STEP FORWARD, LOOK BACK & TRUST AGAIN By:  Julie Souza Bradley Lilly “Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.” – Psalms‬ ‭5:2-3‬ ‭NIV‬‬ Sometimes prayers are answered suddenly, while other times the answer can only be seen by looking back and discovering that change happened slowly over time.  While we love split-second answers, it can be so comforting to look back and see, that in times of waiting —even though we were unaware — God’s hand was working through people and circumstances for our blessing. Our loving, meticulous Father watches us with tender affection, anticipating our every need.  His heart is soft toward us. And He whispers counsel and gentle comfort, leading us in paths toward blessing and away from harm. There is no need to be afraid. He is WITH us.  (Deut 31:6) He is FOR us.  (Rom 8:31) He will...

DIVINE DELAYS By:  Julie Souza Bradley Lilly “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient” - 2 Peter 3:9 NIV I was thinking this morning about how many times Jesus was in the middle of something and was interrupted.  His life was riddled with discouragements, distractions and delays.  Yet through it all, He trusted the Father to keep Him on time. On the surface, these occurrences may simply look like annoyances, but scripture reveals that these bumps in the road can be strategic and serve to usher in displays of God’s power, blessing and protection.  The healing of Jairus’ daughter, the woman healed of the issue of blood and the resurrection of Lazarus—each came as a result of an interruption.  Without interruptions, many miracles would disappear from the pages of our Bibles. Detours and delays don’t take God by surprise.  They are intentionally woven into the fabric of our lives, and can be p...

BABY STEPS By:  Julie Souza Bradley Lilly “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin,“ - Zechariah‬ ‭4:10‬a NLT‬‬ Have you ever become discouraged by a project even before you started? In the beginning, it is tempting to become overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the task.  We look at our small beginnings, our tiny, awkward baby steps in the right direction, and often fall prey to the lie that to succeed is impossible. Whether starting a new diet, a course of study, exercise, fighting an addiction or just cleaning out a closet, the truth is that what is worth pursuing comes at a cost.  And the sense of accomplishment we look for only comes by way of effort. Beloved, are you overwhelmed and discouraged, even before today has started?  Are the memories of yesterday’s struggles stealing from the promise and hope of today? Father, as the brilliant hues of sunrise bring a over-arching sense of promise to morning, gi...

LORD, WHERE ARE YOU? By: Julie Souza Bradley Lilly “So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” ...So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days,” – John‬ ‭11:3-4,6,7‬ ‭NIV‬‬ Mary and Martha called out to Jesus in desperation.  Jesus knew their plight, but He waited two more days before coming.  And by the time He arrived, Lazarus had been dead for four days.   Imagine how they must have felt — grief at Lazarus’ death and abandoned by Jesus.  They had considered Jesus a close friend, and He had performed countless miracles for others, but failed to help them when they needed Him the most.  Maybe He didn’t love them, or didn’t care.  Maybe He wasn’t God.  But right then and there, when it was too late and all hope was gone, Jesus arrived.  And moments ...

A BRIDGE OF SCAR: A Prayer For Reconciliation By:  Julie Souza Bradley Lilly “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 chasm, a gaping wound that lies between those we consider to be “us” and “them.”  We see behaviors of others that we consider abhorrent, and our loathing for the sin becomes loathing for the sinner.  We feel justified in our feelings and violence.  We crush and destroy, forgetting that, like us, they were created in the image of God. Father, we are a broken people.  We humble ourselves and bring our shattered relationships before You.  Help us to see one another through Your eyes. Begin with us.  We repent of our hard hearts, hubris and selfishness.  Forgive us for hatred disguised as holiness and for attaching the title of “enemy” to human faces. Father, renew our minds.  According to 2 Chronicles 7:14 that...

 EMBRACING VICTORY By:  Julie Souza Bradley Lilly “First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” – Matthew 5:23-24 ESV The devil would love nothing more than to keep us stagnant and sitting on the bench.  He knows that if we embrace the work of the cross in its entirety —both forgiveness and healing, we will be unstoppable.  The strategy is that if he can’t keep us chained to the past by the guilt of our sin, he will attempt to keep us as victims who are not only ineffective warriors, but also whose lack of forgiveness delays God’s hand of blessing. We all sustain wounds in this life.  No one is spared.  But there is a difference between passing through victimhood on our way to the future, and putting down roots to become a full-time resident there. The enemy loves victims.  Every minute they spend licking their wounds on the sidelines is one less minute they wear the whole armor of God.  Victims pose no threat ...

EVERY REASON TO BE CONFIDENT By:  Julie Souza Bradley Lilly The faithfulness of God is all around us. It is whispered in the arching ombré of a rainbow and the flawless dance of the sun, moon and stars. It was spoken through a donkey in Numbers 22:28.  And recently, it spoke through a fortune cookie.   Lost in my thoughts and feeling overwhelmed, I was cleaning out the pantry and scooped up some stale fortune cookies to throw them away.   I don’t believe in fortune telling, but I thought I would crack one open to read the message.  The latest batch had been humorous, and I needed a laugh.  It simply read, “You have every reason to be confident.”  That was a joke for sure! I tossed it in the trash, turned and a torrent of verses flooded my mind: “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 1:6.   “Therefore let us draw near w...

 UNINTENTIONAL WORSHIP By:  Julie Souza Bradley Lilly “I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.” – Psalms‬ ‭9:1‬ ‭NIV‬‬ This morning I was praying and thanking God for some wonderful things I see Him doing, and a verse came to mind.  “Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises.” – Psalm 22:3 NIV He reminded me that when we recount His wonderful deeds, He draws near and is enthroned upon our praise.  Our praise acknowledges Him as our King.  And when He rules in our hearts, His authority brings peace and divine blessing to the kingdom of our lives.  Blessing comes as a result of recounting His marvelous works. Suddenly a song came to mind. Are you old enough to remember the song, “Gotta Serve Somebody” by Bob Dylan? Check out this line from the chorus: *”Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord                         ...

A HEART OF CLAY By:  Julie Souza Bradley Lilly There was a period of time that I could count on one hand how many times I had cried in 10 years.  For many of you now facing heartbreak, this might sound appealing— to be insulated from the grief and gnawing ache. After choosing to harden, there was a brief period of relief in being spared anguish.  However, I quickly discovered that my insulation from pain came at an exorbitant cost.  I was numb. The numbness of a hard heart is a two-edged sword.  It is not a selective condition that can be turned off and on at will.  While we may be spared pain, we are also numbed to joy, pleasure, hope, love and the comfort of God.  It cuts off the blood flow to empathy and compassion, which constrains our effectiveness in ministry and erects relational walls that come by way of our insensitivity to others. Painlessness is no joy, beloved. The Lord in His mercy allowed another heartbreak in my life.  The...

HIDING CONTRABAND  By:  Julie Souza Bradley Lilly As I sit to write, there are 52 countries where possession of a Bible is illegal. Over the course of my lifetime, some countries have become more open while others are closing. Reading the Word for me has become my routine—something I might foolishly take for granted, that many consider an extraordinary privilege.  I am confident that at this precise moment, somewhere in the world someone is praying for a Bible— praying to hold the literal Words of God within their hands. Think about it.  Between the covers of this divine book lie the mysteries of God, paradigm-shifting truth, wisdom, comfort, peace and unparalleled counsel. On a challenging day, we take for granted pulling it off of the shelf or googling verses of comfort.  But what would happen if suddenly all of that were taken away?  Like the appearance of a virus that suddenly changes the world as we know it, a day may come when freely op...

UNNECESSARY ROUGHNESS By:  Julie Souza Bradley Lilly I frequently hang out at Starbucks with my hubby and the “coffee boys.”  We are regular patrons there, always sitting at the same table. One man named Roger, often pops by our table with his dog in tow.  It’s sad. Roger is so harsh and demanding with the dog, that the dog has become aggressive.  Unnecessary roughness has created a mean dog. I was thinking about this today, when the Lord gave me insight about how much I am like both Roger and his dog. Like Roger, I am a harsh taskmaster with myself. I over-schedule tasks and assign arbitrary and unreasonable deadlines for their completion. Then, like Roger’s dog, I snap at others, because I am exhausted and stressed. Many times I have heard myself say, “If anyone’s asks me to do just ONE more thing...” Those words divulge when I have done too many things that God never intended me to do, and I have squandered my reserve of energy, patience and...

GRUMBLING IN THE DESERT By:  Julie Souza Bradley Lilly “For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people who were men of war, who came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they did not obey the voice of the LORD—to whom the LORD swore that He would not show them the land which the LORD had sworn to their fathers that He would give us, “a land flowing with milk and honey.” – Joshua 5:6 GW The children of Israel wandered in the desert for 40 years.  The trip should have taken 11 days.  Grumbling and disobedience kept most from ever enjoying God’s promise.  Even in their unfaithfulness, He remained faithful.  He provided their daily bread.  Their clothing and shoes did not wear out and their feet did not swell (Neh 9:21). No one wants to wander for 40 years, or to spend their final days just outside of the gate of God’s promise.  But when we lose focus on our destination and its rewards, we succumb to the temp...