO GOD ABOUT NIGHT SEEDS

LISTENING TO GOD ABOUT “NIGHT SEEDS”

A few days ago, the Lord reminded me about planting “night seeds.” I heard Him say it very clearly, but did I immediately put it into practice? No, and the days following have not been so good--frustrating to tell the truth. I’ve learned that if the Lord gives you an instruction and you ignore it, well, He’s not likely to give you something new until you follow through on the last thing He said. The thing is, when He reminded me, I remembered how great night seeds worked, but I didn’t take it as an instruction that I needed to do that very night, and when the idea came to mind, I took it as more of a fleeting thought than an actual “do it tonight” kind of thing.

 

But we need to be more sensitive to the subtlety of the Lord. He’s not always going to be yelling at us or speaking loudly. I missed it, and the result was kind of awful. So, I repented. I’m so sorry I didn’t pay attention. I know God loves me and I want to hear every little thing He says! It’s always going to be for my good. This incident reminds me a time when God wanted to talk with Elijah.

 

And angel told Elijah: “Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire, a still small voice. (1 Kings 19:11-12).

 

God spoke to Elijah in “a still small voice.” And when Elijah heard it, he was humbled. God was showing him that He (God) didn’t have to always roar, but that He could be quiet and gentle as well. Elijah heard it and responded. In humility “he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering of the cave” (v. 13). Elijah was ready to listen to God without all the fanfare of wind, fire, and earthquakes. We need to become more aware of God’s still small voice like Elijah did. We need to pay attention to those odd-ball thoughts that just seem to pop into our minds periodically, not seeming to connect to much else that we were thinking about.

 

When I sat down to my computer this morning, I was still in a grumpy, frustrated state of mind, so I asked the Lord what to do about my Preach letter today, what did He want me to send out to His people? He said very clearly: “This one is for YOU!” So, then He directed me to go to some of the Preach letters I’d written in 2019, and when I came to the one on “night seeds,” I remembered the incident a few days ago when that concept popped into my mind and I pretty quickly dismissed it. Well, when I came to that Preach letter in the 2019 group of letters, I knew I had to read it and do it. And then the Lord wanted me to write about what led up to me putting it out today. You can be assured that I will be planting those “night seeds” tonight! It’s God’s will and His blessing and I’m not going to miss it! I hope you’ll plant some night seeds tonight too, and remember to listen better for His still small voice. Here’s the article on night seeds:

 

NIGHT SEEDS

“Behold, He [God] who keeps Israel [and us] shall neither slumber nor sleep.” God is Spirit, and He doesn't sleep. We, as Spiritual beings, don't sleep either, but it's our body and soul that do need the sleep while we're here on earth. If we sleep three hours out of 24, it's an eighth of our day. If we sleep eight hours, that’s a third of our day taken up! How can we make those sleeping hours count spiritually? One way is to plant night seeds.

 

Night seeds: The thing that is so amazing and awesome is that Spiritual faith can work through the night, uninhibited by our doubtful, fearful, and oh-so-rational minds! Things are working in our unconscious, spiritual hearts, freely.

 

The two following sections of scripture are vital to me in getting great results from planting night seeds:

 

Jesus taught this: Mark 4:26-27: “And he said, ‘So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.” Notice that Jesus said the man planted the seed, then he immediately went to sleep! I just love that.

 

If we plant seeds right before we go to sleep, no rationale or emotional reaction can get in the way to block our faith! Who we are spiritually as sons and daughters of God Almighty, and our relationship with His son Jesus goes ahead to work while our bodies and souls take a rest, and the solutions come as the seeds sprout.

 

Then the second vital verse is Psalm 17:15: “I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness.” I looked up the Hebrew word for “likeness” so that I could better understand this verse. It is “temuwnah,” and in this context, it means “what You [God] have fashioned,” what You [God] have formed,” “the manifestation of Your favor.”

 

So this verse is saying that when I wake up, I can feel blessed by what the Lord did in the night. He works with our seed and helps it to get sprouting.

 

I’d learned this principle a while back and forgot about it until I was scrolling through some old Preach letters and decided this was a great principle to start using again. Here are some results from when I used this method before.

 

It was Christmas time, and I got a last-minute invitation to a Christmas party. I’d already scheduled a hair appointment for several days after the party. When I called to reschedule, there were no appointments available. After more than a week went by, I started getting a little worried. I decided to try out my new discovery of planting a night seed. In light of the worry I was feeling, I knew I needed peace about whatever the result would be with my hair. So I claimed John 14:27, which says, “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.”

 

Even though I was feeling stressed, I prayed and planted this peace seed. When I opened my cell phone first thing in the morning, I had a text from my hairdresser offering to do my hair on a Saturday. Not only did I get an appointment, but it was on a perfect day, so I didn’t have to miss any work.

 

My best friend Jane also planted a night seed. Her seed was concerning the promotional business she does for my writing. Facebook was blocking the usual routes of her promotions. It was as if they were trying to starve her out and get her to quit, and she knew it had to be changed around.

 

Jane didn’t get out her Bible and read the scriptures, but she told God His own story back to Him about the lepers outside the wall in Samaria. (It’s in 2 Kings 7). There was a great famine in the city because it was surrounded by an enemy army, cutting off the food supply. The lepers did as they were inspired by God, and He did a miracle. The enemy fled, leaving all the food and goods behind. The next day, the famine was gone and the commerce thriving!

 

When Jane woke up the next morning, there were more downloads on her promotion than there had been in the last three promotions!

 

This stuff works. Remember, Spirit continues to work while we sleep. Let’s make our sleep count in a spiritual way to enhance our lives. Plant a few night seeds this week.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

USER-FRIENDLY BIBLE PRINCIPLES FOR EVERYDAY LIVING

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ADDING MORE JOY TO YOUR DAY

ADDING MORE JOY TO YOUR DAY

God tells us, “Every man should enjoy the good of all his labor, it is the gift of God” (Eccles. 3:13). How often have we not taken the time to do this?

 

We enjoy the money we get from a job but there are lots of things we make an effort to do in a day where we don’t get paid with money. We need to take a minute to acknowledge and celebrate those too. What about those small, seemingly insignificant tasks? God says we are to enjoy the good of ALL our labor.

 

This morning I reminded Jane of the one thing we needed to get from the store this afternoon: drinking water. Instantly it came to my mind that we have been keeping up on our emergency supply of water, toilet paper, meds, rice, and other things since 2013! I said to Jane, “Hey, we’ve done a great job at that!”

 

We aren’t supposed to just work and work and work until we exhaust ourselves. Most of us need to celebrate more. God says we’re supposed to “ENJOY THE GOOD OF ALL HIS [OUR] LABOR”, not just the good from the paycheck we get from our jobs, but the good we get from anything we work at. Do we get a good feeling and satisfaction from a small victory? We should. Do we get a thank you from someone? Enjoy the blessing of someone recognizing what you may have done for them. Do we tell ourselves how happy we are because we took on and learned a new skill? How about celebrating ourselves for accomplishing something we’ve been procrastinating for a while? There are many good results from our labors and lots of reasons to celebrate because we work at a variety of tasks.

 

Just think of some things you work at: Do you work at eating well? Reading the Bible? Are you working at hearing from the Lord more often in a day? Celebrate, acknowledge, and enjoy it. What about getting enough sleep? Do you allow yourself a nap so you can feel more alert? Be happy about it. Do you work at not gossiping? At paying your bills on time? Do you work at saying something kind every day? Do you work at spending more time with your kids?

 

Think of two things you worked at today. Whatever it is, God says we need to take the time to CELEBRATE and enjoy the good of our labor. It’s His gift to us. We can say, “Hey, I did pretty well at that. Great job! I did it!” The Lord wants us to be blessed and this is just one way He’s given us to put a little more joy in our day.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

I just finished the editing of all the chapters for Volume 2 of BIBLE LESSONS FROM NATURE! I’m taking a moment to enjoy that, and tomorrow I start with the Introduction, formatting, and some other technical stuff. I’m trying to get it out by Christmas or early in the new year. Here’s the link to Volume 1: https://www.amazon.com/BIBLE-LESSONS-NATURE-Carolyn-Molica/dp/B0BV4GC859/ref=sr_1_1?crid=QACB0S8NH0BF&keywords=bible+lessons+from+nature&qid=1676485121&sprefix=%2Caps%2C222&sr=8-1

If you’ve read it, I’d love to get an Amazon review. Thanks 😊

 

WHEN GOD CLOSES YOUR MOUTH

WHEN GOD CLOSES YOUR MOUTH

Jane needed to go into the Department of Motor Vehicles office to get her driver’s license renewed, but when she called the DMV over a month ago, the only available appointment wasn’t until this week, only one day before her license expired! We were both a bit nervous about it. And then an amazing thing happened.

 

The Lord silenced us completely about the driver’s license. He didn’t tell us not to talk about our hesitations or fears, but He just silenced us about the whole business. It didn’t hurt or anything like that, and we kept talking about many other subjects as usual, but neither of us expressed even one negative word about the appointment and what was extra odd is that we didn’t even try to say any positive affirmations about it either! It just wasn’t in our parameters of speech. The silence just happened supernaturally with no thought or effort at all!

 

I went with Jane to her appointment, and everything went smoothly and congenial—so congenial, in fact, that the fellow forgot to ask Jane to do the eye test. He gave her the temporary license and sent her over to get her picture taken for the permanent license and off we went!

 

When we got in the car, we rehearsed what the Lord had done, and Jane was rejoicing, “Jesus rocked it, Jesus rocked it, JESUS ROCKED IT!! She was so happy she called her sister right away to give her the good news. After rejoicing, we finally confessed our unspoken fears and found out we both had the same thoughts: “What if she didn’t pass her eye test? And what if she couldn’t drive?” Since she uses the car every morning to go out and do her internet work, what kind of hoops would we have to go through if they didn’t give her a license on this last day before her old one expired?” We never spoke a word of this until that moment after the appointment when the license was secured. Of course there is a good chance that Jane would have passed the eye test, but if God had allowed us to speak our hesitations and fears, the devil would have heard them too, and all kinds of mishaps could have taken place. God wouldn’t allow that to happen and so He orchestrated an awesome miracle for us.

 

God, of course, knew that we both are very strong in believing together, and what we both agree on, comes to pass. This principle works in the positive for us, but it can work in the negative too, as God explains regarding the rebellious ones who sided with Nimrod’s defiance of God in Babel.

 

“And they said, ‘Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.’ And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.

 

“And the Lord said, ‘Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

 

“Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.’ So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.” (Gen. 11:4-8).

 

Here in Genesis, we see that the people spoke the same language. Not only did they speak the same dialect, but they agreed, and God said that because they agreed with each other, they could accomplish what they agreed upon, and in this case, they were building a city and a tower to exalt themselves above the true God. So the Lord confused their language so they no longer could talk to each other and had to stop building their evil city.

 

We see this same principle working with Zacharias in the book of Luke. Like with Jane and me, God needed to shut us up for a bit, to get His loving blessing to us.

 

Zacharias and his wife, Elisabeth “were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years” (Luke 1:6-7).

 

Zacharias was a priest, and it was his turn to burn incense in the temple. And as he was praying, “there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said unto him, ‘Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord” (Luke 1:11-15).

 

God had great plans for Zacharias, Elisabeth, and especially their son, John the Baptist. But the angel quickly detected the fears that this couple would discuss, and God wanted them blessed, so He couldn’t let the fear take over. 

 

“And Zacharias said unto the angel, ‘Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.’ And the angel answering said unto him, ‘I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season’” (Luke 1:18-20).

 

So, sure enough, Zacharias got the message, and he was unable to speak until his wonderful son, John, was born.

 

God needed to perform a miracle for Zacharias without Zacharias interfering, and God needed to perform a miracle for Jane without her interfering as well. This is just one of the ways that our Lord uses to keep the blessings flowing to His people. So don’t be afraid if one day you find that the Lord has shut your mouth for a time. He’s just in the process of getting an amazing blessing to you, His beloved son or daughter!

 

Love, Carolyn

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