It’s been said, “Faith comes by hearing, not by having heard.” In other words, it’s not what you remember or think you know that will increase faith in your life– it’s the fresh word from Heaven (no matter how many times you’ve “heard” it before). I was recently reminded of this in my ladies Bible Study when a wise, young ...
“Dear, dear Corinthians, I can’t tell you how much I long for you to enter this wide-open, spacious life. We didn’t fence you in. The smallness you feel comes from within you. Your lives aren’t small, but you’re living them in a small way. I’m speaking as plainly as I can and with great affection. Open up your lives. Live ...
I recently tweeted: The inevitable cycle (good or bad): We make choices. Our choices make us. When you wake in the morning, you make a choice: get up or stay in bed a little longer? When you make that choice, then another choice must be made… then the next… and so on. All day, every day– our lives are a ...
I remember the first time I read Psalm 8 and the question David asked God: “What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?” Psalm 8:4 (NKJV) I thought it was the perfect question to ask of God. I had always struggled with self-worth. It was easy to see my shortcomings and therefore ...
While traveling recently, I found a random Christian radio station in my car. Between songs, the host commented that Jesus did not come to bring us happiness “as some preach hoping to bring others into the kingdom.” He went on to give his reasonings for making such a statement and I didn’t disagree, but at the same time, something didn’t ...
How many of us have been afraid of the dark before? Either as a child, or as an adult walking across a parking lot late at night feeling a bit eeby-jeeby because you can’t see beyond the shadows? I’m going to guess it’s all of us at one point or another. But let’s flip it around… how many of us ...
Why do we change our screen covers? Have you ever thought about that? Whether it be on your phone or your computer desktop, many of us update and replace the images on a regular basis. I’m one of the them. And I’ll be the first to tell you why… I change my screen covers because it evokes an emotion. In ...
Until recently I had never given much thought to the word echo. I knew what it meant –basically an echo is a sound heard again (a repetition if you would) of an original sound. In a large room or a canyon, you can shout and hear the echo of your voice bounce back to you. This was always fun to ...
Who doesn’t like to get gifts? I have occasionally been the person who has had a hard time receiving gifts, but that’s not to say I don’t like getting them. What I mean is, we often feel undeserving. But it’s fun to open presents, no matter who (or what age) we are. And this is what makes Ephesians 4:7-8 so exciting! “But ...
Have you ever been surprised by sudden emotion? I mean, really surprised? Like, where did that come from? I have, and I’ve discovered some of the reason why we, as Christians, are overtaken with surprise emotions on occasion. Before I explain, let me clarify that I’m not referring to sudden outbursts of wrath or hysterics–or anything remotely resembling a lack of ...
You know the scripture. We all know it… and quote it. “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness…” (2 Corinthians 12:9). And I’m grateful for this truth. Especially after a recent eye-opening revelation. I had to make a difficult phone call to step down from volunteering from something in our community. And honestly, I ...
It’s hard to believe we’re approaching the gift-giving season already –but then again, between family birthdays, baby showers, and weddings, is it ever not the gift-giving season? More specifically, as Christians in tune with the Holy Spirt, it’s ALWAYS the gift-giving season! But don’t get weary with that thought, it’s actually really cool how the nature of God is to ...
I have a good friend who is going through a trial. As she shared some of the detail with me, I asked how she was handling the obvious thoughts of fear. She said, “Well, I’m quoting a lot of scripture.” “That’s good,” I said, “But it won’t run the dog off.” And she looked at me with the same face ...
“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:57-58). Can we stress this part again: “…knowing that our labor is not in vain in the Lord.” ...
Probably one of the most difficult instructions in the Bible is “…walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). In his letter to the Corinthian church, Paul encouraged the believers with this truth, “It’s what we trust in but don’t yet see that keeps us going” (2 Cor. 5:7, Message). The point is: Every Christian must walk by faith. ...
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 We’ve been addressing the troublesome question: Is God in control of everything? Let’s be clear what we’re talking about… Everything is a BIG word. It describes the total of all things. Yet when we look at our world, and compare what we see with scripture and our understanding of our Good God, ...
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 I asked this question in last week’s post, and came to the conclusion that no, God is not in control of everything that happens. Jesus Himself helps substantiate this in His teachings. For example, let’s look at the Parable of the Wedding: And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables ...
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 You hear this sometimes… when a tragedy has happened, or something is unexplainable: “Well, you know God has a reason… He’s in control of everything that happens…” Is He? If this is true, then why did Jesus tell His disciples how to pray? If God is in control of everything, why do ...