The Furnace of Suffering

Are you suffering?  Do you find yourself in a situation that is causing you great pain, either physical or emotional, or both?  Are you afraid of what tomorrow may bring?

No one likes to suffer.  We were not created to suffer.  We were created to enjoy God in all of His fullness and to live in joy and peace.  But sin entered the world and thwarted our original destiny. Hence, our suffering.

But suffering is not the end of the story.  Jesus Christ came to deliver us from suffering. The Word of God says that Christ died and rose again from the dead "to destroy the works of the devil" (I John 3:8).  Jesus Christ came to give us abundant life (John 10:10).

So, why do we continue to suffer?

One reason is that we are still in this world, and the world is infested with sin.  But I believe that the main reason for our continued suffering is to bring us to the point of total dependence on God.

We humans create for ourselves bastions of false security in which we place our trust.  We trust our jobs to give us security. We trust our governments to give us security. We trust our own strength to give us security.  But there is nothing and there is no one who can give us security but God.

The Lord uses suffering to unfasten our tight grip on our false securities.  He wants us to depend totally on Him. But we are so attached to our false securities that God must sometimes use drastic means to wrench us from them.  Hence, we suffer.

Are you now in the furnace of suffering? Then rejoice! God is pruning you, cleansing you, purifying you.  He is transforming you into the image of His own dear Son. 

Be encouraged by these words from our wonderful heavenly Father: "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning" (Psalm 30:5).
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Copyright 2014 by Dr. MaryAnn Diorio. All rights reserved.
Photo by Jon Sullivan. http://www.public-domain-photos.com/

God Wants to Heal Your Broken Heart

The God of the Christian and the Jew is a personal God. This means that He knows everything about you and wants to have a personal relationship with you.

No other religion worships a personal God.  The gods of other religions are demanding, distant, and often destructive.  They exact sometimes impossible prices in exchange for their favors. They do not care about your hurting heart, nor do they have any power to heal you.  Most of all, they have no power to save you.

Why is this so? The reason is that the gods of all religions other than Christianity and Judaism are false gods--indeed, no gods at all.  They are demonic spirits who disguise themselves as gods.

But the God of Christianity and Judaism--the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob--is real and personal and caring.  He is the only true God.  He is all powerful, almighty, and omnipresent.  He created the universe, and He created you.  He is Love Personified.

Because God created you, He can restore you.  He can heal you.  He can deliver you.  He can give you peace. 

But He not only can restore you, heal you, and deliver you; He WANTS to restore you, heal you, and deliver you.

This is the God of the Christian and the Jew.  He is the God Who is also your Father, if you choose to make Him your Father. 

All people are creations of God, but not all people are children of God.  One becomes a child of God only by accepting Jesus Christ--Yeshua HaMashiach--as Savior and Lord. 

Accept Christ today.  Do not delay, for you may not have another opportunity to do so.  Choose to serve the only true and living God.  Experience the joy of a personal relationship with the God Who made you and wants to be your Father.

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Copyright 2014 by Dr. MaryAnn Diorio. All Rights Reserved.

How Do You Envision God?

How do you envision God? The one and only true God? Do you see Him as distant, uncaring, or irrelevant to your life? Do you see Him as ready to punish you for the slightest offense? Do you even wonder if He exists?

Your view of God will determine your relationship to Him. It is imperative, therefore, to have a correct view of God so that you can have a fulfilling relationship with Him.

So, who is God, and what is He like?

God is Love.  This means that His very essence is love.  Since His essence is love, everything He says, thinks, and does is motivated by love. 

Because God is Love, He must give love, for the nature of love is to give itself.  Love must have someone to love.  God has chosen to love you.

Consider this:

• God loves you just as you are.
• You do not and cannot earn God's love. He freely gives it to you.
• God demonstrated His love for you by sending His Son, Jesus Christ/Yeshua HaMashiach, to pay the price for your sin by giving His life in exchange for yours.
• God forgives you of every and any sin when you repent and come to Him.
• God created you for a unique purpose that only you can fulfill. You are not an accident as the evolutionists would say.
• You were created to worship. If you do not worship the one true God, you will worship a false god, a creature, an ideology, or an activity.
• You will never know who you truly are until you return to your Creator through Jesus Christ.
• Jesus Christ is the only way to be reconnected to God the Father, your Creator. Despite what is currently being proclaimed throughout the world, all paths do not lead to God. Only one path leads to God, and that way is Jesus Christ.  He Himself said so (John 14:6).
• God has written a personal love letter to you. It is called the Bible.
• The Bible is your manual for living. Just as you receive a manual when you buy a car, so do you receive a manual when you are born into this world. That manual is the Bible.  In it you will find everything you need to know to live a happy, healthy, prosperous life in this world.
• You can choose to know God. He has given you a free will because He wants you to love Him freely. 
• God wants a personal relationship with you.  He wants to be your Father.  He wants to bless you, to heal you, to set you free. 
• You can choose to be reconnected to your heavenly Father.  To do so, accept the only path to re-connection:  Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ is God the Son.  He will reconnect you to God the Father.  Jesus alone has provided the way for reconnection.  He did so by coming to earth as a man while still being God.  Jesus bridged the gap between God and man. He paid for your sin and my sin in our stead.  He took the punishment that we should have suffered for our sin against God.  In exchange, Jesus gave us eternal life.

To be reconnected to God the Father through Jesus Christ His Son, pray this simple prayer:

Lord Jesus, I believe that You are the Son of God.  I accept You now as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for reconnecting me to God the Father.  I embrace You, Father.  I receive Your embrace. Make of me what You created me to be.  Amen.

If you prayed this prayer, please leave a comment or write to me at maryann@maryanndiorio.com. I look forward to hearing from you.
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Copyright 2014 by Dr. MaryAnn Diorio.  All Rights Reserved.

Faith Does Not Make Sense

For the last two hundred years or so, the western world has made an idol of human reason.  Reason has become the yardstick for measuring truth.  If something cannot be supported by reason, then it is dismissed as foolish, ridiculous, or even stupid. 

This exaltation of reason has prevented thousands upon thousands from experiencing the power of faith.  Faith does not contradict reason; faith supersedes reason. 

Perhaps I can best explain it like this.  Here on earth we are subject to the Law of Gravity. But there is another law that supersedes the Law of Gravity. It is called the Law of Lift.  The Law of Lift is what enables an airplane to supersede the Law of Gravity in order to fly.

Reason is like the Law of Gravity. It keeps us grounded in the natural.  Faith, however, is like the Law of Lift.  It allows us to rise above reason and to enter the realm of the supernatural.

Faith is the currency of the Kingdom of God.  A person enters the Kingdom by faith and lives in the Kingdom by faith.  To the human mind, faith does not make sense because faith has nothing to do with the senses.  Faith has everything to do with the spirit.  But unless the spirit is regenerated through union with Jesus Christ, the spirit will never understand faith. 

Scripture tells us that "faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see" (Hebrews 11:1).  Do you need assurance about things you cannot see?  Do you want to have the confidence that what you are hoping for will actually happen?
Then place your faith in the only One Who can honor your faith: Jesus the Christ, the Son of God and the Savior of the world. 

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Copyright 2014 by MaryAnn Diorio, PhD, MFA.  All Rights Reserved.

Are We in the End Times?

There is something in the air, and most of us can sense it.  Earthquakes seem to be increasing. Weather patterns seem to be altering in dramatic ways. The threat of yet another war seems to be looming on the horizon, and with the nuclear weapons we have available today, if a war should erupt, it will be far different from previous wars.

People seem to be more anxious and fearful than ever. When I was a child of eight years of age, I would take the bus by myself to go downtown. There was no danger.  We slept with our doors unlocked. During the summer, we even slept on the porch with no concern whatsoever.

Today, we live behind alarm systems and barred windows. We look over our shoulders as we walk city streets.  We drive through traffic lights and know that we are being monitored.

People seem more rude than ever. Hostilities abound between nations and between spouses. Sin is no longer hidden for fear of punishment; instead, sin is openly and shamelessly exalted.

What does all this mean?

Scripture has much to say about all of the above. What I have described are the signs that will occur before the return of Jesus Christ. Yes, Jesus Christ is coming back. Acts 1:11 tells us that "Jesus, whom you saw taken up from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you saw him go.”  Are you ready for His return?

The eyes of the world are focused on the Middle East, particularly Israel.  Have you ever wondered why?  Why does a nation about the size of the state of New Jersey hold the rapt attention of the entire world? Why does a tiny nation with a small population compared to the rest of the world play such a critical role in current events?

The reason is that Israel is God's nation. He established it and He will preserve it. Despite all attempts to annihilate Israel, it will never happen. Jesus Christ Himself will return to earth to rescue His people. And all those who oppose Him will be destroyed.

It is a dangerous thing to stand against Israel. He who stands against Israel stands against Almighty God. The prophecies of Scripture have never failed to be fulfilled just as they were prophesied.  While all of the prophecies have not yet been fulfilled, those that have come to pass have been fulfilled exactly as prophesied.

What does all of this mean for you? It means that you must make yourself ready for the return of the Lord.  How? By accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord.  He alone can save you from sin. He alone can redeem you from destruction. He alone can satisfy your heart with good things.

To accept Christ is to accept eternal life.  To reject Christ is to accept eternal damnation. Yes, there is a hell, despite what many say.  But you do not have to go there when you die. The choice is yours. Accept Jesus Christ now. Then write to me to tell me you have.

Here is a simple prayer you can pray:

Lord Jesus, I am a sinner and I need a Savior. I ask You to forgive me of my sin. I turn to You to save me. I receive You as my Savior and Lord. Make of me what You created me to be. Amen.

If you prayed this prayer from your heart, you are now a child of God. Scripture says "But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12).

Please let me know if you have prayed this prayer. I will send you information on how to begin your new life in Jesus Christ.

May our Lord bless you and keep you. May He make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May He grant you His favor and give you His peace. Amen and Amen!

The Four Hearts: Which One Are You?

The Parable of the Sower is the foundational parable. If we do not understand this parable, we will not understand the rest of Christ's parables.

In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus speaks of the seed, which is the Word of God, and of four types of soil onto which the seed falls:  1) hard soil; 2) rocky soil; 3) thorny soil; and 4) good soil. Each type of soil represents one of the four types of the human heart.  As you read further, think about what type of heart you have.

The hard soil represents the heart hardened by sin. This type of soil hears the Word of God but does not understand it because this heart has been seared by sin. Therefore, this kind of heart cannot receive the Word of God because Satan quickly snatches it away.

The stony soil represents the heart of him who hears the Word of God and is initially delighted with it. But when troubles come, the stony heart loses faith because he did not allow his heart to be transformed by the Word.

The thorny soil represents the heart of him who seems to receive the Word of God but who, in reality, allows the cares and pleasures of this world to choke out the Word.

The good soil represents the heart of him who gladly receives the Word of God and allows it to transform him. This heart bears much fruit for the Kingdom. This heart is the only one of the four that is truly saved.

What type of heart are you? Be honest with yourself. If your heart is not the good soil, you can choose to change now. Ask Jesus to create in you a clean heart, a good heart.  He will. ______________________________________________________
Copyright 2014 by MaryAnn Diorio, PhD, MFA.  All rights reserved.

The Gift of Grace

If you are like me, you mess up in some way nearly every day. Whether it is through a misspoken word or a thoughtless act, we succumb to our human frailty on a regular basis.

If you are also like me, you feel very bad when you sin.  To sin means to miss the mark.  As humans, we frequently miss the mark because of our flawed nature.

When we sin, however, we have an Advocate before the Father in Heaven. Our Advocate, or Lawyer, is Jesus Christ Himself.  If we have accepted Him as our Savior, He pleads our case before the Father.

The Father is the Judge. Jesus is the Defense Attorney. If we are in Christ through being born again, then when we stand before the Father, the Father looks at us through the lens of Christ. The Father sees that we are in Christ, and the Father acquits us.

How great a gift God has given us in Jesus Christ!  If you have not yet accepted the Gift of Christ, which is the Gift of Grace, I urge you to do so now. Here is a prayer you can pray:

Lord Jesus, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I cannot save myself. I need You to save me. I receive You now as my Savior. Cleanse me and make me whole. In Your Name I pray. Amen.

If you prayed this prayer, you are now a child of God.  Your next step is to begin reading the Bible. Then find a good church that teaches the Word of God in all of its fullness and without compromise.

If you have any questions about your new birth in Christ, please write to me at maryann@maryanndiorio.com. I will be happy to answer your questions.

Are You a Prisoner of These Lies?

Many lies are being perpetrated today in the name of tolerance.  Here are a few:

1) All belief systems lead to God.
2) A good God would not allow people to go to Hell.
3) As long as I am a good person, I will go to Heaven.

Please allow me to address each of these lies since believing one or all of them will result in your eternal damnation.

1) First, the lie that all belief systems lead to God.  All belief systems are not equal in the sense that all do not teach the truth.  What is the truth?  The truth is a Person named Jesus Christ.  He said, "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6).

To believe anything that contradicts that Christ is the Truth is to believe a lie.

Jesus taught that there is only one way for man to be saved, and that way is to accept Him as the Savior.  In the Gospel of John, chapter one, verse 12, the Word tells us that ". . . to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God."  One cannot enter God's family without accepting Jesus Christ, the Door to the family.

2) Second, the lie that a good God would not allow people to go to Hell.  The truth is that God does not send anyone to hell.  A person sends himself to hell.  Hell is the tormenting absence of God. When one moves away from God, one moves toward Hell.  The less of God one has in one's life, the more of Hell one has in one's life.  There will come a point at which the decision to remain estranged from God will be a permanent one. That point is called death. Thereafter, Hell will be a permanent state for the person who has chosen not to follow Christ while on this earth.

3) Third, the lie that as long as I am a good person, I will go to Heaven.  Getting to Heaven has nothing to do with what we do, but it has everything to do with what Jesus Christ has done. No matter how many good works we do, they will not get us into Heaven.  Why?  Because our good works mean nothing in relation to our sin.  Our good works can never erase the sin nature from our hearts. Only God can do that, and He did it through Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ took our place and paid the price for our sin.  He became our scapegoat because of His infinite love for us.  He knew we could never earn salvation on our own, so He earned it for us.  All we have to do is believe and receive that salvation.

The time is short before the return of Jesus Christ to judge the earth.  Please take to heart what I have written.  Please research it for yourself.  Most of all, please ask God to reveal His truth to you so that you may have eyes to see and ears to hear.

If you have any questions, please write to me at maryann@maryanndiorio.com.  My prayer is that you will know the truth that will set you free (John 8:32).