2nd Timothy 3:7 “ I have fought the good fight, I have kept the faith”. 

I’m writing this last blog to give glory to Jesus and to testify of His goodness in my life, He is so faithful and kind!!!!

Matthew 24:13 “The one who endures to the end will be saved”. Jesus is speaking to those who are born again. 

True followers of Jesus will withstand the onslaught of wickedness and will reject false teaching. We will cling to the truth of God's Word (2 Cor. 1:22). 

Philippians 1:6 “Being confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in us will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ”.  

As we look to endure to the end, it is imperative we prepare ourselves for the eternal life that awaits us. Our daily lives should reflect our commitment to Christ and the teachings from the Word of God. Staying in prayer and reading His Word allows us to prepare our hearts for when God brings us Home. This also propels us to strengthen our faith, ensuring we will hear those words, “well done good and faithful servant”. 

We don’t have to be afraid of what we will suffer, even to the point of death (Rev. 2:10) and He will give us life as a Victor’s crown”. 

Colossians 3:2 “ Set your minds on things above, not on things that are on earth”. This is more true today than ever before. Keeping our focus on Jesus will give us a mind and heart to continue to fight until the end, whether it’s an end to life for us here or the upcoming rapture. We need to occupy until He comes and finish our race. I am weary and tired but still desire to finish my race even now. And He is helping me to do that still.

I have been so blessed all my life because of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!!!

If anyone would have told me when I was a teenager, that my life would have brought me the life that I have lived, I would not have understood or probably even accepted their prophetic words. Only Our Father can give us a life fully lived, tested, challenged, appointed and anointed for His glory. To have a life that is blessed beyond blessed, to have a family and special friends to the end is a testimony in my life of God's faithfulness and His goodness to me.

I’m so thankful for all those who have preached, taught, prophesied and prayed over me in my life. I have had a full life as a result of God's plans for me right from the beginning of my life. Even before I knew Him as my Lord He led and protected me. And when I did receive Him at around age 33 and became a new creation, it was then I became rich in Christ with all He had and still has for me today. We are all rich in Jesus when we live and follow Him.

I’m now in my final journey here on this side of Heaven, awaiting the promise of going Home to be forever in His glorious presence. I am so excited for that coming time!! And I will receive my healing there as well!!! I will see fully then!! And enjoy the Lord forever!!! Praise His Holy name!!!

I need to say a big thank you to my son, Matthew Caracas and his wife and my granddaughter Gabriella for all they have been to me and are now giving of themselves to help me to get to the end of my journey. I so love them and know that God will keep them, protect and keep them safe as they all go forward in Christ.   

I have a peace in my heart even in all I am going through and will go through, that only Jesus can give as our Prince of Peace. 

Even now as I write this and look into His Word I struggle with vision to do this. But I sensed God wanted me to write one more blog to encourage all of us with a message that's a big part of life and I am honored He asked me to do this. 

We will all be in this place at some point in our life. It's part of life. But we can be intentional about facing all that’s coming.

In the future for us, by trusting fully in Jesus preparing our hearts in advance for what will come to all of us at some point. We can also be proactive in getting the other areas  of life in order as well,  to spare our family/and or friends of what’s required after leaving this earth. He showed me how to navigate this area to be a blessing to others and I have rejoiced to be able to do that. I’m not sure what time is left here for me, but I want to be sure I have done what He has instructed me to do for His glory even now. There’s nothing more satisfying or fulfilling than to do His will and complete it. I’m believing my purpose is being fulfilled. 

I love you all and am grateful to have had the privilege to be even a small part of your lives in some way. I will see all of you again!!! So it’s not good bye, it’s just a, “so long for now” to all.

I know God has given me time now for a little while to love on you and my family and to finish any other missions He wants me to finish.  

Thank you again to all those who helped me in this journey.

A special thanks to my “Bestie” who flew up to help me for the last 2 weeks. What a blessing she has been by staying with me and helping me to live life here!! God made us friends 11 years ago. Cindy… 

• I love you dearly for being here and giving of yourself to help me in this time as well as all those times in the past. I thank God for putting you in my life. 
• I also thank those in my church at Reimagine for all they have done for me. 
• May God richly bless all of you for what you gave and did for me during this time!! The prayers, cards, phone messages and text messages as well. May God richly bless all of you!!!

I encourage you to put God first in your lives, then family. 

Choose your priorities according to God's order and you will certainly be blessed. The things of this world are passing away. They are not the reason we live. People are an important commodity and we only have one life to get it right. Cherish your family and serve them as Jesus leads you to serve one another. They are our first ministry in our lives in all that we do to serve our Lord. Appreciate and encourage them in the Lord. Do all that you can to love them as well. And God will bless you for your labors of love.  

Thank you again for being my family and I will see you all again. 

All my love, 

Lucy Barretta

The On God Blog

Job 4:6 “Is not your reverence your confidence? And the integrity of your ways your hope?”

I love the Book of Job….

It is a Book that reveals the character and integrity of God and Job. I have learned so much from this one Book and want to share some in this blog. There is so much to share on integrity and character I would probably run out of space and time to do so.   So I will only share my own highlights as best I can to help us appreciate more about Job and God!! Such an awesome Book!! 

I begin with the meaning of integrity: Honor, uprightness and incorruptibility, honesty, and trustworthiness. 

Those are some mature meanings that I have been thinking about since I started this blog today. These are not attributes attained over night. They are a higher standard that’s set before us which can only come with a desire to read God's Word, pray and embrace the purposes of God in our journey. Only with God’s direction and instruction can we have any of these attributes.  

Character is defined as: Disposition, moral strength, a person’s essential qualities, reputation, and character reference.

For me these are high standards that we can choose to have only by being intentional. 

They don’t just “happen”. 

In my youth this was the standard for all people to have. 

Even for those who didn’t follow Jesus. It was “polite behavior” that was correct. We opened doors for the elderly or infirmed, without question. We checked on them as well for their needs. Saying “thank you and you’re welcome,” were expected responses and considered a standard of respect for one another. 

Today these behaviors are not followed so much. Even those folks who did not follow Jesus, knew what was respectful behavior. Again, today even those of us that follow Jesus and call ourselves Christians, don't always follow that behavior. We’ve lost respect for one another in many ways. I believe it’s because we have lost true reverence for our God. I believe that’s the foundation of where it begins and where it starts. Reverence and awe for our God keeps us humble and dependent on Him. We can be humbled when we reverence and worship Him. 

Today there's an attitude of “you owe me”, one of personal entitlement, and what we can have or get for ourselves. We have become a selfish people instead of selfless to serve one another. We can return to having character and integrity, it’s what we need and it costs us nothing to respond with respect. It can improve our attitude and relationships toward others. In the book of Job, reverence is his confidence!! (Job 4:6 “Is not your reverence your confidence? And integrity of your ways your hope?”)

Psalm 119:11 “Your Word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You”.

This is one of my favorite scriptures because it’s my constant reminder of how much I need His Word. Without His Word we remain crippled in so many ways to live life in victory! 

Let’s consider Job. He was a man of exemplary character and unwavering righteousness. He feared God and shunned evil and maintained integrity throughout all of his suffering and afflictions. In his anguish he did not blame or curse God. 

He recognized everything he had was a gift from God. He did not place trust in his possessions. When tragedy struck and he lost everything, Job's response was to worship God (Job 1:21).  The trust Job had for God remained steadfast throughout his trials because he trusted God's character and His sovereignty. 

When we can really know someone’s character, and trust his integrity, it can move us to trust and have a peace about doing it. 

Job questioned God’s justice but affirmed His sovereignty (Job 13:15 “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him”.) 

Job maintained his integrity but was sad for the lack of empathy from his friends (Job 16:17-20). Job’s friends falsely assumed his suffering was due to sin. Job wrestled with God’s purposes but never cursed God. His example can teach us to:

1. Cling to God’s character, and not our circumstances
2. Reject others’ explanations for our suffering/trials
3. Express our pain honestly while trusting God’s heart 

God’s ways are higher than our understanding. 

Questioning God’s justice is rooted in pride! 

True wisdom is found in knowing and trusting God. 

When we practice and exhibit traits of integrity and character, it reveals us to be good witnesses for Jesus. It’s noticed by others when we act out our ways that reflect both integrity and character. 

Some examples of integrity are:

• Keeping promises - our word means being dependable to others in need. 
• Honoring confidentiality (which also may allow God to trust us with things He may want to reveal). 
• Taking responsibility for our own behavior and actions. 
• Treating others with respect. 
• Admitting our mistakes. 
• Asking for forgiveness when we have offended someone. 
• Forgiving another no matter who is at fault. 
• Being honest in all situations. 
• Doing the right thing even when no one else is around or watching. 
• Sticking to our ethics and moral principles at all times. 
• Keeping secrets. (Honoring privacy)
• No gossiping. 
• Being willing to help someone in need whenever possible. 

Examples of good character are:

• Character can be revealed through our words and actions. 
• Demonstration in our choices we make both for good, and avoid making bad choices. 
• An ethical trait of faithfulness and devotion for our loved ones, friends, and anyone we have a trusted friendship with. Loyalty to an employer community, and our country. 
• Respectfulness to treat others and ourselves with courtesy, dignity, and civility to all people we encounter. 
• Kindness to be considerate and helpful to others. 
• Optimism to lend a sense of hopefulness and confidence about the future to others. 
• Lovingness to express deeply the love we have for others. 
• Reliability to be consistently dependable to follow through on any and all commitments, actions and decisions.  What we do and say - we will do. 
• Encouraging others that will offer hope, strength, and positive reinforcement to others. This reflects our ability to understand and care for others. 
• Responsibility to follow through on all commitments. 
• Humility, that gives us a confident yet modest opinion of our own self/importance. This trait propels us to be grateful for all that we have. 
• Compassion that allows us to feel deep sympathy for those suffering, or are less fortunate. This will move us to help others in their suffering and maybe to alleviate it. 
• Fairness allows us to make decisions and take actions based on the ultimate course or outcome for all involved. 
• Forgiveness so we can let go of resentment and anger we may have toward someone who offended us. 
• Authenticity to be real and true to self. 
• Courageous in spite of fear of danger, discomfort or pain. 
• Generosity so we can be willing to offer time, energy, efforts, emotions, words, or assets without expectation of something in return. 
• Perseverance to be steadfast in persistence. 
• Politeness to reflect good manners and common courtesies. 

Now we can examine our own hearts to see how we measure up to these listed examples of integrity and character.  

But we can pray and ask God which ones we are lacking in, and believe He will teach us and train us to have them. But the Bible teaches us about these in Job who was a great man of God that we can learn from him. He truly was a man of both integrity and character. 

So I thank you Lord that we all can be children of our King to have these attributes and it will be a witness of who God is in us, that by exhibiting these traits it would promote people to want what we have - a life of salvation in Jesus. 

Thank you Lord for helping us with this and for transforming and conforming us daily, to be more like You Jesus. We ask this in Your Name Jesus!! 

Lucy Barretta

The On God Blog

Psalm 34:19 “ Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of all of them.”

When we think of living a righteous life, as children of the Most High God, we may not think of suffering as a part of that living or serving. 

Philippians 1:29 “For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake”.

Many of us are having to go through some difficult situations and challenges in this season. I know I have…. and I want to write this as I believe God wants to encourage us by what He says about this season we are in. One with sickness, injuries, financial issues, family challenges, loss of people in our lives and more….

So for me I want to read the Word for understanding His will for us in this area of following and serving Him in the challenges and sufferings. 

We seek His face for His will, we long to follow Him and His ways but can we accept the walk of suffering for His name sake as Paul wrote in Phil 1:29?

Do we understand it’s a time we will all go through, and know and accept there’s a purpose for these times. I have found myself up and down in it some days. I’m just being transparent. But I choose to submit to His plan for me in the journey anyway. And to talk with Him about how I am doing in it from time to time.  We can do that because He is our ABBA Father and He’s a listener. He knows how we feel and the difficult moments we face going through the journey. 

I have felt very isolated and in exile myself throughout my journeys in my life. 

Right now I am not yet able to see well and this has not allowed me to drive for a few weeks now. Some days are ok - just ok - and other days there has been too much blur to feel comfortable to drive. So being  confined to my apartment reminded me of apostle John on Patmos Isle. How did he survive on that island totally by himself (with only convicts and Roman guards living there)? 

As I usually do when I write, I researched about John being sent to the isle to glean what his circumstances were like.

He was exiled there because he was preaching the Gospel.

So they persecuted him and sent him to this isle that was meant for criminals and political prisoners. Convicts were allowed some freedom around the small isle but they had to provide their own food and shelter. They were supervised by Roman soldiers from leaving the isle. Many died from exposure, violent attacks by other convicts, or starvation. 

John survived because his friends in Ephesus sent him food and supplies. He was suffering and living in the patience of Jesus Christ - not his own. Patmos was no picnic. He was subject to wicked taunts of evil, Christ-rejecting men, men in authority who sent him to Patmos to suffer because he spoke truth to them directly through his preaching of the Word of God!

God saw John there and entrusted him with important prophecies. John wrote the book of Revelation on this Isle in his isolation and being alone. 

His friends were gone and no family members were around him. A very isolated existence for John but look what was accomplished? He wrote the Book of Revelation, because of the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus (Rev 1:9). We can read it today and be encouraged by the power of the Holy Spirit who inspired him with every Word, and the messages and visions he was sent relating to end times. 

He was exiled by the world, but not forsaken by God. 

When we are in a place where we find ourselves alone what do we do?  It’s a place where the quiet calls us. It allows us to turn to “the call” He gave us before we were born. We can hear His voice much more clearly when all is “turned off” in our places of living. And what’s produced in our lives is growth, maturity and a continuous work in fulfilling our purpose we have been called to by our Lord.  We too can find hope and can continue to worship and serve in spite of our circumstances. 

Most of my life has been one that I’ve traveled alone. A small amount of time in my life I did have a small family life. But the majority of my life I walked alone. 

It’s also a “call” for some of us to walk alone. I believe Paul was called to that walk as well. But interestingly, if we are called to that “single walk”, we have a peace and a strength for it that only He provides. He knows…..

When I was a young girl I started playing my violin. There was a song I couldn’t get out of my head. And I learned how to play it on my violin. It was a song I still listen to and love, to this day.

“When you walk through a storm hold your head up high and don’t be afraid of the dark, At the end of the storm there’s a golden sky, and the sweet golden sound of a lark, Walk on through the rain, walk on through the wind, Though your dreams be tossed and blown, walk on walk on with hope in your heart and you’ll never walk alone….You’ll never walk alone.”

I was always moved by these words - even before I knew Jesus, long before I received Him as my Lord and Savior. It’s a beautiful song and brings us hope… He is our Hope!!

I went on to play my violin with the Utica Symphony Orchestra when I was 24 years old, and once I became a believer I could worship in my Church with the worship team. 

What an honor to do that for our King!!

So even in adversity we can live in the Spirit. John was shipped out to Patmos Isle against his will as a result of a decision from unbelieving governmental authorities. They sent him there to get him “out of the way”, and to teach him a lesson as to who has the last say. Their authority did not realize or recognize the higher, greater authority of God in a Christian believer's life!  

Even on this beautiful but unfruitful island, there was hope for John. Whenever we are on an Island as John was, we too can have hope, and continue to worship and serve God in that place in spite of our circumstances. God holds all the answers for our struggles, challenges and problems. He holds our future firmly in His Hand! We can trust Him! Psalm 54:6 “I will freely sacrifice to You; I will praise Your name, O Lord, for it is good. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 “in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” We are not thanking Him for the struggles, but in our struggles we can still thank Him, for who He is, and His answers to come. He is preparing us for our purpose and to be able to move into our destiny ultimately. We all need His training and preparation to accomplish what we are living here for. If we have an eternal perspective, we will accept that and embrace the preparation He brings us to and through. 

Anything good is worth fighting for and worth the sacrifice it may take to have it.  This is not our “home” - eternity is our home, and we are foreigners here in this time.  So it’s no wonder we struggle to go forward when He calls us to. Our home is heaven and His ways are not of this world.

We belong to Him, we are not our own. We will not be trained for His work by being and living in this world. Only by the preparation He brings us will be heavenly minded and of use for our eternal life.  Our character needs reforming and transforming to be able to handle our next season. It’s uncomfortable for sure because of the resistance we face. But if we will rest in Him in the transitions of this life, we will be equipped by Him in the training process. It will allow us the growth we need to have, to meet the next season's challenges and purpose with victory. So we need to ask Him “ what are You wanting to teach me in this Isle of Patmos experience Lord? He’s always teaching us in our experiences, we just need to surrender to His ways even when we don’t understand any of it.

This story of John at Patmos is a huge lesson for us that we can learn from. John turned the negative circumstances and that foreign island to continue his relationship with Jesus and Holy Spirit.  What man had done to break (and destroy) John’s heart and faith, was turned by God into victory in Jesus!!  John received revelation of Jesus Christ and has impacted the world forever by his writing the Book of Revelation. This Book lives on today, speaking to and challenging lives all over the globe. 

We can rise above our own trials and testings in life by yielding ourselves to the Holy Spirit. John 16:33.”these things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world”.

Now I don’t know about you and how you might respond to this scripture, but it’s not an easy one to “put on”.  I have to choose to do that and to pray as Paul encourages us in Philippians 4:6 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God”; 7: “and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ”.

I need to feed my spirit continuously when I am at my “Patmos Isle”. Praying. Praising, and reading God's Word is the only way I can get victory!! It’s a choice. It’s not just going to happen. We have to do it all God's Way. He has all the plans and answers. I know I cannot listen to my feelings in these times. They will only lead me astray. I need to listen to the Holy Spirit even when I do not understand any of it. 

Philippians 1:12 “But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel.”

In summary we may have no real knowledge of what impact our hour(s) of suffering will produce for furtherance of the gospel or the extension of God's kingdom, and for His glory. How it may encourage other believers to continue to hope and persevere in their own journeys, and sufferings. There’s a purpose for everything God allows in our lives. He wastes nothing.

So I needed this message to encourage myself today, and I pray it will also give you hope and knowledge to continue in your own troubles/sufferings/ and challenges in running your own race. We will overcome by the Word of our testimony and the blood of the Lamb!!!

Blessings,

Lucy Barretta

The On God Blog

We, the Church of Jesus Christ, are the hope and a safe place to come together regularly as a Body. Jesus is the Head of the Church, and we can know of His ways, in how to live with purpose, even in the face of a tumultuous and chaotic culture, that we face today. His Church, as we are aware, is a place to come together in prayer and thanksgiving, and receive loving support for our very lives. We can stand in unity with one another and feel His presence when we worship and honor Him as our King.  

The Bible is very specific about the fact that moral decay and breakdown is an End Time Phenomenon. Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:1 “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come” 2: “ For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3: unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self control, brutal, despisers of good, 4: traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5: having the form of godliness but denying its power and from such people turn away!” 

In 13: Paul says “evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.”

So in 14: Paul encourages us to continue in the things which we have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom we have learned them. 

As we examine ourselves in these difficult times, we can fully know how we stand with Him in these times. Do we carry our own baggage with us?  Do we own any similar worldly characteristics? 

Are we secure in knowing we are following God, fully surrendered and yielded to His Spirit?

Do we still keep one or more of our old ways and do not turn from them?  

I have been sensing I need to clean up some of my own stuff I have been carrying around. I am searching for those areas that are not so obvious, and for those choices I have sadly settled for. How are they impacting my life? In this time it’s critical to examine our hearts for all that may be negatively impacting our walk. 

Asking my Lord to reveal those areas in my heart that are not pure and holy…

But as the series title of this blog reminds me, “I will not settle”. 
That has been in my heart for months, but unfortunately I still believe I have done that at times…

When we settle for….. fill in the blank, we also ignore His call to fulfill our purpose. To walk into our destiny means we have to put off the old man and learn how to live out our days His way. This takes time, maybe fasting, and standing fast in our convictions that are written in His Word. Putting away the worldly things. 

As I write this I'm certain we know people that are not yet following in God’s ways, and continue to live their lives by their own choices and in their own strength. We know that because Paul has written about them as listed in the beginning of this blog. 

We may even believe we are doing life His way, but could it be we are not really doing so fully? Is there some self-deceit in our lives we are overlooking? What tell tale signs are there when we are not? 

For me it’s all of my life that suffers when I try doing life my way. If I get out of His order for my life, life becomes hard to navigate, stress enters in, and frustration for me is over the top at times. Is there peace? Is there joy, the joy of the Lord, which is our strength? Do we work harder at our everyday tasks, do we give less time to prayer, and less to helping others as well? There are those times when, I believe, God will get our attention if we will not “look” and search our hearts for the agendas, and/or motives, in which we are living for Him. I’m not saying it’s easy to live for Him, but do we want Him to do what He does to correct us?

I have my moments when I’m overwhelmed, and I retreat a bit. Just being honest. He already knows our hearts so it’s a time we can come before Him and talk about these thoughts, behaviors and wrong agendas with Him. 

Right now I believe most of us are in a state that we need to be open and transparent before Him. We may internalize how we feel or have questions we want to ask Him about our situation. We can always ask but we may not have an answer right away, or it may not be the one we are hoping for. But we can still ask Him and He will answer at some point. AND He will not let us stay there. He will work in us to move us forward and beyond it. 

I know that He has our best in mind. He is well able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us (Ephesians 3:20). 

I also think about: can we stay humble before the Lord or will it take Him to humble us?  His way may be much more taxing on us, and might be the more difficult path than doing it His way from the start. Praising and worshipping Him will help us to stay humble because it causes us to recognize He is Lord of all!! And we are not. 

His plans will go forward, with or without us partnering with Him. His Kingdom reigns forever and ever, and His plans are His plans forever. Once I could recognize and receive that truth I became more secure in His love and kindness, to take care of me and my family. But also realizing that pain and hard times come to all of us, and we grow in Jesus and in His Grace because of those times. We can embrace them as best we can and know in our hearts we will be victorious in Jesus, because of His blood that was shed at Calvary. He has given us everything we have need of. We can receive all of it by faith. We know He came to give us life and life more abundantly. 

And of course eternal life. 

In these times of demonic activity we can still have His peace. I believe this is a new day to become bold as lions and speak His truth. And with the loss of Charlie Kirk, I believe there will be many who will do just that. Truth is under attack but will not hold back if we lean into Heavenly Father and can speak it boldly when we have a situation to do so. We do not have to be ugly or brutal about it. We can still do it in love, but firmly and with courage. Not to back down if challenged. 

There’s a lot to learn I believe, in these last days, but I’m believing for us to stand together as a church. To do greater exploits than we have done in the past. To surrender ourselves more to His plans, and to be confident in Jesus and available to His call.  To follow Him even in a greater way. We have a race to run and we can receive the prize if we do not give up!! 

Those people with characteristics that Paul wrote in 2 Timothy are here around us. We know we do not wrestle against flesh or blood so we need to put the whole armor of God on daily and come against the enemy. We can pray  against any harm that he may  try to bring against us. Our hope is in the Lord Jesus Christ. He fights our battles. 

Having written here about the warfare, and those people that Paul had written about in 2 Timothy, we can still pray for those we know that are bound by sin. We can still believe that they come to know Jesus as well.

Until Jesus comes back we can occupy until He does. I want to continue to work for the Kingdom, knowing it may be uncomfortable much of the time.  But then again in my own life it’s been uncomfortable for a little over a year now. I used to be so organized and have a schedule each week to do my plans. But God has interrupted most of those plans starting last spring. But what I have found is that those plans could be adjusted, and some weren’t even that important in the big scheme of it anyway!!

As I stated earlier I need to continue to come before Him and yield my heart, thoughts, my body and spirit to His. Align myself with His plans and know He’s got it all!! 

Thanks for reading - I believe we are now beginning a new season in Him. As our Pastor at Reimagine Church, Pastor Kris preaches from the pulpit at times “Buckle your seatbelts!!!” 

We may be in for a new and challenging ride. 

Blessings,

Lucy Barretta

The On God Blog

#7 | “Jesus, The Light of The World” | I Will Not Settle - Series

John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

As Jesus taught and performed miracles, some people started putting their trust in Him. This made others nervous, that Jesus did not fit the idea of who they thought He was. I believe we have had times like this ourselves. As we navigate through our own lives today, who do we perceive Jesus to be?  Is He One we know of? Or is He One that we know intimately? There’s such a vast difference between these questions, and it’s so worth taking the time to assess our own perceptions about who  Jesus is in our own lives.  It’s not enough to attain knowledge of Jesus, and be content with that, without really knowing Him for ourselves. There are so many ways we can hear about Him today because of the latest technologies through media outlets of all various social workings.  

We certainly know people who talk about Him, either on the church podiums, or because they have come to know Him as a believer in Christ themselves. There are those who only know of Him from others’ experiences, not their own experience. Some pass along their opinion of who He is.They may try to dissuade others in believing in Him as Lord and Savior.  Some may give information that reflects negatively, and/or speak misinformation as to who Jesus really is. Those who have not accepted Him as their Lord and Savior, may be carrying their own ill feelings of Him, and spreading that around to others as well. But regardless of the information that’s shared, through various sources of media outlets, or persons, we can all testify about something we have heard about Jesus that may not always be from a point of truth. But those who know Him, desire to speak the Gospel to others, because they do know Him. 

Ecclesiastes 3:1 says “He has made everything beautiful in its time.” Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. So we know He has prepared hearts to come to know and love Him, even before the acceptance of Him as Savior! 

I have to admit, I too have made assumptions, human reasonings, and also have been  influenced by others who claimed to know Him, and have shared their own fleshy insights, thoughts and opinions without real respect for the truth. Spreading the incorrect perspective of Jesus could be a negative influence in this day and time especially. But we do not have to settle for those perceptions from other voices as we can, by faith, come to know Him ourselves. We can look to Him directly for answers about who He is in our lives. 

In John 8:13 The Pharisees told Jesus His witness of Himself was not true. But in 8:14 Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from and where I am going.” In 15: “You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. As the Word continues in chapter 8 it is clear even with Jesus in their presence, they did not know Him or the Father. In verse 25: Then they said to Him, “Who are You?” And Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning.”  

I know we can all miss hearing His voice from time to time, but this is how we can really know Him. Listening to, and hearing His heart, reveals more about who He is. Do we know what His heart desires, and how can we align ourselves in our prayer time with His desires? There is nothing more fulfilling than knowing His ways and desires, to partner with Him in our walk with Him, and aligning ourselves with His plans. Reflecting on what He has already done for us, and knowing His plans for our lives to walk with Him, also gives us  knowledge of  who He is. Reading His Word tells us who He is! 

I have been accessing various resources that have given me a “knowing” of who Jesus is. The more we can have access to anointed spiritual teachings of God's Word, and anointed preaching in our lives, reading His written Word, the more we can know Him. We need to “feed” our spirits daily, with as much as possible of WHO He is.  Just a word of caution though. There are many voices out there today that do not serve the Lord as they should. I know that from my own experience too. Having to let go of some because of error or watered down messages, sin in a camp that was so fired up and now is quenched, are a few examples. We need to put on our hats of discernment to know what is righteous to listen to, read about, or even hang around as well. Our knowledge from the various resources always needs to line up with the Word of God. As we listen to messages we need to be alert to what’s being taught and preached. If not in line with His Word we need to move on and leave it behind. We need not feel badly or sad, for taking this matter seriously, and moving on. 

And we cannot make growth happen if we are following others because they “say” they are Christians. Following people on social media outlets is not pursuing our growth or knowledge of Jesus. Following people because they are famous, or even someone we have befriended and love, may lead us astray as well. Caution - who are we hanging out with?

Loving and caring for them with prayer may be all God is asking us to do. But continuously hanging out with someone just because…..

We need to ask God always. 

I like to follow the plan - always “friend up”. Set our “sights” high when possible to learn  and grow in Him.  Higher standards will motivate and propel us to know Him more, and also grow our faith. 

But if we fill our lives with mostly non-spiritual activity, and worldly information, we can limit ourselves in the knowledge of Him and, without change, will ultimately stunt our growth in Him as a result. 

We can learn how to know Him by spending time with Him daily - and giving Him praise and worship before we come to Him with our prayer requests. To worship Him, and to take the time to listen to Him, is key in getting to know Him. I’m talking to myself here along with you all…..

We need to hear from Him in order to know WHO He is. When we are quiet before Him He can speak to us. I’ve had revelations, visions and prophetic words when I would  just sit before Him after praise and worship. He is always speaking to us, and we can lead lives according to His will if we can know Him, just by listening to His voice and being quiet before Him. This for me, had to become an intentional behavior. I am a doer and don’t like to sit for long (unless exhausted or need to rest). So for me I had to encourage myself to do this every morning. Which simply means - no TV, no cell phone, no talking on the phone or doing anything else work oriented. It’s hard but so worth it. And I have days when it’s a quick time with Him…. But I will try to have another sit down time with Him on that day. I continue to pray/talk with Him throughout my day as well. He is my best friend, and even allows me to speak my mind and share my feelings, with respect, with Him from time to time.  He already knows what’s in our hearts anyways …It’s so important to stay connected to, and with Him all, day long….to pray without ceasing….

When we read John 9:1 Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. 2: And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

3: Jesus answered, “ Neither this man or his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.”

Even the disciples had some assumptions of who Jesus was at times. But we don’t need our assumptions or feelings to dictate who Jesus is or even try to figure things out with human reasoning. We do not need to settle; we can go directly to Jesus with those feelings, assumptions, and our human reasonings and ask Him for the truth, as did the disciples in that situation. 

In 9:3 Jesus shows us that the blind man’s suffering was used to reveal His glory. He also used this to show that He could do miracles. And He used it to reveal He was God. Maybe much more important than the man’s physical eyesight, was it was symbolic of him seeing with his heart. He would now know the truth and the truth would set him free. Because this blind man knew Jesus was from God, but did not know He was God. As soon as Jesus told the blind man that he had seen Him, the man believed instantly and worshipped Jesus. The blind man chose to leave his spiritual darkness and place his faith in the “light”. Now he knew Jesus was God!! 9:32 “Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind.” 

Do we doubt or question the Lord when someone is healed, or receives their miracle? I believe we are to rejoice with them for all miracles they receive. 

If we know Jesus as God, we also can believe by our faith, that He will reveal Himself to us in ways we will know Him. He wants us to know Him through visions, dreams and in His Word in clarity. To hear His plans for us, His direction, and His will for our lives. He speaks in James 4:13 “Come now, you who say, today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell and make a profit. 15: instead you ought to say “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that”. 

Philippians 2:13 “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” He wants us to know His will for our lives daily. This is the reason it is so important to know who Jesus is. It becomes a daily surrender where our hearts yield to His Spirit. With each daily surrender, we experience more of Him. We have more knowledge of Him, which builds our faith, trust and and hope to depend on Him more. These experiential times with Him reveal more about Him and increase our faith as well. It does not eliminate the challenges but we can know that He will bring us through in victory !!  Because we’ve done life with Him, and did it His way!

We think we know Him until the difficulties arise in our own lives. We may even ask “who is Jesus?” In my own recent challenges, as I wait for manifestation of healing in my eyes, I have examined my own heart for: unforgiveness, or sin in my life? As the disciples asked Jesus about the blind man I also felt the need to ask Him the same question. And He answered me - I will reveal MY glory in your life. So by faith I will walk through,and will be an overcomer for His glory, and in extending His Kingdom!

I have learned from my experiences with God that He always has a purpose for all He has for us. Our hope is always in Him, and He is our portion!

Our very lives are but a vapor. We do not have breath without Him. As I get older in years (not in heart?), I’m so much more aware of Him in ways I used to take Him, and life, for granted (when I was younger). We have life here as long as He gives us breath and purpose to accomplish what He has chosen for us to do. 

And for me that’s all I need to live for. King Solomon called it vanity, (emptiness) for all he struggled to obtain for himself. 

I want my life to count for something eternal. This life does not have a lot to offer anymore, in the current state that it’s in especially. This world is passing away…

So like Paul, in Philippians 3:13 “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; (I do not consider yet to have taken hold of it) but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14: I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”  

I am so grateful that we can know Jesus. This is, and will be, how we can run our race and receive our prize one day. 

Praise God! 

He will never fail or leave us either. He is faithful to us. He is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). That's who Jesus is!! There’s no better gift than to accept Jesus and the salvation that comes from Him. He wants us to have everything He has for us and He’s cheering us on to the victory in Him!! He is the light of the world!! 

Don’t give up….He will never give up on us. 

Thanks for reading and letting me share with you all….

Lucy Barretta ❤️

The On God Blog

Last time I shared on healing. I want to continue because there are many of us going through storms where healing is needed and is being believed for. Some of us are experiencing quite different of a storm, one where we need His miracle also. For me it’s about healing right now, and has been a big part of my walk with Jesus.

My last 3 weeks have been extremely challenging. They aren’t the usual type of storms that I normally encounter. More physical pain for me and a lack of eyesight has me more isolated and alone. 

As His daughter and a single person, I have had to learn how to live by myself in all circumstances. 

He has revealed how to do this through His Word and by His Grace. There have always been hard times, with the victorious times as well, for me. This time has been totally unpredictable and without notice. Looking sometimes through my tears and struggling at times with my thoughts. I have been totally without answers… but that’s where faith came once again in for me…..

As I am writing this in the middle of my “storm”,  I also know in my heart that He is the answer, and that I can expect miracles! They have presented themselves in my life over the years in various ways. Jesus has always had a plan. So this being a different circumstance for me now, does not change the fact He still does miracles.
 
Over the years Jesus, my healer, has healed me of Lupus, arthritis in my shoulder, IBS, small intestinal disease, my hearing was restored in both ears, my back has been healed, just to name a few. Praise God!! And of course the big “one”, cancer and the blood clot. Notice I did not, nor will I take ownership of any of them. They have never, nor will any ever, “be mine”!! I never called them mine no matter what the infirmity was. We never should own anything the devil forms against us. It leaves the door open for him to continue to do what he wants. Not on my watch!!!!!  And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how many other ways He kept me from death before I knew Jesus as my Lord. Have you ever reflected on those times yourself? For those who have not always been born again like me? He spared me death from a car accident, drinking poison water, almost drowning 2 times, and of course many other sinful behaviors I don’t need to go into now. I’m so thankful when I look back at all the ways He did miracles, and they will forever be in my spirit as a reminder of His goodness in my life. I build an altar of thanksgiving before Him and praise Him daily because He is worthy of all honor and glory.  

Now I’m believing for more miracles to come - not just for me but for many others as well. I believe God will provide many supernatural healings like those I just listed for myself. I am believing that for others as well. The way He chooses to heal us maybe totally different than we expect. His perfect plan will come into play for those of us who believe and will do it His way. I’m in that place right now. I would have preferred supernatural healing, but Jesus has chosen a different plan for my journey this time. But I will continue to believe with thanksgiving, the healing needs I have will all be met in His time, His way and for His glory!!

As I wrote earlier it’s a time of faith and complete surrender to do all of the journey His way. So as I write this please know my sight is temporarily dim, but I’m determined to complete this assignment He has for me. It’s with this blog I can encourage you with my testimonies I shared with you and those that are yet to come. My vision will be restored and I will have healthy eyes too. 

I had a surprise recently where my dentist did not extract my infected tooth, which I was expecting, but did a root canal (ouch), which was another answer to prayer.

Then the cat scan today for my sinuses revealed healthy sinuses - not sick!! These three major issues were ones God chose a plan for.  I have to admit, I was hoping for the supernatural but I rejoice in these processes as well. Actually brought me to tears in amazement and awe once again of Him as Healer!! But times where He does it this way, does require us to partner with Him, and to do our part (going to the doctor of His choice, learning how to take the medicines He approves, being faithful to an exercise He may have us do in physical therapy, and of course being responsible to take care of ourselves by eating healthy foods, and getting enough good sleep daily. But first and foremost - spending time with our Lord in prayer and praise and worship. Which is where we hear about His plan and how to step into it in faith.

Faith is us not having the answers or figuring out our own plans. It’s stepping into His plan by trusting and depending totally on Him without knowing. 

Our testimonies will and do sustain and enlarge our faith in Him and His ways. He is our answer for everything. This morning I had to ask Him - what can I make for breakfast (as I’m on soft foods as a result of my root canal). He gave me His plan and it worked. We need to go to Him for all answers - big, small and in between. He has our best in mind every hour of every day!

We can rise above our storms as the eagles do when they encounter a storm. Their vast wings catch the wind in a storm. They let the wind carry them above the storm clouds into a peaceful creation, as the storm still brews below them. Unlike the other birds that hide from the storms, the eagles with their massive wing span, move toward the storm and black clouds, to get to a higher more peaceful place.The very wind that wants to hurt us in our storm, actually can propel us to a greater level in God if we will allow it. The very thing that was formed to hurt us will send us to new heights in Him if we surrender to Him, even in our pain and anguish. We can go through these storms (mine seem to be the need to be healed) knowing we will rise to a new level in our God if we persevere. He sets the standard for us, His children, in our storms. We can have victory, but it might cost us something in the interim. Something great can be our next standard in Jesus!! I believe for me this is where I am called to fulfill my purpose and to walk into my destiny. I’m at the crossroads of decision on doing that too. When it gets hard we all too often want to throw in the towel. So what ? We let the enemy win??? Not on my watch!  So with dim eyesight and a sore mouth, and a full medical schedule ahead of me, I make the choice to believe and trust in Him. “We overcome by the word of our testimony and the blood of the Lamb”.  

So I hope this encourages all of us to believe that in the middle of the storm, we can “raise a hallelujah” for what we are believing for. 

Thanks for reading and believing God for all you hope and trust in Him for - even in the middle of the storm. 

Looking forward to hearing more testimonies of His greatness, as we all believe together as a Body of Christ for the fullness and beauty of the Cross✝️✝️. 

Until next time remember Jesus is in the storms with us and ready to help as we call on Him. 

Blessings ?

Lucy Barretta

The On God Blog

Psalm 103:2 “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: 3: “Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases”.

I am not a Pastor or anyone with a title; nor am I concerned about having one, but I have had some awesome healings in my own life many times. So even though I haven’t had formal training through Christian colleges or classes, I believe this subject will encourage all who are interested and will receive what is being shared here. Holy Spirit, and God's Word, have been my ongoing foundation and training for me. They have rooted, grounded and prepared me to believe and experience the healings I’ve received. It is nothing I do…nor am I any more special than anyone else. We are all His “favorites”…I am excited to write about King Jesus and His healing ways.

I also want to share my healings with you that He has given me, and is still doing for me. I need to preface first, by declaring Jesus is our Healer!! He gets all of the glory in this message!! In the next blog I will share with you those healings Jesus gave me. The manifestations of healings Jesus died on the cross to give me. Praise His holy name!!!

The scriptures tell us He, Jesus healed us at the cross, as written in 1st Peter 2:24, “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we having died to sins, might live for righteousness - by whose stripes we were healed”.

What a promise!! We can believe all of His promises - all that are in His written Word.
I’m reminded of Mary, when the angel told her that she would bear the Son of God, Jesus!!

When I read that story in the book of Luke, it says Mary is told by the angel Gabriel, that this would happen. Mary responded “How can this be? I do not know a man?” (1:34).

I am just so grateful for her response in verse 38: “ Then Mary said,”Behold the maidservant of the Lord! “Let it be to me according to your Word.” She received and accepted God's Word with no doubt or need to know more. She only asked “how can this be, since I do not know a man? So in verse 34 the angel does tell her how it will take place.

Finally, in verse 45: “Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

Clearly our faith and complete trust in Jesus and His Word, must be in tact, as hers was, to receive the fulfillment of the promises in our own lives.

We can pray, speak, and declare His Word in agreement with God. This releases His power to fulfill His promises to us. We can declare His Word over ourselves and others.

Such as is written in Isaiah 53:5 “But He was wounded for our transgressions,He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we ARE HEALED”.

We can declare that for ourselves and believe by faith that we walk in divine healing because of the stripes of Jesus Christ.

As I write this, and continue to serve God in what He is calling me to do, I am also in the midst of my own health challenges. So I’m encouraging myself in what I’m writing as well. It’s not an easy “assignment” for any of us. And being real before God, in my moments of distress and/or frustration, is also a part of my journey from time to time. But I do choose to do it His way even so. I am not interested in having to go “around the mountain” any longer than I have to…I want to run the race in whatever time it takes and be done. It’s not pleasant, it’s downright difficult.

But oh the glory our King receives! And how many folks are touched, saved and healed when He fulfills His promise to us in the manifestation of healing given to us at the cross. And we are healed in this whole process!!

Our firm foundation is in Jesus. 1 John 5:14 “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”

It’s His gift to us because He loves us. If we are saved by His blood, and forgiven we can know this gift is for each of us. He is no respecter of persons as He says in His Word. It’s for everyone….we need to get to know Jesus and agree with what He says about healing. He wants us to be well no matter the journey we are on so we can partner with Him in extending His Kingdom and for His glory! We are reminded in 1 Corinthians 6:19 “Do you not know that your body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit Who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” He wants to work out all He has for us, including His manifestation of healing.

We also know the Bible tells us in James 2:26 “For as the body without the spirit is dead so faith without works is dead.

I have had to learn there are healings which require something from us. Jesus always has a plan to heal us - His plan. We can’t put Him in a box and expect it to be done our way and in our time. He has the perfect plan - whether it’s a “suddenly” or a process that requires us to do something (more on this in part 2). I had tried to put God in a “box” myself in the past. But He has corrected me since then. He manifests the healing in our body as He sees fit. As much as I absolutely love the supernatural healing (as we all do I’m sure), and have received, in my own life, I need to accept that He may choose to use a doctor, medicines (that are what He approves of), or exercises that will bring the manifestation. But no matter what His plan is for us to be healed; a: We can trust Him by faith even if we don’t know the way, time or understand any of the details. b: We can choose to believe for it by faith, even if it comes in a different manifestation than what we thought or would have preferred, c: we can know by faith that He always has the answer and plan for us, even if He doesn’t reveal all or any part of it to us, d: we
will want to always thank Him in advance for what He is going to do - before He does it. He responds to faith….its a faith walk and we each have a measure of faith that He gave us to live this life, e: choosing not to complain about our circumstance, as hard as that is when we are hurting, and are in pain, can shorten the time. I believe ( from my own experiences) if we can be intentional about running this race to its end, we will be victorious and will have the victory in Jesus!! Better to say nothing at all than to complain. f: And finally, I believe it’s not right to ask God “why”, even though these words are always on our mind…. In the book of Job, Job does not try to figure out why God? After losing everything,he tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped.

Job 1:21 and he said: “Naked I came from my mothers womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
22: In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.

He was all about reverence and praising God. Putting Him first and not focusing on the
problems. That whole book - Job - is a book that ministers to me no matter how many times I read it.

So this will take us into the next blog, part 2. There is so much about healing we don’t
understand. So I will write more next time. Only because it’s always in my heart and I have the burden for those who are hurting. So I learn along with all of you, and I hope to glean more about healing as well, so much to learn. I am definitely not a writer with artistic or fancy words. I do pray the messages I write will bring truth through the power of the Holy Spirit, who leads us into all truth. That we can continue to grow and mature in Jesus in all things all the days of our lives here on earth.

Part 2 next time….until then I thank Jesus for us all in receiving His healing manifestations for our bodies!!

Love and blessings❤️

Lucy Barretta

The On God Blog

My childhood was average, and what people used to call “decent”.  I wasn’t close with my mom or dad.  In my youth our parents were people who took parenting as more about dos and don'ts, because “I said so ".  And that generation was all about wanting financial security and worked hard for all they had. I was told that the depression era was why so many wanted financial security and worked very hard to have it. Something I never understood or accepted for my own life. I have since reflected on those folks in that generation - my parents’ generation -and appreciate them as the “last generation of extraordinary and exceptional men and women”. The men and women who signed up for military duty in those times, did it as  a matter of  “I have to” mentality because they wanted to defend this great country. The patriots were so willing to serve our God and country, and were diligent and vigilant in doing so. They had good moral values and worked hard toward excellence in most everything they did. They were certainly not perfect, but these were men and women of character and integrity. Their loyalty and dedication to others was a way of life for most folks.

A work ethic that produced outstanding quality in products, and successful businesses at the very top of the scale. 

A generation that would not use the words “I can’t “. And if it was used, a mild rebuke and reminder would follow, that there’s no such word as “can’t”.   

They were not quitters in anything in life from working, to marriage, to raising children. They had a genuine respect for others, and a servant's heart toward their neighbors, families and friends. Neighbors would help neighbors, no hemming or hawing - they just did. 

In those times people didn’t talk as much, but when they did, it was useful, valuable, and had real substance to their conversations. Not much time left for gossip or mindless dribble…

 A natural way of teaching and training us was by living out what they taught us. We were allowed to fail, to make mistakes, and to pick ourselves up and begin again! 
Conversations were more about what was right and what was wrong, and examples of each. 

We knew that our parents meant business - not too much negotiation in those days. We were disciplined, and knew we would be if we didn’t do the right thing.

Grandparents were respected and listened to, especially if their wisdom about any subject matter was a part of their story. We were encouraged to listen and value their ways of living and learn from them how to navigate our own lives. 

There were no vacations as we know them today. Rest and relaxation was a trip to grandparents’ homes, and mine both lived 60 miles away.  My parents were always there helping them every other weekend, no matter what.

And if we took a vacation away from home we took them with us!  No one got left behind….They were grateful people who worked hard. They did not complain when the fields needed “haying”, and it was 90 degrees outside, or cooking dinner for the family without air conditioning. Oh  - and please and thank you were absolutely required as part of conversations or else “I do not hear you” was said until those words were uttered.  Signs of respect and gratitude were expectations of us all. 

But we, “the baby boomers”, were totally intentional in doing just the opposite.  After all, we were born in the “fabulous 50s.”!! Our generation during the teenage years was not compliant. It was all about doing our own thing no matter who it hurt in the process.  Hippies and long hair on guys, women’s  lib, the acceptance of abortions and divorce all were promoted by even my high school teachers.  Then came the “peace” lovers, the drug users, and those who searched for the unknown happiness in either only sexual encounters, or relationships without meaning or value.  “Finding yourself” was the saying and challenge in the years of the 60s. We left behind all I knew as a kid, the experiences of growing up with dedicated values and principals. 

So when I look at the comparisons of people, just one generation apart from each other as described above, it’s quite clear to say, the older generation was and still is, the greatest generation. There was peace and real respect, hard work, gratitude, integrity and character.  

The paragraph that describes the “baby boomers” era goes into the “ 60s “ era.  What a huge difference in just a generation! Little by little a moral decay was happening;  an undermining of authority, a huge lack of respect for all people, and a complacency for all things work and decent living. 

I could go on but I’m pretty sure you get the picture. So subtle and deceiving was the deterioration in morals and values in a relatively short amount of time.
When I was 33 I began a new life because Jesus chose me and saved me. I was not trained or taught the ways of the Lord while growing up. But our grandparents prayed for us. So I received Him and my life changed forever. 

In those days our grandparents didn’t talk to others about Jesus like we do today. But they really didn’t have to because I believe most of that generation knew Jesus. They all went to church and read their own Bibles!! It was almost as though each knew the other was a follower of Jesus and the need to share the gospel wasn’t as big a need as it has been since then. According to my mom, they would bring their tithe to their church in the form of a bushel of potatoes ,or clothes someone had made, whatever God would lead them to bring to meet the needs of others ( as written in the book of Acts). It was a “given,” that most people went to church. People just went because they wanted to. And the fruits of those who followed Jesus were there as I shared above. 

Having shared with you the generational differences, I need to say that the real difference is having Jesus!!

The “best” generation may not have talked about faith much but they walked it out daily….

My generation did not. We  walked as the world walked, in spite of anyone talking or walking with Jesus. 

We questioned that walk and poked fun at the “Jesus freaks” which started the Jesus Revolution in the late 60s. We were lost and without repentance. We didn’t understand. There was little to no conversation about King Jesus for me in my generation. So when I became His, at age 33, I knew nothing. I, by His Grace and the Faith that He gave me to believe, became a follower of Jesus Christ. 

I remember when  I was around 12 years old, I looked up at the sky when lounging in the grass one afternoon and asked “are You up there God?”  How did I even know to ask that?   The Bible says we all know “ of Him .”  Ecclesiastes 3:11 “He has made everything in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end”. 

Paul writes in Romans 1:20 “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. 

In Romans 1:21 Paul describes how some people get a glimpse of the truth but do not allow it to work in their lives. They suppress it in order to live by their own “truth”, following their own human ideas, which seems better and less convincing. 

Psalm 19:1-4 the psalmist affirms that these people are without excuse. “The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display His craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make Him known. They speak without sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.”  In blog #1 I shared how I loved God's creation and, and how God spoke to me in His creation. It has spoken to many as the scriptures just talked about. 

We all know “of God” at some point in our lives. It’s when we receive and follow Him all the rest of our lives that brings us to a real understanding and right relationship that we begin to know who He is in our own life. He is alive, He is real, and wants to spend time with us. He is the Perfect One and loves us unconditionally!

So whether you were born in the 50s,60s or later, you can know the love of the Father like I and so many others do. I will always remember the day Jesus saved me and how loved I felt for the first time - real love.  The steadfast love of God is revealed to us through salvation in Jesus Christ. 

God is the only safe place in this upside down world today. A blessed assurance awaits us if we trust in Him for our lives. A peace that passes all understanding is ours because Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He gives us His peace (not as the world gives). Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man, gives us His everlasting and unconditional love, when we become His!! It’s eternal and He lavishes those who love and obey His commands. His love is larger than we can ever know or have through people. When we receive His love we can then love others. 

1John 4:7 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”

1John 2:15 “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 

This concludes the message series for “the Fathers love”. 
There’s an infinite love we are not capable of understanding that the Father gives and works in us, we cannot possibly know the depth in which His love abides in us. But we can believe that He IS love and we can receive it for ourselves. Only believe for it and receive it for yourselves and it will be yours…..✝️✝️❤️

Signing off for now…

Lucy Baretta

The On God Blog

Psalm 93:4 “Mightier than the waves of the sea is HIS love for you”.

2 Cor. 6:18 “and I will be a Father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” says the Lord Almighty.

Many of us didn’t have a good relationship, or maybe did not have one at all, with a father as we grew up.  As a result we lacked knowledge, wisdom, confidence, understanding and many of the necessary ways to grow into healthy individuals prepared to handle life challenges. Many of us still don’t understand the love of a father.  So I hope to encourage us all with God’s Word and to speak more about His love in our own lives.

God has always been Father, and is eternal.  

In our recent podcast, the subject was The Father's Love. Pastor Kris and I discussed  this wonderful and awesome love the Father has for us. Maybe you would like to refresh your memory and watch again and reference what we discussed. I will be using some of the scriptures I used in the podcast.

1John 3:1 -“ Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!”

We are His children when we receive His Son, Jesus.

I will tell my story in the next blog as a follow up to this one, about how I finally knew the Fathers love for myself.

This subject is so important for our foundation as Jesus followers. It’s an important part of our walk each day to know who we are in Christ. Our Heavenly Father chose us to be in His Kingdom, we did not choose Him (John 15:16 you did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you).

When we really know we have received Jesus, and then the Fathers love, we can begin to know who we are in Him.

We can be healed of all past emotional hurts that robbed us of healthy relationships with our own fathers. It takes time but only God can make us whole emotionally and create a healthy, loving and reverential relationship with Him. Which is exactly what we need and have always looked for  - most likely not knowing that for ourselves. But He gave us His perfect Son as a perfect example of what a Father/Child relationship can look like.

There is no lack of love in our Heavenly Father!! He’s the perfect “family Man” that can model for us what our own families can look like. He created us and our families. He is King in our homes and knows the answers to all problematic situations. Nothing is too hard for King Jesus. And we can go to the Father and ask for His grace and favor every day.

Lamentations 3:22 “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. 23: they are new every morning; Great is your faithfulness. 24: The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “ Therefore I hope in Him!” God IS love. 1 John 4:8 “he who does not love does not know God, for God is love. “

I will leave off here and encourage you to watch the 5 people sharing their stories on the website “Father’sLoveLetter.com”.   Don’t miss listening to the “love letter from Dad” narrated by Barry - it is so touching as well.

When you access this site, scroll down to the recorded stories of 5 people each telling their story and testimony. They all tell how they did not know the love of an earthly father. I have listened and typed here each one’s testimony of how their lives changed once they accepted Jesus. Please note, their stories I have typed, reflect  the manner in which they shared - not my words but theirs. I just believe having it in writing, along with hearing them each share, will impact our own lives more significantly.

1. Jim - had a hard working father, no time to play with his kids. Dad understood providing for and being consistently bringing home his paycheck to pay the bills - he saw that as his primary function, and saw his relationships as being secondary.

As he was moving into his teen years, on his 16th birthday, he was feeling closer to his mom, and it was a shock when he came home; there on his sister’s bed was a note saying his mother was leaving with another man. Suddenly in one afternoon, his whole life was torn apart.  It really took him years to get through that, to get to a place of talking with his mother, before he could process what that meant in his life. “It came to a point where I took most meaning in my life from the sports I played and the teams I played on, the awards I won, and the championship teams I was on. For me it was a place of proving ground, being smaller than many other competitors, I saw an opportunity to prove myself and to receive accolades from other people and win awards, a way of feeling I was worthwhile and I could accomplish something.”

2. Keyla - “every little girl wants to know that she’s daddy’s girl, that she’s beautiful, she wants to be held in daddy’s arms, told wonderful things”. Her dad was not that kind of man, no physical touch or affirming words. “Being the 4th child, I was the baby, and my parents took care of me, but when the 5th child came along, I felt displaced, and felt I wasn’t belonging. Because my sister was a very ill baby. But when you’re 7 or 8, you don’t see it like that - its a form of rejection. “When everyone found out, my brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles, that I was getting paid to have my photographs taken, they thought it was the greatest thing on earth, then I of course thought it was the greatest thing on earth. Because everybody else thought it was the greatest thing that I was getting money for it. But then I thought - that’s how I’m going to be accepted. So the only way I was going to be accepted now was to live up to that expectation that I have to make a lot of money, I have to be on magazine covers and on commercials - that led to eating disorders, I had no control over my weight, I was probably 2 sizes smaller than I am now, I had to lose 15 pounds, I had to use drugs to stop myself from eating and to curb my appetite.  When my husband or my friends would show me a picture or photograph they wanted me to be like that person, so I would almost take on the identity/persona of that person, to be something, because I was not good enough to be myself.”

3. John - “My dad struggled with alcoholism. He came from a home where his dad and mom separated at an early age, and it was devastating for him. My father was into judo, a martial arts sport, he was quite good at it..he got hurt in a demonstration when he couldn’t be in the sport any longer. When my brother was 10 and I was 7 years old we got into judo.  It was kind of like we were living my dads dream for him. We trained for 1-2 hours a night for 7 days a week. We were tournament fighters. And so I can remember that we would go into these tournaments and we would fight, looking at an opponent, and bowing down and ready to fight.  Every fight wasn’t about the love of the sport, but the love of my dad. I felt that every time I lost a fight,I felt that I was letting him down - there were times I cried like a little boy - you might think I was a poor sport, but I wasn’t - my heart was really broken that I would have let my dad down, and that he wanted me to win. For my dad, most of my childhood and into my adult life, I just wanted to please him. The way I thought I could please him would be through performance, and if I could achieve enough, that somehow I would gain that love and acceptance. But unfortunately it seemed no matter what I did,  and certainly was more about me, than it was my father, no matter what I did it just didn’t seem like it was enough. It was just like one more thing, so I became very driven, I became a type A personality. I had to measure success in the things I did, but the motivation was a need for love and affirmation from my dad.

4. Sally - “both of my parents were raised in families where the fathers of their fathers died before my father was born. Moms family lived in a difficult situation as well, 11 children came very quickly.  My grandmother was not a happy woman because of that. It was a hard life in the depression and so just survival is what mattered. They came into parenting probably not equipped. I was a surprise for my parents, and I felt that growing up, not so much that I wasn’t wanted, but a sense that I should never have existed. Not that my parents rejected me in any way but a spiritual thing I carried that was unintentional on anybody’s part. But I knew I was a surprise all my life so I grew up feeling like I should never have existed. And I don’t think I realized that I felt like that until I was an adult, I realized I was always trying to make sure I wasn’t rocking anybody’s boat, or making anybody uncomfortable, so I wouldn’t push myself on them, like - I shouldn’t be here anyways. Largely out of the fear of being abandoned, I had the feeling of - I shouldn’t have ever existed. I grew up looking for something permanent I could hang onto, and I really looked for that in relationships. As I grew older the things I had used to make me feel secure, one by one, they disappeared on me.  I started to have really serious problems with depression and anxiety attacks that would last for a very long time.”

5. Lyla - “My mom was a fearful person of people. I never saw the affection and warmth, because she couldn’t give me what she didn’t have.  It was a very lonely time, because a girl gets her ideas about femininity and warmth and tenderness from her mother. I didn’t get any of that from her. I had no memory of my father at all, totally blocked out for whatever reason, it must have been too painful.  My whole family life, his image is like an empty picture frame.”  She didn’t know. She couldn’t imagine what he looked like except from old photos. Doesn’t have a live picture of him.  “My father got very ill, and he died of cancer when I was 7 years old. All I knew is that my life came crashing down.  My mother on the day of the funeral, she looked at me, and said, almost like pronouncing a very bad prophecy over me, you and I will always be alone. Just remember you will always be alone, and I felt a sense of independence right then and to be strong.

Every little girl needs a father, every little girl wants to stand before her daddy and say ‘look, accept me, if the whole world rejects, it rejects me, tell me that I am pretty, I’m smart, I can twirl before you and be silly, and it's a safe place to go. If nobody likes me, kids make fun of me, my daddy is there for me’. So I crave protection terribly. I looked for boyfriends for that and I used them for affection.  And of course if they wanted to go further,into a healthy relationship, then I would cut them off so I would throw them away, cause I needed the affection from a male. I had this fantasy I would find them somewhere, a dentist, counselor, teacher - maybe they would be kind to me. Of course my whole life became about sexual abuse later on, because I was a target, a primary target - for men had other ideas, not what I wanted.”

I feel certain we all have one or more of these background experiences, that we could also talk about. All of us have a story to tell about how we came to know Jesus and the Father.

Some have more horrific pasts or challenges than others. But we all have one. With Jesus as our own Savior and our Lord, we can have hope that our lives will be victorious to the end, if we cling to the ONE that gave His very life for each one of us. If there’s someone who is reading this and doesn’t know Jesus as their own Lord and Savior, I invite you to ask Him into your heart and life and to follow Him all the rest of your days. Ask Him, Jesus, to forgive you all of your sins and put Him first in your life. Once you have done all that, trust Him with your life and watch what He will do for you. Eternal life is our promise and life here more abundant. He loves you and all of us so much. You will be blessed and loved by the Father, more than you can know….

Until the next time be blessed.

Lucy Baretta

The On God Blog
✝️❤️

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”. 

So we know right here that God is our Father. He’s the Father of Jesus eternally, and through Jesus, He is our Father. Those of us that became believers and followers of Jesus are now reconciled to the Father, through the gift of salvation Jesus gave us at the Cross!! Through Jesus we receive the eternal love of the Father, and are called “children of God” (1 John 3:1 “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!”)

In love God does not force Himself on anyone. We all are, or have been given, a choice to receive His love, and to learn how to live in it, with it, for it and through it fully. We can know if we truly have received His love or not. There are some ways to know as we meditate on His Word. We may not understand the depth of the Fathers love for us, but we do believe it’s deep, and so important to our walk of faith everyday!

His love is unconditional - not based on performance. 

He reminds us we are accepted as His children and that we are eternally valuable and accepted. 

God the Father is love - not that He only shows or gives us love, but as the verb states - He is love! His love transforms how we view ourselves and others. His love is not contingent upon our mistakes and shortcomings. 

God’s love is ready to comfort and to bring us hope and joy. His love is pure and deep. It allows us to thrive and share love with those around us. His love empowers us to face life’s challenges with confidence, knowing we are secure in Him and can lean on Him through our struggles. He cares for us like a loving parent does for his own child, bringing us reassurance and peace. Like an earthly father He guides and protects His children and is ever present. His Love allows us restoration and forgiveness. When we stumble or stray from His path His arms are always open for us to return. 

I believe we can know by reading these Fatherly attributes, qualities, and behaviors of Father God, whether we have truly received our Father’s love for ourselves. 

This is the end of part 1 in writing about this absolutely awesome gift of love to us from the Father. 

I will continue to share in our next blog the evidence and/or fruits that confirm we have His love inside us (because we know we have received it!)

Of course we all have the choice to receive it. Sometimes when we don’t have an earthly father that was a good example it can take us longer to receive. And that’s ok.

We can want it and have faith that we have it!!

Signing off for now…

The On God Blog - Lucy Barretta

I love God’s creation which gives us His splendid variety of trees, so unique each and every one of them. Is it just no wonder we are drawn to their splendor, color and stature? In the fall the vibrant colors are just breath-taking and mesmerize us with their existence. I could sit for hours in front of one, or a forest of trees, that our God created just for us. My vacations have always beckoned me to those areas in our country, with the most vivid and variety of trees, that offer beautiful bold autumn colors in the fall. He is IN the creation!! His creation is perfect. Have you ever noticed that human hands can not, nor will ever change the color in the leaves? Only God, our creator, can change the colors. 

We enjoy the wonderful peace we feel from these areas of nature that our God has given to us. This was my first “draw” to the God of creation, and it has never left me - even at my current age. I still love this arena to rest and to be refreshed in knowing He is with me… I am at total peace by being in a place where I can sit and just listen, and enjoy the view of what the awesome Hand of God has created for us. I rest assured that “He did not settle” when He provided us with His creation for us to enjoy. He is my Hero when it comes to” nothing but perfection” for us, because He loves us so much….His creation allows us to first know who He is and get close to Him. How about the smell of newly mown grass, or the smell of river water, or rain falling? How about the flowers that just permeate the air even after we have cut them to adorn our homes or offices?

Looking at the mountains that no man has walked before? The Christmas trees we cut down to allow their aromas to fill our homes at Christmas time? Or, the tremendous Redwood trees or Yosemite National Park? I believe we are drawn to the Creator by enjoying and appreciating these awesome tangible creations He gave us. Our souls long for Him as we soak up His creation, without realizing it is Him we are desiring and longing for. Nothing can satisfy or fulfill our needs, or fill up our hearts, like the God of the universe!

So, who am I? 
 
Well, for almost 40 years I, Lucy Barretta,  have learned and am still learning, to rest, serve, trust, depend on, wait on, love Him and receive His love. I want to continue to know Him more and more - who is our Lord? 

HE who created me, you, and all of the universe. I am so blessed to be His daughter , and to belong to Jesus, my Savior and Lord.  

I share all this in the hope you will know me now, and even more, as I share in this blog what God would have me to write. 

This title God gave me. To write of the many issues that are important to Him first, and we who belong to Him secondly. This is not just for us Believers to read - it’s for everyone who wants to know more about life. And I won’t settle for anything less than what He has for me to write. Truths and honesty come to mind first off. Nothing watered down, or written for “itching ears”, (written only for what some may want to hear). That’s not the purpose or mission of this blog. Its purpose is to fulfill what God wants us to have and know in this hour, about many issues that we live out and face every day…both in and outside of our church gatherings. Bringing folks together with one accord, and as believers in Christ, unity in the whole Body of Christ!!

The On God Blog - Lucy Barretta