Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things. Philippians 4:8 

Between the news, social media and all these videos displaying violence and injustice, they have stirred hearts, angered souls, made people react in ways they normally wouldn’t and say hurtful things. It appears that everyone has a voice and no matter how truthful they may feel about a subject, there is an opposing belief that is equally believable. It’s a mess out there and I’m ready to take a mental escape from it all.

Today’s verse was brought to my attention and I wanted to share a thought. As we know from past experiences, everything changes over time and what has our blood pressure up now will be history in time. Another crises will arise (and Lord knows 2020 has not been short on them!), that will scream for our attention and reaction. But there is one thing that never changes and that’s God and His word.

Through an excellent devotion and today’s verse, I was reminded that my focus needs to be on the consistency of God. Nothing changes, its clear and truthful and most of all backed by God’s love and care for His creation…you and me!  I know it might be difficult, but lets slowly back away from social media and the news for a while and spend an equal amount of time in God’s word and pray. The minute you take your mind off the world’s troubles and focus on God, your mind turns from anger to peace, hate to love, justice to forgiveness.

Join me right now in prayer and some time spent in scripture. Let God lead you through His word. Simply ask Him to reveal what you need at the moment and soak it up. Meanwhile, silence that phone and pay no attention to the news and social media. It’s time we declutter our minds and fill it with God’s goodness! God bless!

For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord will give grace and glory: No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. Psalm 84:11

Have you had enough of 2020? Between the Coronavirus, strange weather and social unrest in the country, this year has been taxing on many Americans, including myself. I’ve had enough and desire so much for us to get back to the way things were. In the midst of this year’s chaos, many have asked if these are signs of Christ return.

Far be it that I predict His return. But one thing I do know, we as a nation have been out of sync with God. Society as a whole has deteriorated so much that I truly fear its beyond repair. I wonder if God himself has had enough of his creation’s disastrous ways, beliefs and lack of respect for Him. As a result, He is slowly withholding His hand of protection and allowing our nation, and world, suffer the consequences by turning our backs on Him.

Today’s verse gives encouragement for His children to walk uprightly. As a result, God blesses and withholds nothing good. Well, 2020 has been anything but good. Although God is good Himself, we have royally screwed up things and we are reaping what we’ve sown. The truth is, no one is innocent. We are all sinners, thankfully saved by grace.

So what can we do? Pray. Pray that through all this mess we are seeing in the media and in our own communities, we as a society will turn back to God and give Him the true respect He deserves. He has a basket full of blessings, ready to share with the nation that honors Him. Your prayers have power to change, and we are in need of every one of them! Join me in daily prayer for our world, our nation, our community and our neighbors! God bless!

For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever. Philemon 1:15

If you’ve never read the book of Philemon, I encourage you to do so. Its only 25 verses long and has a great story. Onesimus was a slave to Philemon. He did some bad things and ran away from his master. Onesimus was caught and imprisoned. There, he met the disciple Paul. During their time together in prison, Onesimus accepted Jesus Christ as his personal savior.

With his newfound faith, Onesimus knew he needed to return to his master. Back in those days a runaway slave who returned was sure to be treated badly or worse yet killed. To smooth the transition back, Paul wrote a letter to Philemon, asking for him to offer grace and mercy to Onesimus. If it wasn’t for him running away, he would never had the opportunity to discover the life transformation Jesus Christ could offer him and make him a better person.

As I read this story, the verse above really spoke to me. Maybe you have someone in your life whose left the comfort of your family and looking for escape from the realities of life. You worry about them, pray for them and hope to see their return. Have faith in the Lord that even on the run, God will help them cross paths with someone like Paul who can minister to them and transform their life into someone better. When they return, have grace and mercy for the one you love. God is working on your runaway! God bless!