Month: July 2023

Peace In The Storm

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“The heavens are Yours, the earth is also Yours; You have founded them.” Psalm 89:1

When you feel like you don’t have all the answers, feel inadequate, feel like life is passing you by, or feel powerless in your circumstances. Let the words of Psalm 89 wash over you like a soothing balm. “O LORD God of hosts, Who is mighty like You? Your faithfulness also surrounds You. You rule the raging of the sea; When its waves rise, You still them. The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; You have founded them. The north and the south, You have created them. Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! For You are the glory of their strength. Blessed be the Lord.”

It’s Time To Relax, God Is In Control.

There is nothing we face that is too difficult for God to deal with. There is no circumstance that you are going through that He cannot deliver in just the perfect way. The question is, have you handed your life over to this great and mighty and powerful and merciful God who owns and rules the heavens and the earth? If you have, stop worrying and trust in His care!        

The Promise Of Mercy

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“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life…” Psalm 23:6

“Surely” is an unambiguous and definitive word beholding a promise of goodness and mercy that trusting in God brings to us. God’s promises are very real, and

God’s Mercies Are Never Ending.

Contrary to what your life circumstances may lead you to believe, they are available to all who simply put their trust in Him. Look up.

How Far?

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“Lord, if it is you,” Peter replied, “Tell me to come to you on the water.” Jesus said, “Come”.

We all know Peter stepped out of the boat. We all know he walked on the water. And yet, just how far did he go? A few steps? Ten steps. Twenty steps? A hundred? Before his walk Peter had said “if it is you, tell me to come to you on the water.” That means Jesus was not standing right next to the boat. Jesus had to have been some distance away or Peter would not have said, “if it’s you.”

Peter Walked On Faith Further Than He Realized.

Peter may have crossed a football field length of water before his fears overwhelmed his faith. If you look back over your life, you may soon realize that you have walked further on faith than you realize. Understanding this, how much further could you walk knowing that no matter what happens, Jesus is there to reach out and save you.

Provision

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“For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He knows your trudging through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.” Deuteronomy 2:7

The children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, yet they never lacked water and they never lacked food.

God Provided, Every Day!

God is still in the provision business, for Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:25, “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing. Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you of not of more value than they?” God has no limitations and no lack of resources. Combine that with the fact that He loves you and cares about your needs and you have very little reason to worry, and a powerful reason to reach out to Him in prayer!

Precious Time

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“And when He (Jesus) had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray.” Matthew 14:23

You awake in the morning and life hits you before your feet touch the ground. Your mind is already hard at work solving the problems of your day. There are jobs to do, loved ones to care for, homes to clean or mend, email to answer, and social media clamoring for attention. Pick any of a thousand things that fill up your day and each crosses your mind before your first cup of coffee. So we ask ourselves,

Where’s The Peace that Jesus Promised?

We find it right here in Matthew 14:23, in a verse that does not speak of miraculous healings, or waters parting, but of an even more profound truth. “When Jesus had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray.” Think about it. Jesus is son of the living God. If anyone in history ever had a direct hotline to God it was Jesus. He could have stood in the middle of the crowds and busied himself from morning till night tending to the tremendous needs of the world around him, and yet he slipped away in solitude to pray, to spend time with His Heavenly Father in prayer. If Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, found it necessary to spend time alone with God, what more motivation do we need?

Look Up!

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“Jesus answered them, “do you now believe?” John 16:31

Jesus asks this loaded question because of what He is about to reveal. For in the next verse Jesus says, “The hour is coming…that you will be scattered, each to his own and will leave Me…” Jesus is revealing that tough times are on the horizon. Times when it would be easy for doubt to overpower faith. Times that will make the disciples question exactly how far they are willing to go in praise and worship to God. In other words,

Will You Still Believe?

It’s easy to believe when times are good. We tend to think that God must surely be smiling on us in those times when we have so few cares. Yet, when the tough times hit we question God. ‘Why’ becomes our favorite word. We ask what we’ve done wrong in life to incur His wrath, or lack of blessing. Yet in those times our faith needs to grow beyond what we thought possible. Because, when we are able to say, Yes Lord I believe, even when times are hard, you will truly understand what it means to take up your cross and follow Him. Believe in Jesus when life drives you into the ground, then watch in awe and wonder as He lifts you up!  

Heart Of Love

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“He (Jesus) poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet” John 13:5

When Jesus washed the feet of the disciples, He did not leave out Judas, the man who was about to betray Him. Jesus knew this was going to happen, and yet He washed Judas feet, anyway! Today, while we may harbor thoughts anger, un-forgiveness, and revenge,

Jesus Washes Feet.

I find it incredibly comforting that even in our mistake prone lives, Jesus never changes. He’s still washing feet. Meaning, He’s still forgiving, He’s still loving, He’s still accepting. Understanding this should help us to have that much more compassion for those who hurt us in life. In those times when anger or revenge may fill your mind, let Christ’s love fill your heart.

The Power Of God

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“your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” 1 Corinthians 2:5

So much of the time we charge out on our own, relying on our own strength to handle whatever stands before us. I lived this way for many years before I learned a valuable lesson. I really wasn’t in control. There really is only One with true power. There is only One with true authority. There is only One with true control.

Thank God!

For when we as humans try to take over, we quickly make a mess of things. Set aside the ills of society and just focus on your own life for a moment. Such reflection may just cause you to say, “Lord God, forgive me for looking to my own wisdom and not to Yours!” 

Walk By Faith

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“So Jesus said, ‘come’.  And when Peter had come down out of the boat he walked on the water to go to Jesus.” Matthew 14:29

Many things in life keep us safely in the boat. Fear of failure, fear of the future, fear of ridicule. Peter surely felt plenty of fear as he stepped out the boat. Yet in that instant,

His Faith in Jesus Was More Powerful Than His Fear.  

Whatever fear is keeping you in your boat today, why not try something new and start walking by faith. You have God given gifts, you have God given talents, and you have a Savior named Jesus who is cheering you on! A savior who says, “Take up your bed and walk” in Matthew 9. Who says “You are the light of the world” in Matthew 5. Who says “do not worry” in Matthew 6:31-34. Who says, “Ask and it shall be given unto you” in Matthew 7:7. A Savior who says to you in Matthew 17:20, “If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed you can say to your mountain move and it will move and nothing will be impossible for you!”   

Planting Seeds

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Jesus said, “Behold a sower went out to sow….some seed fell by the wayside…some fell on stony places…some fell on thorns, and were choked out. Others fell on good ground and yielded a crop, some a hundred fold, some sixty some thirty.” Matthew 13:3-7

Jesus story of a farmer is relevant to our lives in so many ways. Just like a farmer planting seeds, so we plant friendships, build relationships and careers, and yes make a decision to choose faith, and many times we wonder,

Is Anything Going To Grow?

Through the years I’ve confronted many questions: Will I keep the faith when things are rocky and not going my way? Can I break those habits because my hard-headedness prevents it? How do I manage all of these daily distractions that act as weeds attempting to choke out my faith? And yet there is that final example that Jesus gave. The one where the seed falls on “good soil producing a hundred fold”. Where does that show up in our lives? Ahh, there is golden answer. It shows up in your life in the form of what the Bible calls the fruit of the Spirit; Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Gentleness and Self Control. When you feel any of these coming forth in your life, you are the good soil that our Heavenly Father is sowing into.