SPIRITUAL TIMIDITY By:  Julie Souza Bradley Lilly Don’t ask me how I know this, but the enemy has us snookered.  He has the vast majority of us anxious and trembling in our boots.  If we could, we would hide beneath spiritual blankets until morning light and this nightmare is over. It’s smoke and mirrors, beloved. Don’t get me wrong.  The enemy is a formidable opponent.  He has power.  He is “prince of the power of the air,” “ruler of demons,” “ruler of the world” and the “god of this age.”  But he is NO MATCH for our God.  Satan’s minions may observe our actions and weaknesses, but we have been grossly underestimated.  When we submit to God, His power within us is unstoppable. “The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” – 1 John‬ ‭4:4‬ ‭NIV‬‬ Our opponent entices and attempts to frighten and discourage us.  He strives to dupe us into disobedience and fear.  Without these measures—when we stay the course, following God’s plan—he goes down hard in de

THANKS, I NEEDED THAT! By:  Julie Souza Bradley Lilly Have you ever looked at something one way your whole life, and suddenly you see it a different way?  This morning I was scrubbing the sink and listening to a podcast, when up pops a verse you have probably heard a zillion times. “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” – Matthew 25:40 KJV Here Jesus is talking about when we offer a cup of water, clothe or feed "the least of these,” it is as if we are doing those things to Jesus.  The “least of these” means mankind, our fellow man, our neighbor. I was feeling warm and fuzzy about it until suddenly images began flooding my mind —rape, theft, violence, neglect, selfishness, lying, greed, gossip, hatred, prejudice...you name it.  It dawned on me.  It isn't just the GOOD things that we do to our neighbor that are "as unto Jesus."  It's EVERYTHING we do — both good AND bad —

SURROUNDED By:  Julie Souza Bradley Lilly “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple” - Psalm 27:4 For several months we have been researching which car we should buy when my current car eventually dies.  We don’t want to wait until the last minute, and then end up regretting a purchase made in haste.  So, the decision has been simmering in the back of our minds. It’s interesting, but each time we have seriously considered a particular car, we begin to see that make and model everywhere.  It is almost as if every tenth car we see is the model we are thinking about. It isn’t a “sign,” but rather evidence, that our subconscious minds are dutifully working in the background, drawing our attention to what we are focusing on, while causing other things to fade from view. I am learning how critical it is to be selective about what captures

  LOOK FOR THE RAINBOW By:  Julie Souza Bradley Lilly “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” – Matthew 5:45 NIV Last spring, while running errands, I was surprised by unexpected rain.  Without an umbrella, I began to grumble under my breath, when the Lord interrupted. He whispered to my heart that the rain may not be convenient, but it was a blessing from Him, providing in advance for our water needs during the summer.  His beautiful rainbow reassured me of His faithfulness in both sunshine and rain. Apart from creation, every miracle in the Bible began as a problem.  It might be tempting to think that God provides miracles to receive glory—as if our thankful worship strokes a fragile ego.  But unlike us, God is not lacking in self esteem.  He does not require our approval or adoration to feel better about Himself. He is perfect, lacking nothing. I have misjudged His intentions many times, ascrib

EXPOSING:  HOSTS IF THE HEART By: Julie Souza Bradley Lilly “Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” - Psalm 37:4 NIV From the moment we enter the world, our longings, neediness and hunger can be heard crying out for satisfaction.  Early on, most of our longings are for things, such as nourishment, that are necessary for life.  With time, we also begin crying out for things that we want, and he line between want and need can become blurred.   The first sin in the Garden came as a result of succumbing to temptation, by satisfying a natural hunger with a piece of unholy, forbidden fruit.  The first bite brought with it deadly longings that, like a magnet, drew other unholy longings to come to offer themselves.  With each bite, the hunger for the unholy became stronger, opening the door of the heart to the influence and manipulation of demonic hosts. Within the first generation of offspring, innocence decayed into murder. Today the Lord invites us to e

A PRAYER FOR THE WEARY By:  Julie Souza Bradley Lilly “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry;” – Psalm‬ ‭34:15‬ ‭NIV‬‬ Father, Your people are tired.  Our burdens are heavy, and it can feel as if the weight of the world is on our shoulders.  We bring to You our needs, our weariness and the burdens we carry—the pain, grief, anxieties and fears that invade our dreams and deplete our joy and strength. With a sigh of relief, we release it all at Your feet. Lord, You are the source of everything good.  Great Physician touch our brokenness with healing.  Heal our eyes to see things as they truly are.  Lay Your hands upon our heads.  Release the oil of anointing, and cover our hearts and minds with supernatural peace.   Lord, traumas and tragedies spring up, drawing our attention away from tending to the flames of our faith.  Show us how to stir up our gifts (2 Tim 1:6), take our thoughts captive (2 Cor 10:5), cinch down our armor (Eph

TAKING HOLD OF THE SECRET By:  Julie Souza Bradley Lilly “”Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”... Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.” – John‬ ‭6:9,11 NIV‬‬ This testimony of the miraculous power of God is told in every Sunday School class.  I love the disparity between the needs (a hungry crowd of 5,000) and what little Jesus had to work with—a young boy’s lunch.  The story of the feeding of the 5,000 is recorded in all four gospels.  I love this particular telling of the story, because it mentions that it was a boy who gave his loaves and fish to feed the multitude.  The miracle began when, in faith, a child released what he had into the hands of Jesus. We come to God daily with our list of needs.  We need peace, healing or an increase in our finances.  We offer our requests, but leave carrying

HERO By:  Julie Souza Bradley Lilly “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” – Psalm 27:1 KJV Have you ever been called a hero?  Two years ago I helped to put out a grassfire set by arson.  Thankfully, I happened upon the fire very quickly after it was started.  With the help for others who came to my assistance, we were able to put it out in just a few minutes, leaving only a small, burnt patch of grass. It was just a tiny fire, but I discovered that a significantly larger fire had been set at the base of our hill.  It blazed while I was putting out the fire for my neighbor.   The larger fire was set in my absence, leaving my disabled parents home alone and unable to drive.  I could have lost so much that day, but didn’t. Tragedies happen, but God spares us from so much. People called me a hero for putting out that little fire that day, but it is God who is the true hero.  He extinguishes fi

A POOR MAN’S GRACE By:  Julie Souza Bradley Lilly “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 ‭NIV‬‬ “My grace is sufficient for you,” is a phrase that, in the past, has felt somewhat discouraging to me.  In our culture, the word “sufficient,” usually means “meager, adequate, barely enough.” Consequently, when coming before God requesting His “sufficient grace,” I pictured myself as a beggar, pleading for the crumbs and scraps from God’s table— half expecting Him to be stingy, because, perhaps, He wasn’t quite finished chewing on that bone. It wasn’t until while enjoying an old movie, that I watched a servant come before a king, bow and address the king as, “Your Sufficiency.”  Something clicked.  Certainly, the servant was not declaring the king barely adequate or lacking.  On the contrary, he was

THE SECRET OF PEACE By:  Julie Souza Bradley Lilly His name was Alex, and the mere glimpse of his name in my daily schedule could bring a smile to my face.  Opening the door to my office, it was as if he were letting in sunshine itself.  His bright smile, exuberant laugh and kindness would fill the room.  Alex lived in the neighborhood, and I would often see him walking past my window with his guide dog, Buddy. Alex amazed me.  I would be terrified to walk half a block blindfolded. I asked him once how he could be so confident and joyful on his long, daily walks, while unable to see.   He reached his hand to touch his companion, “I know Buddy.  I’ve learned to completely trust him.  He brings me peace.” We all go through life visually impaired.  What little we do see of our circumstances is seen unclearly and often misunderstood.  And our short-sightedness and lack of understanding can cause us to draw false conclusions, about our circumstances and even God Himself. “For no

 THE MASTER OF DISTRACTION By:  Julie Souza Bradley Lilly “Be clearheaded. Keep alert. Your accuser, the devil, is on the prowl like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” – 1 Peter‬ ‭5:8‬ ‭CEB‬‬ I am fascinated by the mind.  I watched a program once about focus and distraction.  They presented a stage where a dozen people were dressed in different colored outfits.  We were instructed to count how many times the woman in the red dress and the man in the blue hat crossed the stage during a one minute song.   As the people intermingled on the stage, my attention was riveted.  I thought I knew the answer to the question they were going to ask.  Then they asked, “How many times did the dinosaur cross the stage?”  The WHAT?!  A DINOSAUR?!  I rewound the clip and there it was.  A large dinosaur crossed the stage three times and I never even saw it. The enemy is a master of distraction, too.  He keeps us focused on unimportant details, while he maneuvers undetected in the background.  H

WASHED CLEAN By:  Julie Souza Bradley Lilly‬ The enemy has only so many tools in his bag with which to discourage us, slow us down and get us off course.  For me, the tool he uses most often is guilt.  My tongue tends to get me in trouble.  When it does, my apologies come quickly and are genuine.  But even though I may have asked both the person and the Lord for forgiveness, there is a shame that often lingers. This morning on TV, a cute, little duckling was getting a bath to remove dirt and oil from its feathers, and the Lord spoke to my heart.  “Like this little duck, you were covered in sin, but I have washed away your shame.” “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” – ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12:2‬ ‭KJV‬‬ I always thought that “despising” meant simply that he hated it.  After some digging, I see that “despising” also means to rejec