In July of this year, 2022 I went to a Christian writers’ conference at Montrose, PA. Every year, I hear the suggestion, get your own website. So, I got a new blog, connieabuckley.com. I forwarded many of the previous posts to the new account. Some I will add later.
I’ve written a few blogs since July, but I haven’t posted them because I wasn’t satisfied with the writing. For close to three weeks in August, my husband and I hosted family and friends. He said, “You know you’ll have to put your writing aside this month.”
And so, I did. Cleaning house, playing board games, hide ‘n seek with the grandchildren, hiking at state parks, going to local museums I’ve never seen before, plus attending a high school reunion, the time just flew.
Then, the list of names of those at the reunion who passed away was sobering. Last night, I went to a meeting I’d missed for three weeks in a row. This morning, I woke up thinking about a guy from my hometown’s stomping grounds. I wrote a letter to this stranger about salvation through Jesus Christ because a friend asked a group of us ladies to pray for her nephew-in-law. He came down with a bad case of cancer, having to do with exposure to a contaminant, usually asbestos. It’s called mesothelioma.
He’s in comfort care, so I hope he gets the letter and my friend’s card before he passes away. I always pray for salvation and for healing. Sometimes, the answer is yes. Sometimes, it’s wait. Other times, it’s a resounding no; this is the appointed time of death.
Frankly, I pray more that God will soften the person’s heart and reach them because eternal life is so much more important than the renewed well-being of our body. The Holy Bible has so many promises and instructions for physical and spiritual life. My friend’s card has a Scripture written out: “Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me,’” (John 14:6, HCSB).
In John, chapter 14 Jesus tells the disciples that He is going ahead of them to prepare a place for them in His Father’s house, in heaven. Believers in Jesus Christ, God the Son, are told in (Galatians 5:22-26, HCSB): “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, we must also follow the Spirit. We must not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”
A born-again Christian, a Messianic Jew, while living on earth is called the righteousness of Christ. Yet, many reminders abound in the Word of God that until perfected in heaven, we need to walk worthy of the calling of Jesus Christ.
So, when temptations come our way, calling on Jesus for help and remembering 1 Corinthians 10:12, 13 will keep us from falling away from our Savior. God bless you and protect you from evil.
