Category: Inspiration

Fellowship with God in Prayer

Below are a few lines from the familiar hymn, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”…

O what peace we often forfeit,

O what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not carry

Everything to God in prayer.

I have to remind myself often to carry everything to God in prayer. God loves to spend time talking to us, not only about the difficulties of life but also the pleasures of life. He enjoys hearing our thanksgiving, for the many blessings He has given to us. He enjoys hearing about the things that have made us happy as well as the things that have made us sad. He not only wants to cry with us, but He also wants to laugh with us.

Photo by: Pavel Danilyuk of Belarus 🇧🇾

God is always willing to work on our behalf; however, we must remember to invite Him into our lives and spend time fellowshipping with Him in prayer.

Don’t hesitate to make your requests known to God, no matter how big or small. He promises to give us His peace in exchange for our worries. So push pass the temptation to be self sufficient and let Him carry your burdens. Push pass discontentment and choose to be thankful. Push pass pride and embarrassment and share your deepest needs with Him, today.

Philippians 4:6-7, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

Always Be Prepared

1 Peter 3:15 NIV, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,”

Photo by: Keira Burton

“Always be prepared.” We know people are always watching our actions, and the way we live our lives. The way we conduct ourselves, is a testimony of our reverence to the Lord. We never know when we will have the opportunity to verbally share with someone, who Christ is to us. The love and light of Jesus, shining through us, is a sweet fragrance to those around us. The hope we have in Jesus, is meant to be shared with others, in a gentle and respectful way. As we go about our daily routines, may God prepare our hearts and give us an awareness of those around us, and grant us opportunities to share the reason for the hope we have in Jesus.

Photo by: Keira Burton

Exalt His Name!

Psalm 34:1-3 NLT, ”1 I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak his praises. 2 I will boast only in the Lord; let all who are helpless take heart. 3 Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness; let us exalt his name together.”

As I read these verses, it brings peace to my heart by placing my focus on the One who holds my heart and my life safely in His hands, and encouraging me to lift my voice in praise to Him. Truthfully, there are days when life happens and praise may not be our first response. But, the Lord cares about even the tiniest details of our lives. So we can bring those tiny details to Him in prayer. Then, we can turn those prayers into praise as we wait expectantly on Him to answer.

When the unknowns of life come our way, we can always rest knowing that He is watching over us, will guide us and will keep us safe. These are only a few of the countless reasons we have to praise the Lord, at all times.

As we reflect on His faithful love, may we boast about His goodness and constantly speak His praises. Let us exalt His name together!

Sometimes You Must Detour

While walking the other day, I found myself a little annoyed that my normal path had been blocked off by some construction work that was in progress. So I proceeded to take an alternate path. The alternate path, unlike my normal path, was sunny and hot. Plus it was not as pretty as my normal path. On my normal path, I enjoyed flowers and trees, as well as plenty of shade.

Photo by: Lisa Fotios of the UK 🇬🇧

However, as I proceeded down the alternate path, God spoke to my heart and reminded me, that as we walk with Him, He will often call us out of the comfort of the beautiful scenery we have come to know. Instead, He will allow us to journey into places that are less comfortable. He does this for various reasons, but some that He brought to my mind are 1) we learn to trust Him as we venture into the unknown 2) we learn to persevere, even when our circumstances are not easy 3) we learn the importance of obedience 4) we grow in our faith as we see God’s provision 5) we learn to see beauty in the things and people that the world does not see as beautiful 6) he is protecting us from evil 7) we learn to walk in love.

Photo by: Tyler Lastovich of the USA 🇺🇸

If you think about it, shade feels nice and there are times we need it, but our bodies also need sunshine. There are reasons God allows the Earth to experience different seasons, and it works the same for us. He will allow us to go through various seasons, but through it all, when we seek to do His will, His purposes are being accomplished.

So when the Lord calls you out of the comfortable shade, don’t be afraid to take the detour, even if it’s hot, and not as attractive. There are always blessings waiting down the path of obedience, and the path of obedience, is often an alternate path that He will require us to take.

Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT, “5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”

Happy Easter!

Wishing you a Happy Easter! Jesus Christ has overcome the grave. Our Savior is risen!

Matthew 28:6, “He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.”

Every Day With Jesus

Yesterday morning, the words of this song came to my mind, a song I remember singing years ago at church as a young girl.

You may remember these words too…

Every day with Jesus, is sweeter than the day before.

Every day with Jesus, I love him more and more.

Jesus saves and keeps me, and He’s the one I’m waiting for.

Every day with Jesus, is sweeter than the day before.

Words by Robert C. Loveless, Music by Wendell Loveless, Copyright 1936 by Percy B. Crawford

Photo by: Leigh Patrick

Reminiscing on those days and the words to this song brings joy to my heart. Now as an adult, I realize that walking out “every day with Jesus” is a sweet adventure but it certainly does not come without intentional effort on our part. It requires us to willingly persevere through suffering and trials. But when we are willing to pay the price of commitment, we do draw closer to Christ Jesus. Through our suffering and perseverance we grow in character and hope, and we become mature and complete, lacking nothing.

These verses in Romans and James are encouraging…

Romans 5:3-5

3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

James 1:2-4

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

The words of the song are a refreshing reminder of how sweet it is to walk with Jesus daily; however, the words found in the scriptures, give us the details of what it takes on our part to fully experience that daily sweetness. Scripture tells us that learning to “love Him more and more” takes perseverance.

We live in a world that wants to shame us for following Jesus, but we are reminded in Romans 5:5, that when we choose to hope in Jesus, we will not be put to shame. Keep persevering, so that you become mature and complete, not lacking anything!

Listen to Song: Every Day With Jesus

The Lord is our Help

Take time to meditate on the following verses, in Psalm 121 and find strength, hope, comfort and peace, knowing that your help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and Earth.

Psalm 121

1 I look up to the mountains— does my help come from there?

2 My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth! 

3 He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. 

4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps. 

5 The LORD himself watches over you! The LORD stands beside you as your protective shade. 

6 The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night. 

7 The LORD keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. 

8 The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.

Photo by: Felix Mittermeier of Germany 🇩🇪

Father,

Thank you for watching over us and keeping us from harm. Teach us to look to you for the help we need, you are our true Source. It’s you Lord, who satisfies our desires. In the name of Jesus. Amen.