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 th...

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...

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 ...

  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...

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. T...

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 capt...

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 offe...