But commission Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead this people across and will cause them to inherit the land that you will see. ~Deuteronomy 3:28 NIV Our God is generous in His goodness to His people. Like Him, we are rich in His goodness and blessed to bless others. I read this verse and wondered if a “Joshua” might be in my life whom I had failed to recognize. Or, had I recognized a Joshua, but … Continue reading →
God There’s not one totally good person on earth, not one who is truly pure and sinless. ~Ecclesiastes 7:20 MSG The enemy wants us to think that we are alone in our sin, the worst human being ever to live. He wants us to forget that we are fully forgiven. God’s Offer Social media presents us with snapshots of others’ lives that look pulled together. It can make us feel alone, worthless, and like a failure. So, we beat ourselves … Continue reading →
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. ~1 Peter 5:8 NIV Lions are beautiful, agile, and strong, with paws the size of dinner plates. A roar of the lion can be heard up to five miles away. Interestingly, however, the roaring lions are not the most dangerous. Lions roar as a warning to intruders, telling them they are entering claimed territory. Often, this role is delegated … Continue reading →
And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” ~Matthew 4:19 ESV We find hope in this little verse—fifteen simple words that we can easily step over on our way to weightier passages. Jesus’s promise to make us fishers of people liberates us. With it comes the invitation to come as we are and be transformed. Fishing for others is a possibility. We don’t need to come equipped to be useful to God’s kingdom. … Continue reading →
The Lord’s ways are different than our ways. Sometimes He answers through Scripture, and sometimes he heals a blind man by making mud. Years ago, a man owned a barbershop near my office. One day, while walking past him on my way to the store, the Lord told me to stop and pray for him. I bristled at the thought. We didn’t know one other. Indeed, he would think I was a nut. I struggled and argued with the Lord … Continue reading →
About mid-morning, when I fast from food, I become hungry for bread, and my stomach growls. Images of tasty foods parade through my mind, trying to coax me to eat. Similarly, when my cellphone is dead, it surprises me how often I find myself reaching for it for one reason or another. We develop habits and hungers in our lives, and those habits drive us to feed whichever belly is gnawing with emptiness. We may fast from food for a … Continue reading →
For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. ~2 Chronicles 16:9 NIV Sometimes we find ourselves discouraged, lost, afraid, or lonely. We search high and low, turning over every rock, looking for hope or rescue. We forget the eyes of the Lord are upon us. If we are seeking God’s help, we will find Him because He is also seeking us. There is reason to hope. The Lord … Continue reading →
It was 2020, and we were under a mandated shelter-in-place order. Unable to go into town except for emergencies, I made use of the time cleaning house. One morning, I felt a nudge in my heart from the Lord: “It’s time to clean house.” Only this time, it wasn’t about dirty dishes in the sink. Instead, I needed to clean out the closets of my heart. Every day we see more “signs of the times”—evidence that the return of the … Continue reading →
Yes, God is more than ready to overwhelm you with every form of grace, so that you will have more than enough of everything—every moment and in every way. He will make you overflow with abundance in every good thing you do. ~2 Corinthians 9:8 TPT God’s blessings are so generous that sometimes we need guardrails to tell us when we have enough and need to release some. When we do, we follow Jesus’s example by pouring out upon others. … Continue reading →
You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. ~Revelation 2:3-4 NIV I love God. Hopefully, we all do. I also love my husband, my family, my dog, and my country. Loving so many things in life is wonderful, but we should be vigilant to separate our first love and pink laundry. I’ll explain. In English, we have many … Continue reading →
