My Thoughts - My Journey

"I cry out to the LORD; I pray to the LORD for mercy. " Psalm 142:1 You can talk to God because God listens. Your voice matters in heaven. He takes you very seriously. When we enter His presence, the attendants turn to hear your voice. No need to fear that you will be ignored. Even if you stammer or stumble, even if what you have to say impresses no one, it impresses God—and he listens.  He listens to the painful plea of the elderly in the rest home. He listens to the gruff confession of the death-row inmate. When the alcoholic begs for mercy, when the spouse seeks guidance, when the businessman steps off the street into the chapel, God listens. Intently. Carefully. The prayers are honored as precious jewels. Purified and empowered, the words rise in a delightful fragrance to our Lord. “The smoke from the incense went up from the angel’s hand to God.” Incredible. Your words do not stop until they reach the very throne of God. Then, the angel “filled the inc

The glory He gives us is His own presence in our hearts. Our Lord was one with the Father because of the glory that God gave Him, John 17:22 indicates. We in turn enjoy oneness by the glory that Jesus gives us, which is the glory the Father gave Him. So as God filled Jesus with His own presence, Jesus in turn fills us with His own presence. This is  what makes unity possible.  The context makes it evident that Jesus is referring to the indwelling Holy Spirit when He promises us His glory.  It is by way of the Spirit that the Christ dwells in the believer. “I will not leave you desolate; I will come to you,” He promises the apostles in John 14:18, which is hardly a reference to His second coming. It points rather to the coming Spirit, who was to be both with and in them, and through whom Jesus would Himself be present.  In John 14, the reason the disciples were not to let their hearts be troubled was that in each of their hearts God had a dwelling place, for in God's house

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline." 2 Timothy :7 FEAR…..Fear influences many of our decisions. Fear amplifies our imagination in a bad way. We become “the worst-case scenario” queen/king. Fear even tries to prevent us from moving forward in obedience to what we sense God calling us to do . We can do what any wise believer would do….pray. Pray against fear. Pray that God will take away our fear. That fear will leave us alone. That fear will vanish. That fear will be far from us. However, we must realize that those prayers would probably require us to live in a bubble, limit our interactions with people, and never attempt anything that could be considered risky and quite possibly never leave our house. But the truth is, until Christ’s return, fear will always exist on this earth. We live in a scary world where bad things happen. One look at the news headlines makes that clear.   John 10:10 tells us tha

And the LORD said to satan, “Behold, all that (Job) has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So satan went out from the presence of the LORD. ~ Job 1:12 "I (God) form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things." ~ Isaiah 45:7 Satan afflicts believers, but how much power does he really have? In 2 Corinthians 12:7 Paul said a messenger of Satan was given him to afflict him. Satan was behind Jobs’ suffering. The enemy can afflict us physically. He tempts us to sin. But his greatest weapons are his fiery darts – his lies about God that he launches against our faith. We are in a serious conflict with the powers of darkness. Sometimes I hear Christians talk as if satan were all-powerful.....The devil has really been having a field day in my life lately.....or.....satan’s really been kicking me around this week. In reality, we find in the Scriptures that satan's powers are actually ve

Yes, "worship" is toward our Holy Creator and Father God...without question. However, we assemble for many reasons to which worship and praise to God is a part of that. Hebrews 10:25 says that we should come together to uplift, edify, and equip ourselves. Why? Because we need to get our batteries charged by gathering with brothers and sisters, joining in a time of fellowship....in order that we can go out to share His truth with the lost. Hebrew 10:24 states that we need to think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. God did not create mechanical robots; therefore, we will not all worship, assemble, and live our lives in one man-structured pattern. We worship in Truth as we lean into His Word and the guidance of the living Holy Spirit. We worship in Spirit as God’s Spirit ignites and energizes our spirit. The essence of true worship is not external, but internal ~ heart and head, emotion and thought, spirit and truth ~ whether we’re talking al

"And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen...." Luke 24:2-6 He IS RISEN! Amen! † "Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now!"  - 1 Peter 1:4-5 Good Friday is a day we remember the crucifixion of Jesus, but there’s more to it than remembering. We want to embrace the resurrection, but Jesus calls us to the cross, too. Today is Friday, but Sunday’s coming! Friday is the road to Sunday. There’s no Easter Sunday without Good Friday. There is no resurrection without the cross. Good Friday provides the opportunity to proclaim….O

Was it random occurrences or was it Divine encounters? That is the question I asked myself for the first time twenty years ago. They didn’t happen often or with any regularity; however, I quickly realized that they were guided, on-point, perfectly timed events and instances. I reluctantly shared some of my stories, only to find out that I wasn’t alone in this experience. There were many who had similar stories that had kept them close…fearing if shared, others might look at t hem a little strange or maybe even with disbelief. These are honest, sincere, heartfelt stories which will hopefully validate – for the skeptics or non-believers – that God does answer prayers, gives us signs, and blesses us with unexpected gifts from Him that have no other logically explanation.  I have collected several stories for consideration in a book I am writing. They are stories proven, only by faith, that God was in control of circumstances that otherwise had no concrete basis. These powerful, encourag

Just because you don’t see a way doesn’t mean God doesn’t have a way. Don’t talk yourself out of it. In-tune yourself to the Holy Spirit's leading and to God's opening new doors. Too often our lack of vision causes us to loose sight of what He has placed right before us.  Put your faith in our Holy Father...trusting Him to never let you down. He is amazingly powerful, full of love, compassion, and a plan that will be for our good....we just have to follow His lead. Amen! ✝

At the cross we are justified. Righteousness could not happen without justification. Do you still live under condemnation? Freedom is in and through Jesus and His shed blood. Let Jesus have control of your life. He will make you new, give you a new identity in Him. He will give you a new purpose for life. He will fill you with the blessing of joy....Blessed, internal joy and peace that is only His to give. You must break free of what has been holding you back. Lose yourself s o that you can fully and completely become the self that God has planned for you. God will remove your past so He can redeem your future. Go all in...Take the next step...Discover your purpose. Call on Him! Wash yourself in Him! Walk through life with Him! This earthly life is brief; however, eternity is...well, eternal! Give your all to Him and live forever! Have an encounter with God! What better time to begin or renew your walk with Jesus than this week when we, as believers, reflect and celebrate the resurre