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Abide in His Word: Luke 2:10-11
Since Christmas time is upon us, let’s reflect upon the birth of our Savior, Jesus. And there is no better place to begin than with the biggest, brightest birth announcement in the history of the world. The Verses “And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.'” Luke 2:10-11 (ESV) Definitions These verses seem pretty self-explanatory, though it’s important to understand what the angel meant by people, Savior, and Christ. All definitions are taken from…
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Abide in His Word: Matthew 22:37 – 39
Welcome to the first “Abide in His Word” post. As mentioned here, I believe it is important for us to memorize the Word of God as it is the Sword of the Spirit. Also, Jesus tells us in John 15 to abide in Him. One way to abide in Him is to have His words abide in us. So, I thought it would be fun if we could memorize the Word of God together. Everything is better when done with others, right? Here’s how it will work: every two weeks, I will post a new verse or group of verses to memorize and give an explanation of the verse(s). Throughout…
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What I’m Reading This Month
This month, I have the privilege to help launch the new book Relentless: The Unshakeable Presence of a God Who Never Leaves by Michele Cushatt. Michele’s book delves into the Word of God to answer the one question most of us have when we navigate through difficult times: Where is God in my pain? She does not shy away from the question as she openly shares some of her most vulnerable moments during her darkest journey. Here is what she says about her book: “To descend into the basement of my faith journey, and hopefully, discover evidence of God’s presence…To learn, once and for all, that God doesn’t condemn our…
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What I’m Reading: August Edition
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Deep Roots
Within the last month or two, we have seen at least two prominent Christian figures leave the faith. The Bible warns us of a “great falling away” during the last days. Some versions use the word “rebellion” while others use “apostasy.” The original Greek word is “apostasia” and it means “a falling away, defection, apostasy.” (Strong’s Concordance). Basically, it means to abandon or leave the faith. I don’t know why these two people left the faith and it’s not my place to try and guess. For those of us who are still walking in faith, though, we need to stay strong. But how do we do that? The first thing…
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Thank You Loved + Blessed
I am excited to announce that I have been asked to be a guest blogger over at lovedandblessed.com! I am so grateful, and honestly humbled, to have the opportunity to write a blog post for them. Click here to read my post on Faith-Filled Generosity. The writers at Loved + Blessed and I share the same mission: to encourage women in their faith and to offer hope. They also offer themed “boxes of encouragement” and other items for you to purchase for you or a friend. Check out their store here. Below are a couple of pictures of my “Waiting” box, which offers encouragement during those seasons of waiting on…
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My Faith – His Story
Shortly after my birth, my parents became Christians. As I’ve written here before, my mom played a pivotal role in shaping my faith. She taught me about God, Jesus, sin, redemption, and love. Though we weren’t regular church attenders as I grew up, there was still a focus on God that centered on following Him and His ways. At some point, though, my parents’ faith had to become mine. I had to “work out my salvation” and make the choice myself to either follow Him or disregard everything I was taught and follow the ways of this world. I reached this crossroad when I was 19. I had just completed…
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It’s Not Us vs. Them
As true Christ-followers, we need to stop politicizing God and our faith. When we politicize Him, we are effectively putting Him in a man-made mold, trying to form Him into an image we created – an image we desire God to fit because it falls in line with what we believe. That image is not God. That image is an idol. The truth is God does not fit neatly into any political party. Labels such as conservative and progressive divide the church. When we place labels before our faith, we are telling the world we follow the ideologies associated with that particular political party. Though the intention may be innocent…
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And Mightily, He Did Appear
As I scrolled through the comments on my Facebook memory from four years ago, I was reminded of the desperate, overwhelming feeling I had as I clung to the prayers offered by my friends. My original post asked for prayers for my mom. She had been in the hospital for at least a week, and her prognosis was not good. In fact, it seemed hopeless as we were running out of treatment options. She passed away the next day. One comment caught my attention. A precious friend prayed for the Lord to “show up mightily.” I’m sure when I first read the comment four years ago, I envisioned a miraculous…
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Grief for the Holidays
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Why We Need Jesus
We are all born sinners. I don’t care what your race is, what your gender is, what your sexual preference is – we are ALL born sinners (see Romans 3:23). Because of our sinful nature, there was a separation between God and us. In order for the relationship to be restored, a sacrifice had to be made. According to John 3:16, God loved us so much, He sent His Son as THE sacrifice for us. If you believe in Him, you will have eternal life. Jesus not only died for our sins, but He also defeated death, as He was resurrected on the third day. His death and resurrection made…
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When We Lack Faith
Lately, as I’ve re-read books in the Old Testament, I’ve asked God to reveal Himself through His Word, to help me learn more about Him and who He is so that I can apply it to my life. While reading the story of the twelve men who were sent out by Moses to spy on the land of Canaan, I believed He answered my prayer as I had new insight into how important it is to keep the faith, rather than live a faithless, fear-filled life. Let me recap the story here: God told Moses to send twelve men (one from each tribe) to spy out the land of Canaan.…
