the gift of mondays
choosing to see God in the unlikely places. it's not about me...it's about Him.
Tuesday, November 19, 2024
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
But he went away angry
He was furious. He felt disrespected. His anger made him turn away. He would have missed the miracle if he stayed mad. He would have missed what God was trying to do if he refused to listen. His fury at how he thought things were supposed to go had him blinded to any other option than what he believed should happen. He wanted it done his way. And he wanted it done now. And in doing so his arrogance left no room for God. But in a turn of events, Naaman was asked a simple question. And that question changed everything for him. It changed his demeanor. It changed his perspective. It changed his outcome. Naaman went away angry, but he didn’t stay away. He came back. He did what the man of God asked. He put aside his own expectations. His own assumptions. He stopped trying to do it his own way. Oh Lord, that this would be us. That when our hearts are hardened, we turn back. That when it’s not happening our way, we still believe You. That when the miracle doesn’t come, when we want it or how we want it, we still trust You. That when You’ve asked us to do what we don’t want to do, we do it anyway. Open our hearts, Lord. Help us to see what You need us to see. Forgive us when we go away angry, Lord. Oh Lord, please forgive us, when our way is not Your way. In Jesus’ Name we pray.
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
Shut the Door
Shut the door behind you. Shut out the distractions. Shut
out the naysayers. Shut out the doubters. Look away from the ones trying to
lead you astray. Turn from the ones who only offer negativity. And darkness.
And despair. Look for the helpers. The ones who offer light. Look for the ones
who have grounded themselves in the promises of God. The ones with the
unshakable faith. The ones who see the impossible with their eyes but believe
in the possible with their hearts. There won’t be many. There won’t be a crowd
willing to believe that the God of yesterday is still the God of today. That He
still longs to help. That He still keeps His Word. But the faith of Elisha. And
Abraham. And David. And everyone single one who came before us and trusted. And
stood up. And offered hope. Look for the ones with that kind of faith. The
world will offer you a multitude of answers to your pain. But if the answer
isn’t rooted in Jesus Christ, then it’s not an answer at all. It’s just another
problem waiting to weigh you down. Surround yourself with a cloud of witnesses.
Open your Bible. Sing songs to the Lord. Focus on your faith. And shut the
door.
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
No matter who wins the election
Tuesday, September 17, 2024
Keep your eyes on Jesus
Peter found himself in trouble. He saw someone walking on the water towards his boat.
He thought it was Jesus, but he wasn’t totally sure. And so he questioned Him. And asked Him to prove it. “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.”
And Jesus said, “come.”
Peter stepped out of the boat and started walking on the water towards Jesus. He was okay at first. Everything was going exactly as expected. But then he took his eyes off Jesus.
And everything started going terribly wrong.
He began focusing on the wind. On its strength. On its ability to hurt him. He became afraid. And his fear became bigger than his faith. As he started to doubt, he also started to sink. It was nighttime, so the situation must have felt even more dire.
Darkness has a way of doing that. Making things seem scarier than they are.
He cried out to Jesus, “Lord, save me!”
And immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. Jesus didn’t hesitate. It’s important to remember that. Because that means He was watching Peter. That means He had His eye on him.
You can’t respond immediately if you aren’t paying attention.
When you’re facing your own doubts. Your own weaknesses. When you’ve lost confidence. And had to quickly adjust from everything going right, to everything going wrong. Remember who to look to. Remember who to call on.
It doesn’t matter what it looks like. It doesn’t matter how dark it gets.
Call out to Jesus. Ask Him to save you. Believe that He will respond.
Believe that He won’t hesitate.
And believe that, even in the moments you’ve taken your eyes off Him, He’s never taken His eyes off you.
Wednesday, September 11, 2024
We said we would never forget
Thursday, September 5, 2024
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sometimes i feel like i've seen too much. too much heartache. too much loss. too much death. and moments like yesterday when they s...
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i used to have an eating disorder. that's not easy for me to say. because most people don't know. and i thought most people ne...