Month: July 2026

“The Lord God will wipe away

the tears from all faces;

The reproach of his people he will remove from the whole earth; for the Lord has spoken.”

Isaiah 25:8-9 (NAB)

This scripture always comes to my mind while watching the news when mass tragedies strike. I thought of it on 9/1/01 on the day the World Trade Center was attacked. I thought of Isaiah’s words again on October 7th, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israeli families, mass murdering civilians in their homes. 

Although 1200 Israelis were killed that day, there was a safe room inside their every home and apartment. A safe room is a fortified shelter with a strong steel door, sealed and impenetrable to chemical attack, fire, bullets and other dangers. 

Since the attack was unexpected, it was a total surprise, and many couldn’t make it into their safe rooms in time. The world watched in horror, helplessly, as news stories unfolded day after day. 

Whenever good news or a story of heroism happens, it’s a relief to hear and share it, since good news is so uncommon these days. There were stories of heroism on 911 and on Oct. 7th, but I remember one story in particular. 

On October 7th, an Israeli father and husband saw the terrorists approaching his home. He quickly gathered his family into their safe room. Then he called his father, who was a retired General in the Israeli special forces. His elderly father lived nearby and told his son to stay in the safe room, and he was on the way.

His father arrived quickly, was met by terrorists, but after a gunfight, was able to save his son and his family. Although the father was retired and elderly, he never forgot his skills and was able to protect his son and grandchildren that day. 

We also have a safe room to go to, when we need help. Daniel’s vision of Heaven shows God as the Ancient of Days, seated on a throne, and one like the Son of Man who stood near Him, who was given dominion and glory and a kingdom. Jesus, the Son of God is in union with His Father, and when we can call upon Him, He is sent by His Father to help us while we are in our safe room.

Our safe room is a metaphorical, spiritual place to shelter in, during the spiritual assaults of the enemy. When our faith is weak and put to test, we go to our safe room to rebuild our hope, faith and confidence in God. It’s not a physical room, it’s a state of mind that builds up our spirit, as we discern God’s truth from the lies or half truths that come at us. His word is the anchor of our faith, spoken by our Father, the Ancient of Days.

The news divides people instead of unifying them. It gives a partial or incomplete impression of a situation, to give us a negative perspective. Jews and Muslims in Israel are depicted as in constant conflict, but there has always been a peaceful coexistence between the Jewish population and the “Druze and Bedouin Muslims”, who have resided in Israel for decades. 

It is not compulsory for the Druze or Bedouin Muslims to serve in the IDF (Israeli Defense Force) but they volunteer and their numbers have increased in the last few years. In spite of the distorted impression given, there always was unity between Muslims and Jews in Israel.

I would never have learned these facts from news reports, but my Jewish friend who lives in Israel, told me about many friendships between Muslims and Jews. He said that Israeli Muslims have lived and worked in unity with Jewish populations for decades. Some IDF officers are Muslim. I fact checked all this on line and it is true. 

Peace comes when we go to our safe room and rethink our perspectives based on the truth, instead of here say or redundant biased news reports. Our safe room is where we stop and remember God’s word and His truth, knowing that there is a remnant of faith filled good people everywhere in this world. We can renew our perspective in our safe room, behind the strong steel doors of God’s truth.

Jesus will physically return one day, but until then, His Spirit is with us in our safe room. He’s the One who will wipe away every tear and comfort those who suffer from the evil in the world. As we seek His truth to live in His peace, He stands beside His Father, the Ancient of Days, until the day He is sent in person to deliver us.

Lord, we call upon you, our ancient Father, hero and savior, while we wait in our safe room, behind the steel doors of your promises. Help us to seek peace until you return. Amen

Twin babies rescued on 10/7/23

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)

There are a few miracle stories about George Washington, which  I never heard in grade school or high school. History records an incident in 1755, when George Washington and 86 of his men were caught in an ambush. After the battle, Washington was the only officer who was not shot down off his horse. The next day, he found four bullet holes in his jacket, yet not a single bullet permeated through his clothing to touch his body. He seemed to be protected by divine providence. 

Fifteen years later, an old Indian chief met Washington just to tell him that he personally shot at him seventeen different times, but without success. He told him that Washington was under special protection of the “Great Spirit.”

By the time the British occupation of America ended in 1783, it sadly came with a cost of over 25,000 lives. A peace agreement was finally signed with the thirteen colonies, creating the new born nation of the United States of America.

Washington was called to start a nation, and it was an irrevocable calling for our nation as well as for Washington. To be called by God doesn’t mean that someone is flawless. No person or countries are perfect. A nation, like a person, still has faults to overcome and growth to attain. 

Nations, government institutions and churches are all staffed by flawed human beings, since all have sinned and fall short of God’s standards. With God’s grace, every person and nation is going through a process of growth and transformation.

America has always had a legacy of being a place of refuge and liberty for those fleeing poverty or persecution, and with God’s grace, it will continue to be a refuge. The birth of a nation is like the birth of a human being, it is traumatizing, pain filled, yet at the same time, it is a new beginning with hope for all.

For 250 years, God put courage in the hearts of men and women who bravely stood against the mainstream to defend the freedoms that our nation represents. Some of those people lost their lives in the effort. 

To love a country is to be able to speak out against its flaws or errors of judgement, based on God’s truths which are self evident. The voice of the people make a difference in a nation’s progress. God isn’t finished with any of us yet, and He isn’t finished America either. 

The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable (Roman’s 11:29) 

Whether it is a nation that is called into being or an individual who is called to stand for something, that calling is irrevocable and lasts forever.

Someone once said, “God doesn’t call the qualified, but He qualifies those He calls.” He shed His grace on this nation as well as on all of us. He qualifies us to follow Him as we are, and we do so with all of our flaws or weaknesses. 

His power is made perfect through our weakness, which is what grace is all about. 

Lord, thank you for shedding your grace and mercy upon us. We ask that you bless this nation with unity and justice for all. Amen

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY TO ALL!

“Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are.”

John 17:11 (NAB)

Wherever there is unity, God is present, and where there is division, the devil is. John, the apostle who clung to Jesus, was with Him when He prayed a final prayer, before His arrest and forthcoming death. Jesus prayed that all who believe in Him would be one, just as He and His Father are one. He asked His Father to keep us one, in His name. Why was this prayer so important to Jesus, before leaving the world? 

It’s actually more important to be united in a common love and faith in Christ, than to win arguments and be right. Jesus knew in advance, all the divisions and disagreements among church denominations, political parties, and nations that would eventually develop. There are divisions in different areas, but Jesus prayed specifically for His church and the unity they should have in His name.

Knowing He was going to leave the world physically, and soon return to Heaven, Jesus prayed not only for His own generation, but for the future generations like us today. He knew then, just as we know from history, that unity would be a very rare commodity in the world. 

Throughout biblical history, God, the Father, seldom spoke audibly, but when He did, it is recorded in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. They all wrote about the day a voice was audibly heard from the sky, when Jesus was baptized by His cousin, John. 

The voice of God said, 

“This is My beloved Son, listen to Him.” 

If there’s one thing that God considered worth speaking out loud about, it was to tell the world to listen to His Son. It’s probably the most important message that the Creator ever gave us.

So God, the Father, spoke His last audible words by pointing to Jesus, and Jesus prayed His last prayer on earth, asking that we would be united as one. To hear the Father, is to listen to Jesus, who prayed that we keep the bond of unity through His love and in His name.

We cannot do it without God’s help.  Jesus said that those who were forgiven much, will love much. The reason we are able to love at all, is because God first loved us. Once we know how much we are loved by God, He asks us to take the next step and  imitate that “love, which covers a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8)

Putting all differences aside, and resisting the divisions among church denominations or political opinions that divide us, we pursue what Jesus prayed for, to be one in a common love for Him. We forgive, resisting all the divisions of the devil, and pursue unity in Jesus’ name, which makes us one bright shining light in the world, to become the answer to Jesus’ last prayer. 

Lord, unify us in your love so that we may shine for you in this world and live according to your last and final prayer. Amen

“For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, because we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.”

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (RSV)

On the topic of momentary afflictions, I recently read a story about a man named Michael Mencer from New Jersey. As a boy he had vision problems and headaches that started around the age of seven. He was diagnosed with Juvenile Macular degeneration, a rare but incurable eye disease. His eyesight was 20/400, and he was never able to look straight ahead, because his eyes permanently deviated to the side. His mother prayed for him every day to be cured.

One day, when school was out, his 3rd grade teacher at the Catholic school he attended, handed him a prayer card and a memento coin as a token reminder that she was praying for him, and to encourage him to pray and trust God for healing. 

On the way home, Michael tried to read the words on the prayer card but it was too hard for him to read, with his flawed vision. While walking home from school, he glanced once more at the prayer card and suddenly, he could see and read it perfectly. 

When he came home, he walked directly to his mother and handed her the prayer card and the coin his teacher gave him. His mother noticed in that moment that his eyes looked different, and were not deviated to the side, but bright and sparkling as he looked directly at her. Michael was completely and miraculously healed that day. 

His mother took him to his ophthalmologist, who examined him and confirmed that his vision was 20/20. He sent him to other specialists, who examined him with his medical records, and they all agreed that he was cured, although it was medically unexplainable. 

Michael’s friends and family describe him as a quiet, caring, and humble man of faith, who didn’t complain about anything. At 30 years old, Michael was diagnosed with cancer. He never married, never had children, and was in and out of hospitals for the treatment of cancer, for the rest of his life. He passed away at 61 after complications from surgery.

As I read his story, I wondered why such a wonderful story of healing   would end a life at the age of 61, but his story didn’t end, because it is still talked about, inspiring people everywhere. It’s natural to ask why God did not heal Michael of his cancer, just as He healed his macular degeneration. It’s hard to find the answer but God’s thoughts are above our thoughts. Paul reminds us not to focus on the things that are seen but on the things that are unseen. 

Michael had 53 years to live his life with healed eyes and 20/20 vision. He was a humble witness of God’s love, kindness, and His power to heal today. He lived in contentment and humility, in spite of his cancer. His story of healing still touches many people, including the medical personnel who treated him.

Sometimes the rewards and blessings that God has for those who believe, are not just for this temporary life. Some rewards are waiting to be given on the other side of eternity. God always has a deeper purpose for us, in any trial we face in this life. We may never fully understand His ways, but He cares about every detail of our being. 

Paul said that “slight momentary afflictions prepare us for an eternal glory that is beyond comparison.” Paul refers to the troubles of this life as momentary, in comparison to eternity. 

True success is not measured by the rewards we are able to see, like longevity or prosperity in one’s life. Paul reminds us not keep looking at what is seen but to focus on things that are unseen, like the rewards to be received in eternity. It’s why Jesus told us to store up eternal treasures that can never be destroyed.

Lord, increase our faith to trust not only in what we see but what cannot be seen, and to store up treasures that will endure for eternity. Amen