“For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Fear not” Isaiah 41:13

I still remember my daughter as a baby, laying on my chest at two in the morning, sleeping soundly without a care in the world. Whatever caused her to cry herself awake didn’t matter any more. She was

At Peace In Her Father’s Arms.

We do a wonderful job of wandering wherever we want in life, and then wonder why we feel so much stress and anxiety along the way. Today you can be at peace in Your Heavenly Father’s arms. He’s only a prayer away. How sweet it is to trust in the Lord.

“How precious to me are Your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand” Psalm 139:17-18

We waste a great deal of time in our life battling with our own thoughts. “I’m not good enough, I’m not strong enough, I’m not good-looking enough, I’m not rich enough, thin enough, fast enough, smart enough, cool enough, cagy enough, connected enough…and the list goes on… Here’s the reality.

God Is All You Need.

God created you. His thoughts toward you are amazing, wonderful, beautiful. Bask in that knowledge today for you are wonderfully made, and you are loved, just the way you are!

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27

During a very difficult time someone once said to me, “how can you have so much peace at a time like this?” I told them, it’s Jesus. The person I was talking to was a Christian and still they gave me a questioning look of confusion. Yet to me, my answer made all the sense in the world because Jesus is the only answer I have in life. I trust Him. I handed my life to him. That means I

“Trust Jesus For Everything And Every Situation.”

Jesus said in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” So many times we pray and give our burdens to God, then proceed to hold onto that burden as tightly as we can anyway. Why not let go and trust the promise of Jesus that He will bring peace to you. Accept His peace, not as the world gives, but as only He can give.   

God said, “For I, the Lord, do not change…” Malachi 3:6

The majesty of God is on display all around us, and a constant reminder of God’s incredible attention to detail. The care he took to create everything from the vast oceans filled with life to the sand it caresses to the wildflowers watered by its morning mist. And yet the Bible tells us how much more care He took in creating you and I, and of the

Unlimited Love God Has For Us.

When God says, “I do not change” those words should warm your heart! There is an incredible promise in those four words. God cannot go against His own words, for if He did He would, by definition, change. We can take great comfort that the same God who created you, and all that you can see and experience, says He will provide for you just what you need. You have only one task and that is to have the faith to trust in Him.

“The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord…” Job 1:21

Job is probably one of the most well known individuals in the Bible, mainly because he literally lost everything, his family, his great fortune, and yes even his health. If there was ever a man who suffered it was Job. Yet even through all of his pain, and the cynical comments from his well meaning friends that he must be cursed of God for doing something wrong, Job never once cursed God. He questions his lot in life, and laments his loses, and yet,

Job Never Blames The Lord

In Job 38, God answers Job’s questions by providing an awesome resume of His greatness and His majesty. Take the time to read this one chapter. Whenever I’m feeling blue, or sorry for myself, or questioning my lot in life, I simply read Job 38. Instantly I’m reminded of how truly great God is, and just how fortunate I am to be His child, and in His care. I soon find myself saying, “Lord, how great Thou art. Let your incredible will be done in my life. Whatever you have for me this day I gratefully receive.” Be reminded today that you have an awesome Heavenly Father.

“Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah for the second time, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh” Jonah 3:1

What’s so fascinating about the story of Jonah is that it’s a mirror of our own lives. God gives Jonah a command, “Go to Nineveh”. Pretty simple, right? So, what does Jonah do? He runs in the opposite direction. Sound familiar? That’s when God takes the opportunity to give Jonah a not-so-subtle reminder of who’s in charge. After three days in the belly of a whale, a hard-headed Jonah finally gets the message. The whale then spits him out on a beach and Jonah does what God wanted him to do in the first place, he heads straight for Nineveh. As my wife is so fond of saying, “we all end up where God want’s us. The question is, how do we want to arrive,

On A Cruise Ship, Or, In The Belly Of A Whale”

You may be saying, “God has not woken me up in the middle of the night and given me a ‘command’ to do anything”. Actually, He has. Jesus tells us in Luke 6:45, “Why do you call me ‘Lord,’ and yet do not do what I say?” The Bible is filled with incredible guidance from God to give us the abundant life He wants for us. The choice is ours. We can travel through life on a cruise ship, or in the belly of a whale.

“And the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.” Exodus 14:22

For decades, the descendants of Abraham, Issac and Jacob were bound in slavery in Egypt. When God brings forth their rescue, it didn’t exactly look like they expected. On their way out of town they find themselves backed up against the sea as the Egyptian army marches forth to kill them. Death by drowning, or, death by sword,

What Kind Of Miracle Is This?

God could have certainly kept the army bay. He could have softened Pharaoh’s heart, so much so that the army never even pursued them. Yet, what the Israelites couldn’t see with human eyes was the experience that God wanted them to walk through. The experience of walking through parted waters was about to demonstrate that nothing is impossible with God. How often in life do we pray, and pray again, all while grumbling and complaining when God guides our lives in unexpected ways. “What kind of rescue is this?” we ask. The answer is that we are told to walk by faith and not by sight. The Israelites could not “see” the entirety of the miracle while they were in the middle of living through it. So too, you cannot see the miracle that God has in store for you, and is leading you through at this very moment!    

Jesus said, “Why are you so fearful, o you of little faith” Matthew 8:26

I love the image of Jesus sleeping in the boat while Matthew 8:24 says that “the boat was covered with the waves”! That’s some kind of storm and yet Jesus is peacefully sleeping though it. Even after the disciples frantically wake him, His first words are, “Why are you fearful, o you of little faith.” Now notice something important. When Jesus says this the waves are still coming over the bow. Their physical circumstances have not yet changed! In the middle of the storm is when Jesus says,

“Don’t Be Afraid”

Jesus did not calm the storm before He asked them not to fear. All the disciples had to do was trust Him!  I have been in plenty of emotional storms, stress filled storms, relationships storms, and financial storms where the waves were clearly coming over the bow. So have you. In the middle of your storm Jesus is saying, “Don’t be afraid.” Turn to Him in faith.

“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:16

In the beloved 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz”, the Tin Man said, “Hearts will never be practical until they are made unbreakable.” Indeed, life can be a series of heartbreaks, broken promises and shattered dreams.

Enter God’s Loving Grace

When we approach Jesus, He has an amazing way of wrapping His welcoming arms around us. Hope is birthed in His embrace. Paul tells us in Hebrews that we can approach His throne with confidence that mercy and grace are there waiting for us in abundance. Find the courage today to live and to love again, safely resting in your Savior’s arms.