Monthly Archives: December 2017
“And he said to him, ‘Well done, excellent bond servant! Because you have been faithful and trustworthy in a very little [thing] you shall have authority over ten cities’ (Luke 19:17). God gives all His children a measure of faith. Our walk of faith is a life long journey, with various paths to explore. Even when we feel unsettled, and we are unable to discern what direction to take, Jesus tells us not to worry, follow me, “For I AM…..
“Then Mary said, Behold, I am the handmaiden of the Lord; let it be done to me according to what you have said. And the angel left “Luke 1:38. “And blessed (happy, to be envied) is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of the things that were spoken to her from the Lord” Luke 1:45. During Christmas Celebration, I love to ponder the life of Mary, the chosen mother of Jesus. She was the handmaiden of the…..
Job, whom God called a righteous man, was sick and tired of it all! In various ways, he and his family had been persistently attacked by the Enemy-to the point where Job believed the lie that God wanted to tear him down and leave him there. In addition to grueling circumstances, three of Job’s so-called friends came to heap their religious judgments onto Job’s broken body, heart, and soul. Job fought his friends’ efforts with the truth, but to no…..
Sometimes life is hard! First we struggle to fix what’s broken, whether the trouble we are experiencing is an on-going challenge that we just can’t seem to overcome, or a new problem with our job, family, friends, finances, or failing health. When our efforts and plans just don’t seem to be working out, we run to God for help and start praying. But as time goes by, and our prayers seem to go unanswered, and additional challenges arise, it is…..
When life is hard and we feel overwhelmed by a current situation or we are worried about our unknown future, or maybe we are greatly disappointed and offended by someone. At this point, we may feel afraid about stepping forward in life to seek a resolution for our present troubles, as our human nature shouts, “Run away! Get out of this mess!” But running away to push down or hide from our thoughts and feelings will never allow us to…..
In the physical realm, if our diet consists of too many fats, carbohydrates, sweets, etc., and not enough vegetables, water or protein, etc., sooner or later we will experience sickness as a result of imbalance. Next, emotional balance is essential to living an abundant life. Few of us learn how to love ourselves and express our inner emotions-sadness, gladness, anger, and fear- in a healthy manner. Our out-of-balance emotions either pour out uncontrollably on everyone, or they are shut down…..
“Behold, you are beautiful, my love! Behold, you are beautiful! You have doves’ eyes” (Song of Solomon 1:15). Most of us are very busy and easily pulled in many directions. When we are habitually distracted by our worries, and the cares of this world it can be hard to slow down and focus on the things that really matter and will have lasting,, positive spiritual impact on ourselves and others. When we get gradually caught up, by the “cares of…..
As followers of Christ, we are told that God desires to use what we say to help others heal, and grow spiritually. He would like to use our speech to encourage and assist others when there is an occasion or need. In this world it is very easy to get pulled into the spirit of speaking negative, cynical words that tear down, and create more injury to wounded hearts. We are told in James 1, “the tongue is a small…..
When we hear the word blessed, many think of material increase or a carefree life without major problems. Yet, just because people have plenty of material goods or seemingly not much struggle; life can become just commonplace existence, with no real passion to keep stepping forward…. not blessed. Jesus offers so much more to those who call on His name when He proclaims, “Blessed are you”. Stepping forward in the Kingdom with the ‘Blessed One’ has the power to change…..
Proverbs 12:25 Anxiety in our heart can manifest itself in our lives in different ways. We may have feelings of worry, nervousness or agitation about something that could possibly happen. Or our anxiety may be an obsessive focus or concern that just troubles us, and we just can’t seem to put it down. For whatever reason, we become overwhelmed; the results will be a heavy and burdened heart, which will negatively affect every area of our lives. So, if…..