Walking this life of faith can be particularly difficult when life circumstances or situations push every button and cause our emotions to scream where the enemy tries to make us think God is not there for us. We need God’s wisdom in every situation and we must choose to turn to Him and learn to apply His Word to our circumstances through loving God, believing Him, and declaring His Truth in prayer. This comes through a loving relationship with our heavenly Father. 

You must refuse to be deterred by your senses and stop allowing your emotions to “pitch a fit” and move forward to receive all the blessings God has for you—right in the midst of the fiery furnace of life. 

Want to live the abundant life? 

Proverbs 4:7 says wisdom is the principal thing. But in all your getting—get understanding. Take the time to gain understanding for in understanding lies the ability to live the abundant life that Jesus came to give us. 

Get real and let’s face it together—life can be tough. It’s not always easy walking by faith when the stakes are high, when your entire world can be shaken with what’s going on around you, or when the doctor says “the cancer has returned and you have less than six months to live—if that.” You may have ended up in the emergency room to learn that in order to live you must have open heart surgery. Everyone wants to live, right? 

That kind of news doesn’t sound much like “abundant life,” does it? Many have been betrayed by family and dear friends as well, and that is a hot fiery furnace too. 

I don’t know how hot the fiery furnace is that you are currently walking through, but know this, God is with you. The Fourth Man came to help Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the urgency of their personal need. God Himself subdued the flames, robbed the fire of its sting against these three boys, ripped off the bonds around them, lifted them up while the old king watched. This earthly king saw the Fourth Man (God) walking arm-in-arm with the three Hebrew children right in the midst of the flames in that fiery furnace. 

The Bible says, “Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?” They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.” (Daniel 3:24)

Because the three Hebrew boys would not bow, God did not let them burn. This earthly king saw for himself how God defends His own—because of His great love. These three Hebrews loved God, believed God, and trusted Him. Take time to read the story in Daniel 3—it is a reminder to us today of God’s saving power.

Choose to surrender to the Holy Spirit’s training to ignore your senses and walk by faith, relying on the Truth of God’s Word to carry you through to victory. Begin to pray the Word of God over your circumstances. Instead of speaking about the problems, pray the Truth of God’s Word. 

The greatest thing about God is His amazing love for lost and suffering humanity. You cannot have faith unless you have love first. It takes love to believe in someone else. It takes love to believe in God.

The Word of God says, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” (Isaiah 43:2)

We live in a fallen world where it rains on the just and the unjust. Life is not always fair. Many times, I believe we walk through things so others will see God’s Hand at work in our lives—by the way we choose to respond, fully knowing God is with us and for us. The king saw the 4th man in the fire—walking with the three Hebrew boys he ordered into the fiery furnace.

The Fourth Man (God) was not responsible for Nebuchadnezzar’s awful act of throwing Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego into the flames but He (God) became responsible for bringing them out. God liberated them from the bonds—robbed the fire of its violence—and brought them out alive and well. 

This earthly king came to understand the great love of God through what he saw in the lives of the three Hebrew boys.

The Fourth Man is Husband to the Widow, Father to the Orphan, and the Bright and Morning Star to those in darkness. He is the Lily of the Valley to those walking through the lonely valley. He is the Rose of Sharon, the Pearl of Great Price, the Cup that runneth over, the Rod and Staff that bring comfort and the Government of our life is upon His shoulders.

That is refreshing, isn’t it? That is living in abundance—knowing God is with you and for you. He is Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of the LIVING GOD! He is my Savior, my Lord, my companion, my LORD and KING. 

King Nebuchadnezzar saw the Fourth Man and the fact that the three boys were spared. The king examined their clothing and bodies. The wisdom and understanding that this king gained through observing believers walking through the fire persuaded him to decree: “There is no other God that can deliver after this sort.”

Let us decree the same over America: “There is no other God that can deliver after this sort.” I trust in God. He walks with me through fire. I believe He is for me, He is my fortress, and He is more than enough for me. He holds my every moment, and calms the raging seas—the storms that try to overtake and overwhelm. I choose to trust in GOD. He is my healer and everything to me. 

*

 INSIGHT FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

Daniel 3:28-30

“Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, “Blessed by the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God.

Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Aednego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this. 

Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.”

NO MATTER WHAT FIERY FURNACE YOU ARE WALKING THROUGH, KNOW THAT GOD IS WITH YOU AND FOR YOU. KEEP YOUR TRUST IN HIM. He frustrates all evil plots, and all ungodly counsel. 

HIS LOVE AND MINE,

Deborah Starczewski

You’ve opened a special gift and chocolates, placed your roses in water or perhaps you just left the church cemetery where you placed your last rose in honor of someone you loved and lost. 

In a world filled with media, from Hollywood hopes and dreams to the Holy Bible, how can we find true love in this life? How can we experience fulfilling relationships according to God’s Word? How can we have real friendships with real people who really care? You may be discouraged and have a heart that is shut down when you’ve been transparent with someone who betrayed you, to feeling security in a lasting relationship because you are married to your best friend. You may be sitting at the bedside of your lifelong mate in Hospice, or you may have a romantic dinner planned with all the trimmings. Whatever the case, we need to remind ourselves, even through the pain—so that our perspective changes, that we have an everlasting love totally with God. 

You might be wondering in your heart, “How could God love me after what I’ve been through” to “how could God love me after all I have done?” The truth is—God loves you unconditionally and sent His Son Jesus to redeem mankind through the finished work on the Cross of Calvary. His precious blood paid the high price, once and for all for the sins of the world. 

Let’s turn to God’s love letter to all mankind—the perfect Valentine’s Day illustration through the pages of the Bible. 

In order to understand the Book of Hosea, we must understand some background. The name “Hosea” means “salvation.”  The book is literally a message of salvation to a spiritually bankrupt people. (That would be all of mankind) 

Hosea is calling out to Gomer. Do you see how “Salvation” is calling out to Gomer in the Book of Hosea? The name Gomer means complete, so every time Hosea calls her by name, he is calling her complete. The Bible tells us to call things that aren’t as though they are already—He is still doing that today. Pay attention to the words you use with those you love and care about—and don’t allow the enemy to get you into a war of words. 

God is calling out to us through the gift of Jesus, our salvation, so we can be made whole in Him. God sees us through the finished work on the Cross of Calvary where Jesus shed His precious blood for you and me. He arose three days later and is seated at the right hand of the Father, still interceding for us today. His resurrection power is still available today! You can read about it in my second book: A LEAP OF FAITH (25 Days at the Mercy Seat)—the story of all the miracles in my precious husband’s life and how God used different people in the process. We witnessed the faithfulness of God. While God is always faithful, sometimes people are not.

There is an amazing account in the Bible about the Prophet Hosea and his troubled relationship in marriage where you will see a powerful testimony for us today concerning our own tendencies to be unfaithful to God. It is also a beautiful portrait of the passionate love God has for us.

Let’s start with what the Bible says first. Hosea receives an unusual instruction from God: “”Go, take a harlot wife and harlot’s children, for the land gives itself to harlotry, turning away from the LORD. So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim” (Hosea 1:2).

Another version reads: “Go and marry a promiscuous wife and have children of promiscuity, for the whole land has been promiscuous by abandoning the LORD. So he went and married Gomer daughter of Dibliam, and she conceived and bore him a son” (Hosea 1:2-3 HOLMAN CSB). 

With Valentine’s Day approaching, you might be feeling a little frustrated for various reasons. You may be married and feel you are lacking romance. You may be on top of the world with everything seemingly going your way—but still feel an emptiness within. You may be divorced and feel you have waited too long to find love again. You may be a widow and missing your spouse. You may be single and looking for love. Valentine’s Day can feel a little frustrating for some if we have our hopes and dreams in a person or in an unrealistic expectation. 

The only love that never leaves you frustrated is the love of Jesus Christ. Many are heartbroken over a lack of romance to being frustrated with not finding their Mr. or Mrs. Right. Many want to rush the process and engage in the marital plan before the actual marriage. 

If you will think with me for a moment, Hollywood gives us a view of what looking for love in all the wrong places looks like on a long-term basis. Most relationships don’t last. Actually, Hollywood sets people up to expect far beyond reality. Have you ever thought that maybe, just maybe, part of the problem is we’re looking to the wrong relationship to fill the empty place in our hearts where we have a longing to be loved and pursued?

God gives us a passionate example of His relationship with us and He chose marriage as the metaphor. I share in greater detail in my first book: GOD’S PRICELESS TREASURE how God uses marriage as a metaphor of our relationship with Jesus. Marriage is a beautiful portrait of the amazing love of God that He desires that we experience in Him. 

The Book of Solomon portrays a beautiful love story. However, when we move to the Book of Hosea, we find a very different story. It’s not a perfect relationship with roses and young love. As a matter of fact, if you run out today and buy roses for your beloved, if you are not careful, the roses can freeze due to the cold weather outside. 

We must learn not to allow the outside circumstances of life and wrong associations to damage our relationship with our beloved. Listening to and watching the wrong things, or even listening to people with wrong thinking in life can harm our personal relationships. 

The Book of Hosea is definitely not a picture of wholeness and fidelity. God chose this relationship that is lacking, broken and filled with infidelity—the marriage of the prophet Hosea and Gomer, who behaved as a prostitute, to reveal a much bigger picture to you and I of His redemptive love. 

You might be surprised if you have never read the Book of Hosea when you pay attention to what the Lord said: 

“When the Lord first began speaking to Israel through Hosea, He said to him, ‘Go and marry a prostitute, so that some of her children will be conceived in prostitution. This will illustrate how Israel has acted like a prostitute by turning against the LORD and worshiping other gods’ (Hosea 1:2). 

This might sound a little strange to you and it will certainly get your attention. It is the love of God that constrains us. He captures us through His amazing redemptive love and then we are captivated for the rest of our lives as we abide in His sweet presence through fellowship. 

God saw the problem. He sees all. God uses the marriage to paint a beautifully illustrated portrait of a life filled with fractures and problems, yet the divine and amazing love of the Father God and His pursuit of His children. 

At some point in everyone’s life, we have all behaved much like Gomer in some area. Even with all our junk, God still loves us and desires to be in relationship with us. That is an amazing love, my friend. All have acted like prostitutes in turning from God in one area or another at some point in time. 

We find a literal marriage illustration in the first three chapters of Hosea of God’s relationship with us. 

The Blood of Jesus paid for all the sins of the whole world. This was before we were actually born. We have a Blood Covenant with God that cannot be annulled. It is everlasting. 

God is obviously showing His extraordinary love and grace. He continues to take His people back even when they betray Him. This is a beautiful illustration of the redemptive love of God. He will ask Hosea to take Gomer back time and time again. God continues to pursue. 

No matter what we have done, no matter how sinful we are in the eyes of God, He still pursues us because of WHO HE IS and who He has designed us to be through His Son Jesus. It’s because of His Mercy and Grace! 

Even when we run away from Him, God still pursues us. He sets our days with divine interruptions so that we can’t help but see His amazing love that is waiting. 

He draws us through His everlasting love. He calls out to us. Even when we are full of pain, hurt and sometimes experiencing anger, He still knows exactly where we are and wants to bring total healing. He wants to make us whole or complete in Him. 

Like Hosea, God is still pursing His children—like a faithful husband who pursues a wife he adores and loves. This is a greater picture than I have ever seen on any Valentine’s Day card—and it is the only love that can fill the void that was placed in you and I in the first place. It is a place for God. It is the only place where all our needs can be truly met. 

While many are running to dating services, some are going to bars to look for Mr. or Mrs. Right. Some are going to church, not to seek the Lord, but to find a mate. We’re often looking for a relationship to fill the deepest need that can only be filled by God. All have been created to need love and be pursued. All need affirmation. 

Stop looking in all the wrong places for love, and learn to be amazed by God’s love. In the process, you may also meet a great person here on earth that loves God and you too. God knows how to orchestrate the days of our lives and bring a special person across our path for destiny. First and foremost our most important relationship will be with Jesus, our beloved. 

Ultimately, Jesus is the greatest love you will ever find and receive. His love overshadows every hurt and longing of your soul. It is the most magnificent love that goes beyond what words can describe. It is the greatest romance and the BIBLE is God’s love letter to us all. God goes to extraordinary measures to reveal Himself to ordinary people—that includes us all! 

HE LOVES YOU WITH AN EVERLASTING LOVE! 

DEBORAH

Need help in your business, in your life, with your mind, brain fog, dating, or sex in marriage? 

You may have woken up tired today or totally exhausted from simply trying to do life. You might be the person who stayed in bed all day due to feeling like you couldn’t take another step in life due to pressures, or the mother of small children who is so exhausted she feels like retiring from life. You may be the person who wishes they could run long distances for exercise, but the fact is, if someone found you passed out on a trail, they would know a bear was chasing you or someone kidnapped you and placed you there. You may feel like the manikin that was left on the floor at the entrance of a department store—exhausted and tired. 

You may be a dad who is working and having to be both dad and mom at home and worn out from having to do everything. You may be a father who is sharing custody after divorce and rebuilding your life. You may be experiencing brain fog, depression, anxiety over someone mistreating you, to learning you have a heart issue that requires surgery. 

You might have experienced a super weekend of awesome activities and then, all of a sudden, you experience overwhelming despair. Whatever the case, there is hope for every situation.

You might be thinking, “What kind of manual can help in every area of my life?” It must be genius to put it all in one. Can you imagine the book sales? Yes, I can—and it is the best book in the entire world. Wait till you hear what happened in a friend’s business when she chose to read and apply the manual to a specific situation. 

She was waiting on two certifications for her business and she googled “how to get government workers to cooperate” and Romans 13:6 popped up. The search engine gave her a scripture as an option. Imagine that for a moment!

The Bible says, “For this same reason, you pay taxes, for the civil authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing…”

Romans 13:6 reveals that government workers are God’s servants. 

She read and prayed the Scripture, and it wasn’t even two minutes till her certifications got approved. This is an example of how God will give you a specific scripture to pray over a situation. Unless a person reads the Bible, they won’t know what is inside the pages. This is why Satan has worked so hard through people and organizations to remove all mention of the name of Jesus and the Bible in America. 

Let me ask you a question. If you received a Valentine’s Day card from your spouse, would you open it and read it? Of course you would, right? That is exactly what God has done for us. It is God’s love letter to the entire human race. The Bible is the greatest manual for life, for business, for family, for relationships, for sex God’s way, and for every other question known to mankind.

You might be feeling depressed, overwhelmed, or stressed out to the max about some issue that is giving you a hard time. You can go to a lavish spa and still have overwhelming despair. But I am here to tell you that the Word of God is the greatest health spa for all time. 

It doesn’t matter where you live, what you own or don’t own, what you’ve done or not done, the manual still works—when you choose to read it and apply it to your daily life. Even better than that, you can know the author personally. You can move from existing to living in awe of God on a daily basis by opening God’s gift, reading it, and applying it to your life.

It is the Bible—the greatest love letter to all mankind and basic instructions before leaving earth. It is the greatest sex manual. It is the best leadership manual for any business or entrepreneur. It has the best instructions on how to raise children, a family, and start your own business. It is the best manual for vision and purpose—all in one. 

How can you know the author personally? I am glad you asked. God sent His Son to redeem all mankind—His name is Jesus Christ. Have you heard of Him? Do you know why He came to earth?

The simple and concise answer is what God says in His Word. In John 3:7, Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Ye must be born again.” 

In the Bible God gives us the plan of how to be born again which means to be saved. His plan is simple. You can be saved today. How?

First, my friend, you must realize you are in need of the Savior—realizing you are a sinner. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

But God loved you so much He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, to bear your sin and die in your place. “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13) We come to him with a heart of repentance and receive God’s forgiveness by accepting the gift, believing and confessing Him as Lord. Then He changes us from the inside out.

Come along on the greatest adventure of all time as you open the love letter from God and begin to read, study, and pray His Word back to Him. It is part of our growth process, and in spending time with Him in His Word, you and I can know and experience God’s extravagant love, know who we are in Him, and learn the great plans He has for us as individuals.

You will experience growth, new hope, and help in every area of your life. I pray that God will wrap you with Himself—with His extravagant love—where you can find peace and joy as you go about each day and learn to truly live again. You can experience Valentine’s Day all year long when you live out of God’s Word, applying His time tested principles to every area of your life. You will experience His unconditional love and come to know He cares about every detail of your life! Happy Valentine’s Day…. 

DEBORAH STARCZEWSKI

Author of:  GOD’S PRICELESS TREASURE (How To Overcome Challenges, Be Transformed, and Know Your Purpose)

A LEAP OF FAITH (25 Days at the Mercy Seat) ….the full account of how God raised my husband from the dead and healed him from two strokes and two open-heart surgeries–will give everyone hope!

THE MIDNIGHT HOUR (Will America Turn Back To God?) A “must read” for every pastor and leader 

Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Xulon Bookstore, etc. on-line and can order in stores.