Cancer Free

(An Inspirational Story written by Linda Granillo, October 13, 2015)

This is a testimony of God’s healing strength and love. It is written to give God the Glory and Honor due his name for showing Himself strong and using God’s people at the Pasadena Healing Rooms.

Pasadena, California is my hometown. On May 14, 2015 doctors told they had finally found what was wrong with me—why I had been so sick. I had been misdiagnosed for sometime, and unfortunate for me what they finally discovered was Stage Four Uterine Cancer.

The doctors did not want to treat me at all (guess they didn’t see the point) till I mentioned how they misdiagnosed me. I insisted that I needed treatment! After six months with 6 rounds of Chemo-treatments, my cancer levels came down from 1130.76 to 25!

My Oncologist told me that he was “utterly amazed because levels like that don’t happen when they come in at the last stage, and with such high numbers of the cancer gene.” He also stated that, if he could, he would pronounce me “cancer free, but could not.” (He stated that that 25 is a Normal Read for someone with NO cancer.)

The Healing Rooms Ministry personnel have constantly prayed for me since day one and have been a source of inspiration and help to my family and me. I thank God for this ministry, and the unity and humility of His people that ties us all to Him ‘to believe’ in a healing God.

After the very first session of prayer, I knew God had touched me through his people. I know doctors have a job to do, but I also know the God of Miracles wants to show His strength to heal also. Glory to God!

WWJWMTD

Dr. Steven J. Wentland www.wwjwmtd.com

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A Re-Success Story

(An Inspirational story from Prison Fellowship written by Zoe Erler, October 26, 2015)

Years of lies and misdirected ambition finally caught up to Daniel Bull in 2011 when he went to prison. But prison is where he realized his life purpose—inspiring the formerly incarcerated to be entrepreneurs.

“I was making and negotiating deals in the venture capital world for millions of dollars. I was however spending more than I made to keep an image that competed with my clients,” he explains. “I became desperate and began breaking moral laws to close deals.”

He ultimately ended up stealing from several close friends, including his business partner, and, at 28 years of age, found himself in prison, bankrupt, and divorced.

“Prison unplugged me,” he says. “It ripped everything that I hadn’t already destroyed to pieces.”

But it was there, that he found hope—or rather that Hope pursued him.

“In the complete loneliness I finally heard Him. I had peace. It was bizarre. Everything was finally gone and yet I wasn’t dead. I was here and time moved on and that realization that God was walking me through it made me feel valuable—valuable in Christ. I rededicated my life to Him and made a decision to put the energy I once used for myself into giving hope to those I saw everyday within prison.”

Released in 2013, Bull began seeking out the people he had hurt—his friends, his colleagues, and his ex-wife. Over and over, he was granted second chances, including from his ex-wife who forgave him and later agreed to remarry him.

And perhaps equally as remarkably, his business partner not only forgave him, but agreed to help him start Zero Six Eight—a business incubator to inspire and equip former prisoners as entrepreneurs.

“My prison number was 33061068,” Bull explains. “Those last three represent anyone from the third district of Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh) … It is a number that tells everyone we are local and understand deeply the culture and secrets of the prison world.”

Businesses that ex-prisoners have started under Zero Six Eight include those in the spheres of medical technology, solar energy, composting, e-commerce, and construction.

One of the most successful efforts launched by Zero Six Eight is WorkPittsburgh, a prefab construction company that currently trains and employs 11 ex-prisoners to build homes for those who need affordable housing. The homes are also provided as a perk for those who have worked for the company for at least two years. This past month, the company was recognized through a Goodwill Power of Work Award.

Today, Bull sees how God has taken his self-centered ambition and transformed it into a vehicle to bless and promote others. Over the next several years, Bull hopes to scale the business model to cities like Auburn, New York, and Philadelphia.

“I would be honored if God grants me the opportunity to pursue this work throughout my life here,” he says.

WWJWMTD

October 25, 2015 WWJWMTD by Steve the son of John

Miracles, Healings and Justice (the conclusion)

Why did God let 9-11 happen? I was praying for my friend’s healing, and he died—Why? If God is all-powerful, why doesn’t He take sickness out of this world? If Jesus really did die for me and took away sin and sickness, why is there so much pain and suffering today?

I had a person ask me after 9-11, “Where was God on that day?” My response was, “What were you doing that day?” We often want God to fix all the problems in today’s society, as well as, our personal troubles. We want God to fix them—period. But, we often take no responsibility in the problem or the solution.

Of course, God knew what was about to happen on 9-11, and I am sure He wanted a life-saving solution. But, man in all his pride, arrogance, and unwillingness to have God make the decisions, deters God from ever acting in and responding to evil around us.

Does God allow sickness and evil to happen each and everyday since Christ’s death—you bet! Does God condone sin and evil—absolutely not! Is there an answer to all the sickness and sin in the world—yes! Jesus made a final and definitive way for all of this to be addressed: “He forgave all our sins and healed all our diseases.”

Got sin, yes. Got sickness, yes. Is there a way for deliverance from these ills—only through the acknowledgement of Jesus Christ as Lord.

Evil brought about sin and sickness into this world and only the truths that come from God can remedy this problem. When God gives us the abilities and knowledge to resolve the consequences of sin or the healing of sickness, we ought to take notice. When the answer to these issues is for ‘direct intervention of God’ then we ought to respond to what God wants us to do. We need to be an active participant through faith, wisdom and justice.

We will always have sin and sickness until God creates a new heaven and earth. He will at that time take away all our tears and no longer will there be sickness. Until then, the evil-one will only continue doing his work and creating tragedy and sorrow in the earth. Our fight is with the devil, not God, and how we confront what evil Satan has created is our task on this earth.

I choose to pray (exercise faith, wisdom, and justice) as if everything depends on God, and then work (do everything and anything possible) as if it depends on me. I will show you my faith and love by my works, but my works will not, and never will, produce a faith that makes all things possible.

WWJWMTD

Dr. Steven J. Wentland www.wwjwmtd.com

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October 23, 2015 WWJWMTD by Steve the son of John

Miracles, Healings and Justice (part 3)

We all want justice at some level in our lives each week. Without justice there is no freedom or liberty. God is the author of justice that is pure, honorable, and appropriate. Justice demands mercy but evil has to be rewarded also—Proverbs is very clear about this.

Justice is a two edged sword because is brings goodness and judgment at the same time. For justice to work in one’s life requires wisdom. So let’s define some issues/terms before we discover how to exercise justice in our day-to-day activities.

1. Faith is a precursor for justice. Faith has been over simplified and misinterpreted often within the Body of Christ. Most of us think that faith has to do with believing, trust, hope or positive confession—there are connections to these attributes, but faith is not what these qualities produce. Faith is—“Your response to the will of God, His purposes and action plans, for His Glory alone” Every time you respond positively to something God is doing or wants you to do, He calls you a person of faith. We see this in every Bible verse about faith and countless Biblical stories or illustrations. (See notes below on ‘response’)

2. When we respond to what God wants or is doing—we make a conscious decision to ‘sign-on’ to God’s plan and do what He is asking of us—He then calls us people of faith. Without you exercising faith, that is to say, without responding to God, you cannot please Him. You must decide to act when He speaks to you.

3. Wisdom, either the gift or the attribute, identifies what the will of God is for us in a particular situation (or the confrontation of evil) and defines the steps you must take. Some people think wisdom is the creative aspect of God—this is not the case, but wisdom does bring us to God at various strategic moments and creative things can and then do happen. Proverbs and many other books of the Bible define wisdom as the means to identify evil. When we know what evil is, then we know how to issue a ‘Jesus response’ to the evil that is confronting us. Wisdom helps us in finding, knowing, and responding to the will (requests) of God in a positive and concrete way.

4. Justice is your personal commitment to fixing things gone wrong. That is why wisdom, and therefore justice, must be pure, honorable, kind, gentle, patient and against all evil. Things or situations that are outside of God’s will and require you to take a stance, you must respond with justice. These are the times when God wants to you be like Him when confronting evil, i.e. how to exercise His justice.

Let me tell you a story about justice and how is works in creating healing. When dispelling sickness (which is contrary to God’s perfect will), God wants us to deal with illness by responding by faith, using wisdom and exercising justice.

Remember the story of the unjust judge. Jesus said this is an example of ‘justice gone bad’ and how it is corrected. The woman comes to the judge and wants justice, but the judge does not care. Nevertheless, the judge does not want to be bothered by the woman so he grants her request. Well, this is exactly what God wants from us.

I heard about a friend that was becoming more and more sick. I began to ask God for justice/mercy. I told God it is not right for a person who is a Christian and in the ministry, though he had made poor decisions early in his life, to end up dying a tragic death. (My friend was AIDS/HIV positive and had this condition for years.) God asked me to pray for him. I told God I did not have faith for such a miracle nor have I ever seen anyone healed of AIDS. God would not let me ‘off the hook’, and God impressed upon me to fast and pray for him. After 3 weeks the burden to fast and pray was lifted, so I stopped. I saw that person a few weeks later and God had done an unusual selective healing in his body.

The only attribute that I used was perseverance (this is one of the Fruits of the Spirit). I did not give up till God said it was over. What I did was respond to a request from God—I exercised faith, demanded justice and operated in wisdom knowing that God wanted to remedy this situation/illness.

God was waiting for me to respond to Him (faith), to realize what God’s will was in this situation (this process what God was asking me to use is wisdom), and then to demand justice through exercising a Fruit of the Spirit. (Any one of the nine Fruits of the Spirit would have brought the same result.) This is the wisdom of God and my part was responding with justice through faith.

I reacted to God’s request for my friend, caring for him by seeing God’s will for him, and using determination to see it through—by faith, having wisdom, & initiated justice.

Notes on ‘response’: God is interested in your response—is it honest, pure; what are your reasons and motives; and to what depth are you going to respond to Him? There are people who respond to God out of selfish desires or trying to manipulate God. They are neither honest nor sincere—God knows this from the beginning. The extent of your response (are you all in or holding anything back) and the sincerity of your response (why are you responding and for what motive) are critical. Throughout Scriptures there are stories and illustrations of different people’s character and to what extent they responded to the will of God. God is always asking, “How far will you go?” Self-doubt, confusion, fear, love of sin, desire to put on a show of self-righteousness, not wanting to make a commitment, afraid of what others will say, inability to love, and there are so many other factors that inhibit us from responding to God’s requests, purposes and action plans. The better you respond to what God is asking of you the greater your faith is according to Scripture—are you in or are you holding anything back from God—this is the measure of your faith in action.

WWJWMTD

Dr. Steven J. Wentland www.wwjwmtd.com

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October 21, 2015 WWJWMTD by Steve the son of John

Miracles, Healings and Justice (part 2)

I am convinced that God’s love is so great; He gives miracles, healings and justice to us because of His love. If you are like me, you would like to see more of these ‘acts of love’ in your life. I often wonder why God heals one person and yet another person dies of their illness. I don’t understand; it just doesn’t seem fair to me. We all need God’s help and we need His healing touch often. I want the manifestation of ‘the fruit in believing and trusting Him’ at every level of my life and especially when it comes to sicknesses. Is it God, is it me, or are there concrete reasons for receiving, or not receiving, healing?

This is what we do know:

· Everyone eventually dies of something, and sometimes it is an illness.

· The Bible says Christ’s death was for not only for my sin but also for my healing.

· There are numerous Biblical promises for good health and healing.

· There are and have been recorded examples of God healing people—too many to number and healings have been constant throughout history.

· The Bible states cases where people were healed and others were not healed.

· Also, Jesus says healings and forgiveness go hand-in-hand—they are somehow connected.

· The Old Testament affirms that God brings healing as well as sickness.

I have a good friend, Dave, who is over the International Healing Rooms of Pasadena. He was an educator for years and became involved in healing because he received a healing. He sees healings on a weekly basis from all types of sicknesses and under all types of circumstances. No two healings are the same and there is no ‘magic bullet’ for each person to be healed. He can talk for hours about God’s healings and what people went through to obtained their healing.

However, there are some practical considerations all of us ought to be aware of:

· The Bible talks of ‘Gifts of Healing’. What this means is that certain gifts work for certain healings. (It is the only gift in the Bible that is plural.)

· The more people praying for healing, it seems the more effective is their prayers—there is something significant in unity and numbers for healings.

· People who were healed by Jesus often had others that did outrageous things for them to get healed—do not be afraid of the drama of being healed.

· Thankfulness and gratitude does play a part in healing—God wants us to be gracious.

· Healing is always manifested with some degree of authority or expectation. Only with the use of authority (yours or others) did healing take place in some individual’s lives.

· Not only does prayers of faith and forgiveness bring healing but also people anointing those who are sick with oil and the ‘laying on of hands’ (or touching the person) did the individual become healed.

· Sometimes a person was not present when others prayed for their healing but there was a ‘point of contact,’ something that triggered a person’s healing.

· Just as genes play a roll in whom we are and in our over all health, our family history also plays a roll in our forgiveness and healing. Healings may not just be about you but others in your ‘family tree’.

· Do not give up, God comes to those who ‘wait for Him’ and healings sometime take time.

· Get into the Presence of God (feel it)—where the Presence of God is there is freedom, and often healings begin to appear where His Presence is the greatest.

· There have been people who were praying for others to be healed of a similar sickness they had, and God healed them without them asking for a healing.

· Do not just look for a healing, but look to Jesus Christ. It is because of the person of Christ that healings exists—be in love with Him not the healing.

· Do not concern yourself with having enough trust or faith for a healing. Many people in the Bible came to Christ without faith and were healed. Allow the person or persons pray in faith; you just need to be the recipient.

· “By His Strips you are healed.” Jesus paid for your forgiveness and healing—there is nothing you can do to earn your healing.

· Whatever you do, remember God acts in mysterious ways and who knows under what circumstances God will give you healing—leave all options on the table.

God offers a lot of Biblical stories when it comes to healings. Jesus went about healing all who came to Him. If I were seeking a healing I would be seeking Jesus first. You should not divorce the person of Christ from His acts of love and healing. To me, healing is a personal thing. God wants to heal and we should make it intimate and with feeling when we come to Him for healing. Remember healing can be just as easy as finding forgives Jesus said.

WWJWMTD

Dr. Steven J. Wentland www.wwjwmtd.com

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October 19, 2015 WWJWMTD by Steve the son of John

Miracles, Healings and Justice (part 1)

I have often asked for a miracle, a healing, or for God to grant me justice—I did not always receive them. In fact, I depend mostly on others for their prayers rather than my prayers in receiving those spectacular events in my life. I wish miracles would happen on a regular basis in my day-by-day activities—don’t we all!

However, I must admit that when a spectacular event happens in my life I often did not pray an elaborate pray or think things through, but I just made a desperate statement, which God heard and answered quickly. I just can’t figure God out at times.

Nevertheless, if you like and need miracles in your life, you might want to consider the story in I Kings chapter 4.

In this story a widow woman and her son, living in Sidon outside of Israel proper, are making plans to die. Their food source is gone because of the drought and famine; are without hope, faith, or a confession of trusting God. Yet God sends Elijah to her; not to the religious, faithful, or God’s chosen people within Israel. (It is important to note that Elijah is not sent to anyone in Israel—to none of God’s believing people.) The woman tells Elijah that she is preparing a fire in order to make a small meal for her and her son and then will eat, lie down, and die of starvation.

What makes this story important is not that she had faith—she did not have any. It is not a story of hope or trust—she is not hoping for a miracle nor pronouncing a positive confession. But rather she was willing to show some kindness and share what little food she had with a stranger. She divided the remaining food with Elijah. She did something no one else would do in all Israel—to share, give, and sacrifice with someone she did not know. She offers kindness, nothing more & nothing less.

You know why God sent Elijah to her and not to anyone else who were crying out to God not to die, to have mercy and assistance, because no one in Israel would have shared or given. Everyone else was only looking out for himself or herself. God let them die of starvation. You want a miracle—you must be willing to share, to give, to sacrifice what little you have with someone else. God is asking, “What is your motive?”

Need a miracle? Where is your heart? Why are you seeking the miraculous? What’s the motive: to be seen, to have enough for you and not others, to make yourself important? Do you think you deserve the miracle? Are you seeking a miracle by expressing faith or a positive confession, i.e. are you trying to manipulate God? I can tell you that God looks at your heart and behavior, not what you confess when it comes to miracles. It is time for Christians to become Samaritans—undeserving, unworthy, unselfish—in short, to be humble, not willing to be noticed, and unafraid to experience the unknown. We must be convinced that ‘our rationale and personal status’ will not produce anything God is interested in, nor will it bring miracles into our lives.

I want God to grant me a miracle not because or me nor because I deserve one. It is God’s compassion and wisdom that a miracle may become an option for me—not solely for me but for others that surround me. I want to be obedient and sincere so the Glory of God can be manifested through a miracle. Faith cannot bring this to me. God’s wisdom that executes justice brings the miraculous to me…when I have compassion He has compassion on me.

WWJWMTD

Dr. Steven J. Wentland www.wwjwmtd.com

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October 16, 2015 WWJWMTD by Steve the son of John

Worry vs. Anyhow

Corrie ten Boom said, “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.” In America our lifestyles, recent technologies and the media drain our ability to be positive. What we thought would help us in having a productive way of living has only gotten worse over time. Today, we worry about everything. Worry takes away our peace and decision making ability. Jesus explained that worry is a sin by stating that ‘worry inhibits one’s ability to work within the present and brings evil’s influence on one’s actions’. Here’s what we often worry about:

· Will I be able to pay my bills?

· What new laws will affect my income?

· I have no time for…

· How do I look?

· Why do I feel like that?

· What will the neighbors or family say?

· My health is not doing well.

· I look old and tired.

· I need a new set of tires on my car.

· My sin—I just can’t get a handle on that.

· What does God want from me today?

· My kids just do not behave.

· The government is corrupt and people are crazy.

· What doesn’t anyone listen to me?

· My reputation will be ruined.

· Is the weather going to be good today?

· What day is it? Is there enough time?

· Why can’t I sleep? Why can’t I eat?

· You say what? I can’t do that!

· I just can’t take it anymore—it is stressing me out!

To worry, to fret, to be anxious, concerned, disturbed, uneasy, to make oneself apprehensive, filled with trepidation, to gnaw at or be perturbed; instead of being calm, at peace or reassured.

If there is any one-thing Christians need is to do in today’s hectic life-styles is ‘to divorce one-self from worry’—just let it go! Every time you feel concerned or anxious, stop yourself. Tell yourself ‘not today’! Today is in God’s hands. He knows all about the situation, and I will be able to do only what I can do. It is God alone who changes things and my hope is in Him.

I like what Australians say when they cannot get something done today, “Anyhow.” What we cannot do today, we will just do it tomorrow. There is ample amount of evil done each day; we do not need to be bothered by it nor carry it into tomorrow.

I have gotten better with each time a thought comes to me to worry about a situation, person or activity, I immediately stop the thought. I merely decide and tell myself, “This is what I can do and what I cannot do.” I will not concern myself with things I have no control over, such as people, events or the future. I guess I just leave all that to God. Anyhow it is not up to me—God asks me to do my best and do the right thing. This is my outlook on life—not to worry in order to have strength today.

WWJWMTD

Dr. Steven J. Wentland www.wwjwmtd.com

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October 14, 2015 WWJWMTD by Steve the son of John

Persecution…It’s Coming America!

(Promise Keepers Newsletter 10.13.15)

Bishop John McAreavey, chair of the council for Justice & Peace of the Irish Catholic Bishop’s Conference, told the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade that Christian persecution is at an unprecedented high, pointing to statistics that show 11 Christians are killed every hour of the day.

Citing a Pew Research survey, McAreavey told the committee that Christian persecution is being gravely underestimated, as "Christianity is now the world’s most oppressed religious group, with persecution against them reported in 110 countries."

He continued: "Many of these countries have significant trade links with Ireland. Persecution is increasing in China. In North Korea a quarter of the country’s Christians live in forced labor camps. Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and the Maldives all feature in the 10 worst places to be Christian.

"According to the International Society for Human Rights, a non-religious organization, 80 percent of all acts of religious discrimination in the world today are directed against Christians."

At least 100,000 Christians are killed every year because of their faith in Jesus Christ, McAreavey said, adding that an even greater number of believers are "being tortured, imprisoned, exiled, threatened, excluded, attacked and discriminated against on a widespread scale."

The bishop also shared statements from the Chief Rabbi of Britain, Jonathan Sacks, who recently said that the suffering of Christians in the Middle East is "one of the crimes against humanity of our time," comparing it to Jewish pogroms in Europe and asserted that he’s "appalled at the lack of protest it has evoked."

The killing and torturing of Christians in the Middle East is "a threat to our common humanity and to the religious and cultural patrimony of the world" and places "peace and stability of the entire planet" at risk, the bishop continued.

McAreavey also addressed leaders of Western nations who’ve so far refuse to commit to helping Christians in the Middle East.

"Perhaps because of a fear of being seen as less than aggressively secular in their own country," he said, many governments of majority Christian countries in the West seem reluctant to give direct aid to churches and religious minorities."

He went on to argue that the West risks losing its own understanding of the importance of religion by ignoring the conflict in the Middle East and urged his fellow Catholics to appeal "to all governments and societies to affirm the vital importance of respecting the right to religious freedom and conscience as a fundamental principle of genuine pluralism in a tolerant society."

Devlin has traveled to over 11 different countries including Kurdish Iraq where the persecution of Christians is rampant. He’s urged other leaders to help by traveling to these nations with him, but told The Christian Post in an interview last week that he’s disappointed in some of the excuses he’s heard, with the number one reason being that the pastors cannot afford it.

As an answer to their excuses, Devlin said he would pay for pastors’ airfare to travel to persecuted nations.

"My efforts are bearing fruit, and just hope that we can continue to get the call out there because I think it is a total embarrassment, it’s a black eye in the face of Jesus that we are not going over there," said Devlin told CP.

Devlin plans to return to Iraq in July and hopes other pastors will go along with him.

Christian leaders from the East, such as Sister Diana Momeka, an Iraqi Catholic nun who was driven out of her home by ISIS in August of 2014, are also speaking out.

Momeka recently traveled to the U.S. to address Congress on the militant Islamic group’s persecution of Christians in the region, and said the killing of believers could lead to the destruction of commonality between the Eastern and Western cultures if it continues.

"This is cultural and human genocide," she said during a congressional hearing on Wednesday, adding that the eradication of the Christian community has "placed the whole region on the edge of a terrible catastrophe."

"Christians have for centuries been the bridge that connects Eastern and Western cultures. Destroying this bridge will leave an isolated, culturated conflict zone emptied of cultural and religious diversity."

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/11-christians-are-killed-every-hour-says-irish-catholic-bishop-who-warns-persecution-of-believers-is-at-an-unprecedented-high-139312/#MBfLjvGr2pruLtB7.99 (Promise Keepers Newsletter, 10.13.15)

Dr. Steven J. Wentland www.wwjwmtd.com

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October 11, 2015 WWJWMTD by Steve the son of John

Take Me Out of Prison

I have found myself in prison a few times. Seems like I was walking in circles, alone, and depressed of sorts. It is not unusual to have un-forgiveness creating bondage and isolation in one’s life.

Most of us find it easy to repent or enjoy forgiveness from sins we create, but other people’s sins are a completely different matter. I forgive myself, but to forgive others takes an action of one’s will and determination to walk away from all the wrong someone has inflicted on me, in other words, it’s not so simple.

It’s not hard to hold a grudge, resentment or hurt feelings. Most us do not ‘forgive on the spot’ when others wrong us. We do not even realize that we did not forgive that ‘other person’. We tend to accept the wrong, acknowledge that our feelings or personhood was injured, but we just ignore the obvious that someone’s sin hurt us.

It would be impossible for me to record all the times people have offended me, and the many times I have forgotten. Well, that is until God reminds me of the offense—the sin I had forgotten or just buried it in my subconscious. No matter the case, God has not forgotten. He wants me to be clean and I cannot be clean if I hold onto a grudge or a ‘forgotten grudge’.

Sin is complex; I wrote about that a few weeks ago. If we do not forgive others, we place ourselves in prison. We have made our own personal hell on earth. We are not free, and we have not been totally forgiven.

We are captive without liberty; we are bound in a personal prison; we are broken hearted and our feelings and self-esteem are injured. This is a prison where no wholeness or complete freedom is ours in Christ. I would be so bold to say that when we are sinned against we can be brought into a place of darkness, mourning without resolution, ugliness without any sense of beauty or inner healing.

Whenever God reminds me, of a past injury that someone perpetrated on me or a grudge I still hold onto, or a sin someone knowing committed against me and I did not or have not forgiven that person or persons, I try and often have to work over days to forgive and forget. God also usually asks me to forgive their sin so He might forgive them and that they might be healed. God wants to forgive me and He tells me that their sin against me is standing in the way. Yes, He says, “Steve you are in prison—do you want to be set free? Steve, forgive and let go of their sin.”

To be forgiven is to forgive all wrongs committed against oneself—to let go of present or past grudges. Jesus, I want to be set free, grant me your forgiveness to forgive.

WWJWMTD

Dr. Steven J. Wentland www.wwjwmtd.com

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October 9, 2015 WWJWMTD by Steve the son of John

Becoming Discouraged

It is not hard to become discouraged in today’s environment. There is trouble around us all. If you listen to the news each day, you might feel there is no hope. What we have counted on in the past—hard work and doing one’s best, political assistance or accountability, a friendly and safe community seem to be slipping away.

As we all know, the ‘last days’ will not be kind to anyone. Jesus said it would be nothing like what has taken place ever before on the earth. History has record of terrible and frightening events and catastrophes that destroyed civilizations, but what is ahead for us is so disturbing it is best not to dwell on what is about to occur. What we cannot do is too give up our hope and confidence. This will happen if we do not take proper steps in securing our future in Christ by having an ‘overcomer-attitude’.

My hope is in Christ alone, not in my works. He knows what is about to happen and always has a way of escape for me. He asks me to be faithful, of strong character, and willing to stay pure before Him. I can do that with His guidance and my willingness to endure.

All of this may seem impossible when you are discouraged that is why I think, no I know, that we must do things to keep discouragement from affecting our personality, our perspectives, and even our commitment to Christ.

I do not know how often you say, “I am so sorry” to God. To be quick and sincere when you realize your mistakes or sins is one matter, to be repentant is another. We need repentance and a willingness to change—this is a daily positional stance we all need too have. I have found repentance of wrong behavior, thoughts, motives that are not pure and God honoring to be one of the corner stones in my relationship with Christ. Exercising forgiveness seems to melt away any discouragement I have, try it.

You will always become discouraged when things do not go smoothly, if you do not have peace within your heart and mind. How do we stay at peace with others and ourselves? God says to always stay in an attitude of prayer and pray about everything! Short prayers, long prayers, scripture prayers, common prayers—just keep praying by giving what you feel or are concerned about to God. Tell God that whatever the problem is, “God this problem is now yours!”

Put music in your life that helps you to believe. A great song to help with this is, ‘Still Believe’ by Kim Walker-Smith (album Still Believe). Songs that talk about believing (not so much hope or faith) is what we need to be singing. If we know what we believe in and express that belief, then you give the opportunity for hope, faith and love to work in your life. “Yes Lord, I still believe. I believe that discouragement and hopelessness has no place in you. I believe that who you are and what you did is enough for me!”

So often we are not truly thankful to God. In fact, that is usually the last thing we do in our walk with God—to be thankful. I try to be thankful about little things in my life. When something happens I say, “Thank you Jesus.” When I am thankful about the nonessentials then things that are critical seem easier to being to be thankful about even though the situation has not turned around. The Bible says to be thankful in all things—no matter the circumstances we need to be in an attitude of thankfulness. Thankfulness will drive discouragement away. If Peter could sing after being beaten and thrown into prison, we can be thankful no matter what circumstances may come our way. Be thankful in order to be encouraged.

Let me say this again—let’s pray, sing, and be thankful in order for encouragement to be ever present in your lives.

WWJWMTD

Dr. Steven J. Wentland www.wwjwmtd.com

This e-mail, including attachments, may include confidential and/or proprietary information, and may be used only by the person or entity to which it is addressed. If the reader of this e-mail is not the intended recipient or his or her authorized agent, the reader is hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this e-mail is prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender by replying to this message and delete this e-mail immediately.