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The Most Important Love

10/3/2025

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I always feel bad that it takes me so long to write again.  It is not based on time but health. I also have to let what the Lord is teaching me to marinate in my heart, mind and soul. I know I focus a lot on what Jesus said about the 2 greatest commandments.  I am just realizing over the past 3 1/2 years it is a massive key.  After salvation, which is putting our faith and trust in what Christ did on the cross to pay for our debt of sin against a Holy and Righteous God, the 2 greatest commandments are the next most important thing Jesus talked about because it sums up all of His teachings.  Jesus' work on the cross is the only reason why God would have a relationship with us because He doesn't see our sin He sees Christ's blood and Christ's Righteousness that covers us. At salvation, Christ takes out our heart of stone that no matter how hard we tried we could never be "good enough" and gave us a heart of flesh which allows us to walk in obedience to Him.  It is not an obedience like you will be treated harshly if you messed up but it is a freedom to enjoy the Savior - Jesus and walk with Him. I came to Christ when I was 7 years old and I was baptized at 10. I have walked with my Savior 44 years. He has been an amazing Savior and LORD. He is very gentle when he corrects me.  He has carried me when I could not walk myself because my heart hurt too much. He has strengthen me when I was too scared.  I have been a student of His Word since I was 14.  As a student I just looked to Him to teach me.  Yes, I went to a Christian high school and University.  The University you walk out with a Bible minor. When I had to study the Bible as a text book I didn't like it. It wasn't the subject it was the result of treating the Bible as a textbook.  It made it seem like any other book instead of the living book that it is. Also I started seeing how humanity complicated living for Christ or what it even meant to be a Christian. I kept thinking this is not what Christ meant. 
I don't know about you, but sometimes I wish I could time travel to the past.  One of the times I would time travel to would be when Jesus was on the earth. I know I have His Word but I wanted to see how Jesus lived in real time.  I have just felt that everything Jesus said to the disciples and to us through the Bible went in everyone's one ear and out the other. Is living the Christian life about if you show up every time the church doors are open or how many ministries you are apart of or how many Bible Studies you are in?  Is it about how pious you can be or how strict of a life you can lead?  To be totally frank, I believe that the churches are often the biggest stumbling blocks to people seeing our amazing Savior.  They are too caught up in themselves that they forgot who it is about. It is about the Lord Jesus Christ!  After a person sees their need of this amazing Savior obedience is simplistic yet difficult. The obedience is to love God with all of your heart, mind, soul and strength and then love your neighbor as yourself. It will influence every aspect of your life.  It is difficult because self and pride gets in the way and people can hurt.  I love the Italian language because words that in English you have sermons to explain the difference of words used in the Greek, in Italian not so much. Take the word love used in John 21:15-19 in America I have heard several sermons on the love differences because in English we have one word for love is love. In Italian, it is not necessary to have a sermon on explaining the differences in the word love because Italian has many words for love for different levels of love. In verse 15 when Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him in Italian they use "mi ami" an intimate love.  Peter answers with "Ti voglio bene" -  it still means love but not as intimate but it is used with family and friends. It is still a beautiful word that should be used the most in our lives. Eventually, Jesus used "Ti voglio bene". The Lord loves us utterly and completely.  No human will ever fill that spot.  We think a spouse will fill the void we feel, but they won't.  If you listen to some people's wish list for a spouse you think there is only one that can be all of that and his name is Jesus and He is perfect. A spouse will come short.  Only Christ can satisfy our hearts.  With the love of Christ then you can properly and truly love the other people in your life. Then you can "ti voglio bene" others without expectation and without conditions.  You will love people out of joy of loving them not to have them fill you or complete you. The Lord Himself causes our hearts to beat again.  If believers stop trying to be "good Christians" and just instead enjoy loving Christ and others I believe the Holy Spirit would be free to work amazing wonders in us all. To some, it may seem that I am making it too simplistic. Take the two greatest commandments then go throughout scripture and list every command and see if they do not fit in one or the other or both.  Even the commands about how to deal with leprosy would fall under loving others. We, as followers of Christ, need to focus on loving purely, with NO Motives, others with "ti voglio bene". Jesus draws all men unto Himself. He doesn't need me to do that He needs me to love Him and others with a genuine and sincere love.  He desires me to draw near to Him by reading His Word and praying.  We don't read the Bible and pray to be a "good Christian".  We read and pray to feed our heart, soul, and mind.  We read to understand our Savior's heart and to gain that heart. It is sad when you see more love and compassion from the world for someone than the church. That needs to change or many will be in the same condition as Matthew 7:21-23 when people said Lord, Lord didn't we do this and that in Your name and he said depart from me I never knew you. In Italian they have 2 words for know Sapere and Conoscere. Sapere is to know facts and Conoscere is use to know a person, like you know your friend.  Jesus uses Conosciuti. (Conoscere). There is nothing more beautiful than to know (Conoscere) and be known (Conoscere) as to love (amare) and be loved( amare) by the Lord Jesus our Savior and Creator.  May loving Christ and others be the theme of our hearts.  It won't be done perfectly and we will fail often but it should be the direction, desire and goal or our hearts and lives. 
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Meditations on the Scriptures

8/4/2025

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Reading the Bible through in a year is a common thing that is encouraged in a lot of churches in America. I have tried doing this several times and would get about 6 to 7 months in and quit and instead choose a book of the Bible that I wanted to study.  This may sound like a minor frustration, but I had a hard time with most reading plans because they have dates such as January 1, 2, 3, etc. Anyone with autoimmune diseases will know that is stressful because some days you can't read through the whole reading because the brain decides it doesn't want to comprehend that day. I didn't want the point to be "I read through the Bible in a year" but I wanted to absorb what I was reading otherwise it is pointless. The plan I am doing is different because you read in 7 different books of the Bible in one week. 1 from the Pentateuch, 1 from historical literature, 1 from poetry, 1 from wisdom literature, 1 from the prophets, 1 gospel, and 1 epistle.  There are no dates, so I probably won't finish in a year, but it has been amazing!
What I have seen is that there is no doubt that the Bible is consistent all the way through. I just want to share some of the things that I have been meditating on that I have seen throughout my reading. We serve a God that is amazing. He has so many facets through His attributes. The Lord tells us who He is through the Scriptures. I am just going to list some of them but the full list is much bigger than this. God is Love, Righteous, Holy, Gracious, Just, Merciful, Judge, Omnipresent, Omniscience, Omnipotent, Provider, Self-Sufficient, Sustainer, Protector, Immutable, Creator, Savior, Great High Priest, King, Lion of Judah, etc.. The reader sees these facets of God as he reads the Bible.  The attributes of God are seen starting in Genesis.

I have seen that God desired that His people would love Him and that love for God is demonstrated by obedience.  This is evident through the whole Bible.  God displayed this desire for the children of Israel's love first in the Old Testament. Their rejection of God and His Word was the main reason the Northern 10 tribes of Israel were taken by the Assyrians and the 2 tribes of the Judah were taken by the Babylonians. The worse part is that the children of Israel tried to do the cocktail of belief.  They tried to add their worship of the idols, mysticism with their worship of God.  God called that type of behavior as being a spiritual whore. Ezekiel 23:1-4 Describes two sisters who played the whore in Egypt who gave birth and are to represent Israel and Judah and explains why He punished them.  God continues His desire for His children to love Him by sending Jesus to die on the cross and removing the heart of stone and giving the heart of flesh that He said he would do in Ezekiel 36:26-27.  Jesus continues by telling us He loves us and for us to abide in His love. John 15:9-13
While I have been reading throughout the Bible I finally comprehend why there is the narrow gate and the wide gate in Jesus teaching (Matthew 7:13-14) The narrow gate is those that come to Christ with childlike faith in what Christ did on the cross and walking through this life with a childlike dependency on Jesus for everything. It is understanding it is about truly loving Christ more than anything and anyone else.  It is NOT about how many ministries and Bible Studies you do or how hard you work at gaining the fruit of the Spirit and the Beatitudes. When you are focused on Christ and Him alone and drawing near to Him through His Word the by-product IS conformity to Christ, the fruits of the Spirit being evident in the life, and a heart that reflects the Beatitudes, humility and more of the mind of Christ Phil 2:5.  The by-product is for the benefit of others NOT yourself. The Wide Gate is not just religions that are works based and those that believe to live for yourself and the here and now but even many that go to evangelical churches that know the truth and do a lot things for the name of Christ.  From studying the Scriptures I am seeing that some are just missing the point.  The whole goal or point is enjoying Christ as our greatest treasure or the pearl of Great price. When you focus on the conformity to Christ as a goal the by-product is self-righteousness, pious behavior, arrogance, as well as legalism. The reason is we aren't abiding in Christ we are trying to conform through rules and outward forces.  I think the Pharisees and Sadducees showed us that was NOT the right way as Jesus called them brood of vipers and white wash tombs and of their father the Devil.    
When we understand what is to be the focus of our heart our joy is made full.  It is no longer about making a name for ourselves in ministries or even listing our ministries to people in conversation because it honestly doesn't matter because that is not where our worth lies.  Our worth lies in Christ.  Pastors will begin approaching their job with humility realizing they are just custodians of Christ's flock. The people in their church are not their flock because they did not die for them, Christ did and Christ saves people from the punishment for their sins. There job is to teach and care for the people - shepherd. People would be free to truly have a deep sincere love for one another because piousness, competition, and clicks, are gone. In Scripture we see He doesn't need us at all. We need to understand that! God is self-sufficient.  The fact He USES any of us is humbling. Enjoy and love the Lord everyday.  He is truly amazing!
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Trials for the Glory of God

4/17/2025

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It has been awhile since I have written.  It has been a hard season for me.  We can now say we have officially been in Italy for 3 years.  This has been my hardest late fall, winter, early spring since we have come to Italy. The pain level has been at a level I cannot tune it out and that would be above a 5 on the pain scale. Once we get to May I should start to feel better, Lord willing. Trials come in all shapes and sizes. Most of life is annoyances, which oddly enough try us the most.  In reality, they are pebbles in our shoe.  The more annoying the bigger pebble. :)  As followers of Christ we tend to handle the big trials better, almost with a quiet resignation of, this is the Lord's Will and hope to reflect Him to the best of our ability. It helps if we feel that the trial is a short term trial.  The hardest is when the trial is long term or life long.  A person goes through seasons with that type of trial. Sometimes it can be handled well with a positive outlook and resting in the Lord and sometimes the season gets weary and burn out happens. It can feel lonely and be overwhelming. How should trials be handled?  
Where I live, oddly enough, some of the churches are not really keen on you showing you are struggling or state how you are feeling.  I have not figured out why since I have seen Italians be very emotional on a lot of things, though none of the emotion is on personal things.  It is almost as if they expect a smile or everything to be fine with you personally or keep it to yourself.  It is almost as if, you telling what is really going on and showing the emotion is a lack of faith in God or trusting Him.  One thing is clear they do NOT want to hear about it.  It is not just in Italy though it is also in America.  I have had people walk away in both countries because I answered their question with honesty though not totally in full revelation. They wanted, "I am good. How are you?"   I had a lady reprimand me for crying because the trial was overwhelming and told me I am to rejoice in everything.  I guess in her mind you cannot rejoice and cry at the same time. :)  Yet, as I am reading through the Bible in a year I see emotions all of the time.  The people were raw in how they were feeling.  Job is one that comes to mind.  God never judged him for how he felt.  He wished he was never born and that death would hurry up and come.  I would say most people who struggle with pain on a daily basis has felt that from time to time when the volume of the pain is a 8 to 10 for days.  Even without pain you just feeling hideous day in and day out.  Or Joshua being afraid?  You know how many times in that book God said to Joshua "do not be afraid or be dismayed for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9)  Moses was so insecure that God had to bring Aaron to help him and reassure Moses that He will give him the words to say. Elijah was so depressed and discouraged that he just wanted to die. "But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree.  And he asked that he might die, saying, "It is enough, now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers." (I Kings 19:4) We also see emotion in the Psalms of lamenting and depression though in a lot of them they end with the psalmist praising God.  God knows that life is hard and painful.  He created us to be emotional. 
The exciting news is we have an amazing Savior! "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.  Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:15-16)
First, we get to run to the Lord Jesus!  I have begged Him to help me in English and Italian when I am just too overwhelmed. :D  He truly is the only one to help. I do not necessarily pray to have the trial removed.  I pray for His strength through the trial as well as that He may receive the glory through it.  As a believer, we want people to not see us but the reflection of our amazing Savior. If Christ gets glorified by our trial than it is so worth it.  When we go through a trial and get to share with someone what the Lord is doing through it, conforming us to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29), or how He met us in a time of need, what a privilege!   
As a church what should we do?  Listen and care and stop judging people!  People may "look" like everything is fine with them and their family or that they are healthy, but in reality they may be one string from falling apart.  Galatians 6:2 - Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Philippians 2:1-5 "So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.  Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.  Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.  Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus," People in the church do not need you to quote the reference Romans 8:28 or some other verse when someone is going through a trial.  They need you to genuinely care.  We are suppose to be a family not a social group to make ourselves feel good and check a box that we went to church. Please never look at others as a "ministry opportunity"!  Look at the people in the church as your flesh and blood brothers and sisters that you will spend eternity with. Remember the blood of Christ is thicker than the blood of family because Christ died for us and we live through and in Him. We are to love one another with a genuineness of heart.  There should not be clicks or competition in a church.  There is no place for that.  We as a church, a family, need to come along side people that are struggling and shoulder up under their burden.  It gets tiring to carry the trial silently. We do not get Brownie Points from God for doing that.  I have mentioned in other blogs that to obey the whole Bible we need to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and love our neighbor as ourselves or as Christ loved us which fulfills all of the law and the prophets.  It will take us a life time and we cannot do it on our own and we won't do it perfectly, but those of us that are in Christ by accepting Him as our Savior have the Holy Spirit that helps us.
The trial is not just for the person going through the trial. The trial is for everyone that is connected with that person. For everyone that is connected with that person will be seeing the glory of God through it as you see what He does in that persons life, as you pray for them, as you shoulder up with them to help them carry this burden.  All in the end will be praising the amazing God we serve. The ones that benefit the most are the ones that their eyes are off of themselves and paying attention to what God IS doing. You don't have to go on a mission trip to see God in action.  You just need to be tuned into God and paying attention. Those going through the trial...keep fighting the good fight of the faith to the glory and honor of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Remember it is okay to feel and at times feel deeply. Lean in to Jesus even more on those days. :)  May God be glorified and honored in all of our trials.
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The Greatest Love Story

12/5/2024

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We live in a country were romance and sex is king and yet it is all fleeting.  It is the living for the here and now. The enjoying of the moment or as Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 1:14 "I have seen everything that is done under the sun and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind."  We also have celebrities and other famous people talking about their marriage as the greatest love story.  Then some of those end in divorce.  There is a great love story and no I am not going to go to Songs of Solomon. :)  Marriage is to be a reflection, though imperfectly, of Christ and the church.  Christ's love for us is the greatest love story that there is.  It is because of His love that we can truly love others.  
It started in the Old testament with the children of Israel.  God chose Israel.  Deuteronomy 7:6-9 "For you are a people holy to the LORD your God.  The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.  It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.  Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations."  The Lord was truly patient with Israel. They grumbled against the Lord when they were discontent.  They even built an idol and said a statue freed them from Egypt. God could have destroyed them but he didn't. He sustained them through the 40 years of the desert. They would disobey Him.  God just wanted them to love Him with joy. Deuteronomy 28:47 "Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things,"  He knew that would not happen until they have a circumcise heart or a new heart. Deuteronomy 30:6 "And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul that you may live."  The book of Leviticus points to the consequence of sin through the sacrificial system.  It is really fascinating if you want to study it. It is also good to study the book of Hebrews right after that.  The rest of the Old testament points to that one who will sit on the throne of David for all eternity (Luke 1:32-33; Revelation 22:16) and is the Great High Priest (Hebrews 7:24-25; 9:24-25) and the Lamb of God that was our sacrifice once and for all. (Isaiah 53; Hebrews 7:27). 
This holiday season we will be focusing on the birth of this amazing person - Jesus, the Son of God.  The one the whole Old Testament points. Jesus said it clearly that he came first to the children of Israel.  When I was little I use to ask my mom, "How much do you love me?" .  My kids asked me as well and you would try and show them and finally you make the infinity sign.  I had a poster that was to that affect.  I had it in my locker at school. The difference is it said "Jesus said, 'This much.' and he stretched out His arms and died."  He came to redeem Israel as He had promised throughout all of the Old Testament. Many came to faith in Christ in Israel after Christ rose from the grave.  Many Jews are still coming to Christ.  I have a friend name Jason.  He is a Jew who came to faith in Christ.  He calls himself a complete Jew.  The best part of this love story is we who are Gentiles were not abandoned or exclude.  He sent Paul to be the apostle to the Gentiles to tell US the Good News so that we too can be apart of the promises.  (Romans 11:18-19)  We have been grafted into the root of the tree that belongs to Israel.  We are not less than Israel.  We are just a different display of God goodness and grace.  Ephesians 2:13- "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." 
Because of God's love for Israel and His covenants with Abraham and David we have been able to see God's faithfulness to His promises and we, Gentiles, are included because we are in the Abrahamic covenant through the blessing of the many nations and peoples. Jesus demonstrated His love by dying on the cross for my sins and yours and giving us His righteousness. He not only redeems those who put their faith and trust in His work on the cross but he sanctifies us. Romans 8:29 He walks through this life with us and promised never to leave us nor forsake us. His love lasts for all eternity.  He heals our wounded and broken hearts Psalm 34:18.
The world's offer of "love" especially in today's world is the biggest scam that has been perpetrated on humanity. God's offer of love is the only one that truly satisfies the heart. Marriage is a gift from God, but a spouse will not satisfy the heart's deepest desire nor will children.  When we look to our spouse or children to fulfill that need of love we will be disappointed and get frustrated or they become idols that they were never meant to be.  Friends are equally a gift from God but even that love will not satisfy the longing of the heart. All of God's gifts are precious and adds brilliance to our lives, but it does not replace our need for Christ.  Jesus came to this world 2,000 years ago to seek and save the lost. It is a beautiful thing when Jesus, the Good Shepherd, loves us to finds us, opens our eyes, gives us a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26-27),  and we finally come HOME and rest in our Lord & Savior Jesus.

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Why Do We Need to Read & Study the Bible?

10/31/2024

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Why do we read the Bible? To be fair many don't read the Bible. They often rather read books about the Bible than read the Bible.  They think that the Bible is boring.  They obviously have not really read it. Why Should we read the Bible or better yet why do we Need to read and study the Bible? Is it to become a Christian? No, reading the Bible does not save you.  Reading the Bible can lead you to salvation but the exercise of reading the Bible does not save you. Is it to be a good Christian? No, you will not get points with God or pats on the back for reading the Bible.  There are many that have a lot of knowledge of the Bible.  They can even translate the Bible from their spoken language to the original languages and back.  They can give chapter and verse on things, but unless the Word of God sinks deeper than the head it will not transform a person.  So, why do we NEED to read and study the Bible? 
Once a person repents of their sins and turns to Christ and puts their faith and trust in Christ and His work on the cross alone for their salvation, they become a new creation.  No longer do they have the heart of stone but now they will have a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26-27  The Christian wants to truly know this God he has chosen to serve and follow for the rest of time and beyond.  Yes, you can learn things about God through creation but you truly learn about God through the scriptures. God is not whatever you want Him to be in your mind. People like to think of God as Love and more like a permissive parent.  Is a permissive parent though truly showing love?  God is love but He is so much more. Psalm 119 is a beautiful psalm. Most people when they talk about this Psalm only focus on the psalmist love for Your Word, Your precepts, the Book of the Law, your testimonies, etc. The thing that I love about Psalm 119 is that in that psalm you see in the midst of his constant adoration for the Book of the Law he tells of his painful trial.  What gets him through that trial is the Word of God and God Himself.   Remember the psalmist didn't have all 66 books of the Bible.  He had the Pentateuch, which are the first 5 books of the Bible Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.  Three of those books are historical narrative and two law (Leviticus - Laws for the Levitical priesthood and Deuteronomy - Law for the people)  These are the books that the psalmist was continually praising God for. You can learn a lot about God from these books.  God is holy, righteous, just, merciful, gracious, omnipotent, loving, full of compassion, judge, omniscient, a God of order, precise, omnipresent, full of wisdom, and so much more.
We need to read and study the Bible to grow spiritually.  Just reading and studying the Bible doesn't grow you it is meditation on the Scriptures.  Allowing the Word of God to sink to your heart.  The Word of God is living book.  Meditations is a popular idea in the world but it involves the emptying your mind of stressing by focusing on things such a breathing or a purposeful thought.  The Biblical meditating on the Word of God is as you are reading the Word you dwell on what you have read and let it fill you mind more importantly letting it fill your heart.  Pray God's Word back to Him, especially His promises. It is like letting the Word of God marinate in your mind and heart.  Over time the Word of God begins to transform you from the inside out.  You begin to see the world from God's perspective not the world's.  The  focus of your heart and life is about living no longer for yourself but for your Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Reading and studying the Bible is where you get your spiritual food. Charles Spurgeon said to always make your home in the Word of God.  I have nothing against books. When my kids were little.  After reading the Bible I really didn't have much time to read.  I thought since I don't have much time to read to read Christian living books and learn something. I did learn.  I have nothing against books.  They are never to replace the Word of God.  The Bible is like you main meal, books are like a healthy desert, and blogs like snacks.  A diet though of just Christian living books will leave a weak Christian.  The Bible is the living book not the Christian books about the Bible. 
Lastly, you need to read and study the Bible to know the truth. There are so many counterfeit preachers, teachers, teachings, ideas, and other religions.  The Bible is the measuring stick of truth.  If it doesn't line up then a red flag should come up in your mind. Be like the Bereans Acts 17:10-15.  Weigh everything to the Scriptures.  I heard in a Bible Study I was in a guy say we are not to be fruit inspectors with fellow Christians but I beg to differ Matt 7:15-20 says we are.  It is not to pound each other in judgement but it is in regards to teachers of the Word of God.  It is how you will discover a false teacher that is teaching false doctrine. You need to know the scripture to not be lead astray. We need to be rooted and abiding in Christ John 15:1-17.  How do we abide in Christ by having His Word abide in our hearts.  The more you are in the Word and spending time with Christ in prayer we are drawing near to our Savior.  Our hearts run over with joy as we draw near to the Lord Jesus. John 15:11.  There is no greater joy or love than what we have in Christ.  The closer we get to Christ the more we see the big scam that the world and its system is and have no taste for it.  
My desire is for every Christian to be in the Bible and growing in the grace of God and the Lord's Word renews their hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

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Year 2 Update

5/26/2024

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It is hard to believe that we have been in Italy for 2 years already. It has been 2 years since March 31st. So, I will be starting from April 1st 2023.  We are always learning here.  Adamo tried last year to grow a garden to try and reduce the cost of the grocery bill, but we found the water was really expensive.  It is cheaper to buy from the grocery store.  He still grows his herbs.  In May, three of us finished up language school for the year and had to take tests.  Culture shock hits us all at different times and with different intensities.  It seems to hit when we are going through a tough time.  Our son was really struggling in May through middle of June.  I was struggling as well but differently than my son.  I was more burned out and exhausted from school, expectations, and helping my son. In June, Adamo and I decided to take a break from life and focus on our family and our health. It was the best decision we could have made.  The break lasted until October 1st.  The past 2 years were so stressful we needed to stop.  Adamo and I walked a lot. We walked though out the day and it was between 4 miles on a slow day and up to 10 miles on a good day.  I had lost all of the weight that I had gained from medications, surgeries, and stress. We had a great time talking.  It was so helpful to help us process all that we have been through.  In July, my name was officially changed in Italy to Lentini like in the USA.  It makes transferring medical records much easier if everything is the same. In August, we finally found our families happy place.  The boys wanted to go to the beach so bad because they had not been to the beach before.  Three of the boys were born in Los Angeles but they were too little to remember the ocean and Leonardo was born in Colorado.  I didn't want to go to Viareggio because I just don't like it.   We decided to go visit Camaiore then go to Lido di Camaiore.  Well, I missed the turn to go to the center of Camaiore.  The boys just wanted to go to the beach so we went.  We loved it at Lido di Camaiore.  We went 3 more times. We had so much fun as a family swimming in the sea together!  If we could afford it we would move there. :)  In September, is when Adamo got pulled over for the smog check on the car.  Adamo didn't know when it was due.  In the process he got another ticket for the fact that he had been a resident for over 1 year and didn't have his Italian license.  Thankfully they did not impound the car.  They took his American license.  We found out we could not drive the car.  It was a blessing in disguise and the Lord had been preparing us for this.  All of the walking we had done helped us a lot.  We were in much better shape to be walking everywhere.  It also motivated us to work on getting our license.  If that hadn't happened we would have been too comfortable to make us study.   The down side is that it did take a toll on my health.  Yes, I was in better health and shape but I was using so much energy just to get from point A to point B that I would hit high levels of fatigue and flare often.  October we had to put Leonardo in school.  It is legal to homeschool but until he is 16 he would have to do the end of the year test and it is in Italian.  I knew I could not get him prepared enough to pass it. Putting your kids in school here is a process.  It was definitely a hard mom moment.  We had also gotten bicycles to help with getting to destination faster.  Well....it cured me from ever wanting to drive a moped.   I had a teacher in my language school who was frustrated with bicyclists one day and said they should be licensed.  I think if he was behind me he would hate me. :)  To ride a bicycle you have to not care about anything.  The problem is I care too much.  I know the mindset of drivers about bicyclist so I feel bad to be on the road and I just want to get off the road and not be in their way.  Adamo told me with that attitude I would get myself killed. Well......I fell 2 times once in the lane of traffic thankfully a bus was stopped blocking the lane of traffic, almost hit a car and a car almost hit me.  The car almost hitting me was in Viareggio and I was trying to get to the train station.  We had gone there to get a tax ID for the association.  After almost getting hit, when I got home I gave my bicycle to my son. In the Fall, Adamo had so many issues with his teeth and infections.  He was on Antibiotics for months.  Not a good thing for the liver.  He had oral surgeries. Now we are not wanting the dentist to give him any more meds and will have a natural doctor take care of him.  Starting December through March, we had viruses. It felt never ending.  In January, the son I gave the bicycle, got rear ended by a car. Thankfully, he is fine.  It was just his knee that got hurt from being thrown from the bicycle. The back light had stopped working. In April, Adamo's best friend past away from cancer.  Our kids called him Uncle Eric. It was really hard for them.  In May, I finally passed the theory test for driving.  We have 2 more needing to pass. When I lived in the States I never understood why people would tell us don't even think of ministering for the first 2-3 years.  I get it now.  It is a lot.  We keep our eyes on the Lord Jesus for He and He alone are we loyal.  People interchange loyalty and faithfulness.  They are similar, but loyalty includes allegiance and for me personally, that can only be to Christ for He is Holy and True and all others are not.  Others can lead you the wrong way.  For me, I am a faithful wife, friend, sister in Christ, mom but loyal to the Lord Jesus and because of it I can be honest.    We will see what the Lord Jesus has in store this next year in Italy.  His is our Shephard and He is the one who leads us and shows us where to go and what to do.  There is no better life than a life lived for Him. 
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This World is Desperate for Hope

1/22/2024

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I have been thinking about hope.  I looked on 'The World Meters' and so far in 2024 there have been 63,862 and counting suicides. It saddened my heart that those people had no hope to keep going in their lives. I went for a walk to contemplate the gravity of people living without hope and I was listening to Christian music. I heard "People need the Lord" by Steve Green.  Listening to the words you would think that it was written today.  It was released in 1984 and not much has changed.  I believe that social media has only intensified the feeling of hopelessness with unrealistic expectations.
Hope is the desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment; someone or something on which hopes are centered; something desired or hoped for.(Webster's Dictionary) Hope is an amazing thing.  An example is when people that are stuck in the desert without water see a mirage have the hope of water and it keeps them going.  What are some things people put their hope in: jobs, money, spouse, kids, love, friends, government, religion.  When those things fail them there is a devastating affect on people.  Some can handle it but it can makes them angry and bitter and some can't.  It reminds me of Jesus' parable in Matthew 7:24-27.  Two men built a house. One built his house on the sand and the other on the rock. The one who built his house on the rock the storms came and pound the house and it was firm.  The one who built his house on the sand when the storms pound the house it fell and the Lord says in verse 27 "and it fell, and great was the fall of it."  If our hope is not built on something solid then when storms of life hit great is the fall.  
In the ESV version hope is mentioned 164 times.  The Old Testament saints had a hope that they were looking towards and the New Testament believers had that hope partial fulfilled but our hope is in the complete fulfillment of the Word of God.  Both the Old Testament and the New Testament believer's hope is in the same person Jesus Christ the Messiah.  In Jesus parable in Matthew 7:24-27, who is to be our foundation? Christ is to be our foundation.  1 Corinthians 3:11 "For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." - He alone is our hope.  What fascinates me is people who do not know Jesus as their Savior know that they have a void in their life.  They often think it will be filled when they find Mr. or Mrs. right.  Most romantic movies and books end at the wedding. If you try to fill the void with a spouse it doesn't usually go very well because they cannot meet your deepest need and disappointment quickly comes.  God made us to be worshipping people and that void or deepest need can only be met in Christ Himself. God gave a promise to Eve as God was cursing the serpent after she and Adam ate the fruit.  God said in Genesis 3:15 "I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring, he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel.."  Eve had hope.  That hope was fulfilled when Jesus Christ was born of a woman and born under the law.  He became the spotless lamb of God (Isaiah 53).  God laid on Jesus who was sinless our sin on Him and He bore God's wrath so that we could have that relationship with our Creator and Lord again.  The relationship that was lost in the garden.  When Jesus died on the cross and was buried and rose again he bruise the serpent's head.  Jesus conquered death and has given those that are His, life. The void in humanity's heart cannot be filled or satisfied by anything or anyone else other than Christ. Those that put their faith in what Christ did on the cross for them and trust Him are His children and have their hope rooted in Christ.  Heaven is not the reward of what a Christian looks forward to.  The reward is Christ Himself.  Mary Magdalene, the woman with the 7 demons, when Jesus cast them out of her she wanted to stay by her Savior.  In beautiful picture of how Jesus met her where she was at when she was feeling lost after his death and she was at the tomb.  John 20:16 "Jesus said to her, 'Mary' She turned and said to him in Aramaic, 'Rabboni!' (which means Teacher)"

I hope and pray that your hope is built on nothing less that Jesus' blood and righteousness. May you know the beauty of being truly satisfied in Christ.  The world is nothing more than a cheap trinket in a Cracker Jack box but Christ is like the hope diamond in comparison. If you haven't put your faith and trust in Christ alone may you trust Him today. He is our Hope!

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Christmas - One of the Greatest Miracles

12/22/2023

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Christmas is in three days. I have been pondering about what took place all those years ago. We all know that Jesus wasn't born on December 25th but I am thankful that a day has been set aside to be able to remember and celebrate Him.  Think about it, the second person of the Trinity set aside His glory and "taking the form of a servant being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." Philippians 2:7-8  He came as a baby and was born in a stable not a palace.  "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, 'born of a woman, born under the law,' to redeem those who were under the law so that we might receive adoption as sons." Galatians 4:4-6a Who did God give the birth announce to? Was it the very "important people" of the world?  No, the shepherds. Think about it, the shepherds got the birth announcement of The Good Shepherd. It seems perfect to me.  What an amazing birth announcement!  I wish I could have seen it. Luke 2:9-14 - "And an angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you; you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." And Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly host (In the NLT it says 'the armies of heaven') praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased."  Can you imagine seeing that many angles?  The joy and celebration for them as they were able to witness how God was going to redeem man and bring man back into a right relationship with Him.  Just thinking about this make my heart rejoice and praise God for what He has done. Jesus isn't just the baby in the manger.  He is the Creator of the universe.  He created you and me and yet He humbled Himself and became a baby to live and die for us, a rebellious and stiff neck people. Colossians 1:15-17 - "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things were created through Him and for Him and He is before all things and in Him all things hold together."  John 1:1-3 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made."  As you celebrate Christmas may you rejoice as the angels did.  It all culminates with Resurrection Sunday (Easter, Pasqua)!  What an amazing God we serve!  There is no greater joy than the Lord Jesus Christ!  May the Lord use each one of us to bring people to see the beauty of our Savior.
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The Tongue - It Holds Life and Death

11/27/2023

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This is an important blog. The tongue is a little member but can either bring life to someone or death. It may sound dramatic but you can go on social media and see the effects of the tongue on people every day. When I was in University one of my favorite classes was sociology.  It is the study of human behavior. People often confuse it with psychology which is the study of the human mind. I was fascinated that human behavior hasn't changed all through history.  That is why when Solomon says there is nothing new under the sun it was a true statement then and it is still a true statement today. The tongue is one topic that is heavily talked about in the Bible.  James 3: 6 " And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness.  The tongue is set among our members staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell."  Jesus said, "it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth this defiles a person."  In Proverbs there are so many verses that talk about the tongue how you can use it to build someone up or tear someone down.  The Bible talks about how in the later days men's hearts will be cold. We are seeing that. For a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ it should move our hearts as it did our Savior's heart when He wept. He wept not because Lazarus died but because of the unbelief of the people and how lost they were. 
What are the sins of the tongue?  Let's list some of them. There is gossip, which is a favorite among people and the most excused in the world even the church. There is lying which is a best friend of gossip. Gossip and lying often go hand in hand.  Why do people gossip? I think when it is opposite genders it is because they are vindictive that they can't have what they wanted. It can also be to save oneself from getting in trouble with someone else so he spreads a lie about an innocent person, so that person looks like the villain. When it is the same gender it is jealousy in its many shades. They put someone down to lift oneself up. The lying in the gossip is so deadly. It can destroy families, friends, cause people to loose their jobs.  One lie a man told to save himself because he broke a tribal's rule cost 5 missionaries their lives. Jim Elliot, Nate Saint and the other 3 just wanted to get to know the people and become friends and the man to save himself told a lie that their intentions were not good but evil. The 5 men died and didn't understand why the tribe was attacking them. 
Lying about people is just hideous.  The only motive is one of utter selfishness and self serving.  The other sins of the tongue are using the tongue for abusing others. Tearing them down and making people feel worthless.  We have all been at the hands of the evilness of the tongue. In todays world I believe there are more introverts than extraverts. You go in any church you find very few people that go out of their way to welcome people they don't know. They usually stay with who they know. Very few are interested in really getting to know new people. The majority of the people are not born reserved. People become somewhat introverted because of people's tongues have hurt them so much they pull away from people. Church should be the one place people feel safe to love one another and encourage one another an yet it is not. The tongue is not just praising God in the Church but also in the same breath tearing down through gossip. This shouldn't be.  You know when it happens because people begin to pull away and not want anything to do with you. More people have left the church because they didn't feel they belonged.  I have read comments on social media. There are so many people hurting.  Some just plain say they hate people. Some say they have built their wall so high to not let people in to hurt them again.  Some don't even spend time with friends because they don't want the pain.  I get it because the pain can be deep. I don't even have the precise enough words to describe the pain. I do know I have experience 10+ pain physically many times and for me I prefer physical over the deep emotional pain. The feeling is like someone is physically ripping your heart out and the cry is raw and from the depths of your soul. No matter what pain you feel if it is from someone gossiping/lying about you or betraying you or verbally abusing you, you can allow yourself to feel the pain for a day or two but then you have to get up. You have to focus on Christ our Savior.  You can't stay in the prison of despair.  Find the keys of promise like Christian did in Pilgrims Progress. Two of mine is in Hebrews "I will never leave you nor forsake you."  Spurgeon said in the Greek it is so emphasized that it would be like, I will never never never leave you nor never never never forsake you. Jeremiah 31:3 "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you."  You have to get up and brush yourself off and keep moving forward.  When you drive you look out of the windshield.  You don't drive looking in the rear view mirror or you would crash. You do quick glances in the rear view mirror but your focus is the windshield.  That is life. You glance at the past. You focus on the future. Sometimes you can't get up. the Lord Jesus is there to help you get up and when you can't stand on your feet the Lord will carry you until you can stand on your feet again. The point is move forward and don't build the walls.  Building walls not only blocks out people that could hurt you but it also blocks blessings God would give you through people. It blocks people that would be the greatest joy in your life. Forgive those that hurt you even though they don't ask. Use your experience to use your tongue to bring healing to others. Keep your heart open to others.  Remember I said in a blog if we focus on keeping the two commandments it would take a life time. The sins of the tongue breaks loving others as Christ loved us. Sometimes we just don't have the love for others. We can ask God to give us the love to love others. You are not on your own. Jesus is right there. Run to him often.  He loves you more than any human can ever love you. More than a parent, sibling, spouse, child, or friend. Let your words bring life and refreshment to others. There are so many people that wish that someone would truly care them. Pray and ask the Lord who it is He wants you to encourage, befriend, and help and tell of the One who loves them more than they know. Ephesians 3:16-19 " that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his spirit in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith that you being rooted and grounded in love may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge , that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. "  Let us be salt and light for Christ.
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Giving Thanks on Thanksgiving!

11/19/2023

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I know that I am a few days early.  This year we are really looking forward to Thanksgiving.  We are told in Scripture to count our blessings Ps 103:2 "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." David repeatedly said how he would remember the Lord's works of old.  If we are to have a grateful heart all of the time why do we need to focus on being thankful to God on Thanksgiving? The answer is that holidays make us stop and focus on what we have, more than likely, taken for granted. If we really stop and think about what we have to be thankful for and write it down in a notebook I think we would have a page if not pages.
I remember one of my sons came to me with an entitled attitude and that was the last time he tried that. :)  He felt like he was entitled for me to give him something he wanted.  I reminded him that when we are born into this world we are entitled to one thing because we are born sinners.  We are entitled to hell. Everything from salvation to material things is a gift from God. The fact we wake up in the morning is a gift from God. We are not guaranteed to a long life.  God doesn't owe you an easy life or to give you all that you want. To say that we are entitled to hell is not a shocking statement and neither is it to say we are born sinners.  In reality, no one is pushed into sinning. People are by nature selfish and prideful all on their own.  No one teaches us to be selfish, to lie, to steal, to gossip, to be mean to someone and to not take responsibility for their actions and make it right.  We are having instead to teach children how to do what is right.  We are having to teach children to be honest, to be kind, to not gossip and how to ask forgiveness when they have done wrong. I mention this because the realization of this truth makes your list of what to be thankful even longer.  Especially if you have asked God to forgive you of your sins and thanking Jesus for paying for your sins with His blood.  Jesus took on Himself, who was sinless, your sins and was punished for them and gave you His righteousness so that you can have a relationship with your Creator and Lord. Romans 4: 24b "It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." When God looks at you He sees not your sins but Christ's righteousness.  You can never earn your way to salvation. It is a gift.  Ephesian 2:8-9 "For by grace you have been saved through faith. and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."   Deciding in your heart to follow Him all of the days of your life. Focusing on our salvation alone we can come up with a page of things to be thankful for. 
We have a choice we can focus on all the disappoints in our lives and what we don't have or we can focus on all that the Lord has given.  For instance, you may not be in your dream job but you can be thankful that you have a job and you can pay your bill and have food on your table.  You may be eating beans and rice everyday for a month but you can be thankful there is food on your table. People criticize the children of Israel when they grumbled against the Lord because they were eating manna for every meal in Exodus 16:3.  We honestly need to be quiet.  Pay attention to your family after Thanksgiving when the turkey shows up in meal after meal for days or weeks. :)  
The point of this post is to say we have a lot to be thankful for because we serve an awesome God who loves us and sustains us in every sense of the word 'to sustain'.   May this Thanksgiving cause your heart and the hearts of your family to overflow in thanksgiving to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for all that He has done from saving us to caring for us in the everyday needs to the people in your lives. Friends and family are also a gift from God.  Let us enjoy celebrating and remember our Great God this Thursday!  Happy Thanksgiving from Lentini family!! :)
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    Sonya Lentini a wife and mother of 4 young men and a servant of the Lord Jesus

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