Category: Faith

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.

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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. 

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

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.

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, pure 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.

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God’s got your back

With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall. 

Psalm 18:29

God is who we draw our confidence and our feeling of invincibility from. When know who we are as His kids, who He has made us to be and what He’s called us to do. It gives us a firm foundation to stand on, to know that the creator of the universe has got our back.

Imagine if everywhere we went and with everything we did, we had a fifty foot angel standing behind us backing us up, giving us support and encouragement. That’s what it’s like when we trust God to lead us, but even better. Even a fifty foot angel fails in comparison to God and He is with us all the time.

We are never alone if we have Him by our side, if we look to Him for guidance, for the right words and for each step and each action each day. He created the universe, He can handle our daily schedule. And with Him, we can tackle what seems impossible, because nothing is impossible to him.

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Trust in all things


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

Proverbs 3:5-6

As we continues to face new challenges and new opportunities arise. Whatever comes our way good or bad. We can trust God. We can look for him in every situation and he will bring us joy and peace. We may not understand why or how, but putting our faith in God is not about understanding, it’s about trust.

When we are children our parents give us instruction to protect us and take care of us. We may not understand why but we trust our parents to take care of us. It’s the same with God. He may ask us to do something or not to do something for our benefit whether we understand it or not, we can trust Him. We can trust that He knows the outcome even if we can’t see it at the time.

How many times in your life have looked back and realized your parents, mentor, leader or boss were right about something you didn’t understand at the time.

It’s the same with God. He can see the bigger picture, the effect of the cause and the cause of the effect. He knows what it takes to get us where we need to go and what may harm us in the long end. Trust God to lead you and know that His heart is for you.


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Find the Light

Light even in the darkest place will help you see, if you look for it.

Have you ever closed your eyes in a dark room and been able to see better when you opened them. If we stay in the dark, we will get used to it and think that this is how life is. But if we seek out the light and look for more, we will find the light and eventually leave the darkness behind.

God gave me a vision a long time ago of him walking in the woods at night with no path, but as he walked the footprints he left behind illuminated to guide me where he wanted me to go.

We can find the light if we look for it. Jesus is always with us waiting to be the light, to guide us even in the darkest places.

Close your eyes and ask him to show you the light, to show you the steps he wants you to take.

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Trusting God, Isn’t Hard When You Know Him

But as for me, I trust in You, O LORD,

I say, “You are my God.”

Ps 31:14

When you know someone you trust them. So how can you trust God if you don’t know him?

Of course big leaps of faith sound crazy if your trying to trust a God you barely know. But that’s why it’s so crucial to have a daily relationship with him. When you spend everyday with someone you know them. You know their quirks and their preferences how they would react in different situations.

That’s how I trusted God with the big decisions in my life. Because I spend time with him. This blog is one of those ways. I ask him to show himself to me and he speaks to me through songs, movies, nature and often just a conversation. 

When we make God a daily part of our lives. Trusting him with the big and the little decisions doesn’t seem scary; it just feels right. Because we know he wants nothing but the best for us.

God knows you

O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
    you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
    and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
    behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
You hem me in, behind and before,
    and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
    it is high; I cannot attain it.

Psalm 139:1-6

We all search for and want someone who understands us, who gets us, and knows us to our very soul.

Jesus is that person. He knows us even better then we know ourselves. He knit us together in our mothers womb and He knows us to our very core.

We are the ones who put up the barriers and choose to separate ourselves from Him. We are the ones who surrender some of us, but still hang onto the most painful parts of our lives, to keep control.

I want to encourage you to surrender everything over to Him. Stop holding back and trust Him. I’ve never felt more myself then when I surrendered my life over to Jesus. I know it sounds strange, but He made us and He knows how to fulfill us.

We just have to trust Him.

Bear Fruit By Remaining In Jesus

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.  You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.  Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.  If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.  If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. -John 15:1-8

REMAIN IN JESUS. Jesus is the vine and we are the branches, that means that He bears the weight of us, He nourishes us, feeds us, waters us and roots us.

Without Him we are dead branches.

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in knowledge that we actually ignore meaning. We become so focused on retaining the information that we don’t think about what it means.

Often, when we grow up in church, we hear phrases like  “He is the vine, we are the branches” and we gloss over it.

But Jesus is the vine. That means we can do nothing for Him, without Him. Have you ever seen a branch on the ground bear fruit without being attached to the vine?


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So why do we think we can do it on our own?

The vine feeds us, gives us water and roots us.

Jesus is the vine and He provides more for us then just food, water and shelter. He gives us life, confidence, love, peace, patience. I could go on…

He provides everything for us.

Anytime I’m having a bad day it’s because I didn’t go to Jesus for nourishment. I can have the same exact day and if I started my day with nourishment (wisdom, guidance, strength, patience) from Jesus, I will not have a bad day. Because He is with me, He lifts me up to bear fruit instead of fear.

Life without Jesus produces fear, fear of the unknown, fear of survival. Wondering, how you will provide? Why else would we go to work, but to provide for ourselves and our families.

But when we are in the vine, Jesus takes care of all your needs so we can bear fruit.

When we remain in Jesus, focused on him, letting him live through us. Bearing fruit becomes a bi-product of our relationship with him. Have you ever had a friend that just encourages you to be kinder, nicer and more generous then you would if you were alone. That’s Jesus. When we allow him to be our focus we will help that stranger, pick-up that piece of trash, put others before ourselves, because that is who Jesus is and that is bearing fruit.


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Shine Bright

Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. -Luke 6:28

It’s easy to be nice to people who are nice to you. But to be nice to people who are mean, rude and completely against you is hard let alone to actually bless and pray for them.

How would you want someone to treat you if they caught you in one of your worst moments when you’re maybe sick or exhausted and irritable. We all have our best and worst moments and our one interaction with the nicest person may be the worst moment in their life and all they need is a smile or a bit of kindness to help them through.

What about the people we interact with regularly that rub us the wrong way. Being rude and mean back isn’t going to make things better. But if we pray for them and ask Jesus to show us how he sees them. It will help us to see the with the compassion he does.

Jesus endured the cross for every single person in humanity and who are we to deny them that free gift of salvation. Jesus changed us when we gave our life to him he can do the same for them.

He will show us how he see each person as valuable, important and loved. If we ask

By sharing that love with those that curse us we shine his light even brighter.

Love is meant to GROW

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight

Philippians 1:9 NIV

We should always be growing in our relationships with God and with others. It’s when we stop that we feel stuck or stagnant. We should fall head over heels in love more and more as time goes by.

Marriage is not the end its the beginning of a beautiful journey of discovery together.

When we begin our relationship with God we don’t all the sudden know everything about him. We still have to build a relationship. And as we learn about him we grow to love him more.

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It’s the same with our spouses. Yes, we got to know each other before we got married and that why we got married. But we have to continue that adventure of knowing each others.

Because love grows.

We should be overjoyed to learn new thing about God, because we love him. Just as we should in marriage. We should be learning more and more about each other and falling deeper in love with each other.

That’s why God uses marriage as an example of his relationship with us. Both relationships are supposed to be deep, intimate and always growing.

Other Believers

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:

 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me.  God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill.  The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel.  The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.  But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.

Yes, and I will continue to rejoice –Phillipians 1:1-11, 15-18

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The book of Philippians is a letter written to the believers in Philippi. Paul addresses them as old friends saying how he longs for them and prays for them.

This reminds me of the church community I grew up in. Even though we live far from them now I still feel a connection to them and always will. I still care for them deeply, pray for them and desire for them to grow closer to Jesus. Just as Paul does for the church in Philippi.

This is how we should feel about all believers. 

When we meet other believers there is an instant bond, a connection we feel when we meet that binds us together. 

There are so many things that divide us as believers, but shouldn’t we all have the same prayer as Paul for all believers.

The prayer that we all grow closer to Jesus.

Why We Praise God

O Lord, you are my God;
    I will exalt you; I will praise your name,
for you have done wonderful things,
    plans formed of old, faithful and sure. –Isaiah 25:1

God loved us from the very beginning of creation, that’s why he created us, to love us.

We praise him because we trust him, we know who he is and that there is no one else like him, he is love and deserves all the glory.

That’s why we praise him, because of who he is, not who we are. Giving glory to God has nothing to do with us or whether we feel worthy to praise him, its about giving honor where honor is due.

He is God and he loves us, so if we love him, we should praise him for who he is, our everything.

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Where are you going?

 I want you to know, brothers,[e] that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard[f] and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word[g] without fear.–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 guards and the other prisoners. And his boldness encouraged the believers outside to spread 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.

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.

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.

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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.

Fight fearlessly


The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the defense of my life;
Whom shall I dread?

Psalm 27:1

Have you ever meet someone truly fearless? Those that never back down from a challenge, nothing seems to worry them or catch them off guard.

Imagine if you had the grandest, most cunning, most skilled, undefeated warrior backing you up. What would you ever be afraid of?

That’s what we have when Jesus lives in us. He is our defender and our strength. He gives us the confidence to face giants and the fearlessness to concur mountains.

Knowing who we are in Jesus, that we are God’s kids and who he made us to be and what he call us to do, gives us that confidence to fight fearlessly to be and do what he’s called us to. Because if he’s called us to something he will provide and protect and back us up.


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The Birth of Jesus

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria.  And all went to be registered, each to his own town.  And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,  to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.  And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth.  And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.  And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

 “Glory to God in the highest,
    and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”  And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.  And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.  And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.  But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.  And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Luke 2:1-20

The angels said ‘fear not.’ Often we shy away from God because we feel we don’t measure up, but that’s the beauty of why he came, to make us free of shame and guilt and to know him deeply.

Jesus choose humble beginnings, lived humbly and counted not even his own life beyond sacrifice. He held back nothing so that we could have everything.

His gift to us is salvation and righteousness so that we could live a life filled with his love joy and peace.

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You are worth the sacrifice

Today marks the day Jesus sacrificed his life for us.

He endured beatings, ridicule, shame, false accusation and died the death of a murder to atone for the sins of the world. Because he loves us.

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

He loves you that much.

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

Don’t you want to know the one that would sacrifice everything just for you.


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Where’s your focus?

Seeing God in the happy times is easy, but when we feel like we’re in the midst of a storm it’s hard to focus on what is really important. JESUS!

When we fix our eyes on Jesus he lifts us up. Like Peter walking on water in Matthew 14:22-33. Peter walked on water but as soon as he took his focus off of Jesus and onto the storm around him he began to sink. It wasn’t until he cried out to Jesus, that he was lifted back up.

God gives us choices and He’s always there to help us, but we have to ask. We have to let Him in and trust His solution.

Sometimes it’s a simple answer and sometimes it’s going to take some faith. Trust that Jesus will provide even when we don’t see the immediate result.

IF you look for Him in everything in your life He will shine thru.

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,  as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. ~ 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (ESV)

Expressing Jesus (part 2)

Suppose the foot says, “I am not a hand. So I don’t belong to the body.” By saying this, it cannot stop being part of the body.  And suppose the ear says, “I am not an eye. So I don’t belong to the body.” By saying this, it cannot stop being part of the body.  If the whole body were an eye, how could it hear? If the whole body were an ear, how could it smell?  God has placed each part in the body just as he wanted it to be.  If all the parts were the same, how could there be a body?  As it is, there are many parts. But there is only one body.

 The eye can’t say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” In fact, it is just the opposite. The parts of the body that seem to be weaker are the ones we can’t do without.  The parts that we think are less important we treat with special honor. The private parts aren’t shown. But they are treated with special care.  The parts that can be shown don’t need special care. But God has put together all the parts of the body. And he has given more honor to the parts that didn’t have any.  In that way, the parts of the body will not take sides. All of them will take care of one another.  If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. If one part is honored, every part shares in its joy.

1 Corinthians 12:15-26

(read part 1)

When you look at people, look at them through the eyes of the Holy Spirit. Ask Him to show you how He sees them.

Each one of us is a part of the body of Jesus, so we all matter. Every person on the planet is given the opportunity to be a part of the body of Jesus.

Therefore we all are important!

There is not a person on this planet that isn’t important to God.

So why do we treat each other with so much callus and disregard?

Everyone matter to Him, so they should matter to us.

That may sound overwhelming. But if you have the Holy spirit guiding you its not as daunting as it seems.

Kindness can go a long way. Like the small things, opening a door for someone, even something as simple as a smile (even when you think you’re having a bad day) can go a long way for the person you are kind to, you never know it could be the worse day of their life and you made it better just by being kind.

Trust the Hoy Spirit and let Him lead you to be a light to someone, you never know the difference you could make till you try.

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Find rest

When you feel like your drowing in problems its easy to get wrapped up in them and think it will never end.

But the truth is there is always someone who has worse problems then you.

The best way to get over or through your problems is to give them over to God and try to help someone else.

When we trust him to provide it gives him permission to work in our lives. When we cling to our problems, we hold them back from him.

Releasing them shifts our focus to helping instead of hurting.

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

Matthew 11:28-29

Worshiping God with Everything

“The highest form of worship is the worship of unselfish Christian service. The greatest form of praise is the sound of consecrated feet seeking out the lost and helpless.” – Billy Graham 

Worship is not limited to a song or a worship service. There are many forms of worship to engage, such as our service to others and our giving, but the list can certainly go on and on. One does not need to wait till 10 AM on Sunday morning to begin the worship experience. It begins before you arrive at church. Worship begins when you start your day simply by acknowledging the Father and His greatness. Worship cannot be measured or boxed in by opinions, styles, or preferences. It is your personal way of telling Jesus with everything within, how amazingly great He is and recognizing the never-end- ing dependency of His glory and His presence. 

Have you ever thought how fascinating it is that we’ve never received a bill for air, or for the usage of our brain activities, nor for the use of our limbs. These gifts have all been provided as tools. Tools for what you may ask. For God’s glory. God created you for a purpose. We should feel a sense of urgency to show forth His glory in every area of our life, to worship Him with every tool and resource He gave to us. 

If our song will bring God glory then let’s sing our song of worship with everything. If helping those who are in need and desperately desire to feel God’s presence….then let us selflessly worship the Lord in giving of our time. If it is dedicating to Him a special time to lavish Him with our love, then we sit and adore and worship Him for even taking the time for to allow us to dwell in His presence. 

My greatest aspiration is that God will see that I have and do worship Him with everything that He has given me, in the good times and bad. That I worship Him when I’ve felt like it and when I didn’t. That I worshiped Him not for all that He could give but simply because of who He is. I want my worship to use every gift and talent and any of the tools He so freely gave with everything for his glory. Jesus is totally worthy of our adoration and our undivided attention. We will never be able to thank God enough for the sacrifice of Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection to redeem us from the hand of the enemy. 

David is such a great example to every believer of Worshiping God with Everything. He had so much to offer God, including his music, work ethic, and as a skilled warrior. However he started in the fields caring for his father’s sheep, giving his all in all things to give glory to God. With every victory he acknowledged God. One of my favorite passages of scripture is Psalm 150 where David encourages us to employ whatever tool we have to give God glory. Whatever it is… Give it your all!! Worship God with every- thing!! Go ahead, it’s your turn. Think about it today… How can you, with everything, worship God with your life? You have breath… then you have everything you need to give Him glory!!

Guest blog~Written by Lisa Harrell author of TheLisaHarrell.com  

Lisa Harrell lights up any room she walks in with her smile and consistent pursuit of joy. Her heart for Jesus is expressed in her words and actions. I am proud to call her a friend and excited for her to share her wisdom and life perspective with you.

You can’t do it on your own

‘We can’t love God’s way without being filled with Him. If we try it on our own, we end up exhausted and burned out. I’ve done it; it doesn’t work. Only when we let His love pour into us and let it spill out from deep within us will His Kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’

Except from Reckless Devotion by Heidi Baker

It’s exhausting to try to live the way God calls us to live without him in it, that’s why we all fall short when we try.

Why would we try to do it all on our own when we don’t have to. God gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide us, give us the words, the actions, the provisions, the energy and the wisdom and his love to do all that he calls us to.

His love is what needs to pour out of us when we talk to people, his love is what they need to see and hear in us. His love is what will change them, because its what changed us.

Photo by David Monje on Unsplash

Refresh

So many people fear being in the presence of God, some think it’s boring. But being in the presence of God has been the best times of my life. His presence is sweet and peaceful, and joyful and loving all at the same time. His presence is what ever we need at each moment. So why don’t we seek it more?

It’s so easy to be distracted by our responsibilities and obligations in life. We weren’t meant to live these jam packed lives that make us rush from activity to activity. What happened to the simple things in life. How often do we stop and enjoy the simple things?

When we rush around we miss the important things in life.

God wants to be with us in every moment of everyday. (Sounds overwhelming right?)

But his presence brings us what we need in each moment of each day. When were stressed he brings peace, when sad he brings comfort, when lonley, love.

Whatever is running through your head right now, give it to God, and let him be whatever you need.

Help to grow your faith

I like books that stretch my faith and help deepen my relationship with Jesus. This Friday I would like to encourage in your faith by recommending a few books that have done just that for me.

As I said in my post Rejoice in others, Value the One it is good to rejoice in the success of others and to uplift our brothers and sisters in the faith.

Children and the Supernatural by Jennifer Toldeo is about real life accounts for healing, visions and miracles. I read this book as a devotional and it greatly encouraged and stretched my faith.

Heavenly Man is a account of the life and testimony of Brother Yun a leader of the Chinese underground church. His story really made me think about what I would be willing to go through for the gospel. It bolstered my faith and deepened my conviction.

Reckless Devotion by Roland and Heidi Baker is a great devotion that bolsters and expands your love for God. The stories of how God has provided for the Bakers and their ministry over and over again will make you laugh, cry and fall deeper in love with Jesus.

I hope you find these books encouraging in deepening your relationship with Jesus.

Share others

In my post Rejoice in Others, Value the One I talked about rejoicing in the ministry of others.

We are all the body of Jesus and we all have something to share. I want to share with you some of the people that challenge me to deepen my faith and intimacy with God.


A new way of gift giving

 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?  Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

Mark 8:36-37

 

In this season of gift giving I want to encourage your to try a new kind of gift giving. The gift of a word from God for your friends and family.

This may sound scary or intimidating but it isn’t as scary as you may think.

God speaks to us in many different ways and one of those ways is through the prophetic. Giving a word for someone is simple. Spend some time in prayer and ask God to tell you a word, message or show you a picture or vision. Then write or draw what God tells you. If you are new to this I would suggest just asking for one word per person or an image.

Remember this is from God and should be free of your opinion or bias. To avoid writing a word that is your thoughts for this person I would suggest some randomization. I’ve done this many times in groups and as gifts to others. I find it’s best to ask God to give you the word without someone specific in mind. Try writing the words on unmarked cards then place them in sealed envelopes and label the envelopes with names later.

Photo by Kari Shea on Unsplash

Others ideas for prophetic gift giving:

  • Have your kids pray and ask God to give them a picture to draw and include it with your prophetic word
  • Buy journals or notebooks and write prophetic words on the first page and randomly place them in stockings
  • If your hosting a small group or gathering of believers, a prophetic white elephant gift exchange is fun (ask everyone to bring a gift and ask them to write a prophetic word to go with their gift) then play the white elephant gift exchange as usual, with the exception of not opening gifts til the swapping is over.

Giving the gift of a prophetic work last for eternity, it will never be thrown away, sold or returned. God’s word makes an impact on people, whether they receive it at that time or not.

Bless your family and friends this Christmas with a word from God.

the restoration of God

This months guest post is from a friend who is is very open, raw and honest in his walk with God. ~Rebecca Darga

crumbled. defeated. weathered. hopeless. shattered.

none of these conditions are bigger than the power of God’s Restoration.

no matter how bleak or impossible it might seem, He can rebuild it.


it will not look the same as before. it will cost you more than you expect. but when you give up the fight for something to BE the way YOU want it to be, and let God RESTORE it to the way HE wants it to be, there is always hope, beauty, life, and when finished – an amazing story to be told.


we must continually remind ourselves that:


He is the author, and we are His pen.
He is the painter, and we are His canvas.
He is the architect, and we are His tools.

Geoff Rimshas is the author of The Recovering Hypocrite

“I considers myself first and foremost a sinner saved by Grace, and I write to share my walk of tension between the Hope of Jesus and the shame of past mistakes.

I am desperate to know Jesus more in both the exciting and mundane details of the incredible life He has given me. I am thankful for my beautiful wife, Sara, our two amazing daughters, and our safe haven of a home in Livonia, Michigan.”

Merry Christmas

Some songs to bring you JOY. Merry Christmas!!!

From our family to yours, may your Christmas be filled with God’s Love, Joy and Peace!

Love is Contagious

This months guest post is from a friend whom I greatly respect . He has a unique and deep intimate view of God and expresses that in his life daily. ~Rebecca Darga

I recently attended a wedding of a close family friend. The whole day went without a hitch- beautiful music, a great sermon, beautiful decorations and great food- but there was one thing that stood out to me more than all of this. This new bride and groom were head over heals in love. They have no experience whatsoever when it comes to being married, yet they’ve chosen each other for a lifetime. I found myself reminiscing about my wedding and glancing over at my wife with pure joy and thankfulness to the Lord. Witnessing people in love is contagious.

Our spiritual life is not so different.

When someone is in love with God, you can see it; the joy is written all over their face.

Over the years if we’re not careful, it can feel that our walk with the Lord becomes stagnant. Prayer becomes pointless. Reading the Bible is a chore. Going to church becomes the place to see friends and to hear a helpful sermon. “Isn’t there more than this? Where is the excitement and passion I once had?” you might ask yourself. The good news is you’re not alone, and there is a solution.

In Revelation, Jesus has some instruction to one of the churches: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance.

I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

Revelation 2:2-5  

Let us take this passage as a warning and take heed from these sobering words:

It’s not enough to do good and work hard.

It’s not enough to have sound doctrine. It’s not enough to persevere and endure hardships.

It’s not enough to hate wickedness.

It’s not enough to know truth.

We must come back to our first love: Jesus.

How do we do that? People say, “love is the matter of the heart.” Ironically Jesus is just as much, if not more, than concerned about our heart’s condition:

The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.

1 Samuel 16:7

Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

Proverbs 4:23  

A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

Luke 6:45

So, how is your heart doing today? How has your heart been doing recently?

Do you feel like life has become stagnant, pointless, or a list of performing chores for God? Could it be that your heart has become exhausted, bitter, distracted, or infatuated with a temporary world instead of God’s purposes? Can you still remember the hope, love, and joy He once brought into to your life? Can you still see Him that way today?

Maybe you’re doing it right! That’s great! Keep your mind sober and your eyes fixed on Jesus.

Maybe you’re feeling far off from the Lord. Give Him your heart: the good, the bad, and the ugly. He loves you and is eagerly waiting for you. Today, there is an opportunity to repent and come back to Jesus, whatever the case may be. And know that when He comes, it changes everything. In a moment, He can provide all that you could ever need or hope for.

This is between you and the Holy Spirit. What is He speaking to you today? What is He telling you to do? How does He want you to respond? If you’re not sure, think back to the first time you had an encounter with the love of God. What were you thinking? What were you feeling? How did you respond in that moment? We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). Our love should be an overflow of God’s love for us. There is no need to strive in His presence. Let everything you do be a response to God’s love, not a way in which to receive His love and salvation.

Fight for His presence. Forsake everything else at the cost of knowing Him. Don’t get tired and don’t give up. We must determine in our hearts and with our actions that God is the one who matters most.

My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ (Colossians 2:2)

For the One who is worthy,

James Loruss  

James Loruss is an author, filmmaker and composer at Supernatural Truth Productions. Together with his wife, Connie, James ministers globally and locally to train believers, raise up leaders, and reach the lost with the Gospel. James serves as the Worship Pastor at Northville Christian Assembly of God in Northville, Michigan. He and Connie live in Novi, Michigan.