“ But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.” – 2 Corinthians 12:9. “My grace is sufficient for you...”  I was talking to the Lord this morning about why so often His sufficient grace does not feel sufficient. He is a big God. Shouldn’t His grace be abundant and overflowing? Why would a God who is so overwhelmingly generous in so many ways be so seemingly stingy in the grace department? Well, no sooner did the thought cross my mind when a picture came to mind of going through a buffet line.  God puts a good amount of tasty vegetables on my plate, an appropriate portion of protein and a small piece of luscious looking fruit.  I see all that God has put on my plate, but then I take it upon myself to add an appetizer, a baked potato and a dessert.  Then I wonder why I feel uncomfortable later.  Had I kep...

"But He knows the way I take; When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” – Job 23:10 I graduated high school more than 40 years ago. I will admit that I was a good student. I worked hard, studied hard and was always eager to earn my parent’s approval. I was and am a nerd. In my younger years, I took tests in stride, looking at them as more of an opportunity to show off my stuff rather what it later became — a strenuous challenge to see how well I had truly mastered what I had been taught. The same is true today. Until the day that either the Lord returns or we close our eyes for the final time, we are still in school. We will still be taught lessons and be given an opportunity to prove what we have learned through testing. Well, boys and girls, I am going through a test of my own these days. Just this morning I was feeling tempted to bemoan my situation when, wouldn’t you just know it? One of my own devotions from a couple of months ago popped up on my screen and...

“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.” – Luke 6:32. There is a great divide – a separation, a chasm, a gaping wound that lies between “us” and “them.”  We feel justified in our anger and hatred.  We see things being embraced by others that we hold as abhorrent and our loathing for the sin becomes loathing for the sinner.  We feel justified in character assassination and violence. We crush and destroy with cruel and punishing words, forgetting that like us they were created in the image of God. Heavenly Father, we come before You as a broken people.  We bring our relationships – both those with individuals and those between cultures of divergent positions. Father, open up our eyes that that we might see them through divine eyes.  Replace shouts of anger with hearts of compassion that echo out Your love to the world. Father, begin with us.  We humble ourselves before You.  We...

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” – Isaiah‬ ‭55:8-9‬ ‭NIV‬‬ Father, we can clearly see, how taking matters into our own hands and using human wisdom in our decisions can lead to disaster.  Proverbs 16:25 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”  Lord, spare us from disaster! Lead us in the way everlasting (Ps 139:24). Guide our steps. Keep us from paths leading to deception, temptation and destruction. We pray these things, that our lives will be found worthy and pleasing to You, full of good fruit and growing in our knowledge of You. By Your power, strengthen us to endure everything with patience.  And even through trials, teach us to offer up thanksgiving, with joy, before You (Col 1:10-12). Lord, Your ways may be beyond our comprehension, but we choose ...

“Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” – Hebrews 13:2 Father, Your Word says in Psalm 91:11, “For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.“  Knowing You have sent Your angels to guard us, we can’t help but wonder if we have encountered one of Your angels, but never recognized them as such. Have we rejected one of the heavenly host, because they were dressed in the clothing of poverty, were disheveled or uncomfortable to be around? Lord, bless us to see others through Your eyes, so we operate with wisdom and the fruit of the Spirit. Teach us to not judge by appearances (1 Sam 16:7), but by the leading of Your Spirit – to love the unlovely, the difficult and those who curse us for Your sake (Luke 6:22).  Teach us to greet with genuine warmth, show generous hospitality and humbly serve our fellow man as if each one were one of Your heavenly hos...

“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” – Ezekiel 36:26 Lord, give us ears to hear You this morning. Soften our hearts to be as moldable clay, pliable and responsive to Your touch.  We purpose to tune our ears to discern Your voice above all others, so we will hear Your voice that calls us to Your higher way. Help us to not simply hear You, but to be wise and do what Your Word says (James 1:22). Bless us to be blessings wherever we go. And take joy in us as we live our lives as worship before You. In Jesus Name ❤️ Dear friend, a hard heart may protect us from some wounds, but it can also lead to loneliness and prevent us from feeling love and receiving comfort from the Lord and others. Why not ask Him to soften your heart, and then choose to protect yourself with the whole armor of God?💡 If you have been encouraged or challenged, please repost and furt...

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” – 2 Corinthians 12:9 Lord, we come before You and we, like Paul, boast in our weakness.  We remind ourselves that our current trials are friends sent to reveal Your strength, because apart from You we can do nothing (Jn 15:5), and our self sufficient works of righteousness are as but filthy rags (Is 64:6). We ask You to do a work of cleansing of our hearts and minds, Father.  Give us a revulsion for habits of sin and the enticements of darkness.  We do not understand our current season, but we choose to cling to You in it and say, “Lord be glorified in and through us. (Ps 29:1-2) We turn away from what hurts and weighs so heavily on our hearts and declare You to be Lord over all of it (1 Cor 8:6). Thy will be done (Matt 6:10). Father, come and convince us again o...

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.” – Matthew 5:14-15 Lord, in our good times and bad times, Your love for us is eternally the same.  You are patient, compassionate and tenderhearted toward us. You discipline us, because Your love for us is far too great to leave us crippled and languishing in our sin. Father, send the searchlight of Your Spirit to illuminate the darkness that lingers in our hearts. Bless us with a hunger for Your ways that we will come to detest the ways of the enemy and loathe the very scent of death He bears. Expose the lies we have accepted as gospel and built into the pillar and foundation of our truth (1 Tim 3:15). Tear out every deception and false teaching.  Brick by brick, rebuild us for your glory.  Fill the newly emptied spaces with Your presence, so we do not turn to things of ...

“ I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God." – Genesis 17:8. Father, today we take note of the children of Israel who wandered in the desert for 40 years on a trip that should have taken 11 days.  Their idolatrous and ungrateful hearts kept most of them from ever seeing the fulfillment of Your promise. Yet, even in their grumbling, You provided their daily bread.  Their clothing and shoes did not wear out and their feet did not swell (Neh 9:21).  Even in their rebellion, You remained faithful and met their needs.  And You blessed those who were faithful to You in return, by allowing them to step foot into the promised land.  We do not want to wander in our desert for 40 years, Lord.  We do not want our final days spent outside of the gate of Your promise.  We repent of our grumbling and complaining hearts that are never full...

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;   in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” – Proverbs 3:5-6 Heavenly Father, we come before You.  When we were children, we considered what our life might look like at this point in our lives.  We realize now that very little resembles what we had imagined.  There is a temptation to give into discouragement for the weaknesses we continue to battle and the hopes and dreams that remain beyond our grasp. We choose, again, to trust You in this journey.  We may not understand why things are the way they are, but we take courage in reminding ourselves that You do.  You do not ask us to suffer needlessly, but You have a purpose for every struggle we face. We shift our eyes away from our troubles, fears and sorrows and fix them firmly upon the author and finisher of our faith (Rom 15:4-5).  We offer our “whys” on the altar of sacrifice and ask...

A SLAP ACROSS THE FACE Here is a confession from a year ago that still makes my heart jump to read it.  It’s something I continue to work on daily.  I have made progress, but I still have a long way to go.  Thank you for bearing with me. CONFESSION:  Have you ever had one of those days when you have looked at something one way your whole life and then suddenly, out of nowhere, you see it a different way?  This morning I was cleaning in the kitchen and listening to a truly rich teaching.  The message was SO good and was talking about being used of God.  I was just scrubbing the sink and taking it in and up pops a verse.  You've probably heard it a zillion times.  Bear with me here.  I promise I’m  going somewhere with this.  It says,  “And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.” – Matthe...

THE SPIRIT OF THE LAW & HUMILITY “In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”” – 1 Peter 5:5 NIV Father, show us how to honor You in this day and how to respond to today’s challenges with a heart of mercy and grace.  Strengthen us to die to our flesh, and what it means to take up our cross and follow You.    Living in a world full of sin, it is common for the dust of this world to cling to us.  Remind us to daily come before You and be washed clean of all iniquity.  In our striving to remain pure, Spirit of God convict us when our heart becomes prideful, when we point to our own righteous instead of the righteousness of Christ and we forget the wretchedness from which we came.   Change our hearts so we will extend love at every turn and conduct ourselves with humility, gentleness and...

“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” – Ephesians 5:15-17 NIV Father, I lift up my dear friend.   They may have a plan for the day, but unless their plans are in keeping with Your design, said plans are foolish (Ps 127:1) at best and deadly at worst.   Unless You establish their plans, their labor is in vain.   Lord, direct their steps.   Remove from their agenda anything that is outside of Your perfect will.   Give them Your perspective of any disagreements, disappointments, hurts or fears in this day, that they might have eyes to see the heavenly side of the coin. On today’s journey, teach them to not be so rigid in their thinking and agenda that they miss a divine appointment, or in their haste, overlook a refreshing vista that You have planned along the way.  Teach them to view interrup...