You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God will light up my darkness. With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall. – Psalm 18:28-29 Don’t you just love it when you read a bible passage and it completely captures your heart and encourages you in ways that you didn’t even know you needed. That’s what I experienced when I internalized His Word for me today. As I thought of this verse I could imagine God fanning the flame within me. Sometimes the flame is barely flickering and I feel the heaviness and darkness of this world surrounding me. Other times I don’t even recognize…

 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.  For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!  So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. -2 Corinthians 4:16-18 I have had a sign in my workout room for a long time that reads; “If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.”…

Your faith will be like gold that has been tested in a fire. And these trials will prove that your faith is worth much more than gold that can be destroyed. They will show that you will be given praise and honor and glory when Jesus Christ returns. – 1 Peter 1:7 You’ve heard it said, “Be careful for what you wish for, you just might get it.” When you put that in terms for a believer it might look like asking for patience and getting opportunities to develop patience. It doesn’t just happen, it is practiced, tested and continually in the process of being perfected. There are many passages…

You are young, but do not let anyone treat you as if you were not important. Be an example to show the believers how they should live. Show them with your words, with the way you live, with your love, with your faith, and with your pure life. – 1 Timothy 4:12 I have been working on the Royal Records book for next year and have enjoyed diving deep into God’s Word for what He would have me write. At the same time the enemy has been attempting to distract and discourage my efforts. Many times as believers we face challenges of the enemy meant to derail us from doing…

When I gaze to the skies and meditate on Your creation— on the moon, stars, and all You have made, I can’t help but wonder why You care about mortals— sons and daughters of men— specks of dust floating about the cosmos. But You placed the son of man just beneath God and honored him like royalty, crowning him with glory and honor. – Psalm 8:3-5 (Voice) On one of my last nights at our summer retreat I had the priviledge of being awakened by God to take in the scene of the endless starry sky that displayed His mighty and magnificent creation. Thousands of stars painted the sky as the bright full moon shone over…

“Walk across the floor of your upper room and wash the feet of your Judas.” – Max Lucado When I read the quote above the word that caught my attention was “upper.” My week had been full of comments from different people about the privileges that their social and financial statuses should give them, as well as my own prideful thoughts of the value I was placing on my time and paycheck. How often we strive for some resemblance of significance that we hope to find in what the world defines as important. Prestigue, sofistication, wealth, influence and appearance are nothing more than steps leading to our “upper” room of…

I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.  I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds. – Psalm 77:11-12 One of my favorite pages in the Royal Records book is called checkpoints along the way. It’s a page that prompts you to write down your expectations, your memorable moments and the harvest that you reaped during the month while applying the theme of the month. The best part about reviewing a past month’s journal entries is the opportunity to see just how God has been working in your life. Re-reading your daily tasks, prayer requests and new discoveries in…

Be steeped in the word; encourage one another in it, and let thanksgiving drive you to perserverance. – Colossians 3:16 Last night as I was reading through my journal and reviewing events from last month, I was convicted by the theme of faithfulness. It was the title of October’s Royal Records and sadly, was not my character in my calling. There were very few posts on the website and as I looked further I saw that throughout the year, I have been lacking when it comes to faithfully writing, which is something that God has called me to do. It was a painful truth to know that I was neglecting…

“Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near” -Philippians 4:5  One of the characteristics of a true believer is their gentle spirit which can be described as a strong hand with a soft touch. They have a tender, compassionate approach toward others’ weaknesses and limitations while speaking truth, sometimes even painful truth, but in a way that others can receive it. Gentleness shouldn’t be confused with weakness, nor does it come naturally. It is a learned trait that demonstrates the proper temperament or attitude for a servant of God that is in tune with the Holy Spirit. Jesus displayed gentleness when He met the woman caught in…