I was recently talking to a family member who was processing a disappointment and as I encouraged her, I said something out of my spirit that made me pause– and repeat it, so I could catch it too. I said: “I may not know the future, but I know God’s faithfulness.” It was the Holy Spirit confirming an eternal truth. ...
“This is the confidence we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that he hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked for” (1 John 5:14-15). This is the confidence. This is bold too. To have confidence means to have a firm reliance (versus ...
Smith Wigglesworth said, “God has chosen us to help one another. We dare not be independent.” I wish the Body of Christ understood this better. If we did, I believe, as a whole, we’d see the power of God stronger than ever before. Jesus said, “I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything ...
Who doesn’t need help in prayer? I mean, with the best of intentions and heartfelt requests, we can still feel as if our prayers fall short at times– especially when you don’t know all the details of a situation. God knew we would need help and one of my favorite ways He has given us assistance in prayer is through ...
No one wants to be called a fool. By definition, it means there was a lack of forethought or sense or caution. We use the word to describe something unwise. Other words for foolish are absurd, crazy, insane, irrational, ludicrous, mad, silly, stupid, or weak. Yet, here is a word used throughout the Bible that beckons our understanding. For example, ...
Have you heard the saying, “You can trust an unknown future to a known God”? I think there’s so much comfort in this adage. I woke up this morning with the word future on my heart so I opened my bible and began to look at verses concerning our future to see what the Holy Spirit was trying to convey. ...
James asked a good question: “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works?” (James 2:14). The Message Translation says, “Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it?” I was personally challenged by this recently. My annual women’s conference was this past week and at the ...
Throughout God’s Word, we find natural examples to help us understand spiritual principles. One such example is found in Hebrews, Chapter Six. The Bible says if the earth drinks in the rain and then produces a good crop or healthy plants or trees, then it is blessed. But if the earth drinks in the rain and produces weeds, thorns, and thistles, ...
As I sat and listened to my husband preach this weekend, I took notes like usual. But mid sentence of writing down “Do you realize…” the Holy Spirit finished the sentence differently than what I was hearing with my natural ears. I wrote: Do you realize eternity will tell us the rest of the story? I have to put this ...
In this season of love, it’s not unusual for 1 Corinthians 13:13 to come to mind: “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” Faith is defined as a firm persuasion; something God has given to each of us in measure (Romans 12:3). Faith is also the substance of things hoped for. And ...
Job said something after his encounter with God that has always stuck with me. He said, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You” (Job 42:5). His statement immediately made me think of Jesus’ response to Philip when he said, “Show us the Father.” Jesus replied: “Have I been with you ...
If you asked me today what my favorite movie is, I’d have to say “I Can Only Imagine” — the true story of Bart Millard and the Christian band, Mercy Me. If you’ve seen it, you know his grandmother would always say things like, “Mercy me… Lord, have mercy.” It’s a great movie. I highly recommend it. But I’m thinking ...
There are certain phrases so common that almost anyone could fill-in-the-blank. For example, if I said, “If you can’t say anything nice…” you could finish that sentence with “…don’t say anything at all.” Or how about: “A picture is worth… a thousand words” or “Better late than… never.” I was thinking about this because when my heart whispers, “Bless the ...
How many times has the grace of God appeared, as if out of nowhere, to help us? I can think of so many times when I sat in sheer gratitude for the love and grace of God in my life. I recently took a couple of trips to Colorado and being from West Texas where everything is flat, my eyes ...
Are you a note-taker? Do you like to write in journals? I realize not everyone is, but I stumbled on something that made me pause and think, wow I think we’ve missed the real power of this. Let me explain. In Paul’s first letter to Timothy, his purpose was to encourage his young protege as he led one of the ...
Deeply or sincerely felt. As I read through a handful of prayer requests, I was reminded of a verse in the Book of James: “The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]” (James 5:16, AMPC). Heartfelt. I don’t know the origin of this word but its very descriptive, isn’t it? Just ...
I live in a community where a minimum of at least three languages are spoken fluently, and regularly. So on any given day, you might hear a conversation and have no idea what is being said. I think people sometimes feel this way about Christianity. Like, they hear us but don’t understand. And I think this can be just as ...
This is a question I’ve asked myself before. When life has extra projects going on, it can be a game-changer. But if you’ll pause and pay attention, I guarantee you’ll sense the grace and peace of God all around you. Instead of being stressed, you can look forward to tackling your projects. But be careful… busy seasons can change some otherwise ...