Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face evermore! Psalm 105:4

At some point in your life you will have a task that is more than you can do on your own. Currently, my mother is having to clean out my grandmother’s house of belongings so it can be sold within a month. It’s a bigger project than my mom can do alone. Fortunately, there have been many family and friends who have stepped up to offer their assistance. Thankfully she will meet the deadline, thanks in part to everyone’s help!

I know the New Year is all about changes and setting goals and resolutions. It may sound like a lot of hype, but it IS a fresh start. If you are like me, you want to make some changes in your life for 2018. Those goals you have set for yourself are probably bigger than you can do on your own. Without some help, you will fall back into the normal routine of life and say….well there is always next year. Let’s work together to hold our commitment to the goals and resolutions we’ve set by calling upon God for help. Does God really care about the bad habits we want to break, does He care that we want to change our spending habits, will God really help us? You bet He will, and what better person to call upon than your creator.

Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10 God wants what’s best for you! When you identify those areas of your life that need some “tweaking”, He acknowledges your willingness to do better and will supply you with everything you need to be successful in your goals for 2018! He NEVER gives up on you, so don’t give up on Him. Call upon the Lord for help and He will be there 24/7.

The struggle is real to fall back into temptation to live the life you’ve known for years. Change is necessary if you want to feel better about yourself and be viewed by God as obedient to your commitments. Give Him a call today, by prayer, and ask for His help in keeping those commitments for this year of change. God bless!

When Jesus had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

⁵ Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

⁶ When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. Luke 5:4 – 6

Happy New Year, 2018 is here upon us. Many have been reflecting on 2017 and sharing their thoughts through social media platforms. Some had good years, some bad years; some worth remembering and some wanting to forget. Hopefully 2017 was a stepping stone to something better in 2018.

Today’s passage focusses on Jesus encounter with Simon. He was a fisherman by trade and on the day of meeting, he caught nothing that night. Yet when Jesus arrived, He instructed Simon to let down the nets. To everyone’s surprise, the nets became full, so full they began to break. Simon was overwhelmed by Jesus blessings.

Maybe 2017 really didn’t result in much good for you and 2017 has left you feeling empty or at a loss. I encourage you to call upon Jesus Christ. When you pursue Him, He blesses your life with purpose, wisdom and joy unspeakable. His blessings will overpower your greatest disappointments, your significant losses and most painful heartaches.  When you are faithful and follow in obedience, He will renew your life to that state in which He designed you specifically to be for His purpose as a child of God.

Do as Simon Peter, have faith in what God is telling you and let down your nets, there are blessings waiting for you to catch when you pursue Him every day! God bless and Happy New Year!

Today's blog comes straight from an In Touch Ministries devotion by Dr. Charles Stanley. This is my goal for 2018, to connect to God on a deeper level. If you've found your life coming up spiritually short, join me as we commit our ways to the Lord in 2018. God bless!

Philippians 3:12-21

No matter where you are in your walk with Christ, it’s never too late to begin pursuing a deeper relationship with Him. Whether you’re already passionate about Jesus or know Him only on a surface level, it is wise to do as Paul urged—to “press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:14). To get started, follow these six steps:

1. Study Scripture. No one can know God apart from His Word since He speaks to us through it, revealing who He is and what He does.

2. Be willing to spend time alone with the Father in prayer, meditation, and worship. One of the main reasons Christians don’t have a close relationship with Jesus is that they’re unwilling to invest the time needed to know Him better.

3. Trust God. The depth of any relationship depends on the level of trust.

4. Obey Him. As we take each step of obedience, the Lord will reveal more of Himself.

5. Observe how Christ works in your life. By paying attention to how the Lord operates, you’ll become familiar with His ways and goals.

6. Make Jesus your top priority. Be willing to lay aside anything that competes with your loyalty and devotion to Him.

Knowing Christ intimately is possible for all believers. The key is persistence, so forget past failures and press on. Find an example to follow. My grandfather’s relationship with Jesus was the inspiration for my journey of intimacy with Christ. I knew that if he had that kind of relationship with Jesus, so could I.

We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5:20

What is an ambassador? Googled one definition is: an accredited diplomat sent by a country as its official representative to a foreign country. Today I want you to spend a few minutes and check your life…are you an ambassador for Christ? A few thoughts to consider.

1.    My life reflects the image of Christ. A good way to answer that question is to check yourself against the “fruits of the Spirit” in Galatians 5:22 - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.
The Spirit of Christ resides in every child of God. If you are growing your spiritual roots in Christ, then these traits should be blooming from your life. If you find some areas lacking, ask for God’s help to bring about these spiritual fruits so you can truly reflect the Holy Spirit living inside you!

2.    My thought pattern resembles Christ. Isaiah 55:8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,”. Lets face it, we will never reach the level of Christ purity. But if we want to raise the bar on spiritual growth, we need to set the standard high so we are always pursing something greater Reading God’s word is an important part of changing the way we think. As we learn to transform our mind into the thoughts of Christ, our outward behavior will reflect Christ purity and goodness. Unless we have a mindset of Christ, our actions will not be representative of Christ. What areas of your thought patterns need changing? Considerations….jealousy, greed, self-centeredness, racism, hatred..the list is endless. Train your mind on Christ by reading the bible.  

3.    Are you serving the Lord in your capacity as an ambassador? He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Luke 10:2 Jesus gave us the great commission to go out and spread the gospel of Christ. We can do that by sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, helping others in need and living out Christ attributes in our every day life. He always saw the need of others. Do you find it hard to put others before you? If so, ask God to help change your mindset, so you can look beyond your needs and see the needs of those around you…believe me there are plenty in need these days and it takes people willing to readjust their schedule to align time spent in the fields for harvest.  

Just a few things to verify you are on the right track representing Christ in your every day life. We all have areas to improve. Join me as we move into 2018, make this new year a year of improving our thoughts, actions and willingness to serve all for the glory of Christ. Be a good ambassador for Him today! God bless!!!!

Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever. ⁷They
will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the LORD. Psalm 112:6-7

Radio, television, newspaper, and social media, they love reporting “bad news”.  Skim any news source and you won’t find anything encouraging or positive, just news that is written to stir emotions…to scare you, trouble your mind and heart about the future. For that reason, I have done away with my TV and refuse to sit and read any news. There is only ONE source of news I need and it comes from God’s word.

When you are truly grounded in God and the bible, nothing will shatter your heart, nothing will blow away your hopes and dreams and you will never shift in your stand for God. Trusting the Lord in every matter of your life…from relationships, finances, employment, church attendance, tithing and every day life….your world will be secure enough to withstand any bad news that hits. You will never find it difficult to trust the Lord. And believe me, HE allows certain events and circumstances to cross thru your life to strengthen you and learn to depend on Him more each and every day. I’m living proof of that!

Like a hurricane proof home that comes out unscathed from the worst storm, will YOU be able to withstand the events of today? Ask God to help you depend on Him more, look for areas of your life that need more of God’s light shining in it(mine is finances and service to God) and push back from the worldly news and focus on God’s news…the good news of His word, the bible. Read it and almost immediately your outlook on life will be brighter. Get grounded in God’s word today!

God bless

As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain your mercy on me;

 your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me!

 Psalm 40:11

Yesterday I was in a line at Walmart to return a few items. In front of me was a young lady with a child’s toy. I asked her if she and her family had a nice Christmas. She paused for a moment, choked up and said quietly, “my son had a good Christmas”. A few seconds later, as best she could with tears in her eyes, choked out the words…My grandfather died on Christmas. My heart just broke for this young soul. I could tell her grandfather meant the world to her. This Christmas will leave an eternal mark on her life, never to forget this tragic event that happened on one of the most joyous holidays…the birth of Christ.

A few years ago, our family lost a sweet and loving friend. So unexpected and without reason, yet, she was gone. Everyone who knew her was just heartbroken and asking “why”.  Sometimes in life, we don’t have the answer to “why”. Things happen in life that are totally unexplained and without reason. Yet, we must carry on with our own life. How can we move forward from a tragic event? I can tell you that God promises to never leave, nor forsake us. He is always there, ready to carry us through the trials and heartaches of life. Sometimes we don’t see Him up ahead, that’s because He is behind us, encouraging us and pushing us forward to the next day.

In the middle of my sadness over the loss of this wonderful person, God whispered “stay the course”.  Christopher Columbus would have never made it to North America if he turned around when storms approached his boat. He stayed the course and discovered the new world, today the United States of America! Stay the course friend through every trial and painful circumstance. God is with you in the storm, in the pain and in your suffering. He is all around you; you might not see Him, but know He is there. Fall back into His loving presence and lean on Him for comfort, strength and healing. He will see you to a new day, stay the course!

God bless!

“Slow down. Take a deep breath. What’s the hurry?
    Why wear yourself out? Just what are you after anyway?
But you say, ‘I can’t help it.
    I’m addicted to alien gods. I can’t quit.’

Jeremiah 2:25

I don’t know about you, but 2017 has flown by so quickly, I can barely recall what I did from September through November. Its all a blur and seems to speed up as I add another year to my life. I just put up my Christmas décor yesterday (December 26) so it will feel like there are a  few months before I get it back out. Life, it goes that fast and I’m sure you feel the pull of time on your busy schedule as well. The things we do (multi-tasking), the commitments we make and the hours we put into social media or hobbies, leaves God asking “how much time will my children spend with me?”

How much time do you spend with God? If you are like me, you block out some morning time for devotions and prayer…and that’s awesome. But, that’s like 30 – 45 minutes at best. What about the rest of the day? Jesus mission on earth was accomplished in the 30 some years of His life, yet among the pressure to perform miracles and speak wisdom to his followers, He made time for God. Secretly and quietly slipping away to pray. When we connect to God, His Spirit inside us, awakens a little more and is ready and willing to provide us Godly wisdom and direction we need to get through the day. If you truly want to be blessed by the benefits of God’s wisdom, make an effort to connect to Him hourly. Trust me, it will do you a world of good in this time-consuming society in which we live.

What are you pursuing that takes you away from “God time”? Maybe 2018 can be a fresh start for you by cutting out those things, people and passions that take up more time than spent with God. There is NOTHING WRONG with slowing down and letting the world pass by on its own. Your schedule should be on “eternal time”, so slow down, enjoy life and those around you….and most of all spend quality time with God every day, throughout the day and you will find blessings on the journey through life. God bless friend.