Seek God’s Kingdom Instead of Your Own

We should always be growing in our understanding of God and his kingdom.

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. -Matthew 6:31-33

In the kingdom of God no one worries about getting their basic needs met. God is good and he provides. So just the basic act of seeking him and his kingdom and trusting in his righteousness means we don’t have to worry. Because God’s kingdom is backwards to our society. Society says take care of you. But God says take care of others and I will take care of you.

God has humbled me with this over the years. I was raised to work hard for everything. To the point where at one time I had three jobs. But that was not what God had asked me to do. He has called me to write and preach and share his kingdom so others can find the same freedom I found. Freedom from guilt, shame and yes striving too. He called me to trust in him and his kingdom and he has not failed me these past few years. He has provided over and over again and again in ways I never expected because I trust in him and his kingdom.

What are you worrying about? Have you given it to God? Do you trust that he will provide or are you putting your trust in your own ability.

We Sing Our Miracles

The words we sing in church often have more faith than our prayers or our mindset about whatever we are facing. But what if we sang those songs and actually believed what we are singing. Instead of just going through the motions.

When we are in the middle of something it’s hard to see the end. But there is no end to God. He is infinite, all around us, he always is and always will be.

So we don’t have to grin and bear through the hard times. We have to put our faith and trust in the one who sees it all, knows all and has already won the victory.

Our circumstances don’t have to change for our focus to change. Our circumstances change because our focus changes. When Peter walked on the water he did so in a storm. The waves were not calm when he took his first step. When he changed his focus off Jesus is when he began to sink.

The next worship song you sing focus on the words and believe what you are singing. Put your faith and trust in the God who created the universe and sacrificed himself for you. Listen to what you are singing, believe it and expect God to do it.

May the Force of God Be With You

In Star Wars when Luke turns off his targeting computer to make the shot to destroy the Death Star. It’s like trusting the Holy Spirit. Sometimes what he says doesn’t make sense. But it’s the source of the information that we trust.

We often trust what the computer program says or Ai. We trust what other around us say or the media or culture. But they are not God. We are not called to follow others. We are called to trust and follow God. Even when we don’t know the answer or see where he is leading we need to trust that he knows where and what he is leading us to. 

Moses didn’t know God was going to part the Red Sea. Joshua didn’t know the walls of Jericho would crumble. But they trusted God’s leading and that he would provide for where he was leading them.

My husband and I recently took a very big leap of faith trusting that God would provide. It was the biggest leap of faith I have ever taken. But he has provided in more ways than one and we didn’t know the what, when or how. But he provided.

Stop looking to other sources for your path in life or even the simple decisions like where to eat lunch and start asking and trusting God to provide for any and everything.

Tears are Healing

When it rains the clouds come first and the sky turns grey. The plants are shaded from the sun while they get much needed nourishment. The grey clouds stay even after it rains to shield the plants from being burned by the sun while the water is still on their leaves.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Tears are like this for us. They mostly come during the dark gloomy times. But they give us a healthy release of all the emotions that are pent up inside. As the tears flow out our emotions release with them and bring much needed healing.

Tears help us to acknowledge the hurt or pain we’ve gone through, they cleanse and wash away what we’ve held inside. They are a release of fear, sadness, anger, worry and frustration. But if they are kept bottled up they turn into paranoia, anxiety, depression, rage and bitterness. Even Jesus wept at the death of his friend Lazarus. He knew he would raise him back to life, yet he still felt the loss. It’s the same with us we need to let the emotion out, the frustration, the worry. Be it at home, with a friend or at the altar. We need to release those emotions and surrender them to God.

Tears are healing. So cry, let it all out. But remember to not let it overcome you, it’s a release not a way to dwell. Jesus wept but he then directed those around him to have faith in him and his Father in heaven. He turned his attention to thankfulness and did as his Heavenly Father directed. He raised Lazarus from the dead. The sun will come out. God will provide. If we put our faith and trust in him.

Choose your thoughts

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.  What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. –Philippians 4:8-9

Your surroundings affect you.

If you surround yourself with negativity, anger, hate and immorality, it will be hard to be happy and positive.

But if you surround yourself with good, positive, pure encouraging things being optimistic will be almost natural.

God is love and if we want to follow him and live a life for him then we must put ourselves in an environment where we can focus on him.

We all have a choice in what we listen to, read, watch and who we spend our time with. Especially in our current society of constant media we are continuously being influenced.

Direct your thoughts by making choices that foster what you want. Swap out what distracts you for what encourages you. Fix your eyes on Jesus, learn who he is and ask him to teach you in new ways.


Photo by Christopher Sardegna on Unsplash

Peace or anxiety

We often underestimate the impact of resting in Gods presence. When it’s what we need most.

When we are at our most desperate, when we feel lost or unsure. That’s when we need God most.

We don’t need to fix our problems before we go to him. Going to him is how we fix our problems.

We can choose to dwell and worry. Or we can choose to dwell in God’s presence and let him show us his perspective that melts away worry and anxiety. For nothing is too big for him to handle.

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?  And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,  yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. -Matthew 6:25-33

Bring Heaven now

As believers in Jesus its easy to look to heaven as the solution; to think that we just have to suffer till we get to heaven. But Jesus never intended for us to live this life alone.

Heaven can be here on earth now if we look for it. If we focus on Jesus. One of my favorite questions to ask God, that I first heard from Graham Cooke is “What do you want to be for me now?”

Heaven is free of pain and hurt yes, but its also full of worship. So we worship while we wait, we worship while we wait for the healing, we worship while we wait for the provision or the answer. Worship brings heaven to us and worship opens us up to letting God lead. Its in worship that we surrender all our worries and concerns.

So no matter what we are going through, worship through it. Give God the glory and ask him ‘what he wants to be for you now?’

Love Changes Us

Trying to change people by nagging pestering and yelling never works. We may get them to do what we want in the moment but it doesn’t change their heart.  It doesn’t bring about real change.

Prayer is how we fight.  Prayer changes things. Prayer changes our perspective of others and prayer is what can change their hearts. Prayer is simply a conversation with God letting him show us how he sees things.

So often we think we can change someone. Or we’ll love them more if we just get them to be who we think they should be. But if we look to change ourselves instead, to love them no matter what, God’s love through us will change them.

Think back to when you gave your heart to Jesus. Did you do it because he was nagging you or because you came to know his love and forgiveness? When we give our heart to God, we repent of our past mistakes and we choose to let God change us. We have to do the same with others. Allow God to bring about the change.

Gods love changed us and the expression of his love will change others.

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. -1 John 4:16

Rejoice in Others, Value the One

In a previous devotion I shared about Serving without Complaining in
Philippians 2:14-18. These verses also mentions rejoicing for others.

It’s easy to get distracted by other people’s ministry. To say my ministry isn’t as big as theirs or I wish I could do that. But you don’t know where they started.

Every ministry starts small. No one immediately has a mega church or crusades to millions, they started out small. Even Jesus started out small. By calling the disciples one by one or in pairs. Even after he began to attract crowds, he saw each person as valuable and stopped those crowds, just to focus on one person. Like Zacchaeus, or the cripple lowered though the roof or the woman with the issue of blood. Jesus focus was always on the individual.

Ministry is about reaching people. So whether it’s big or small if you’ve reached a person you’ve made a difference.

So rejoice for others in their blessing to reach the multitude and know that they started just like you, by reaching one person at a time.

woman in white shirt raising her right hand

Photo by Harishan Kobalasingam on Unsplash

What has God called you to?

And say to Archippus, “See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.” –Colossians4:17

It’s easy to be envious of other’s ministries or success, but all believers are each called to our share Jesus.

God made each of us unique and has commissioned us all. I can’t reach someone the same way you can and in the same respect; you can’t reach someone like I can. We are all special, all chosen by him and he has a calling for each of us. For some it’s to minister to thousands, for others it’s to reach the person no one notices. The point is we are each special and unique and we all met God in different ways. We are to be those different ways for other people.

We need to stop comparing ourselves to others and start seeking what God has special just for us.

What has he called you to? Who has he set on your heart? Seek him for how he wants you to reach the people he has given you a heart for and enjoy your unique calling.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. -Matthew 28:19-20

While We Wait

Just because we don’t have what we asked God for right now. Doesn’t mean God’s not giving it to us.

There is so much to be thankful for in this life. There are the basic needs. Food to eat, water to drink, clothes to wear, a bed to sleep in and a home to keep us protected, but God provides so much more than these. He loves to bring joy into our lives even in the little things. Blessing us with our favorite beverage, a smile from a loved one, the warm sun on our face and so much more if we just appreciate him and what he’s already blessed us with.

If we focus on what we don’t have. We will miss all that God has for us each day.

His timing is perfect. He knows what we need and when we need it. Trusting his timing can be hard if we focus on what we don’t have. But if we focus on what he is doing in our life right now. What we are waiting for won’t take as long as we think it will.

The Big Picture

Its easy to get wrapped up in ourselves, in our own world and to neglect or take for granted our relationship with God. We know He will always be there for us but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t miss us. With all the responsibilities of life its easy to push Him off till later to say, let me just take care of this first or do that and then I’ll spend time with God.

But its when we put God first that He helps us to accomplish all we have to do and somehow when we follow His plan there is always extra time left. When we follow His lead and His way He does things faster and better then we ever could and shows us little surprises along the way.

God sees the big picture. He sees how everything works together and when we trust His leadership He guides us to bigger and grander things then we could of done if we’d done it on our own. When we are wrapped up in what is right in front of us, we miss what’s a few steps ahead.

My husband and I have moved a lot and in one of our searches for a rental home. All I could see was the things that I was looking for instead of what I was looking at. After viewing a few homes I picked one and my husband picked the other. When we returned to view his choice he showed me what I had missed. The beautiful woods that the house backed up to. He saw the big picture while I just focused on what I wasn’t seeing, he saw what really mattered.

Trust Jesus leadership. He sees the big picture.

“When did we let evil become stronger then us?”

In the Desolation of Smog, Tauriel asks Legolas “When did we let evil become stronger than us?

We should be asking ourselves this when we let fear or worry hold us back from doing what God has asked us to do.

We get to choose what we let have power over us. If we choose to out our faith and trust in God. We can do amazing things for him. We can reach people we never imaged and find strength, peace and joy that we didn’t know that we had.

In 2014 my small group leader was taking a team to Uganda for a missions trip and he asked the group if any of us wanted to go.

I had been on several mission trips to others countries before but honestly Africa was the only place that I never wanted to go.

As the night continued I felt an overwhelming sense that God wanted me to go on this trip. I kept ignoring it but after our group ended as I was talking with my co-worker James who had been to Uganda before. I couldn’t ignore the promoting I felt from God any longer. I decided to go.

The trip changed my life and perspective on so many things more than any other mission trip I had been on and God used us to minister to thousands.

By allowing God to direct my steps he grew our relationship in leaps and bounds on that trip and I haven’t been the same since.

What fear are you letting keep you from doing what God has asked you to do?

Take a step of faith and don’t let fear rule your decisions.

God’s Perspective

I write a lot about God changing our perspective. But it’s truly life changing and I don’t want you to miss it. Years ago I received some news that really shook me. And a few weeks after. I heard the teaching posted below. It changed my perspective on everything. Brought me into a deeper relationship with God and gave me what I needed.

Seeing life from God’s perspective can change your whole view of life. There is so much more to salvation than just getting to heaven. Jesus sacrificed everything so we could die to our selfish ways, we could know and share his kingdom and he could live through us.

Lift the Load and Find Freedom

You were dead in sins, and your sinful desires were not yet cut away. Then he gave you a share in the very life of Christ, for he forgave all your sins,  and blotted out the charges proved against you, the list of his commandments which you had not obeyed. He took this list of sins and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ’s cross.  In this way God took away Satan’s power to accuse you of sin, and God openly displayed to the whole world Christ’s triumph at the cross where your sins were all taken away. –Colossians 2:13-15

Freedom from guilt and shame is amazing. We have all done something we regret in our lives or the word ‘sorry’ wouldn’t exist. We all have days where it feels like the world is ending either by choices we have made or choices others have made that affect us. But its when we dwell on those and let them consume us that we give it power over us.

Forgiveness is powerful; God’s forgiveness gives us freedom from the guilt and shame of all our mistakes. Forgiving others takes away their power over us.

When you are forgiven its like a ton of bricks is lifted off your back, forgiving others gives us that same freedom.

Don’t let a simple choice keep you from lifting the load of unforgiveness from your back. Accept God’s forgiveness that Jesus paid with his life and extend that same forgiveness to others.

Things above

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.–Colossians 3:2

Focusing on God and heaven may seem like your taking a break from reality. In some ways you are. Being in the presence of God can make you forget about everything else and just focus on him.

But it also helps us to change our perspective.

When we allow ourselves to get caught up in all the things in the world we can lose sight of God and what he has for us.

Focusing our mind on things above isn’t about being disconnected from reality its about changing our perspective of reality. Heaven is real. God is real. Fixing our eyes on him and his kingdom gives us the bigger perspective of the creator and his creation, instead of focusing on our immediate circumstances or surroundings. Fixing our eyes of Jesus is like zooming out to see the bigger picture.


Photo by Vignesh T on Unsplash

With Everything

Sometimes we can be worried about what we should do and what we shouldn’t do. So here’s my question. Whatever your doing or saying, can you do it with Jesus? Can you say it to Jesus?

I am not perfect and I can honestly say there are moments when I couldn’t say I would be proud to have Jesus with me when I’ve said somethings, or put myself first before others.

But the reality is that if we believe, then he is with us every moment. He’s with us when we brush our teeth, when we yell at the driver in front of us, and when we hold the door open for the someone.

He is always with us so why don’t we act like it.

Honestly I think we forget sometimes, but what if we lived are lives like we were never alone, like he was always with us, as our constant companion, someone who is always here to help us, to uplift and encourage us, so that we are never alone. To protect when we’re scared or intimidated, to love us at our worst and celebrate with us at our best.

See your life different, as never before, as never alone. But with Jesus always.

And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” -Matthew 28:20b

What would you do to avoid pain?

In the Silver Chair from the Chronicles of Narnia series Prince Rillian in pursuit of trying to heal from the lose of his mother. Allows himself to be seduced by the queen of the underworld. He gets so caught up trying to escape his pain that he lets her twist his perspective on the world and feed him lies about who he is.

We can do the same in our lives, if we look for the quick easy fix to cover up, ignore, or push away our pain instead of dealing with it we can be so caught up in the lies of others or even the lies we tell ourselves. That we can allow our whole environment to change right around us, till we begin to believe the lies are the truth.

We as humans will do almost anything to escape pain. But no matter where we are or what we’ve allowed ourselves to get into. Jesus is always there. We can always call on his name and he will be there for us. He will send others to help guide us out of the darkness and into the light. If you feel like you’ve fallen into something and you don’t know how to get out. Seek God, ask Jesus for help and he will reveal the truth to you and set you free.

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
    he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
    and the opening of the prison to those who are bound -Isaiah 61:1

Hangry for God

When we get hangry (angry, because we’re hungry.) We get irritable and edgy, we snap at people for the littlest thing and react in ways we would not normally act.

We are the same when we are starved for God. If we don’t get enough of him we get irritable, edgy and snap at people for the littlest thing.

We all have different degrees of hanger for God and we all display it a little different, but we all have the same issue we need more of Jesus in our life.

When you notice you’re not yourself. Realize that you need to die to self, seek Jesus and make him more of a priority in your life. In that moment, stop and ask for his help and surrender yourself over to him.

In the same respect, when we encounter people that rub us the wrong way. We need look at them with a different perspective. By asking God to show you how he sees them, because they just need Jesus in their life too.

When we know God, who he’s made us to be and feel completely loved, accepted and valued by him. We don’t need others to show us our value because we know our value comes from him and its priceless.

God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.  ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ -Acts 17:27-28a

Photo by Christopher Sardegna on Unsplash

Let God Lead

For I, the Lord your God,
    hold your right hand;
it is I who say to you, “Fear not,
    I am the one who helps you.” –Isaiah 41:13

I’ve had a few seasons of struggling with finding intimacy with Jesus. As life changes so has my devotional time.

In one of these seasons I realized that the connection I was lacking at that time was because I wasn’t writing like I used to. Writing is part of who God has called me to be and it’s how he teaches me. When I’m writing he shows me things I didn’t notice before. He helps me process through whatever my thought are on. For me writing is what he’s called me to do but there is so much more than what I share here. Much of it is not ready for publication but a lot of it is just my personal time with God.

God designed each of us and he has his own special way of connecting with each of us and revealing our identity in him is the key to that.

We don’t need to fear him and worry about our past neglect or inadequacies. We simply need to come to him, seek to know him and let him lead.

God is faithful, but are we?

God is faithful, he will never leave us, stop loving us or abandon us. We are the ones who leave him, ignore him or deny his existence.

He always wants to love us and be with us.

We are the ones who put him in a box or give him limits by saying he doesn’t care, he’s too busy, or he can’t do that.

For nothing will be impossible with God.”  Luke 1:37

This verse is Elizabeth who became pregnant in her old age. She was talking to, Mary the mother of Jesus, about her miraculous conception of Jesus.

This verse gives me strength. We have been trying to get pregnant since we got married in 2015. And even though we have not been blessed with a baby yet, I still trust God. I still love him and I still worship him. Because he is a good, loving God and I know that he has given me the dream to have children and he will bless me with them. But that doesn’t mean that I abandon him or just curl up in a ball and become bitter and angry because I don’t have what I want when I want it.

Instead I ask him ‘What he has for me right now?’ What do you want to teach me through this?’ ‘What do you want me to do in this time?’

In the six years from surrendering my life to Jesus, to when I meet my husband. I wanted a husband but God used that time. He taught me to change, to become the woman I needed to be to be a good loving wife. God used me to invest in the lives of others. I could not have done all that I did and learned in those years if I was married. If I had met my husband sooner we would of had a lot of issues, we would of fought a lot, hurt each other and I would not of had the time to invest in the others like I did. God knew what he was doing.

Trust God’s timing. What constraints have you put on God? Are you holding yourself back because you think God can’t do it through you? What does God have for you right now in this moment? Ask him. Seek him and trust his timing.

My Will or God’s

Everything in life can fail and falter, but the one thing we can always count on and depend on is God. He doesn’t change. He’s the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He is always loving, always there and always dependable.

He’s always on time and always work things out for good.

He is the one thing in life that we can count on 100%.

It’s us that falter or wavier, that grow impatient or try to do things in our own time or our own way. But when we depend on God and follow his lead we will have no regret.

You have to plant to see a harvest

Planting seeds takes a lot of faith. You never know what you’ll get, when they’ll grow or how much the plant will produce, or if it will grow at all. But we still plant seeds.

In the movie Faith Like Potatoes, Angus a farmer finds faith in God and follows the leading of the Holy Spirit to plant potatoes. Planting potatoes takes faith because you cant see what crop you’ve yielded until you’re ready to harvest.

Planting seeds of faith can be like this. We don’t know what will grow and what will not grow but we if we want to see a harvest. We still have to plant.

Sow seeds everywhere in everyone, you never know what will produce a harvest.

 “A sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.  Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil,  but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away.  Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.” –Matthew 13:3b-9

Don’t stress

Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,
    for in you I trust.
Make me know the way I should go,
    for to you I lift up my soul. –Psalms 143:8

Mornings can be hard waking up thinking about all you have to do that day. It makes a lot of us want to go back to bed. What if we let God lead?

What if we let him direct our steps? And give us the energy, stamina, desire and plan for the day. He never intended for us to do life without him. So why do we keep trying?

Ask God his plan for your day? He created the universe. He can plan your day. You may think he doesn’t care about the little things, like brushing our teeth, but I beg to differ. He made us, he made our teeth, he cares about the small stuff too.

Ask him, what his plan for your steps are today and let him lead. I think you’ll be surprised at how much more peaceful and productive your day is when you let him lead your steps.

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Serve Like Jesus

Servants, obey in all things those who are your masters according to the flesh, not just when they are looking, as men pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God. And whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord, and not for men,  knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. –Colossians 3:22-24

Some may think these verses seem archaic, but this passage is really just about work ethic.

We as believers in Jesus are to work as he did; to serve others and give the best of ourselves and let God provide for our needs.

When we work to serve others geniuenly and not out of obligation or what we can get from it, God blesses us.

It’s when we try to work for our needs, our wants, and only for what we can get out of it; that we receive only what we worked for. But when we do our best work for others; God blesses us.

Photo by Carl Heyerdahl on Unsplash

worship is how we reflect God

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.  Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror  and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.  But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

James 1:19-27

Do your words and your actions reflect Jesus? If you looked in  a mirror and a list of your characteristics appeared what would it say? Would you use those words to describe Jesus?

This may seem like a lot of pressure. No one’s perfect, right. But Jesus is

God doesn’t ask us to reflect Jesus on our own, but to die to ourselves and let Jesus live through us by listening to the guiding of the Holy Spirit.

Reflecting Jesus to others is not meant to be following a list of rules in the Bible, but listening to the Holy Spirit and testing what he is saying against the word of God given in the Bible.

Following Jesus is a relationship built by spending time in the word of God and in prayer getting to know the character of God. So that we know who he is, how he would react and what he would say. Then being a willing vessel, listening to Holy Spirit and doing and speaking as he directs.

Reflect Jesus not by trying to imitate him but by knowing him, listening and letting him live through you.

Choose JOY

It’s easy to get bogged down by the responsibilities of life and to feel sad, anxious, worried overwhelmed by the pressures of life or just by the state of the world. We can look at the media and think what is there to be thankful for or to rejoice over. But our joy doesn’t come from the world it comes from Jesus.

Joy by For King and Country reminds us that we can CHOOSE JOY!

Joy because our circumstances don’t change who Jesus is. He is still our King. He is still on the throne and has already won the victory over all that afflicts us. We just have to surrender it all to him. Accept what he already paid for and thank him in joy knowing he will provide. Because he promises to care for those who put their faith in him.

Jesus came to give us salvation and to bring his kingdom. That doesn’t always mean our circumstances change immediately, sometime it means he is our joy in the storm. But he always brings us out of the valley when we keep our faith in him.

So CHOOSE JOY!

And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. -Nehemiah 8:10b

Pain or promise. Which one rules you?

“All we have to do is decide what to do with the time that is given to us.” -Gandalf, The Fellowship of the Ring

We all have moments and times in our lives that we wish hadn’t happened. But we can’t change the past. However we can choose how we react to it and what we do with what we have.

Its easy to say I’ve always been like this or you don’t know what I’ve been through. You’re right. I don’t but God does. And he’s the one that can heal all our wounds.

When we let our past dictate our future. We let our past have all the power. But when we choose to let God heal us from our past. We choose to no longer let it affect us. We choose to be the new creation that God paid the price for us to be. We choose look to the future that God has planned for us and let him and his kingdom be our future.

 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
    He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
     He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
    for his name’s sake.

 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
    I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
    your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever. -Psalm 23

Worry no more

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.–Matthew 6:25-34

Who adds a day to their life by worrying.

Worry accomplishes nothing but wasting time, aging you and ruining your day. When has worry ever stopped a crisis or improved your perspective?

If God can cloth and feed and take care of his creation then. Why do we think he won’t take care of us? We are his creation too.

I have never regretted trusting God, but I have regretted worrying about something. It never solves anything and makes me edgy and irritable to others. So why worry.

We need to give our concerns over to God, let him take care of them and trust that he will provide all we need and more.


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You are valued

Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him),  and Jesus who is called Justus. These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me.  Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.  For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis.  Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas.  Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.

Colossians 4:10-15

Each believer in Jesus has a part to play, each of us have something to share and to give, everyone of us is valuable. God uses the body as analogy for the body of believers because each part has a unique and different part in a fully functioning body.

We each are a part of Jesus and we each reveal him in different ways, and when we don’t show Jesus through us then we miss a part of him. He is so complex that it takes all of humanity to reveal him.

Whenever I encounter someone who I may not agree with or don’t get along with. I ask God to show me how he sees them, who he made them to be, and he changes my heart for them. He shows me his love for them and how he sees them.

When God started me on this journey of writing, I starting by writing my story and what he had done for me, but then he asked me to write his story. To do this I needed a heart for people which I did not have then. But over time he has developed that in me. To see each person as valuable and having great potential in his body. Because that’s how he sees each of us, valuable.

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You Can Be Vulnerable

We all need a place where we can go to refresh, a safe place to let go of all our worries and concerns and just feel restored.

The presence of the Holy Spirit is that place.

In God’s presence we can let go of everything, because he already knows everything. Just let his presence refresh and restore us, energize us and renew our passion.

No matter what’s going on, how, stressed or busy we are, we need to make time for his presence.

Because the presence of the Holy Spirit is that place of vulnerability where we can be real and raw. We don’t have to hide anything because he knows everything and we can pour out our souls and be made whole in him.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. -Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus Friend of Sinners

Jesus friend of sinner by Casting Crowns perfectly describes how we sometimes act towards non-believers and contrasts how we should actually act.

Jesus befriended sinners.

Think about it this way. Has someone pointing fingers at you, teasing you, being told you are wrong, or protesting ever convinced you that you are loved by God. Then why would we think that it would convey that to anyone else.

Did Jesus do any of those things? No.

When people met Jesus, they changed their ways by their own decision. The tax collector gave back the money he stole with interest and Jesus never asked him to. Jesus didn’t throw rocks at the woman who was going to be stoned for adultery. He didn’t call people out on what they were doing. They knew what the were doing. He called people up to who he made them to be.

Jesus causes people to change their ways just by being love. It’s the love of God that causes people to choose to change, not condemnation. Isn’t that what brought you to God? His love and forgiveness.

We are not meant to be judge and jury. We are meant to share God’s love and forgiveness and let him do the work. He paid the price, he brings the change.

Photo by Tyler Nix on Unsplash

Seek Jesus, Even in the Simple Things

In the movie Prince Caspian, while Peter, Lucy, Edmond and Susan are making their way through the much changed land of Narnia they become lost. They tried to rely on what they knew, instead of calling on Aslan to help even to the point of ignoring Lucy when she sees him.

We can become like this too. When we’ve done something for a long time or feel we know what we are doing we forget about Jesus. We forget to ask for his guidance, help or even just his companionship. But in taking him for granted we can veer off the path he intended us to take.

If we have faith like Lucy and look for his guidance he will show us new things and new ways to accomplish what we are doing even if we have done it time and time again. His guidance should always be where we look first. He may only have the smallest change but it could make the biggest difference. He designed us for dependence on him. Trust his guidance.

Unexpected Blessings

Just because God doesn’t do what you want, when you and how you want. Does not mean he is not there for you.

God’s timing is better then ours.

If my husband and I had met sooner, before we each learned how to be in a healthy relationship, how to love and that God is the one who fulfills us, not the other person. We would have caused each other so much pain.

In the same respect as much as we have wanted kids over the past decade and have not been blessed with them yet. We know that having kids is God’s plan for them not ours. They will be a blessing for more than just us and his has a reason for his timing.

God’s timing is perfect.

He knows what we need, when we need it and when what we want would hurt us more then help us.

I asked God for a husband for seven years, but I wasn’t ready. My heart may have longed for the relationship of marriage, but it was for selfish reasons. And selfishness is never good for marriage.

It wasn’t until I surrendered my desire for spouse to God and asked him to pick my husband, that my husband came into my life. I never would of picked him on my own, but God knew what I needed and I couldn’t have asked for a better husband.

Trust God in his timing and ask him what he wants for you right now, instead of what you want.

I bet you’ll be surprised at his answer.


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Lust is not Love

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Love is selfless. Lust is selfish.

In our society of instant gratification, everyone wants everything immediately, people are rarely willing to wait for anything.

But what compromises have we made for convenience. We eat lower quality food because its cheaper and faster. We spend extra on shipping to get things one day sooner. We get annoyed if an email or download isn’t instant.

What has this done to our relationships? What compromises have we made?

We make snap judgments and quick commitments without giving much thought to it because its easier. But at what cost?

Lust is about ourselves, it’s about instant gratification of hormonal desires, it’s about us and what we can get.

Love is selfless. Love puts others before ourselves.

When was the last time you were solely 100% focused on making everything about the other person?

Love waits because it sees the other as valuable. Love sees the best in the other and seeks to encourage them to be who God made them to be. Love keeps you sustains us during the hard times and makes the good times better.

Love never fails, lust does.

Lust fulfills our selfish desires. Love fulfills the desire of our loved ones.


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God’s Kingdom Changes the Atmosphere

The beauty of the kingdom of God is that’s its infinite and we don’t have to strive to bring his kingdom to this world.

When we accepted Jesus into our hearts, we accepted his loving sacrifice in our stead, we invited him come to live in us. We invited the Holy Spirit to flow thru us and instead of trying to do it on our own so God’s peace and joy can abound through us.

Jesus said he would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, he did. He destroyed the temple and tore the veil so we can all experience his presence. When he rose from the grave he built his kingdom in our hearts, so that he can be everywhere in all of us.

God’s presence is amazing, beautiful, peaceful and joyful all at once. When we bring God into a situation he changes the atmosphere. When we allow him to build his kingdom in and through us, nothing can hinder us, when we give him full freedom in our lives he gives us freedom.

No matter where you are, if you have Jesus in your heart, his kingdom is always with you. Share his love, his peace, his grace, his beauty and his joy with everyone around you, because he is always with you.

Rest Under God

Even when it feels like the things are crumbling down around us. God is still God and God is still good. He is the one thing that we can count on to always be there for us. To always be all we ever need.

So when you feel like your world is crumbling, retreat into his presence. Seek him and let him be your all and your everything. Let him bear the burden and find rest and peace in him.

Because he will never disappoint us if we seek him and he will never let us fall when we put our trust in him.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.” –Psalms 91:1-2

Warnings are there for a reason

Warnings are there for a reason. They keep us away from danger and help us to go the right direction.

In ‘The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe’ Aslan warns Mr. Tumnus that he is going the wrong direction by following the orders of The White Witch. Mr. Tumnus had never meet a human before and didn’t know what they were like or if they were safe. But he did know the source of the request to kidnap Lucy.

When we are completely unaware about something we need to look at the source for the answer.

Mr. Tumnus knew the witch was not good and he knew that Aslan was nothing but good, even though he had not meet him yet. Mr. Tumnus knew that Aslan was good.

When we are unsure of things in life, we must look to the source of the guidance we receive. The Holy Spirit should be our guide. He knows what is good for us and what is not. He keeps us safe from harm and looks to do nothing other than bring us closer to God.

In this world where new things arise everyday. Trust the Holy Spirit’s guidance and he will lead you to the feet of Jesus.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    and do not lean on your own understanding.
 In all your ways acknowledge him,
    and he will make straight your paths.
Be not wise in your own eyes;
    fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
It will be healing to your flesh
    and refreshment[c] to your bones. –Proverbs 3:5-8

Stop Trying and Let God Do It

When we feel inadequate or less than. We need more of the Holy Spirit. Jesus himself said don’t do anything or go anywhere until you receive the Holy Spirit. Jesus didn’t do anything unless the Father did or said so through the Holy Spirit. So how can we expect do anything without the Holy Spirit either.

The Fruit of the Spirit IS…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Galatians 5

That means that when we let the Holy Spirit fill us and work through us we have all of these characteristics. We don’t need more patience or more kindness. We need more Holy Spirit. All of the attributes of the Holy Spirit are exuded through him together.

When God asks us to do something he provides what we need. It’s not our works but his. His power, His love, His grace. He is what makes all the difference. We are just the willing vessel for him to work through.

So stop saying ‘I can’t do it,’ ‘I don’t know how,’ ‘I don’t want to.’ Because God will give you the will, the wisdom and the passion to do what he has called you to do. We must simple do one thing.

Seek Him. Spend time with Him, let Him fill us up. Have faith in him and let Him work in and thru us to accomplish what He has called us to.

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. -Philippians 1:6

Don’t limit your perspective

Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things.  But our citizenship is in heaven.And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,  who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. –Philippians 3:17-21

Limiting you perspective to what you know and not being willing to believe or even conceive of something outside your current knowledge, limits your ability to grow.


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If we only dealt with what was around us and never looked for a solution outside our current knowledge we would never improve.

By seeking the knowledge and perspective of God, our creator we allow him to change things that we may have seen as impossible before.

Just because we can’t see the solution doesn’t mean one doesn’t exists.

Trust that God has an eternal view and that his solution is beyond what we could think or imagine.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.[a]

Do not be wise in your own eyes;
    fear the Lord and shun evil.
This will bring health to your body
    and nourishment to your bones. -Proverbs 3:5-8

Walking on Water

Unknown territory can be scary. When God asks us to venture where we’ve never been or do something new it can be intimidating.

That’s where faith comes in. When we know God, we know His character, we know who He is, we know that we can trust Him.

Jesus told Peter to get out of the boat and to walk out on the water to Him. Something that we all would have a hard time doing. But he knew Jesus and he knew that if Jesus told him to take that step of faith that Jesus would provide all he needed to do what Jesus asked of him.

It was only when Peter changed his focus from Jesus to the storm around him that he began to sink. Fixing his eyes back on Jesus brought him back upon the water.

What has Jesus asked you to take a step of faith in? Have you taken it and lost your way. Fix your eyes back on Him, and trust that He will provide what you need to walk on the water with Him.

Jesus is all We need

The best part about Jesus is that he is what we are not. So when we say we don’t feel like it, that’s ok, we don’t have to, because he is, what we are not. He is our strength, our peace and our joy. We have to stop trying to be what we think God wants us to be and let him be in us what he is.

When we surrender our lives over to Jesus we need to fill up with something but we often make the mistake of filling up on the things that brought us to repentance in the first place.

We need to fill up on Jesus, to fix our eyes on what draws us closer to him not further from him. We need to stop trying to imitate God instead of letting God live through us. We need to get out of the way.

If his intentions was to have us fix ourselves, then why did he sacrifice his life for us. Don’t say well that’s just the way I am. Because when you gave your life over to God you gave up that person, you died to self. So God can live through you so that you can be the person he created you to be. That person is loving, peaceful, fearless and joyful.

So stop saying less of me and more of him and say none of me and all of him.

From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.  All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;  that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.  Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. -2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Love is Putting Others Before Yourself

When you think your life is worth more then others, you do not know love. ~Tauriel, The Battle of Five Armies

Jesus expressed his love for us not only by sacrificing his life on the cross but by the sacrifice he showed everyday. He could of come down as a grown man, taken up an earthly governmental throne and demanded praise. But he didn’t. He came humbly, lived humbly and put others before himself. He modeled love by putting others before himself.

Jesus didn’t think his life was too valuable to sacrifice, so how can we?

Sharing God’s love with others is when we put others first, show them honor and respect. Show them they are valuable. Next time you encounter someone and you don’t know what to do. Ask ‘What does love look like?’ Loving people isn’t always about our words. Many times it’s in our actions. Love looks like caring groceries for someone, bringing them a meal, giving a shoulder to cry on. Love can be expressed in many ways but true love always puts others before ourselves.

That’s what Jesus did. He put our lives before his own, because we are valuable to Him.

Therefore, be imitators of God as his dearly loved children.  And walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself for us, as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. -Ephesians 5:1-2

God is There, Even When We Are A Mess

When we have those moments that we don’t want to talk to God. Those are the moments we need him the most.

No matter what we are going though or what we’ve done. We can always surrender it over to God. When we put our trust in him. He will take care of it. We don’t even have to say anything. Just surrender whatever we are dealing with over to him. Even when we are a crumbled mess on the floor. His presence is what we need most.

I’ve had those moments where I was such a mess that I couldn’t do anything but cry and I’ve been the crumpled mess on the floor feeling completely unworthy of God. But when I surrendered to him and gave him the mess. He surrounded me with his love, grace and comfort. He will do the same for you.

Take a moment, listen to the song below, surrender whatever it is to Jesus and let him carry your worries away.

The Lord says,
Because he clings to me, I will rescue him.
I will protect him, because he acknowledges my name.
 He will call on me, and I will answer him.
I will be with him in distress.
I will deliver him and I will honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him,
and I will let him see my salvation. -Psalm 91:14-16

Always point to JESUS

Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.  These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind,  and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. –Colossians 2:16-19

Many people will tell us, you have to do this or do that to live for God.

We are not meant to blindly follow man. We are meant to know God and follow Him. We are called to know the truth for ourselves to read the scriptures and come to the same understanding or not.

We are meant to direct others to God, so that they develop their own relationship with him. Not be there proxy.

When we attended a house church, each week the leader would ask. ‘What has God been teaching you this week?’ Various people would share, not always the same ones. Most of the time what each of us shared was connected. Sometimes we would help someone going through something and sometimes lots of were going through the same thing without even realizing it. But the focus of the group was always to seek God and to help each others do the same.

We all have the same goal. It isn’t about a certain teacher or teaching but about deepening our relationship with God and helping each other do the same.

In everything we do it should be about seeking God. Letting Him direct our words, our actions and development of a deeper relationship with Him.

It’s good to go to a counsel of believers, but we need to make sure you are seeking God for ourselves and not relying on the faith of others.

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. -Jeremiah 29:13

Blessing in Suffering

Even in the trials of life God has blessings for us.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

To find peace in the trials of life we have to keep fixed on Jesus, not our circumstances.

God always wants to bless us and provide all we need and more but if we get lost in our suffering we block him out. Look at the people in the Bible when they focused on God he provided; food from heaven, victory over oppression, miracle and miracle.

It’s only when we fix our eyes on God despite our suffering that he can be the peace beyond understanding and help us find joy.

We are never beyond God’s love

God’s love can change our worst moment, a bad mood or the direst of circumstances. Just by allowing him to shift our perspective. If the apostle Paul can worship in prison and Steven can forgive those that are stoning him. Shifting our focus to God can change the atmosphere, our perspective and our attitude. Fixing our eyes on Jesus isn’t always about changing where we are at, rather its changing our focus to him.

So when we feel lost or stuck, unwanted or unworthy we can always turn to Jesus. No matter how long its been, how bad we feel, regardless of what is around us, his perspective can change it all.

So ask Jesus: What do you want to be for me now? How do you see this?

These are some of my favorite questions to ask God. Because I know I can always turn to him; trust him.

It’s easy for us to get into moments where we think we aren’t worthy to talk to him or to go to him. But he always wants to talk to us. Always wants to be there for us and love us. He sees us at our worst moments and stills says:

I love you, come to me.

We can’t earn his love, favor or grace, but he gives it freely. We just have to allow him in, allow his love to wash over us, to change our view, our attitude and our perspective.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.  -John 3:16-17

Why do we think we don’t belong in church?

In the movie I Can Only Imagine Bart Millard invites his dad to go to church with him and his dad replies that “he doesn’t belong in church.”

This broke my heart and began to make me think how often this is our reason for not inviting people to church or that we’ve given ourselves.

But this is a misconception. The church is not four walls or an organization. The people are the church. Jesus destroyed the temple and rebuilt it in us. We are the temple. Jesus is inside us.

Saying that we don’t belong in church is true. We don’t deserve to have Jesus live inside us, none of us do. But that is the beauty of his sacrifice we don’t deserve it but he gives us the free gift of having him live inside us. Not by earning it but by accepting and believing in Jesus sacrifice for us he makes the way for us to be the church.

This means that when we encounter people we are bringing the church to them.

The next time you meet someone and think “I want to bring them to church.” Remember you already have. You’re right there in front of them (you are the church), tell them what Jesus has done for you and ask them if they would like Jesus to do the same for them.

Church is anywhere we are, we don’t have to wait for Sunday or the right service. Jesus is in us all day every day and he wants all his children to know him.

Once you have introduced them to Jesus, then invite them to the gathering of other Christians.

Gentleness takes strength

What do you desire? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love and a spirit of gentleness? ~1 Corinthians 4:21

How would you want someone to approach you about anything in life? With a stick to beat you into submission or with love and gentleness. I think we would all choose the latter. So why do we see gentleness and love as a weakness?

Photo by Caleb Jones on Unsplash

Its easy to let our emotions run away, but it takes self control to choose to be kind, to choose to be loving and gentle; to be vulnerable.

Some of the strongest people I know are the ones that are the most willing to open up and share their mistakes and failures along with their victories.

Gentleness is being humble enough to focus on the needs of others instead of trying to boast or promote yourself; it takes strength to choose others above yourself.

So don’t see the characteristics of God as weakness but the strength to love as Jesus did.

Forgiveness Changes Everything

bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

Colossians 3:13

I heard a Pastor say once “unforgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.”

When we hold on to unforgiveness it grows into bitterness and resentment. We think we are hurting the other person because they hurt us, but most of the time the other person doesn’t even know they hurt us.

By holding onto it we just hurt ourselves more.

But by choosing to forgive we extend the same gift God gave us to them. It’s His grace not our ours and who are we to withhold His grace from someone.

Forgiveness is freeing.

Remember how you felt when you accepted Gods forgiveness, it’s the same when we forgive others.

So why would you choose to hold yourself back from that freedom?