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Rejoice Again

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 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. ~ Philippians 4:4 While we get ready for another splendid Thanksgiving season I reflect on what I am thankful for and realize that I have no words for what I am feeling.  We have had a challenging, but very blessed year.  Prayer and a thankful heart has carried me personally through some painful hurts.  People have rejected me because of my faith, people have hurt my son, my husband's heart has been wretched out of his chest, and yet through all of it, I know the Lord has us in His hands and will rejoice.  Praising God through the trials and troubles have strengthened me and sufficiently sustained me with an undeniable peace.  There are a handful of verses that I have committed to memory to recite to myself every time I drive to work and Philippians 4:4 is one of them.  Whether it's a good day, or a day where I am already struggling and I have to force myself to recite this verse, I do.  You know why?  Because even on thos
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Humble Themselves

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If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and I will forgive their sins and will heal their land. ~ 2 Chronicles 7:14 In 40 plus years of faithfully following Jesus, I have read and heard this verse hundreds of times, but it wasn't until recently that the first three words hit me like a mac truck.  IF MY PEOPLE - do you understand?  Do you realize that is a direct description and calling out to those of us who call ourselves Christians?  IF - we are so quick to judge others by their crazy beliefs and their sins that we tend to ride a high horse and forget to look at ourselves (me included)  The judgement in Chronicles was meant for Israel to turn from their wicked ways and obey; we are called to do the same even if our neighbors don't as they haven't accepted Christ as their true savior yet.  Not to say that they are void of any consequences and can act however hurt
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Pay Back

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Do not say, "I'll pay you back for this wrong!"  Wait for the Lord and he will deliver you. ~ Proverbs 20:22 Revenge - it's our natural response when we are wronged, but as Christians, we need to realize that this is a tool Satan wants to use to make us stumble.  Often times revenge makes matters worse.  Only bitterness and anger can come from revenge as they take root in our hearts and warp our attitudes towards people and circumstances into hardened hearts.  This vengefulness only produces negativity in your life, your health, and sometimes towards people and relationships that you didn't intend to hurt, or who are innocent bystanders to the original hurt.  One person alone gets destroyed by your resentfulness - you.  The people who wrongfully hurt you don't feel, or possibly don't even know what may be festering in your soured soul.  But God sees your pain and wants to bring you complete peace and freedom if you would only give your pain to Him and let
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Love Is

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Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ~ 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 I am sure all of us have heard this scripture many of times; in weddings, in sermons, even out of our own mouths when we are trying to explain to someone what God's love looks like.  Every time I would need to break up an argument between my young boys, I would find myself using this scripture - "remember boys, love is kind."  These words have touched the ears of believers and non-believers alike.  I know that God's love is patient, but mine is far from it.  Now and again I have to remind myself that being patient is a virtue and if I want to be in God's will, I must be patient - patient with my stubborn children, patient with my needy co-workers and even patient with my hurried husband when everything else seems to be placed above "us".  How much do I have to gi
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His Will

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Why you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.  What is your life?  You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." ~  James 4:14  If all of your perfectly planned plans for your life, or even for tomorrow, were completely turned upside down, what would you do?  Do you freak out, or are you the type of person that can roll with the punches?  I love to have a routine, a schedule, some sort of outline for my busy day and when things don't go as I planned, I can have a bit of a freak out moment.  But what if what you thought needed to happen wasn't in God's plan?  What if what God had designed for your day was something completely different?  How about for your life?!  For your kids' life?!  I think sometimes God sends us what I like to call "divine interruptions" because one of a couple of things may be happening: 1.  Maybe a friend need
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Childbirth Pains

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My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you. ~ Galatians 4:19 God and Jesus want a relationship with you; they want to know you intimately, but they do not force this relationship - they wait for your decision.  Paul is trying to get the Christians in Galatia to understand that the teachings that require many laws and traditions to be followed are no longer a requirement - the old law is gone.  He is in anguish for these new believers as a soon to be new mother is in anguish during childbirth.  He can't wait for them to understand that our relationship with Christ is based on what HE has done for us and not on what WE do for Him.  The false teachers want to glorify themselves, but to truly be "born again" is to let Christ grab hold and transform you into a believer who longs for relationship with Him and pulls you out of legalistic duties.  Paul is genuinely concerned for these people as when he was with them they believe
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Washed Clean

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That is what some of you were.  But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. ~ 1 Corinthians 6:11 First of all, let me make one thing crystal clear--we are all sinners.  In 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Paul gives a lengthy list of grievous sins, but they are no worse than my anger, pride, lust, lies and what the world calls "petty offenses" in God's eyes.  While it's hard to accept, God doesn't "rank" our sins as we humans do.  Sin is sin to Him.  But there is hope.  When you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and declare to follow Him, your sins are white washed away and an amazing gift of grace and justification makes you clean.  Justification means there is no more guilty monkey riding on your back and undeserved favor (grace) now covers you.  We all live with a past, and a lot of our pasts are filled with things we wish we could wipe away.  For some of us we get stuck
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