The Circle of God’s Blessings
By: Zach Rippey
The world feels like it’s falling apart. It truly does. What you see going on in Cuba right now is heartbreaking. I was born in Miami and lived in the area throughout my childhood, and my dad’s side of the family is hispanic. I have a soft spot for Cuba I didn’t know existed until this year. We should be praying for them and speaking up for the people of Cuba! Those people are just like us, with families, who can’t even make money in their own country to feed their family. They have to have someone from the United States send them money so they could feed their families. If you haven’t been paying attention to global news, you have no clue what I’m talking about. The reality is this ‘global news’ is only 100 miles away from the United States. We have let our neighbor suffer in a communist government for far too long. Now, I am not the most educated person on global politics and global news but I know I am a human being with a heart and my heart hurts for those people. What is happening just one hundred miles away is encouraged, promoted, and is the ideology of the current government officials that are running our country right now. Running the country right into the ground might I add.
Just this past week the White House came out and said they are collaborating…Or shall I say colluding with Social Media Companies to censor those who are spreading misinformation. In other words, they can choose what the social narrative is about all issues, news, and public perception. Because it starts with the vaccine and then it moves into everything else and truth will no longer be found on the internet. It will be all lies; if that isn’t already the case.
You know what’s not a lie? You know what they can’t take away? The Word of God. We need to be in there more as a nation. We need less social media, more Bible! Will that happen? Maybe in a few years we will get to that point as humanity starts to see how fallen man truly is. As believers in God, do not fear the censorship! The truth will always shine when you’re focused on it. That truth is God. That truth is the power of the name Jesus Christ.
The “little g” god of this world, satan himself thinks he is winning. On the outside it looks like he is. He knows his time is short and he’s trying to take every soul to Hell with him. Not so satan can rule over them, but because satan doesn’t want to burn alone. The devil hates humans, he uses them, kills them, and destroys them. Yet the devil has no dominion over anything in this world. He’s just has an influence on those who don’t know Christ, and those who don’t choose God. These are two different humans, and I’m trying to reach those humans who don’t know God more than I am trying to reach those that don’t choose God.
So despite the world feeling like it is fallen apart with Cuba, continuous China conflict, and all the oppressive governments not relenting power they grabbed back in March 2020. Despite the country looking like a shell of what it use to be. It’s important for your thoughts to be about heavenly things, like Paul commands us to do. The more we lean into God, the better our lives will be. Because once you have God, and you’re surrendering to His will, and you’re focusing on the Lord and His Word we will have joy, blessings, and all our needs met. HE promises us this as His Children. “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:13)
Although the world outside of your own circle may appear to be on fire. Sometimes for our own spiritual health and mental stability we have to put the blinders on to the outside world. Don’t be ignorant, but also don’t put your faith in it. Don’t look at your life through the lens of how the world is moving. Look at your life from the lens of how God is moving in your life. This is the definition of clear cut clarity. Pay attention to the blessings. See the beauty, don’t gripe about the curses. Only fools complain about things that are out of their control. Because everything out of our control is in God’s control. We trust in Him, He is GOOD, He Loves us. Remember that time he died for us to save us from going to Hell?! The wrath coming to mankind was as deserving then and it is deserving now. More so now for those who choose not to accept Christ because like he says in John 15:22, “They would not be guilty if I had not come and spoken to them. But now they have no excuse for their sin. — They have seen everything that I did and they still hate me and my father” . How lucky are we that God chose us to know and have a relationship with his one and only son. Christ is available for anyone. We just have to choose him!
Maybe you have heard this verse Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God.”
Yes…. And In the middle God. And In the End God, clearly stated in the book of Revelation. Right now we are in the middle. God is still God. He’s all around us. Brilliant Christian Writer A.W Tozier powerfully said, “God dwells in His creation and is everywhere indivisibly present in all His works.”
He is who we need to be putting our time into. These distractions, phones, entertainment, politics are all separating us from God. We have to realize that every time we pick one of them up. All those distractions are polluting our minds with sin. Telling you how and what to think and teaching you things that don’t lift you up but put you down. Put us in a bad mood, make our blood pressure higher, and slowly but surely make us loose faith in God.
Cuba. Vaccine Passport. Israel - Hammas, China, Corruption, Censorship, Inflation, Delta Variant. Mask, propaganda, fear mongering. These rulers and villains will eventually have to face judgement from God Almighty and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then, and some who are the greatest now will be least important then.” (Luke 13:10)
We are called to be different. Let’s be different. Spend more time in the word than you do on the gram. Spend more time thinking about God than we do thinking about this fallen world. I’m talking to me and I’m talking to you. We have to do better, Christ demands it out of us. We have to deny self to obtain this. We naturally just want to relax, chill, and put a movie on… That’s all okay, but let’s not allow that to be all that we are when we get some free time from our earthly responsibilities. Make some time for God in your life every day and watch how your life changes. Watch the way you start to make decisions. Watch the way you treat people better. Watch the way you start to see your blessings not your shortcomings. Watch how you transform inside out to be more like Christ and less like man.
The power of Jesus in your daily life is the reason I’m writing these words and recording these episodes. I truly want to reach those people who don’t know God, so many of us have never been given a chance to hear the real gospel. Not the hearsay Jesus, or the American Jesus, or the legalist Jesus but the REAL, table flipping, truth spitting, wisest mouth to ever speak Jesus. The Jesus we all needed him to be He was. The Jesus that rose a man from the dead. The Jesus that walked on water. The Jesus that fed thousands and said only a few will get the real bread of life. Which is HIM!
We were on our way to Hell before he left his throne to come save us. After Adam, We were NEVER right with God and then Jesus came through and brutally died a criminals death on a cross…. For little ole us. He was killed in front of his mother so you and I can know God. Not just know God now, but know God forever. This life isn’t about the burning world outside of your home, it’s about your relationship with Christ and are we actively trying to lead others to him. The circle of God’s Blessings are right in front of us. His name is being removed from our values, culture, and laws. It’s on us to speak the name of Jesus wherever we go. Be the light. Be the sermon. Share your testimony. Give God all the glory in your life! For every blessing! Every lesson! And every second! I pray you receive this message well. In Jesus Name I Pray Amen!