“If you don’t fight for your beans, the devil will take your taco, your burrito, and the whole enchilada!” If you love Mexican food like I do, you understand this analogy! I once heard Pastor Mark Hankins say this in light of a story in 2 Samuel 23. It’s just a couple of verses, but a very powerful truth. King ...
“For many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14). This may be one of the most questioned scriptures of all time. In fact, at a particular event I speak at regularly, a question about this passage was asked during Q&A more than any other. What did Jesus mean? Let’s start by looking at the words individually, and then the ...
“Don’t ever short-circuit a miracle by trying to see it in progress!” –Kenneth Copeland Because our natural eyes often dictate our next move (i.e. we see a stray ball coming our way so we duck, or we see a dog running in the street so we brake), we are often guilty of utilizing our spiritual eyes the same way. The ...
Jesus said, “The words that I speak to you are spirit and they are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe and who would betray Him. “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted ...
“In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:4-5). If you want to frustrate Hell, let your light shine! Recently, I was in our sanctuary with my husband and our daughter-in-love (who works as our Administrative Assistant) making preparations for a ...
My recent post, I Think Myself Happy, is still rolling around in my spirit. Unless you study the scriptures more fully, you might have the impression Paul found contentment and joy by only “thinking” happy thoughts. This isn’t true. Paul said, “I think…” which we learned meant to command with official authority. Well, you can’t command something by only thinking ...
I am out of routine, and I don’t like it. (Great way to start a blog, huh?) But seriously I am, by nature, a routine-kind-of-girl. And when my routine is out of sync I try to evaluate my weaknesses in this area and look for ways to be stretched and improved. But this isn’t always fun or easy. For example, ...
“I have held many things in my hands and lost them all. But whatever I’ve placed in God’s hands, that I still possess.” –Martin Luther (1483-1546) Sometimes you don’t need many words to express a great truth. When I stumbled upon this quote, it said so much more to my heart than what could be read with my eyes alone. Dreams, hopes, and ...
I love prepositions! Sounds silly, I know. (Especially when you discover I wasn’t a big fan of English class while in school.) But think about the power of a preposition: If I say, “I was IN my house.” You immediately have a mental image of that even if you’ve never been to my house. Just imagine a stick figure with a roof ...
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 We’ve been talking about forgiveness. Concerning this, the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith” (Luke 17:5). They were as human as we are when it comes to needing help in the area of forgiving others. But Jesus spoke of forgiving quite often, indicating it was a key to walking in ...
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 “Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.” –Author Unknown Sadly, our society is in an epidemic of disease. Everywhere you turn, someone is battling cancer, heart disease, diabetes, or something similar, either personally or in their family. The Bible says,“Look after each other so ...
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 In the last post, I said, “Forgiveness isn’t a feeling. It’s an act of faith.” In response to an instruction by Jesus to forgive often, the apostles said, “Increase our faith” (Luke 17:5). This gets where we live. Most Christians are like the apostles in the sense that they desire to increase ...
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 Jesus said in the last days offenses would increase. This means our opportunity to forgive will increase as well. But actually, in the scope of humanity, the need to forgive is not new. In fact, concerning this very thing, the apostles said, “Increase our faith” (Luke 17:5). That certainly ...
If we’ll listen, the Holy Spirit has all kinds of ways of speaking to us. And probably one of the most powerful is a song. I remember standing in the dim room, the only light peeking over the top of the curtains. My two youngest children were asleep on pallets on the hotel floor. It was a Monday– a day on which I always ...
I had a hunch God was about to do something different– about to take me in a new direction. Many years ago, while my husband Tod was finishing Bible school, I joined Mary Kay Cosmetics. I wanted to have another baby, while also desiring to be a stay-at-home mom. Their business plan was intriguing, and right away God confirmed this ...
I’m a curious kind of person, meaning I want to know how things tick. This can be a good quality unless I’m picking apart myself, which I’ve been guilty of on many occasions. For example, I’ve questioned my own faith at times because of comparison to others who seem to have more faith than I do. But here’s what I’ve ...
What are you called to do? This is a good question. One I imagine you have probably asked yourself more than once–whether it was in high school before graduating and figuring out the next steps of your life, or the million times since then like me, just because you want to make sure you are in the will of God. ...
Has someone ever said to you, “I know what you’re thinking…” Husbands and wives do this all the time. And to some extent, they’re telling the truth. They’ve lived together so long, they have a pretty good idea what’s running through the other’s head. Twins are said to have a similar connection also. They can finish each other’s sentences, or ...