Category: Worship Wednesday

No One Ever Cared for Me Like Jesus

No one will ever treasure you more then Jesus.

To know the character of God you need only look at the fruit of the spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Who wouldn’t want to be around someone that exudes all these all the time. God is personal and we get to have a deep intimate relationship with him. He is not far off and distant but close and intimate. My favorite moments with him are listening to songs like the one posted below and just letting his love surround me to feel that deep intimate closeness with him. Neither of has to say anything its just being in his presence that is enough.

He’s sweet and kind, comforting and peaceful with bouts of joy. He’s everything we need if we just surrender ourselves to him. Many people like to have a prayer closet or close the door to the bedroom. But I love open spaces with him. A walk in the woods or at home I prefer to be in our living room. For me I think its mental I don’t like to limit God or put him in a box so I think the spaces I enjoy with him most don’t have those limits. You can encounter God an have deep intimate moment with him anywhere (more open areas are just my preference.)

We each need this daily if possible. To have a moment in our day when we forget everything an just be in his presence. No reading requirement, no set time just a moment we steal away and make it all about being in his presence.

Take a moment, listen to the song in the video below and just let the words sink in and open your self up to feel God’s presence.

Thy Will

Years ago I made a choice to drastically change my life and gave my life back to Jesus. The one thing that has been consistent in these past years is that my heart cry to God is “Thy Will be Done.” 

I tried life without God and I screwed it up royally.

But when I made the choice to follow Jesus and made Him Lord of my life. I now ask Him what he wants, instead of what I want.

Every time I choose to trust God and follow His lead. He provides abundantly more than I could of imagined. The path to get there can sometimes feel uncertain, strange or even impossible, but God always provides.

There have been so many times in the past years that His way has proved better then what I would’ve chosen.

He has moved my husband and I all over the country, to multiple jobs, unemployment and through some rough financial patches. One constant reminder that God’s will is the better choice is my husband!

That’s right, I let God choose my husband!

My track record with picking boyfriends for myself was terrible, just ask my friends.

But when I choose to let God take the lead, I stopped dating and waited for God to bring me ‘the One’

I know it sounds crazy, but it worked.

My husband is the perfect partner for me and God has truly blessed me with little surprises in him that I didn’t even know I wanted or needed in a spouse.

It’ all because I said to God “Thy Will be done” 

What has God been asking you to take a step of faith in?

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Psalms 3:5

when we’re shattered

God puts us back together at our most shattered moments, the moments when we are so broken, when we are nothing but a ball of tears, frustrations and have given up, that’s when he can do his greatest work.

In 2008 that was me, nothing but a broken ball of tears, I felt worthless and completely unworthy to be in God’s presence, but God welcomed me with open arms. When I was at my worst he was at his best. I didn’t have to do anything but surrender and let him in.

He lifted me up and enveloped me in his love, I let go of all the hurt and pain and he gave me new life, new meaning and new joy.

We don’t need to clean ourselves up, just surrender. We need to stop striving and let him do the work, surrender to his love and grace and let him be our strength and endurance, let him be our everything

Worship is more then singing

 “There is no one holy like the Lord;

    there is no one besides you;

    there is no Rock like our God.

1 Samuel 2:2

Worship is about our hearts, our minds and or focus. Worship is so much more then singing songs. Worship is constant. It’s a choice in every moment to choose to glorify God in our words, our actions and in the attitudes of our hearts.

When you worship through song don’t just repeat the words, read them, mean them, sing them out as a benediction and put your all in it.

When I was in Uganda worship was hard at first, because it was in Swahili or Llungahndan which I don’t speak and they danced (controversial, I know) but they taught me about worship.

We worshiped for hours and I didn’t understand the words and I didn’t know the dances. But that didn’t matter.

Worship is about your heart. So I sang, I sang in English if I recognized the tune of the song or I sang in tongues and I danced, I didn’t know the steps or the moments but I danced. I worshiped with all that was in me. I worshiped with my mouth, with my body and with my heart.

Worship is about appreciation. When you worship God remember it’s about him not you. So if God has done anything for you then jump, dance and shout from the rooftops .

Photo by David Calderón on Unsplash

Comfort in the arms of Jesus

Hear my cry, O God;
    listen to my prayer.

 From the ends of the earth I call to you,
    I call as my heart grows faint;
    lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
 For you have been my refuge,
    a strong tower against the foe.

 I long to dwell in your tent forever
    and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.[b

Psalm 61:1-4

I always know that I can take comfort in the arms of Father God.

That no matter where I am, whether I feel strong or weak that he is always there to protect, love and care for me. I never have to worry because I know that as long as I trust God and give everything over to to him that he will take care of it.

No matter what your facing today. Know that God is always there for you. Give him your worries, your concerns and your cares and let him bear your burdens.

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

Matthew 11:28-30

Letting Jesus Spill Out

but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

John 4:14-15, 24

Worship is a choice, to choose to focus our attention on the Holy Spirit and let him spill out from us or to ignore him and let our own thoughts and desires lead us.

It’s letting Him live through us each and every day, all day. It’s choosing to sacrifice our selfish desires the same way Jesus did when he lived on earth and let the Holy Spirit work through him. 

We can easily get wrapped up in who we were before Jesus and let that dictate how we act, think and speak. But that’s not who we are anymore. Jesus makes us new and gives us a new life and that is how we worship. By foregoing our own selfishness and letting him spill out through us.

Let God Love YOU

Love is powerful, it drives us. We seek it out wherever we can, but even when we find it through others it’s not perfect.

I love my husband more then anyone else and he loves me. But our love for each other pales in comparison to the love of God.

Gods love is what drives me, it’s what fills me up, his love is the one thing in life I cannot live without and that I know I can count on one hundred percent. God loved us before we were even born and he sacrificed everything to share his love with us.

His love is unconditional, you can’t earn it, and he will never take it from us.

We are the ones who choose to abandon his love, because we think we don’t need it or we don’t understand it.

His love is untarnished, overflowing and unending. Letting him love you where you are at will be the greatest decision of your life.

Trust God in Advance

God doesn’t ask us to go without having planned and provided for us in advance. Walking in faith isn’t about knowing what he has planned for us but trusting that he has already provided for what he asks of us even if we can’t see it.

God goes before us and lays the ground work, we each build on the work of each other and provide for each other. He uses each of us to support the other. Going forward to who and what he calls us to makes us who he made us to be.

He’s called me to write so I write, he’s called me to preach so I take any opportunity given, he’s called me to encourage and uplift others and I pray I do that for with each devotional. I hope I encourage you to see God working in your life, that you grow closer to him and learn to love and trust him more each day.

Trusting God isn’t about knowing where or what your going to but about who your going with. If he has called you to something or someone. Know that he is with you and he will give you the words, the means, the knowledge and the wisdom in what and where he has called you to.

Spirit Lead US

Following the leading of the Holy Spirit can sounds scary and intimidating. But all it really is, is simple small choices that lead to the big ones. Even small choices can have a big impact.

For years I asked the Holy Spirit which way to drive to work as I had a few routes that would get me there. Every time I followed His leading I arrived on time. But when I didn’t I arrived late. Little decisions can make a big difference that we may not see in the moment.

I had a friend that was driving to an event across the state, it was something he attended yearly and never usually needed a restroom break in the two hour drive. But this one time he needed it; completely out of the norm for him. Later he found out that had he not stopped he would have mostly likely been on the highway at the spot where a massive car pileup happened.

The Holy Spirit gives us little prompting, even something as simple as bathroom break and we may never know the impact, but we need to trust that he has a reason and a purpose for everything, even the small stuff.

What has the Holy spirit been leading you to do? Take that small step of faith and follow His leading.

God will never stop pursuing you

God will never stop running after us. He will always be there for us when we need him or when we want him. God will always be there with us through everything, if we let him.

God’s will and his plan for us is always for our good. That doesn’t mean we won’t face hard things but that he will be there with us through it. He will be with us through the trials and he will use them to draw us closer to him.

A long as we keep our focus on him in the storm like Peter walking on water. Peter only sank when he turned his focus off of Jesus and let the storm surrounding him influence his faith instead of his faith in Jesus influencing his surroundings. It’s when we fix our eyes back on Jesus that he is our strength when we are weak, our joy when we are sad and our peace when we have none.

He is everything we need and more if we let him.

Trust God’s Timing

Just because you don’t have what you asked God for right now, doesn’t mean he’s not going to bless you with it later.

His timing is perfect. He know what we need, when we need it.

My husband and I didn’t meet until later in our adult lives. We were both looking for our spouse for years but the right person never came along. When we did meet we realized there were many times in our lives when our lives could have intertwined but they didn’t. During the waiting time we each focused on healing us from past hurts and growing closer to Jesus. If we had met sooner we would of problem caused each other pain because neither of us was really ready to be in healthy marriage. But because we took the time to heal and come to know that complete dependence on Go is what we need. We don’t look to each other to fulfill us. We know that Jesus must be the center of our marriage and only he can fulfill us.

Trusting his timing can be hard if we focus on what we don’t have. But if we focus on what he is doing in our life right now, what we are waiting for won’t take as long as we think it will and will be better then if we’d had it when we thought we should.

You can’t surprise God

It’s easy to feel alone and like no one understands, because no one really knows what every moment of your life is like.

But God does…

…He knows because he is there with us whether we realize it or not. God is the only one who can and does understand. But we often feel afraid to go to Him because we’re worried about what He would think. But He already knows it all so there is really nothing we can hide from Him.

Even in knowing everything He loves us still.

We don’t have to be afraid of Him, because He is love. Nothing about God is something that we should ever fear.

Because God is love, He is joy, He is peace, He is patience, He is kind and He is good. So what about that is scary?

He is the one that we can always turn to no matter what.

So no matter what is running through your head or your heart you can’t surprise God. But you can let Him in.

No one is beyond

No one is beyond redemption. No one is beyond forgiveness. No one is so lost that God doesn’t want them. None of us are beyond hope. God always want us. He loves us. He always seeks us.

He is constantly in pursuit of each and ever one of us. He pursues us on our best day and at our worst moment, seeking relationship with us in every moment.

God is always with us if we will just let Him in.

Love and acceptance

People do a lot for acceptance. We are all easily influenced when we are searching for acceptance. It’s easy for us to make choices we normally wouldn’t on our own when surrounded by others, others that want us to be like them just for them to accept us.

We can feel welcomed and accepted by a group initially but as time goes by those people will influence who we are, we can make compromises to maintain or strengthen those relationships. 

But we if we change who we are, just to be loved and accepted there will always be something in us that is searching for that unconditional acceptance.

Jesus is that unconditional acceptance. He loves us whether we love him or not. He made us and he knows how to fulfill us.

I know from experience. I tried to fill that need for acceptance with the approval of others and never found peace, fulfillment, contentment or unconditional love.

Only once I gave my life to Jesus did I find what I had been looking for. In the moment that I was at my worst, he was at his best. I didn’t have to try to do or be anything he just surrounded me with his love.

We all have that same opportunity anywhere, any time, at any moment.

Give God a chance to show you his unconditional love.

When we feel lost

When we’re at a loss and we don’t know what to do, we can always turn to God. He is the creator of the universe he created us and he knows us. He knows the little things that bring a smile to our faces and the little things that can change our whole mood.

But we have to turn to him in those moments when we get in a funk and don’t know what to do, where to turn or just don’t want to keep doing what we’re doing.

It’s that knowledge of us that he uses to comfort us, bring us joy and hope and remind us that we matter and that we are loved.

Walking on Water

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

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

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

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

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

Jesus>me

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

1 Peter 5:6-7

In our current time of social media and constant self promotion it can be hard to be humble.

We can be so worried about how many likes, shares and followers we get that we can lose sight of who and what we represent. As believers in Jesus we are meant to shine Him to others, not ourselves. And we can be discouraged when even our posts about Him get little to no traffic.

But we must remember that what we write/post/share for Jesus, isn’t about us, it’s about Him.  And He will use it, even if we reach just one person with what we share, it could be that one thing that they needed. We may never know the impact we have made.

Photo by Joshua Hanks on Unsplash

Blessing in Suffering

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

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

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

God always wants to bless us and provide all we need and more but if we get lost in our suffering we block him out.

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

When you’re at your lowest

Even when we feel we at our worst, God is always all we need.

We tend to want the be alone when at our darkest moment but that’s when He shines most (in the darkest places). That’s when we need Him most and that’s when we should turn to Him.

Only He can truly deliver us from our worst moment because only He can make us new.

We are never beyond Jesus reach, if we let Him in.

not afraid

I’m not afraid of the world, I’m not afraid to travel or to move, I’m not afraid to follow God.

Every time I follow God’s leading, his direction, his plan. He has been all I needed, he has provided more then I needed.

When I follow him he give me all I need. The strength to follow his direction, the confidence to walk through the storm and the love to do all that he has asked.

When God calls us to do something, to be something, he gives us all that we need and more to not just accomplish what he has for us, he give us boldness and confidence to thrive in what he’s called us to.

What has he called you to? Fear not for he will be all you need and more.

Unstoppable love

God fights for us, he gave up the life of his son just to have relationship with us.

Jesus gave everything, he didn’t come down as a grown man and demand what was owned to him. He came in the humblest of circumstances as a baby born to regular people of no great social standing or of any wealth. He lived a humble life and served his parents, he served his friends and surrendered every moment of his life even dying the death of a criminal without a single justifiable cause. He gave up everything to pay the price for us so that we could have a relationship with him and the father.

That’s love. To give up everything owed to him, for us to know his love. Thank him for his love and sacrifice today.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

We all can worship

Sing to the Lord, all the earth;
    proclaim his salvation day after day.
 Declare his glory among the nations,
    his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

1 Chronicles 16:23-24

Worship crosses all boundaries, language and cultural. We all have the capacity to worship God.

It doesn’t matter if we know the words to a song, if we like the style of the music, if we’re rich or poor, what we look like or where we grew up. We all can worship.

Worship is about putting God first in our hearts. It’s about surrendering to Him and giving Him the glory.

It doesn’t matter where we are or who we’re with we can worship God anywhere anytime, with anyone anywhere in the world. Because we are all His children and He loves each of us.

We worship Him because of His who He is, not what He’s done for us. Just as He loves us not for what we’ve done but who we are to Him. His beloved creation.

Photo by Carolina Jacomin on Unsplash

When your worn out

God is the one we can always count on. We don’t have to do or be anything to come to him.

We can be in our worst state and he is there for us. No matter how tired or exhausted we are, he is not looking for deeds to earn his love and attention, just our hearts surrendered o Him.

Don’t worry about accomplishments. Just go to Him, He’s happy just to spend time with you.

His love endures

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

Act 16:25

The love of God is so overwhelming that even in prison his disciples still worship.

You have to wonder what is so great about God’ love that people would be willing to be imprisoned for it and still praise him in that prison.

When I read the book Heavenly Man, the true life story of a leader of the underground church in China and the multiple imprisonments he endured, beating and mistreatment. I was moved by how he still shared God’s love with the very men that beat him.

Enough to know that I would be willing to endure the same.

But that’s God’s love, it endures everything and anything.

Jesus was falsely accused, beaten and died the death of a murdered all for us, because he loves us.


Photo by KEEM IBARRA on Unsplash

That love is worth sacrifice.

God’s love endures.

It endure our constant rejections, abuse, neglect and straight opposition.

His love endures.

No matter what his love for you never changes, no matter what you say or do he loves you and it is that love that holds us together.

His love endures all things

If his love can endure all, isn’t it worth giving him the chance to love you?

you can be vulnerable

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

The presence of the Holy Spirit is that place.

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

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

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

Abide in Jesus

 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.  Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.  Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.  I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.  If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.  If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.  As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.  If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.  These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

John 15:1-11

Ask and it will be given.

Keep my commandments.

These statements have been used and abused to justify our selfish desires.

Abiding in the vine, in Jesus, changes you. It changes your wants, your desires, and the way you think. If we abide in the vine, we abide in the love of God. Jesus’s desires become our desires.

So that keeping his commandments is out of love, not status or achievement.

Abiding in the vine is about, literally growing as a branch to reach out and grow fruit. If we are each a branch then how many could we reach.

We are stronger when we abide together in the vine to bear fruit.

It great to have alone time with God but we draw so much strength from gathering together too.

Abide in the vine that is Jesus. Abide in his love and you will bear his fruit.

Weakness is strength

Hear my cry, O God;
    listen to my prayer.

 From the ends of the earth I call to you,
    I call as my heart grows faint;
    lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
 For you have been my refuge,
    a strong tower against the foe.

 I long to dwell in your tent forever
    and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.

Psalm 61:1-4

Even on our worst day, when we feel we have nothing left, we always have God. He will be our strength when we are weak. He will lead us to the firm foundation that lifts us up and shelter us from the storms.

Jesus did not fear weakness, he fasted for forty day and forty nights because he knew that Father God would sustain him. He allowed himself to be beaten and killed because he knew God would raise him. Showing vulnerability shines God even brighter when he lifts us up, he gives us the strength and stamina to continue to share him with others despite our own iniquities.

God is always listening to us, always ready to answer our call for help, for wisdom, for protection, for strength and for shelter.

People often see weakness as a sign of failure. I see it as a sign of strength. The bravery to be vulnerable enough to show your weakness is strength. But its what we do with that weakness.

Do we just curl up in a ball and call it quits or admit our weakness and ask God for his strength. Strength is knowing that the smallest amount of God’s strength can out due us on our strongest day. Knowing where your strength comes from, makes being vulnerable easy.

Photo by Kylli Kittus on Unsplash

You can’t surprise God

It’s easy to feel alone and like no one understands, because no one really knows what every moment of your life is like.

But God does…

…He knows because he was there with us whether we realize it or not. God is the only one who can and does understand, but we often feel afraid to go to him because we’re worried about what he would think. But he already knows it all so there is really nothing we can hide from him.

And even in knowing everything he still loves us.

We don’t have to be afraid of him, because he is love. Nothing about God is something that we should ever fear.

Because he is love, joy, peace, patience, kind and good.

So what about that is scary?

He is the one that we can always turn to no matter what.

So no matter what is running through your head or your heart, you can’t surprise God. But you can let him in.

My everything

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

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

God is that one.

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

He is my everything. Is he yours?

Change the atmosphere

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

When we accepted Jesus into our hearts, when we accepted his loving sacrifice, he came to live in us. When we allow the Holy Spirit to flow thru us and stop trying to do it on our own. Peace and joy can abound through us.

God’s presence is amazing and beautiful, peaceful and joyful all at once.

When we bring God into a situation he changes the atmosphere.

When we allow him to build his kingdom in and through us, nothing can hinder us, when we give him full freedom in our lives he gives us freedom.

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

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

Reaching even One Matters

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

1 Peter 5:6-7

In our current time of social media and constant self promotion it can be hard to be humble.

We can be so worried about how many likes, shares, hits, retweets we get that we can lose sight of who and what we represent. As believers in Jesus we are meant to shine him to others. And we can be discouraged when even our posts about him get little traffic. 

But we must remember that what we write/post/share for him isn’t about us, it’s about him. And even if it reaches just one person, it might be what that one person needed more than we could ever know.

O Come let us adore him

As the Christmas season begins. Remember the reason for the season. Don’t let yourself become overwhelmed with the shopping, decorating, gift giving and parties.

Instead keep your focus on Jesus, he is the reason for the season. Make him the focus of all you do.

If your shopping for gifts ask him what gift that person really needs and trust him to help you. Ask God to give you opportunities to share about him to the store clerk or the people in line with you.  While decorating sing Christmas songs as worship songs.

Make him the focus this season, and ‘Adore Him’.

https://youtu.be/StjSsCbvavw

Do you know him?

The humility of Jesus birth speaks volumes to his character. Jesus is the very creator he is the word that was spoken that created us. And he choose to be born in a glorified cave surrounded by animals, by his creation not by man made structure.

He came to do his fathers work not what we thought he should do. He came to bring peace, joy and gentleness. So that all may know him.

Read about him, really study his words and actions, not what man says about him but he says.

Don’t rush, you’ll miss it

During this busy holiday season take the time to enjoy moments. Watch your kids decorate the tree or play in the snow.

Have family dinner with no distractions from media.

Read a verse of the Christmas story Matthew 1:18-25 each night before bed.

Look for moments to enjoy this season, not just rush through to get to the next.

Silent Night by Kelly Clarkston

Count your blessings instead

When we get down about our selves or our circumstances we have to remember to count our blessing instead.

God loves us and he wants the best for us.

If we allow ourselves to get lost in our sorrows we only make things worse and solve nothing.

But when we fix our eyes on Jesus he changes our perspective.

He reminds us of what we do have that he will provide all we need and more if we trust him and look to him.

He redeemed us from who we were and gave us freedom in his forgiveness, if he can do that he can do anything.

Would it kill you to dance?

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

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

Photo by David Calderón on Unsplash

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

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

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

So what’s stopping you? You?

How I Fight My Battles

Surrounded (fight my battles) by Michael W Smith may be the simplest lyrics ever written but they are powerful. The song talks about our times of struggle when we feel a heaviness, no way out, surrounded by nothing good or positive. We fight with praise. We fight by rejoicing in Jesus, the only one who is always constantly there for us, always fighting for us.

The simple repetition of theses lines

“It may look like I’m surrounded but I’m surrounded by You”

“This is how I fight my battles”

Over and over again has such power in it because it reminds us that we don’t fight with anger, hate, malice and judgment.

We fight with love, joy, peace and patience.

That’s why when we feel surrounded, we fight by giving praise to God.

We shift our focus to the one who fights for us, so that we can allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us and to show us the true perspective.

When I was in Honduras, we were working at a Christian school that also hosted youth nights. One night when we were praying before one of the youth nights a mob came to both of the gates of the fenced in facility and tried to break down the gates.

Our pastor told us what was going on and our response was not panic or worry but to pray. We trusted that God had brought us there to make an impact for Him and that He would protect us and He did.

As we were praying the Holy Spirit showed showed me a vision of the compound surrounded by 30 foot angels guarding and protecting us.

Not for one moment did I feel fear or worry because I knew God would protect us. The mob eventually dispersed and we were able to have the youth night.

God always provides for His children when we turn to Him.

So no matter where you are, what your doing, or how hopeless you feel you can always count on God to be there for you.

worship is how we reflect God

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

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

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

James 1:19-27

DO your words and your actions reflect Jesus?

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

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

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

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

Following Jesus is not a list of Do’s and Don’t but a relationship built by spending time getting to know the character of God so that we know who he is, how he would react and what he would say.

Reflect Jesus by knowing him, not by trying to imitate him.

You can always go to Him

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

No matter how bad my day is, or what I have done. I can always go to him.

We can always turn our hearts to God.

He is always there. He always wants to talk to us, be near us, comfort us and love us.

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

Rest to walk upon the waters

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

How else to would you build that trust.

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

It comes from spending time with God, from resting in His presence, from just being content to be with Him. Because you know Him, and you know His character. You can trust Him when He asks you to take those big leaps of faith that to others seem impossible.

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