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Showing posts from 2017

Garment of Praise

Praise is a weapon, and it’s so important that we learn to use it appropriately. We all have challenging days, and it’s those very times that we need to cling to Jesus. The Bible tells us that God inhabits our praise; Inhabit  is defined as: ‘to exist or be situated within; dwell in’ I don’t know about you, but when I encounter difficulties or trials, there is nothing better than knowing that God is in the midst of it with me; moving and working on my behalf. I’m not going to say that my flesh doesn’t fight against this, and that there aren’t times when I want to ‘clap back’ as they say...after all they deserve it right? You hurt me, so I hurt you? It’s the way of the world after all, and we have so many sayings that attest to this...that speak of revenge, and payback...but God doesn’t agree with the things of this world.  Psalm 22:3 KJV 3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. Something starts to happen when I begin to praise God for who He is, an

The Garden

Today I finally had a chance to get outside and tend to my garden. I've been working a lot lately, and unfortunately the neglect was evident, based on the overgrown vines, and plants barely hanging on to life. Though my garden was looking pretty pitiful, I still had hope because I had revived failing flowers in the past. As I stooped in the dirt, with what sounded like a million mosquitos singing in my ears despite the repellant i was covered in, I started to think about the garden of my soul. It's so easy for troubles, and cares to creep in to our hearts like vines if we're not careful, and choke out the Word of the Lord. I'm sure you've been there, so concerned about a certain problem, or situation, that your fears -also known as the lies of the enemy- begin to drown out those things you know to be true about God. You even begin to forget those miracles He's done in your life previously, the giants He has slain, and His all sufficiency. Before you know it, yo

The Crucible

        The crucible serves it's purpose, but boy it's not a lot of fun is it? Maybe you've been there...going through a particular trial that tests every fiber of your being, and just when you get a chance to gasp a breath of air, or try to heave a sigh of relief you look up to find that...wait a minute, I'm still in the fire. That situation that singes your faith, and puts everything you believe about God to test. If you find yourself experiencing any one of those things, yep your in the crucible. So what does one do when they find themselves in the crucible you might ask? Why, you praise God. Yes you heard me correctly, you praise God right where you are for taking the time to discipline you, taking the time to remove the dross that sits just below your skin, the grime that doesn't readily meet your eyes, so that your life can be a mirror that reflects Jesus to the world around you. Proverbs 25:4 NIV, Remove the dross from the silver, and a silversmith can pr

Hard Days

Some days are just plain hard. Not just difficult, or challenging, but hard. David is one of my favorite characters in the Bible, not just because he wrote many beautiful psalms, but because he knew a thing or two about hard days. 1 Samuel, Chapter 30 speaks about one such day that David had. He and his men had just returned from battle to discover that their wives, children, and property had all been stolen. Yes everything they had that made life worth living, gone in the blink of an eye. Who knows when the last time was that they had seen their loved ones...days, weeks, maybe even months prior. The Bible goes on to tell us that the men were so overcome with grief that they even wanted to stone David. After all they had to blame someone right? And if it wasn't for David leading them to war, they could have been around to protect their families. Now here comes the strange part...with all the tumult going on around him, and his own grief of having his family stolen, David encouraged

The Heart of God

It's not hard to find the heart of God, it's nestled in the very words of scripture, painted across the night sky,  can be seen in the faces of your children, and even in the twinkle in the eye of strangers as they pass by. You see love is not just what God does, love is who God is. 'Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.' 1 John 4:8 ESV Yes friends God is love, and oh how He loves us. Before the foundations of the Earth were laid you were in His thoughts. 'even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love' Ephesians 1:4 ESV He numbers every strand of your hair, wrote your name across his palm, collects every tear you've ever shed, and His thoughts towards you are for good and not evil. This is true love, not that we loved Him, but that He first loved us, and calls us to Him with loving kindness. 'In this is love, not that we have loved God but that