Category Archives: Blog

Today Is A Great Day For New Mercies

God's mercies are new every morning.

God’s mercies are new every morning.

No matter what you are going through, you can say like Scarlet O’Hara, “After all, tomorrow is another day.” Let the blessings of today flow to tomorrow and let the evils be left behind. God’s compassions fail not and His mercies are new every morning. (Lam 3:22-23)

It’s such a blessing to start the day knowing that God’s mercies are there for us. No matter what the challenge is, God is faithful, everyday. What do you need? Go to the One who will move heaven and earth for you. The challenges are not challenging to Him. He can work out anything, if we let Him.

Let go of worry, fear, and doubt. They are all of the enemy. Put your trust in God and enjoy peace. Going to bed at night worrying about the next day is allowing the enemy to win. Give it all to Jesus. He said to cast your burdens on Him, because He can handle it. He’s smarter than you anyway and knows what needs to be done.

Everyday is a fresh day of blessing. Give it to God and expect to see Him work for you. Expect to see blessing come your way, because you trust in Him. Don’t waste a single blessing.

Another post on daily mercies: Morning Mercies And Tea

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

  • God delivers His fresh mercies each day

Do Not Be Fooled By Impersonators–Jesus Is The Real Deal

Jesus is the real deal

Jesus is the real deal

If religion has left you frustrated or dismayed, it’s because you ran into religion and not Jesus. Religion has rules–mainly stuff you shouldn’t do. And if you get caught doing them, you’ll never be forgiven, by people at least.

It’s not that God doesn’t have rules. It’s just that He’s amazingly loving and forgiving. When He comes into your life, you get changed. You get a renewed mind, so old lifestyles have no more lure.  Jesus wants to set you free, not chain you down with stuff you shouldn’t do.

Jesus will lead you straight to the Father. And when you stand before His throne of grace, you understand what it’s all about. Confessing our sin is so we can come closer to God. We see Jesus as the amazing One who made a way for that happen.

The enemy will throw up all sorts of impostors to keep us from Jesus, but all of them will be weak and pathetic. Who wants a shadow of a thing when the real deal is so alive and full of grace? Be careful where you put your heart. If you haven’t met Jesus, then you haven’t found the real thing.

Another post on religion: Religion Stinks

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

Nothing Heals Like A Kiss From Heaven

There are times when something is going to hurt us. It may be circumstance we didn’t see coming, or someone’s words or actions that hit us right in the gut. It’s going to hurt. Your reaction to it will be important. You have to allow forgiveness to flow. Don’t hold onto anger or resentment. Bless and move on.

But while the pain is still fresh, it hurts to think about. Remember when you were little and you skinned your knee? The first thing you thought to do was run home to Mom and have her fix it. She would kiss is and make it better. Even as a kid you probably knew the kiss didn’t do anything, but it was important that you got it.

We actually get a real kiss from heaven that does a lot. When we give God our disappointments and pain, He kisses it and makes it better in ways we may never understand. When you hand over your pain to Him and trust Him to take care of is, He gives you peace. You give Him pain, He gives you peace. It’s such a great trade-off.

When God kisses an owie, it does wonders for your soul.

God Loves Through Us When We Can’t

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

 

 

The Kingdom Of God Is Right Now, So Be Focused On Today

Seek first the kingdom of God.

Seek first the kingdom of God.

Seek first the kingdom of God. This has to be central to everything that we are. What is the kingdom of God? It righteousness peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Rom 14:17) It is loving God with all our heart. (Luk 10:27) It is loving others as ourselves. (Mat 22:39)

The kingdom of God should perfume everything that we do. All our goals and motivations should come from 1. We are hearing the Holy Spirit. 2. We are honoring God in what we do. 3. What we do will bless others somehow. If we can live like that, then God will bless the desires of our heart.

But there is a balance to believing that God will bless our desires and how we live today. We may get a prophetic word about promises that God has given. The very thing we have asked for, He has promised to fulfill. All we have to do is trust Him and wait for His timing. If God said it, then it has been done in heaven. We just need to see it done on earth.

So we live in this longing to see our prayers and promises answered. We fight against the enemy who whispers that nothing is going to happen to make us lose hope and give up. Standing in faith takes courage, and God blesses that.

But where are our eyes right now? Are we always looking forward to finally seeing promises fulfilled? Or are we looking at today, to what God has put in our hands to do? It’s so tempting to be lured by promise that we miss the blessings of today. When we are so focused on what we hope to get, we fail to see what we have.

Seek first the kingdom of God. Love God with all your heart. Love other people as you love yourself. Live like that today. When you can love God with all your heart, you long for more of Him. When you look to bless other people during the day, your interests are off of yourself.

It’s not that you give up believing for answers, it’s that you don’t allow that promise to take your eyes off of what you need to be doing. The promise is there. It isn’t going anywhere. God’s word is still true. He will still come through when you need Him. But right now, what is going on? Where is your heart? Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Balancing Heaven And Earth

**************************************************************************The Key of David, by Diana Symons                                                                                             A story that’s been told for thousands of years…  The Bible’s Book 1 Samuel tells the story of David’s life – from an obscure family to an unlikely king, from shepherd to warrior, from champion to king-maker. What does it mean for a man to love God and be loved by Him? This book explores what it means to be human in the light of the Kingdom.

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

The Peace Of God Will Let You Sleep Through The Storms

Trust God and relax in the storm.

Trust God and relax in the storm.

I love how Jesus slept in the boat in the middle of a storm–a storm so bad, the disciples thought they were going to die. I love that Jesus had so much peace, that He used the time to catch up on sleep. Now that’s real peace. Because He knew His Father, He knew they were in safe hands. Might as well take a nap.

That is a great place to live everyday. Pressure may come. Problems may come. But when you know your Father, and when you know you are in safe hands, you don’t have to fear. The disciples clearly didn’t understand how much God loved them. They were full of fear, not trust and thankfulness.

Wrap your head around the fact that God loves you so much that you can trust Him with your life–everything in your life. Yes, you will see the waves rise up before you, but you can have the peace to take a nap if you want. God has it in control, if you allow Him. If you see the waves and panic, then His grace won’t help you. The power of God to help comes from your heart to trust Him completely. The peace to sleep through a storm is a wonderful way to live.

Speak Peace To The Storm

 

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

The Grace Of God Is Simply Beautiful

Grace is the doorway to forgiveness.

Grace is the doorway to forgiveness.

Understanding grace can take some work. And that’s almost a pun, because grace means that we actually can’t work to earn it. We are conditioned to work for what we expect. If we do a good job, we expect a compliment, payment, or a smile. If we do something bad, we expect to be punished or receive anger. What we don’t expect is complete forgiveness when we didn’t ask for it.

God’s grace defies definition because it comes from His heart of love that we don’t have the capacity to fully comprehend. He is so very forgiving. No matter what we’ve done, He’s always delighted to forgive. And then He forgets that thing immediately. All He wants is for us to be safe in His care so we can live in love with Him. That’s an aspect of God that is so foreign to us that it’s hard to believe.

Just thinking of the grace we have in God is enough to make you thankful for the rest of your life. All you have to do is confess your sins to Him and receive Jesus into your heart, and your life in eternity begins. Grace is the doorway to His forgiveness. And it’s an amazingly beautiful doorway.

How To Grow In Grace

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart
  • Embracing Epic Grace

If You Are Mad At God, Work It Out

Tell God why are you are mad at Him.

Tell God why are you are mad at Him.

Do you ever get mad at God? Do you ever feel that He’s not being fair or not doing what you think He should be doing? Are you waiting for Him and He’s not answering? It’s ok. Stuff happens in life that disappoints us. Now what will you do with it?

First, you have to know that God loves you wildly. His love for you is so complete, you could almost eat it. There’s nothing He won’t do for you. But He won’t do anything that will cause you harm. Maybe the thing you expected God to do really isn’t in your best interest. Maybe He has better plans for you.

Stop and think about why you’re mad at Him. The problem isn’t on His end. Talk to Him about it. Talk to Him frankly. Tell Him why you’re mad. Allow Him to respond in a way that will give you peace. Ask for forgiveness for not trusting Him, and then start trusting Him. Repentance requires a change of heart.

God is not offended at you for being mad at Him. He will always, always love you completely, despite how you feel about Him. You just need to find your way back into His peace. It’s just a heartbeat away.

God Is Nicer Than You Think He Is

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

Related Article. Mad At God

 

Perfect Love Eliminates Fear

Fear not. Your Father has your hand.

Fear not. Your Father has your hand.

Suppose you are a parent. Suppose you are taking your toddler to the beach for the first time. I remember this. My little son was so terrified of the small waves that came at him, that he literally climbed up my body. What he didn’t understand, was that I would never allow him to be harmed. I was with him, holding his hand, keeping him safe, whether he realized it or not. (He didn’t.)

If we could just see that God is with us in the same way, we’d never feel fear. He promises to be with us and take care of us as an awesome, loving Father. He has our hand. He’s with us. He won’t allow anything to harm us.

The harm comes when we forget that. We wander off and get ourselves into trouble, then panic because the waves are coming at us. All we have to do is turn our heart back to God and put our trust in Him.

God’s love for us is divine. It’s holy. Fear cannot stand before it. His love is like a magnet. It draws us to Him to keep us safe. Be as a little child and see how your Father has your hand. There’s nothing to fear when you are with Him.

Never Be Afraid

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

God Will Always Fill The Hungry Heart

God will fill the hungry heart.

God will fill the hungry heart.

How hungry are you? Do you want to know about God? Or do you want to know God? Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” (Mat 5:6) David said it even better, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God.” (Ps 42:1)

Once you realize that God is not two-dimensional, that He’s not vindictive, that He’s not an idea, a practice, or a theory, you start to get a glimpse of who He really is.

The first touch you get of His reality, you’ll be rocked for life. He’s massive, and yet in His kingdom, He lives in us. His love fixes any mess we give Him, because He wants to bless us so much. He created everything–the works–just to make a way for us to be with Him. This world is for us, but it’s about His love.

I can’t get enough. My soul does hunger and thirst for Him because whatever I know about Him is not enough. There is so much more to explore and discover about God. And every tiny nugget is rich and exciting. And you can have it, too. Just say, “God, I want some of that!”

Only Jesus Can Satisfy A Hungry Heart

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart

Your Day Has To Include Spending Time With God

Make the decision to spend time with God every day.

Make the decision to spend time with God every day.

Don’t you hate it when people tell you, If it’s important, you’ll make time for it? I especially hate it when they refer to exercise. But they are right. We make time for the things we want to make time for. Number one on your list of priorities should be your relationship with God. If you make time for Him, all kinds of blessing will open up to you.

It’s so common to hear people say that they just don’t have time to read their Bible or pray. They have time for TV. They have time for the ballgame. Those are not bad things, but if they are robbing time from God, then they become bad things.

We all have busy lives. Family, work, commitments crowd our lives. But think of your time like money. When you tithe, God makes sure that you have plenty to live on. Even so, when you give time to God, He makes more for you. I don’t know how He does it, but it works. You can’t afford not to give Him your time.

But it is a decision that you have to make. You have to set yourself to spending time with Jesus. It’s when you get to hear Him and feel His love cover you. You need that. You really need that. Decide now that you will hang out with Him every day and let Him fill you with everything you need.

Time With God Fills You For Times Of Need

 

Read the first chapter of my book Crucible Heart