When I began writing devotionals God spoke to my heart. Choose your platform well He said. That will be what you are known for. I said “I choose LOVE”. Hence all my devotionals call the readers Oh Beloved! When you’re at your wits’ end – You are loved When you don’t know what you will do – You are loved When you have been rejected – You are loved When marriage falters, health fails, friends fail, church falls flat, people become distant, money gets short, when others misunderstand, when prayers aren’t answered, when life happens Oh beloved, You are loved. …
Your Savior, Your Encouragement
When I first heard the word encouragement, I thought, sure, I can write about that; “Easy peasy” as our 4-year old grandson says. I mean, who doesn’t love to be encouraged and to be an encourager? But, as I sit here listening to God speak to my heart about that word, I hear something a little different than I thought I would. In what areas do we really need encouragement? I know I need no encouragement to sin. Sin is the old pair of shoes that I trip over each day; I thought I had …
Qualified
In the past several years I have learned so much about how to become the person God intended me to be…how to live out my faith and what that means. This is such a process and I am still learning so much, but I love the idea of passing on what God is using to shape me to help others. One of the biggest lessons seems so simple but it has really changed the way I look at how to live out my faith. God has given us all gifts and talents to enable us to put our faith into …
Calming Your Mind
Six Steps to finding God when you’re living in a crisis Step 1 Calming Your Mind What do you do when your situation is so intense, so completely mentally absorbing, that your mind is constantly racing and you know you need God’s help, but you can’t feel him anymore? It seems like he’s just not around. You know you need to pray. You know you could use some time in his word. But there isn’t time right now. Your home is in a state of upset. Your husband drinks too much, raging at you and scaring your children. A close …
The Unseen Battle
Have you ever experienced a feeling of heaviness in your chest accompanied by a convincing feeling that God doesn’t love you or has abandoned you? Even though intellectually you know it isn’t true and you know that God promises He will never leave you or forsake you, it still feels very much like truth. That’s just one example of my own spiritual battle I often face. There are many more examples. Fear is another one I struggle with. Satan can have me so paralyzed with fear that I become convinced I’m worthless. One thing I’ve learned from my years as …
Forgiveness is Just the First Step
Ephesians 6:10-16 describes the Armor of God and instructs us how to wear and use it. Let’s begin by looking at verse 11. It reads: “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” Would you not agree that the issues in your life that you need to forgive were events when the devil used humans in his scheme to take you down? Of course this is true. When you choose to forgive, you are taking a stand against the devil’s schemes. To do this, you need some heavy …
Praise God Throughout Your Crisis
A 6-Day Look at a Desperate Dilemma From 2 Chronicles 20 Overview Passage: 2 Chronicle 20: 1-30 Today’s study: 2 Chronicles 20: 18-30 “Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord…. As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah and they were defeated….. When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies …
Understand Whose Crisis It Is
A 6-Day Look at a Desperate Dilemma From 2 Chronicles 20 Overview Passage: 2 Chronicles 20:1-30 Today’s study: 2 Chronicles 20:14-23 “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s….You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you….Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow and the Lord will be with …
When Faith Falters
Grace can find you in the mundane. It captures you in the most difficult moments and stops you in awe. It sneaks up on you in snapshots of children playing, it guts you as you hold the hand of a loved one breathing their last, it never abandons you even when your faith is not strong enough to hold on. In moments of pain, loneliness, or insurmountable odds it is sometimes difficult to see purpose. It takes great faith to surrender to providence. We learn to hope and find encouragement from our own experiences of grace as well as the …
Let the Praises Ring
DAY SIX: We should start each day with praise. We have no reason not to do so. Matthew 10 says, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” He protected us while we were sleeping; He gave us the breath in our lungs; and He awakened us in the morning. Before our feet hit the floor, we should give Him praise. He knows the numbers of the hairs on our head. He knows …
Glimpses of His Magnificence
Deuteronomy 3:24 “O Sovereign LORD, You have begun to show to Your servant Your greatness and Your strong hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds and mighty works You do?” Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.” Sovereign: supreme in power or authority Fear: profound reverence and awe toward God (definitions from the Life Application Study Bible) How powerful is your God? Have you ever really thought about that question? So often today, studies focus on God’s great love for …
Losing Focus
Why is it that when we get busy with life, distracted by worldly problems and put off spending time with God, that we wonder why we feel so depressed? There is a direct link between our spiritual walk and our emotional well being- it’s a fact. We were created to have direct communion with God and when we choose to separate ourselves from this communion our spirits feel the strain. We already have to endure a type of separation due to the fall of humanity… thankfully Christ sacrificed to correct that huge mistake. But when we “put off” spending that …