Wrestle with God by His Promises

“Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope. ⁵⁰ This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life.” Psalm 119:49-50

“When we hear any promise in the word of God, let us turn it into a prayer. God’s promises are his bonds. Sue him on his bond. He loves that we should wrestle with him by his promises” (Sibbes, cited in Spurgeon).

“But God – let us speak with reverence – when he gives a promise, binds himself with cords of his own making. He binds himself down to such and such a course when he says that such and such a thing shall be. Hence, when you grasp the promise, you get a hold on God” (Spurgeon).

I came across these two quotes in the commentary I often use. I have never thought of God wanting us to wrestle with Him by His promises. I love the visual of how God binds us with His cords. When we grab ahold of one of His cords of promises we get a hold on God. This passage opens with the reminder that God NEVER forgets His Word. It is His Word that He wants us to cry out back to Him in prayer.

When we pray God’s promises back to Him we remember that we can trust and hope in Him. We also remember that within our affliction His promises give us life. And because of this we can feel God’s comfort even within our affliction. Spurgeon said of this, “The worldling clutches his money-bag, and says, ‘this is my comfort’; the spendthrift points to his gaiety and shouts, ‘this is my comfort’; the drunkard lifts his glass and sings, ‘this is my comfort’; but the man whose hope comes from God feels the life-giving power of the word of the Lord, and he testifies, ‘this is my comfort.'”

The Psalmist continues, “The insolent utterly deride me, but I do not turn away from your law. ⁵² When I think of your rules from of old, I take comfort, O Lord” (verses 51-52).

In time of trouble he chooses to not turn away from God’s Word. He remembers how God has handled past situations in his life and takes comfort from it. We can do this by remembering how God has comforted us in our past afflictions and challenging seasons. It’s often good to write down what God has done for us so we can go back and read through them to give us comfort in our current situation.

“Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my sojourning. ⁵⁵ I remember your name in the night, O Lord, and keep your law” (verses 54-55).

The Psalmist is expressing how God’s Word makes him sing with joy. It also gives him confidence. He also talks about remembering God’s name in the night. I know when we are in a season of suffering that the nighttime can feel the longest. It is in these moments that bring God’s Word to mind will also bring us comfort and peace.

“This blessing has fallen to me, that I have kept your precepts” (verse 56).

The Psalmist ends this portion of Psalm 119 stating that because “This blessing has fallen to me” (ESV) or “This is my practice” (CBS), that all of God’s comfort, goodness and power are part of his faith and his to claim. He then states that he enjoys these blessings because he obey’s God’s Word (“I have kept your precepts“).

God’s Word is at our fingertips if we know how to use it. If we read, study and memorize it we practice hiding it in our hearts where we can access it whenever we need it. We can wrestle with God over it and we can grab ahold of God through it.

I have a few ways I do this. One is from Max Lucado’s method of pulling the weeds of untruths and replanting them with the seeds of God’s truth (Tame Your Thoughts: Three Tools to Renew Your Mind and Transform Your Life). Another way I like to do this is to breathe in God’s promises/truths and exhale whatever untruth is taking up space in your mind. This last one works when panic is setting in and your breathing is becoming faster.

Take the time today to write some of your favorite go to Scripture passages down on an index card. Carry these cards with you or leave them in a location where you can access them regularly. Use them when you need to remember God’s promises.

Accurate Biblical Thinking

I have rewritten this post a few times because I’ve said what I wanted to say about accurate biblical thinking so many times that I feel like I’m getting preachy. I don’t want the truth of needing to have accurate biblical thinking be swallowed up by my stand against what I consider the false doctrine of the Christian Nationalism/MAGA movement. But as the mid-term elections come nearer the urgency of having accurate biblical thinking gets stronger. The urge to pray for the hearts of those already in office and for those who will be placed into office gets stronger.

These are questions that have been taking up residence in my brain recently:

1. If we truly believe our nation was founded upon Christian principles then we should expect those in office to adhere to Biblical truth. We should expect those in office to not play Christianity and twist Scripture for political power.
2. If we believe Christian Nationalism is biblical then we should vote not by political ideologies but by what Jesus taught us about our enemies, the poor, sick, unprotected, the marginalized . . .
3. Could it be that what’s good for our nation on a political level may not aline with the Christian faith?

I’ve been more outspoken against our current administration because they claim Christianity as their own and say they are doing everything in God’s name. Yet, I don’t see the fruits of their claims. I understand the importance of separation of church and state. That what happens at a political level has to be what’s best for people in our nation and not just for Christianity. But those lines are blurred and the resulting destruction is not one I can sit back be silent over. Now the rubber is meeting the road and it’s time for me to vote and put to action what I’ve been speaking out against. Where do I draw the line? How do I break away from long standing political ideologies that I believe aren’t biblical?

I think it really starts with Jesus. How we live our lives with the knowledge of what Jesus did for us is the core of all we do, how we reflect Him and treat others. The only way we can know Jesus is through knowing His Word (the Bible). God’s Word is the key that unlocks everything. If we don’t have a firm understanding of it our biblical foundation could be weakened by worldly ideologies.

Nicky Gumbel, the author of my devotional, says about the Bible and Jesus, “Everything you read and understand about God through the Bible needs to be read through the lens of Jesus. He is the ultimate revelation of God. Your key to getting your life sorted out is Jesus. Your key to understanding the Bible is Jesus. Your key to understanding God’s character is Jesus. Your key to life is Jesus.”

Gumbel goes on to say, “Reading the Bible is, in some ways, like looking in a mirror with a very bright light: ‘The unfolding of your words gives light’ (Psalm 119:130a). The light reveals what is wrong with our life and what we need to have cleaned up. It reveals the things that cause a barrier between us and God. This barrier was removed when Jesus provided cleansing for your sins. Through Jesus, you can be confident that God’s face will shine upon you (Psalm 119:135).

What Gumbel says about reading the Bible alines with what I learned in my bible study this week. One day in this week’s lesson we focused on Romans 12:1-2, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ² Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (ESV)

I grew up thinking, ‘do not be conformed to this world’ meant that God was telling me to keep my distance from those who don’t believe as I do. The emphasis was outward focused. But really this is an inward focused command. As Christ Followers we live in two kingdoms: God’s and the world’s. In Romans 12:1-2 Paul is helping us navigate these two kingdoms in a way that honors and glorifies God. Courtney Doctor, the author of my bible study on Romans, said in her video lesson, “It is not a question of to which kingdom we belong. It is a question to which kingdom we are conformed and adhere to.” WOW, that put everything into perspective because it places all the responsibility on how I’m being transformed through renewing my mind in God’s Word.

God’s Word also tells us to remain faithful to uphold its truth and not to be faithful to false doctrine. We can’t be faithful to both. There is no balancing of the scales on this one. The truth of God’s Word must out weigh false doctrine. Clarke says of this, “A man may hold all the truths of Christianity, and yet render them of none effect by holding other doctrines which counteract their influence; or he may apostatize by denying some essential doctrine, though he bring in nothing heterodox.”

Courtney Doctor said another thing that alines with what I’ve been wrestling with the past two years, “Evangelism doesn’t happen through our appearance of moral superiority and expressions of disapproval.” From what I’ve been reading and witnessing, the Christian Nationalism of today teaches that we must disengage and distance ourselves from those who do not conform to culture Christianity. It seems to be all about, “appearance of moral superiority and expressions of disapproval.” How often have we heard our current administration quote Scripture, surround themselves with praying priests/faith leaders, sing worship songs during meetings and read the Bible out loud? At the same time do everything the opposite of what Jesus, in the Scripture passages they’re reading and singing about, teaches them to do. It makes it seem to me more manipulative and performance based.

Christianity is not all about forcing people who do not believe in Jesus to conform to its practices. If not conforming to the world and being transformed is something that only pertains to Christians, then should it be something our political leaders be forcing upon our whole nation?

My bible study reminded me that God is a missional God. Here’s another Courtney Doctor quote that stood out to me, “God is passionate about worldwide proclamation of the gospel. His sights have always been set on the whole world (Genesis 1:28; Genesis 12:3; Exodus 19:5-6). His plan, from the beginning, was to create a people for Himself that included every tribe, nation, tongue, and people group. In other words, our God is a missional God. He is the One who seeks and saves. He is the One who goes to the lost. He is both the One who sends and the One who was sent. . . . Then Jesus said in John 17 that in the same way the Father sent Him into the world, He ends us. That’s our purpose. That’s why we are here. We’ve been sent by Jesus to join Him on His mission to proclaim the gospel in all the world. In Christ, we have been united, not just to His righteousness, but to His heart, His passion, and His mission. It’s our greatest calling and our ultimate purpose” (page 196 of ‘In View of God’s Mercies’).

If God tells me that it’s His mission to reach people of every tribe and nation then that should be my mission. If this is my mission then I can’t sit back and watch our current admonition strips our country of people of every tribe and nation. The later is the mission of an imperfect government and leader. A leader the Christian Nationalism/MAGA movement wants to be the conquering hero of our nation. The Jewish people also wanted the coming Messiah to be their conquering king. Jesus could have been that conquering king but He wasn’t. He didn’t come to save the Jews from any worldly empire to make them the strongest nation of the world. Titus 3:4-7 tells us a different plan, “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, ⁵ he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,⁶ whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

If we are to conform to God’s Word and His kingdom by having accurate biblical thinking then we need to be renewing our mind by:

Being ‘constantly nourished’ on God’s Word, “In pointing out these things to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the good doctrine which you have been following” (I Timothy 4:6).

Being ‘absorbed’ in God’s Word, “Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all” (I Timothy 4:15).

Paying attention to what we’re allowing into our hearts, “Pay close attention to yourself and to the teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will save both yourself and those who hear you” (I Timothy 4:16).

This post is not to tell you how to vote. It is a reminder that living in this world as a Christian is not an act of passivity. It is one of standing up for accurately handling God’s Word. To weigh all false doctrines and what others say against it. To be reminded that we do this from being ‘constantly nourished’, ‘absorbed’ and paying attention to what we allow into our hearts. It’s also a reminder that this world isn’t just about us and our faith. It isn’t our job to force people to conform. It’s the Lord’s job to lead people to Himself through the love and care of His servants (us). We need to leave room for the Lord to transform their hearts. We can’t allow our political climate to sideline the mission God has us on.

I pray for us all that we will face mid-term elections with much prayer and wisdom.

God Will Supply All Our Needs

“One person gives freely, yet gains more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor. ²⁵ A generous person will be enriched, and the one who gives a drink of water will receive water. ²⁶ People will curse anyone who hoards grain, but a blessing will come to the one who sells it.” Proverbs 11:24-26

This week in my women’s bible study we had a discussion about giving. In the passage we were reading in 3 John it was talking about supporting missionaries and those working to spread the Gospel message. I admit that since the hubby has retired that my desire to give financially has not been as free giving. Where once we’d give whatever we felt the Lord was calling us to give to whomever He called us to support. It could be a dear friend or a complete stranger. We never once hesitated to give because we knew God would supply the necessary means to do so. Yet now that the funds are more in a fixed state my mind hesitates and goes down the ‘what if’ road.

In Philippians 4:14-20 we read an account of how others helped support Paul. He says in verse 14, “Still, you did well by partnering with me in my hardship.” He goes on to explain who has given to him and his work for the Gospel and says in verse 18, “But I have received everything in full, and I have an abundance. I am fully supplied . . .” He tells them in verse 19 that through their giving that God will, “supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

As we discussed this I was reminded by some of the ladies that if God calls us to financially support someone that He will provide the necessary funds to not only give but to continue to care for our own needs.

The next morning I read through this passage in Proverbs 11 that fit into the discussion of giving. In this passage we see what happens when we’re generous compared to when we’re being stingy, withholding and hoarding.

“One person gives freely, yet gains more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor” (verse 24).

When we are generous not only with our finances but time God can spread His work like the scattering of seeds. Seeds that will grow into a great harvest. Withholding generosity both financially and spiritually can lead to poverty not only for ourselves but also to others.

“A generous person will be enriched, and the one who gives a drink of water will receive water” (verse 25).

Being generous creates a circle of blessing. When we give others drink from the Living Water we also get watered by the Living Water. Other translations of this verse says, “The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself” (KJV). The Enduring Word Commentary says of this, “Rich is literally fat, and so translated in the King James Version (The liberal soul will be made fat). ‘Especially in countries where people have little to eat, the metaphor ‘to be fattened’ connotes wealth, abundance, full satisfaction, and health (cf. Deuteronomy 31:20).” (Waltke).

“People will curse anyone who hoards grain, but a blessing will come to the one who sells it” (verse 26).

This is referring to people who refuse to sell hoping to manipulate the market. Thus making the cost of things more expensive. The Enduring Word Commentary says of this verse, “The principle is spiritual as well as practical. When we distribute instead of hoarding, blessing will come.” Our God is a generous God and He calls us to also be generous.

After looking through this verse we can conclude that those who are generous and rely on God’s faithfulness will find ways to enrich other people’s lives and find abundant living. We are called to be good stewards of our finances so that we can help others to flourish.

Since I’ve written this post the Lord has provided us a way to weekly touch other people’s lives. I don’t doubt that whatever the need is for the week that God will provide a way for us to supply it. After all, “God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).

Life-Saving News

“For I have a great sense of obligation to people in both the civilized world and the rest of the world, to the educated and uneducated alike.” Romans 1:14 (NLT)

I came across a few quotes that really spoke to me and made me realize I hold within my heart life-saving news but I don’t often share it with others.

The first quote is from Courtney Doctor from her, ‘In View of God’s Mercies: The Gift of the Gospel in Romans’ study, pg 26: “But have you ever heard someone say that sharing the gospel is ‘just one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread’? It’s true. Think of that analogy for a minute. If you really were starving and you really had found a never-ending source of bread, would you – should you – have an obligation to tell other starving people about the bread? Yes! We all should feel that kind of obligation to share the gospel. As a carrier of the gospel, Paul had the life-saving news that spiritually dead, lost people needed to hear. So do we.”

I questioned myself if I really had what Paul said in Romans 1:14, “a great sense of obligation”, to share the gospel? Do I have that urgency and desire to share the amazing love I feel from the Lord? The peace I have even when life throws me things that would otherwise rip away my peace? The answer I knew was true is that I’m often more scared that when I do share Jesus with someone that they’ll reject me or get angry at me. And now I feel like what Christian Nationalism has done for my faith has made me embarrassed to call myself a Christian. How do I share what I know about Jesus with people who only see the Jesus of Christian Nationalism?

In all reality, those are excuses. Excuses that allow me to walk by spiritually lost and starving people and not give them a piece of the Bread of Life (John 6:25-59).

As I discovered this about myself I understood that I needed to do some scripture diving to speak truth to my convicted heart.

Paul used the word, ‘obligation’, so I thought I’d start with that word. Obligation is defined as, “Something by which a person is bound or obliged to do certain things, and which arises out of a sense of duty or results from custom, law, etc.” (Dictionary.com)

We are bound to share the Gospel because the Gospel is meant to be passed on and not kept to ourselves. Jesus specifically said that we are meant to share it before He ascended back to heave after His death and resurrection, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).

We see that Jesus calls us to go and make disciples (spreading the good news of the Gospel) to all nations. The gospel was for everyone regardless of nationality, social or political status, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14).

Paul echoed the same obligation when he said this obligation was for, “people in both the civilized world and the rest of the world, to the educated and uneducated alike.” In this letter to the church in Rome, Paul was dealing the lack of unity between the Jewish and Gentile Christians. The Jews thought of themselves as better than the Gentiles because they followed the Law of Moses and had the seal of God’s covenant through circumcision. In many ways this made them believe that they had a special, ‘in’, with God. But Jesus, through His death and resurrection made it possible for all to know Him and experience His saving grace, mercy and righteousness. There was and is no longer a division.

Why no more division? Because God loved the whole world, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:16).

The second quote is by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “Your life as a Christian should make non-believers question their disbelief in God.”

WOW! That one really convicted me. Do I conduct myself in a way that others see the light of Jesus within me? Do I treat others in a way that makes them see Jesus?

My prayer for myself is to have a deeper desire to share the good news of the Gospel. To do so without fear or worry of rejection. People are spiritually starving and I’m in possession of a starter dough of this life saving Living Bread to share with others. It reminds me of Friendship bread. Have you ever been given starer dough for Friendship bread? It’s like a never ending source of this bread that you make and set aside part of the dough to give to someone else. Who, in turn, makes the bread and sets aside some dough to give to someone else.

Let us be the ones to start the never ending cycle of sharing the Gospel.

Mountain Climbing

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” Psalm 103:1-5

[NOTE: I originally wrote this devotional several years ago. I came across it again this morning when I was scrolling through my old cancer support group devotionals looking for one to share with you this week. As I read through it I realized that today, October 14th, is the anniversary of my first chemo infusion 26 years ago. This is not a date that is on my radar any longer but for some reason it is the date that God brought to my attention today.]

I have been going through a season of emotional challenges that have left me feeling off balance. I’ve been slogging through the Word daily but struggling to dig deeper than the surface. I am thankful that no matter how I’m feeling or how little I put into my devotional time, the Word ALWAYS speaks to me. It is the one thing that has kept me putting one foot in front of the other.

Throughout this month I was reminded about the time when God met me at the bottom of a very deep dark pit. The night after I found out that I had cancer on August 8, 2000.

The cancer diagnosis season can be longer than we wish it to be. August 8th was the day I had my biopsy and was told that it looked like I had Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma instead of Hodgkin’s Disease. The difference? One was considered a fatal disease that mostly older people got. The other more treatable with a higher survival rate. It took two weeks before I got the official pathology report that confirmed what the surgeon saw. It took two months of tests to figure out what flavor of NHL I had. Two months of blood work, CT and PET scans and a bone marrow biopsy. All during a time when PET scans were not the norm. The only facility that had a PET scan machine was the UW. Oh, and insurance wouldn’t pay for it until it was approved by the UW. It took me a month of calling the UW and my insurance company trying to be the middle man when the two entities couldn’t figure out how to connect to each other. No connection = no scan = delayed treatment.

I eventually got it done (learning to be my own advocate) and got scheduled for my first treatment on October 14, 2000. I know the exact date because the night before I read through the above passage in Psalm 103 focusing on verses 3 & 4, “who heals all your diseases, who delivers your life from the Pit”. Next to this chapter I wrote, “Another reminder of God’s healing power”. At this point I had no idea if God would heal me from my disease. I knew a 32% survival rate was not that great of a survival rate. I knew many with my disease at this time in history did not survive past 7 years. I knew my cancer would probably come back in 2 years and be resistant to traditional chemotherapy. The odds didn’t seem to be in my favor.

The night before my first treatment was the night God reminded me of how He met me at the bottom of my dark pit back in August. He also reminded me that I had a 100% survival rate IN Him. 

Further down in this chapter He reminded me that we were going to climb this mountain together, “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust” (verses 11-14).

God is able to help us climb our mountains because He knows us intimately, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth” (Psalm 139:13-15).

We will not be immune to the challenges of mountain climbing. In fact, He guarantees we will have to face challenging mountains. The good news is that He promises He will provide us with perfect peace as we climb. John 16:33 says, “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In the world you have trouble and suffering, but take courage—I have conquered the world.” The AMP translation says, “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace. In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy]; I have overcome the world. [My conquest is accomplished, My victory abiding.]”

Tribulations and perfect peace can co-exist. Why? Because we can claim victory over them because Christ is the victor over all things. No challenging mountain is unconquerable with Christ. Let us go back to Psalm 103:19 to glean this exact truth, “The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all” (NASB). 

This doesn’t mean that mountain climbing is easy. We will face crevasses and struggle to find a good hand or foot hold to pull us up higher. Regardless of these things God will remain faithful to open our eyes to see the path before us one hand and foot hold at a time. I pray that God will show you the wait up the mountain this week. 

Our song for this week: You Will Make A Way. 

Embrace Your Calling

“He led his people out like sheep and guided them like a flock in the wilderness. ⁵³ He led them safely, and they were not afraid; but the sea covered their enemies. ⁵⁴ He brought them to his holy territory, to the mountain his right hand acquired.” Psalm 78:52-54

Has God ever placed you in a position that you didn’t really expect or want to be in? I remember when God called me to start a cancer support group and how I evaded Him for months. I didn’t want to lead anything thank you. It wasn’t in my wheelhouse so there isn’t a point to doing it. When God begins to show you His calling He’ll make sure you understand it’s what you need to do. Within this months of denying Him I had five lovely ladies be diagnosed with cancer. If that isn’t the door opening wider I don’t know what is.

I took a much needed season of rest from cancer support. My ladies were NEVER a burden but after 12 years I need time off from suffering. I never intended to return to cancer support but two years later the same thing is happening . . . ladies within my church are being diagnosed with cancer. I spent many months telling the Lord that I’m still needing to be in a season of rest. That I wasn’t ready to get back into all things suffering. It was at this time that the Lord led me to the story of Mojtaba Hosseini. This Hosseini was mentioned in my devotional. Nicky Gumbel said of him, “He is a young pastor who was imprisoned, aged 20, for running house churches in Iran. He was imprisoned alongside murderers and drug dealers. He spent long periods in solitary confinement, not knowing if or when he would be released. Mojtaba felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to share the good news of Jesus. So when the opportunity arose, he began sharing his testimony and the gospel with the other prisoners, proclaiming, ‘Jesus is alive.’ He said, ‘It doesn’t matter what situation I’m in. I can work in God’s kingdom wherever he places me. And at that time God placed me among the prisoners.'”

Okay, so here’s the thing, cancer support is NOTHING like being imprisoned alongside murderers and drug dealers. It’s nothing like being in solitary confinement. I’m balking at helping women dealing with cancer because I’m tired of seeing people I love suffer.

God planted Hosseini in the ministry He had chosen. It was unfair that he was imprisoned for running house churches. But look at where God had him . . . . he was in a place where he couldn’t be imprisoned again for sharing the Gospel message. In many ways he was safer sharing Jesus in prison than he was outside of prison.

Have you felt the calling to start or be a part of a ministry? Is fear of the unknown or lack of knowledge holding you back like it did me? My cancer support ministry is a very different from Hosseini’s in that many of the women who come understand that it is a biblically based support group. Many are Christ followers but some haven’t been and were able to hear about Jesus. I think of all the people out in the world who don’t know Jesus. They need us to be willing to be the hands of feet of Jesus in any way the Lord is calling us to be.

Something Nicky Gumbel said in today’s devotional that stood out to me, “You will never fully understand the good news of the gospel until you understand why you needed rescuing.” People need to understand why they need rescuing. And the only way that can happen is through us showing them the way to safety. I think of our scripture passage for today in Psalm 78. The verses before verses 52-54 give us an accounting of the rebellion of God’s people and all God did to redeem them (verses 40-51).

Within these verses we see that rebellion is the nature of sin. The people rebelled against God multiple times (verses 40-41). We also see how the consequences of sin grieves God and eventually leads to death (verses 40, 49 & 50). And yet God came to their rescue time and time again (verses 42, 52 & 53). Those of us who know Jesus fully understand why we needed rescuing. It is the reason why we can share the Gospel message with others. Nicky Gumbel said another thing that stood out to me, “Do not waste a single day of the precious life God has given you. Whatever you are called to do, however difficult your circumstances, you can enjoy your calling and complete the task with joy.”

My life will never be free from cancer so why waste a single minute of it not supporting others who are dealing with cancer? As soon as I gave in an inch and started laying out a plan for a new group EVERYTHING fell into place from the name to the scripture passage of said group. Once I did that I reached out to a few trusted friends to ask for prayer for wisdom in what I need to do with this new thought. Little by little the Lord continues to lead me back into cancer support and has even given me a desire to restart a new group. As soon as this desire grew so did the women I knew who needed the support group. I now feel some excitement at getting back to what I know is my calling.

What has God brought into your life that He can use for not only His glory but also to reach out to people who need rescuing?

The Name of Jesus

“For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow—in heaven and on earth and under the earth—¹¹ and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11

Life, for me, is part amazing and part disheartening. I have a great life surrounded by loved ones and friends. I attend a church that has become like home to me. But I’m still struggling and greatly heavy hearted with what’s going on around the world and in our own country. The other day I was talking with a friend about a situation she was dealing with and the power of the name of Jesus came up. The next morning before I spend time with Jesus I listened to the song, “I Speak Jesus” by Charity Gayle. The lyrics reminded me of the conversation with my friend.

I did a little bit of scripture searching on the name of Jesus and came across the scripture passage in Philippians 2. We see from this passage that the name of Jesus is powerful. God highly exalted Jesus above every name so that nothing, no one, no power or situation surpasses Jesus. He is the focus of our salvation, obedience and worship. His name demands that everyone be in submission to Him and His lordship. This includes leaders, kings, all nations and peoples. It also includes the demonic world (‘under the earth’). No one is able to resist His final supremacy as we will acknowledge His authority.

The chorus to ‘I Speak Jesus’ says:

Your name is power
Your name is healing
Your name is life
Break every stronghold
Shine through the shadows
Burn like the fire

His name is powerful to break every stronghold (Psalm 9:9), to shine through the darkest shadows of our trials (John 1:1-4), heals our brokenness (Psalm 34:18), and gives us new life (Romans 6:23).

I want to encourage you with this song if you are in a place of struggling: I Speak Jesus.

Click HERE if you want to know more about Jesus.

Inactivity

“So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Genesis 1:27 (AMP)

I originally wrote this a year ago and am just now updating it in September of 2026. I wrote this post back when I was deep into questioning why we believe what we believe politically and how my faith fit into it. It has been a long confusing year for me struggling with my own feelings towards the state of our government and how I should respond to it biblically. In the past year I have realized the importance of following one God and not allow the small gods of this world to dictate to me what I should believe. The divide Satan started decades ago has become so wide that no one wants to build a bridge to close the division. With that said I’ll go ahead and jump into what I was struggling with and the conclusion that came from my time in God’s Word.

This morning as I was reading through Haggai I was convicted about one thing – my own inactivity. Haggai was a prophet who encouraged the Israelites to rebuild the temple. It is believed that he may have witnessed the original temple being destroyed. King Cyrus issued a degree that the captive Jews were allowed to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their temple. It is estimated that 50,000 Jews did make the long journey home and built the foundation of the temple within two years. This caused the nations around them to become concerned about what would happen on a political and religious level and took action to stop the rebuilding. It wasn’t until King Darius that they were encouraged to start working on the project again.

The introduction section of my bible says of this book, “The Jews were more to blame for their inactivity than their opponents, and Haggai tried to arouse them from their lethargy.”

As a Christ follower, I can look back from the 80’s to now and see where my heart attitude became elitist as well as lethargic. My 20’s were spent during the Promise Keeper, Rush Limbaugh and purity culture movements. All movements that, in the end, I see encouraged the ‘them verses us’ mentality. Movements that encouraged us to not have anything to do with those outside of our faith because we might be influenced by their sin (as if we weren’t sinners ourselves). Movements that also taught us that it is okay to judge those who don’t know Christ as their Savior (judgement that rests in the Lord’s hands and not our own). In my opinion, this created a Christian bubble that shut the world out in a way that I do not believe Jesus intended.

These movements closed doors and created a big divide between those within and outside of Christ. Instead of stepping outside of the bubble as Jesus would have done, we created an environment that was unloving towards the people Jesus would have reached out to. We saw them as bigger sinners than ourselves. We saw them as people to avoid and fight against (the enemy). This has only led to these communities of people outside of Christ to fight in a louder and bolder voice. Decades later, I can see why Trump’s MAGA movement took off. The divide Satan has cultivated (and Christ followers helped build . . . including myself) has created a society that has been in a spiritual decline. Trump fed into the fear of what that meant to the future of our country. We’ve been inactive so long that the MAGA movement gave many a direction to help stop this spiritual decline.

Here’s the thing, like the Jews in Haggai’s time, we share in the responsibility of what has become of our society. Some, like me, have been spiritually inactive outside of the church bubble. Following a movement that is not Christ centered and started as a manipulating campaign tool is not the way to become spiritually active once again. This is not the foundation we should stand upon.

We need to take our stand upon the truth of God’s Word. This is where I have felt convicted and probably why I have voiced my opinion about the current political culture in recent years. I see a need for myself to change but also for Christ followers to not fall for Satan’s lies that one man and political party can save our country.

We see from our passage in Genesis that God created man in His image. This includes those who do not yet know Him. They just haven’t repented of their sin and accepted Him as their Lord and Savior.

God’s purpose for every person, regardless of who they are, what they do or how they live, is to redeem everyone and bring them into full restoration. “For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16

God knew us from the day we were formed, “For You formed my innermost parts; You knit me [together] in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks and praise to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was being formed in secret, And intricately and skillfully formed [as if embroidered with many colors] in the depths of the earth. Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were appointed for me, When as yet there was not one of them [even taking shape].” Psalm 139:13-16

God desires us to become new creations leaving our old lives behind. He knows we are broken and hurting. He knows we’ve made mistakes and yet, He desires us to be restored to Himself, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life].” 2 Corinthians 5:17

We know God desires this restoration because of what He did through His Son, Jesus, “But God clearly shows and proves His own love for us, by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

Those of us who know Him as our Savior know what it means to live a life free of condemnation. We know what it means to be loved and cared for. If we know this, then why do we withhold this information from those who don’t? “For you, my brothers, were called to freedom; only do not let your freedom become an opportunity for the sinful nature (worldliness, selfishness), but through love serve and seek the best for one another. For the whole Law [concerning human relationships] is fulfilled in one precept, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself [that is, you shall have an unselfish concern for others and do things for their benefit].’ But if you bite and devour one another [in bickering and strife], watch out that you [along with your entire fellowship] are not consumed by one another.” Galatians 5:13-15

I’m calling all Christ followers to take this time leading up to our midterm elections seriously seeking the truth of God’s Word. Allow it to lead you as you prepare to vote. Don’t allow any propaganda, government leader or evangelical leader to derail you from the Truth. The end goal is not nationalism it’s the good news of the Gospel message.

When you read any verses Christian Nationalists use, read them in the scope of the Bible. Who was the author, who were the recipients, what was going on in history at the time the book was written and how does it fit into the overall scope of the whole bible?

Do allow the Truth of God’s Word to light a fire in your heart for Jesus and reflect Him. To treat others as He asks us to treat them. To fight and protect those in need. And lastly, allow it to bring your heart out of inactivity. God built the foundation and we are the ones who continue to work alongside Him to bring others to find sure footing on His foundation.

If you don’t know Jesus please click HERE. Read through the scripture passage to see what He did for you.

Break Up Unplowed Ground

“Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap unfailing love. Break up the unplowed ground for yourselves, for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers deliverance on you.” Hosea 10:12 (NET)

As I was digging deeper into this verse I came across something that I feel I need to work on – keeping my ground plowed.

Other translations say ‘fallowed ground’ instead of unplowed ground. The definition of ‘fallowed’ is, “left unplowed and unseeded during a growing season” and “undeveloped but potentially useful”. Fallow is also an old English word for plowing. Some farmers practiced leaving fields unplowed in rotation. This allowed the ground to rest and regain nutrients that were used through over-planting.

In many instances the Lord is rebuking the Israelites for preparing their soil but leaving it unused. Instead of using it they were choosing to plant their seeds in ground that was filled with weeds and thorns. Spiritually speaking, we need to be good stewards of our spiritual ground. We need to cultivate it in the Lord and not choose to cultivate in the world’s ideologies, philosophies and pleasures.

I am left questioning what my spiritual ground is like? I am good at breaking it up every morning and planting seeds from my time in the Word. But I admit that I have a tendency to seek other ground to plant my spiritual seeds. Ground that will grow my spiritual seeds amongst the weeds and thorns of this world. Ground that will weaken me, open my heart to half truths or even infiltrate my heart with wrong thinking.

Breaking up our fallowed ground isn’t a pleasant experience. Sometimes the blade of truth hurts when it cuts into our spiritual soil. But this is the only way we can turn our soil into soil that is ready to receive biblical truth. It only when we do this that we are able to see that we need to seek the Lord. The Bible Hub says that we need to:

• Seek intentionally—set apart time, space, and attention (Psalm 105:4).

• Seek continually—make pursuit of God the first priority, not the last resort (Matthew 6:33).

• Seek expectantly—He promises to be found by those who seek Him with all their heart (Jeremiah 29:13).

How do we seek intentionally, continually and expectantly?

We seek the Lord first and foremost, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).

We read and study the Bible, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

We renew our mind in Christ and not the world, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2).

We submit to God, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

We don’t lean on our own understanding, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

I want to leave this thought with you today: What does your spiritual ground look like? Has it been left hardened and resistant to God’s plowing? Or have you allowed God to break it up through feeding yourself spiritually?

Seed Habit

“He presented another parable to them: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. ³² It’s the smallest of all the seeds, but when grown, it’s taller than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.'” Matthew 13:31-32

Since I’m not much of a gardener I don’t have much experience with growing things from seeds. Even so, I do understand the concept and have grown a few things from seeds when I was a child and again when I had young children. What always amazes me about seeds is how tiny they are when they’re planted. It’s hard to imagine that a tiny little seed will soon become a beautiful flower.

Our spiritual lives are like seeds. We don’t start off being a beautiful spiritual flower. It takes time to cultivate our souls so we can gain nutrients and grow into who God intends us to be. Not too long ago I listened to a podcast episode with Hanna Seymour called, ‘Can I start Small Habits To Grow Big Faith?’ (https://www.jenniferrothschild.com/start-small-habits-grow-big-faith-hanna-seymour/). I loved what she had to say about building spiritual growth as a seed habit. How important it is to constantly practice building on spiritual habits of reading, studying and memorizing the Bible.

She told a story about Billy Graham who kept open bibles in almost every room of his house. This way he could walk into any room and stop to read for a few minutes from whatever page of the Bible was open. His grandson once asked, “Granddad, what could you possibly be getting from the Bible in that short amount of time?” Billy Graham answered, “I sip on the Word of God all day long.”

Hanna Seymour says that we need to sip on the Word of God. She goes on to say, “So if you have never cultivated a daily habit of opening your Bible — and I genuinely mean that, just opening your Bible — then maybe your seed habit is, if you’re a coffee drinker, you leave an open Bible next to your coffee machine. I recommend turning to that book of Philippians. It’s probably my favorite book to come back to. And when you press start on your coffee machine, start Philippians 1:1. Read a few verses. Go do, you know, whatever you normally do, come back, fill up your cup, maybe you read a few more verses. But that is the tiniest seed habit that we can start.”

She also talked about Biblical solitude. How it’s not just being alone with God but being alone in silence with God. I struggle with silence probably because part of my dyslexia makes it sometimes hard to shut my brain off. But mostly, I’ve never built a seed habit of being totally silent before the Lord. I do have a good habit of spending every morning with Him reading and praying but never just sitting in silence.

“Biblical solitude is being alone with God. Solitude is not just about being alone and being in silence. It’s about being aware of God’s presence, that he is with you. And a lot of times solitude is an umbrella habit, meaning we do other things. You know, I’ll say I have time of solitude in the morning. Well, usually I’ve got my Bible open and I’m probably praying in that pocket of solitude.”

The one thing she pointed out was to, “Make it small. Make it easy. Make it fit into your day!” In other words, fit these small spiritual disciplines into your daily routine. Hers was read a little from the Bible while waiting for her coffee to brew. Seed habits are habits that start with minimal time requirement and fit into your current season of life. In time, this habit will grow and produce a beautiful spiritual tree that is daily nourished by the Lord.

My new seed habit that I’m working on is being silent before the Lord. So far 1 minute is all I can do before my mind starts to wander.

What spiritual seed habits will you start this week? Remember, it should be small, easy and fit into your day.