As we begin our study of Mary, the mother of Jesus, I believe that we can relate to her humble beginnings. She was a young girl who dreamed about her future with her soon to be husband, Joseph. Living in Nazareth, her families heritage and obedience to the law were treasured truths as the entire village awaited the coming messiah. Her days were filled with the necessary tasks to serve the family and community. In this small village, everyone knew each other which was both a blessing and a curse. How many times as young girls did we daydream about what the future might hold for us? Perhaps a wedding,…

For the month of December we will discover some the many lessons that can be learned from studying the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Overview – A Mother’s Love Mary of Nazareth had the unique privilege of being mother to the very Son of God. Yet most of the pains and pleasures Mary experienced in motherhood can be understood by mothers everywhere.  Mary was the only human present at Jesus’ birth who also witnessed His death.  She saw Him arrive as her baby son, and she watched Him die as her Savior. When the angel told her that her baby would be God’s son, her reply was, “I…

It can be difficult to maintain faith during hard times. It’s certainly tough to trust in the good when every single thing in your life seems to be unnecessarily challenging or just plain awful. But these bad times are when faith is most important. It can be a life raft in a storm. And faith can always be restored if we are willing to seek it out. The bible is a great place to fill our faith reserves. There’s a reason they call it the “Good Book”—it’s great for getting us out of our bad spots and into better frames of mind. Take hold of God’s word and be encouraged.…

Over a year ago when I first wrote Jochebed’s name on the pages of the Daughter of The King manuscript I wondered if there would be enough content to fill an entire month of lessons. To my surprise I have found the study of her life to be one of my favorites. While she is only given a few verses in the bible, the way she lived her life had a tremendous impact. She trusted God when her circumstances seemed hopeless and her faith was rewarded for it. Through a series of events God’s miraculous work became evident in the story of her life. Over the last month I have…

I spent some time today browsing through the many posts on Facebook from the Thanksgiving Holiday. It was nice to see people celebrating, breaking bread together and writing about what they are thankful for. There were also posts about those who would not be celebrating with loved ones due to their jobs, location or because of the loss of a loved one. So many emotions. So much love. In one of the Grief Share videos there is a story of woman who was about to turn 60 years old. She decided that she would make a list of all the things she was grateful for so that on her birthday…

As Believers we are painfully aware that we’re involved in a spiritual battle for our souls. In our own efforts we are unevenly matched with an enemy that uses his powers in the most evil ways possible. He delights when we stumble and fall. He welcomes us with open arms when we backslide. He lies because he is the father of lies. His only focus is to render us ineffective for God. That’s why it’s necessary for us as believers to allow the Lord to take control of our personal battles; recognizing that it is the only way we can be assured of victory. We don’t have to fight this…

When I hear the words, do you trust me, I’m often reminded of the times when people are working on trust building exercises like falling backwards into the arms of those who promise to catch them. It’s an adrenaline filled challenge that quickly reveals your level of trust in those involved. We can also feel that same anxiousness when God asks if we trust Him. Do you trust me with your loved ones? Your marriage? Your finances? Your health? Our response reveals our level of trust in God. Many times we hold tight to these things because we love and treasure them and we think we know better how to…

Over the last several weeks as we’ve been studying the faith of Jochebed, I’ve been learning to watch and see what God is doing. Often when we pray we have our own idea on how we see it being answered. But in addition to our petitions, we need to ask God to help us recognize His hand in our situations and circumstances so that we can recognize His answer to our prayers no matter how different they are from our expectations. I was told years ago that after I prayed I needed to watch and see what happened next. It created an expectation in my heart to see what God…