Author: Rebecca Darga

The legacy we leave behind

When my grandma went to heaven to be with Jesus. I shed tears for how much I would miss her. But I found comfort in knowing that she is at peace and pain free in heaven. She’s having the best time of her life spending every moment with Jesus. 

But I would be remiss if I didn’t do what she taught me to do.

Love people and show them Jesus.

She always had a smile on her face and she always knew how to make the mundane joyful. She taught me how to welcome everyone into my home as if they were family, how to be creative and how to put windshield wipers on, amongst other things.

There was always enough space for everyone in her home and at her table no matter who or how many showed up. 

She taught me generosity and kindness in her heart and her actions. She always shined Jesus and I always want to do the same 

She did what we are supposed to do. She welcomed everyone and shined Jesus to all. She had six daughters, three step children, nine grandchildren, six great grandchildren and three great-great grandchildren and she always had room for more. She always treated everyone like family and had so many more adopted in Christ-children.

Just as she did we should too, teach our children, our grandchildren and all around us about who Jesus is and what He has done for us and how that makes us all family.

It’s so much more then words, it’s our actions, our demeaner, our attitude. Jesus should be reflected in every aspect of our lives. So even if we don’t say a word He still shines through.

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.

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 me.

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

God is that one.

He is always there, always waiting, wanting to spend time with you. He rejoices in your successes and comforts you in your sadness.

He is my everything. Is he yours?

God’s not done with you

It breaks my heart when I hear people say that God can’t use them, because they are too old, too young, too poor, too shy, too broken, too busy.

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 to share, decades of how Jesus has impacted their lives, the young have faith that can move mountains, the broken can share how God healed them, the busy can invest in those that keep them busy and anyone can give.

We can all be used by God.

To Take or to Give

I had the pleasure of meeting Pastor Henry Convington and his wife Annette of I Am My Brothers Keeper in Detroit, Mi years ago. So I was excited to learn more of their story when I saw the movie Have a Little Faith. 

Pastor Covington life was a great example of the complete transformation that Jesus makes in our life. He was a drug dealer and addict until he hit his rock bottom and surrendered his life to Jesus.

Jesus is always there for us and he wants to take care of us but we have a choice. We can choose to live however we want and ignore him or we can choose to follow him and trust him to take care of us.

Pastor Covington hustled for what he thought he wanted and it almost cost him his life. But when he turned his life to Jesus instead of taking from people, God gave him the opportunity to give to others.

Don’t be afraid to do what God has asked of you, trust that he has you taken care of and will never fail you.

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. Always loves for us to spend the day curled up with Him, letting His love give us rest.

So no matter how bad your 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. –Psalm 46:1

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

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, as a boss, parent, 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?

Would it kill you to dance?

Our worship should be ingrained in us, so much that everything within us cries out to God. Every fiber in our body should be yielded and shout out to him “you are HOLY.”

King David danced because he wanted everything within him to praise God. “Who decided that reservation is worship? God gave his everything for us. Why shouldn’t we do the same in our worship?

Photo by David Calderón on Unsplash

What will happen if you lift your arms. Will the world end?

If you jump for joy, will the ground fall out underneath you? No. God gives a firm foundation.

If you dance for joy. Will God turn from you in shame? No, he will dance with you!

So what’s stopping you? You?

On your worst day he 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’s 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 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 for me.

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

God Answers Prayer

In the movie I Can Only Imagine Bart’s dad was horrible to him as he was growing up and he left as soon as he graduated high school, to pursue his career in Christian music but just before his band made it big, he went home to patch things up with his dad and God answered both their prayers. Bart returned home which was his fathers prayer and his father had accepted Jesus and he finally had the dad he always wanted. 

God answers our prayers  but sometimes the timeline doesn’t always happen when we think it should.

My mom raised me as a Christian but I decided to abandon God for 6six years in my early twenties and live life the way I wanted.

This broke my moms heart. She prayed years for me to return to my faith in God. She watched for years as I made stupid, selfish choices all in the name of finding what I thought would make me happy.

But what I found instead was disappointment and a constant longing to feel loved, accepted, valued and wanted.

By worldly standards I had what appeared to be a good life on the outside, a good job with consistent promotions and a long term relationship. But in reality I had a job that pulled me away from friends and family and an emotionally abusive relationship.

I was miserable trying to find happiness on my own.

Eventually I hit rock bottom and decided to give my life back to God.

Keep praying for your family and friends, continue to love and support them and always keep the door open for them. You never know when they will make the decision to change their life.

Photo by Samuel Martins on Unsplash

When You Don’t Know

You know those times when you just don’t know what to do, or where to draw your strength. That’s when we need God most. When we don’t know where to look.

He is the one that created us and he knows every little detail the good and the bad. But when we are at our worst; is when he is at his best. When we don’t know what to do but surrender to him. That’s when he can do his best for us. When we breakdown our walls of self sufficiency and the ‘I got this’ and let him lead. That’s when he can do his best for us. Because its not about what we can do but what he can do through us.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. –2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Give out of Him

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,  of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known,  the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.  Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.  For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. –Colossians 1:24-29

Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

When you know God, sacrificing for him is easy. Putting others first, before yourself, giving of all you have and loving as he loved, comes easy because it’s him through us.

And we know that no matter how much we give or how empty we think we are he will fill us up and bless us all the more.

When we give out of him he fills us with his abundance and we lack nothing, because he always takes care of his kids.

Who influences you?

I want encourage you to make the same decision I did years ago; to surrender your life to Jesus. It can sound scary and intimating but it is truly the best decision I ever made.

I lived for years trying to do everything on my own, striving to try to achieve what I thought I wanted. But even when I achieved some of my goals they fell short of what I thought they would be.

Photo by Steve Halama on Unsplash

But when I surrendered my life to God he changed everything. He gave me love and the confidence to be who he made me to be. He gave me career opportunities I never would have picked for myself that turned out to be just what I needed and he picked the perfect husband for me, one that I never would of picked myself but is the perfect match for me. God has blessed me in so many other ways in my life in ways I never thought I needed or wanted but were just what I needed when I needed it.

When we try to achieve our own goals we are influenced by others that have the same thing, but when we let God guide us he has already prepared a path for us that we probably would never of expected but is better then we ever could of thought.

Give God your dreams, your desires and your life and let him bless you beyond your belief.

But as for me, behold, I am in your hands. Do with me as seems good and right to you. –Jeremiah 26:14

need you now

Everyone has a story to tell, everyone has a moment when they hit their rock bottom and cried out to God “I need you now.” 

My moment was in 2008. I was in a six year relationship that was going nowhere, when I had a pregnancy scare. This woke me up almost out of a slumber. I realized I didn’t want this man to be the father of my kids, but I knew I wanted to raise my kids in church.

So I decided to go back to church.

I was terrified and convinced that I would be met with glaring stares and rejection but I wasn’t. Instead I was welcomed with open arms. My friends from the church I grew up in, never gave up on me, they were always there for me during the years I intentionally choose to ignore God. But when I choose to come back to church they welcomed me back with open arms and no judgement.

That is how God is, when we choose to say “I need you now.” He leaps for joy and runs to embrace us. He throws a party in heaven rejoicing over His child returning home.

Who or what do you turn to when you hit your rock bottom?

Why not, give God a chance to show you how much He loves you.

Seek to Know God

‘All I want is that you seek the lord and that you trust him.’ (Courageous 2011)

That’s all I ever want for anyone. Because in seeking Jesus we get to know his character, how much he loves us and that he can be trusted.

How many of us get our perception of God from others. We all have had our perception of God influenced by someone either in a good or bad way. But how many of us really seek to know him intimately, to learn his character for ourselves and make up our own minds instead of what others tell us.

That’s my hope with this devotional that we would see God for who he is and seek to know him more intimately and deeper then you even have before.

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Help in trouble

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Psalm 46:1

No matter what I always know that I can count on God. I know I can always run to him when I feel weak and exhausted, stressed or worried or in over my head, and he will be there to help as long as I seek him.

How do I know this? Because he has been there for me time and time again. On the days that I allowed stress to overwhelm me. He gives me peace, calm and perspective. When I feel weak he is my strength. He is always there for me even when I think I don’t need him he’s there.

Jesus gave his life to have a deep intimate relationship with us, so that he could be our everything. So he could lift us up when we feel burdened and give us relief from our troubles.

but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
    they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
    they shall walk and not faint. –Isaiah 40:30

Eagles sore above the storm literally, they fly above the clouds, lifting up above the storms, to clear skies. God does the same for us, he lifts us up above the storms of life when we depend on him.


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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 can always go to Him

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

No matter how bad my day is, or what I have done. I 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 just 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.

God’s not done

It’s easy to give up, to think we can’t go on or that God can’t use us, doesn’t want or doesn’t need us. But nothing could be further from the truth.

God’s never done with us.

No matter where we are, what we are doing or how far we think we’ve fallen. God’s never done with us.

He is always there for us, he always wants us and he always has more for us.

We can’t exhaust God, his love doesn’t run out and his grace covers all.

So no matter what, no matter how we feel, we can always turn to him and he will lift us up.

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 there 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 you on the inside or resenting you.

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 also 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. 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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Who is JESUS to you?

Who is Jesus to you really? Is he a man who walked the earth years ago, who had some followers and said some great things? Is he someone you claim to worship, but really know nothing about? What do you know about him? Do you know his character, his actions, his sense of humor? Who is he to you?

Jesus to me is the son of God, he came to earth as a baby to serve the people he loved, to sacrifice everything for the people he created because he loved them. He gave up everything for us and so I have no problem giving everything for him.

Because Jesus is the one I run to when I have a problem or bad day, bad mood or hard circumstance, but he’s also the first one I thank for all the great things in life. I seek him each morning and through out the day because days without him are tough and dull. He is my friend, my protector, my provider, my confidante and he uplifts my spirit and so much more. Jesus is my everything.

What is he to YOU?

What should I do?

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. –Colossians 3:17

Sometimes we ask ourselves should we do this or should we do that?

Jesus when asked about the law, responded love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27)

So how do we love God and our neighbor?

By Jesus living in and through us, God is love and to love him and others we must let him shine through us. He calls us to die to self so that he can live through us. So it’s not about us, its about him.

It’s not about striving and trying to do and be like him, but it’s through relationship with Jesus that we learn who he is and by surrendering ourselves over to him so that he can live through us. We are simply willing vessels.

Rest to walk upon the waters

Resting in the presence of God is what gives you 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, from just being content to be with Him. Because you know Him, and you know His character. You can trust Him when He asks you 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 water.

Love without condition

We all want to be loved without conditions or expectations. So why would we assume God would want anything else?

Yes, we love God because of what he’s done for us, but we should love him for who he is.

When you are with the one you love you don’t need anything else, but just to be with them. Our love for God should be the same, because his love is the same for us.

He wants nothing more than to spend all eternity with us or he wouldn’t have given everything to make it possible.

Seek him for him and appreciate the joy of just his presence.

Nerves are good for leaders

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

“It 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 ourselves 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, instead use those nerves to depend on him and REFLECT God to others, not ourselves.

Peace and Rest that Surpasses Understanding

The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” 

—Exodus 33:14

When the Israelites left Egypt they didn’t know where they were going. It can seem the hardest to trust God when we don’t now where He’s leading us, but even in the times of uncertainty he will give us rest.

To have good rest we need to have peace, but its hard to have peace when we’re uncertain. But that’s the beauty of God’s peace it surpasses understanding. We don’t have to know all the answers and he can still give us peace.

My husband and I have moved more times then the number of years we have been married, and we didn’t always know all the details but each time we knew it was God’s timing and that he had a plan and purpose for our move, even if we didn’t know what that plan was. Each time he gave us a peace about it.

Rest is part of that peace, when we trust God’s plan and his timing we can rest in knowing he’s got this. And that rest might be what we need in order to take care of what he’s got ahead for us.

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Peace beyond comprehension

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. –Colossians 3:15

Peace in our hearts is something we all desire. But how do you get it, when there is always something, to worry about.

Simple. God’s peace surpasses our worldly concerns. It may sound crazy, but he created us and he created this world, so his peace can supersede our worries and concerns.

So how do we get his peace?

We trust him and give our worries and concerns over to him by asking him for his perspective or solution. When we look to him for the answer that’s when he can give us his peace.

His peace, is like shifting the responsibility over to him. You know that feeling when you feel overwhelmed with a task, like it will never end and you have no idea how to accomplish it. Then your boss comes to you and says you were never meant to worry or deal with that task in the first place.

That’s how God’s peace feels, that immediate relief, that lift of tension and stress.

God never meant for us to bear our own burdens, he came so that he could relieve that stress and give us his peace.

Stop living as if you have to do it all on your own, because you were never meant to, we are meant to life live in peace, because we are meant to live life with Jesus 24/7.

Why I worship

For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring,
and my blessing on your descendants. -Isaiah 44:3

The thing I love about worshiping God is that it’s an exchange. As you surrender yourself to Jesus and let the Holy Spirit envelope you; as you pour your life out as an offering he fills you up to overflowing more than you gave.

When we take our eyes off of God and begin to worry about this or about that we let God’s peace fade away. Worry never accomplishes anything other than to steal our peace and joy. So why would we choose to be miserable when we can choose to seek God and his solution. Because he does provide if we just trust him and look for his solution instead of our own.

If God asks you to give up something especially if its your worry, trust that he has something better. You can’t out give him; so stop worrying about what your giving up and starting focusing on what he’s doing in and through you.


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Baggage and Beautiful Messes

Why do we only see the flaws when we look in the mirror? Why do we carry around all the baggage of our past pains and hurts?

Photo by Erwan Hesry on Unsplash

 Beautiful Messes by Hilary Scott & the Scott family talks about laying down all our baggage at the foot of cross and giving it to Jesus, because to him we are never lost causes.

God doesn’t see us the way we see ourselves, he sees us as beautiful messes.  He see the beauty he created us to be, that is bogged down by the baggage we choose to carry with us. We are the ones that choose to walk around carrying all our hurts and pains, lugging around the baggage of our past.

Photo by Tommaso Pecchioli on Unsplash

But his burden is light.

God doesn’t want us to carry all that around with us. He wants us to lay it all at his feet.

Baggage can be many things worry, anxiety, past hurts and pain. It’s anything that holds us back from expressing the joy and love of Jesus.

One of the secrets of our marriage is that we don’t carry our baggage with us. My husband and I both go to God first before going to each other or anyone else, when we realize that something bothers us.

We ask God, why? Whether it is something someone said or did or even our own mood or attitude that we know is not from him. We go to God first and ask what the root cause of the pain is. Then after we’ve sorted it out with God we go to each other or the person that hurt us and talk it through, if necessary. Many times we’ve worked things out with God and don’t even need to talk to the other person.

We don’t have to walk around with all the hurt and pain of our past or even our present if we lay them at the foot of the cross. He is always with us, always accessible and always wants to help us.

Next time you feel someone poke an old wound or make a new one go to God first and find freedom.

Photo by Samuel Scrimshaw on Unsplash

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.

People make mistakes

Don’t let others misrepresentation of God deter you from knowing God yourself. Many people have walked away from their faith in God because they were hurt by other believers or believe that God betrayed them.

Just because others have represented God falsely, does not mean that is who he is. Don’t let others perception be your own. Seek the truth about God from God, only he can truly represent himself in His entirety.

People are human and we all make mistakes, I make mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes.

I walked away from my faith when I was 18 because I felt at the time that my spiritual leaders were more concerned with bringing others to Jesus, then helping me through the things I was facing at the time.

I was WRONG. But that was my perception and interpretation at the time.

The truth is they didn’t help me because they didn’t know, I didn’t tell anyone. Instead I started looking to those outside the faith for solutions and they provided nothing other then distractions, rather then solutions

When I came back to my faith in God, I had more problems, not less. Life without God was miserable, I was always seeking the approval of others and digging myself into a deeper and deeper hole to do it.

Giving my life back to God gave me peace and freedom that I had not know during my time away from him. God surrounded me with his love and forgiveness and brought many people into my life to encourage me to grow in my faith.

If you are questioning God I encourage you to go to scripture, flip open your Bible and begin reading. Don’t have a bible visit Biblegateway.com and randomly pick a verse. Talk to someone you respect for how they represent God and ask the hard questions. Talk to God and give him your hard questions, but don’t forget to listen for the answer.

God is there and he loves you and he wants to talk to you. Give him a chance. Don’t let other be the reason you don’t make up your own mind, make your own choices.

Everyone MATTERS

Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord.–Colossians 4:7

Tychicus is mentioned only five times in the bible. He’s not credited with any huge miracles or massive outreaches. He simple mentioned as a faithful minister.

Like Paul lifting up Tychicus, we should celebrate and encourage each other to minister to others as God leads them. Whether they are ministering to thousands, hundreds or just one. They matter, we all matter. God has given each of us a gift and a unique way to reach people.

Billy Graham gave his life to Jesus because a shoe sales man told him about Jesus. We never know what our impact will be unless we try.

God gave each of us a new life, a new beginning and we need to share that with others. We never know who we’re talking to; it could be the next Billy Graham or we could be the next Billy Graham but regardless the only way anyone will know God and let him change their lives is if we share what he’s done for us.

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

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?

Jesus is enough

When you love someone and they love you sometimes all you need, sometimes all you want is to just sit with them and enjoy their presence.

Jesus is like that.

His love is so pure, so true, so comforting that all I want to do sometimes is just sit in his presence and drink in his love, joy and peace.


Photo by Luis Alberto Sánchez Terrones on Unsplash

Sometimes that the best thing for us.

Just to sit and enjoy his presence, no talking necessary just drink him in.

No matter what is going on, when you don’t have the words or the strength you can just sit in his presence and that is enough. Because he is enough.

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 ready to beat you into submission or with love and gentleness. I think we would all choose the latter. No one wants to be beaten up. So why do we see gentleness and love as a weakness?

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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.

ABBA Father

The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.  And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”  The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Romans 8:15-16

The intimacy of calling God “Father” is the privilege we get when we come into the family of God. Unfortunately sometimes people see God as this big dictator in the sky ready to strike us down when we do something wrong. But nothing could be further from the truth.

We are invited in and adopted into God’s family.  He seeks a deep intimate relationship with each of us to the point of calling him Daddy!

The God I know is loving and kind, sweet and generous. He doesn’t look down at us like slaves to be bossed around, living in fear of our master. But as his beautiful children. He is our Abba, Daddy and he wants to nurture and help us grow in a safe loving environment, just as any father does.

We get to call him Daddy, so seek him out as a child and look for that loving embrace of our heavenly Father.

Photo by Jude Beck on Unsplash

Who’s leading?

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother

Colossians 1:1

The apostle Paul was only who he was by following God and the encouragement of others believers, like Timothy. If we try to do what God calls us to do and be who he calls us to be without him. We will fail.

What he asks us to do and who he asks us to be can’t be done without him. It’s only by God’s direction, his grace and his love that we can move mountains.

Paul was a great apostle he wrote a third of the new testament and shared God’s love with thousands. But when Paul tried to accomplish what he thought God wanted without God’s direction. He persecuted those he would later in life call friends and fellow believers.

When we try to do things for God without the leading of the Holy Spirit, they can be good, but they will not accomplish anywhere near what we could if we followed God’s leading. A lot of terrible things have been done in the name of God that he never asked for or wanted.

The leading of the Holy Spirit is imperative and necessary to living for God.

God leads and guides us moment by moment, he gives us the words to say, direction to go, wisdom for decisions and joy and strength to accomplish his leading.

Look to Jesus in your daily life and he will move mountains.


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You never know

Everything in life starts small. Humans as babies, plants as seeds, companies all have a day one. Everything starts somewhere and its all the little things that make the big things happen.

Don’t be discouraged if you haven’t reached your dreams yet.

David beat Goliath with a stone. When he got up that morning all he intended to do was bring food to his brothers. Even after that David still waited years till the word spoken over him to be king came true. Big dreams rarely happen overnight.

It’s the little things in life that make us who we are. The everyday things that make an impact. The little everyday things prepare us for the big things later.

For David it was the time spent daily shepherding sheep that prepared him to follow God’s plan in God’s time that made him who he was.

It was the time that Jesus spent each day with Father God that gave him the wisdom to know what to say, when and where to go and who to talk to.

We need those same moments each day where we let God lead us and direct our steps, the turn in our drive that helps us avoid the car accident or the mom with screaming kid that we open the door for. It’s the little things that make the difference.

Ask God what the little things are that we can do each day that will make the big things happen. You never know what one stone can do till you see a giant fall.

Where I find my confidence

When I was young, I was shy, insecure, lacking confidence, always looking for approval and to feel wanted.

But when I found my identity in Jesus I changed. As I got to know Him and his love. My confidence grew because I knew who was behind me, supporting me. Knowing God loved me no matter what, that he would always protect me, keep me safe and never leave. My confidence grew because it was in him and who he is, not me.

When we know God’s love for us, it bolsters us, gives us strength and confidence to be who he made us to be. That’s why spending time with Him and learning who he is, is so important. It gives us the confidence to do and be who he made us to be. His children. To know the one who’s standing behind us.

We are each so important to God. He wants to spend every moment of everyday with us and he will defend us even to death, because he already did.

That’s love and that’s where my confidence, joy and peace come from. They come from the one who gave up everything for me.

God wants to have a deep, intimate, personal relationship with every single member of humanity. He is our creator and he loves each and every one of us, that is who we find our confidence in, the one who loves us, all of us.

Fight without Fear

In Prince Caspian, from The Chronicles of Narnia, Lucy gives a perfect example of how we as believers in Jesus should feel when we feel outnumbered and surrounded. Confident and unafraid.

Because it’s easy to feel overwhelmed when we focus on what is around us or even just in front of us. But when we remember God is always with us it changes our perspective.

We become like Lucy, a child facing an army with just a dagger, oh and of course the God of the universe to fight for us. We can have complete confidence because God loves us, he fights for us and if we trust him, he will take care of everything. Nothing should phase us, because God is with US!

You shall not fear them, for it is the Lord your God who fights for you.’ Deuteronomy 3:22

Shine Bright

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. —2 Corinthians 4:6

Have you ever noticed how lights seem brighter in the dark. Like Christmas lights they shine brighter and more beautiful in the dark. 

Gods light is like this, he shines in and through us as we grow in relationship with him and choose to let him shine instead of us. When we are in a dark situation he can be the light that leads us out of the darkness. Or he can shine through us to others, showing them the way out of the darkness. 

We should not fear the darkness, but look at it as an opportunity to shine Jesus brighter. 

Love above all

Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.–Colossians 3:14

God’s love is what binds us together, love heals us, love fulfills us.

We can have all we ever wanted in life but if we don’t have love, we will still be lacking.

We can try to do and be the humblest, most compassionate, kindest, gentlest, most patient and forgiving person. But if we don’t have love we will only be striving instead of thriving.

Love shows us others as God sees them, love gives us the drive to put others first, love fulfills us so that we don’t need the approval of others.

God’s love is all we need.

When we feel broken

No matter how low or lost we feel God is always right there waiting for us to turn to him. 

We can feel worthless and unworthy but that is not how God sees us. He sees who he made us to be. Who he paid the price for us to be.

He sees the opportunity to reach people through our healed scars, not our old wounds. He sees us. Not our past, not our mistakes but our future.

 “Behold, I am making all things new.”  Rev 21:5b

Temporary fixes and gripping chains

Why do we keep trying the same temporary fixes to fill the holes inside us and expect different results?

We all have times when we want to escape, from work, school, home, kids spouse. Everyone needs a break sometimes.

But is what we run to really helping? Or is it just a temporary fix, like putting tape on a busted pipe it may work for a moment but eventually the pipe is going to burst again, and if we keep using tape it’s never going to solve the issue.

The lyrics of the song Chain Breaker by Zach Williams describes the cycle we go through in life so often searching for the solution but never finding the answer in the same process.

But there is a better way, a better life.

God is a chain breaker he made a way for us to be free. To not feel tied down but to find joy and peace in our homes, in our work and in our families.

He is the way.

When we go to him, when we need rest, he lifts us up, he takes our fears our worries and our frustrations when we give them over to him.

If we grip onto the chains that our strangling us he can’t remove them. We have to surrender them over to him so he can remove them. 

Photo by Hanny Naibaho on Unsplash

Find your identity

I’ve mentioned dieing to self, having an intimate personal relationship with Jesus, and being a willing vessel. All of which are essential to our lives as Christians. But what does that entail? What does it mean? It means that we let God lead. We look to him to tell us what to do and say, when to do and say it and to provide all that we need to do what he asks us to do.

Sounds scary right. And it would be if God is distant to us. If we don’t really know him. Then of course trusting him sounds scary. But he is the one person in the universe who we can trust for everything. Because he is love and his loves is patient and kind. It does not envy, or 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. It does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. His love always protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres.

Want to know more about finding your identity is Jesus. Watch or listen to this video.

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

Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace, the classic song that most people know, is one of my favorites because of what it means. God’s amazing grace that saved, a wretch like me. Every time I hear this song, I want to sing it.

Everyone who has ever lived, except Jesus has done something wrong at some point in their life and needs forgiveness for something. God’s grace does just that. He forgives us for everything we have ever done wrong. He wipes our slate clean and makes us white as snow before God.

I know I’ve done plenty of things wrong in my life, but he forgave me and made me new in him. Because of His forgiveness I get a do over, a fresh start, I get to be new in him.

Often I find memories of my past that try to come back to haunt me. But I know that, that person died on the cross with Jesus. I am no longer that person, because Jesus makes me new and clean with His grace and forgiveness.

Next time you find yourself caught up in your past mistakes, surrender them over to Jesus and let him remind you that, that person died on the cross with him and that Jesus lives through you.

What love is this

I’ve never known a love as deep, as pure and unceasing as the love of God. No where else have I felt safer, more cared for and lacking nothing then in the presence of God. He brings joy and peace, a sense of calm that surpasses understanding. His love is where we don’t feel shame or worry only comfort.

Its us that put up a barrier to keep him at arms length instead of embracing the freedom that his grace provides. But when we accept his forgiveness and surrender control, that’s when we can truly know him.

We are his and he gave everything for us, even his very life just to have a relationship with us. He died because we are valuable to him, we are priceless. And his love is more than enough for us. Accept his gift freely given and melt into the safety of his presence.

What Love is this by Kari Jobe

Love doesn’t hurt

When we’re hurt by the people that are supposed to love us or ashamed of the scares they left, it leaves us afraid to be loved by anyone else. Because to us, love hurts. But that’s not love.

Just because people in our lives who were supposed to love us, didn’t, doesn’t mean that is what love is.

Love is patience and kind, its not rude or self seeking, its not easily angered and does not keep a record of wrongs.

God is love.

And He would never hurt us, neglect us, abandon us or stop loving us.

He is always there, always wanting and waiting to be with us, to love us and take care of us, if we let Him in.

Give God a chance to show you His love, I promise you won’t regret it.

If you already know God’s love share it with a kid who needs it. Check out Royal Family Kids

What is God teaching you?

Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord.  I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts,  and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here. –Colossians 4:7-9

Sharing what God is doing in our lives and others sharing what he is doing in their live is how we encourage and build each others up. We are the body of Christ and how can the body function if it doesn’t communicate with itself. When one part of the body suffers others parts of the body come to heal that part.

When we lived in Michigan we were part of a small group that had no curriculum, no required reading, no plan, except to that each week when we gathered we asked each other one simple question.

‘What has God been teaching you this week?’

Our facilitator/host always had something prepared but we rarely needed it. Some of the members would share, not always the same people even but somehow it always all connected. We would teach each other what God was teaching us and encourage each other to grow in our relationship with God. Sometimes when one or a few of us were struggling or hurting we did what the body does we would focus on that person and help them to heal. Even when we didn’t know what to do we followed the leading of the Holy spirit and let God teach us all. But we made learning a sharing experience.

Sharing with each other and those who don’t yet know God builds faith and trust. It shows that he is real and that he does make a difference in our lives and he can do the same for everyone.

Share your life share your stories of what Gods done for you and seek to learn from others what God has done for them.

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