The gift in a baby

As most of you know Paul and I are expecting our first child any day now and we are so absolutely thrilled. I am filled with such excitement and anticipation that I feel like I could burst, and I’m sure I look like I could burst too! Over the course of my pregnancy I have been thinking about Mary and what it must have been like for her to carry the wonderful gift of Jesus in her womb. I often wonder if she had the same fears and questions as I do- Will I be a good mother? What will he look like when he gets here? What kind of personality will he have? More than anything I am sure in the back of her mind she had to think about how she could ever give up her precious son to be sacrificed for us. What was it like to bring a son into this world who was born to die? I cannot even begin to fathom the mixture of emotions that must have overwhelmed her with that single thought. The same hands that reached for her and the very feet that chased after her would be nailed to a cross, the same brow she kissed would have a crown of thorns impressed upon it, and the same back that she would rub to soothe her tiny baby would be whipped and beaten, all for us. I have to be completely honest, I don’t think that I could ever give up my son ’s life for any one in this world, especially when most of the world would reject him. Our sin debt and Jesus’ sacrifice can be explained like this: Our sin was like the ultimate crime and the death penality was the sentence that was passed down. When we were on death row, about to recieve our deserving sentence, Jesus stepped up and said, “I’ll take your place.”  A man, the holy perfect spotless Lamb of God, who never sinned or did anything that would warrant such a sentence, voluntairily took our place. How amazing is that? It is a perfect example of pure love. Now as a parent how would you feel if your child came to you and said, “Mom, I am going to lay my life down for these people. You don’t know most of them and most of them do not love me, but it’s something that I have to do because I love them.” I would do anything and everything in my power to stop my son from doing what would seem to me to be a crazy thing! I am so thankful that Jesus gave His life willingly for us and that in the end Mary was able to see that His sacrifice was not in vain. He arose a strong and victorious king whose death and resurrection gave us eternal life! If you have never accepted Jesus’ gift of love and life, I invite you to do so; all you have to do is say this simple prayer:

Heavenly Father, have mercy on me, a sinner. I believe in you and that your word is true. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God and that he died on the cross so that I may now have forgiveness for my sins and eternal life. I know that without you in my heart my life is meaningless. I believe in my heart that you, Lord God, raised Him from the dead. Please Jesus forgive me for every sin that I have ever committed or done in my hear. Please Lord Jesus forgive me and come into my heart as my personal Lord and Savior today. I need you as my Father and my Friend. I give you my life and ask you to take full control from this moment on; I pray this in Jesus name. Amen. 

 

If you prayed this prayer and meant it within your heart you are now a Christian! If you’d like, send us an email of your new found commitment at laddfamilyministries@yahoo.com

God bless!

Mimi

A Baseball Game

Sometimes life is like a crazy baseball game. It seems like the bottom of the ninth and the bases are loaded while your team is down by one point. One team is rooting you on, hoping and praying that you will hit the ball beyond the opposition’s reach and lead them to victory. The other is counting on you to make a mistake so your team can leave the field in defeat. You’ve watched the entire game to see what the pitcher’s style is; you’ve stepped into the the prep-box for some practice swings as you watch the pitcher, then it’s your turn. You must keep your eye on the ball because you don’t know how the pitcher is going to throw the ball, then it’s decision time. Should you bunt? Should you power hit the ball? Should you not even swing? What to do?!  In the mean time you hear your coach shouting above the crowd, “I know you can do it! Just keep your eye on the ball and listen to me.” Your coach has thought carefully about the batting line up so that the right person will be up to bat at the right time; and now for some reason during this most stressful and important time it is you who are up to bat. 

It’s easy to find yourself in a predicament like that- it’s the toughest situation you’ve ever been in and you have so many people counting on you, yet you have so many people wanting to see you fail. When you feel so overwhelmed and you don’t know how to bat or even if you should swing, watch the ball and listen for the coach. You have to keep your eye on the enemy, he has all kinds of tricks up his sleve; just when you think you’ve learned his routine he throws you a curve ball. You also have to keep your ears open to listen to Jesus and do whatever he says to do. He is our one true source of strength and he knows what you’re going to do before you do it, but it’s His willingness to let you bat and make the decision for yourself on how to swing that makes His grace so awesome.  It’s also our duty as christians to be prepared for whatever the enemy throws our way. We do that through prayer and the reading of God’s word; the closer we get to God the more discernment He will grant us to know when the enemy is fixing to throw something crazy our way. 

Often times it’s hard to understand why the “coach” has us “up to bat” during such a time. The Bible says that these stressful and trying times are to make us more like Christ. In Malachi 3 God is refered to as a silversmith. He puts the silver through the heat to purify it and to bring all the imperfections to the surface so that He can take the imperfections out of the silver. The silversmith tempers the heat to makes sure that it’s not too hot or too cold for the silver, but just right. The one true way that he knows when the silver is pure is when he can see his direct flawless reflection in it. When it’s our turn to step into the batter’s box, God turns up the heat because it’s Him who should shine through us.

In short, God is just trying make us more like Him so that He can get the glory for it all. So the next time that you are up to bat remember, listen for the coach, watch the pitcher, and most of all rest in knowing that you have been chosen for this specific time.

In His Love,

Mimi

Keeping the Victory

While we were singing at a certain revival near Columbia, South Carolina we had quite a number of people come to the altar to get prayer for various things. That particular night Paul’s dad, John, was able to be apart of services and we let him lead the prayers at the altar call.  After a mighty move of God that night, John addressed the congregation and said, “Do you know how to keep the victory that God just gave you? It takes three simple steps: 1. On your knees 2. In the Book  3. Eyes on Him.” People started to look around in disbelief; you could almost read their minds, “That’s it? It’s got to be more complicated than that .” Actually folks, it’s not. Once we go to God in prayer and turn our situation completely over to Him, it’s up to Him to handle it, us to leave it there, and us to thank Him and praise Him for answering our prayer before we even see an answer to it. But how can we have confidence enough to do that? Well, it’s just like John said- 1. Get on your knees in a prayer of thanksgiving, “Lord, you see my need and I praise you for the way that you have/ are going to take care of this need.” 2. In the book- Read the Bible all that you can; absorb it, make it apart of yourself. If there is anything in your life that does not line up with the Word of God, fix it through prayer and repentance. Then find the appropriate scripture and apply it to your prayer. “God Your word says that all things are possible through You and Your Son Jesus Christ and that if we ask anything in Your name, we shall receive it…” 3. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Make sure that every step you take in life is one that you have sought God before taking. Deuteronomy 13:4 says, “Ye shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments, and obey His voice, and serve Him, and cleave unto Him.” So when the devil tries to steal your victory, get alone with God, plead the Blood, and practice these three simple steps!

 

Until Next Time,

   In His Love,

      Mimi