“And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people…and I have come down to deliver them..(Exodus.3:7-8)
The snow was accumulating here in Ohio and that meant I had to get out and start shoveling it – and I don’t mean just my sidewalk and drive. In order for my 3 dogs to get out into the backyard, I had to shovel pathways in my grass! That is backbreaking work so you know I have to love them to do it. But then, that is a choice I make to keep them happy.
Our lives are a series of priorities. We choose what we will do and what we are unwilling to do. You usually put your best efforts doing what is important to you. As this year comes to a close, you may reflect on all that has touched your life and how it made a difference. Some things were good and maybe some of it was not so good. You may have gone through a trial that still is giving you pain. You can choose to allow your problems to keep you down or you can surrender them to Christ and allow Him to work them out for your good. In this life filled with trouble, the only way to have true joy in your life is by understanding that you are here for God’s purpose and plan and that he alone holds your future.
Without a doubt, the days are filled with darkness and there is evil all around us. The Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Thess. 2:9-10 that, “The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved”. My friends, we are witnessing the signs that Christ is getting ready to return. To those who have put their trust in him, there is nothing to fear in this perishing world. You just need to keep your eyes on him and know that he is with you. The redeemed of Christ can never be destroyed. We have the assurance of a lasting peace and joy that will never end.
Those who are struggling and trying to carry their own burdens, I pray that you will not let another day go by without asking Christ to come into your heart. He is the answer to every problem and heartache you face and he has a way to bring you joy in the midst of every conflict. Religion can’t save you. Only a relationship with Christ can give you eternal life. In John 11:25, Jesus said, ” I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.” Jesus is the only way! ” There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. “(Acts 4:12) Jesus has broken every bondage and chain that keeps you from having victory over all that comes against you.
The man of God, D.L. Moody wrote, “There isn’t an evil within or without but what He will deliver us from if we let Him. That is what He wants to do. As God said to Moses, “I have come down to deliver.” If He could deliver three million slaves from the hands of the mightiest monarch on earth, don’t you think He can deliver us from every besetting sin, and give us complete victory over ourselves, over our temper, over our dispositions, over our irritableness and peevishness and snappishness? If we want it and desire it above everything else, we can get the victory.” Without a doubt, there is nothing to hinder you from having all that God has for you if you choose to take him at his word.
I don’t know what the future holds for you or for me. I just know one thing and that is that Christ has the plan and He is not going to fail us. I am facing problems in my own life but they have no power to take me down or to destroy my future. I hope you understand that God will always be sovereign and in complete authority over all that happens in your life. It might seem like he is not with you but the truth is that in the silence of your situation, the great power of God is at work and he will bring you through it! Never give up hope.
My love and prayers are always for those who come to this site. May the peace of God give you joy and hope through Jesus Christ. He has made you a victor in all the battles you face. Stand your ground – the armies of God are with you now.
44 comments
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December 31, 2012 at 5:46 am
morgan502012
Happy New Year Marianne … Thank you for these words. They give great comfort and strength, as we head into a new year of a rapidly changing world that is testing us all. May the Lord bring peace, joy and hope for all, especially during the trying times. I don’t know anyone who is not affected spiritually mentally, physically, economically or psychologically and I pray for God to guide me in understanding, who to help, how to help and when to help. Thank you Marianne for the words you have given in the last year, the prayers offered, and the grace of each reply. Bless you. Susan
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December 31, 2012 at 8:35 am
Michael
Well said my sister, I want to say thank you for obeying God in writing this blog. As it has helped me and countless others in their time of difficulty. I pray for you continually. I praise God for the day when what God has already done for you manifests itself in your life. You teach others to stand strong, and trust God.
The enemy hates when you do this. For you are showing our brothers and sisters the truth and power of God’s word. As a child of the living God you already know this and I’m sure you expected it. As all those who choose to follow God should.
But there is no need to fear. God will never leave us nor forsake us! This is His promise. No matter what it looks like trust Him! He is God and cannot change. God allows trouble in our lives to teach us that He is the ONLY one that can help us.
Sadly, some never learn this because the enemy tricks them into believing that God’s word is not true. Or when the trouble is intensified they blame God and turn from Him. If only we would realize that this is exactly what he wants.
I encourage all of us that are struggling with something today to hold on to God’s unchanging hand. No matter what happens believe His word, praise Him, and know that He will do what He promised.
There are difficult times coming for those that are His. But He said that He will take care of us. I believe Him. I my prayer is that you will too.
Happy New Year to all!
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December 31, 2012 at 10:23 am
Linden Wolfe
Marianne,
Once again you have given us hope and comfort as you have shared truth. Thanks and prayers for you and your ministry. May God visit you in a powerful and special way during this coming year.
Linden
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December 31, 2012 at 10:26 am
Marianne Lordi
Linden, dear friend, I am so glad you stopped by. I pray that you will be blessed this New Year despite all that is going on in this world. You are a gifted writer and worker for the kingdom of God. Is has been a blessing to know you.
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December 31, 2012 at 10:27 am
Marianne Lordi
Hi Michael, thanks for your prayers and for always standing with me. You know the struggle I am in and I know that you truly care. I appreciate you, my brother. You help me to focus on the truth. I pray that you and your wife continue in the blessings of God. I am so glad he made us friends.
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December 31, 2012 at 10:30 am
Marianne Lordi
Susan, it is so nice of you to stop and encourage me with your words. That was such a gift to me today. I believe that God knows who to send to help lift me up. For that, I thank Him and I thank you. We are all struggling in some way but I hold onto the truth that our God knows how to bless us through every trial we face. May God bless you and your family this year, Susan. Thanks for being a friend.
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December 31, 2012 at 11:13 am
Jackson
Thanks for encouraging my heart with ablessing word.
My God bless you as we enter new year.
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December 31, 2012 at 11:17 am
Marianne Lordi
God bless you, also, Jackson. Let God keep you in his peace no matter what your circumstance!
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December 31, 2012 at 4:46 pm
Carol Ann Hoel
Your posts are very encouraging. Praises to our Immanuel. We are never alone. Blessings to you, Marianne…
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December 31, 2012 at 5:08 pm
Marianne Lordi
Thank you, Carol Ann. I appreciate you stopping and shairng your heart. We are nearing the end of this year but we shall never get to the end of Christ’s love and mercy. That is what keeps me going! May God bless you, also, dear sister.
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December 31, 2012 at 7:52 pm
Larry Who
Marianne, God bless you and may you be totally surprised by His goodness this year. Happy New Year.
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December 31, 2012 at 9:18 pm
Marianne Lordi
Happy New Year to you, my friend, Larry! Thank you for stopping. I am going to look for God’s goodness to unfold in my life this new year. He has always taken me through my struggles and now I am facing the hardest one of all. I guess I believe that if God is allowing it to happen he must have a purpose and a plan to make me stronger for having gone through it. He never fails. I appreciate your friendship, Larry. You are a true brother in Christ to me.
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January 1, 2013 at 9:37 am
Pat
Good morning Marianne and thanks for this wonderful encouragement,God does have it all together for us.I’m so glad that I know Jesus for myself,it really makes a difference in times like these.
Love you and “wow” the snow is beautiful!! 😀
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January 1, 2013 at 11:05 am
Anonymous
Dear Marianne,
I am a retired Pastor living in Eastern Oregon. I am so grateful to our Savior for your words of reassuring hope and love, which have come to me and my wife at the close of one of the most dificult years of our lives. The grace of our Lord is upon you, and the Savior has used you to renew my heart and restore my soul. Thank you dear lady of the Lord!
Pastor Ted
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January 1, 2013 at 12:11 pm
brother malachi
Happy New Yea Marianne. As Pastor Ted stated, your words (writings) are a source of encouragement in times of utmost needs. May the Lord continue to use you in this capacity.
God Bless
brother malachi
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January 1, 2013 at 12:23 pm
Marianne Lordi
Hi Pat, you know I am always happy when you show up, dear sister! Thanks for always being a friend. I wish you a blessed New Year and that God will do even more with the work that you do for him. Love you, Pat!
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January 1, 2013 at 12:29 pm
Marianne Lordi
Hi Pastor TEd,
I am so happy that God brought you here. I will pray for you, my brother. We both know that nothing is too big for our God! And Pastor, we also know that what God allows us to endure, he has a divine, deliberate reason. We don’t have to understand why he allows it because we understand Who he is! God has your back, my brother. He knows where he is taking you even if you are uncertain. He is not going to fail and that is the reason for our hope. I will keep you and your wife in my prayers, Pastor Ted. And please know that I am here for you. God has made all of his redeemed to be one family. No one is meant to carry his burden alone. God’s plan for your life cannot be stopped by any problems you face.
God bless you, my friend!
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January 1, 2013 at 12:46 pm
Marianne Lordi
Blessed New Year to you, too, Brother Malachi. Thanks for the kind words. I do appreciate you!
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January 1, 2013 at 9:04 pm
shamala sekhar
thanks for encouraging my heart with the words..i appreciate it.. i believe that God knows my pain of my heart and he will never leave me…
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January 1, 2013 at 9:16 pm
Marianne Lordi
Hi Shamala, I am sorry that you are carrying so much pain but remember that God has a plan for all that you go through. He is working something so much better for you if you can keep your eyes on him. It is hard, my friend, but if you surrender it to Christ, he will give you the strength to endure. I am praying for you, Shamala. Stay strong and let the truth keep you focused on God’s promises
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January 1, 2013 at 9:35 pm
missionaryman
Praise the Lord, sister! I am glad that God has kept you in the fight. Your words are like ointment to those of us who have trials and troubles. You are blessed, to recognize that the sovereign God controls all in His universe. I wanted to come here and wish you a Happy New Year. May God lift you up and provide all your needs, and that abundantly. I pray that 2013 will be your best year in Christ. I love you in Christ! Pray for me that He will guide and strengthen me.
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January 2, 2013 at 12:22 am
Marianne Lordi
Hi Charles, Happy blessed New Year to you also, my dear friend. I don’t know what is going to happen in 2013, but I know that God will be with me and take me trhrough it. He will do the same for you. I am praying for you, Charles. May you be healthy and filled with strength to do all that God has for you to do. You are a true friend, Charles. I am so blessed that God has brought us together to help build each other up.
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January 3, 2013 at 12:12 pm
Cry and Howl
I lived in Painesville, Ohio in around 1969 for about 6 months and I remember being knee deep in snow at first with no place to live (at that time I just bummed around the country). Glad I live in Ft. Worth, Texas almost 30 years now! No snow shoveling for ol’ Steve!
Hope you’re doing okay!
Oh, cute doggies!
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January 3, 2013 at 10:50 pm
Marianne Lordi
Hi Steve, so you had to come and rub it in about the cold weather here! I do really hate the winters. (The shoveling is going to break me. I’m too old for this stuff!) I didn’t miss it when I lived in California.
Thanks for stopping and glad you like my doggies. They are spoiled but I love them.
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January 5, 2013 at 9:22 pm
godsfingers
Cute kids, and Who is that hiding under the hat 🙂
The snow here in that pre-Christmas blizzard in middle Wisconsin got me. It took me 5 hours with my snow gobbling snow blower just to get from the house to the road ( I have a loooong drive ). As long as I could get out to the road I was good, so I decided to do the circle drive the next day…..maybe 😉 When I got in the house I found an email from the new youth pastor saying he had kids waiting to help anyone who needed help yet on their drives……can I hear a big AMEN 🙂 Got the drive finished, had pizza, fellowship and threw in “Facing the Giants” to finish.
Add to that, during the night the big plow came through and, of course, filled the end of the drive. But apparently one of the guys up the hill drove by and shoved the pile away…yeah!!! God is awesome in His provision in big AND little things. This was definitely a God moment because I’ve never asked for help before.
And yes, I had to shovel paths for my big baby too 😉
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January 5, 2013 at 9:29 pm
Marianne Lordi
Five hours with a snowblower, Dan? Wow, your drive sure is long! You were blessed to get that extra help to finish! My doggies sort of expect me to shovel all around the backyard for them before I go dig out the front. And yes that is me hiding like an old lady under the scarf and hat and big coat. I hate the cold! I am so much better in the summer! 🙂 I am such a wimp.
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January 6, 2013 at 12:23 am
Glenn
Hey Marianne, Thanks for reminding me to keep praying for Israel. I’m sensing a new spring in your step which tells me that God is taking good care of you as he as always promised. Your message is as strong as ever and I always look forward to your posts.Keep me in your prayers as I do you. We are all running the same race. We have recently added a Golden Doodle to our family and we all love him alot!
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January 6, 2013 at 12:52 am
Marianne Lordi
Hi Glenn, thanks for visiting! God is taking care of me as he does all who belong to him. As dark as this world may get, the light of Christ is still our guide. We have reason for hope in everyone of our problems. I trust that Christ is enough for all that I face. It is not easy, but I am never alone.
I will keep you in my prayers and pray that you may also understand that the love of God is in everything that affects you. And how nice it is that you have a new litte boy in the family – a beautiful Golden Doodle! I love those dogs! Send me a picture when you can. I would really like to see him.
God bless you, my brother!
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January 16, 2013 at 11:15 am
Linda Kruschke
Great post! I love this reminder: “Religion can’t save you. Only a relationship with Christ can give you eternal life.” I pray for those I know who are lost and struggling to know Him. Peace, Linda
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January 16, 2013 at 2:03 pm
Marianne Lordi
Hi Linda, thanks for stopping by, my sister. I love the poem you did on your blog on a Broken Heart. It spoke to me. In all that we go through, Christ is the healer of broken hearts. My eyes are on him.
Keep up the kingdom work, Linda, and may God bless you.
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January 24, 2013 at 9:06 am
Minister Aiken
Hey Marianne,
It has been a while since i last spoke with you. I pray all is well!
God bless!
Debra
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January 26, 2013 at 1:49 am
Marianne Lordi
Hi Debra, I will be emailing you this week. Thanks for always being there for me. Bless you, my dear sister!
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January 26, 2013 at 3:04 pm
Ken
Hi Marianne,
It saddens me to see people give no consideration to the things of the Lord. Even for many in the church, Christ is down on the list of priorities in their lives. We all have choices to make, if Christ is not number 1, sin will be our master. Christ came to set us free, “if the Son has set you free, you shall be free indeed.
Thank you for sharing this message. I pray for you and what you are going through. Jesus is with you, my friend.
Blessings,
Ken
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January 27, 2013 at 2:46 am
Marianne Lordi
Hi Ken, I am so glad to hear from you, my brother. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement. You truly are a friend.
We all have choices to make and sadly many make a choice to walk in the way of the world instead of following Christ, Ken. There is a spirit of deception that has covered this earth. Jesus spoke of this happening in ending times. How I pray that many will see the light of Christ and be saved. Our time on this earth is so short and that is why evil has increased. Even the devil knows that Christ is coming very soon.
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February 14, 2013 at 2:49 am
busola
Dear Marn
I am so blessed to know Christ has me in mind always
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February 14, 2013 at 11:39 pm
Marianne Lordi
God bless you, busola. Keep that truth in your heart always.
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February 15, 2013 at 7:54 pm
Noel
Marianne, do you think that God would answer my prayers about someone else who may be going through some tough times even if I have not prayed to God for quite some time? I have lost interest in prayer, to be honest, but sometimes I wonder if God would listen after I have lost interest in prayer . Consider the fact that I no longer have exactly the same faith that you do. Thanks.
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February 15, 2013 at 8:53 pm
Marianne Lordi
Hi Noel, I have been thinking about you and I am so glad you stopped. My friend, I absolutely believe that God would hear and answer your prayers for the one that you want to help. Noel I know that you are still going through a time of uncertainty in your faith, but I have no doubt that God is going to help you in that struggle and bring you back to him. My faith is not the pinnacle, my brother. We are all in a process of learning to trust that Christ is all that we need an that he will never fail us. Please go to Christ and give him your prayer. He hears you, Noel. He will listen.
I will keep praying for you, Noel, and I will lift up a prayer for the person you want prayers for. God hears your heart first, Noel. I am here if you ever want to email me to talk.
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February 23, 2013 at 9:16 pm
lisa
Thank you for these words, I know I read this earlier butI needed it again.
I was just thinking of you,
God bless you,
Lisa 🙂
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February 23, 2013 at 11:14 pm
Marianne Lordi
Hi Lisa,
Glad you returned. Actually, sometimes I have to read the messages I write a few times to totally get the fullness of the truth God has given me to write. I am finishing up another article to post soon that is on my heart. With all the darkness and strife in this world, we need to remember that God is with us always and he will not let us be destroyed by the troubles we face.
I am so glad you stopped and commented, Lisa. You really made my day!
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March 4, 2014 at 9:45 pm
Viviana
I love this post, thank you.
The dogies are so cute!!!
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March 4, 2014 at 10:43 pm
Marianne Bernard
Thank you, Viviana!
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October 4, 2017 at 11:06 pm
Your Brother In Christ!
Keep on encouraging not only the believers but non-believers as well. Pray for a special blessing for you for doing this great work of the Lord. I truly enjoy reading the Word of the Lord. Thank you very much for what you do.
God Bless!!!!!!
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October 5, 2017 at 3:42 pm
Marianne Bernard
My dear brother in Christ,
Your note has brightened my day and has truly encouraged me. I thank you for taking the time to write and share your kind words. I will be praying for you and your life in Christ. May you be blessed beyond measure and may God a mighty work through you always.
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