I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” – Lamentations 3: 24 Emotional struggles are common in this life for everyone. In fact, the bible tells us that our brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings and encourges us to stand strong in our faith, resist the enemy and God in His perfect timing will Himself restore us and make us strong, firm and steadfast. But how do we do that when those emotions are so overwhelming? We do that by remembering that the Lord is our portion and just like the manna in the Old Testament, He will rain down exactly…

Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit—you choose. – Proverbs 18:21 MSG Every day you preach to yourself some kind of gospel – a false “I can’t do this” gospel or the true “I have all I need in Christ” gospel. No one is more influential in your life than you are because no one talks to you more than you do. – (Dr. Paul David Tripp) I’ve read that our mind is the battlefield. It’s where we wrestle with thoughts and emotions in an attempt to take them captive and make them obedient to Christ. It’s where we ward off the fiery darts of the enemy…

In Your presence is fullness of joy. – Psalm 16:11 Are you a joyful person? Do others see you and wonder where your joy comes from? As I read these questions I took a deep look at myself and knew that I wasn’t as joy-filled as I would like to be. All too often I allow discouragement, fear, and anxiousness to dictate the amount of joy in my life. Today’s passage tells us where we will find real joy, consistent joy, and fullness of joy. It’s found in the presence of the Lord. I read a very interesting article about joy by Warren Wiersbe that said, “Some people are thermometers,…

Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. – Psalm 30:5 Have you ever had one of those days? One where everything that can go wrong does. They can be so frustrating and test our ability to live in the peace and joy God offers. Those type of days reveal where we place our dependence, either on ourselves or on Our God. Yesterday was one of those days. It began with some incredible sales at work. In my excitement and hurried pace, I made a very costly mistake. Frantically I worked through every possible option to minimize the damage and eventually found one that would have to work, but I would still…

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,  fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith. – Hebews 12: 1-2 Today, I began my quiet time with God by taking a moment to be still, closing my eyes, and imagined inviting Him into my day. I smiled at Him and said, “Hello,” and then asked for my heart and mind to be open to whatever He had for me. It wasn’t long before my mind strayed to the many tasks at hand…

“When ________ prays, she must not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, so that they may be seen by men. Most certainly, I tell you, they have received their reward.  But ____________, when you pray, enter into your inner room, and having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.  In praying, don’t use vain repetitions as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words. For your Father knows what you need, before you…

This, then, is how you should pray:  “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.  Matthew 6:9-13 Jesus gave us the perfect example of what our prayer life should look like.  Often He went away to a quiet place to pray and He was intentional about spending time with the Father. Because of the Cross we now have full access to the throne of God. …

At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.  Five of them were foolish and five were wise.  The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.  The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. – Matthew 25: 1-4,13 Yesterday I received a text message for an urgent prayer request. The message sounded dire and the needs were unspoken. As I stopped what I was doing to pray, I was instantly reminded of Matthew 5:23-24, “Therefore, if you are…

Hope is not a thing, not a location, not a situation, not an experience. Hope is a person, and His name is Jesus. – (Paul David Tripp) Last week our church started a new session of Grief Share which is an incredible opportunity to share the hope that I have in Christ. I see this progam as a Ministry of Hope in which I have the privilege of having front row seats to what God is doing in the lives of others. I see the broken hearts mended, joy returned and hope restored. But when you think about it, all believers are blessed with the opportunity to share in the…