When I was making the most recent birthday cake I had a particular platter that I wanted to put it on. Try as I might to look for it I could not find it anywhere. I could even remember putting it somewhere but couldn’t quite remember just where. Then while I was texting my precious cousin sister friend in faith, I told her to please pray that I would find that platter. She prayed right there on the text. And I told her I would text her as soon as I found it. I returned to the search with a …
Embracing the Impossible
The person who lives completely yielded to Christ will often find themselves taking on tasks that feel utterly beyond them. Or perhaps to put it another way, we can’t live Spirit-empowered in our comfort zones. God continually calls us to step outside of those nice, safe walls we’ve positioned around ourselves, and into the area of insufficiency and need. Where we know, without a miracle, we’ll fail. Lives will go untouched, hearts unhealed, tummies unfed. As a high school dropout, former homeless girl, turned ministry leader, I often find myself in that place. Holding conversations with those …
Following the Holy Spirit From Start to Finish
I have a tendency to run ahead of God. I’ll sense a call to action and a surge of His Spirit within, then race ahead, without divine clarity on the how. Do you ever do that? Do you ever assume that first nudge is all you need, only to discover, once you’ve landed in a mess of your own making, that you were missing a few crucial pieces? Details and insight God would’ve provided, had you had the patience, humility, and self-control to wait? One Sunday, I came to church super frustrated regarding a particularly confusing and exhausting …
And A Whole Lot More Seeking and Receiving Than Doing
In Galatians 5, the apostle Paul phrased it this way: “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (v. 16, NIV). I’m reminded of a battle the Israelites faced in Exodus 17. Scripture tells us the Amelekites launched a surprise attack on the nation. In response, Moses sent Joshua and some of their men out to fight while he stood on top of a hill with the “staff of God” in his hands. According to verse 11, “As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever …
The Lens of Faith
Yesterday morning we noticed a deer edging along our backyard fence row. Then we noticed another. Turned out to be four deer in all. I tried to get a photo of them, but I never could see but one deer in the photo. I took several photos but only one could be found. The walk of faith is like that photo of deer. There’s much more there than you see in a photo. The Christian life is full of information that is all needed to display the true story of faith. But we have to look beyond what our …
Life Through the Spirit
Romans 8:1-2 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.” It was impossible to keep all the Jewish laws; and it especially was difficult for women who were not considered significant to society. It’s amazing Jesus raised status of women. And no matter how sinful. He forgave sins and instead of condemning a woman told her to go and not continue living sinful lives. “The teachers of the law …
Circumstantial Joy
Are you waiting for things to change before you’ll be happy again? You could be waiting a long time, my friend. If you are a Christian, joy is an emotion as a result of the Holy Spirit that lives within you. This Spirit produces this ongoing positive and hopeful emotion, as we turn our heart and mind to Christ. Even when our world is engulfed in violence and hate, the Holy Spirit can give you peace. This comes from knowing your faith is not in what’s going on around you, it’s your trust that God loves you and will …
Led by the Spirit
I love opening my bible in the mornings and receiving a Word from the Lord. It tends to make us feel joyous and loved and helps to guide us through our day. But what about when that message is one of correction, that gives us a deep sense of conviction? In that case, we may feel differently. This morning, during my time with Jesus, I opened my bible and got an immediate Word. It felt a bit sharp throughout my being, because even though I felt I had good intentions, I was doing something very wrong. Do not say to your neighbor, “Come back tomorrow …
God Can’t Be Canceled
There’s been much talk in the last months about cancel culture. So being the curious person I am, I decided to look up the definition of it. Here is what I found. “Cancel culture refers to the popular practice of withdrawing support for (canceling) public figures and companies after they have done or said something considered objectionable or offensive.” Oh beloved, God speaks to our hearts. He wants us to know this morning that He knows there is a move in the earth today to cancel all references to Him, to cancel the worth and necessity of Biblical virtues and …
Dreams and the Last Days
Every time I fell asleep last night I dreamed. So you can imagine by that statement that I was awake a lot as well. Every time I woke up I would remind myself that drinking specialty coffee drinks is a great eye opener! I don’t really remember the dreams, so I know they don’t have a spiritual connection. But night before last I dreamed that I had a baby in a buggy in the grocery story. We were headed to the toys on the wall in a corner of the store. While I was talking and looking around, someone took …
Spirit of Truth
“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old is gone and the new is here.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 When a person asks Jesus into his heart, the Holy Spirit comes to live within him. Changes take place and the Spirit begins to move you and guide you. You find yourself stepping further away from the former you and turning into this new creation. Who is the Holy Spirit? Most of us know of the Trinity – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost as it is sometimes called. We …
Are We Doomsdayers?
Doomsday Predictions abound but we are called to seek His face, read His Word and practice His love, mercy and grace. Hubby decided he wanted to watch a movie about a scientist survivor of a man-made plague that transforms humans into bloodthirsty mutants. Yeah. I just couldn’t watch it. While I have no fear I still didn’t want to watch a movie about a plague that wiped out most of the world. A little close to home. Oh beloved we are in what they are calling a pandemic. Some folks are sure it is the beginning of the end. Others …
