Yesterday, while in my front yard, I noticed one of my new flowering plants was opening several of its buds and beginning to bloom more fully than the others. I was delighted because, although I was raised around those who are very good with plants, gardening is not my expertise. I had planted four of these particular flowers in a ...
I was given a new Bible translation by a sweet lady at a women’s conference this past year. It’s called The Voice and it’s published by Thomas Nelson. I’ve decided it’s going to be my go-to in the new year to pull out different aspects of scripture and help me think deeper. And today, I already found one I want ...
Christmas is here! We’ve shopped, listened to our merry playlists (some of us long before December), and celebrated with friends and family. It truly is a beautiful time of the year. But in the poetic words of Howard Thurman: When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the kings and princes are ...
Recently at church, during our meet & greet time, one of our members introduced me to someone she had brought with her. The lady was very sweet but laughed as she told me she was made to come! She then added that she was glad too. I commented back that sometimes we have to literally pick people up and not give them a ...
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 ...
Grace is divine, unmerited favor available to the sinner for salvation and the redeemed for victorious living. Ephesians 2:8-9 says,“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” This is what unmerited means– you didn’t earn it. It was a gift. “For ...
As I was praying this morning, I was thanking the Lord for my salvation, for forgiving my sins, and redeeming me. And then I paused and considered the word redeemed. I know what it means, but I wondered if an unbeliever would know if they heard the word. Sometimes we forget the world doesn’t understand our lingo. The church is guilty ...
In the famous children’s novel, Alice in Wonderland, the Queen of Hearts is an interesting character. Overseeing the kingdom with the King of Hearts, she changes from pleasant to enraged every other minute. At the slightest offense, she shouts, “Off with their heads!” It seems ordering executions is one of her hobbies. However, as the story goes, very few were ...
Our fear (respect & love) of God must far outweigh our fear of man. At the airport, we realized three other mission teams from across the United States were also on our flight to Honduras. I looked at a member of another team and said, “Jesus sure loves Honduras.” Every summer I travel with a missions group to minister in ...
You’ve got to love the Apostle Paul. He walked in divine humility and confidence–at the same time. In his letter to the Galatians, he opened with this greeting: “Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from their present evil age, according to the ...
Before you tune me out or call me sappy, let me explain. My heart was rescued from despair the day I got saved. And then, like a perfect gentleman, God kept wooing me, showing up at the door of my heart with sweet flowers and invitations to walk with Him. You know the feeling… there isn’t a person in this ...
In looking at the story of the woman at the well with Jesus, I noticed something I had not seen before. Remember, Jesus’ disciples had left Him at the well to go into the city to get food. They were surprised when they returned and found Him talking with a woman (John 4:47). The Bible says the woman left and went to ...
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 It’s hard to explain to someone that has believed the lie that their sins are too great, or the person who has consistently fallen in and out of natural love, that there is a love FOR THEM that goes beyond anything they’ve ever known. I was the first person. I came from ...