Tag: #christianblogger

ALWAYS WITH YOU

One of my holy places is a retreat house that overlooks a beautiful lake.  It is a place I spend different weekends in ministry helping in the dining area, as well as personally attending retreats.

 

 

I missed ministering there last year, especially for extended weekends, because of the pandemic.  They were able to open up for some day retreats back in the fall, which I attended. I was fortunate to attend two Lenten retreats within three weeks.  How could I not take advantage of the blessing of spending alone time with the Lord and soaking up the beauty of the grounds? Continue reading “ALWAYS WITH YOU”

DECEIVING

It was a beautiful sunny morning in March as I headed to church.  I was surprised to see the thermometer said 14 degrees.  I enjoyed the crisp air and sun as I walked briskly to the back door of the church.  Running into a facilities man who was vacuuming the dirt and ice melt from the carpet right outside the door became a God moment.  As I arrived at the door, he finished and came inside.

He asked me, “How is your life?” which is a question a former pastor of the church used to ask.  I thought that was an interesting spin on a familiar question.  I thought how encompassing the question is, and for some reason, I felt full of gratitude for everything in my life. Continue reading “DECEIVING”

THE LORD’S PRAYER

A friend recently reminded me of this simple yet powerful thought, which led to these thoughts this week.  It is something I find myself repeating frequently, along with thanking God for providing.

 

 

I am sure you recognize that verse, a line from the Lord’s Prayer. Continue reading “THE LORD’S PRAYER”

THE LIGHT

This scene is quite familiar to me as it is what I keep my eyes on much of the time as I am working out with an exercise video.  My spirit is refreshed and working out is better when the sun shines through the window. I tend to focus on one of the crosses you can see in the window.  At the same time, I listen to different church services to keep my mind thinking about the important things. This makes the exercising go by faster.

 

 

One day a “light bulb” turned on in my head, and I had a little revelation as the sun was shining through.  Now, I actually see a two-fold message. Continue reading “THE LIGHT”

THE HEART

When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed!”  But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”  –1 Samuel 16:6-7  (NLT)

This passage reveals what is most important to God.  God cares most about our hearts, the condition of our hearts!  His thoughts and ways are different from ours.  Don’t we, as humans, often put our emphasis on our looks, careers, how much money we have, or compare ourselves to others? 

God is telling us the outward things about us do not matter to Him.  Continue reading “THE HEART”

GOD’S AGAPE LOVE

I have been immersed in experiencing God’s great love for me recently, which is overwhelming at times.  With February being a month noted for love and with Valentine’s Day just a few days ago, I figured this topic was apropos for this week.

If I asked you the following questions, what would you share?  As you read these thoughts, be thinking of how you would answer these questions.  I would appreciate hearing your answers, which you can share in the comment section below.  We can help each other learn and grow through our sharing.

 

 

 

Continue reading “GOD’S AGAPE LOVE”

TIME TO BE WITH HIM

One blessing for me personally since after the pandemic started almost a year ago has been the privilege of joining in a weekly zoom Bible study, which is hosted overseas in Wales.  The Pastor who leads the Bible study has been a dear friend of mine since the Lord put the Christian Band, Third Day, in my path back in 2013.  He was the Road Pastor for the band and would accompany the band members on their bus as they traveled about holding worship and prayer time for them.  He would often also lead the concert attendees in prayer before the concerts.  We started talking back then, have kept in touch, and my faith journey has been better for it. Continue reading “TIME TO BE WITH HIM”

THE DESERT EXPERIENCE

Our life on this earth can be considered a “desert” experience.  A desert experience, a wandering in the wilderness, until we reach our true home.  God has given us this desert experience to draw closer to Him, to prepare our hearts to spend eternity in the Promised Land of Heaven with Him and Jesus.  He provides just what we need, when we need it, day by day.

I was reminded of that parallel thinking of the Israelites God let wander in the desert for 40 years.  A synopsis of the story from the book of Numbers 13:1-13 is:

Continue reading “THE DESERT EXPERIENCE”

JESUS’ BAPTISM

This past week or so I took the time to gain more insights and grasped deeper meanings of a familiar Scripture story.  Come and explore the significance of Jesus’ baptism and what it means for us.

 

John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.  –Mark 1:4-5  (ESV) Continue reading “JESUS’ BAPTISM”

TAKE MY YOKE

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”  –Matthew 11:28-30  (NLT)

 

What encouraging verses, rich in meaning, to apply to our lives.

A yoke is a type of harness that usually connects a pair of oxen.  What does it mean to be yoked to Jesus?  We come together with Jesus, He leads, we follow, He shares the burdens with us, and He helps us make it through.

 

Photo courtesy of JoLynne Martinez under Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

If we visualize Jesus coming alongside us with His yoke, we realize that Jesus is calling us to…

–Connection with Him-His yoke fits perfectly and is lighter than the one we try to pull by ourselves. Jesus says, “Be with me.”

–Direction with Him-We will be going in the same direction with Jesus guiding our lives. We cannot wander off any more. Jesus says,  “Follow me.”

–Cooperation with Him-We have no choice but to follow Jesus’ pace. We are joined in Kingdom work realizing everything we do has an eternal impact.  Jesus says,  “Work with me.” Continue reading “TAKE MY YOKE”