Christianity is meant to be lived out loud so when I learn something, I can’t help but want to share it with others. And my current lesson is this: be slow to emotion. James 1:19-20 says, “Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of ...
I think you would agree the Bible has some pretty big words, but if we’ll look deeper, they are BIG in context too. One of those words is justification. The dictionary gives three basic definitions. One is simply the act of justifying; meaning an explanation that defends you or a circumstance. A second definition is found in the world of ...
During a special ministry meeting, where the theme was “Prepare for Success,” one of the words shared by our guest speaker was frazzled. I had a good idea what frazzled meant. In fact, there have been many times I probably could have volunteered for the picture in the dictionary, but the definition I heard that night has continued to open my eyes. She said it ...
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. ...
Do you know who the sons of Korah are? Their story is a very real example of grace and redemption to us today. To explain, we have to start with Korah before we get to the “sons of Korah.” The brief version is this: Korah was in the lineage of Levi. He and a few others rose up against Moses ...
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 ...
Have you ever recognized a peculiar behavior in yourself and thought, “Where did that even come from?” I recently had a moment like that. I wasn’t raised in church so I don’t have a quote-unquote “religious” background. AND YET, my thoughts (mindset) can wander towards religious do’s and don’ts, and is God mad or disappointed in me, etc. Where does ...
“And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all” (Acts 4:33). Great grace. Who doesn’t need more of that? One translation of this verse says “mega-grace.” Now that’s a lot of grace and help! But how does one access this kind of grace? First, let’s define what ...
Did you know you were made in the image of God, even before you gave your heart to Him? This means that no matter what you’ve done, what regrets you’ve carried, or how late or early you came to Christ, God never said, “Uh-oh.” He’s never been found crying over spilled milk either. Nothing surprises God. In other words, God ...
I want to encourage you today to believe the best of every person. You will have opportunity to see the faults in others and therefore, it’s inevitable that you will be disappointed in the actions (or inaction) of people. This is especially true when it’s family or someone you’ve developed a close relationship with, but… Never set your eyes on ...
This article first appeared on The Christian Broadcasting Network | “…and great grace was upon them all” (Acts 4:33b). I hope you can look back on seasons or situations in your life and say with me, “That was great grace.” In other words, when we should’ve been buried under the grief, or the pressure to make a hard decision, or ...
In 2006, Steve Wynn, an art collector and real estate developer from Las Vegas, put his elbow through an expensive Picasso he owned, while showing it to friends. According to NPR, the painting was scheduled to be sold within days of the damage for $139 million to his friend Steve Cohen. A restorer said the painting would only be worth $85 ...
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 ...
This article first appeared on GodTV devotional blog | by Daphne Delay It seems we have created our own idea of who the Son of God is and how He carried Himself on the earth. Or maybe we just missed the part where He often called people out for their behavior and corrected them publicly. Don’t get me wrong, I ...
“Please let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man” (2 Samuel 24:14). Isn’t that the truth?! Kenneth Copeland said, “When somebody hurts us, our natural human reaction is to strike back… to ask God to clobber them. But that’s not God’s way.” And ...
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me… I have my own definitions of what a wretch is (how I used to see myself), but the dictionary describes it as a deplorably unfortunate or unhappy person, a person of despicable or base character. We could add the words beggar, bum, lowlife, outcast, scum, worm, and loser ...
He's the God of another chance. And another chance. And another chance. And another chance. And another chance. And another chance. And another chance. And another chance. And another chance... ...
Imagine this scenario with me for just a moment: A king was sitting on his throne as the beggar was thrown into the middle court. He had been accused of horrendous crimes, and as fact would have it, he was guilty of all. Hoping for mercy, but knowing he deserved none, he couldn’t even look at the king. What ending would ...