My last entry about the man calling the radio station asking about unanswered prayer caused quite a lot of response!  I told you I would give you some of my thoughts – here is part one (more to follow). 

Speaking with admittedly a broad brush, for the sake of discussion, Western Christianity is pretty much split into two camps.  The “faith camp” and the “suffering camp”.  The faith camp believes God desires to heal and does indeed heal today.  The suffering camp believes God may or may not desire to heal and may or may not heal today. 

The faith camp goes to extremes when they condemn people who remain sick as being faithless (which is not totally scriptural). The suffering camp views everything that happens to them as being from God, so if a person is sick and not healed, it must be God’s will (which is definitely not scriptural at all). 

So what does a person who loves God do when they are faced with a situation of unanswered prayer for healing?  They have prayed and prayed, stood on the Word, stood in umpteen prayer lines, been on every church’s prayer list and done all they know to do, to no avail. 

Since we know God is not ever wrong, thank You, God!  And we know His Word is very clear – sickness is a curse (Deuteronomy 28:15-68) and Jesus became a curse for us so those who believe can be free of the curse (Galatians 3:13).  So, where does that leave us who need answered prayer?  The fault lies with us, with the devil, or a combination of the two – it cannot be God!  

Since I am a practical person and always want to know “what does it look like in real life?” let me show you some examples: 

Lack of Knowledge

The bible says “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”  Hosea 4:6    God is saying HIS own people are destroyed!  He puts the knowledge there for us, but it is up to us to diligently find it, and to act on it when we know what it is.  One of my favorite preachers always says, “When people say ‘I’ve done all I know to do and it still isn’t working’, I tell them ‘Then you don’t know all you need to know!’  They need to seek more.” 

An old friend of mine suffered for years, since childhood, with gastrointestinal trouble.  She would literally vomit every morning and have to lie in a tub of water for a long time, just to be able to get up and face the day.  She was reed-thin and could not gain weight.  She had seen doctor after doctor for over three decades.  She was a woman of faith and was determined to receive healing, but it never came – she was always disappointed and ended up questioning God, much as the man in the blog entry I posted last. 

One day she met a Christian chiropractor and a nutritionist.  Immediately, the doctor took her off of all wheat, chocolate and dairy, even before doing any other tests.  Within the week, she was vastly improved!  Working with this doctor some more with regard to nutrition, and following the instructions, completely healed my friend!  Over that first year, she put on weight, grew a healthy glow, and threw up only three times (versus 365).  And that was only when she cheated and ate things she knew she shouldn’t. 

God was not withholding healing from her all those years – He had it for her all along.  It was up to her to seek out knowledge and make the wise decision to act on it when she did. 

God is good!     Proverbs 2:6 says, ” For the Lord gives wisdom, from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.”  Proverbs 8:10 says, “Choose My instruction rather than silver, and knowledge over pure gold.”

 Stay tuned for more………  Keep the faith!

There is a permeation among Christians that states “don’t tell anyone the secret questions you cry out to God about or else!”  The reason so many aren’t honest about their queries is that most often well-meaning, yet ignorant, people hand them a pat platitude instead of honestly answering the questions.

Today I listened to a segment on a Christian radio show that had my blood pressure at boiling point!

A man called in with questions about unanswered prayer.  He has been a devout Christian for over twenty years.  His mother was really sick and he prayed and prayed for her healing, as did many others, but she still died.  He himself has been fighting an illness for fifteen years, praying and standing on the Word for his own healing, with no healing being manifested.  He was asking the host of the show why doesn’t God answer him; why does God answer some people’s prayers but not others; and why does He promise healing if He doesn’t deliver it.

All questions I think we ALL have asked (if we are honest enough to admit it!)

I was VERY disheartened by the host of the show’s response.  I wanted to scream at him.  The caller left the show feeling worse – even feeling shamed and condemned, I am sure.  Here is the gist of how it went:

Caller:  I just don’t understand why a good God who promises that He heals and that He answers prayer doesn’t do it.

Host:  Well, you just have to learn that even if God doesn’t heal you, you have to trust He is faithful.

Caller:  Faithful?  What does that mean?  Faithful not to keep His word to me?  Faithful to stand by and let His people suffer?  I hate it when people say “Oh, just trust Him!”  What the heck does that mean?  Knowing He can heal but doesn’t does not cause much trust to be build up. 

Host:  I can see you are in a very bad place.  Are you depressed?  

Caller:  You bet I am depressed!  Wouldn’t you be after crying out for over fifteen years to a God who can heal you but chooses not to?

Host:  Have you gotten any help?  Have you seen a counselor?

Caller:  Of course!  I have seen doctors, counselors and pastors.  They all tell me, “Just take one step toward God and He will take a step toward you.”  I do it and He still doesn’t come close or heal me.  The platitudes I receive are endless and useless.

Host:  Well, whenever I have been in that situation, I realised that God was waiting on ME to do something.  You obviously have done some things, but they aren’t the right ones for you.  God is waiting for YOU to take the next step.  Perhaps you should join a support group for people who have the same illness as you.

Caller:  When I read my bible, I don’t see anywhere where Jesus said, “Oh, sorry.  I can’t heal you today.  You have to jump through yet another hoop.”  He didn’t say, “Join a group of others so you can all sit around and commiserate about your pain.”   NO!!!!!!!!!!   He healed them all instantly!  You keep saying He is the same today as He was then – if that is the case, why don’t we see Him working in our lives as we read about He did back then?

Host:  Oh, my brother, you are at the bottom of despair, aren’t you?

By now, I am SCREAMING at the radio, “Dignify the man and answer his question for crying out loud!!!!”

Instead….

Host:  I am going to pray for you.

Yada yada yada.  The typical “I don’t know what to say so I’ll shut you up by praying for you” response.  Oh, it makes my blood boil!  When I went through my traumatic crisis of faith, almost ten years ago now, I made a promise that I would NEVER EVER hand out pat platitudes again!

So, what would YOU have told this caller?

Email me at tina@tinamarino.com with your response.   I will share my response soon.

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil.  For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.  Luke 6:45

The New Living Translation says:  “Whatever is in your heart determines what you say.”

It is a curious thing how someone can learn something, live it and then fall away from it.  I have been recently reminded by the Lord of a basic spiritual law that I once knew well, lived it and even taught it, but had somehow mostly fallen away from it.  Our words have power; what we say is extremely important.  What comes out of our mouths is an indicator of what is in our hearts.

Matthew 12:37 says, “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”  How many of us are, knowingly or unknowingly, condemning ourselves by our words?   

My faith took a nosedive after a traumatic experience that happened several years ago.  It has been a long time in the reconstruction of my faith, with many times along the way bemoaning ever getting back to the place of strong faith in which I once resided.  During this rebuilding, things that were absolutes and ‘givens’ were doubted and questioned, and sometimes abandoned.   The importance of keeping a watch over my words was one of those things that went by the wayside.  A fatalistic attitude of que sera sera, whatever happens happens, took over in my heart, even though I knew better.  Yet, whenever I would hear a sermon about the importance of choosing life or the magnitude of our words, my spirit would leap.  Hearing truth does that to your spirit!

Recently, God has been showing me – again – the basics of speaking His will, His desire and His words.  I am not speaking about the new-age law of attraction or the secular power of positive thinking; I am speaking about the Word of God and how we are to choose the thoughts we are to entertain and the words that flow from our hearts and out our mouths.  A few examples:

I am so tired lately.  Instead say, “My youth is renewed like the eagles!”  (Psalm 103:5)

My back is killing me.  Instead say, “I am so glad God strengthens me!”  (Psalm 89:21)

We can’t afford it.  Instead say, “God is our provider and He meets all our needs!”  (Philippians 4:19)

Nothing good ever happens to me.  Say instead, “It may look bad, but my future is bright!” (Jeremiah 29:11)

Every time I try to do it I screw it up.   Instead say, “I may have failed before but I can do all things through Christ.”  (Proverbs 24:16 and Philippians 4:13)

I can’t remember a thing.  Say instead, “My mind is sharp and clear because I have the mind of Christ!”  (1 Corinthians 2:16)

It just about scared me to death.  Instead say, “I was scared.”  No need to add anything to it to get your point across!  (Matthew 5:37)

Since what comes out of our hearts is what is stored in there, it is crucial that we fill our hearts with what He has to say, which comes by spending time with Him and His word.  He tells us clearly:

Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, and so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man.
Proverbs 3:3-4

I am grateful that the Spirit of the Lord quickens to us the word and reminds us of what is needed for life!  (John 6:63)  Thank You, Lord!

For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.  2 Chronicles 16:9

There is a common saying among religious folks:  “Seek His face, not His hand.”  Another version:  “Seek the Giver, not the gifts.”   While this sounds pious and humble, it is not very truthful nor scriptural.  In fact, it can be very condemning to those who are in need of answers and help from the Lord. 

Human beings need both!  We want to see Him, His face – to know Him, to love Him.  But, as His children, we also seek His hand, His power in our lives.  Seeking Him and seeking His hand go together!  We not only long for Him to move in power on our behalf, we need Him to act!

Take a look at just a few of the numerous times the bible records David desperate for God’s hand to move on his behalf:

Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me, O Lord, make haste to help me!  Psalm 40:13

Help me, O Lord my God!  Oh, save me according to Your mercy….Let my accusers be clothed with shame, and let them cover themselves with their own disgrace as with a mantle.  Psalm 109:26,29

But You, O Lord, do not be far from me, O my Strength, hasten to help me!  Psalm 22:19

I encourage you to not let false piety be placed upon you by well-meaning yet misguided brothers and sisters.  Don’t let them detour you from boldly going before your Father!  Seek Him with confidence that you will see Him and His power in your life!

Then Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men.”  Acts 5:29

Do you know that if you want to do anything important for the Lord in this lifetime, you will not always have the approval of people?  In fact, many times people will despise you, mock you, lie about you, and condemn you – even Christians, mostly Christians!

Why is this?  Shouldn’t Christians all work together?  That would be nice, but people who walk in faith and are doing what the Lord calls them to do intimidate others, especially Christians who are not as faithful, who are in disobedience, or who are ignoring God’s call on their lives. 

If you want to win popularity contests, you better decide right now not to do much for the God.   But, if you want God’s approval, you have to acknowledge that there will be those who will mistreat you and say ugly things about you because of your faith and your stand.

We can take a lesson from Jesus Himself.  Philippians 2:7 says He made Himself of no reputation.  And, as you know, He was mocked, lied about, spit upon and was even killed for His faith and stand!

Today, make it your mission to be a God-pleaser, not a man-pleaser!

Today I am preaching to myself more than anyone else — I need to hear this (especially now – it has been a very hard week!)

Romans 8:1 says:  Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live and walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit.

Many of you don’t know that my ministry, The Encouragement Center, was started almost twelve years ago with the name “Romans 8:1 Ministries”.   My heart was, and always will be, to tell people that God is good and that He loves them and does not condemn them!  He came to save, not condemn.

When you have bad days, setbacks and disappointments, it is normal to hear “you are an idiot”, “you can’t do anything right”, “no one loves you”, and “who do you think you are to think it will work out for you?”  The devil loves and lives to heap condemnation upon God’s children; he is the accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10) .  It is up to us to refuse to accept it – no matter how realistic is appears, no matter how hard it is to resist.

When a child is learning to walk, he falls many times before he has the confidence to walk across the room.  Even though he may cry when he falls down, he gets back up and tries again (and again, and again) until he succeeds.

When you have those bad days (or bad weeks or bad years), just get back up, dust yourself off and start again!

The devil will try so hard to stop you.  He will use discouragement, circumstances, people (yes, even Christians) and condemnation to halt you in your tracks.  When he does, you have your weapon — it is the WORD!  Say to the devil, “Hey you, I walk after the Lord and there is no condemnation toward me, no matter what you say!”

When you fall and fail (and you will, trust me), that doesn’t mean you are a failure.  It simply means you don’t do everything right.  We all have to realize we have strengths and weaknesses, and none of us is perfect except for Jesus.  Don’t let that imperfection stop you from going boldly to the throne of your Father and asking Him for what you need.  Don’t let it keep you from believing you will receive that which you have asked!

Let Jesus be your strength.  We have nothing else — but, what more do we need?!

Be encouraged, God is for you and so am I!

Years ago I learned about praying specifically.  There are times I forget about it and just throw up mostly impotent “help me, Lord” prayers.  Yet, if Jesus came to my door today and said “What can I do for You?” would I say, “Just help me!”?  NO!  I would tell Him specifically what I need.  Another thing I would do if He was at my door is:  I would believe with no doubt that He would answer me!

Dave and I found a specific prayer list we did up back in 2003.  It was encouraging to see that over 85% of that prayer list had been answered – most were answered over and above what we had prayed!  That encouraged us to recently pray specifically again.  We are already seeing answered prayer.

Not that there is any “magic formula”, but there are steps of order and faith that God honors as long as your heart is right:

• Write down the prayer requests specifically.  (Habakkuk 2:2 – Write the vision and make it plain.)
• Pray over the prayer requests and give thanks to the Lord.  (Phil 4:6 – Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.)
• Sow a seed into good ground as an act of faith, and be about your business.  (Eccles 11:6 – Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all day, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another – or maybe both.)
• Stand in faith and don’t allow the doubt to come in, no matter what it looks like.  (James 1:6 – But let him ask in faith, with no doubting.)

Often, as the Lord leads, I will do communion over the requests.

If you have any prayer requests you’d like to have me come into agreement with you for, please confidentially email me at tina@tinamarino.com

For a very good sermon on praying specifically, please go here  www.jsmi.org and click on: The Prayer of Petition.

Be specific!  Be blessed! 

It is a fact that when I get off-track by spending too much time listening to the news, the gloom and doom, the economic horror stories, and the tales of woe, I can end up working myself into a tizzy.  I hear stories of people I know and love who are going through hell with their finances.  They are losing their houses.  They are doing all they know to do and it is not getting any better.  There is no relief in sight.  It grieves me.  There are no pat platitudes to be pontificated; and there seemingly are precious few helpful answers.

Each day our ministry, The Encouragement Center, gets calls for financial help for bare necessities. The stories make me weep – so many good people in such need. Sadly, we have to turn away most because we don’t have enough resources to help them.  It is a sign of the desperate times in which people are finding themselves.  It is heart-breaking.

Personally, I find that when I am getting caught up in the stress and anxiety, fear starts to overwhelm me.  But, because the Word is in my heart, I am grateful that God always brings to remembrance what I need to hear when I need to hear it!  He is good that way!

Today, He prompted me to get my eyes back on Him, by a word spoken by another minister. He was talking about the dismal times and how God gave us a promise:

“For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.” Matthew 6:8

While I may not have all the answers for myself, my family, my loved ones or the world, there is one thing I DO know: God loves us, He is a good God, and He will provide!  It is a choice I make to purposely bring my focus back to Him and His promises.  You have the same choice.  Are you going to focus on the bad or are you going to stay focused on Him?  If you stay focused on Him, you can stay steady in the midst of this storm.

If we don’t have a steady diet of the Word, it will not be there when we need it.  So I encourage you today, and every day, to put some Word in your diet!

So many are in turmoil about the upcoming election.  Many are baffled to learn that fellow Christians are aligning with the liberal, socialistic, anti-Christian agenda.  They are also in shock to hear that some Christians have decided not to vote at all because they don’t like the more conservative (though not fully conservative) candidate.  They say things like “I have to vote my conscience”.  Let me ask you, would a true Christian’s conscience tell them to vote for one who blatantly takes ungodly stands, or not to vote at all?  No way!

I have heard many Christians say, “But how are we to pray?”  The answer is easy!

• We must pray that God’s will be done. 
• We must pray that the schemes of the enemy be exposed.
• We must pray that Christians will vote based on the Word, not their own pocketbooks.
• We must pray that the eyes and ears of all people be opened to hear the truth and not be swayed or deluded by worldy charisma and persuasion.
• Pray for God’s people to be doers, not only hearers, of the Word! (James 1:22)

When we don’t know what to pray, we are to pray as the Word tells us in Romans 8:26:

So too, the Holy Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it as worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads on our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance.  (NLT)

We must take a stand for all that is godly and not back down.

Please get out and vote according to the Word!  Don’t believe the lie that your opinion doesn’t count!

Remember the old adage:  All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. 

Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.  Psalm 121:4

The other day I heard a preacher say “God works the night shift!” and I thought how true that is!

I have not had a full night’s sleep in many months.  It has been frustrating to say the least.  I go to sleep right away, but every night, somewhere between 1am and 3 am, I wake up.  I am awake for at least one hour, though it is usually for two to three hours; finally, sleep comes again about 5am, just about when it’s time to get up!

The thoughts that whirl though my mind in the wee hours run the gamut from my kids to finances to the upcoming election to the eternal.  Sometimes there are some very panicky thoughts:  Where is the money we need going to come from?  What will happen to this country if the liberals win?  Will my husband’s mother ever get better?  Are my kids going to be ok?  When will I be able to close the big sale?  How can we help all the people who come to us in need?  I have found the only way to stop these anxiety-ridden thoughts is to speak out loud and command them to stop.  Seriously.  I say aloud, “Devil, it may be true that I don’t have the answers right now, but God does.  Stop bothering me about it now, go talk to Him!”  Then I pray.  I mostly pray in the Spirit because I don’t always know how to pray, or for whom.  I also make the choice to think on all the troubles and situations God has brought me through before, and that helps me to know He is there helping me through the current batch!

Other times, there are some yucky thoughts spinning in my head:  Why do you procrastinate so much?  When are you ever going to lose some weight, fatso?  How can God love you when you screw up all the time?  You always blow it, when are you going to do it right?  Who do you think you are that anyone would want to read what you write?  You’re already 50, what have you accomplished in this life?  These thoughts are hard to silence and they bring a lot of shame.  I’ve learned that I have to take control over them immediately or else I will slip quickly into a pit of despair.  Again, to stop them I speak out loud, “Devil, in the name of Jesus, I command you to leave me alone.  My Dad loves me and thinks I’m swell, even if I am not perfect.  If you have a problem with me, go talk to Him about it!”   I start thinking on the scriptures that speak of giving our cares to the Lord and about how faithful He is to us.  Praying in the Spirit usually takes me back to sleep.

Some nights I know God has tapped me on the shoulder just to talk to me!  Those are the nights I ask Him, “OK Lord, who do you want me to pray for now?”  Usually, one specific person will come to mind and I will pray over that person; sometimes many people will be brought to my memory and I pray for them all.  Again, because I don’t always know what to pray, I pray in the Spirit.

I keep a notebook, pen and flashlight on my nightstand so I can write down things that come to me during these quiet hours.  Many times God will give me the title for an article, or the solution to a problem I am having, or someone He wants me to talk to, or even a new recipe I can create!  I have found that writing these things down lets me put them out of my mind for the time being, and brings clarity in the morning.  It is easy to forget if I don’t memorialize them.

The best part of not sleeping?  It reminds me that God does not sleep!  He is always on call, always at the ready, to commune with us.  Lately, I must say, I have been asking Him, “But, do we have to do it at 3 am?”  Yet, I know this season will pass.  But while it is here, I am grateful that He cares.