Learning True Dedication Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you. Hebrews 13:5, ESV If you have participated in one of the reading plans that take you through the Bible over one year, two or three years, then you may have noticed something: God’s commitment to humanity can […]
Stay Away from Toxic! I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in […]
You Are Healed! Many followed him and he healed them all. (Matthew 12:15, NIV) If you are not feeling well, experiencing health issues, have been diagnosed with a sickness or disease, have suffered with pain longer than you can remember, have a cabinet lined with prescription or over-the-counter meds, then […]
When We Uncover our Sin, God Covers It! Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven. Whose sin is covered…I acknowledged my sin to you and my iniquity I have not hidden. (Psalm 32:1, 5, NKJV) An amazing, miraculous event happens when we confess our sin to God. He forgives us. […]
You’re Not a Spiritual Pipsqueak! Put on the full armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day. (Ephesians 6:13, ESV) A Pipsqueak is someone who is not considered to have much power or strength. A lightweight. If you’ve read C.S. Lewis’ “The Screwtape Letters”, […]
Friends in High Places I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. (John 15:15, NIV) Our daughter’s family were able to attend a […]
Jesus Comes to Live with You! Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust him. (Ephesians 3:17, NLT) Jesus often visited with his friends Martha, Mary, and Lazarus in Bethany, but he did not live with them. He lived with his disciples. They traveled everywhere together, […]
Advancing to the Next Round More than that we rejoice in sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame. (Romans 5:3-5, ESV) Our son in law was waiting to see if he had advanced to the […]
Hallelujah! No Favoritism For God does not show favoritism. (Romans 2:11, NIV) Most, if not all of us have those favorite pieces of clothing or outfits in our closet that we favor over others. Maybe it’s the way they fit, the feel of the fabric against our skin, the color, […]
It’s a Good Fit! “he makes the whole body fit together perfectly. (Ephesians 4:16, ESV) I love jigsaw puzzles and have discovered a method that helps me put them together efficiently and without the need to spend more time than necessary figuring where the pieces go. First, I identify and […]
Carefully Weigh Momentary Pleasures It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful…so David sent messengers and took her, 2 Samuel 11:2, 3 […]
Deliberate Pauses Understand this, my beloved brothers and sisters. Let everyone be quick to hear [be a careful, thoughtful listener], slow to speak [a speaker pf carefully chosen words and], slow to anger [patient, reflective, forgiving]. (James 1:19, Amplified Bible) After this James might have easily said “any questions”? He […]
Beautiful You! He has made everything beautiful. (Ecclesiastes 3:11, ESV) Have you heard that saying “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder?” It’s meaning is simply that beauty cannot be judged objectively, because what one finds beautiful or admirable may not appeal or seem beautiful to another. Without a […]
God’s Training You in the Way You Should Go Teach children how they should live, and they will remember it all their life. (Proverbs 22:6, GNT) It’s been said that weeds don’t need anything special to grow. They don’t necessarily need water, sun, the right soil, or loving attention. They […]
Doing the Best We Can Teach children how they should live, and they will remember it all their life. (Proverbs 22:6, GNT) There is only one perfect parent: God. Every human parent is going to make mistakes, going to make the wrong decisions at times, going to have regrets: things […]
Watch Where You are Dwelling Say not “Why were the former days better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask this. (Ecclesiastes 7:10, ESV) To dwell in the past demonstrates a serious and sinful discontentment with what God has provided in the present. It rejects the […]
Don’t Keep Going, Return Return to the LORD your God for he is gracious and merciful. (Joel 2:13, ESV) If you have ever been going down a wrong road, or discovered you were going in the opposite direction from where you want to be, then you know it doesn’t make […]
Fight Bravely for the Welfare of Others Be courageous! Let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of God. (2 Samuel 10:12, NLT) In 2 Samuel 10, there is an excellent example and story to make us pause and think about the strength God has given us to […]
Speak Comfort Speak comfort to Jerusalem. (Isaiah 40:1, NKJV) In over 40 years of hearing my husband preach on many subjects I have never grown tired of hearing his messages to the families who were laying their loved ones to rest. He has a knack of comforting the living and […]
God Comforts His Own “Comfort, yes, comfort My people!” Says your God. Speak comfort to Jerusalem. (Isaiah 40:1, NKJV) We all need a little (or lot) of comfort now and then. Being comforted by others does not necessarily solve or diminish all our problems or what we are going through, […]
Bearing Your Cross Take up your cross daily and follow me. (Luke 9:23, NLT) At the end of Jesus’ earthly life we see or read about him carrying that big, heavy, ugly, wooden cross through the streets—physically exhausted, beaten, weary, and humiliated—still, forced to carry it to the place where […]
God’s Rewards Program He is a rewarder of those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:6, NKJV) Just about every place has a rewards program now. Some of them pay off big time and are worth signing up for. When we think about it there are rewards connected to just about everything. […]
Turning from Selfishness If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways. (Luke 9:23, NLT) To be selfish means to think only or primarily of yourself, your points of view, your life, your needs, feelings, etc. It does not take much thought or […]
Meditation The meditation of my heart shall be understanding. (Psalm 49:3, ESV) Meditation is good for the inner being and for processing information presented. I had a conversation with a good friend who shared a piece of information that escaped me in the moment. But when I went back and […]
God is the Strength of Your Life The LORD is the strength of my life. (Psalm 27:1, ESV) Surprisingly, as strong, and resilient as the human body is, its capacity to endure and be strengthened, it is surprisingly fragile. A blow to the head, as little as one teaspoon of […]
Jesus Helps us Move Forward with Life Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” (John 21:3) I empathize with the disciples. I know what that feels like; what to do after a deep loss. Their leader and friend was […]
Perfect Fit! He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. (Ephesians 4:16, NLT) My husband and I make a great team. We each […]
Consider the Birds Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? (Matthew 6:26, NIV) The deeper meaning behind the parable of the birds and how […]
Together Simply join your life with mine. (Matthew 11:29, TPT) At first my husband asked me to marry him and we began to make plans for our life together. But then we had an actual ceremony and took our vows, pledged our lives and hearts to one another. That is […]
Little Compromises Live in harmony with one another. (Romans 12:16, NLT) Whether it is in business, ministry or family life one element that makes things go more smoothly be successful is the ability to compromise. The definition of compromise is, “an ability to listen to two sides and devise a […]
God Speaks to your Conscience And the Spirit of God hovered—Genesis 1:1, ESV The Holy Spirit has been described as the “Hound of Heaven.” Not in a derogatory sense, as someone who hounds you in a harsh way, or constantly berates you, but lovingly stays on you. To describe him […]
It’s So Easy to Please Him! You will find that I am gentle, humble, easy to please. (Matthew 11:29, TPT) What do you know about your Savior? What have you thought about him? Have you considered his refreshing gentle ways and humble personality? What about the fact that he is […]
Marking Days and Times He made the moon to mark the seasons. (Psalm 104:19, ESV) God put many things in place to mark times and seasons. The Israelites had many times that they marked as festival times or even those times that were not necessarily festive but impactful and eventful. […]
The Medicine God Chooses Now Isaiah had said, “Let them take a lump of figs, and apply it as a poultice on the boil, and he shall recover.” (Isaiah 38:21, NKJV) When king Hezekiah as sick and dying God sent the prophet Isaiah to issue a prescription. He told Isaiah […]
God’s Holy Temple The LORD is in his holy temple. (Habakkuk 2:20, NIV) Did you know it pleases God when you take good care of yourself? Although our minds usually go to the highest heavens or the beautiful temple of Zion in heaven, or even earthly edifices when we read […]
Heaven, Not Hell In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death.(Isaiah 38:1)King Hezekiah was in the prime of life and he was sure his life had come to an end. There was no earthly cure for what he suffered from and resolved himself—not only that […]
He is a Real Person The Word became human and made his home among us. (John 1:14, NLT) When you think about Jesus how do you envision him? As a mysterious presence out there winding through the heavens and universe? As a spiritual force? As that invisible presence that shows […]
Such a Courteous Human Being Be…courteous to everyone. (Titus 3:2, TPT) Jesus was a perfect example to follow in this way which Paul instructs Titus. He shows us how to live, talk, and treat others. It did not matter who it was—even his enemies and greatest nemesis—Jesus was never less […]
Whatever It Is! We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a] faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it […]
Giving Cheerfully You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. For God loves a person who gives cheerfully. (2 Corinthians 9:7, NLT) Let’s face it in these days and times especially, there are so many worthy causes that […]
Jesus Crushed It! But the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. (Romans 16:20, ESV) Sometimes when we want to say how well we or someone performed we will say “I/we/they” crushed it! When we or others hear that we and they know exactly what’s being said. […]
Jesus, Your Conqueror But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. (Romans 8:37, NASB) It is Jesus in you that helps you conquer feelings of inadequacy, jealously, fear, pride, disappointment, anger, frustration, resentment; all those feelings that arise or seek to set up permanence in […]
Okay, Don’t Count That! It doesn’t keep a record of wrongs that others do. (I Corinthians 13:5b, CEV) Sometimes, when we are feeling particularly hurt or wronged by someone who has hurt us in the past or has a habit of hurting us it’s really tempting to add up all […]
FavorWhen the LORD brought us back to Jerusalem, it was like a dream! (Psalm 126:1, GNT) Sometimes we are asking God for or praying about money or manmade solutions when what we really need is God’s favor. Human strategies will only get us so far and money cannot buy everything […]
Shalom Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. (John 14:27, ESV) Oftentimes we can focus on and desire one aspect of peace: that much needed inner peace that helps us be and remain calm under any circumstance. But inner peace is only one aspect or component […]
You are glorious! are progressively being transformed into his image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who] is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18, Amplified) Here, Paul sums up the entire Christian life and journey and uses the word “glory” twice, but they […]
You Are Stronger than Ever! They go from strength to strength [increasing in victorious power]. (Psalm 84:7, Amplified Bible) It’s nearly Mum season. I love Mums, especially the hearty Mums. They are one of my favorite flowers. And I especially love that they are not only lovely but so strong […]
God Keeps Track of Us. Each one appears before God in Zion. (Psalm 84:7) Beforethe invention of social media sites like Facebook, Google, Snapchat, Twitter and the like, it was easy to lose track of people. Even nowadays if someone is not connected to any of these sites knowing where […]
