Patience…. My least favorite word of all time. So many “well meaning” people have tried to be an “encouragement” to me over the years by saying things like, “God will bring you just the right man, you just have to be patient” or “God will show you what He wants for your future, you just have to be patient”.
Read MoreThis year the town that I live in started a gleaning program. People could sign up to go and pick the leftover fruit and produce that was still left on the plants in the farmers’ fields. The free program allowed you to pick as much as you wanted and share with family and friends, but you were not allowed to sell what you picked. I had never heard of this kind of program before and I was a little skeptical at first, but when I went with some of my kids and a lady from our church, I was blown away by the bounty we could pick! While speaking to the farmer, he explained that the harvest was so large this year that he did not have the laborers to keep up with it. He decided to donate the rest so the harvest would not go to waste. As he walked away to answer someone else’s questions, I could only stare out at the field. There were 20 gleaners and three strawberry fields; we did not even put a dent into the harvest.
Read MoreHis name is Joseph. I first saw him walking through our quaint downtown square with a bundle of blankets tucked under his arm . He was obviously malnourished. His hair and beard were unkempt and his skin bore the marks of weathering both the physical and spiritual storms of life. In my mind’s eye I immediately saw him as someone’s son, someone’s brother, perhaps, someone’s husband or father. My heart hurt for him. It was a short and simple prayer that I prayed that day, “Lord, show me how I could help someone like that.” The light turned green and I drove on.
Read MoreHave you ever noticed that sometimes we get so consumed with our own wants and needs? This leads to praying endlessly all day because we want an answer immediately, and then we start to get upset, mad, and bitter when we don’t get a response. It feels like our prayers are hitting the ceiling and bouncing back to us. What happens next is that you’ve become so frustrated about what you are praying for that you begin arguing with the Lord. You want to wrestle with Him so that you can win. Is it wrong to be passionate about your prayer life? No, but there are often times when you try to force your way and even manipulate your answer, and then you live in misery and regret because you had to have what you wanted.
Read MoreI know that this is a familiar verse. But if you really look at this verse you will see that God's being near to us requires and action on our part. We have to first draw nigh to God. This can be done in several ways: Prayer, reading God's Word, being faithful to church, just to name a few. It is easy to let the "stuff of life" get in the way of our walk with the Lord and the devil actually prefers it that way. In this story I am about to share with you is my personal experience of the Lord working and convicting me of my walk with Him.
Read MoreHave you ever really pondered what a true biblical friendship is? Having the right…or wrong kind of friends will make such an impact on your life, either for good or bad. How many times have we told others to be wise and careful in choosing the right friends, realizing the impact it will have on them, but ignore this wisdom for ourselves.
Read MoreThe older I get the more I realize I need His Words in my life. As a teenager, a young Bible college student, and even a young married wife and mom, I read my Bible every day; but I did it more out of “this is what I am supposed to do” rather than “this is what I need.” Oh! There were days when I would run to Him and His Word out of necessity, but more often than not it was what I did out of habit. As our family began to grow and my responsibilities in church grew, I began to go to His Word more out of need, but still I did things in my own strength unfortunately. I knew I needed God in my head, but it had not fully reached my heart.
Read MoreWhen I was younger, I loved the idea of meeting my “prince charming” and falling in LOVE, just like all of the Disney princesses did. I wanted to be somebody’s special ONE, and for them to be mine. Since I have been saved, I would say that I LOVE JESUS. But when I was younger, I would not say that I saw Him as the one to fulfill the longing of my heart. He was more distant / unseen / more like a character in a story.
Read MoreYou see, I remember the times I prayed. When I was a teenager, I prayed for a husband. I asked God over and over to give me a husband. You see my dad pastored in a pretty bad part of Memphis, Tn and let’s just say there was no one around to marry. I even told my mom God won’t send anyone here for me to marry. You see, I did doubt that God could do it…maybe I didn’t doubt God could as much as I doubted that God would do it for me. I was discouraged, would God ever send me my future husband?
Read MoreNo! my year has not stopped. Although at times, I wish it had. Neither has then been a year where I have just stopped serving the Lord. But this has been a year where I have tried to stop and in every major situation take the time to pause.
Read MoreOh how often I feel IT'S NOT IN ME ---but God shall give an answer of peace! Life can be so pressing at times and I don't have an answer. I'm thankful that I can run to Jesus. Psalm 86:7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: FOR THOU WILT ANSWER ME.
Read MoreAgain, living for the Lord has many mountains and valleys. It’s not an easy road,
but don’t give up, or you will miss the best of the best!
Read MoreIn the hustle and bustle of life today, it's easy to get caught up in whirlwinds of tasks and responsibilities that constantly demand attention. We find ourselves running from one thing to another, sometimes barely taking a moment to transition properly. However, amidst the chaos and busyness that can easily overtake our lives, there is a timeless truth that our Lord Jesus shared with us, speaking directly from His loving heart: "Come apart and rest a little while."
Read MoreI was born into a Christian home and went to church every Sunday. I remember one Sunday morning sitting in church listening to the message and when it was time for the invitation I knew that I needed to accept Jesus as my Saviour. I went home and that afternoon my dad sat with me on the couch and clearly explained the Gospel to me and I accepted Jesus Christ as my Saviour when I was 4 years old. I was baptized the next year.
There was an old saying about trusting all one’s goods to one ship. It was replaced with the phrase “Don't put all your eggs in one basket,” which is a proverb or idiom first recorded in 1710, that means you should not risk everything or depend entirely on a single thing or course of action. It advises against investing all your resources, time, or efforts in a single venture, as it leaves you vulnerable to failure or loss. If you gather all your eggs in a single basket, there is a potential danger of dropping the basket and losing everything you have worked diligently to obtain. In contrast, the proverb advises considering different options and distributing your eggs across multiple baskets, so you don’t find yourself in a desperate situation if one of your endeavors fails.
Read MoreMost of our lives are spent going the same speed and the same direction. Once in a while we change lanes or even merge onto a new highway, but then we resume where we were.
1 Corinthians 2:4 reminds us that “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.” Faithful, not just in those exciting moments, but in the Days in Between.
Read MoreAs a Christian of any age and any stage of life, there are simple principles in the Bible we can remember when we don’t know what else to do. The Bible instructs us first of all to – (S)eek God. In James 1:5 the Bible says, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him as of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not: and it shall be given him.” This verse tells us when we need wisdom to know what to do, all we have to do is ask God. If we have trusted Christ as our Saviour, God listens and wants to answer our prayers. He has told he will give us wisdom if we will simply ask. First thing first, seek God and ask Him for wisdom.
Read MoreNothing replaces reading your Bible every day and praying to our Father in Heaven. No podcast, devotional, sermon, blog post, or any other kind of post will do for you what the Holy Spirit through the Word can do.
Read MoreSo as you go throughout your day remember to think about how you are speaking just as much as what you are speaking. So many of life situations can be handled so much better if
we guard our mouth and how we communicate with others. Psalm 141:3 - Set a watch (guard), O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.
Webster’s dictionary defines special as the following:
special
1: distinguished by some unusual quality
2: held in particular esteem
3: readily distinguishable from others of the same category : being other than the usual
4: designed for a particular purpose or occasion
Those definitions sound like a description of a Christian. Read again.
