Tuesday is one of my favorite days of Holy Week. It is the day that Jesus taught parables, confronted the religious leaders, noticed the unnoticed and spoke about the future. Oh how I would have loved to have been there, listening to His voice, seeing the passion in His words, watching the responses of those in the crowd and most importantly, just being near Jesus. The day started with Jesus and His disciples walking to the temple and along the way they saw the fig tree from the day before, all withered up. Peter was surprised, but Jesus responded by saying, “Have faith in God. Truly I tell you, if anyone…

Easter is not a day – it is a season and a way of life. It’s being intentional about choosing to see Jesus in every moment of your life and not only imagining walking with Him, but actually living in a vibrant and personal relationship with Him. During this passion week put yourself in the moments of each day by visualizing yourself being right there, with Jesus. What would you do? What would you say? How would you feel? Make it personal. The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry.  Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any…

“Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” The word hosanna comes from a Hebrew word meaning “save now” or “save us, we pray.” The crowd’s use of this word at the triumphal entry was significant—especially as they waved palm branches. By saying “hosanna” as Jesus passed through the gates of Jerusalem and referring to David and David’s kingdom, the Jews were acknowledging Jesus as their Messiah. Their shouts of “hosanna in the highest” indicated the hope that their Messiah had finally come to set up God’s kingdom then and there. Today begins my most favorite time of year, Holy…

 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20 I started a new bible study yesterday called, “The Great Disappearance,” by Dr. David Jeremiah. It’s about preparing for the imminent return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The first video session gave me so much joy and peace. In this chaotic world we live…

Come closer and listen to the words of the Lord your God. Joshua 3:9 I was reading a devotional the other day about receiving fresh revelation from God. It mentioned that we often rely on what others have received through their studies of God’s Word, a sermon on Sunday, or a quick word of encouragement online. All of these are helpful, but do we desire to have our own fresh revelation from God? Do we take the time to dig deeper and discover what God has to say directly to us? Do we want to hear from God? I do. I prayed about the next bible study that God would want me…

 I can do all this through Christ who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13 When Jesus was in the wilderness being tempted, He found His encouragement and strength in God’s word. What He endured, not only in the wilderness but in His life and on the cross was more than we can ever imagine and it’s by His example of where He found His strength, that we can be encouraged when we face the difficulties of life. Sometimes God leads us on hard paths instead of easy ways. He does this because He is doing a work in us. He is trying to teach us to lean on Him. If life…

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10 At the Grief Share meeting last week, the topic was self-care. It’s so easy to set aside our own health and needs when we are taking care of a loved one. It is also easy to set them aside when we get too busy with the daily demands of our lives. It was a lesson meant to remind us that we are God’s Masterpiece and that we need to take time to take care of the bodies that He has given us.…

For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach. Deuteronomy 30:11 I read a post a while ago that said to “choose your hard.” It had examples like, marriage is hard, divorce is hard, choose your hard. Obesity is hard, being fit is hard, choose your hard. After pondering this for a few days I was trying to motivate myself to do the hard things. Exercise, eat better, skip the desserts, and be committed to doing whatever it will take to reach my goals on this fitness journey. I wrote mantras in my fitness journal, made daily entries, and…

You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. Psalm 139:1-4 After my revelation in the mirror, I decided that I needed to make a plan to get fit and healthier. In my mind, I started mapping out ways that I felt I could make it work. One was memory verse walks on the treadmill. As I was walking along rehearing the verses in my little book I came across today’s passage. It was…

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,  neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8:37-39 Yesterday I decided it was time to remove all the snow from this weeks downpour that has accumulated on my sidewalk. There is a school bus stop in front of our home and the little kids have such a hard time trying to climb over the mounds…