Category: Uncategorized

2 minute read.

Daily Reading: 1 Samuel 13-14 GW; Titus 2 GW

Truth does matter.

In the world today, I often hear this phrase, “Live in your truth.”  But as my therapist says, three truths exist—your truth, my truth, and what actually happened.  God helps ground us in the third truth, reality.  We all share one fact in common:  we’re sinners in need of a Savior.  We all need Jesus.

Recognizing your need for a Savior means understanding; you’re part of the problem.  When I’m working on a relationship, God has plenty to teach me.  The people God places in my life that are the hardest for me to love grow me the most.  And the best way to love people is by living in the truth of God.

Accept responsibility.

To use accurate words, you must admit your part in the situation.  No one is ever entirely right or wrong.  Telling the real truth means saying what actually happened.  If you started yelling and wouldn’t listen to what the other person was saying, own it.  Admit you were wrong.  If you didn’t communicate well, learn from the lesson, try better next time.  

Accurate words require brutal honesty, not only with others but yourself.  Jesus helps us accept our imperfections.  He loves each one of us, no matter what.  When we are weak, He is strong.  You can tell the truth and accept responsibility for your actions because Jesus loves you just the way you are.  Don’t doubt that fact for a moment.

Telling the real truth makes your accusers ashamed.  Facing the mirror of reality isn’t easy for anyone.  Grace is something we all need.  Remember, sometimes we’re the accusers.  When we’ve believed the wrong narrative, shame rears its ugly head.  Accepting our sinful nature allows us to give grace not only to others but to ourselves as well.

Lord, thank You for helping us accept ourselves, and in so doing, tell the absolute truth.  Forgive us for acting like someone we’re not and for believing false narratives.  In all we do today, let honesty lead the way.   Help us use accurate words at all times, and when the accuser realizes the truth, let us give them grace.  Praise Jesus; Your truth is absolute.  We can count on the Rock to stand firm amidst the lies.  IJNIP. Amen

Question for reflection

How accurate are your words?

2 minute read.

Daily Reading: 1 Samuel 10-12 GW; Titus 1 GW

Pass the peace.

One thing we can all do is spread goodwill to others.  Whoever you meet is a new opportunity to share God’s love.  Jesus greeted His disciples with this simple phrase:

“Peace be with you.” (Luke 24:36 NIV)

Paul followed in Jesus’s footsteps.  He opened each of his letters with “Grace and peace be with you.” (Rom. 1:7 NIV, 1 Cor. 1:3 NIV; 2 Cor. 1:2 NIV).   In his letter to Titus, Paul starts the same way, offering good tidings to his friend.

In a world full of turmoil, we need more peace.  Jesus gives us peace that surpasses all understanding.  The storm may rage around us, but calm resides within us.  We gain tranquility when we lay our burdens at the foot of the cross.  Once we have confessed our sins, we find rest from our worries in Jesus. 

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28 NIV)

Greet each other with peace.

Churches have “passed the peace” for centuries.  At some point in the service, congregants greet each other.   Traditional services use a simple exchange.  Shaking hands with their neighbors, they say, “The peace of the Lord be with you.”  Then they receive these words in turn, “And also with you.” 

We can pass the peace anywhere.  A quick embrace accompanied by “Praying God’s peace for you” can change someone’s day.  As you pass the peace to others, you’ll receive it yourself.  In turn, you will find joy.  Peace from the Lord brings inner happiness.  When we share what we’ve found with others, our pleasure is magnified.

Try passing the peace today.  Give a quick hug.  Utter a word of encouragement.  Pray for God’s peace to reign in the lives of the people you meet today.

Lord, thank You for Your peace that surpasses all understanding.  Forgive us for trying to find rest any other way than in You.  Today, allow us to experience Your peace like never before.  Help us to share what You give us with others.  Give us opportunities today to pass Your peace to everyone we meet.  As we do, let us experience the joy that comes from obedience to You. IJNIP. Amen

Question for reflection

Who can you pass the peace too today?

2 minute read.

Daily Reading: Psalms 124 GW; 1 Samuel 7-9 GW

Remind people: God is an escape artist.

David is the author of Psalm 124.  He’s reminding Israel of a time when certain death loomed.  God provided a miracle to save them.  The Israelites needed reminding of how God rescued them from the past.  If God helped them escape once, He could do it again.

Whatever adversity you are facing, God has a plan.  Just like He saved the Israelites from their peril, God can save you from yours.  As David reminded the Israelites, we need to remind each other how God saved us in the past.

Journeying with Jesus means building community.  God never intended for us to do life alone.  We need others in our lives to help remind us of God’s goodness. Often, our community is precisely who God uses to help us out of life’s cages.  

Build community.

Living in a community with others helps you remember God.  The longer the friendship, the better the source.  When I talk to my lifelong friend Lori, she always helps me remember God’s work in my life.  We’ve known each other since Kindergarten.  Together, we’ve traversed life’s ups and downs, all while clinging to God.  When I need reminding of how God rescued me in the past, Lori is one of the people I call.

Develop a network of friends who are traveling in the same direction as you.  People who are following Jesus to the best of their ability.  Remember, the only perfect person is Jesus.  We all falter.  When someone doesn’t live up to perfection, forgive them.  We are all sinners in need of grace.  Don’t place expectations on people only Jesus can meet.

As you journey through life together, remind each other often of God’s goodness.  Previous escapes help you trust God for the next one.  Whatever the trap, God has an escape route just for you.

Lord, thank You for being our escape artist.  We’re grateful You provide a way out of our dilemmas for us.  Forgive us for doubting.  From our doubts, let our faith grow exponentially.  Remind us today how You rescued us in the past.  Give our spirit peace as we trust You more fully.  Just like You worked miracles for the Israelites, You’ll do the same for us.  All glory is Yours.  IJNIP. Amen

Question for reflection

How has God rescued you in the past?

2 minute read.

Daily Reading: 1 Samuel 3-6 GW; Psalms 97 GW

Rebel against evil.

Evil means “having bad qualities of a natural kind; mischievous; having qualities which tend to injury, or to produce mischief.”  When you see someone blatantly wicked, don’t tolerate it.  Even in the smallest of ways, evil is despicable.  And realize, sometimes the evil you need to address is in you.

We need Jesus to overcome our evil tendencies.  The fruits of the Spirit don’t come naturally to us:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23 NIV)

Only with Jesus can we produce good fruit.  Left to our own devices, our response amid an emotional moment isn’t necessarily love.  All of us differ in our struggles.  My go-to emotion is anger.  However, following Christ helps me to address the evil within me.  I’ve learned to identify the emotion quickly.  I handle it in myself with this passage:

“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.”  (Ephesians 4:26-27 NIV)

Fight evil with prayer.

When I feel myself beginning to boil over with anger, this verse comes to mind.  Remembering Paul’s words helps me contain the rage.  I’ve dropped to my knees amid the emotion and prayed fervently, “God, please don’t let me sin in my anger.”  100% of the time, He has kept me from sinning.  The problem is, I don’t pray 100% of the time when I’m angry.  Our battle against evil is ongoing.

Talk to God about the evil in your life.  Ask Him for help in addressing it.  Find a scripture to help you pray specifically.  Experience God’s peace as you produce His fruit.

Lord, thank You for the Holy Spirit at work within us, helping us overcome our evil tendencies.  Forgive us for tolerating any evil in our lives.  Today, as we face the challenges of this world, help us stand up to wickedness.  Cleanse us from within of our issues.  Fill us with Your Spirit, letting its fruit overflow in our lives.  Let us bring Your light into the world, wherever we are.  IJNIP. Amen

Question for reflection

What evil are you tolerating today?

2 minute read.

Daily Reading: 1 Samuel 1-2 GW; Psalms 113 GW

God’s crafty.

When God is at work, we have no idea how.  Sometimes, we may get glimpses of Him working in our lives.  Typically, only when we look back can we see what God did.  When you do, you can’t help but smile.

Eighteen years ago, my pastor’s wife asked a bunch of girls out to play tennis.  She was looking for a hitting partner.  I made the cut.  We started playing tennis together every chance we got.  I had 60 hour work weeks, so we were creative.  From those days until now, God has completely transformed me.  God worked miracles in my life through tennis and the relationship we developed as a result.  Now, I’m doing what Lynda once did for me—teaching tennis and using it as an opportunity to love people for Christ.  

When I think how far God has brought me since then, I can’t help but smile. Hindsight is 20/20 because you can begin to connect the dots of God’s work.  One simple invite changed the direction of my life, and I didn’t even know it.  Looking back always makes me smile at God’s craftiness.

God is in all things.

Never underestimate God.  He’s in the simple moments, just as much as He’s in the hard ones.  No one is like the Lord, our God.  You may think you know what’s going to happen, but you don’t.  God just doesn’t think as we do, and none of us are God.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.  “As the heavens are higher than the earth,  so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV)

Stop trying to figure God out.  Instead, embrace His sovereignty.  Begin looking for “God connections” in your life.  Start connecting the dots.  Smile at God’s craftiness in your life.

Lord, thank You for Your Sovereignty in our lives.  Forgive us for only looking for You when we need something.   Give us direction today as we go about our lives.  As we look back over our lives, show us the God connections.  Help us connect the dots of Your work.  Let Your light shine through our smile as we remember.  IJNIP.  Amen

Question for reflection

What are the God connections in your life?

2 minute read.

Daily Reading: Judges 20-21 GW; 2 Peter 3 GW

God’s timing is not ours.

One day is like a thousand years, a thousand years like a day to God.  Our human brain cannot comprehend this type of time; God lives outside the boundaries contained in a clock.  No matter what we do, God doesn’t work according to our timetable. 

Waiting is “the action of staying where one is or delaying action until a particular time or until something else happens.”  We all are waiting on something from God.  A prayer request, no matter how big or small, requires time to answer.  And God’s time is not our time.  We say delay, He says according to plan.

Waiting is meant to grow us, not frustrate us.  As we seek to entwine our lives with God, we have to wait for His direction.  Journeys take time; they don’t happen instantaneously.

Traveling with God is a trip that never ends.  As one of my favorite pastors says all the time:

“I’m just stopping by on my way to heaven.”  Pastor Thomas Dixon

Pack lightly.

Journeying with God doesn’t require a lot of luggage.  What you do need is trust.  When we wait, we must trust that God does know what He is doing.  From our perspective, we may think God needs some help many times in life because nothing makes sense.  Our limited vision from earth can’t possibly understand the entire story:

“For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12 NIV)

Give up trying to understand God’s timing.  Trust that He knows exactly what He is doing.  One day, you’ll see the whole picture.

Lord, Your ways are not our ways.  Thank You for having our best interest at heart.  In all things, You have a plan.  Forgive us for grumbling because Your plan makes no sense to us.  Forgive us for trying to understand things beyond our scope.  Instead, help us trust You more today.  Let us lean into you as the world presses in around us.  Give us Your peace to sustain us as we wait for Your move.  IJNIP.  Amen

Question for reflection

How are you growing as You wait for God to move in your life?

2 minute read.

Daily Reading: Judges 18-19 GW; 2 Peter 2 GW

False teachings don’t promote love.

God is love.  Jesus came to earth because of God’s deep affection for us.  Belief in Jesus begins an adventure in learning to love.  Applying Jesus’s teaching to your life, without a doubt, will make you a better lover.  You will learn how to forgive people who hurt you.  Truth and grace will become familiar to you. As you begin praying for your enemies, your perspective changes.  Mercy becomes something people recognize in you.  Each day you follow Jesus, transformation occurs.  Slowly, you will fulfill God’s purpose for your life, loving God and loving others.

Counterfeit prophet’s message isn’t the same.

False prophets want you to worship them.  Ultimately, they want to become God.  As my husband would say, it’s the Eve problem.  Why did Eve eat the apple?

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4-5 NIV)

Eve’s eyes were open to her sin.  She did not become like God.  False prophets, like the serpent in Eve’s story, lead you astray with their cunning words.  

Beware of smooth talkers.

Just like the serpent fooled Eve, false prophets try to fool us.  Their message is similar to Jesus’s, but it’s not the same.  Imposters master flowery language that doesn’t say much but can easily mislead you.  Anyone who promotes anything other than loving God and loving others is leading you astray.  Don’t listen to a word they say.

Jesus left us with one commandment:  Love God, love others (Matthew 22:37-38 NIV).  If whoever you’re listening to isn’t promoting love, stop listening.

Don’t fall for flowery language.  Look for evidence of God’s love.  Learn to recognize false prophets.  If they aren’t following Jesus, you’ll know by their fruit; love isn’t part of their message.

Lord, thank You for teaching us how to love.  Thank You for going first in loving us and providing a way for us to connect with You.  Forgive us for falling for flowery words from false prophets.  Today, give us eyes to see, ears to hear the lies people tell.  Let us light up the world as we love You and others.  All the glory is Yours.  IJNIP. Amen

Question for reflection

Who is a false prophet in your life?

2 minute read.

Daily Reading: Judges 15-17 GW; 2 Peter 1 GW

Seek truth not myths.

When God created humanity, He left us with a restlessness.  All of us have a desire to seek the unknown.  We have a thirst that only Jesus can quench:

“Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14 NIV)

Only Jesus can satisfy the thirst in your soul.   Unfortunately, people look everywhere but Jesus for answers.  We look to influencers for direction: political leaders, celebrities, sports stars, anyone who appears to have found the answers to a successful life.  We lose focus of the fact that this life is temporary.  People in the spotlight are painting the picture they want you to see.  The struggles and pain they endure are not on the latest social media post.  They create a myth that seems true, but in reality is just a house built out of glass.  One rock thrown at them by life and their stories shatter.

Jesus doesn’t shatter.

Faith in Jesus means stability.  The waves of life will come and go, but Jesus remains constant.  His peace is always present and availalbe, but first we have to seek Him.  If we don’t search for truth through Jesus, we’ll believe the myths people tell.  Only with Jesus can we have a clear vision of the road ahead.

Don’t believe myths.  Seek truth in Jesus.  Accepting Christ means gaining the Holy Spirit.  We find truth following God’s promptings.  As we let Jesus guide us, we’ll begin to identify the lies we’ve believed.  As we do, we replace them with God’s truth.  His truth accents Jesus’s majesty.

Lord, thank You for helping us see the world as it is, fallen and broken.  Remind us today of Jesus’s majesty as we seek His truth.  Forgive us for so quickly believing the myths of this world.  Instead, give us eyes to see, ears to hear the truth.  Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.  In Him, we will experience life to the fullest.  All glory is His.  IJNIP. Amen

Question for reflection

Ask Jesus what myth you are believing?

2 minute read.

Daily Reading: Judges 12-14 GW; Psalms 143 GW

Remembering gives hope.

Reflecting about God’s past victories reminds you He’s got this too.  Whatever storm You’re facing, God will get you through it.  God did it before; He’ll do it again.  In His way and time, God will deliver you from your battle.

One of the darkest days of my life was the day my nephew died.  Like a son to me, my heart shattered.  But amid my despair, God’s light shined brightly.  In my situation, God used my husband to pick me up and begin piecing my heart back together.  I remember sobs vividly racking my body, wailing in distress, as my husband wrapped his arms around me and held me. Ron was God in the flesh to me at that moment.  Now, when I reflect on that day, I find hope.  God knew what I needed to carry me through that storm.  I know, He’ll take me through the next one too.  

Somehow, in some way, God always comes through.

What we need, who we need, all vary.  Only God knows the perfect solution to your battle.  But He doesn’t give us the battle plan.  Typically, we don’t have advance notice when a storm is about to hit.  If we try to predict, we’re usually wrong.  But God never is.  He knows precisely what is coming your way.  God already has the battle won, but we still have to go through it.  Jesus told us the truth:

“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 NIV)

Take heart today; Jesus overcame the world.  Reflect on past victories.  Gain hope from what He already did—expectantly waiting for God to do it again.

Lord, thank You for being our victor.  Thank You for all of our past victories.  Forgive us for forgetting so quickly what You have done for us.  As we face the trials of this day, let us find hope as we reflect on what You did before.  Help us meet our battles with confidence, knowing, You’ve got this too.  In You, we can trust.  Give us Your peace that surpasses all understanding; as we remember, Jesus already overcame the world.  IJNIP. Amen

Question for reflection

What did God do for you in the past that gives you hope for today?

2 minute read.

Daily Reading: Judges 10-11 GW; Psalms 44 GW

God’s strength brings victory.

Sometimes, I think the hardest thing to do is ask for help. For some reason, needing assistance equals weakness. But the truth is, we all need help. When it comes to battling the pressures of life, we need God’s assistance. Asking for aid isn’t a weakness; it’s a strength.

“That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:10 NIV)

Accepting you need help in your life is okay. Your independence doesn’t determine your value.  Allow God and people to help you.  Fellowship is a church term that means “friendly association, especially with people who share one’s interest.”  God created us to live in a community with others.  Life isn’t a solo sport; it’s a team sport.  We all have positions to play in the game of life. God is the captain; He’s directing the game.

Partner with God.

Develop a partnership with God.  Give Him controlling interest in your life.  When life is demanding answers, defer to God’s will.  Go all-in with your Creator, and let Him lead you on a fantastic journey.

Stanley Tam, the founder of US Plastic Corp, is a hero of mine.  When he founded his company, he visited an attorney.  The lawyer drew up a partnership agreement between Stanley and God.  Stanley legally made God the controlling partner of his corporation.  In 1955, Stanley turned the entire business over to God.  To date, US Plastic Corp, wholly non-profit, has generated over $140 million used in God’s work, loving people.  

Why did Stanley do this?  Simple, obedience to God.

Start today.  Ask God for help in your battles.  Make Him the controlling partner.  Expectantly waiting for God to move.

God, You rock!  Thank You for being You.  In Your strength, we can face hard stuff, knowing You are with us.  Forgive us for not asking for help sooner.  Forgive us for thinking we could do it without you.  Today Lord, we make a partnership with You.  Controlling interest of our life is Yours.  Today we choose to follow Jesus.  One step at a time, one day at a time, we want to live our lives for You.  Draw us close.  Strengthen us for the journey.  IJNIP. Amen

Question for reflection

Who has a controlling interest in your life?