It’s all true!

The ground shook.The angel appeared.The stone rolled away.The soldiers fell like dead men.The grave empty.Death defeated!The Way Made!Victory complete. JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD AND DEFEATED SIN AND DEATH! This changed everything! When Christians say, “He is Risen”, it’s not that we are saying Christianity is useful. We are saying that it is TRUE! AllContinue reading “It’s all true!”

Silence

Silence. That day after the Savior had died. The pounding of the nails,the jeers of the crowd, His cries of pain. Now Silent. His body in the tomb. What now? They surely longed to hear His comforting voice. But Silence. They had left jobs, families, everything to follow Him. Now what? Silence. Nothing.But.Silence. Confused, afraid,Continue reading “Silence”

Tuesday of Holy Week. All she had.

Jesus spends most of Tuesday of Holy Week teaching and being questioned by the religious leaders in order that they might trap Him somehow. Were they jealous of His following? Did they feel threatened by the authority with which He taught? Or did they reason, if they could trip Him up, they might surely proveContinue reading “Tuesday of Holy Week. All she had.”

Hold on, because one day….

As Christian’s, there is something we have to do that is incredibly hard to do. We have to be okay with not understanding everything. I’ve talked with so many people, in just the past week, who are walking through incredibly hard things, or dealing with situations that just make no earthly sense. Something devastating hasContinue reading “Hold on, because one day….”

This hard thing…

There are times when I’ve longed for God to do just what I want Him to do when I want Him to do it. If I’m honest, I’ve prayed prayers thinking I fully understand situations and know best how things should go for me and for those I love. But He is God, who cannotContinue reading “This hard thing…”

Peace, be still!

I had woken up to a horrific storm. Wind howling. Sheets of rain. Booming thunder. The storm outside passed, but I couldn’t sleep. Another storm, the one affecting us all, the condition of our world, was on my mind. In Luke 8, Jesus is exhausted from his busy ministry. He tells his disciples to getContinue reading “Peace, be still!”

Hard things, but God.

Right now, so many I love are facing what seems like a pile on of hard things. They love Jesus.They seek to follow Him.They are hurting. Really hurting over hard things. But again, and again, I’ve heard each of them talk of their hope. One by one they have each arrived at almost the exactContinue reading “Hard things, but God.”

Last Days? Do this first…

I can’t read these words and not wonder if we are living in the last days— “But know this, in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors,Continue reading “Last Days? Do this first…”

Keep it up…

Do you take your faith “way too seriously”? Have you been left out or scorned because of it? Have others deliberately tried to hurt you because of the Name of Christ you wear? We need only look at our society to know the winds of persecution are fiercely gathering against those who honor Christ andContinue reading “Keep it up…”

Hope when you feel like you have none….

Yesterday, we had an unexpected death in our family. I had to tell my mom, who only lost my Daddy a few weeks ago, that her dear brother had passed away. Tears filled my eyes.I fumbled for words.I prayed. And my mind tried to make sense of it all. And this morning, I was remindedContinue reading “Hope when you feel like you have none….”

God is at work. How are you responding?

It was certainly no accident that Jesus was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah when he stood up to read in his hometown synagogue that day. (Luke 4:16) It was supernatural. Can you imagine hearing the voice of the Promised One reading these words? “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,Because He hasContinue reading “God is at work. How are you responding?”

I want to be like THIS!

“None of us live on an island.” (Well, some of you may actually live on an island . But you know what I mean.) Our lives impact each other. And I am so thankful for the people, over the years, whose deep love for Jesus has so greatly impacted my life. They have caused meContinue reading “I want to be like THIS!”

Be BOLD in a GOOD way!

I suppose we all have our own list of reasons we fail to talk about Jesus and what the Bible says is true when we could. Maybe we don’t feel prepared. Maybe we leave it up to the preachers. Maybe we hate conflict and want everyone to like us. Maybe we are afraid our businessesContinue reading “Be BOLD in a GOOD way!”

Bigger-than-I-know…and PEACE.

Do I want the things God wants, or do I still want my way just a little bit more? Am I really making EVERY effort to be fruitful in my faith? Inspired by God, Peter said to “make every effort” to possess things like faith, virtue, knowledge, self control, perseverance, godliness , kindness, and loveContinue reading “Bigger-than-I-know…and PEACE.”

When they call you names…

A while back, a young, full of himself and this world person, called me “”Karen” after I had written something he didn’t like. While he meant it in a derogatory way, I smiled because one of the most godly women I have ever known was named “Karen”. She is with Jesus now, and she wasContinue reading “When they call you names…”

Chasing Contentment

Great gain.We want that.We all want that. Paul said, “Now godliness with contentment is great gain”. (I Tim 6:6) How true.Godliness with contentment. “So, I’ll follow God and be content with where He leads and what He gives.” But, that’s easier said than done for our flesh-filled wandering hearts who are constantly chasing contentment. SoContinue reading “Chasing Contentment”

It’s HARD to die to self!

It’s far from easy.It’s stinking hard. It’s a hard and holy thing to die to self.And you aren’t the only one struggling with it. For many, who walk with Jesus, it’s a slow thing as we learn little by little, year after year, to die to things that don’t really matter and hold on toContinue reading “It’s HARD to die to self!”

He will do us no wrong

These words came back to mind today. My spirit needs to remember…maybe yours does as well. God is asking me to trust Him a little more, open my hands a little wider, further peal back my fingers, lay down my desires once again, and place my eyes squarely on Him. But that’s a scary place.Continue reading “He will do us no wrong”

When the Hard Things Pile Up

Sometimes, the hard things pile up, and we can feel like Job. Even those who don’t read the Bible know about the tragedies of Job. In the midst of it all, the Bible tells us, Job walked forward, but could not see God. He looked backward, but could not perceive Him. (Job 23:8) Where wasContinue reading “When the Hard Things Pile Up”

Is God shaking us?

As craziness and immorality continues to be justified and celebrated in this country, and scary things continue to happen around us, I’ve wondered if God is shaking us. There’s part of me that still holds out hope that better days will come through the election of God-fearing leaders. But that hope has continued to dwindle.Continue reading “Is God shaking us?”