Hello! I hope today finds you doing well! After a very soggy weekend, we’ve had a couple of beautiful February days here. I’ve also been enjoying the sunrise coming a bit earlier and those few more minutes of daylight in the evening.

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about prayer. During my morning Bible time, I’m re-reading Jodie Berndt’s book Praying the Scriptures for Your Adult Children. (Amazon affiliate link) I’ve also been working on my own project related to prayer and I’ll be sharing more about that soon.

When we think of memorable prayers in the Bible, one of the top ones is surely The Lord’s Prayer. While we call it The Lord’s Prayer, I realize that it’s actually a model prayer for Jesus’ disciples to pray. The verses below are part of what is known as the Sermon on the Mount.

After this manner, therefore, pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. ~Matthew 6:9-13

Let’s look at five simple truths about prayer found in this well-known passage.

1. Because we pray to an almighty God, anything can happen in response to our prayers.

God is not limited in how he answers our prayers. He is our Heavenly Father who loves us.

Jeremiah 32:17 says, “Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:”

As you bring your requests to a holy God, consider how great and all-powerful He is.

2. Praying for God’s will to be done is more important than praying for my will.

He sees and understands what I cannot. I think I know what’s best for me or for someone I love, but I may not. Just as God’s will is unfailingly accomplished in Heaven, so we want His will to be accomplished here on earth.

3. God wants to meet our needs.

This instructional prayer from Jesus includes one of our most basic needs – bread. Our physical needs are important to God, and He wants us to bring them to him.

Just a few verses later, Jesus talks about God’s care for the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. As surely as He feeds and clothes them, so He will take care of us.

4. Forgiveness matters.

Isn’t it interesting that our being forgiven is tied to our forgiving others? That tells me that forgiveness matters to God.

How can we expect Him to forgive us if we’re harboring bitterness or holding a grudge against another person? Let’s ask God to reveal any unforgiveness in our hearts so that we can come to him fully expecting to be forgiven of our trespasses.

5. We should pray about our own spiritual condition.

This model prayer includes the request to be kept from temptation and delivered from evil. Don’t we all need that prayer daily? Whether it’s our own sinful nature that’s tempting us or the devil himself, we want to be aware of what’s going on so we can run from it.

There’s so much about prayer in the Bible. We have the Psalms, where David pours out his heart to God. There’s Hannah’s prayer for a son, Hezekiah’s prayer for deliverance from the Assyrians, and of course, Jesus’ prayer in John 17. In the coming weeks, we’ll look at more of these prayers as we seek to learn and grow in our personal prayer lives.

Related posts:

• What Hannah Teaches Me About Prayer
• 5 Bible Verses to Encourage You in Your Prayer Life
• 10 Prayers to Pray for Your Daughter

Can it be that we’re nineteen days into January and this is my first blog post of 2023??!! Yes, it’s true!

Our older daughter got married on January 7th. We went from pre-wedding week to post-wedding week, and this week we still have our younger daughter here at home on her college break. I’m actually driving down to Florida with her on Saturday, and she’ll start spring semester classes on Tuesday.

Life has been full of emotion and reflections, celebration and memories lately and I’m sure that will all come out in blog posts at some point in the future. But today I want to dig into a couple of Bible verses that can encourage us as we seek to grow in our walk with God.

I daresay no one wants to be stagnant or backsliding in their Christian life. But what are some signs that we’re actually growing? Let’s look at what Paul wrote in a letter to the church at Thessalonica.

We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;

So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: ~2 Thessalonians 1:3-4

Here are three characteristics describing these early-church Christians that we can look for in our own lives.

1. Your faith is increasing.

My husband recently said that we need to be quick to trust God. If you’re like me, our first response is trying to work things out on our own.

And isn’t it true that our faith is usually increased when we go through trials?

Our faith expands as we learn to wait on God instead of taking control of a situation ourselves. It comes as we see God answer a specific prayer we prayed.

When we look back on how faithful God’s been to us in the past and trust that He will be the same today, our faith flourishes. He’s never failed us yet, and He never will. Meditate on His promises and know He is faithful.

2. You’re full of love for fellow believers.

It can be easy to show love to our close Christian friends. And while we’re not going to be best buddies with everyone we go to church with, we do want to reach out in Christ-like love and compassion to other believers we know.

We can pray for them when they’re going through a trial. As the Holy Spirit brings them to mind, send them a text or a note of encouragement. When we hear of a need in their life, let’s do what we can to help.

In John 13:35, Jesus said, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” Loving others in the faith marks us as growing Christians.

3. You’re developing patience in trials.

Our human nature wants to run from any trial as fast as it can! If there were a place to sign up for a new difficulty in life, most of us wouldn’t be adding our names to the list.

But God-ordained trials come to all of us. Are we learning to be patient in the trial, to look for what God is wanting to teach us? Are we learning to depend on him for the outcome?

Being able to accept physical, emotional, and spiritual challenges as from God’s hand and waiting patiently on Him to carry us through is a sign that we’re maturing as Christians.

As always, this is written from a place of my own weakness. I want these things to be true in my life, yet I still have much growing to do! Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to help us continue maturing as Christians as we increase our faith, love fellow believers, and are patient in trials.

Related posts:

• How to Trust God in the Middle of Change
• 7 Things We Know About God from Psalm 18
• 10 Things You Can Do Today to Be Encouraged

Here we are, with Christmas less than two weeks away!

I’m actually feeling pretty good about that this year. All the presents are bought and wrapped and under the tree. (That’s mostly a result of our daughter’s wedding coming up on January 7th. I wanted to get Christmas tasks done so that we can focus on wedding stuff when she gets home from college soon 😉

Today I’m sharing one of my favorite Christmas passages from the Bible.

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.

But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.

Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. ~Matthew 1:18-23

There’s so much to love in these verses!

We have Joseph, a just and righteous man, wanting to do the right thing by Mary, receiving divine guidance through a dream.

There’s Mary who’s been visited by an angel, a virgin carrying a child, while promised in marriage to a good man.

We have the fulfillment of the prophecy from Isaiah 7:14, a Messiah to be born in Israel.

And there’s the promised babe, Emmanuel, God with us.

In this passage, I see four gifts for you and me this Christmas.

1. God’s faithfulness

Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet…

God always keeps his promises. Throughout the Old Testament, the prophets foretold the Messiah’s coming. Every single prophecy was fulfilled.

God doesn’t change. His Word endures forever. And the promises we find there today are just as true as the day they were written. God is faithful.

2. Salvation from our sins

And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.

What we could never do on our own, Jesus came to do. He lived a perfect life, died by crucifixion on a cross, and rose three days later to secure our salvation. Truly the greatest gift ever given.

3. A Savior who knows our struggles

…and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. ~Hebrews 4:15

Emmanuel. God, come to live among the humans he created. Yet he didn’t avoid the pain, the trials, the struggles of life while he was here.

Rather he went through them all, just like we do, but without sinning. Jesus knows what our hearts feel today, how our bodies fail, the difficulty of guarding our minds. He empathizes and he understands.

4. Trust in God’s sovereign plan

Over the thousands of years before Christ’s birth, God orchestrated it all. The genealogies, the places, the timing of events – God made it all happen according to his plan.

Even down to Joseph and Mary…probably not on the list of “Most likely to be chosen earthly parents of God’s Son”…at least not if you were looking for the rich or the famous to play that role.

We can trust God’s sovereign plan for our lives. He is all-knowing, all-powerful and He works all together for our good and His glory.

I hope you get some great gifts this Christmas, I really do! But right here, in these four truths, we can find joy and peace that material gifts can never provide.

Wishing you God’s richest blessings this Christmas season!

Related posts:

• 7 Gifts I’d Like to Open That Won’t Be Under My Tree This Year
• What Are You Looking Forward to This Christmas?
• Unwrap the Gift of Peace This Christmas

Happy week before Thanksgiving! Today I’ll be making my grocery list for our Thanksgiving Day menu. Then tomorrow I plan to get to the store early while it’s (hopefully) not too crowded and stock up on the items we need.

Have you ever worked your way through Proverbs by reading the chapter that corresponds with the date? I’ve done that at different times in the past, and am currently doing it again.

When I noticed that I’d journaled several thoughts from my reading yesterday, I decided to share them here on the blog. Proverbs is packed full of life lessons, so here are five I found in chapter 15.

1. Pray often because God delights in your prayers.

The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord: but the prayer of the upright is his delight. ~Verse 8

Wow, think about that for a bit. God delights in our prayers. He takes pleasure in our talking with him, in hearing our praise as well as our needs and concerns.

2. Be slow to get angry.

A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife. ~Verse 18

Easier said than done, yes?! But as we exercise self-control over our temper, we’ll avoid unnecessary arguments and bring calm to what could become heated situations.

3. Get wise counsel before making decisions.

Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counselors they are established. ~Verse 22

If we want to succeed in various areas of our lives, we’ll seek advice from wise people. It’s important that we don’t just look for those who will validate what we want, but those who will be honest in giving their advice.

4. Be teachable.

He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding. ~Verse 32

If we think we know it all and refuse to listen when someone tries to correct us, we’ll never grow and improve ourselves. As a perfectionist, I can have a hard time accepting correction. Yet my attitude should be one of humility and a willingness to learn from my mistakes.

5. Embrace humility.

 The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom; and before honor is humility. ~Verse 33

Speaking of humility…I started something new this week, and if there’s ever a time when you can expect to be humbled, it’s when you don’t really know what you’re doing!

As we’re willing to die to self, yielding to God and serving others, we can receive God’s blessing on our lives and allow him to honor us in a way that brings him glory.

As I read back through these life lessons, I realize that they’re pretty much encompassed in the fruit of the Spirit. [Galatians 5:22-23] Let’s submit ourselves to the Holy Spirit and ask him to help us live out these lessons on a daily basis!

Related posts:

• 8 Truths to Teach Our Teenagers from Proverbs 13
• 7 Things We Know About God from Psalm 18
• 5 Principles from Proverbs to Guide Communication in Our Relationships

Here we are, just past mid-October, and the fall weather has arrived! I’ve been bundling up a bit for my morning walks in the neighborhood and getting reacquainted with the sweaters in my closet.

Today’s post comes directly from my Bible reading yesterday. I finished reading through the New Testament recently, so now I’m reading a bit from a Psalm, Proverbs, and a chapter in Isaiah most days.

I’ve been wrestling with some conflicting mindsets and attitudes lately, and I can’t tell you how light my heart felt when I read in Psalm chapter 18 verse 19 that God delights in me. The more I considered the words of this Psalm, the more I was encouraged! I hope you’ll feel the same way after reading through these seven things we know about God from Psalm 18.

1. He is my safe place.

Verse 2 ~ “The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.“

In times of trouble and distress, we can trust Him. He is steadfast and strong, our protector, our place of refuge. We can rely on His faithfulness always.

2. He hears me.

Verse 6 ~ “ In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.“

God listens when we call out to Him. When we need help and deliverance, He is ever ready to hear us. May that be our first response whenever we’re hurting or in trouble – to cry out to our God.

3. He delights in me.

Verse 19 ~ “He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.“

Believing that I can bring God joy and pleasure is hard for me to grasp. He is so great, so perfect and holy, yet He desires a personal relationship with me. His good will and favor toward us, His grace and mercy, are what led Him to send Jesus to die for our sins.

4. He lightens my darkness.

Verse 28 ~ “For thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.“

We’ve all been through times in our lives we would describe as dark. But God never leaves us in our darkness. Not only is He right there with us, but He brings light to chase away the dark. His light brings comfort, safety, joy, and peace.

5. He makes my way perfect.

Verse 32 ~ “It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.“

We can trust God to not only give us strength and courage to walk through this life, but also to guide us in the way we should go. He is able to make our path clear and plain as we trust Him.

6. He keeps me from falling.

Verse 36 ~ “ Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip.“

As God guides us, He also protects us. We can walk forward confidently in the direction that He’s leading because He prepares the way.

7. He gives me strength for the battles I must face.

Verse 39 ~ “ For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me.“

In David’s case, he’s talking about actual physical battles in a war. Those aren’t typically the types of battles we’ll be facing. But we’ll certainly face spiritual, emotional, and mental struggles. Satan will fling temptations our way. Trials will come. But God can give us strength to defeat every single foe.

How blessed we are as followers of Christ to have a God who is all these things to us!

Related posts:

• 4 Questions You Might Have Asked God
• 3 Truths About God from Psalm 91 to Encourage Us Today
• What Mary Teaches Me About Praising God

Have you heard the marriage advice that says you shouldn’t use “absolute” words when you’re in an argument with your spouse?

For example, don’t say, “You always leave your clothes in a pile on the floor.” Or, “You never close the drawer when you put the scissors back.” Your spouse will immediately try to think of the one time he/she actually did or didn’t do whatever you’re accusing them of!

Today we’re not talking about marriage advice, but we are talking about an absolute word.

“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” ~1 Corinthians 10:31

Do you see it in this verse – the word “all?” No way to wiggle around that – all means all!

In the context of this passage, Paul is talking about whether or not the Corinthians should eat meat that’s been offered to idols. He reminds them that whatever they choose to do, it should be done so that God is glorified.

Eating and drinking are small parts of our daily lives. If it’s important that we do those things in a way that glorifies God, how much more should we evaluate other areas of our lives?

It’s easy to get caught up in the busyness of life and fail to take the time to actually consider the question, does what I’m doing honor God? And how can we determine if an activity, a hobby, a habit, or a conversation is being done to the glory of God?

Below are a few questions we might ask ourselves to determine that. As we answer them, may our heart’s desire be to do all things as an act of worship to Him with a grateful heart for all He’s done for us.

Does what I’m doing go against a Biblical principle?

To answer this question, we have to know our Bible. The only way we can know what honors God is by reading and studying His Word. Anything we do that is contradictory to Scripture is not going to glorify God.

Does it show that I respect God and want to please Him?

That’s the attitude we want when it comes to bringing glory to God – a desire to show Him respect and to please Him with our thoughts, words, and actions.

Here’s where the Holy Spirit who lives in us can help. As we listen to His Spirit guiding us through God’s Word and our conscience, we can determine if what we’re doing brings Him honor.

Am I doing it for my own glory?

We may need to evaluate what outcome we’re hoping for as we decide if we’re going to move forward. Do we want to simply do what satisfies our own wants and desires? If so, that’s doing something for our own glory, not His.

Does what I’m doing point others to Him?

I think this is the most relevant question considering the context of the passage. What we choose to do or not do can affect fellow believers and the unsaved around us.

Will my eating or drinking or whatever else I’m doing cause others to want to learn more about my faith? Will it point them to the gospel? Or am I just focused on myself and what I want to see happen?

I think Jon Bloom sums this up well in his article from the blog Desiring God.

“We glorify God when, out of love for him, we lay down our rights, our freedoms, in eating or drinking or whatever in order to do what is most loving toward others, either for the “progress and joy [of their] faith” (Philippians 1:25), or that they may be saved (1 Corinthians 9:22).”

May the simple reminder in 1 Corinthians 10:31 lead us to glorify God in everything that we do.

Related posts:

• How to Make Our Words and Thoughts Pleasing to God
• 5 Ways to Be Consistent in Bible Reading and Prayer
• How to Overcome the Sins We’ve Learned to Tolerate

Welcome, friends! I hope your week is going well.

It’s back to the empty nest around here. Our daughters moved back into their dorm rooms on Friday. I made the trip down to Florida with them on Thursday and flew back home Saturday. My sweet husband brought me flowers when he picked me up at the airport!

In this season of life, I’m finding that change is fairly constant. I get used to our girls being gone, and then they’re home again. Once I get used to that, they leave again. And of course, we’ll have a major change in January when our older daughter gets married!

Do you know what brings comfort during these times of change? Having a God that we can trust. Your change is likely different from mine. It could be a move, a job change, a child in a different school, a new relationship, the loss of a loved one, and the list goes on.

But as believers, we can trust God with whatever comes along in life. He is faithful to walk alongside us and gives us guidance and grace when we face these transitions.

Here are five things – using the letters in TRUST – for us to remember about trusting God through changes.

1. Take everything to God in prayer.

Remember Philippians 4:6? “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” God doesn’t want us to be anxious or worried about anything, so His instructions are clear – pray about every. single. thing. Whether it’s a “big” concern, or a little one, pray about it.

In Philippians 4:7, we’re promised peace beyond understanding for our hearts and minds if we’ll obey verse 6. Isn’t peace what we truly need when something in our life is changing? What a loving God He is to tell us how to get that peace.

2. Release your sense of control.

I was going to say “release your control,” but let’s face it, we actually control very little. But we often think we control it all. If we set up the right boundaries or talk to enough people about it or worry enough, everything will be okay.

Trusting God means acknowledging that He is sovereign. He alone has the power to do anything and the wisdom to do the best thing.

3. Understand that you won’t always understand what God is doing.

He won’t always do things the way we want them done. His plan may not follow the one we laid out in our minds. And that’s a good thing.

He tells us in Isaiah 55:8,9, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.“

4. Saturate your mind with God’s Word.

In our flesh, we are weak. We want to trust God, but doubt and fear can keep us up at night or slip into our thoughts at random times. Meditating on truths from the Bible is what will keep us trusting Him.

Psalm 119:24 says, “Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counselors.” We can find joy, comfort, and direction as we read and study Scripture.

5. Timing is in His hands.

Trusting God often involves waiting. As I’ve said before, waiting is not something most of us enjoy! It takes courage to wait, but Psalm 27:14 assures us that God will give us the strength to do it. “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.”

I like this quote from Dillon Burroughs. “God is never late and rarely early. He is always exactly right on time -His time.”

The Bible tells us that we will be blessed as we trust God! “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.” ~Jeremiah 17:7 Whatever change you’re facing, may you have the grace and strength to trust God through it!

Related posts:

• 7 Helpful Tips for Navigating a Season of Change
• Trusting His Grace When I Can’t See His Face
• What Ruth Teaches Me About Trusting God

When I was growing up, making a promise was a big deal.  My parents made sure we knew from a young age that making a promise was serious.  It was not something to be taken lightly.  If I made a promise, I needed to make every effort to follow through and keep that promise.

As much as I’ve tried to live by that principle, I’m sure that somewhere along the way, I’ve broken a promise.  In reality, a promise is only as good as the ability of the person who made it to follow through on it.

How blessed we are to serve a God who keeps every promise He’s made!  One place we find that truth is in Numbers 23:19.

“God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent: hath He said, and shall He not do it? or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?“

After I wrote recently about praising God because He keeps His promises, I challenged myself to meditate on some of those promises.  In case you’d like to do the same, I’ve broken seven of them down by days of the week.  You could use this same format, rearranging the order of the promises, or exchanging your own favorite promises for the ones I’ve listed.

Sunday:  Salvation.

Many verses in the Bible communicate God’s promise of salvation, but one of the most direct is Romans 10:13.  “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

How wonderful that the plan of salvation is simple enough that even our children can understand and accept Jesus Christ as their Savior at a young age.  I especially like reflecting on this promise on Sunday.  It reminds me of His resurrection, which brought victory over sin and death.

Monday:  Peace.

It may feel like everything’s coming at me on a Monday!  Philippians 4:6-7 tells us to be careful or anxious for nothing, but to take everything to God in prayer. He promises that His peace, which can’t be explained, will keep our hearts and minds.

Everything includes any concerns about our children, marriage, financial pressures, job uncertainties, or health issues. All of these and more can be laid at His feet.  If we’ll allow it, His peace will flood our souls.

Tuesday:  Wisdom. 

Every day of the week brings a need for wisdom!  James 1:5 assures me that when I lack wisdom, I can ask God for it and He will give it generously. 

This is also a reminder of the importance of Bible reading, study, and meditation in my daily walk.  That’s where I can find guidance and answers to many of my issues.

Wednesday:  Power.

By Wednesday, I may feel overwhelmed with how my week’s going.  I need access to the power of God, and Philippians 4:13 states, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

Not in my own strength will things get accomplished, but through the Holy Spirit’s enabling. I can do anything that God calls me to do.

Thursday:  His presence.

In Hebrews 13:5, God says, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” What a comfort to know that there is nowhere I can go and no circumstances I can face that will cause Him to leave me.

Friday:  Direction. 

I can rest in Proverbs 3:5-6, which tells me that if I trust the Lord with all my heart, don’t lean on my own understanding, and acknowledge God in all my ways, He will direct my paths. 

I also get excited to read Psalm 84:11, which says, “….no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.”  If I’m walking with Him, He will bring into my life those things that are good for me.

Saturday:  Provision.

I’ve made it through another week!  I can look back and see what God has done and praise Him for it.  “But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” from Philippians 4:19 lets me know that not only does God know the needs in my life, but He has the resources available to meet each and every one.

I want to make a habit of recognizing God’s promises as they’re fulfilled in my life.  If you journal regularly as I do, you could designate a page for writing down promises of God. Then go back and make a note when you see God fulfill one of those promises for you.

Is there a particular promise that’s meaningful to you right now? Please share in the comments below!

Related posts:
God Is Writing My Book
5 Truths About God’s Love for Me
What Kind of Grace Do You Need Today?

Originally published October 2016.