Category: Uncategorized

One-minute read.

If we pay attention and remain open to the Lord, God teaches us something every day. Lessons come in many ways, through scripture, people, circumstances, and experiences; we never stop learning. We become unteachable when we harden our hearts and think we know it all.

“Ask God to keep your heart soft,” my therapist said to me in one of our sessions. Until that moment, I had never considered that I had hardened my heart, but thanks to her guidance, I saw the error of my ways. Since that lesson, asking the Lord to keep my heart pliable has become a common prayer for me.

Hardened hearts can’t learn and give the devil a foothold. Pride typically provides the mortar that creates concrete in our soul. Only a jackhammer can remove the brick once it sets. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit has the tools to remove hardening and create fertile soil for the Lord’s teachings.

Give God free rein over Your heart. Ask Him to soften the hard places, and teach you His statutes. Remain open to the Creator’s lessons and learn something new every day. Abundant life happens when we learn and grow with the Lord. Like a flower in the garden, your petals will blossom, and beauty will prevail.

Prayer:

Lord,
Thank You for teaching us lessons every day. Please keep our hearts soft and open to Your teachings. Let us become more like Christ one day at a time.
IJNIP. Amen

One-minute read.

“Don’t let water in the boat,” my husband says when people let culture influence them more than scripture. Getting tangled in the wicked cords happens slowly. First, a few drops of water enter the boat; before you know it, the vessel sinks.

Scripture helps us stay afloat, plugging holes that let in water. Allowing the Lord to search our hearts for impurities helps keep the boat dry. When we feel the nudge from the Holy Spirit, correcting us in our thinking and actions, we can’t ignore it; when we do, that’s when we let water into the boat.

Shopping, I encountered a rude lady. After cutting in front of me in line and not moving when I politely asked so I could get around her, my anger began to flare. When I passed her again, I knew she wouldn’t move, so I didn’t ask. As a result, she conveyed her annoyance at me with words, and I apologized. Because I ignored the Holy Spirit and let her rudeness get to me, I allowed water into the boat, and my actions showed it.

Stay focused on God’s righteous rules, and you will experience smooth sailing. But ignore His nudges, and you will find yourself apologizing to a stranger in a hardware store. Cling to the Lord’s precepts and keep the water out of the boat.

Prayer:

Lord,
Thank You for guiding and directing us with Your word. Please help us cling to Your ways and not allow culture to influence our actions. Let us honor and serve You well in all we do.
IJNIP. Amen

One-minute read.

When I think about keeping God’s commandments, Christ washing the disciples’ feet comes to mind. The event happened on Maundy Thursday of Holy Week, the last seven days of Jesus’s life on Earth before His crucifixion. Maundy means mandate or command.

After cleansing the filth from His followers’ feet, a job usually reserved for the lowest of servants, the Savior gives this command:

“For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.”
John 13:15

Turning our feet towards God’s commands means washing the feet of others. Finding ways to serve others means meeting the needs we see. In Jesus’s days, people had dirty feet because they wore sandals, so they needed constant cleansing. Today, we don’t have to wash feet physically, but we can serve others anyway God leads us. See a need, meet a need.

Love one another like Jesus loves us and fulfill God’s commandments. Such a simple statement, but so hard to do. Imperfect humans love imperfectly, but Christ loved with perfection. As we strive to become more like Jesus, we will die to ourselves and learn to put God and others first.

Prayer:

Lord,
Thank You for setting such an amazing example for loving others. Please help us mimic You well, washing the feet of those in need and serving them with pure hearts.
IJNIP. Amen

One-minute read.

Promise, defined as “solemn decree” in the original Hebrew word, “imra,” sums up God’s covenant to us. Every utterance from the Lord comes to fruition, solemn decrees that carry weight. In old times, a person’s word meant something, but unfortunately, in today’s world, not so much.

“Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’”
Matthew 5:37

Jesus, speaking to the masses at the Sermon on the Mount, tells us to give weight to our words as His heavenly Father does. Whatever covenants we make with others, do them. God exemplifies trustworthiness, doing what He says. Reading the Bible from beginning to end, you will discover that the Lord kept His promises repeatedly, and He expects us to keep ours.

Before I commit, I try to pray about it. The times I don’t, make me regret my rash words, but either way, I strive to keep my word. When I’m dead and gone, I want people to say, “She was a woman of her word.” But for people to say it, I must do it, just like the Lord.

We can’t trust much in this world, but we can trust the Lord. If His people take His commands seriously, we can also trust them, knowing they will strive to keep their word to the best of their ability.

Prayer:

Lord,
Thank You for Your trustworthiness. Please help us become people after Your heart, keeping our word, and living up to the promises we make.
IJNIP. Amen

One-minute read.

As the Psalmist exemplifies in his writing, living a lifestyle of praise and worship comes from a habitual practice of seeking God. Day after day, night after night, seeking the Lord through His words, people, and circumstances leads one to praise Him.

The more we experience life with the Savior, receiving the blessings that rain down upon us from heaven as we obey and submit to His precepts, the more we worship the Creator unabashedly. Understanding that journeys take steps and things don’t happen overnight helps us remain faithful in our walk.

God’s perfect timing unveils itself at His pace, not ours. Spending time in the waiting rooms of life gives us opportunities to contemplate the Lord’s ways. Diligently clinging to the Almighty on difficult days, trusting even though we don’t understand, will draw us into a more intimate relationship with the Lord as we experience His divine grace and mercy.

Obedience to God’s precepts brings falling blessings from above. As we submit our will to the Creator, we will experience life like never before. Each day will bring fresh gifts from the Savior that only come from following and obeying His commands.

Prayer:

Lord,
Thank You for blessing our lives as we follow and obey You. Please help us wisely choose the steps we take today and always. Let us practice Your precepts daily.
IJNIP. Amen

One-minute read.

Forsake, “nata” in Hebrew, means “turn aside, pervert, lead astray.” People deliberately take God’s laws out of context, perverting them and ridiculing the Creator. A show I saw recently exemplified the Psalmist’s words. As I watched it, anger grew inside of me at the way they flippantly portrayed the Lord and His statutes.

Free will, God’s gift to everyone, allows us to choose where we put our faith and how we live out our beliefs. Those who decide self over the Lord harden their hearts to God’s ways, often ridiculing His precepts. In the end, they will suffer the consequences of their decision.

“But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua 24:15

Watching people make poor decisions and suffer the consequences grieves my heart and the Lord’s. Loving like Jesus means allowing people to make decisions and follow their chosen gods. But for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Pray for those who turn from God, and ask Him to soften their hearts. Love people well, give glory to the Lord, and pray they will choose Him over the world’s ways. Only with our eyes on the Son can we experience the abundant life He died to give us.

Prayer:

Lord,
Thank You for giving us the freedom to choose who we will follow. Please help us love others well, glorify You, and lead them to the never-ending living water.
IJNIP. Amen

One-minute read.

As a rule-breaker, I naturally try to find loopholes in instructions. For some reason, I must test the limits, which usually doesn’t end well. The older I get, the more I learn to just do what I’m told and not try to find a workaround. Life goes much easier when I listen and obey, rather than rebel.

God’s laws prove true. I’ve tested enough of them to know that I need to stop testing. Giving us commandments to live by helps us navigate our time on Earth, have healthy, life-giving relationships, and enjoy abundant days full of adventure. As Pastor Mark Batterson likes to say, “Playing it safe is risky.”

Following the Lord’s ways plays the game of life safely, but also brings risks as we try to do what He says. God leads us down the righteous path, but we never know where it goes or where it will take us. We must trust our heavenly Father, even when we don’t understand and face struggles we never imagined.

At the end of time, we will know everything, but for now we can lean into the arms of the Savior and trust Him to take us where we need to go, providing for all our needs along the way.

Prayer:

Lord,
Thank You for giving us an owner’s manual for life. Please help us apply Your laws to our days, becoming more like Christ and enjoying abundant life.
IJNIP. Amen

One-minute read.

Monday morning, after Palm Sunday, I received a text I will never forget. One of my best friend’s granddaughters broke her arm in two places the day before while doing a flip in the yard, four years to the day from when she last broke it. The picture of the breaks will never leave my memory.

In that moment of my young friend’s pain, her dad swept her into his arms and comforted her. As I pondered that moment, I envisioned our heavenly Father doing the same thing for us. When we feel the pain of life, God swoops in and wraps His arms around us, comforting us from His divine position.

Texting my friend, I shared the vision with her and added, “but the pain blinds us to His comfort.” Hurt blinds us, the intense feeling taking over our senses, making it impossible to think clearly. But in those moments, God thinks for us, just like my friend’s son-in-law did for his daughter, taking her in his arms and caring for her.

Trust God’s promises today. Lean into His arms as He cares for you in your pain. Let the Savior heal you as only He can.

Prayer:

Lord,
Thank You for swooping into our pain, picking us up in Your arms and caring for our hurts. Please help us remember Your promises when we get injured, trusting You for healing in all things.
IJNIP. Amen

One-minute read.

Singing worship songs at church often makes me impulsively raise my hands to God. The emotion that overtakes me as I raise my voice to the Lord in praise automatically makes me want to lift my arms, open my palms, and fill my spirit with the Lord’s presence. Corporate worship, surrounded by other believers, encourages and uplifts my soul.

Walking in step with the Lord, learning, applying, and meditating on His statutes deepens our spiritual relationship. Any relationship requires work and intention. The more we think about God’s promises, the more we put them into practice, and the more we will want to praise His mighty deeds.

The most curious thing happens when we start applying God’s commands to our lives; we want to do it more and more because of the outcomes we experience. An indescribable peace helps us let go of our worries, knowing the Lord will care for them. Joy fills our spirits, and we can’t help but lift our hands in praise.

Meditate on a God-given commandment you applied to your life and the outcome of that decision. Ask the Lord for another promise you need to start trusting, then experience the peace that comes from it.

Prayer:

Lord,
Thank You for giving us unspeakable joy as we meditate on and practice Your promises. Please show us the promises we need to focus on today, allowing You to fight our battles as we worship You.
IJNIP. Amen

One-minute read.

Training for a new position, surrounded by people I didn’t know, when asked, “Do you believe in God?” I needed divine courage to say, “I love Jesus.” Sometimes, caring what people will think can make us hesitate to share our faith. But as the pastor said in yesterday’s message, we have two jobs: plant and water.

Telling people what Jesus did and does for us plants seeds in their hearts. As they explore and ask questions, those seeds get watered. Sometimes we plant the seeds, sometimes we water them, but we don’t always do both. But we can’t do either if we don’t speak the truth of the Savior in our lives.

The minute I said, “I love Jesus,” the man beside me said, “Amen, Sister. My aunt thinks I’m lost, but I’m not. I love Jesus through and through.” Immediately, my hesitation left me as my new friend started watering the seeds I planted. And I took delight in God’s commandment that says if you deny Me (Matthew 10:33). I’ll deny you; I don’t want God ever to deny me.

Take delight in God’s commands as you put them into practice and watch Him work miracles in your life and those around you. Only when you do can you experience the divine delight.

Prayer:

Lord,
Thank You for divine strength to speak of Your testimonies and delight in Your law. Please help us plant seeds wherever we go, watering them at every opportunity. Let us build Your kingdom with You, one day at a time.
IJNIP. Amen