Sometimes I’m a real mess. Lately, I’ve had a few issues that have hit some sore spots in my soul and I flinch with pain-induced over-reactions. I semi-wake in the middle of the night thinking on these things. Not only are we born with a fully functioning sin and self nature of our own (which easily desires to take us in a direction other than God), but we’ve also been born into a family with it’s own reactive threads that have unknowingly been woven into our lives. Each family and generation has needs and deficiencies and wounds, as well as …
Jesus’ Power
Jesus holds all power. Power over disease. Power over demons. Power over nature. (He calmed the storm and walked on water.) Power over matter. (He turned water into wine, a few small loaves and fishes into a feast.) Power (and forgiveness) over sin. Power over death. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. Hebrews 1:3 Jesus is our Savior and desires that we are resurrected in …
The King – Royalty and Responsiblity
I love, love, love the movie The King’s Speech. I’ve seen it twice. In the movie, the Duke of York was destined to be King of Britain and to speak for the people and to the people, but he painfully stuttered with every conversation. With the patient, persistent help of Lionel – a speech therapist, friend, and coach, King George VI slowly overcomes the things that impede his ability to speak. His progress sometimes seemed imperceptible and sometimes back to square-one. Yet through hard work, love, and acceptance, as well as learning to share honestly about all that he had …
Pray. Do Right. Rejoice. Wait. Repeat.
There is a right time for everything.There is a time to be silly and a time to be serious. There is a time to work and a time to wait. There is a time to plant and a time to enjoy the harvest. Ecclesiastes 3 (NKJV), (or The Message) shares more on this beautifully and poetically. Our job is to know what our needs are at any given time and to, accordingly, do what is right for those circumstances. In God’s Word we are given some basic premises. Always in righteousness (right-thinking and right-living) – we are to practice. In …
Which Well and Fountain? The Dry One? Or the Much More?
“We struggle to reach our well, trying to get water for ourselves.” My Utmost for His Highest Oswald Chambers 2/27 Our well is deep, but it is dry. It is part of the same supply that we have had all along. If there is anything in there at all it is certainly not living water. It is often putrid and rancid and not life-giving or life-supporting. We need a new, fresh supply from outside of ourselves and from above. The Bible tells that God offers us living water through Jesus Christ. This living water cleanses, brings new life, and refreshes. …
Which Well and Fountain? The Dry One? Or the Much More?Read More
Being Made New with God…
“Our Lord never ‘patches up’ our natural virtues, that is, our natural traits, qualities or characteristics. He completely remakes a person on the inside.” My Utmost for His Highest, Entry of 12/30 This is certainly what God has done with me. Who I thought I was and all that I thought I was – strong and tough and in charge and right – I’m not. God keeps teaching me to be soft and gentle, to let go and let Him, and usually to say less and not more. This is huge. None of this is who I tried to be …
Valuing and Glimpsing God’s Relentless Love
We talk comfortably about God’s blanket of love that covers everything. We mistakenly do this, because we think it is easy for God to love us. We think it is easy for God to graciously love, love, love us even though we sin and transgress against Him and we are rebellious to His purposes and desires. We might even mistakenly believe it was easy for Him to send Christ as a sacrifice for our transgressions and rebelliousness. But what we don’t understand is how God has pursued us – a rebellious people. In any relationship, when one party is flagrantly …
Don’t Make Camp in Your Valley
Don’t make camp in any valley of chaos, uncertainty, low-living, fear, dysfunctional living, compromise, addiction, or trouble. God has destined us for great, and greater, things! Don’t allow yourself to wallow in valleys of trouble. God has provided for our victory. God has given us mighty weapons. But we have to pick them up, try them out, practice with them, and use them until we become competent with them. We have to become qualified soldiers in God’s army, a force of His to be reckoned with, because we fight for His purposes! We have an arsenal of weapons – at …
Think Through Missed Opportunities for God – For Greater Blessings
Do you want more of the Christian abundant-life? Do you want to know God more and experience more of the blessings and gifts that are ours in Jesus Christ? Take a look at this verse: “I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.” Philemon 1:6 NIV 1984 The English Standard Version (ESV) says it this way: “…and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for …
Think Through Missed Opportunities for God – For Greater BlessingsRead More
Abundant God-Gifts We’re in Possession Of!
What a glorious revealing glimpse of God’s goodness, the book of Ephesians is. But when I go to copy a verse or two, to share it here in my blog post, it doesn’t seem to do it justice and ring out with the glorious truth of the entire book! The first three chapters of Ephesians especially try to unveil the treasures that are ours – once we have given our lives to God through Jesus Christ. If you ever struggle like I do occasionally, with stressing over God’s do’s and don’ts, READ Ephesians. God wants to lavish on us – …