John 10:1

“I assure you: Anyone who doesn’t enter the sheep pen by the door but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.”

Jesus warned that there would be those who would try to enter His fold uninvited. A thief’s mission is to take what is not rightfully his for selfish gain. Thieves will come into our homes and even our churches to rob the work that God has done. They cleverly disguise themselves as one of us, but their intent is to steal, kill, and destroy.

We should all be careful who we befriend and who or what we entertain. When we worry about things that are out of our control or things that could happen, we are entertaining the Devil as he plants treacherous thoughts in our heads. When we succumb to feelings of depression or low self-esteem, we are befriending a habit that has made us feel comfortable but not content. These are thieves and robbers to the abundant life the Good Shepherd provides for us.

While the Devil does use people in his schemes, his biggest henchmen are often the thoughts and fears with which we struggle daily. These have the power to paralyze us or distract us by monopolizing our time. We must resist and reject them. When we do, they flee. Reciting God’s word over those negative thoughts and emotions helps in the battle. Calling a strong Christian friend to pray with you or even to just hang out with you during the day also helps.

Jesus opens the door to His sheep. He invites you to dine and to fellowship with Him. He does not invade you, as do negative thoughts and emotions. Enter His fellowship through the word and through prayer. Take every thought captive, and present it to Him. He will ease your mind and give you peace. Allow Him to fight your battles by turning them over to His care in prayer. Release your burdens to Him as your Shepherd and Defender. The enemy will have to flee and take his hands off your rightful possessions. While fishermen practice the methods of catch and release when fishing, we need to practice resist and release in spiritual warfare. Resist the Devil, release your burdens to Christ, and rest in the abundance of life the Good Shepherd has for you.

Have a blessed day!

Isaiah 43:18-19

“Do not remember the past events, pay no attention to things of old. Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.”

I love The Message Bible’s translation of this passage. Read carefully:

“Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it? There it is! I’m making a road through the desert, rivers in the badlands.”

We need to stop thinking about the past, whether good or bad. The glory days of yesterday are gone, and offenses and injustices are a thing of the past. We need to let go and move forward. God is doing something new, and if we linger on what has already happened, we will miss what He is doing right now.

I love how The Message Bible instructs us to be present. If we are physically with friends or family but mentally rehearsing things of the past, we are not truly enjoying the present with those we love. Take time to enjoy those God has placed in your life right now, and make the most of the time you have with them.

God is doing something new, and we cannot compare it to what has happened in the past. We have not been there previously, and there is no clear cut path. God is providing the way as we go. While we may seek structure and greatly desire it, God is creating the structure through us. When we get weary and need to be refreshed, God will create a river where we are.

The Holman Christian Standard says, “…it is coming.” The Message Bible says, “It’s bursting out!” Whatever God is doing with us, He is doing it. We don’t have to create it or make it happen. It is coming, and it is evident. We simply need to keep moving forward and believe God for it. Hallelujah! He is faithful, and He is working in our lives. Praise Him as you press forward in the wilderness today. You just might stumble upon one of those rivers He mentioned and find complete renewal and motivation for your soul.

Have a blessed day!

Isaiah 58:12

Some of you will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will restore the foundations laid long ago; you will be called the repairer of broken walls, the restorer of streets where people live.

For those of us who have never known Christ, God wants to do a completely new work in our lives. Once we are born again, He will make us a new creation in Christ and give us a whole new walk and way of life. Most of us have experienced that new life and have been a Christian for many years, even most of our lives. After a while, however, we may experience failure or disappointment that seems to shatter everything we believed as we have allowed sin to permeate our walk. We have the basis for a Christian life, but we’ve been damaged in some way.

Isaiah brings good news for the damaged among us. Those broken walls and ancient ruins can be rebuilt and restored! In fact, nothing is wasted in Christ when we go back to the foundation He first laid in our life and begin to rebuild the ruins. God’s goal is not to destroy us; He wants to purify us. If we have allowed sin to build walls, God will allow them to come crashing down so we can build new, strong, solid structures that will not fall. Therefore, divorce, addiction, compromise, nor any other sin can define us as God restores what was broken and gives us new life among our own ruins.

Our foundation was laid long ago. Jesus Christ is the rock upon which we build. His words and teachings are still just as applicable today as they were when He walked this earth, and revisiting those basic teachings will only ground us further so we will not sway. If you feel like you’ve blown it in some area or have failed altogether, simply go back to your foundation, and start building your life again. You now know where things went wrong, so build upon your Rock and stick to His plan. Verse 11 of this same chapter assures us that God will always lead us and satisfy us in a parched land. He will be right there with you to give you instruction and direct you in the way you should go. He will even satisfy your thirst as you build so you will not grow too weary in the process. Don’t settle for ruin when restoration is within your reach. Your life can be as full and complete as you want it to be if you are willing to revisit your foundation and repair what was broken.

Have a blessed day!

Luke 12:27

Consider how the wildflowers grow: they don’t labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these!

God adorns His creation with beauty. We see this in the spring when flowers start to bloom and in the fall when the colors of the trees change. We even see it in the dead of winter when snow covers the ground. As part of His creation, God adorns His people with beauty, as well. You might not feel that way when you look in the mirror, but just as a rose bud has to fully bloom to unveil its beauty, we often have to shed world tormented layers before the beauty God has placed inside us can unfold.

As women, we take pride in our appearance. We are often consumed with finding just the right make-up, the right outfit, and certainly the right accessories to feel beautiful. Solomon had the best and greatest of everything, yet his beauty could not compare to the wildflowers that grew in the field. God made each of us to grow with a beauty this world cannot duplicate, and we find it by trusting Him.

Praise God today with full assurance that He has made you beautiful. Regardless of how you may have aged, He has placed a radiance in you that the world needs to see. Bloom where you are planted, and others will be drawn to your beauty. Your story, your witness, your attitude, and your everyday life all play a part in revealing a bloom that only God could design. Determine to live in His presence and allow that beauty to unfold for the world to see. What others view is absolutely stunning!

Have a blessed day!

1 Kings 17:24

Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know you are a man of God and the LORD’s word in your mouth is truth.”

The woman speaking here was the widow at Zarephath who fed Elijah during the drought and great famine in Israel brought as God’s judgment during the reign of Ahab and Jezebel. This widow was about to bake her last bit of flour, eat the bread, and she and her son would die of starvation afterwards because there was no more provision for them. Elijah brought God’s word to her to give him something to eat, and her provision would not go dry during the drought. She obeyed, and God provided for her and her son during the drought.

Sometime after that, her son became ill and died. She panicked and asked Elijah if he had come to remind her of her guilt and bring God’s judgment upon her. Elijah took her son to his room, laid across him, and cried out to God to restore him to life. God raised the boy from the dead and returned him to his mother. When Elijah presented the son to his mother, she knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that Elijah was a man of God who spoke the truth. She had learned to follow the voice of God.

Zarephath is located in Phoenecia, about seven miles south of Sidon, which was the heart and stronghold of Baal worship. This widow was not an Israelite. In the heart of Baal country, she learned to recognize the voice of God and follow Him. While God’s people – Israel – suffered famine through the drought, God provided for this widow because she dared to take Him at His word.

When God’s people reject Him, He will look for someone to take Him at His word and bless! We should take this to heart and realize that just because our country has turned from God, God is still seeking those who will turn their hearts toward Him and simply take Him at His word. If we will believe Him and follow His word, He will provide for us and bless us during times of famine. Do we dare believe God enough to just take Him at His word?

The widow at Zarephath saw God’s faithfulness to her and knew Elijah spoke the truth. We have God’s written word. If we will simply study it, believe it, and do what it says, we will see God work on our behalf, too. God looks for someone He can use and bless, just as He used this widow to care for Elijah. His blessing was more than just a one- time event. His blessing resided in her household because of Elijah. Today, our blessing resides with us in the Holy Spirit, who dwells in those who follow Christ.

Dare to take God at His word. He will be faithful to you. As a widow, He makes sure your needs are met, and He will use you to confound those who have more. Be a blessing, and watch God bless you. His word is as true today as it was then, and you can have the same assurance.

Have a blessed day!

Ezekiel 37:11-14

Then He said to me, “Son of Man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Look how they say: Our bones are dried up, and our hope has perished; we are cut off. Therefore, prophesy and say to them: This is what the LORD God says: I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them, My people, and lead you into the land of Israel. You will know that I am the LORD, My people, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put My Spirit in you, and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I am the LORD. I have spoken, and I will do it.” This is the declaration of the LORD.

Have you ever found yourself in a dead, dry place where discouragement and defeat were your only companions? If so, this is a word for you. In this vision, the house of Israel looked like a defeated army to Ezekiel. While no life could be found, God had Ezekiel speak life to this valley of dry, lifeless, hopeless bones, and they began to come together. After God breathed life into them, they were able to live again, knowing that they had experienced a miracle as God placed them in their own land.

When we encounter dead or discouraging situations, the best thing we can do is to speak life to it. Begin to praise God and remember His faithfulness. While you can’t do anything about your dead situations, God can. He has promised He will never leave us nor forsake us, so there is always hope that He will once again move and place us in our promised land with life again. This is the same breath He breathed into Jesus at the Resurrection, and this same Spirit lives in us today.

Speak life to your dead situations, and refuse to speak the fear that Satan has placed in your mind. Rely upon God’s faithfulness and His everlasting love toward you. Give credence to His word, and call the Devil a liar. Can your dead bones live? Prophesy life to them and watch God breathe His Spirit back into  your life. His Spirit lives in you and should be producing rivers of living water. Don’t let it grow stagnant with complaint, disbelief, or apathy. State your faith, and speak life to those places that seem dead. We serve a living God and have His power at work in us.

Have a blessed day!

Judges 13:6-7

Then the woman went and told her husband, “A man of God came to me. He looked like the awe-inspiring Angel of God. I didn’t ask Him where He came from, and He didn’t tell me His name. He said to me, ‘You will conceive and give birth to a son. Therefore, do not drink wine or other alcoholic beverages, and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazarite to God from birth until the day of his death.'”

This time the wife was given the promise instead of the husband, as we saw with Abraham and Sarah. God saw Manoah’s wife as significant enough to speak directly to her and give her specific instructions to carry out His plan. While we don’t know her name, we do know her mission. This barren woman was to birth and nurture a deliverer from the power of the Philistines. What hope and sense of importance she must have felt when given such a promise!

Why would God choose Manoah’s wife? I’m sure He had His own reasons, but I can only speculate that her desire for a son would have caused her to feel extremely grateful and willing to do exactly as God commanded. With no other children at home, she could focus upon this one child of promise without distraction. God could work with her longing and desire to nurture His provision.

Can God work with your longing? Are you expecting God to fulfill your desire on your own terms, or are you willing to do whatever He asks in order to gain the prize? Insisting upon having things our way may only delay or even deny our request. We must be willing to do things God’s way in order to see certain dreams fulfilled. When we are willing to surrender and work with Him, He will work wonders for us and in us. His plan, His provision, His terms make us whole and satisfied.

Have a blessed day!

Psalm 85:8

I will listen to what God will say; surely the LORD will declare peace to His people, His godly ones, and not let them go back to foolish ways.

People turn to foolish ways when trouble and fear abound. Nothing upsets wisdom like disturbed emotions running wild. During times of turmoil, we must follow the example of the psalmist here and listen to what God has to say. When we turn to Him, He will declare peace to us through His guidance and direct us away from foolish ways that would harm us.

The Devil roams around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, and his roar is frightful. If he can scare us into his path and out of God’s will, we become his prey. If we seek the word of the Lord, however, during scary times, He will prevent us from entering the enemy’s trap, and all the Devil can do is roar. He cannot touch us if we allow his roar to drive us into the Father’s arms instead of his false path of protection, where he has set a trap.

Listen carefully to what God would say to you today. He will declare peace to you with His words, and He will not allow you to turn back to foolish ways that allowed the Devil to gain victory in your life. All the Devil can do is roar if you are firmly planted in the word of God, and you will not be shaken by his threats. God looks upon you with favor, and His plan for you is good. Learn to ignore the roar by running straight into the Father’s arms. Jesus gave us His peace, and we should cling to it at all times.

Have a blessed day!

Isaiah 54:1-3

“Rejoice, barren one, who did not give birth; burst into song and shout, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the forsaken one will be more than the children of the married woman.” says the LORD. “Enlarge the site of your tent and let your tent curtains be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your ropes, and drive your pegs deep. For you will spread out to the right and to the left, and your descendants will dispossess nations and inhabit the desolate cities.”

The barren woman weeps and laments over what she does not have. In this reference, the barren woman has neither husband nor child. She is alone with no hope for a family or a future unless God intervenes. While scholars say this represents the church, it can apply to any single woman today – widowed, divorced, or never married at all. Because Christ rose from the dead, we have hope for new life that will grow, expand, and take us beyond the limitations of a single or barren life if we will allow Him to work through us.

Women today are hurting for strong, godly male leadership. Satan has attacked male authority in our culture, leaving us vulnerable as women. Men lack the confidence to lead and are hurting, themselves. If we are ever going to be the women God created us to be, we must rise above the existing culture to follow the lead of the Savior in an environment that is hostile toward Him. When we do rise up and follow Him, however, He promises unprecedented growth. Instead of looking for a man to lead us, we need to become women leaders who will recognize His voice and His calling in our lives and pave the way for the next generation. We are to enlarge, stretch out, lengthen, and spread because our descendants will overcome nations and inhabit desolate cities as they fight the culture war before them.

God’s plan is always to bring life and growth to His people. Enlarge the site of your tent and let your curtains be stretched out. Drive your pegs deep – deep into the Word of God with Christ as your solid foundation. In Him we find new life and a reason to give others hope. Rejoice, oh, barren woman! God’s favor is upon you, and He will make you fruitful beyond your imagination.

Have a blessed day!

John 1:18

No one has ever seen God. The One and Only Son – the One who is at the Father’s side – He has revealed Him.

The only way we can know God is through His Son, Jesus Christ. What seems right, logical, or even fair to us does not mean it is from God. We have a natural mindset of standards, but God judges us by His standards. We must remember that we have a fallen nature as human beings, and that fallen nature subjects us to sin and imperfection. The only way to know what God deems as right and just is to know His word. He gave us His standards through Moses, and none of us can live up to them. For this reason, He sent Jesus Christ to die for us so we could have fellowship and stand in right relationship with Him.

During HIs earthly life, Jesus taught us about the Father. He completely obeyed the law given through Moses, and no fault or sin was found in Him. For this reason, only He could become the sacrifice needed for our sins. Out of HIs great love for us, He willingly gave Himself on the cross so we might not perish from our own sins, which would have been just. Jesus Christ revealed the grace and the truth of the Father.

Our culture wants to talk about God’s love in a way that permits anything and everything we, as fallen humans, see as fair. We have no ability to accurately judge fairness in our fallen state. While God does love His people, He is also just, meaning that He will and must judge sin as He defines it. Therefore, we would be wise to know how He defines sin and what to do about it if we are guilty, which we are. The answer is in Christ. He has revealed the Father to us by loving us enough to take our just punishment on the cross.

Some people mistakenly believe that a loving God could never send anyone to hell. On the contrary! A just God must. If God loved us so much that He gave us His only begotten Son to die so we could live with Him eternally, we will be judged according to how we treated His Son. If we reject His Son, we reject His love. A loving God will most certainly send people to hell who reject His beloved Son after He paid the ultimate price. Today, Jesus Christ sits at the right hand of the Father as His accepted sacrifice and intercedes for us. If we have rejected Him, we have no advocate before the Father. Know His word; know His Son; and Know the Father. Otherwise, He will not know you.

Have a blessed day!