Someone once said “there are no small roles, just small actors.’” Every role in a play or movie has a part to play. That production comes together only if everyone plays their part. In my Christian walk, I have played many roles. Some better than others, but all God-driven. God puts each of us right where we need to be. Accept who God made you to be and follow His lead. 1 Corinthians 15:58 – “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know …
Recognizing His Work
Are you recognizing His work in your life? Have you thanked Him for what He has done? Thank Him and praise Him for what he is doing in your midst. Live in a way that is pleasing to Christ. Don’t stand down but stand out and get excited to share His word today and every day that He wakes you up. He died on the cross so you can have an intimate relationship with Him so you can share His goodness to others so none of His children perish. Live for Him and rid yourselves of anything that …
Focused Forward
Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. (Proverbs 4:25) But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14) I am sure that I am not the only one, but recently, I have struggled with maintaining focused on what I am supposed to be accomplishing in this season. And as hurtful and uncertain these times are, I have had to dig deep recently to maintain momentum in …
His Weapon of Mass Instruction
For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:3-5 ESV) For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12 ESV) Guess what? We are in a battle. We have been in one …
Dressed to Kill
This is not a wrestling match against a human opponent. We are wrestling with rulers, authorities, the powers who govern this world of darkness, and spiritual forces that control evil in the heavenly world. (Ephesians 6:12) The apostle Paul very well knew that we would engage in spiritual warfare, therefore he affirms that our spiritual battles are constant with an enemy who is crafty and full of evil. The enemy is masterful and cunning and will go to any measure to disarm us from our faith. He comes against us with different methods, and if he fails at one, …
Jesus The Way, The Truth and The Life
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 This verse may be familiar to many of us. The phrase, “…the way and the truth and the life” may easily roll off our tongues, because we have heard it quoted many times. We may have committed it to memory if we grew up in Sunday School or Awana. We may be struck by the combination of these three descriptors: way, truth, life. These are an interesting combination. As we focus on the words individually, it prompts us to …
Be Stirred Not Shaken
“Not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word..” 2 Thessalonians 2: 2-3 (ESV) All I can say is that it has been an interesting few weeks. I think we all can agree that life as we know it will NEVER be the same. It can rattle the mind and distress our spirit if we are not careful and over the last few days as I watched the news, read social media posts and studied the statistics regarding the rate at which this virus is increasing, I thought to …
Consistent
We’re living in a world of inconsistency. There seems to be nothing consistent in our daily life. That is, unless you’re a Christian. I do have days when nothing seems to be going right (broken door knob, leaking pipe in the basement), but I don’t let these distractions lead me into anger or frustration. I turn to God and ask Him for help. Most of the time I don’t even ask why. If you’re consistent in your walk with God, you’ll find a deeper peace. Just as you are consistent in your gardening, you’ll reap the harvest come Fall. …
You’re Dead And Yet Alive
We came home from the conference we attended and between washing clothes and napping we watched two old westerns. High noon was one of them. Kane, the just resigned as sheriff and married a Quaker, knew he needed to stand up to the man who was returning from prison on the noon train. His efforts to round up a posse at the tavern, and then the church, are met with fear and hostility. Some townspeople, worried that a gunfight would damage the town’s reputation, urge Kane to avoid the confrontation entirely. Others are Miller’s friends, and resent that Kane cleaned …
Do You Need Proof?
We haven’t seen any deer in our yard in a while. But the evidence that they pass through is there with hoof prints in the soft earth. We only saw crawdads while we were working on the retaining wall, but the evidence that they are still around remains with their mud towers coming out of the earth. Evidence of things not seen. Oh beloved, God is like that. We may not always directly see Him but we have evidence of Him in our lives. He saves us and changes our heart. He gives us a new and living way to …
Stand Firm
Danny’s first visit by a physical therapist involved a belt. It was so colorful. It reminded me of a belt Danny had in the 70’s. The therapist put it around Danny and then they stood up together. Huge victory! He was standing firm. I now find myself having to stand firm. And I realize that it’s in the big mountains of life where we learn to stand the most firmly. Oh beloved, this is no ordinary day. This is the day when you can stand firm in your faith. You can stand for righteousness. You can stand against evil. And …
Stand Firm and Secure the Victory
1 Peter 5: 8-9 “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” The enemy is out there to make all Christians ineffective, each God fearing, God teaching church in turmoil and each family broken and hurting. To steal, kill and destroy. The enemy is alive and well and taking aim against each Christian individual, home, church, community and nation. I …