My God My Everything

It seems like there are always times of waiting whether it’s a check out line, a time clock or bigger things like waiting for a promise to be fulfilled. What do you do while waiting? In the checkout lines the stores hope you will be tempted to buy last minute items that are conveniently located all around you. At work your employer is expecting you to be working until your shift is over. What do you think God would have you do while waiting for His promises to be fulfilled? There were several years between the time that David was anointed to be the next king of Israel and the…

Happy Independence Day! Today we celebrate the privilege of living in a free country. As our nation lights up the skies with colorful displays of fireworks we can remember the words of our national anthem; “And the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.” Imagine those brave soldiers who fought throughout the night seeing the flag, which represented what they were fighting for, still waving in the air. The sight of the flag gave them hope and courage to press on. Because they trusted in that hope and carried on, we get to live in freedom. We have…

Years ago I was on a diet program that encouraged seeking God’s help to overcome the desire to overeat. The author said that God will help when asked and that He will provide a way out of temptation. Then its up to us to take that way of escape. It might be as simple as your food falling on the floor or a restaurant being closed that prevents you from indulging in more than you should. God will do that in other areas of our lives as well. One time I had the opportunity to go into business with a co-worker. Everything seemed to be falling into place and we…

We have all had moments where we feel overwhelmed and discouraged or perhaps you have been in a dark valley for some time and you wonder if you will ever come through. Sometimes it seems like the battle will never end. I have a word of encouragement for you; you are not alone. In those deepest darkest moments we have a decision to make of whether we are going to remain there or turn it all over to God who is standing and saying, “Let Me handle this. Trust me and walk by faith.” Letting go of the control we think we have is difficult. We think if we try…

There is a TV show called “What would you do?” that acts out questionable situations and then secretly records people to see how they respond. The responses vary from not getting involved to outrage. It does however, make you wonder what you would do in a particular situation. 1 Samuel 16 tells the story of two men who were in one of those situations. King Saul was again chasing after David and was camped nearby. David and one of his men Abishai went right into Saul’s camp and found him asleep, with his spear stuck in the ground beside his head. Abner and the soldiers were lying asleep around him.…

Today is a very special day to me, its Brock’s birthday. I’m often asked how old he would be and today he would have been 26 years old, but to me he will be forever 5. When I think of him that is what I picture in my mind, my cute little cowboy with a “tude.” He loved birthdays because they were “your day,” a day to celebrate you. There was always presents, cake and fun times. The other night while on a hike, my granddaughter asked me when Brock’s birthday was and if she could help send balloons to him. I was so touched that she asked and that…

I have thoroughly enjoyed my study of Abigail. There were so many lessons to be learned from the way she lived her life. I’m sure that we can identify with some of the experiences she went through and be grateful for the things we will never have to experience. I try to imagine what she must have felt, the emotions she had and the realities she faced. She had lived in luxury with a harsh husband who was difficult to deal with and drank heavily. After his death David asked her to marry him. David didn’t live in luxury at the time, rather it was moving from place to place,…

Peaceful responses are a powerful witness of God’s presence and leading in our lives. When we become believers we also become ambassadors, which are authorized messengers or representatives of Christ. “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. (2 Corinthians 5:18-20) We are messengers of peace who get the privilege of sharing Jesus with the world.…

A mediator is a person who brings about reconciliation between two parties. They work to bring about a peaceful solution and resolve conflicts that have happened due to actions taken by either person. Abigail acted as a mediator between her husband Nabal and David. Her humility and self-sacrifice were reflections of her faith. We also have a mediator that acts on our behalf. “Just as Abigail placed herself between David and Nabal, Jesus placed Himself between God and us. Just as Abigail volunteered to be punished for Nabal’s sins, Jesus allowed Heaven to punish Him for yours and mine. (1Timothy 2:5-6) Just as Abigail turned away the anger of David,…

How do you respond to criticism or correction? Both can be pretty tough to take at times and our response can actually be a sign of our spiritual maturity. When Abigail spoke correction to David she did it with her words full of grace, seasoned with salt and it turned the whole situation around. She graciously pointed out that what he intended to do was wrong. God had a better plan and destiny for Him and she reminded him of how God had already given him victory when he was slinging stones for Godly purposes. She acknowledged that he was being pursued by someone who wanted to kill him, then…