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?

God’s love never changes

“I could sing of your love forever” is a classic worship song from my youth. It’s one that I sing often, it’s kind of my happy song, whenever I’m having a moment of spontaneous worship this song often comes to mind.

It reminds me that no matter what. I could sing of His love forever.

He has never abandoned me, never left me and never stopped loving me, even in my darkest moments. He was there and He was there is my happiest moments. Whether I’m in a valley or on the mountain top I can always sing of His love, because His love never changes.

If this is challenging to you. Read Psalm 139, he is with us all the time, through everything. Pray and ask God where he was during one of your hardest moment and one of your best. Listen and I know he will show his love in both moments. He’s always there. It’s us who sometimes choose to ignore him.

Who will you choose to be?

It’s easy to define ourselves by our mistakes and failures. But that’s the beauty of finding our identity in Jesus. He gives us new life, a new beginning each and everyday. We don’t have to be who we were yesterday or even a moment ago. We can choose each moment to be who we used to be or be who God says we are.

We can’t earn God’s forgiveness, He gives it freely and it doesn’t matter how much we fail. He is always there to pick us back up and give us a fresh start.

But we have to make the choice to die to ourselves and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. Finding our identity in Jesus is a daily choice. We can choose to be who we used to be or we can choose to let Jesus live through us.

So who will you choose to be?

The Secret Place

Our secret place time with God can be anywhere, anytime but it must be personal, intimate and a conversation. Not just meeting a reading requirement or time obligation, but an intimate time with God where we are excited to spend time with him. Where we are asking him questions and actually listening to receive answers.

Think about the person you are closest to. Is spending time with them something on a checklist or a requirement. No, you want to spend time with them. It’s a joy and something you look forward to.

God can become our favorite person, if we let him. He’s the creator of the universe, a loving father and he can do anything. How can that be boring. Make time with him daily and I guarantee your day will be better for it.

Don’t forget to enjoy the journey

Whether you put yourself where you’re at or God put you there don’t forget to stop, look up and enjoy what’s around you. Often we become so focused on the end goal that we forget to enjoy how we got there. The journey is just as important.

Raising kids is a perfect example. If you just focus on getting them to eighteen and out of the house you will miss everything. But if we enjoy each moment with them, every smile and laugh, watching them learn and truly cherishing them. We will have joy each day, just by watching them grow.

That doesn’t mean their won’t be hard times or they wont make mistakes, but its those moments of joy that get you through the hard times and make it worth fighting through them.

What if God took that approach? To just get it over and done with, we wouldn’t be here. We are all God’s children and he cherishes each moment with us. He’s always there ready to teach us, help us and love us through each moment of each day. We just have to learn to enjoy the journey with him.

We don’t have to have all the answers

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.  Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. -Colossians 4:5-6

We are not meant to know everything or the answer to all of life’s questions, but we should know how to respond. Even Jesus didn’t always respond with words. Sometimes all people need is someone to listen, a shoulder to cry on or someone to cheer them on and encourage them.

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We have the Holy Spirit with us all the time and he is the one with all the answers. But even his response is not always what to say but sometimes what to do or what not to do.

How to react to a situation can often make a bigger impact then words. That’s why building a deep intimate relationship with God is so important. So that in the hardest and most influential situations we can hear him and follow his leading.

Next time your in a situation and you don’t know what to do, ask the Holy Spirit and trust that he knows how best to react.

Love is a choice

God is endless in his pursuit of us, each and everyone of us has our own special place in his heart. We matter to him.

Even when we feel like no one sees us, hears us or knows us. He does.

He loves us and will pursue us to our last breathe. He will always seek to show us how much he cares, how much he loves and how much he gave to be with us.

But he is never forceful.

The gift he gave us was choice. We can choose to let him show us his love for us. We can choose to only let him into certain parts of our life. Or we can choose to believe he doesn’t exist or doesn’t care. Regardless of our choice he will always be there waiting for us to allow him to love us.

What could be more loving then the right to choose?

God Loves YOU

Having the faith in God to make the big sacrifices in life, starts with conversation, with talking to God.

But there is so much more, it’s more then talking to him its about knowing him. I have trusted God when he has asked me to take big leaps of faith because I know him.

I know that he loves me and that he will not let harm come to me. I know that he has brought me through some crazy impossible situations and that he will continue to do so. Because I know him

I know that he is loving, kind and gentle, that he provides all my needs when I trust him and that he never leaves me.

Jesus made his sacrifice because he loves us and wants us to know him.

Take a chance and give him a chance to show you just how much he loves you.

He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” -Matthew 17:20

Let Jesus be the Change

‘Just because someone stumbles and loses their way doesn’t mean their lost forever’ (Charles Xavier -X-Men Days of Future Past 2014)

I was that person that stumbled and lost their way. But I had friends and family that we’re ready and waiting to help me find my way back when I was ready. But it had to be my decision, my choice.

We can’t force people to change; because if we try and even if they seem like they are changing, its not really change. Because its not their choice. I know its hard to watch others make bad choices, but we can’t force them. Forced change is always worse; because they are still going to be opposing or resenting on the inside.

But if we present options and support. When they are ready, they may make a change and they will know who to turn to.

Praying for them is a big part but our prayers should not be God please change them or make them see that I am right. But God help me to see them as you see them, help me to love them as you love them.

Most of the time in order for someone to change we need to change too. It may be in how we act or speak or even what we believe. None of us are perfect and we all make mistakes even with the best of intentions.

When we lived in Tennessee our Pastor would say ‘come as you are and let Jesus mess you up.’ Isn’t that what we all did? We came to Jesus with our junk and mess and let Him change us. So why don’t we encourage others to do the same?

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You are worth the sacrifice

Jesus sacrificed his life for us. He endured beatings, ridicule, shame, false accusation and died the death of a criminal to atone for the sins of all of us. Because he loves us.

He loves us, each and every one of us and he would die for just you if you were the only person to ever live.

He loves you that much.

His sacrifice proves that. His sacrifice shows how much he loves you.

Don’t you want to know the one that would sacrifice everything just for you. That is what Jesus provided when he atoned for our sins. He provided the eternal sacrifice so that we can have a relationship with Him, Father God and Holy Spirit.

So how do you get that relationship. First believe in what Jesus did. That he sacrificed his life in your stead and raised from the dead. Thank him for the sacrifice he made in your place. Then read the bible and ask God to show you his character. I recommend one of the gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke or John.

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. -Romans 10:9


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God’s word is a feast for the soul

And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea.

Colossians 4:16

Sharing what God teaches us with others is how we grow. We are meant to share with each other. When we read the word of God we should be getting something out of it, it is a feast for our souls. Even if we read the same verse for an entire year God will still teach us through that verse or if we feast on a whole book or chapter He can teach us just as much through a verse as He does the whole Bible if we let him.

That’s the miracle that He is. He can sustain us on little or a lot, but we must always be looking to learn and to grow. It’s not about quantity but about quality.

What are we learning from? What we are trying to absorb? If we read just to read and don’t understand is it really helping us?

Seek God, ask Him for a verse or a chapter or a book and read it till He tells you to move on. Fall in love with the word of God and let it feed your soul.

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Jesus is My Everything

When you love someone you want to spend all your time with them. That’s what I love about God. I never get tired of spending time with him and he never grows tired of us.

To have someone that we can always go to no matter what, whether we are weak and tired or thrilled beyond belief. The one we love is who we want to share that with.

God is that one.

He is always there, always waiting, wanting to spend time with us. He rejoices with us in joy and comforts us in sadness. He is always there with us in all our life, if we choose to include him.

2008 is when I gave my life to God and he changed it forever. I have no idea how I would have survived since then if it were not for him. He has brought been there for me in some of the hardest times of my life and he has blessed me with so many joys that I can’t even count.

Think on your life, on the moments God was in them and the moments you didn’t include him. I bet the ones with him are your favorite moments.

He is my everything. Is he yours?

God First

Putting God first can seem overwhelming, until we realize that he provides and takes care of us.

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

Seeking God does not have to mean sitting down with your Bible and praying for hours. We should start our days with a devoted time and focus on him. But he’s not a checklist. ‘Ok, done with that time to move on to the rest of my life.’ No he is our life. He is with us always and should be part of all of our day.

When Paul said pray without ceasing he meant we should be talking to God throughout our day. Seeking him when we face trouble and praising him when he have joy. Jesus came so we could have relationship with Father God and Holy Spirit. So that we can have God with all of us all of the time. Don’t squander what Jesus paid for. Cherish your relationship with God and seek him in all things throughout your day.

Put God first and see how your day exceeds your expectations.

Nerves are good for leaders

“I don’t think I’m ready” ~Prince Caspian 

“It’s for that very reason you are” ~Aslan

Often when we don’t feel ready to do what God calls us to. It’s then that we are ready, because it’s that insecurity in our abilities that makes us dependent on God. So it’s God working through us, not our own abilities, so we cannot boast in ourselves but in him alone.

One of my teachers when I first started preaching, reminded me that nerves are good when preaching. Because it keeps us conscious of God, his will, his words, his power and his direction. If we were completely confident in ourselves. We would have no need for him. But it’s because we know our own imperfection and instead find our confidence in him, that we can shine him best.

Don’t let nerves hold you back from what you know God has called you to do. Instead use those nerves to depend on him and REFLECT God to others, not ourselves.

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,  from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,  that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,  so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,  and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. -Ephesians 3:14-21

Believe in him and find rest

Even on our worst days. When we feel like nothing, doing nothing, being nothing, talking to no one. We can depend on one thing.

Jesus loves us anyway.

He is always there for us. Always loves us. He will spend the day curled up with us and His love will give us rest.

So no matter how bad our day is or how much it hurts. We can always find comfort in Jesus.

God is our refuge and strength,
    a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth give way,
    though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
    though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
    God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
    he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

Come, behold the works of the Lord,
    how he has brought desolations on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
    he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the chariots with fire.
“Be still, and know that I am God.
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth!”
The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah –Psalm 46

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Rejoice Always

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.–Phil 4:4

This verse doesn’t say rejoice when you feel like it or when you want to. But rejoice always, in the good times and the bad, rejoice. Because no matter what God is with us. Since he is always with us, we always have a reason to rejoice.

You may say but ‘you don’t know what I’m going through.’ You’re right. I don’t but God does. I’ve uttered those same words before a few worship service. But God has always changed my perspective by the end of worship. Not always by providing that instant solution we crave because we have gotten used to our modern convenience world. But always by giving me his peace and promise that he will provide.

So whatever it is surrender it over to God and trust that he will provide and rejoice even in the storm.

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Rest to walk upon the waters

Resting in the presence of God is what gives us the trust to walk on water.

You wouldn’t do something deemed impossible without some sort of faith in the one who asked you. But where does that faith come from.

It comes from spending time with God, from resting in His presence. When we let everything melt away and surrender it all to God that is when he can give us his supernatural peace and joy. Learning to just being content to be with Him. Because we know Him, and we know His character. We can trust Him when He asks us to take those big leaps of faith that to others seem impossible.

Listen to this song and take some time to rest in His presence, and let Him lead you to walk on the water.

Even Louder

No matter what we are facing in our lives be it internal, external, physical, emotional, mental, spiritual or relational.

Regardless our struggles we can all cling to the same thing, God. No matter what, our God is good and he loves us and its because of that love that we know that we can depend on him to lift us up and bring us through everything.

So no matter how tired or frustrated we may be. We can scream EVEN LOUDER that Jesus is our everything.

As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen,  saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”  And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.”  He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” -Luke 19:37-40

Who are you?

If someone asked you, who you are? What would you say? Would it be your job title? Who you are in relationship to others? Or would it be something else? What if all of it was striped away; your job, your friends, your family, everything. Who would you be? What would define you? Would it be characteristics or attributes? Or would you not know?

If it was just you on an island by yourself alone with nothing to go back to, no home, no friends, no family, just you. What would you cling to? What would make you, you?

For me it’s God. I am his, no matter what. He’s where my identity comes from. I’m his kid and that where I draw strength, confidence, comfort and identity from. Because like Job in the Bible even if everything was stripped away from me. I’m still his, and no one and nothing can take that from me.

As believers in Jesus that’s what we get, an undeniable sense of identity and assurance of who we are, God’s children.

If we read Ephesians chapters 1 and 2; we can see who we are because of our identity in Jesus.

We are chosen, blessed, belonging, forgiven, loved, adopted, wanted, favored, showered with grace, a gift to God, delighted in, saved, lifted up, given new life, a member of God’s family, a citizen of God’s country.

And if you are not yet a believer you can be. You can have that same assurance in your identity by just believing in Jesus love and sacrifice and allowing him into your heart.

What’s your legacy?

I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare.  For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.  But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel.  I hope, therefore, to send him as soon as I see how things go with me.  And I am confident in the Lord that I myself will come soon. –Philippians 2:19-24

When we are in leadership we should be the example of how to serve others and how to put others before ourselves. We should be cheering on those that we are leading. Guiding them to achieve more then we have. How else can we grow if we don’t encourage others to go further then we have.

Paul saw the potential in Timothy and Timothy was sent to help the Philippians. The Philippians in turn were to lead others to learn about the gospel.

If you are a leader in anyway, a boss, parent, teacher, mentor or coach. Your legacy should be that you taught others how to do what you do better then you do it.

Paul was a leader in the early church and he never lorded it over anyone, he lead by example and humbled himself over and over again.

What legacy will you leave behind? What will people say they learned from you?

How God Changes US

I’m different then I used to be. Growing up I was shy and insecure, but knowing God changed that.

Knowing him and what he has done in my life gives me confidence, boldness and fearlessness, because I know who he is. He is love, joy, peace, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle and he has self control. And he’s with me all the time. Who wouldn’t want to be around someone like that.

No matter where I go, he is with me. I’m never alone because he is with me, comforting me, inspiring me, teaching me, guiding me, protecting me, he is always with me. He is where I draw my confidence from. Not from my own abilities but from his. If he asks me to do something he will provide for it to be accomplished, he will give me the words or the opportunity to show others who he is. He is the one who speaks or works through us. We are simple the willing vessel for him to pour through.

That’s why he makes us a new creation. I am not the person I used to be. He washed away all my mistakes when I accepted his sacrifice and he made me new. He does the same for us all when we give our lives to him.

He loves each and everyone of us. And he wants to show us who he is, who he made each of us to be, and how he can shine through us to others.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:The old has gone, the new is here! –2 Corinthians 5:17

God’s not done with you

It breaks my heart when I hear people say that God can’t use them. They say they are too old, too young, too poor, too shy, too broken, too busy. Whatever the reason, it does not disqualify you from sharing what Jesus has done in your life. As long as there are people who don’t know Jesus, God can use you. We all have something to share, God changed our lives some way, some how and we can share that.

The old have years of experience, decades of how Jesus has impacted their lives. The young have faith that can move mountains. The broken can share how God healed and redeemed them. The busy can invest in those that keep them busy.

We can all be used by God. If we seek him and follow his direction.

Trusting when you can’t see

Trusting God when you can’t see the destination can be scary. But when you trust His leading you never know what you can accomplish.

In the movie Facing the Giants, the coach challenges a player to do a death crawl to the fifty yard line blindfolded. The player couldn’t see where he was but he trusted his coach’s direction and as he made his way across the field as his coach encouraged him to keep going even though he was tired and couldn’t see and wanted to quit. In the end he ended up going double the distance he was supposed to and finished in the end zone.

When we trust God even though we may not understand. We can do more than we ever thought we could on on our own and can end up further than we ever thought we could go.

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. –Proverbs 3:5-6

Bearing through the storm

When trees are in a storm the branches bend and weather the storm. If they are healthy the tree will come out safe and stronger because of the storm. It’s when they are weak and malnourished that the branches break.

We recently had a storm and I watched as all the branches of the trees around our home blow in the wind and it reminded me of how it is their deep roots that help them weather the storm.

Its the same for us.

When our foundation is rooted and nourished by Jesus we can endure storms in our lives. Its when we have shallow roots and are spiritually malnourished that we crack under the pressure of the storm.

What are your roots grounded in? What feeds your soul?

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,  rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving –Colossians 2:6-7

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,  rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. -Colossians 2:6-7

You don’t have to have all the answers

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.  Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. –Colossians 4:5-6

We are not meant to know everything or the answer to all of life’s questions. But we should know how to respond. Even Jesus didn’t always respond with words. Sometimes all people need is someone to listen, a shoulder to cry on or someone to cheer them on and encourage them.

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

We have the Holy Spirit with us at all times and he is the one with all the answers. But even his response is not always what to say but sometimes what to do or what not to do.

How to react to a situation usually makes a bigger impact then words. That’s why building a deep intimate relationship with God is so important. So that in the hardest and most influential situations we can hear him and follow his leading.

Next time your in a situation and you don’t know what to do. Ask the Holy Spirit and trust that he knows how best to react.

We can always go to God

The one thing I always know to be true, beyond a shadow of a doubt is that we can always come to God for anything.

No matter how bad our day is, or what we have done. We can always go to him.

We can always turn our hearts to God. He is always there. He always wants to talk to us, be near us, comfort us and love us.

So no matter how your day is going. Take a moment, close your eyes and listen to this song. Let his love melt over you and take a moment to love him back.

On your worst day, God is there

Even on my worst days I know one thing is true.

Jesus is everything I need.

I can go to him and ball my eyes out in frustration, scream, yell and be completely open, honest and transparent with him because he already knows everything I’m going through. There is comfort in being able to talk to him about anything and everything whether good or bad, whether I’m encouraged or discouraged when I come to him.

I know that after I have shared my worries, fears or concerns. He will share his perspective, his plan and his view. I know that after I have spent time with him, that I will come out loved and comforted. Because he is always there for me know matter what. Anytime anywhere he is there.

So give God your stuff, all your junk, your frustrations and let him give you the peace that surpasses understanding.

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.-Philippians 4:6-7