You Are Equipped

Hebrews 13:20-21, “Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”

When we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, the same God who raised Jesus from the dead lives in us through His Holy Spirit and will equip us with all we need to do His will. That brings us hope and encouragement as we face life’s challenges and uncertainties. Our God is always at work in us, in our circumstances, and in our world. He is never without answers because He is the answer. We can put our total trust in Him and keep climbing higher.

Photo by: Cade Prior of Austin TX, USA 🇺🇸

No Debt But Love

Romans 13:8 NIV, “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.”

The continuing debt to love God and love people is a debt that we can never pay in full. Love is ongoing, and we should freely give the gift of love everyday. This time of year is the perfect reminder of love. God loves us and gave us His one and only Son so that our sins could be forgiven. That is true love. May we imitate Jesus and freely share His love with those around us everyday.

Photo by: RODNAE Productions of the USA 🇺🇸

Thankful Through It All

1 Thessalonians 5:18 NLT, “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”

I can never hear this verse enough. Everyday we are to give thanks regardless of what we must endure. God will open our eyes to see the blessings in the midst of life’s storms. Thankfulness helps us to see things from God’s perspective. We may not understand why things happen as they do; but, we don’t have to understand everything. Instead, we can choose to trust God through everything.

Photo by: Pixabay

Faith in the Face of Injustice

I read this devotional a couple of days ago and wanted to share it. With so many opportunities to get angry in this crazy world, especially with the injustices we sometimes see, I thought it was a good reminder that prayer should be our first defense. It is from the Oct/Nov 2021 issue of 60 days of Prayer by Guidepost.

Genesis 50:20 NIV, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

How do you respond when faced with injustice? Turn to God and pray. Turn away from vengeance and instead look to Him to help you see the situation as an opportunity for growth and transformation. Instead of blowing up in anger, calmly ask God for strength to be your best in this challenging situation.

Lord, I trust that my future is in Your loving care.

Photo by: Tara Winstead of the USA 🇺🇸

Have a Thankful Heart

Colossians 4:2 NLT, “Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.”

When I read this verse, it reminds me that through daily devotion to prayer, we can remain alert and thankful. Prayer has many benefits, and positions us to receive blessings from the Lord. Just being in His presence and taking time to quietly listen as He speaks to our hearts, is one of the greatest blessings we could ever receive. Reflecting on all God has done, causes our hearts to overflow with thanksgiving and joy. He is so good to us.

As I celebrate Thanksgiving this week, I am thankful for your faithful support of this blog. You mean a lot to me. May God bless you and your families. For those celebrating, I pray you have a Happy Thanksgiving on Thursday. 🍁❤️

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Not Seven But Seventy-Seven

Matthew 18:21-22 NIV, “21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me?Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

God’s forgiveness towards us is unlimited. He keeps extending His love, grace and mercy to us. Therefore, He commands us to treat others the same. Of course it is not always easy to forgive, but when we make a decision to forgive, God will help us to do it.

Photo by: Pixabay

We often feel someone has gotten away with doing us harm, and we want to avenge ourselves. However, God knows all and sees all, and vengeance belongs to Him only (Romans 12:19). Even though we may not think about it often, there are people we may have mistreated (knowingly or unknowingly) who had to forgive us and some may still be struggling to do so.

We can pray and ask God to work in our hearts and the hearts of others, so that we can all keep learning to walk in forgiveness, even when it is hard. Forgiveness can bring hope to any situation.

Don’t Deny Jesus

Matthew 26:74-75 NKJV, ”74 Then he began to curse and swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!”Immediately a rooster crowed. 75 And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So he went out and wept bitterly.“

It is easy to read these verses and think, “How could Peter deny Jesus, the Son of God?” But before I judged Peter, I had to stop and ask myself, “What ways have I denied Jesus?”

I’ve discovered that in my own life there have been times where I was just as guilty as Peter. Denying Jesus can come in various forms, such as moments where we choose not to stand up for His truth or we choose to do our own will instead of His. We have to ask God to help us daily not to fall prey to the ways of the world.

The world is constantly encouraging us to deny Jesus and His truth. But as Jesus reminds us in John 14:6, “I am the way and the Truth and the life.” May we be diligent in our mission to boldly share the truth of Jesus with others, not only with our words but through our actions.

Photo by: Tima Miroshnichenko