3 Truths That Will Catapult Your Life into Joyous Victory

May 20, 2016 Effie Barba

Jesus Christ “his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high: Hebrews 1:2-3

As I go about my days along this life journey, why is it so important that I recognize the magnificence and glory of Jesus as King, seated upon His throne? How would that change my view of life’s struggles? How can that affect my relationships with friends, co-workers, and family? My life is filled with dreams, desires, decisions, work, and activities. We must constantly think about our health, our car, our house, our finances, our relationships, and our jobs. Even when it comes to our faith, we fill our lives with the “activities”; yet, in all that do we truly stop to realize the importance of seeing Jesus upon His throne.

The writer of Hebrews wants us to realize that Jesus is already the King. He is the obedient son who died upon a cross at His Father’s bidding; yet, He is also the express image of the Father and the bright radiance of His Glory. Not only was Jesus the humble sacrificial lamb who died to save the world; but, Jesus is also the one through whom the Father spoke the world into being and the one who holds everything in place by the word of His power. This is the same truth that John expressed when he wrote,

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Christian Blog

Dear God, Will You Really Speak to Me? Absolutely!

May 18, 2016 Effie Barba

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. Hebrews 1:1-4 NKJV

“Speak, Oh Lord, tell me why this pain! I need to know what to do next; if you would only tell me, then I could follow!!” Has that ever been the cry of your heart? I know it has been mine. Yet, does God speak to us? How does He speak and how can we know it is His voice?

In the midst of a storm, we turn our eyes upon the cross, seeking to hear God’s voice.

As we begin to study this book of Hebrews, we are immediately confronted with the words that God spoke through the prophets in various ways and various times. Throughout the Old Testament we have God’s word presented. He spoke in the narratives of the history. He spoke through the miracles in the lives of His people. At times He spoke through songs as He did in the book of Psalms; while at other times He spoke through instruction such as Proverbs. He spoke through the Old Testament prophets. He spoke in many ways so that each of us could uniquely hear His Voice. There was one major truth that rings throughout every scripture. “We are sinners incapable of reaching God were it not for His Grace and Love reaching forth to save us.” All of the Old Testament scripture points us toward Jesus Christ; the Son of God who took on flesh to live among us and to die that we might have life.

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Christian Blog

How to Really Have a Faith to Overcome Adversity

May 16, 2016 Effie Barba

Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” And they launched out. ²³But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. ²⁴And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. ²⁵But He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!” Luke 8:22-26 (NKJV)

Where is your faith when everything seems to come crashing in around you? How do you hold on when facing cancer, loss, heartbreak, trials, and suffering in this world? We look around us and see the evil effects of sin surrounding us. We look within and see the effects of evil lurking there within our own hearts, always crouching near (selfishness, pride, anger, desires and our inability to love God as we should). Where can we find the faith to overcome adversity? How do we know hope, joy and peace in the midst of life’s storms?

We who might think ourselves skilled navigators upon this sea of life are taken by surprise by the raging waters and find ourselves drowning. We cry out for help to God. Jesus speaks. The raging storm stops as He asks, “Where is your faith?” Once more we tremble as we realize that we don’t even know, as we cry out concerning Jesus, “Who can this be?” We, the followers of Jesus, don’t know Him as the one who spoke the world into being nor the one whose very words hold the world’s existence in place.

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Christian Poetry

Joy Pours Over Me

May 15, 2016 Effie Barba

The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing. Zephaniah 3:17

Out of the darkest valleys or sorrows that life can bring, God remains Sovereign and His Plan is always to bring us good. It all goes back to Faith is 1. Knowing that God is and 2. Believing that God richly blesses those who seek Him. My journey to discover the truth of love and joy took me down a lot of winding roads. Some of those roads seemed at the time very treacherous indeed; but, God had a plan for my good. That plan never depended on my figuring it out or my getting it “right.” It depended 100% on God’s Grace, Love and Sovereignty to complete the work He began in me. My life is filled with peace, joy, hope and love. Oh, don’t get me wrong; there are trials as well. The difference in my response is how I view the trials. I have learned to embrace each trial as a precious gift that once unwrapped will reveal to me some precious aspect of God’s Glory that I had not seen before. As I concluded the series, In Search of True Love; my prayer is that I have helped you to see the magnitude of God’s Grace and Love toward you. Tomorrow, we will begin a new series through Hebrews (at least that is my plan for now, unless God chooses otherwise). I wrote this poem today and hope it touches your heart with joy, peace and hope.

JOY POURS OVER ME

by Effie Darlene Barba

Every Step of my journey here

Through the darkest nights

That were filled with fear

Or the mountaintops

Clothed with laughter’s cheer

Your voice called to me

Your heart drew me near

Through pain and tears You taught me how

To seek your face Be-

Fore your throne to bow

Where You my heart would

Grace and Love endow

Your wondrous Strength to

Soar above the now

The scars from all the years gone by

Were healed because Your

Tears You chose to cry

As on a Cross You

Sent your son to die

And pay the price for

Someone such as I

And then I saw the value, worth

Of all the sorrows

Pains upon this earth

Travailing pains

That brought new birth

To life eternal

Filled with Joyous mirth

For purest gold to truly shine

It must endure the fire’s

Flames which do refine

Or pressed beneath the

Darkness in a mine

A diamond forms so

Precious, rare and fine

Your truth revealed this mystery

Pain is a gift that

Helps my heart to see

Glimpses of You

Spectrum of Glory

Dimensions of Love

Until

Joy pours over me

[tweetthis]Each trial is a gift; once unwrapped reveals a new aspect of God’s Glory [/tweetthis]

Please feel free to post a comment, share a story or just say Hi. Hope you can join us tomorrow as we start a new series.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Christian Blog

What Really Is the Most Amazing Truth About Love?

May 13, 2016 Effie Barba

The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit. Psalm 34:18 (NKJV) The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore, with lovingkindness I have drawn you…You shall again be adorned with your tambourines, and shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice. Jeremiah 31:2-4 NKJV

After everything that God had done, I should have been overwhelmed by joy. God had amazingly worked out all the details of my life. I was filled with the awe and wonder of His Grace toward me. Yet, there was that dark hollow hole buried deep within my heart. A broken piece within my heart that longed for love. With everything in me, I wanted to bury that desire once and for all. I pleaded with God to make it go away to make me feel satisfied in Him. I stuffed the feeling away, trying to ignore it. Busily I filled each day with work, Bible study and prayer; hoping to make that ‘hole” disappear. Like Paul, I prayed over and over again to the only one who could take control of my heart and remove this darkness. I really wanted God to be the only treasure I did seek; but, there was that one longing I could not rid myself of. The sadness of which would haunt me at times when no one else was around. Never could I imagine what God was about to do next as He determined to show me the truth of love.

It was late in the fall of 2014 that God was to begin a journey to teach me what it was to love with a pure heart. Entering into my life would be the return of a casual friend. Oh, I had known him in the past—lost contact, then in 2010 by a miraculous work of God; this friend had answered a prayer. He had the manuscript of one of my first writings. In a frantic search for my copy, I had prayed for God to help me find it. Out of nowhere within 24 hours, this man had sent me a message on Facebook to say, “Did you ever publish that book?” He sent me a copy. Our friendship and correspondence was very distant and casual after that; maybe a “Hi, how are you?” Then once more in 2014, God would send this man to answer a prayer and to teach me the ultimate truth about love.

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