At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them. 2 Timothy 4:16

 The Apostle Paul stood before a Roman tribunal, facing a death sentence for his continual witness of Jesus Christ. Everyone abandoned him out of fear they too would be brought before the tribunal and face death. But, Paul, as lonely as he felt, he still continued to profess his faith and spread the good news of Jesus Christ, even while beaten and imprisoned.

 Maybe you have stood for something you truly believed in and all your friends and family abandoned you. Sometimes doing the right thing will cost you everything you treasure. But at the end of the day, you will be remembered for your determination to go against the grain and not waiver in your beliefs.

 But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. 2 Timothy 4:17

 Although Paul was alone, He was able to experience the purest presence of the Lord in that horrible prison cell. God strengthened him and encouraged him to continue to witness so that all could hear the gospel truth.

 Your life might never be put on trial for your faith, but there will be times when your faith can be shared with the consequences of rejection and abandonment. Don’t let that discourage you from sharing your faith with others. God sees every aspect of your life and is willing and able to equip you to do the impossible (Philippians 4:13) when your actions bring honor to Him. No one will know the truth unless you are willing to share it with the boldness of Jesus Christ.

 1 Peter 5:8  Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

As I heard the news about the school shooting in Nashville, all I could think about was the parents of the victims who spent the last moments of their lives with them that morning before dropping them off at school. I can't imagine the painful loss they are experiencing and will for the rest of their lives.  The question that runs through my mind is, will they have any room for forgiveness? 

This world in which we live has many enemies we might not even know. The shooter was an enemy not one parent knew, but she existed and had a plan to wreck lives, including hers.  

We do have an enemy that everyone knows, the Devil. Today's passage reminds us of his craftiness and works to wreck lives, including yours. Yesterday's tragic event is a painful reminder that bad things happen at the hands of evilness. It's so important to cover yourself, and your family, in prayer for God's protection. You know the enemy, you know he can cause pain.

 1 John 4:4  You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

But God. We have a God who is greater than the world's enemy. The victory has already been won. That's why it's so important to tap into His protective power. Although sometimes things don't work out as planned, you can always trust in what God is doing in your life, even when the enemy brings harm. God's grace will always be enough to make room to find forgiveness through His love for you so healing can begin. God bless. 

 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6:15

 Forgiving someone whose hurt you can be one of the most difficult things you’ll do in life. And trust me, you’ll become a professional at forgiveness if you interact with others. Today’s verse comes straight from the words of Jesus Christ Himself, if you want God’s forgiveness, you must forgive those who sin against you. But it doesn’t stop at forgiveness.

 But I say to you who hear: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. Luke 6:27

 Whatever that person did to hurt you, caused a wound to your heart. Unless that wound is closed up and healed, it will be open to infection of toxic thoughts, and isolation from your offender, which is a reminder of the hurt they caused. Blocking yourself from them in total isolation might seem good for your mental health, but it doesn’t truly reflect the love of Jesus Christ. You have to ask yourself, have you truly forgiven them?

 Our human flesh is fragile and the things Jesus calls us to do to reflect His love might seem impossible, but with the help of the Holy Spirit and time you can completely forgive, love and resume communication with your enemies. That wound will never heal unless you open the line of communication with those you’ve truly forgiven! God bless!  

 Abstain from every form of evil. 1 Thessalonians 5:22

 Dieting has become an obsession in this country, and no wonder given all the processed foods we consume, large portions served at restaurants and fatty ingredients used to flavor what we eat. Americans have become obese in record numbers. Those who chose to diet restrict certain foods and ingredients they know will work against them. One of those is sugar. Although sugar is a wonderful sweetener, it has been proven to do more damage to the human body and best to simply avoid it at all cost.  

 Just think for a moment if you put as much effort into avoiding sin as dieters do avoiding sugar? Almost to an obsession, you would soon see spiritual growth beyond anything you’ve ever experienced. Is it possible? YES! How can you sustain a spiritual diet that will grow your faith?

 Prayer, reading God’s word and having an accountability partner. Prayer opens the lines of communication with God as He plants inside you His desire to grow you spiritually. Communication with God is essential if you are to grow your faith. God’s word provides lifestyle boundaries that will keep your growth in check. Consider it a coaching guide to spiritual success. Having an accountability partner allows you to grow your faith with someone who has the same interest as you. They will be your spiritual cheerleader when you feel let down and will be the encouragement you need to keep growing.

 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. Philippians 3:8

 The benefits of a spiritual diet will include shedding those things from your life that are spiritually debilitating and have no real eternal value. Your spiritual goal in life should be to conform to the image of Jesus Christ. Your spiritual diet plan will get you there with God’s help.

 Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Johah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Jonah 1:17

 Ever drive around a barricade only to discover that barricade was there for a reason? As a result, you had to waste time by backtracking and finding a different route. Yes, I humbly admit this has happened to me a few times in life and it was a frustrating experience.

 Today’s passage comes from the story of Jonah, where God directed him to go to the city of Nineveh and speak to them about their wickedness. Jonah, was disobedient and ran from God’s directive, boarded a ship and found himself tossed into the sea and landed in the belly of a large fish for 3 days. He wasn’t going anywhere and God used this time to call out Jonah’s disobedience so he would have a change of heart.  

 Let’s bring this home. As a child of God, your body and your life is not your own. God paid a price for your soul and He demands respect, honor and your obedience (1 Corinthians 6:19-20, John 14:15 ). When you bypass God’s warning signs about sin, you eventually find yourself at a dead end and you have to backtrack, experiencing guilt, shame and sometimes pain by hurting those you love. Most of all, you miss out on God’s blessings during this time of undoing your wrong. Whose got time for that?

 As you journey through each day, just know God will instruct you at times, provide warning signs and even throw up red flags deep within your soul, telling you this is not the right way. Follow Him in strict obedience and your blessings will continue to flow uninterrupted and no wasted time backtracking in your relationship with God. Blessings.

 “Rain makes me feel less alone. All rain is, is a cloud- falling apart, and pouring its shattered pieces down on top of you. It makes me feel good to know I'm not the only thing that falls apart. It makes me feel better to know other things in nature can shatter." Lone Alaskan Gypsy. 

 After several days of beautiful weather, rain has returned to Georgia. Although I’ve enjoyed yesterday’s sun and warm weather, today’s rain was certainly welcoming. There is something about a rainy day, it’s like Mother Nature gives you an excuse to rest, do very little and just enjoy the sounds of nature falling from the sky.

 Today’s quote comes from a blogger who also finds comfort on rainy days. Here she associates the release of rain to life’s brokenness which compares to many of life’s heart breaking moments. As humans, we are not immune from life’s disappointing moments and the pain they cause can make you feel hopeless, alone and drain your energy to move forward another day. But, it doesn’t have to remain that way forever.

 God, pick up the pieces of my life. Put me back together again. I give you my praise. Jeremiah 17:14

 In God we have the assurance that life cannot steal your hope. In Christ, life will not leave you shattered and broken. God will comfort your heart and spirit in difficult times, and heal the heartache in your life. He is the Great Healer that will put your life back together again so you can resume life. Although the rainy days may come, use them to rest in the comfort of Jesus Christ and know that it will be well within your soul to praise Him for His goodness! God bless!

 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”. John 14:6

 Now that I’m retired, I make time each morning to study God’s word for hours and research information relevant to the bible. One thing I’ve found is that the Muslim faith is rapidly growing across the globe, so I’ve spent some time trying to understand their beliefs. After some study, I find my heart broken for their misguided understanding of God’s word and His Son, Jesus Christ.

 According to the Quran (Muslim bible), Jesus was born of a virgin (Mary), but do not regard Him as the Son of God. They believe Jesus was a special prophet who performed miracles. According to their beliefs, Jesus did not die on a cross, but someone else was His substitute (who looked like Jesus), therefore He didn’t die on the cross, but was saved by God. And finally, they do not believe in the original sin, therefore no one is held accountable for their life, it is up to each person to live a life approved by God and will give an account to God (Allah) upon their death.

 My thoughts. God is a holy and righteous God. As humans, we are sinful people and don’t even come close to His righteousness. How could anyone possibly think they could live a life “good enough” to be accepted by God to enter into Heaven? Sadly, there are many people today who actually have that belief. Rejecting Jesus Christ’s atonement for sin will send you straight to Hell. Jesus Christ is the sacrificial lamb of God, atonement for mankind’s sins.

 If you have never accepted Jesus Christ into your life, or a Muslim by faith, I encourage you to pick up a copy of God’s word (Bible), and read the truth before it’s too late. Heaven or Hell is where you’ll spend eternity. Make sure you are on the right path. Jesus is the ONLY way to the Father! God bless!