Sometimes it seems that our world is getting worse and worse. Listening to the news, you would think that there is nothing but wickedness and evil to be found. But really, there is nothing new under the sun. Think about it, everything that is a sin was addressed in the Bible, so man had already done every evil deed thousands of years before there was a CNN or Fox News.
Read MoreI wasn't doing something right or enough! Years later - got married, my Pastor husband was saved at his brother’s church during his first revival.
Read MoreWe are all on the go, busy, have hectic schedules, need to see, do and say many things! We want our opinions expressed and we want to be heard. Many are bold, boisterous and speak more than listen.
Read MoreWhen you serve the Lord together, your hearts knit in a special way. A church God allowed us to help restart in 2004 held special memories for us. God allowed us to purchase a building for it! Memories with the ladies, decorating for different events. You grow to have a special place in your heart for each person. God was faithful!
Read MoreWhen you think of emptying yourself do you truly rid yourself of your wants/desires and allow God His deserved place as head of your life? This is something I’d never really given a lot of thought to until I started really studying His word. Asking God to fill me with His Spirit to be number one above all my wants and needs.
Read MoreAccording to tradition, when an Eskimo hunts a wolf, the first thing he does is coat his knife blade with animal blood and allows it to freeze. Then he adds layer after layer of blood. He then puts his knife in the ground with the blade up. The wolf follows his nose to the source of the scent and begins licking it, tasting the fresh frozen blood. He begins to lick faster, more vigorously until the edge is bare. Harder and harder the wolf licks the blade. His craving for blood becomes so great that he doesn’t notice the razor sharp sting of the naked blade on his own tongue. Nor does he recognize when his insatiable thirst is being satisfied by his own warm blood. His tongue has become desensitized. His appetite continues to crave more until in the morning light the wolf is found dead in the snow.
Read More. KEEP YOUR MIND IN CONTROL… verse 6a – In other words, don’t be too worried or
dedicated to the problem or situation. Paul was reminding us to not worry about
anything. Yes, nothing at all! I know this can be really hard to do, especially when it
involves marital and family problems, sickness, and problems at church which can often
be difficult to ignore. I, myself, have had the tendency to rethink things too much. I put
too much focus on the problem or on the person creating the problem. I often have to
be reminded to not get too emotionally attached to the problem or to someone that I
feel has offended me. We cannot allow these problems or thoughts to take over our
minds and reside deep in our hearts. If we do, we will soon find ourselves having to deal
with the issue of anxiety.
Read MoreSo, we know the areas in which God does not give us strict guidelines. But what about the areas He does give specific instructions? Like fellowship with God, prayer, church attendance, tithing, soul winning, faithfulness, purity, godliness? Are these things important to us? In the last few years, I've had multiple conversations with people who told me that God would understand why they chose not to tithe to a local church, or go to church because we now have livestream (a great tool when there are no other options or because of sickness, but not a substitute for fellowship with other believers, Hebrews 10:25), or that soul winning wasn't something for them because they are shy, or that Bible reading and prayer is too time consuming and God would rather that they were doing something more “meaningful”, or that watching an R-rated movie was okay because it was with their spouse and they skipped all the bad parts, etc. These weren't people “of the world”. They were born again Christians. People in churches of like-faith. According to the Bible they are playing a dangerous game. Isaiah 33:31b says, “...for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.”
Read MoreJesus is in the middle of His famous sermon, “The Sermon on the Mount.” The verses here are so well known that you may have them memorized. As a missionary’s wife I think of this topic very regularly. I often ask myself “Am I showing the light of Christ to those around me?”
Read MoreEvery day when you wake up, get ready and are about to leave your home for the day. Do a heart check, if your heart is right with the Lord, you will know if your outfit that day is modest and pleasing to the Lord or not. Also, ask the Lord to guide your words for the day and your thoughts.
Read More“You’re not good enough.” “Are you sure they would even miss you if you were gone?” “God is being unfair to bring this trial into your life.” These, and countless more, are LIES that Satan whispers in our ears. In recent days, I’ve heard from several ladies and teen girls about how Satan is working on their thought life. As I listen, I am reminded of my own personal struggles with Satan whispering in my ear causing me to let my own mind run out of control with worry and fear. Lest we feel like we are alone in this struggle, we can go back to the very beginning of time and see how the Devil works.
Read MoreWhen I saw my reflection for the first time in the bathroom mirror, out of shock I said, “I feel like a freak.” Immediately the Holy Spirit convicted me that my thinking was wrong, and I knew right then and there I was going to have to spend as little time as possible looking into a physical mirror and as much time as possible looking into the mirror of God’s Word.
Read MoreMany times, Christians are really not experiencing the joy of serving Jesus, because they are not serving His children. In Matthew 25:42-45, Jesus says, “For I was an hungred, and ye game me no meat: I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked and ye clothed me not: sick and in prison and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him saying, Lord when saw we thee hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?” And now for the topic of our devotion…verse 45, “Then shall he answer them saying, Verily I say unto you. Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.”
Read MoreA young lady came to me upset over a health problem which caused her loss of energy, frequent pain, and feelings of defeat. In addition, she did not have money to take final exams, and she is to have surgery when she returns to her home state this summer. She wanted to feel better, have money for finals, have money for surgery, was fearful of surgery, and wanted to know where money would come from in the fall for school—and wanted all these answers now! I wanted to say, “Whoa! Slow this horse down, woman!” Knowing her health situation, I suspicioned that her particular physical problem was playing a part in her mental and emotional well-being.
Read MoreLet’s start with how music affects us physically. Have you ever heard a song that had a fast beat to it? Often we call it a “toe-tapper,” because the fast rhythm makes our body react in a happy, go-lucky way. Here’s a question to ponder: does the music you listen to affect your body in a positive way? If the music you listen to causes your body to react in a worldly manner, is it truly Christ honoring? One of the three aspects of music is the rhythm. Is the rhythm so prominent in the music you listen to that it overwhelms everything else?
Read MoreThe thought of a Christian feeling worthless and unworthy is a lie from no one other than the devil. He’s been a liar from the beginning and he’s trying to stop you from doing God’s will for your life. Resist the devil by putting on the full armor of God.
Read MoreWhat does the word faithful, or faithfulness mean to you? To me it means to be loyal, constant, and steadfast. Daniel was all of these and more. He was loyal to His God, he was constant, and he was steadfast. The princes and presidents tried to find something to accuse him of but couldn’t. All they could say is that he was faithful.
Read MoreWhy can we not just rest in that? Do we think we can do a better job of figuring it out on our own? Do we think we can fix the problems better than He can? Or do we just prefer to wallow in our misery and seek pity from others? These are all the Devil’s ploys to keep us from being the peace-filled, powerful, and productive Christians God wants us to be.
Read MoreWhat am I going to do about this situation? Is there anyone who can help me? What is going to happen? We often don’t know what to do or where to turn. We seek counsel, think about it nonstop, and we worry. We worry about how we were treated and what they deserve. We lose our focus on what we should be doing and become distracted by things that lead us away from our main purpose in life. We spend time telling a friend instead of telling our one Friend, Jesus.
Read MoreHave you ever been in a storm? A bad storm? A storm that sends you running to the basement. A storm that you can feel the house shaking. There is no doubt those storms are terrifying. You have a healthy fear of those storms, as you ought.
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