Have you ever wrestled with God? I have. The first time I wrestled with God was on a Wednesday night, May 22, 1985. One year and 15 days before, my husband gloriously got saved. As soon as he prayed the sinners’ prayer, he turned to me and said, “Now it’s your turn.” What love, what compassion were in those words! As a new believer, my husband was concerned about my salvation. Oh how we need to be concerned about other lost souls.
Read MoreI was a little frustrated that he wasn’t letting me pick the place to eat. I wanted to say, No… it’s my birthday and I’m hungry for Italian food and I’ve looked forward to this all day. I had not dressed for a fancy place and wasn’t prepared for this choice. After my husband kept driving toward the steak house, I surrendered my desires and decided to go along with his plan even though I didn’t understand. After all, he was the one paying for this date.
They chose, so stop pursuing. Be polite, pray for them. Care about them in that you want what is best for them. Don't actively get involved but don't completely close the door should they repent one day. We have a responsibility to be distinctively different."
Read MoreIt doesn’t make for a good relationship if we only go to someone when we want or need something. People that love us want to know those things, but that’s not all they want to know. When we are too busy and to talk with Christ more then when we want something we are treating Him like a genie in a bottle. Maybe you have even made empty promises you can’t and won’t keep just because you are hoping the Lord may answer this request that is so desperate for a quick answer and stressing you out. Hello! He knows us better then we know ourselves and knows we are not going to follow through.
Read MoreHope…helps you smile through the trial.
Hope…helps you to keep giving even when it hurts.
Hope…helps you to keep believing that wayward soul will find their way home.
Hope…helps you hold it all together.
Hope…helps you to never stop praying.
Hope…helps you find rest during weary and hard days.
Sometimes it’s hard to hope though.
Read MoreDon’t Worry. Let God know about it. Did you notice Paul didn’t counsel us to discuss our problems to
our mom, sister, or even our husband? Bring it to God in prayer first. This would solve a majority of
problems and save us from making others the dumpster of our thoughts. I love Claudia Barba’s study on
worry in her book, Refresh your Heart. She explains, “Worry is not an emotion. It is a thought process- a
process that you can, and must control, because worry is sin.” There is a difference between worrying
and thinking through a problem. When difficulties arise, Claudia Barba explains that “disciplined thought
moves in a straight line through a tangle of difficulties to possible solutions. Worry is a swirling tornado
of thoughts centered on a fear. They repeat themselves over and over, making you dizzy but
accomplishing nothing else.” Learning to control our thoughts is vital. Remember that your mom, sister,
or friends can’t change the situation, but God can!
Read MoreRead MoreAnyone who knows me well, knows that I struggle with my tongue more than anything. I tend to be a "straight shooter", like my Dad. I've often wished I was more like my Mom, whom I've seldom, if ever, heard say a cross word to anyone.
I love God. I believe that you love God or you would not take the time to read this article. However, do I love God the way He deserves? That is a work in progress and, if I’m completely honest, some days are better than others.
The first step to loving God the way He deserves is to KNOW what the Bible teaches on this subject. Once we understand what God wants, then it’s just a matter of having the character to apply it to our lives every day.
t’s easy to be afraid when things aren’t going the way we want them to go, but God is wherever
we are. Don’t let circumstances get in your way of trusting the Lord, but rather allow your
circumstances to be a way for you to trust the Lord. I’m sure some of you are thinking, “But,
you don’t know what I am going through” and you are right...I don’t; but, God does!! We don’t
need to be afraid of what is going on in our life; we just need to trust in God.
Read MoreGod is sovereign and I know He allowed my husband and me to have Covid. He had a plan and a purpose. I prayed and thanked God for giving us Covid and that I believed it was His will. I admit it was a stretch for me to thank Him for Covid, but I knew I was to thank Him for all things. The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;” and Ephesians 5:20 “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;” There is a song by Lynda Randle “God on the Mountain”. One of the verses says “You talk of faith, when you’re up on the mountain; But talk comes so easy, when life’s at its best; Now it’s down in the valleys, of trials and temptations; That’s where your faith, is really put to the test.”
Read MoreOne of the first things a person does when they can’t see is get closer to the object. How can we get
closer spiritually? Compassion. Jude 1:22: “And of some, have compassion, making a difference.” Learn
to see things from another’s point of view. We do not all think the same or react to situations the same;
our problems are all different. When someone has a bad day, or acts in a way that’s hurtful, try to see
what is going on in their life. We don’t always know what is happening; we don’t see everything in their
lives, and we need to have compassion. When someone is hurting or grieving or struggling with a habit,
we need to try to understand; to look through their eyes.
Read MoreGod gives in the Word of God, the greatest judgment when he says in verse 31c; “their own way have I recompensed upon their heads…” This is when God withdraws His Presence, His power, and His leading from us. He is giving us what we want, and that is to live as we want, to live without the commitment of service.
How many times have we read this verse and thought we need more great preachers, more evangelists or more missionaries! Have we ever looked at ourselves to see how we could be the one God is looking for to stand in the gap: to be a part of that hedge?
Read MoreIt started out as a fairly small project, we were going to replace our countertops, paint, and replace the flooring and we were going to do the work ourselves with some help from others where needed. The more we looked around and talked about what different rooms needed, our list of improvements began to grow! We found a contractor that said he could do the work and began our three-week project!
Read MoreI Corinthians13:13 says, And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. I love that verse! There is so much in this one verse. For example, the word charity is a term that means benevolent love. It is a term used to describe sacrificial love. God never does anything by accident, so it is no accident that He chose to use the word charity. Many modern versions of the Bible have opted to translate the word simply to love, but the word love does not mean the same thing as charity. The word love has many definitions; it can mean many things to many people and not necessarily does it mean sacrifice. I believe God uses the term charity because it implies giving without expecting anything in return. If I give something to Goodwill or to Amvets, I don’t want it to show back up on my doorstep. I’m giving it away. I don’t want it to come back. According to I Corinthians 13, this is the way true love is to be given-freely, with no expectation of return- but given because true joy, peace and happiness is found in what we give, not what we get.
Read MoreHaving a thankful and grateful demeanor is not always an easy thing to maintain, especially in 2020 😊 . While we have many things to be thankful for, we are constantly reminded by the world of all we are “missing”. We begin to focus on the material and temporal, and our immediate needs come to live at the forefront of our minds and hearts. This begins to strip us of our grateful spirit and the peace that comes from giving thanks. But lets be honest, the circumstances we often face are not always easy for our human hearts to find the good in, are they? Finding the parts to complain about is much easier, and friends may even seem to listen more intently when we are going through tragedy. However, if we are not careful, we will find that going to that friend, or creating that social media post with all our woes and heartaches,(serious though they may be), becomes our first line of defense over stopping to take anything to our Savior.
Read MoreThere are times in our lives when God purposely sends us trials that will ultimately change our lives and the way we think forever. These trials are not sent to be malicious but rather to grow our faith and increase our influence for Him.
Read MoreMy husband ran a 50 mile race! Yes, you read that correctly. 50 mile trail race. Who in their right mind runs 50 miles? But that wasn’t enough for him. You see, there are these races that are 100 miles long. Seriously. Why? I’m really not sure, but he set his mind to it and signed up for one. Let’s be real… I was not (and am not) running 100 miles. That race was not for me! But do you know what was for me? Helping him. I could encourage him. I could support him. I could go on training runs with him, I could make sure he had all the tools he needed… Shoes, socks, clean running clothes, food, water, electrolytes, salt tablets… I could pray for him. And for months that is what I did. I was training for my races and he was training for his.
Read MoreI spent many days pouring out my heart to the Lord. We took the leap of faith to enter this adoption plan and I was hoping the understanding would come as to why he said no. Now I can look back at that storm and see how the Lord grew me. How He used this hard time to show me it was Him that I really needed, not that baby boy. He could be my joy, my comfort, and my strength. It changed my view to asking God what He is wanting to do through me instead of why He is doing this to me.
Read MoreDo you ever feel like you are just merely “surviving”? Have you ever heard of the statement “survival of the fittest”? Although I am well aware of the statements origin, and I am in complete dis-agreement with the thought process behind its meaning, the statement has always intrigued me. Years ago I began taking the original meaning of the coined saying and have often used the expression but I added my own “twist” to it. I developed a spiritual application for myself.
Read MoreIf we have learned anything through this year, I hope we have learned to hold the things of this world very loosely. Our world is a mess, and it has seemed to spiral down so quickly this year alone. We need to learn to live with Heaven in view every single day. This is difficult with so many things screaming for our time, as ladies. The kids have outgrown their shoes. You know they need to go to the dentist. It is time to pay the school bill. The list is endless. The little (less important) things clamor for our time. Our Bibles never scream, “Hey read me!” The dishes…yes! The dishes they scream, “Hey look at this mess.” I truly believe if we can train our minds and our thoughts to ask if this is going to matter in light of eternity, then we will major on the things that matter. Our hurt feelings, that rude comment…will it really matter? Can I overlook it? Maybe there are things we are chasing and spending more time on than we should. It is time for Christians to focus on Heaven. Focus on relationships and people. First, are they going to Heaven? Can I give them the Gospel? Can I mend a relationship? I mean, we are going to Heaven together if they are believers. Can I focus on my current ministry or maybe I need to jump into a ministry? I challenge you to take a minute to list your priorities in light of eternity. Heaven is real! We are headed there, my friend.
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