hope

Abundance

/ James Penner / Leave a comment

“Have you not known, have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary.” Isaiah 40:28

The Creator of the universe is always alert, and always hears our prayers. Combine this with the myriad of scriptures that tell us how God, our Heavenly Father, knows exactly what we need from day to day, and exactly how to

Provide Us With Our Daily Bread.

Our job is to trust Him, and reach out in prayer telling Him just that. Simply say Jesus, I trust you! My life is yours. Grant me this day Your daily bread. Whatever Your choices are for me today, I am so grateful.

Prayer Power

/ James Penner / Leave a comment

“For He (God) looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens” Job 28:24

Have you ever felt invisible? That no one cares? You shouldn’t. There’s a party in heaven every time an individual reaches out to Jesus. If you’re amazed at how words, pictures, or events go viral, then you’d be shocked at the reaction in Heaven when

You Lift Your Prayers To Jesus.

In that moment God’s incredible attention is completely focused on what you have to say, and your words can shake the very foundations of this earth. Don’t believe the lie that you are invisible. You are a Child of the most high King! Hold your head high and give God praise!

Joy

/ James Penner / Leave a comment

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

Joy is the amazing breeding ground of peace, and joy filled peace yields hope. There is a reason Jesus spent so much time talking about having peace, having joy, and eliminating worry and fear. He knows that with Peace, Joy and Hope,

You Become Unstoppable

There are some days when you will not feel joyful. On those days proclaim the name of “Jesus”. “Jesus, you’ve got this”. “Jesus, what have I to fear for you are with me”. “Jesus, you are all I need”. With Jesus, your gloom and doom emotions don’t stand a chance. Joy will return.

Green Pastures

/ James Penner / Leave a comment

“He makes me to lie down in green pastures,” Psalm 23:2

In Psalm 23 Psalm green pastures are a promise, not a proposal! I can say that because the very first verse of the 23rd Psalm says, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” In other words, God is all you need, no matter what life throws at you. God is saying to you,

Trust Me, I’ve Got This!” 

Put another way, it doesn’t matter if your surroundings at the moment look rocky or barren because God is already ahead of you making a way. The pasture will be green soon enough! Trust Him!

Reach Up

/ James Penner / Leave a comment

“The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us.” Romans 8:26

Jesus said, “My peace I give to you, not as the world gives.” He understood as well as anyone our pain, our struggle, our hurt, our trials, our everything. Sometimes we feel like we pray until there are just no more words to say. At that point the words simply won’t come anymore and we feel a little lost. Where do I go from here?

When The Words Won’t Come, Reach Up

Say “Jesus, I trust You.” He’s right there, even when we have no idea what to pray, or how to pray, and even when we feel like we’ve lost faith. There is an old Hymn that says, “I’m Leaning on the Everlasting Arms, safe and secure from all alarms.” Sometimes, you just need to lean in and reach to Him for help.

Victory

/ James Penner / Leave a comment

“For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.” Deuteronomy 20:4

God is the very definition of Victory. Hand Him your challenges and He will solve them for you. The fascinating thing is to watch how He does it. I can think of twenty ways that God can solve my problems and sometimes He does what just what I think He will do, and other times, the answer comes out of the blue. What is certain is that one of three things will happen: God will remove the problem; Or, alter the problem to make it manageable because He has a bigger lesson in mind; or, God will change me in ways to overcome the problem. Whatever the victory needs to looks like, victory will come.

Our Job Is To Trust God.

Our God has promised to go before us. 1 John 5:4 likely says it best, saying, “For whosoever is born of God overcomes the world”.

A New Path

/ James Penner / Leave a comment

“Now the Lord had said to Abraham, “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you.” Genesis 12:1

We love the familiar and the comfort it brings. Yet so many times throughout scripture God allows just enough “uncomfortableness” into our lives to get our attention and cause us to move in a new direction He has planned for us. If left to our own choices we’ll take the easy road rather than the difficult one, all too quickly forgetting that

No Matter Where God Asks Us To Go, He Goes Before Us.

God says to Abraham, pack up, it’s time to move. He said to Moses, “I’m sending you to Pharaoh”. Jesus says to His friends that He had just met, “follow Me”. In each instance, God went with them, carried them, protected them, provided for them, and yes blessed them. The God of the Bible is the same God today. Turn to Him and say, “here I am Lord, send me”. You will be amazed at the incredible path He lays down for you to follow.

“You Are Precious”

/ James Penner / Leave a comment

God says, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. You are precious in my sight and I love you.” Isaiah 43:1 & 4

We walk through life believing what our friends say we are, or what our enemies say we are, or what the media says we are, or what we decide that we are.

Who Does God Say You Are?

After all, does it matter what anyone else thinks? Scripture says each of us are beautiful and wonderfully made. That we are His handiwork. That we are His children. That we are Royalty. And in Isaiah 43 God says He has redeemed us and called us by name, that we are His, and precious in His sight. Don’t believe the lie that you are unseen, or uncared for. God knows exactly who you are for He made you, and He loves you beyond your comprehension!

Little Things

/ James Penner / Leave a comment

Jesus said, “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things; I will make you a ruler over many things.” Matthew 25:23

Great success and large numbers are celebrated as the media shines a spotlight on their version of what success in life means. That’s what makes God’s economy so very interesting. The entire universe belongs to God, yet in scripture we find over and over again that God celebrates the little things the most. Christ came as a poor carpenter, not a wealthy king. He chose fishermen and common laborers as His disciples. He celebrated kindness and thoughtfulness in asking us to love our neighbor as we would ourselves. In the case of today’s verse, a servant was faithful with the small amount of money entrusted to him, and was rewarded as a result. We can learn much from this example.

Celebrate The Little Details In Life

Mother Theresa once said of the little things, “If you can’t do them with great love, do them with a little love. If you can’t do them with a little love, do them anyway.” That’s amazing advice for us today.

Lost Faith?

/ James Penner / Leave a comment

“If we are faithless, He remains faithful.” 2 Timothy 2:13

Are you struggling in your faith? Having difficulty believing that all things really do work together for good for those who love God? You are not alone. The Bible is filled with men and woman who struggled with faith. From Moses to David, Sarah to Jeremiah, from Ruth to every one of the Disciples, the list of those who struggled from time to time in their faith is endless. Now for the good news,

God Is Faithful.

2 Timothy 2:13 says it clearly, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful!” God did not choose Moses for his articulate words, nor Jeremiah for his aged wisdom, nor David for his might and strength, nor Sarah for her youth, nor Ruth for her wealth, nor the Disciples for their elevated standing in the community. At one time or another they all felt inferior and not up to the job. In a word, they felt faithless. Thankfully, in our weakness, God gives the strength, God gives the words, God gives the wisdom, God gives the power to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think. What do we need to do? Simply say yes to Him. Surrender to His will for your life and you will truly have a life filled with faith, and have it abundantly!