Author: Rebecca Darga

God Answers Prayers

A movie recently came out about Bart Millard of Mercy Me’s life called 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 6 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 abuse dependent 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

 

Who is JESUS to you?

Who is Jesus to you really? Is 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 confidant and he uplifts my spirit. Jesus is my everything.

What is he to YOU?

How are you getting, where you’re going?

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

Philippians 3:12-16

It’s so easy to get caught up in who we were in our past, last week or even an hour ago. But you can’t change the past, only learn from it.

Our focus should be on the present and the future; looking towards who Jesus made us to be and what he has called us to.

Dwelling on the past only makes you look backwards; it’s really hard to go forwards when you are always looking backwards.

Surrender your past year, day, hour and even the last minute to Jesus and move forward. Allow his grace and sacrifice to cleanse you of your past and focus on who he is turning you into.

He’s not concerned with what you’ve done, he already paid the price for it. His focus is on who he has made you to be and what he has planned for you.

No perfect people

Jesus rescues us. He rescued me and he can rescue you.

So many people think Christians are perfect, but we wouldn’t be Christians if we were perfect. The very reason we need Jesus is because we are not perfect.

We need Jesus, we need his grace, his sacrifice, his love, his forgiveness.

We have all messed up in our lives, and that’s why we need him.

We don’t need to try to clean up before we come to Jesus, or fix our mistakes first. We need to come to him at our worst, so that he can makes us our best.

He loves to see us at our worst because that’s when we have broken down our barriers and he can come in and make us new. He already knows all the junk and he wants to makes clean and new, to take away the harm of our past mistakes and give us love and joy and confidence because we know that no matter what he will always love us.

I will never claim to perfect because I know that I have a past, a past full of mistakes that I regret, but it’s because of his love and forgiveness that my life has changed and that’s what I focus on, on him and his love and forgiveness.

That’s what he has done for me and he can do that for you too.

God first

Seek God first.

In all things, seek him.

When your having a rough day, ask yourself did I put God first , did I talk to him this morning, did I start my day out right? Is he part of what I’m doing right now.

And if he isn’t. STOP. put him first above everything else and let him be your peace, your guidance, all you need.

Restart your day the right way, by putting God first.

You are wanted

Adoption is a powerful way to impact the life of another. My husband is adopted and we plan to pass that blessing on by adopting in the future. But in wanting to adopt we also want to do it responsible, knowing as much as we can about what that child has been through and not expecting them to come as a perfect child, but as someone who is up for adoption because they have been through something traumatic or have been unwanted. And in that knowing that we as humans cannot be their solution. We can love them as best we can but only Jesus can repair the damage.

We all have damage in some way and have all felt unwanted at some point in our life.

But Jesus wants us. He loves us and wants us to feel whole, healed and completed by him.

He adopted us all into his family when he choose to give up his life for us. He made a way for us to be a part of his family and there is always enough room for everyone in the family of God.


Photo by Sebastián León Prado on Unsplash

Humility in Worship

And David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, and David was wearing a linen ephod.  So David and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouting and the sound of the trumpet.

2 Samuel 6:14-15

Dancing to worship God is a freeing experience, its using your all your being to praise God with your words, your mind, your heart and your body. Dancing to praise God isn’t about skill or show, it’s about rejoicing over what God has done and is doing in your life.

I prefer to dance in worship in private at home or if in a corporate setting I will go to the back corner. For me dancing in worship is freeing but also something very private between me and Jesus. Please don’t misconstrue that you have to dance to fully worship God. I have had moments of worship with Jesus where I’ve been sitting in a corner saying nothing, doing nothing just enjoying his presence, those moments are just a deep and intimate.

When I was in Uganda everyone danced and sang for worship and honestly when I got back to home it was hard not to dance.

The point of worship is to glorify God, not ourselves. So even if we are preforming skilled dance for others in worship to God it is about our heart.

Worship is about our hearts.

Its about surrender, humility and glorifying God. However you worship or someone else worships humble yourself and glorify God.

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 aleady 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. Becuae 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.

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.

Where are you going?

Philippians 1:12-14

Paul was in prison when he wrote the book of Philippians, but he didn’t let it affect his witness. Instead he used it to witness to the guard and the other prisoners. And his boldness encouraged the believers outside to spur on the gospel further and more passionately. God uses our circumstances, no matter how bleak to reach people.

My husband and I recently went through some rough financially patches, but each time God used it to draw us closer together, closer to him, and to help us see what’s really important in life.

God has been working me towards the goal of writing this blog for a long time, but in the process I wrote and trashed half a book, wrote a second book and have two failed ministry launches to get me to the point of realizing what  my ministry would be and how he wanted me to do it.

This blog and having a career as a writer has been a dream for a long time, but God had to take me through a process to make me who I am today, to prepare me to do this the right way. Along this long path I’ve picked up skills that we’re much needed to make this a success and (I’m still learning) but I wouldn’t of had the drive, the desire or the knowledge without going on the journey that he took me on.

Just because you may have failed at what you know God has called you to, doesn’t mean that he isn’t going to use that experience to teach you how to succeed in what he’s called you too.

So keep pursuing the dream God has placed in your heart and don’t be discouraged, we all fail, but it’s how we fail that matters.

Let God lead you on the path he has for you.

Love is

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 instant gratification society, 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 me and what I can get.

Love is selfless. Love puts others before themselves.

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 grounded 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 love.


Photo by Aziz Acharki on Unsplash

God’s ways

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:9

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Trusting God’s way can seem scary, but he has never failed me.

He always wants what’s best for us and that’s him.

See he is love ad because he is love his thoughts are not self-seeking they are for what’s best for us.

He love us so much that he does not even insist on his ways. He gives us the choice to choose them or not.

I trust God because he loves me and his love has never failed.

Only Jesus

The other day I wrote about who Jesus is to me.

He is is my everything and it’s because of him that I write. He put the burden in my heart to write, he called me to it and encourages me in it, he is who I want to bring light to and draw our focus to.

I don’t write this blog for myself for my glorify or to be heard by others, I write it to draw people closer to Jesus, to help them see that he loves them and that he wants to be with us every moment of every day.

So if you get anything out of these devotionals I hope that it is that you see Jesus, grow closer to him and know him better each day.

The Love Dare

The Love Dare is a fantastic book that helps you to put your spouse first before yourself as all good marriages should. But I will be the first to admit that it is easy to put the other first when your feeling good, and things are going well. But it is so much harder when things are hard and your not at your best.

Marriage isn’t about just the good times, it about how you handle the hard times. It’s about sticking together and loving one another even when you don’t feel like it or even want to. Marriage is a commitment for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health. That means you don’t bail when things get tough or you don’t care for each other at the moment, because the moment will pass and things will get better.

But that doesn’t happen by accident you have to have God at the center of your marriage. Because if your happiness and well being depends on another person you will never be fulfilled. Only God can do that. Only he can truly make you feel 100% fulfilled.

When you get your identity from God, you draw on him for strength, perseverance and perspective. To see things from the perspective of the other opens the barriers you may have put up as a defense, and when you trust God to guide you, you can drop those barriers to bring reconciliation.

Someone to be vulnerable, open and raw with

Life today is so much about appearance; we only show what we want others to see, we crop out the reality of life to project what’s expected, we add effects and filters, but often feel no one really knows the true us. .

Deep down all seeking a relationship where we can be ourselves, raw, open, vulnerable and unfiltered.

God is that person, He knows us, the good and the bad, the raw, the ugly. He knows it all, every little moment, every thought, every emotion, He knows us inside and out and He love us still, He held back nothing to know us. He gave His whole life; just to show His love for us.

Because of this love we can be open, honest and vulnerable with Him, He can handle it, in fact He loves the moments when we just surrender to Him. That’s when He can reach us the most, when we have no barriers with Him, He can express His love for us the most.

Go to Him with your problems big or little, go to Him with your worst, most broken moments and let Him be all you need. Let Him put you back together and build you up stronger.

Lead like Jesus

And masters, treat your servants considerately. Be fair with them. Don’t forget for a minute that you, too, serve a Master – God in heaven.

Colossians 4:1

When we are in any leadership role at work, at home, volunteer or any other capacity we need to be mindful of how we lead. Jesus lead by example as a servant, he never asked his disciples to do what he was not already doing, he never saw anything or anyone as above him.

He knelt in the dirt for an adulteress, he dined with a tax collector and saw greatness in fisherman.

He saw each person as valuable and worth eveything and he treated them as priceless.

Jesus lead with humility, patience and kindness. Shouldn’t we do the same?

How he changes you

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

Knowing who is and who he made me to be gives me confidence, boldness and fearlessness, because I know who he is.

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. So I am never alone, and he is where I draw my confidence from, because I know who he is.

He loves each and everyone of us and he wants to do the same for us all. To show us who he is and who he made each of us to be.

God’s not done

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

God’s never done with you.

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

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

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

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

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 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.

We need light

Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun. -Ecclesiastes 11:7

Our eyes are naturally drawn to find light. We are meant to find light. If you close your eyes and then open them, your eyes will immediately go to the brightest thing. We seek out light, we add lamps to our homes and extra lights. Any good craftsmen will tell you they need good lighting to make their best product. We live our lives in light. Light helps us see where we are walking, where we are headed and where we’ve been. Light in some aspect is needed to do almost all things in life.

Your word is a lamp to my feet
    and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105

Why is there so much focus on the dark today in media. We are meant to be creatures of light, not of darkness.

Things can be hidden in the dark, or misunderstood, but in the light they shine their true nature. Our eyes can be deceived easily in the dark, to see things that are not really there, or misinterpret things to be some thing other then what they are.

Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness. -Ecclesiastes 2:13

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? Is this ok? Our first reaction should be if we are questioning something, the very fact that we are questioning it should be a sign.

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, we should reflect him in our words and actions.

But 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.

God changes everything

Worship can change everything, our attitude, our demeanor, our perspective and our mood. Worshiping God shifts our focus from our problems to his possibilities, his strength, his power and his provision.

God changes everything and that why we worship him. Because he saves us, he changes us and turns all thing out for good.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. -Romans 8:28

So whatever your dealing with surrender it to God. Give it over to him surrender and let him be your solution.

When you’re tired

The days when you’re weak and tired are the days we need Jesus more then ever.

When we are at our weakest He is our strength, our energy, our wisdom, our everything. He provides all we need because He is all we need.

So no matter how tired or exhausted you are, know that He is all you need.

Seek Him and let Him be your everything.

Fight without Fear

In Prince Caspian, from The Chronicles of Narnia, Price Caspian 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 He loves us, he fights for us and if we trust Him he will take care of everything. Nothing should phase us, because He is with US!

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

Driving with Jesus

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.  Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Romans 12:1-2

We aren’t meant to blend in.

We are supposed to be different, so that people can see our witness in our words, our actions and reactions. We are to lay down our lives for Jesus as he did for us.

Sounds impossible, but it isn’t.

I can’t tell you how many times I didn’t want to get out of bed and go to work, like I’m sure many of you have too. But I did it anyway.

But just because I started my day off rough doesn’t mean it has to stay that way.

I’ve found that using my drive to work as a time to fix my eyes on Jesus makes a big difference by the time I get to work. I usually have worship music or sermons from podcasts playing as I get ready in the morning and on my drive to work. I call it Driving with Jesus. I ask Jesus to teach me something and He always does. Sometimes He uses a song or a sermon, and sometimes He uses people walking on the street or the landscape of my drive.

But He always changes my perspective and attitude by the time I get to work, if I let Him give me a perspective change. See many of our problems and issues stem from just seeing the problem from our own earthly perspective. But when we allow Jesus to show us His perspective He changes our view of things.

Photo by Anika Huizinga on Unsplash

When you surrender your life and your day to God he changes your perspective and transforms your mind to see like He sees and think like He thinks. So let Jesus drive and enjoy the passenger seat of life’s road.

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.

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’ 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 we’re never meant to, we are meant to life live in peace, because we are menat to live life with Jesus 24/7.

Stand up for God

Jesus makes me brave. The love and protection I know He has for me, makes me know that I can move mountains and nothing can stand against me because God is for me.

If He has called you to something or someone nothing can stand in your way God will protect and provide for you to do what He has called you to.

No matter what your facing or how impossible it seems or even if you feel surrounded, remember the God of heaven is backing you, He surrounds those that surround you, He is on your side.

David knew he could defeat Goliath because God had anointed him to be king and he wasn’t king yet, he was still just a shepherd boy. We can stand on the promises God has given us.

He calls each one of us to a mission, He has deemed for us, and nothing can stop us as we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in the pursuit of that which He has called us too.

No matter how impossible a situation, if God has called you to it, He will make a way.

That’s why He make me brave.

That’s why I stand up for God, because he stands up for me.

What fuels your flame?

The tiniest spark can start a whole blaze.

The Holy Spirit works the same way, he sparks a fire and a passion in us to share God’s love with people but we have to fan the flame, nurture it and help it grow. If we snuff it out then we have to keep restarting that spark.

God gave me the verse Jeremiah 20:9

But if I say, “I will not mention his word
    or speak anymore in his name,”
his word is in my heart like a fire,
    a fire shut up in my bones.
I am weary of holding it in;
    indeed, I cannot.

A long time ago to remind me that even though I turned my back on him once that I won’t do it again. But I need to fan the flame each day, I need to fuel the fire he put in me.

By spending time with him, by fixing my eyes on Jesus and asking him to teach me something new each day.

What fire has God started in your heart? Are you snuffing it out or are you feeding the fire he put in you?


Faith

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. —2 Corinthians 4:18

Faith can be hard for so many people, because if they can’t see it right in front of them its not there. But faith in Jesus isn’t ambivalent. It’s trust in who He is. Think of the person in this world that you trust the most. You know them and you trust them because you know who they are and that you can depend on them.

It’s the same with Jesus. We have faith in Him to be there for us not only because of what He’s already done but because we know Him. We know his character and track record. We have faith in him because we trust Him to be who He has already shown us He is. Loving, sacrificial and forgiving.

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.

In our house church, each week we ask. ‘What has God been teaching you this week?’ Various people share, not always the same ones, and what each of us shares is almost always connected. Sometimes we help someone going through something and sometimes lots of us are going through the same thing without even realizing it. But the focus of the group is 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.

Written by: Rebecca Darga

You Are Not Alone

When you feel defeated, knocked down, like no one is in your corner. Jesus is always there for you. He always has your back. He will go to bat for you because He already did when lived a sinless life and died to pay for our mistakes.

He’s forever on our side.

Jesus is always there for us.

We can always talk to Him. He will always listening, because He loves us.

He loves us so much that He gave everything for us. He gave every second of everyday for us. He gave up His life for US!

He’s forever on our side.

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

When we are weak. Jesus is our strength

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. ~2 Corinthians 12:9

Why do we always think we have to clean ourselves up before we go to God? That’s the very reason Jesus came, to make us clean and pure and new creations in Him. We can try our hardest to do everything perfect and it still wouldn’t be enough.

We need to stop striving to get God’s approval and love. He gives freedom from guilt and shame freely, because He love us.

When we are at our worst, our weakest our most vulnerable and we know nothing else but to surrender and let Him lead. That’s when He shines the brightest. When we get our own selves out of the way and depend on Him.

We just need to surrender to him, and remember on the days we feel the worst He is the best.

Photo by Abbie Bernet on Unsplash

Are you helping or hindering?

I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to agree and to work in harmony in the Lord.  Indeed, I ask you too, my true companion, to help these women [to keep on cooperating], for they have shared my struggle in the [cause of the] gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life. ~Philippians 4:2-3

Why do we have disagreements within the church body? I’m not talking about the big theological debates. More about the simple things like how the Christmas decorations get set up.

Why do we let these things bother us? Was it really our decision in the first place or are we giving our opinion. If it is our opinion, is that what we should be focused on?

Isn’t our role in the church to be the body of Jesus to help each other, not hinder.

Have we asked Jesus His opinion on the matter? Or are we just blazing forward without regard for God’s opinion.

You may think He doesn’t care about the little things, or that your perfectly capable of making that decision without Him; but should we be doing things without Him? Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should.

Jesus can make the simplest thing simpler or the most boring thing enjoyable.

Make every moment a moment to deepen your relationship with Him.

If doing something simple and boring is more fun with a friend; and He is the funnest friend ever. Then shouldn’t we want to do everything with Him.


Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash

Anywhere, Anyway, Anytime

Jesus is always seeking you, always pursuing you, always longing for you. He is always happy to see you, speak to you, share His love for you, with you.

You don’t have to clean up your act, or get to a better place to come to Him.

Go to Him anywhere, in any state; because He will go to you anywhere, in any state.

Just surrender to Him and let His love wash over you.

He is always there longing to be with you. He always wants to have relationship with you.

He always wants you.

Don’t fear God

All, all of us ever want is to be loved. To have a safe place where we know we can be open and vulnerable about our troubles, hurts and wounds.

Jesus is that safe place.

We can always go to Him about anything, anytime. He is always there for us, He always wants to talk to us, to love us and to heal us.

People often fear going to God in the hard times because they think they have to clean themselves up first.

But that’s not true.

Jesus wants us just a we are. What would be the point of going to Him for help if we thought we had to fix everything first.

He already knows everything, you won’t catch Him off guard.

Is it worth the sacrifice?

Is chasing your dream worth the sacrifices you have to make to achieve your goal? What compromises will you make to get there? Who will you when you achieve your goal? Will your goal make you who you want to be? Or will chasing your goal change who you are?

When we chase our own goals, we often make compromises or sacrifice integrity to take shortcuts to achieve it. Many times when we achieve that goal we may lose who we wanted to be by achieving that very goal.

When we let go of our goals and trust God He surprises us with something beyond what we thought possible.

Every time I have tried to make my own goals or success it has not turned out as I have planned. The result of my goal has been less satisfactory then I had hoped for or I compromised who I was to achieve that goal. Nevertheless it has never left me feeling satisfied.

But when I follow God’s leading and look to the interest of others, I have never been disappointed.

It’s easy to get caught up in ourselves but so much more rewarding to serve and achieve the goals that God has laid on our hearts.

Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash

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.

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

What are Christians supposed to be like?

 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,  not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: (emphasis added)

Philippians 2:1-5

If we have found encouragement, comfort, love, tenderness and compassion from Jesus.

Then we are supposed to bring joy to Him by being liked minded with Him, by sharing that same love with others, by following the Holy Spirit, by humbling ourselves and valuing others above ourselves.

If you haven’t found these things in Jesus, then I ask have you been seeking Him?

We cannot be these things to others if we do not first know them from Him. Its hard to give out what you haven’t received.

Seek God, learn His character, know His words and His actions. If we know Him we can tell others about Him, but if we don’t know Him how can we expect to show others.

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 0ften 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’s 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.

Finding JOY

I gave my life to Jesus because I tried doing life without him, I tried being happy without Him and it didn’t work. There was always something missing something I was striving for that I couldn’t grasp.

But life with Jesus is simpler, peaceful, and joy filled.

Don’t think I don’t have bad moments, I do, but those moments are the one where I don’t have Him in mind.

But it never fails that when I turn to Him, He shows me the sunshine through the rain. He shines bright and shows me where He is in that moment and He changes my perspective to find the joy in the sadness.

True fulfillment, isn’t a quick fix

Temptation is attractive, that’s the reason it’s tempting. Just because something is fun or enjoyable for a moment doesn’t make it a good choice. Especially if we feel guilty or worse after. Temptation leads us slowly to make compromise after compromise to fulfill a growing need that is never really satisfied so we go deeper and make sacrifices, push aside responsibilities, neglect family and friends to try to fill our need. But never find satisfaction. Because we are trying to fill our lack up with the counterfeit. 

Like Edmund in “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.” He craved being important which is why being a king appealed to him. Which is who Aslan made him to be. But he listened to the beautiful witch who temps him to sacrifice even his own family to achieve his selfish desires. When if he’d only waited he would of realized that the need would be fulfilled when Aslan makes him king the right way without compromise or guilt. 

God created us and He is the one that fills our needs, wants and desires without guilt, regret or shame. If we would only look to Him to fulfill the desires He has placed in us, instead of the counterfeit quick fixes. We would find fulfillment in Jesus. What He has for us is always so much better then anything we could think or dream of, and its always more then we deserve.

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?

Photo by Caleb Jones on Unsplash

Its easy to let your 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.

Forgiveness Change 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 grace God gave us to them. it His grace not our ours and who are weto 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?

You never know

Everything in life starts small, humans as babies, plants as seeds, companies all have a day one, a first day of school. 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, and when he got up that morning all he intended to do was bring food to his brothers and he 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.

It was the time David spent daily shepherding sheep following 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.

You are worthy

None of us are beyond saving. We all have the opportunity to feel free and find new life in Jesus.

The beauty of His sacrifice is that when He died, we died.

“He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.”

Matthew 10:39

When we try to live without Jesus we are always striving to feel worthy, valued, loved and wanted.

But Jesus sacrifice already paid our debts and He gives us our worth and our value. He sees us as priceless, that’s why He gave His life for us. So that we could stop striving and start living in Him.

No matter you’ve done or how unworthy you feel, God will always see you as priceless and worthy because of His sacrifice, if we accept it.

https://youtu.be/H-iPu2WjqdM