To read previous articles Carol has written you can go into "Archives" and click the box in front of it and then click on "Carol's."

“Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.” Hebrews 13:4

There are two very personal things a woman/wife is responsible for covering properly: her body and her bed. Both are to be shared with her husband.  An unmade bed looks just as awful as a body that is not kept properly covered.  A husband (godly man) likes to see that his wife respects both her body and bed.

We keep the marriage bed pure by controlling and saving our sexual desires for marriage. We keep the marriage bed pure by remaining faithful to the one we exchanged vows with, by focusing our sexual thoughts and activities on the one we married.  We keep the marriage bed pure by turning away from sexual conversations with friends, from watching pornography, from music and anything else that stirs up the sex drive. 

If grieved me to hear my daughter tell me that she was invited to a “divorce party.” Not only do we the public displays of proud homosexuals degrading their bodies but we also have divorced women getting together to celebrate their divorces and the ruining of families.  How stupid to think that divorce has no casualties.  This is why God hates divorce.  And, so should we.  There are legitimate reasons for divorce such as adultery or abuse, but most divorces are not had by those reasons.  Sadly, most marriages are over as soon as they get started for various reasons.  Seduction is on the loose in our nation and without restraint. Seduction: A leading away from moral duty and moral allegiance.

“And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery (extreme indulgence of one’s appetites), not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” Romans 13:11-14

Many Christians are living with their “significant other.” I’m not referring to homosexuals here. They have not made a single vow of commitment to each other, nor had a witness to that commitment and definitely without the blessing and peace of God. I don’t get this. I don’t get how they can claim to know and love God and be okay with this.  The only explanation there is – is that they do not know what God’s Word has to say and they do not have God’s Holy Spirit living within them. If they knew God’s Word and were filled with His Spirit they would feel God’s conviction/judgment on it. They would want to do the right thing by God. They would ask God to help them live according to His laws and He would. 

My husband and I lived together before we were married. Before we were married we both got right with God.  He moved out until we were to be married. He tried really hard to abstain from fornication (sex before marriage) but we blew it a few times. On our wedding night we refrained from what most couples do on their wedding night and in the morning we confessed our weakness before the wedding night and committed ourselves to the Lord for His service.  We both are convinced He accepted that offering because of how His abounding grace has been ever so present in our lives. We have been married 35 years now. We know what it means to be in love and it isn’t the kind of stuff you see in the movies.

The movie industry is trying to convince young people that sexual activity is not shameful. They view sexual immorality on television from one end of the spectrum to the other. They learn that intercourse is right and good as long as you love that person, whether the same sex or not.  What do they know of love?  The animals live a higher standard than they do because they will not mate with the same sex or breed outside their kind.  True and pure love comes from God, not man. Love requires commitment and work and needs to be protected from its enemies, but very few Christians uphold these requirements.

“O LORD, you will keep us safe and protect us from such people. The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honored among men.” Psalms 12:7-8

“When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?”  Psalm 11:3

The righteous can live in obedience and keep the standard of God before the people.  The righteous can intercede in prayer for carnal Christians to honor God and His Word. The righteous can speak up and expose evil for what it is.

Most young girls today are on the prowl, even Christian girls and women. They are not doing very well guarding their reputation and staying out of places they do not belong in, and from hanging around the wrong people.  Where are the godly mothers and fathers who train up their children in the way they should go?  Where are the godly parents who hold their children accountable?  The marriage bed for these young people has been defiled way before they marry because of all they have seen and done.

Some girls don’t understand why they should cover their bodies better than they do.  Others know exactly what they’re doing when they wear what they wear.  They know the words and dances too for sexual foreplay. They are experienced in how to get themselves to a party without their parent knowing about it. They are experts in hanging out with friends.  They know all about how to find what you are looking for on the web too and many have found more than what they were looking for. Many young girls have been raped, abducted, terrorized, sold and murdered.  It’s more than sad to see our younger female generation thinking, talking and acting like whores on the prowl. Whoredom is what God calls it and so should we. 

Many a husband has been lured by sophisticated whores who do not require cash payment.  Offices, bars and the internet are filled with seductive women who could care less if your husband is married. They do not see that what they do is wrong if that man is not happy with his wife.  A good wife will make herself available to her husband and she will keep herself pleasing to his eyes. Forget all the garbage you see on television or at the movies about what is and is not sexy.  If filthy sex is all your husband wants from you – you are not expect to behave in such a way that makes you feel degrade or uncomfortable as a woman.  A husband should never expect his wife to behave indecently or self-degrading. God does not expect his daughters to be “sexy” or “seductive.” He expects his daughters to be “distinctly feminine.” God designed femininity.  Real men want real women, by God’s definition.

A woman better not use her bed and body to lure or manipulate a man or she will receive what her actions deserve.  A husband and wife should never deprive one another of sexual intimacy unless they are in agreement by mutual consent for a designated time. This could happen because of a serious need for prayer and waiting on the Lord to answer.  Sickness will also be a good reason.  Love should always be at the root of what we do or don’t do with each other and for each other.

Godly mothers need to be communicating with their daughters what a godly woman is and does. Just because your sons and daughters have prayed the sinner’s prayer, go to church, are active in the youth group – doesn’t guarantee they won’t be corrupted by the ways of the world.  What a godly mother teaches her daughter about femininity, men, marriage and raising children a girl needs more than any other teaching in her life.  Your daughter may not like you standing up to her with all this, but one day she will thank you if she gets to experience the outcome of following the words of wisdom. The same goes for fathers and sons.

A husband and wife are to come into agreement about their sexual behavior with one another.  Neither should feel belittled, begrudged, offended or rejected.  Talking about it is very important.  The inner beauty of a noble woman of God is far more beautiful than any other woman who works on her outer beauty to cover up how low and dishonorable she feels about herself.

When it comes to her bed and body, a godly wife has her husband in mind.  He might not complain when she wears sweats or grubs but he’ll take notice of her if she wears something that brings out her feminine purity, poise and passion. Purity, in that there is no other man she’d rather be with. Poise, in that self-dignity is seen.  Passion, in that her husband simply does it for her and he is all the man she needs.  

It sickens me to see women, even Christian women, dressed to kill and their husbands, even Christian husbands, getting their kicks watching all the heads turn and strain to see her strut.  I witnessed the son or daughter of a woman dressed to kill (sluttish) looking embarrassed to be seen in public with her.  Why don’t mothers notice this themselves?  Maybe the attention from their own children doesn’t mean as much to them as the attention they get from men.  A woman should dress for righteousness not wickedness.  God holds women accountable for the attention they get from men and how men are drawn to them.  As we have grown up in a culture without moral standards, by God’s definition, women and men have not been as discerning as need be in recognizing temptation and seduction.  As God’s holy servants mothers and fathers are to teach their daughters and sons God’s moral standard or those children will not clue in.  God will hold mothers and fathers responsible for how boys are drawn to their daughters and for how girls are drawn to their sons.  So guard those gifts from God!

One of the strongholds of women is that they don’t see their husband as someone they need to respect and honor. I see so many wives putting down their husbands instead of lifting them up, whether they deserve it or not. I see wives with critical spirits jumping on their husbands for every little thing.  Do they really believe they have no faults themselves?  Do they think God will show them grace in their time of need? We’ll reap what we’ve sown.  

God sees your husband with the potential to be a king in his kingdom. God also sees every one of His daughters with the potential to be a queen. So, why don’t we see it?  Maybe we are far too focused on ourselves. I know I was. Now I see my husband as one of Christ’s kings who will judge and rule under Him. Glory!

With all the filth and hostility out in the world today a man needs to come home to a real lady who will even treat him as a king from time to time. American women take pride in the freedom they think they have, but they have not been “liberated” at all. They are still living in bondage, the bondage of another kind. Only Jesus can validate a real man and a real woman and you will know it when He does it for you. You will never desire anything but the noble life.   

When a woman attracts her husband in the right way and as his wife sincerely and sacrificially helps him with His call from God he will cherish her and want to provide for her and protect her – if he is a wise man. He will go to extreme measures for her continual attention and affection. I’d say that sounds like Christ with His Church.           

Luke 1:16-17 says, “Many of the people [of Israel] will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous — to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

That part, “to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children,” is something I believe is on the heart of the Holy Spirit today because He is at work in families to do this.  Where fathers have been pre-occupied with their careers/jobs or with sports and video/computer games they are beginning to notice their children (of all ages) more and how their children need their protection and need their father to truly care about them.

Of course, there is the obvious meaning of this passage where fathers have been totally absent from their children (divorce, death or otherwise) or completely dull as to the real needs of their children, but I want to bring out more perspective on what it means for a father to turn his heart to his children.  Let me begin by asking fathers, “How do you want your son (daughter) to grow up and what do you hope they’ll become?  Do you hope they will become another “you” or become a true son (daughter) of the Most High God, like Jesus Christ?  If like Jesus, then:

Don’t poke-fun at your little boy (little daughter) or teen-age son to get a laugh at his expense or that is what they’ll do with others only more-so. Don’t make a joke out of your little boy’s inability to communicate with you or because of his fear or his inability to grasp what is expected of him or he will take that joking of yours to the next stage; the stage of mischief and misbehavior.  

Why are most boys today almost incapable of benevolence? They have been conditioned to make fun of other boys and tease girls. They are more comfortable with their own peers than with their own fathers (parents). They even call their little gangs “family.” Very rarely do you see a boy displaying compassion or generosity towards his peers or siblings. Why is this?  I believe it is because of how they have been treated in the home by their fathers (and mothers and older siblings). 

It is our ‘natural’ tendency to be mean given our sin nature from birth, but kindness and thoughtfulness (wisdom also) are taught and learned.  Most parents themselves never had kind and thoughtful parents and so they pass meanness and insensitivity on to their children who then take it a step further. Each generation grows more wicked or more righteous based on the home-life. I’ve seen kind and thoughtful parents but without wisdom afraid to discipline their children so that those children grow up to secretly resent that weakness in their parent (parents) so that he raises his own son (daughter) with harshness (even cruelty) instead of loving discipline.  

How many Christian fathers really understand what it means to father children and especially their sons? All you have to do is look at today’s stats on childhood delinquency and child-to-child crimes in order to see how fathers have not been fathers in the true sense of the term.  The term “father” originated with our heavenly Father. He is where you find the right definition of “father” and the perfect example of one.  Fathers are to have the same heart and will for their children that our heavenly Father has.

Your son (daughter) will be more capable of believing what their heavenly Father says if they have been able to believe you by what you say to them, even in the littlest things. Your child will take seriously everything you say until you give them reason not to. If they don’t feel they can believe you, by what you say, they will treat your word with contempt.  When a father treats his little boy contrary to the way God treats His sons then that little boy is without a clue as to the meaning of life.  I am completely disgusted at what our world teaches boys and girls as to the meaning of life and the meaning of male and female, sex, marriage and family.

When you, a father, make slight what your son takes serious you teach them not to trust you with their struggles, feelings and dreams.  Our heavenly Father is never amused with our problems, hopes and aspirations; rather He applies Himself fully.

If you desire your children to follow you in how God is leading you then you better be careful in how you treat them and what you say to them that they not secretly hold anything against you and you eventually - lose them.  As God’s people we need to personally shape up and then do all to raise up noble sons and daughters of the Most High God because the wicked will not inherit anything but eternal damnation in hell.  The righteous inherit all God created that He called “good.”    

“When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet.”  (Proverbs 31:21)  I believe this verse within the characteristics of the woman God honors and crowns in His kingdom is very key for the day in which we are living in. 

Three questions come to mind that I believe that in answering will reveal how we need to be prepared and covered today. 1. Who is within this woman’s household?  2. What is there to fear about the snow?  3. Why should scarlet clothing be the answer for her fear?

Love is no doubt the root of the work and service the godly woman puts into her family; the work of making sure that her household is perfectly prepared for the day. If it wasn’t for the way she covers her loved ones in a day of extreme cold she would definitely fear for them and rightly so for they would freeze to death.  But, she doesn’t fear because of what she has covered them with, or clothed them with.  This is her responsibility to provide the right clothing and covering for her children and husband.

Note: When my body freezes I die. When my faith freezes it dies.  The physical and spiritual are related.

Her household is as big as those of whom God has given her.  Her house may only be her own blood children or it may include more; those who are homeless or those who have no proper covering. The woman with the heart of God sees others that God assigns her as part of her household.  My husband has a heart for the abandoned wife with her children; the wife who has been left by her husband to raise and support ‘their’ children.  My heart goes out to the godly wife who struggles with an ungodly husband; or the Christian wife going through adultery or divorce.  I see so many Christian wives who don’t have a clue what a man truly needs in a wife. I also see Christian husbands without a clue what a woman needs in a husband.  The Bible is very clear on both issues.  One passage I love that brings out one reason why God said that the “two should become one” is:

 “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his (her) friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands (husband, wife and Jesus) is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

When a husband and wife are united in all things they will have a good return for their work. They will have more power together to overcome the evil day. Their love for one another keeps them warm no matter how cold it gets.  When one falls because of sin the other one covers them with prayer and grace. I see so many wives talking against their sinning husbands instead of covering them with their loving prayers; dedicating them to the LORD to work in them for their strength, courage and victory. Criticizing instead of covering is a clear sign of unbelief in the principles of love, hope and prayer.  The LORD is pleased to answer our prayer of faith because of Who we truly believe He is and for all He says He can do for those who trust Him.    

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” 1 Peter 4:8-9

Another grievous thing I see is grumbling in the home.  Hospitality starts with those who are in your own household.  If you show hospitality to guests and not to the members of your own household you are a hypocrite in God’s eyes.  Our spouse and children should be our closest friends so that we would serve them kindly and look forward to being with them, enjoying any type of celebration and easing any kind of trial.  It’s the choice you make as to who you favor over others or how you treat some better than others.  God sees your heart and hears every thought you have and He will judge you based on the motives of your heart.  You spouse and children are your first priority in making sure they are properly treated and covered.

The fact that there would be a specific color, scarlet, for their covering signifies that this is referring to ‘spiritual’ covering and not ‘material’ covering.   If it were referring to material then any color would do. A black coat would work just as well as a scarlet one.  I believe this godly wife and mother understands what the “scarlet blood of the LORD” can do.  I believe this faithful woman understands that she has been given authority over evil and tribulation because of her faith in the risen crucified Christ. There is power in the blood of Jesus. Only the blood of Jesus Christ will protect us in the day of extreme coldness.  I don’t believe our problem is “global warming.”  I believe the world’s problem is “global cooling.”

The LORD warned us that in the last days the love of most would grow cold. We have come into some very cold days in the history of man. Man’s inhumanity to man is clear sign of ‘global chill.’ The apostate church where leaders with their congregations are disconnected from the Head of the church, Jesus Christ, is clear sign that their love for Christ has grown cold; that they have fallen from the height of love they once had for their Savior. They have forfeited the grace that could’ve been theirs.

“At that (this) time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:10-14

We understand by what our LORD said that “love growing cold” means we become more concerned for our own future than anyone else’s.  We prepare for ourselves what we think we’ll need instead of preparing ‘enough’ so we have some to share. The true condition of hearts is revealed by truth, tribulation and temptation. The believer who falls away from God’s truth and love in the time of temptation and tribulation will stand before the LORD shamefully exposed one day – without any excuse.

Most of us enjoy the snow; the beautiful white blanket that covers everything, but what about when the snow keeps falling getting heavier and heavier to the point of breaking and ruining? Most of us have been in a place of power outage because of snow that won’t give up.  Once you’ve experienced a power outage you want to better prepare to be ready for the next one. The same is true of our faith and calling from God.  All of us have experience power failure but we have access by the blood of Christ to approach the Throne of Grace to receive what we need in times of failure, disaster and persecution.

I believe the LORD is giving us plenty of time to prepare and be ready for the coldest days in history.  The two ways in which to prepare are both physically and spiritually. God is both physical and spiritual and we saw this in Jesus.  If we are not physically prepared then we will not be ready to do the will of God in the day of extreme cold.

God is using His wise ones, His servants the prophets, to give us the forecast – just like those forecasters on television who tell us what the weather will be like in the week ahead. It is just as important to prepare and be ready spiritually as it is to prepare and be ready physically. The LORD reveals the spiritual by the physical; they are connected.  This verse about the wise and noble woman has both a physical and spiritual aspect that can make it hard to understand, maybe even seem foolish.

 “No one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.  This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.  The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.’” 1 Corinthians 2:11-16

I don’t think the Holy Spirit meant that she literally dresses them all in red outfits every snow day. I believe He is referring to her prayer covering for their protection because she understands the kind of world they live in and what is against them simply because they love the LORD Jesus Christ. I don’t know many Christian women today who really see the coldness around them. They keep doing what they’ve always done when God has clearly said, “Life as you know it has changed.”  This “change” is not for the better either, although for the wise it will open glorious opportunities to them because they are looking to the LORD for what He has to say directly to them from His Word and Spirit, and not to the church or the president.   

The one who believes also sanctifies (or makes holy by dedicating to the LORD) the unbelieving spouse and/or children. The true disciple of Jesus Christ understands what the prayer of faith can do. When one of my children were out of the will of God I kept covering them with Christ’s blood, praying that the blood of Christ would protect them from the things they were involved with and from the people they were hanging around with who were a strong ungodly influence.  I saw the scarlet covering working for their good and for their hopeful future and each of them are walking with the LORD now.     

“’Come now, let us reason together,’ says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.’  For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” Isaiah 1:18-20

There is no room for fear in the love of God. God’s love for His children has prepared for their provision and protection in the day of extreme cold, even in the day of greatest tribulation. With all that is happening today that makes us shake our heads, or worse - that shakes our faith, we need to understand and be confident in what God has prepared for those who love Him. And, I’m not just speaking spiritually, but also physically while we endure days of tribulation. We will overcome the cold on the earth and the cold-blooded accuser of the brethren by the fervent blood of Jesus Christ and by our passionate testimony of Him as we stay ready with an answer for those who ask, “What is the hope within you?”

“They overcame him (the accuser) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.”   Revelation 12:11

May our homes be filled with the warmth and peace of Jesus Christ and may we be ready to be used by our LORD to extend His truth and love to any He brings to us for His hospitality of provision and protection. May the scarlet blood of Christ be our perfect covering. May we not fear anyone or anything, but the LORD Himself. For the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.

“Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands. His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man.  Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice. Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever. He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes. He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor, his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor.” Psalms 112:1-9

While it is obvious that the poor and needy are those without food, clothing and shelter, it is also true that for a mother the poor and needy are the children right under her feet. As mothers we are to open our arms and extend our hands first and fully to those that came from our own bodies. What will it credit a mother who leaves her own children to do some good elsewhere?

Growing up as a child in today’s world is hazardous. There are millions of children who have not even gotten the chance to enter our world because of America’s abortion rights. Divorce disregards and neglects the children involved. Innocent and helpless children are sold to homosexuals paying to adopt. Others are abducted and abused for exploiting them for the wicked and their pornography industries. Children are being used as bait in prostitution and as bombs for terrorists. When do this world’s children ever get the chance to express the fear they have or the confusion they feel within their little souls? Our nation has gone from killing unwanted babies in the womb to using their little parts in the name of do-good science. GOD HAVE MERCY!  But, what we really need is to feel His anger over this. All His judgments are good and effective. It is very clear that God is judging us for having not been His mind and body here in the United States of America.  

Unless we repent and turn from these wicked ways, from allowing this to continue – from the government down, we will see far more of God’s wrath than what we’ve seen so far. Unless these leaders of wickedness repent and turn to the truth and love of God they with their organizations will end up in Hell where they can carry on all they want with more like themselves - forever.

When we give over our children and responsibility as “mothers of the living” (Genesis 3:20) to others we display that children are not worth sacrificing for. If we neglect our own family God will not bless anything else we, as mothers, set out to do. But, what about the divorced mother who has no choice but to work to feed her children and pay the bills? I would consider her “needy” and her children “poor.” There are women all over the world who have no one to defend them and provide for them. God expects the body of Christ to open their arms and extend their hands to the poor and needy.

Poor: Lacking abundance; lacking - material possessions, means moral or mental quality, freedom to produce, rest, comfort, satisfaction and excellence.

God works through our open arms and extended hands. The open arms of a mother are a child’s refuge. No child really wants things to replace the attention they need from their parents. Children raised with things replacing relationship learn quickly that things are more important than relationship. God desires His children to desire Him in a relationship and not the things He can give them. We take advantage of God’s love when we only see Him as our benefactor. Then we teach these ways of thinking and living to our children who hear us pray.

Here in America we can see how we have been guilty of desiring things more than Him. Our prayers are self-centered and shallow when we come before the LORD asking instead of acknowledging who He is. If all we ever did was acknowledge Him in all our ways we would never go without a thing, even if we never asked a thing from Him.

Would you rather have God’s presence or presents?  If you had to choose one or the other which would you choose – honestly? Of course, we would say up front that we choose to have His presence, but don’t we live quite differently and hypocritically? 

As a mother (or father), no one can take your place in your child’s life. Godly grandparents, aunts and uncles are very important to a child’s maturing and sense of belonging to the community of family, but no one can take the place of mother in a child’s life. Marriage is designed by God to join a man and a woman and turn them into mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers. Mothers are to raise their own children and teach them what God has said about them and with all His promises. Mothers are to train up their own children in the ways of God. We ruin our children by turning them over to the public schools to be taught and trained. The public schools today train children for the use of the state instead of for the use of God. Public schools train our children to think and live without being conscious of God and godliness. The public schools are nothing like they used to be when our nation's leaders had a good conscious.

America has too many sons without spiritual leaders (fathers) to lay hands on them and lead them in the way of righteousness. Too many fathers pay very little attention to the real emotional and spiritual needs of their sons and maybe because they grew up without a real father themselves. This generational curse that hinders boys from growing up to be good fathers can be broken by faith in Jesus Christ and with the power of His Word and Spirit.

A mother’s influence is in a child’s early years when values are taking root inwardly. The child who grows up watching mother open her arms to the poor and extending her hands to the needy becomes a caring person who looks for opportunities to do the same. Her joy overflowed into their lives.

The day always comes in every family when parents and grandparents become the poor and needy. It is a shame to put away a needy parent into someone else’s care if there is any way possible for the son or daughter to follow through with caring for their own parent or grandparent. If we have hired this out, or neglected it altogether when we were capable of personally caring for our needy parents or grandparents, then we will be held accountable.  One way we are held accountable is how you are treated by your children when the time comes for you to need personal care.  What we sow, that shall we also reap.

The world is full of poor and needy people. When the people of God are not living out the standard of God then the world becomes filled with more and more poor and needy people. Then nations of poor and needy people are formed.  The Churches of Jesus Christ are busy, but not all of them are busy living out the will of God.

Matthew 25:31-46 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.  All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,  I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,  I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”       

I can live on a whole lot less than I think.  We should be ashamed and convicted about all the money we spend on dieting here in America while people are undernourished, sick and dying of starvation in other nations. Will God hold the American church accountable in any way for this?  God has blessed America so she could be a blessing to others – for Him.  The nations belong to the LORD. America does not belong to our government leaders, as they believe. America belongs to God and the Christians in America are accountable to God for how this nation lives with all He’s blessed us with. America will become another poor and needy country like so many all over the world because we have failed to worship and honor the Most High God.

In Jesus’ day the poor and needy literally felt poor and needy around the religious leaders. The Pharisees and Sadducees enjoyed lording it over the poor and needy. They did very little to nothing for the poor and needy. It hardly crossed their mind to lift a finger to help anyone in need. They just continued to heap burdens on all the people, very much like what our government has become. The religious leaders were jealous of Jesus because the people flocked to His open arms and outstretch hand. Those who spent time around Jesus felt rich and important.

The only kind of religion that God accepts is pure and undefiled religion that represents Him. (James 1:27)  It shames the Church of Jesus Christ when Christians strive and work for luxuries while others go naked, hungry and homeless. Jesus made it very clear in His teachings that what is hidden in the heart is revealed by what we do outwardly for or against others, or in neglect of. He reminded His followers that nothing would please the Father more than that they become rich towards God.  When we offer ourselves to God to be used by Him in any way – we give to God what pleases Him most - our will and body. This is the only sacrifice God is satisfied with for it displays that we are truly thankful for what Jesus did for us.

Over the year I have learned over and over again that when I’m feeling depressed or just moody - the way I overcome this feeling is doing something for someone else. “The joy of the LORD is my strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10) Nothing gives the LORD more joy than when He can reach out to someone through us. This is why when we give to the one the LORD has put on our heart – we feel joy.   

Children who grow up taking more than giving are miserable people and the most hateful of all people.  It is the parent’s responsibility to sow this quality of cheerful giving into their children. If a child grows up with a parent who has a selfish heart towards them then they will do the same and probably be worse. Each generation consequently grows more wicked or more righteous.  

“Godliness with contentment is great gain.”  (I Timothy 6:6)   A discontented person never has anything to give away because he/she is never satisfied with what they have. A discontented wife and mother with ruin her own household and marriage. If we don’t use what God has blessed us with – to bless others, then we will lose His blessing. The more God gives us the more responsible we are to God. America has been given a lot from God because of her noble founders, but God has been reducing His blessing because godliness has diminished. Our government takes from the people to use as they please. We need godly leaders who will restore godly principles in this nation once again so that America can have God’s blessings return.

We need to feel godly conviction return to the churches of America. A nation is only as benevolent as its churches are in pure worship of God.  Jesus was never concerned for His own needs. He taught the disciples how to meet needs that went beyond their own resources. Jesus never ran out of supplies because of His dependence on His Father’s storehouse of provision.

“When he has more than he can eat, to feed a stranger is no feat.

Who gives but what he’ll never miss, will never know what giving is.

He’ll win few praises from the Lord who does but what he can afford.”

(Unknown Author)

The LORD showed me why He's calling His people into covenant with Him here in America. God knows best how easily we forget and fall away from Him. He has witnessed it all through the ages. Jesus told His disciples that they were to "remember" Him by having communion on a regular basis. We need to be reminded of all God has done for us and what He requires from us as well if we want to keep enjoying all His Fatherly benefits.

What does it mean and actually produce in us to make a covenant with the LORD? America's forefathers made a covenant with the LORD for this land and God blessed them for their faith and passionate love of Him and each other. The next generations were also blessed, those who carried on with their father's commitment to God and His standard. But, then men began to wander from the truth and fall away from the LORD to worship idols. They allowed the wicked to slowly take over and root all kinds of wickedness here in the land.

Wickedness in our land increased rapidly because God began to remove His favor from America. The "favor of God" is a powerful force! We see the full out evidence of this loss of favor with our good Constitution being ripped apart by our government leaders. America's leaders used to be strong followers of Jesus Christ who clung to the truth of God and held the nation accountable to it. They kept to His standard the best they knew how. They weren't perfect men, but they were passionate for God and His Kingdom.

America's first covenant with God has been broken by unfaithful men and women. This is why the LORD's people have been hearing Him call them to repentence and to making a renewed covenant with Him so that He can begin to show His favor on this nation once again. This nation belongs to the LORD and His people. All the nations belong to the LORD. It will be the Church of the Living God who makes the necessary and right changes, first in their own personal lives and then out in the communities in which we live. We are given the full anointing of His Holy Spirit for this and so we should walk in truth, courage, peace, love and all the power invested in us. All things belong to the servants of the LORD because HE says so.

"Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, and to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, declares the LORD.....The time is coming when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers....because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them, declares the LORD."  Jeremiah 31: 27-32

Each generation of the LORD's people need their own personal and passionate covenant with the LORD. They cannot live off the faith of their fathers and mothers. Each man will die for his own sins. (Jeremiah 31:30) Each man must go to the LORD for mercy and  forgiveness. Each person will stand on their own before the LORD for what they did or didn't do with the Name and Word of the LORD.   

Our LORD Jesus Christ came from the line of Judah and that is why He is called the LION OF JUDAH as well as the Lamb of God. As believers and followers of Jesus Christ we are in HIS LINE - of the house of Judah. We've mostly heard of Him as the Lamb and Savior of the world, but He is preparing His people for the other side of who HE IS - the CONQUERING KING.  Our KING of kings and LORD of lords is preparing His army - even in our day. 

Beloved, have you made a covenant with the LORD, one that you have remained faithful to? If not, now's the time to renew your vows to Him. He's coming sooner than you think!