There is no fear in love. This is what the Holy Spirit told John to write to believers. Yet we see fear running rampant everywhere — fear of death, fear of illness, fear of lack, fear of fear. My daughter struggled with fear of everything when she was a little girl. I was constantly trying to redirect her thoughts and ...
“I was not disobedient to the vision…” (Acts 26:19). After giving his testimony, this is the conclusion of Paul’s defense and explanation to King Agrippa. And I can’t help but see the importance of this statement. Two scenarios come to mind: One, what if Paul had not obeyed what Jesus told him to do? We wouldn’t have the Bible in the full ...
This article first appeared on The Christian Broadcasting Network | I’m always saddened to see some churches practice their religion under a heavy cloak of condemnation. I recently attended a funeral at one such church. It wasn’t my first time so the shock and sadness of what I witnessed wasn’t as heavy as before; but I left there thinking how similar I ...
When I wrote my first book about righteousness in 2003, my grandmother was 83 years old. Even at that age, I greatly admired her. She was hospitable, beautiful, and in every way reminded me of the Proverbs 31 woman. As we stood in her kitchen in Mt. Vernon, Texas, I was surprised at what she told me about my book. ...
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 The Professional School of Psychology did an interesting study on the life of Abraham Lincoln. Due to documented reports of depression, they handed out an assignment to students that focused on the psychological study of his life. Each student prepared an essay describing the manner in which a contemporary psychologist might have ...
I met a girl recently who talked to me the entire time with her arms folded across her chest and her head tilted slightly to the side as if she was keeping the door in her peripheral view. She was a beautiful girl. I’d say she talked to me, but actually I did most of the talking. Her body language ...
When I was pregnant with our second son, the doctors scheduled me for a special procedure before delivery because he was breach. I’m not sure how I misunderstood my doctor, but I could’ve sworn she told me they were going to massage my stomach and coax the baby to turn around, but no… Instead, a specialist sat down on the ...
Soul wounds are real. They are the result of our mind, will, or emotions being so abruptly jolted that a wound is made upon the soul, leaving a scar that must be dealt with. I’ve had many soul wounds in my life — each one bringing me to the brink of despair. The death of a loved one, family strife, ...
This article first appeared on The Inspired Woman blog | by Daphne Delay I heard in my spirit, “That’s just silliness.” My mind was transitioning from the day to the start of our midweek service at church, and as worship began and I mentally disconnected from the pulls of my day, that’s what I heard — and it made sense. ...
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 It’s good to put ourselves in remembrance that we are not alone. And specifically, we’ve been reminded that because God has chosen our hearts to be His home on this earth, we need to always be more God-Inside-Minded. So why is He with us? Well, besides the fact that He loves us ...
In Part One, we said, “Our lives aren’t small, but we might be living small.” In other words, Christ isn’t small. On the contrary, He is magnificent! And surprisingly, He chose to make our hearts His home. So what does this say about us? Concerning this very thing, Paul tried his best to shake the Corinthians into thinking and seeing ...
“…and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us” (Matthew 1:23). God with us. What an amazing revelation! With all the paintings and descriptions of God on His throne, we tend to have an image of God as someone far up and far off. The Bible describes Him as the “King of Glory” because His dwelling ...
This morning, as I sat and prayed, an old song came bubbling up out of my spirit: When I think about the Lord, how He saved me, how He raised me, how He filled me up with the Holy Ghost, How He healed me to the uttermost When I think about the Lord, how He lifted me up and turned ...
Do you remember the story of the man with the withered hand? The Bible says Jesus went into the synagogue and noticed the man. He had a weakness–his hand was deformed. We’re not told if it was like that from birth or possibly from an accident. But Jesus said to him, “[Stretch] Hold out your hand” (Mark 3:5). And when the man ...
You know I care about helping people find a “self to live with” through an understanding of who we’ve been made to be in Christ. But I was quite surprised to discover the scriptures use the word self quite a bit in the negative–not the positive. For example, you’ll find words like: self-confident, self-seeking, self-condemned, self-sufficiency, self-imposed, and self-willed. Yuck. Those ...
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 You are the keeper of your heart. Sometimes, we’re unaware that the trials we are facing are directly related to the things we are allowing. Jesus said, “And some [seed] fell among thorns, and thorns sprang up with it and choked it… Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when ...
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 Jesus made it very clear: the SEED is the Word of God and the GROUND is man’s heart. In the parable of the sower, Jesus went on to explain there are four types of heart (or soil) that the Word will land upon, and three of the four produce little or no ...