I called on the Lord in my distress; The Lord answered me and set me in a broad place. Psalm 118:5

Stress, it’s something we all face in life. Some have more stress than others. But if you are in the thick of things, stress can feel like someone squeezing your body, especially your chest. This feeling of weigh upon you can make you feel isolated, have restless nights with little sleep and cause more health problems than eating a dozen donuts at one sitting. Yea, donuts are on my mind right now. 😊

One relief I’ve found when I’m stressed is to call upon the Lord for His help. When I do, it’s like God slides in between me and my problems, giving me more “space” to breath and make right decisions about my problems or deal appropriately with the issues at hand. And when God is between you and your problems, He orchestrates things to benefit you. God is all knowing and sees the bigger picture. He knows what needs His attention and when you give Him the reigns, He can do amazing things that far exceed your capabilities.

What’s causing undue pressure in your life right now? You can’t carry the weight of your problems alone, its too much for you to handle. Call upon the Lord today and let Him make space in your life so you can live again without feeling weighted down. It works every time! Have a blessed day!

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:13

“What can I do to help you?” asked someone a few days ago. They could tell that I was overwhelmed with stress and the task of performing my job. Without much hesitation, I responded by saying thank you, but I got this and will work through it. When people offer you help, how do you respond? Are you willing to let go of your pride and allow them to lend a helping hand?

As children of God, we have ONE person who is always willing to lend a hand, God. He knows that life has its moments that overwhelm us. He loves and cares for each of His children, just as a parent would their own child. He is willing to go the extra distance just to help you. Are you willing to give it up to Him? So often our pride gets in the way or we simply think God isn’t interested in our troubles. He is, I can assure you that! Living proof right here that He will provide what’s necessary to get you through the day, help you work through a problem or sustain you when heavily burdened. Nothing is impossible for God.

What burden or task is facing you today? Maybe it’s a difficulty at work, a heartbreaking decision that must be made or a new chapter in life that requires much faith on your part to turn the page. God is there, ALWAYS, willing and able to help. Wont you call on Him today and find strength in your weakest moments of life. God bless!

Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord – that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. James 5:11

I stayed up to watch the Super Bowl last night. The Philadelphia Eagles clearly led the way to defeat the New England Patriots. One thing I noticed with the quarterback for the Patriots, Tom Brady; Brady kept his cool during the game. Although the team failed to execute plays properly and mistakes were made by Brady, he still kept calm and focused on the next play.

As children of God, we will journey through each day with some successes and some failures. Those days we fail or the ones we depend upon fail us, we still need to remain focused on managing each day with God’s help. I use the term “manage”, because our life is OUR responsibility. We make decisions that either hurt or benefit us. Putting God first in everything we do will ensure God’s guidance, protection and strength. Matthew 6:33

What challenges face you today? They may seem overwhelming and feeling of defeat is already upon you and the day hasn’t even started. Keep a calm demeanor about yourself child of the King. God has today planned out for your success. Just abide by His play book (bible) and you will find success more often than failure. No matter what, keep your focus forward towards God. Have a blessed day friend.

I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. Psalm 16:8

One of the things I enjoy is hiking through the woods. There is a peaceful calm as I journey into an environment free from the stresses and worries of my life. One thing I’ve noticed, the smallest animals in the woods make the most noise. Everything from a squirrel rummaging the ground looking for nuts, a bird hopping around looking for a worm or an armadillo in search of that next grub. As they move over the ground, they brush against the leaves and sticks making quite a ruckus. At first it might be startling, thinking there is a big animal in the woods, only to find out it’s a harmless critter.

The old saying “don’t sweat the small stuff, its all small stuff” proves to be more true as I get older. The smallest matters of life can seem to disrupt the ebb and flow of our lives, causing us fear, worry, stress, anger and heartbreak. Satan often uses these little annoyances to bring us grief, to rob our joy.  If you really think about the last “small stuff” episode you encountered, after it was all over, it really wasn’t that bad and its behind you now..hopefully to be forgotten.

I love today’s verse! If you look at that last word “moved”, I think you can replace it with any emotions or feelings you have when problems erupt. Let me give you an example….I shall not be____, fearful, worried, stressed, angered or heartbroken. When we put God before us and follow ever so closely, we can cling to His promise to protect us and keep us marching through the difficulties of life. Our main focus should NOT be on our problems, but on our future home in Heaven. We are simply passing thru the forest of life. Things will bring a lot of noise to your life, but know it’s all “small stuff” in comparison to what God provides in this life and what awaits us into eternity.

Don’t be alarmed when the next noise of life tries to make you run and hide. Cling to the cloak of Christ and don’t let go. He will walk you through your journey with protection, strength and healing every day! God bless!

Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.

1 Corinthians 6:18

Ok, so I had in mind what to write for today’s blog and God laid this passage on my heart. I was like, really God? Talk about a difficult subject. If you are reading this blog, you are the result of a man and woman who had sex, thus gave birth to you. That’s pretty simple. The Apostle Paul was inspired by God to write about sexual immorality in the 6^th  and 7^th chapters of 1 Corinthians. Check it out!

So I googled “sexual immorality” (not that I don’t have an idea what it is..I wanted to see what google had to say). Here is the first thing that came up….Morals vary from person to person, and it is difficult to define sexual immorality without using a social perspective. My own definition of sexual immorality would be in regards to dishonesty and taking advantage of another. If you tell someone that you are faithful to them and only them, but engage in activity with another, that is immoral.

Notice in the first sentence…”using a social perspective”. It seems today we base our ideas on what’s right and wrong using the world’s standards. Although some things may seem to make sense, the question is, how does it align with God’s purpose found in the bible.

So looking at it from the creator’s perspective, When God created man and woman, He made them with body parts that fit together. Those parts weren’t meant to be used in any other way, shape or form. If used in any other way it is considered sexual immorality. God only intended a man and woman who are bound in marriage to have sex…..”Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife and let each woman have her own husband. 1 Corinthians 7:2. Pretty cut and dry right there.

Sex is a big deal.  God created parts and hormones that work together to bring about something beautiful to be shared within the confines of marriage. Using sex for any other purpose is like using a hammer to cut down a tree. You can beat that tree as hard as you can, but eventually you will either hurt yourself of tire yourself out. I know, strange analogy, but its truth. If you want to find out more about what God says on sex read about it in the bible. God provided the bible as an instruction manual for life.

Read it and be wise to what it says. When you live by God’s standards, you will find blessings in every corner of your life. God bless!

Thus says the Lord God: “Pound your fists and stamp your feet, and say, Alas, for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel! For they shall fall by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. Ezekiel 6:11

As a parent, there are times when our children disappoint us. If you are like me, I get pretty emotional, raise my voice, temper flairs; it’s pretty turbulent for the moment. Its like a volcano erupting. Can you relate? We want our children to do right and avoid the bad things in life. Because we love them, we get emotional when they do things counter to what we expect.

God is certainly no different. Here in today’s verse we see God’s anger against His own people. “Pounding fist, feet stomping”….yea I’ve done that! As adults we might think we are the top authority figure in our house, but you are sadly mistaken. As Christians we serve God our Father in Heaven. He has a set of standards and expectations we are to live by and pass down to our children through words and action. Are you living an obedient lifestyle? Does your words and actions reflect the morals, temperament and mindset of Christ? If not, you are displeasing to God and He aint happy when we live counter to His standards.

Today is a new day. A day to put aside those ungodly habits, selfish attitudes, uncontrolled anger, unforgiving spirit…the list is endless. God will help you align your life with His if you simply ask for His help and stay committed to doing what’s right in life. God will bless and reward you for “good behavior”. Start today fresh with a Godly attitude….blessings will follow. God bless!

Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. John 14:10

Ever wonder what “service” you can do for the Lord? In my morning devotions from Dr. Charles Stanley, he made the following statement…”True service is not something we do for the Lord, but something He does through us.” When you look at it from that perspective it makes a lot of sense.  Let me explain.

Before you even knew Jesus Christ and accepted Him into your life, He molded you into His image from the time of conception. As you slowly developed in the womb and through your childhood years, He instilled in you certain qualities, abilities and talents. He did this because He had a plan for your life, to use you for His business. His plan for you today is to serve Him in some capacity.

So often we try to figure out how we can serve God. On our own merits, we will fail or not go at it right. What we NEED to discover is God’s plan for our life and understand how He wants to use us. Once we learn what His will is for our life, then we can serve the Lord with His purpose and strengthened by His Spirit living inside of us.

You may still be trying to determine what His plan is for your life. So how do we find that out? God only uses those who are humble, submissive and obedient to Him. Pride, self judgement, purposeful sin…these and other negative characteristics block our ability to understand His will for our life. We need to tenderize our heart and remove anything that hinders our ability to serve Him. Once we are ready, then He will lay upon our heart His plan to use you. But, don’t wait around for some magical moment, continue to work at removing “self” to make room for “HIM” in your life. He has a plan for your life and is ready to use you. What’s God planned for you? God bless!