Philippians 4:6 NIV
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Anxiety in Greek means dividing and fracturing a person’s being into parts.
We’re literally, and figuratively, worrying ourselves to pieces from the inside out.
Every day, We see hate speech–on all sides. We see disagreements over big things and even over the simplest things. We see people argue over differences of opinion as if our lives depended on it (and sometimes it does). Even among Christians, we see this behavior.
What do you do when you don’t agree with someone? How do you handle it when you have a different belief from someone else? What is your reaction when you see a post on your favorite social media and it puts your “knickers in a bunch.” Um, I mean you get upset by it.
Especially now more than ever, we’ve seen good and poor examples of this in society.
In life, we will never agree with everyone on everything.
Read MoreDo you ever feel like you’re not enough? Like you don’t do enough? You give, you serve, you read your Bible, but you still fail. Somehow you’re still haunted with the thought that you won’t ever get it right.
You pray, yet when you’re standing there in His presence you feel unworthy. Some days you won’t even approach God because of what you did the day before.
I know I felt this way for years–decades.
Read MoreDo you ever think that you please God?
You do. You, my beautiful friend, were designed with a purpose. Something that only you can do. Just like your fingerprints and your DNA is unique to you, your purpose was designed specifically for you by your Creator.
Read MoreOne of the things I love to do in my quiet time with the Father is look up the definition of words in the Bible in their original language. It always makes scripture more clear and brings out elements I didn’t know were there.
I wanted to share one of those moments with you here. This post is laid out differently than my usual ones, but I hope you enjoy it.
Colossians 2:6-7 NASB
6 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,
Read MoreI know I have. For years, I just did whatever was asked of me with no thought to what I desired. I’ll be honest it was easier that way. If you just do what’s asked of you rather than pursuing your dreams, it’s harder to fail.
Read MoreLast post, we talked about how we can encourage others. But, you know, there’s one more person that needs encouraging…You.
We all have moments of discouragement, trouble, and hopelessness. Who’s there for you when you are going through the muck? Even if you answer no one, you can still find the encouragement you need.
Read MoreGod created us for deep, nourishing friendships. But, do you ever shy away from these relationships? How do you even have life-giving friendships? Today, I’d like to share one way to develop how we can be “a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” (Proverbs 18:24)
Hebrews 10:25 NLT
And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
This scripture doesn't just remind you to go to church. It’s also about encouraging other believers.
Read MoreHave you ever found it difficult to forgive? Someone really hurt you and it just keeps coming back. You try to let it go, but you find yourself thinking about that incident–again…rolling it over and over in your mind.
Sometimes I find it easier to change when I know the fruit. How does my decision to hold onto unforgiveness affect me–or others?
Read MoreDo you think of someone sitting high in the sky with His majestic fly swatter ready to come down on you when you make a mistake? Or, do you see Him as a loving Father ready to scoop His beloved in His strong arms when you fall down?
Read MoreHave you ever struggled with developing friendships? Last post we talked about whether it was worth it to develop close friendships.
Proverbs 27:17 NIV
As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
Does it bring a smile to your face? Or, does it remind you of pains from the past?
Can you say that you have a “friend that sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24)? Or, do you struggle to think of anyone in your life like that?
We’ve all been through storms and trials in life. Maybe you’re right in the middle of one right now?
Over the last few posts we’ve been talking about how to believe God that we’re really going to make it to the “other side” during these storms. We’ve learned that as we “listen,” God’s persuasion, God’s faith is birthed in us.
Because it takes listening for this faith to develop, we’ve been learning the skills we need to develop our ability to listen.
Today, we’re going explore “Listening” skills to birth God’s faith in us to will help us through the hard places in life.
Read MoreAndy Andrews says it best, “We’re all either in a crisis, coming out of a crisis, or heading for a crisis. That’s just part of being with us on this planet.”
But, as we learned through the story of Jesus calming the storm in Mark 4:35-41, “we’re going over to the other side.”
Are you struggling through a trial right now? When you think of the challenge before you, does it make your heart sink?
We all face challenges and trials in life. It’s part of the human existence. But, the great news is we don’t have to face it alone.
Jesus said, “He’d never leave us or forsake us.” (Hebrews 13:5)
I love in Psalms 23:4 that it says, “even through I walk through the valley of the SHADOW of death, I will fear no evil.”
Have you ever met a dog that’s been abused. You go up to pet it and it cowers or rolls over on it’s belly hoping you won’t beat it? You may have wanted to yell, “I’m not going to hurt you. I just want to love on you!”
We know that dog doesn’t understand our intentions. If he did, he’d act differently. He’d coming running up, without fear, and enjoy a good belly scratch.
Have you ever worried that God will come through on His promise? What if He doesn’t this time? After all, this one’s “the big one!”
The more we experience God’s goodness, the more we can look back on what He’s done for us in the past. This give us confidence He will be faithful with what we’re experiencing now.
Read MoreWhat’s your view of God? Do you see Him a scrooge? Someone that is stingy with His blessings? Only doling out to those who “deserve” it. Or, do you see Him as a generous giver? Giving even when the recipient didn’t earn it at all.
Do you feel sometimes like life is missing something? You experience a wonderful holiday like Thanksgiving, full of family or friends, and yet, it feels empty.
Maybe, you’re worried about where the money is going to come for Christmas–which is just around the corner? Or, how your kids are driving you up the wall, and it’s only been 4 days off from school!?
