Devotionals

POWER IN THE WORD (04/04/2016):Have you ever tried having your quiet time aloud? Hang with me a second.... I'm not saying you and everyone, I'm just saying reading scripture out loud. I have found that sometimes my powerful God moments happen when I speak His word ALOUD. Think of the power being released, not just in you but AROUND you as well. Scripture says,

"For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires." - Hebrews 4:12 (NLT)

Don't get me wrong. Scripture isn't ineffective in your head and heart. I'm just saying, in my experience, something amazing happens when you speak aloud the Word of God. Satan can't read your mind but he can hear you speak and think about how sick you make him by speaking scripture aloud.

Maybe you all don't think this is much of a devotional, especially after having had so much time in between this devotional and the last one I posted. However, as my pastor had us read a verse aloud about three times yesterday, it hit me hard in the heart to post this and I immediately started writing it down.

I pray that you take a quiet time, whether you're able to do it in your house, in your closet, or maybe even just in your car (not while driving, of course), and just read your Bible aloud. I pray that when you do, you are filled with a fire in your heart that burns so intensely you know it can't be anything except Jesus:)

May the Lord bless you richly! I look forward to posting again, but things have been really hectic as of late, and to be quite honest I haven't really had any devotionals come to me. Please pray that if it's His will, God will begin to speak things into my heart for Great News. Until then however,

"May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace." - Numbers 6:24-26 (NLT)

JUST BE HELD (02/09/2016):
As I was listening to this song yesterday, I knew it was going to be today's devotional. It just fit too well with "Trust In You." There are so many times I can recall feeling like my world was falling apart. Nothing was going right, and everything was definitely going wrong. This song is a great reminder that when we feel like everything is falling apart, it's actually all falling into place...its place in the giant puzzle of our lives. 

Not too long ago, someone told me that in times of loneliness, when I felt like I was all alone and the enemy was coming against me, I should get alone with God. I should tell Him that while I know what His Word says about His love for me, I really need to feel it, and I should just sit there and allow God to hold me. 

It is one of the best pieces of advice I have ever received. Sometimes, we place our eyes on the storm and worry about whether or not He still loves us, but as the song says, if we would put our eyes on the cross, we would know that God has always loved us and He always will. However, sometimes we need to just sit and feel God hold us:)

So my friend, stop holding on. God is on the throne. Just be held:) May God bless you richly! May He wrap His loving arms around you and hold you tight today, in Jesus' name! =D

TRUST IN YOU (02/08/2016):
This song has really had a huge impact on my life as well as my fiancé's life especially here recently. With obstacles jumping in our way and giving us a lot of trouble we have had a lot of discouraging days. Charles heard this song and shared it with me several weeks ago, and it's becoming a theme song not only for us as individuals but also for us as an engaged couple. So today, instead of writing out my own devotional, I am going to share with you what he posted about this song:

“ 'When you don’t move the mountains I’m needing you to move, when you don’t part the waters I wish I could walk through, when you don’t give the answers as I cry out to you… I will trust, I will trust, I will trust in you.'

Such powerful words and yet some of the hardest words for us to say; as someone who feels like there are mountains in my life that I wish God would move or oceans that I wish He would part for me to walk through, and in the times I am on my knees crying out to Him, begging for an answer but getting one I didn’t want instead, I find myself more and more realizing how much I need to trust in God.

It’s so easy to trust in Him when He moves the mighty mountains that challenge us in our lives, when He’s splitting oceans of fear and worry in two for us to walk through, or when He answers that prayer in the way we want Him to, but it’s so much harder to trust Him when He doesn’t do things the way we want Him to. But as we near the end of the first month of this new year, in 2016 I seek to trust God no matter what He does, because while He may not always move in the way I wish He would, I know that in the end, whichever way He does move, it will be where He can bless me in ways I never could imagine. But it all starts with simply stepping out in faith, not always fully understanding how or why, but simply taking that leap of faith and trusting in God no matter how He chooses to move in my life.

'Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths. - Proverbs 3:5-6 (HCSB)' " -Charles A. Jaeger Jr.

May the Lord bless you all richly! May you seek to trust Him in every circumstance of your life even when it's not easy. :)

OBEDIENCE TO SALVATIONS (01/15/2016):
" 'Aeneas,' Peter said to him, 'Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and take care of your mat.' Immediately Aeneas got up. All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord." -Acts 9:34-35 (NIV)

"He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive. This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord." -Acts 9:41-42 (NIV)

I noticed a pattern as I was reading Acts 9, and it made me think about something. If you noticed there is a pattern of obedience followed by salvations. When God called Peter to go, he went. He went with a command that God has given all of us, to "go and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 26:19). He healed a paralytic by the power and authority of Jesus Christ. He prayed and commanded a dead woman named Tabitha to "get up." These things gave glory to God, because it is only by God that Peter did these things. 

The point is Peter was obedient to the Lord, and because he was obedient, people turned to the Lord; "many believed!"

So here is what I started thinking about. How many people could be saved in our lives if we would simply be obedient to the Lord? What if, when God told us to go, we were listening, we heard and we went wherever He was telling us to go? These are just a few passages in the Bible where we can see obedience leading to the salvation of many. So just think for a moment... When is the last time you did exactly what God told you to do? 

Maybe God told you to speak life into that co-worker the other day, and you ignored Him because you didn't want to make things uncomfortable. Maybe God asked you to pray with that family you saw hurting at a hospital and you were too afraid so you walked the other way. Maybe God told you to help that guy carrying three boxes to the door, struggling not to drop them or buckle under their weight, and you were too proud to help or were maybe afraid it would be too uncomfortable....

Can I tell you something about those people? That co-worker may be on the verge of giving up all hope, and God was asking you to be the vessel He worked through to give that hope back. She could have come to know Christ because of that moment, had you chosen to speak to her, and then maybe she would have led others to Christ.... 

That family is breaking apart now because of the pain they experienced from the loss they were grieving over when you saw them. They were drowning in debt from the hospital bills and had just lost a precious family member. They needed Jesus... They needed a blessing... They needed hope... 

And that guy... the one with the three heavy boxes... had back surgery three weeks ago but had to come back to work because if he doesn't they are going to lose their house, and his wife just found out she is pregnant with their third child. He needed a hand, a blessing.... He needed to see Jesus in someone.... 

Obviously, the stories may be far from the situations of the people in your life... maybe you are a stay-at-home mom and don't have co-workers; maybe you haven't been in a hospital lately (praise God), but the point...is that what if these are all true?... What if each situation was turned around for the glory of God by a believer that chose to be obedient no matter how uncomfortable it was? Despite their pride. Their obedience could have led to the salvation of many.

I know this is a long post, but I wanted to make sure to get my point across this morning. So now, I'm going to leave you with a challenge. Whatever situation you find yourself in from here on out, whether it's a story similar to the ones above or whatever, keep your heart and ears tuned to the Lord's voice. And when He speaks, listen and be obedient. You never know what your obedience will do to increase the Kingdom of God:)

May the Lord bless you all richly in Jesus today! May He order your steps and make you obedient to His will in Jesus' name! =D

AT ONCE (01/12/2016):
"At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God." -Acts 9:20 (NIV)

I read this during my Bible study this morning and it immediately flew off of the page and hit me right between the eyes. Saul, upon coming to know Jesus, didn't get baptized and then lay around saying, "Okay, well I know Jesus, yippee. Let me sit and eye guzzle 'Women of Damascus' for the next two weeks." NO!! The Bible said "AT ONCE." Saul didn't sit around. He took some food, regained his strength, then rolled up his sleeves and got busy serving the Lord! For so long he persecuted the body of Christ to the extreme, and then when the Lord appeared to him, his life was completely turned around. He didn't ease into it; he got up at once and began to preach!

What is our excuse? So many think that after being saved they have to ease into their new faith. Why don't we take after Saul?? Why don't we all get up, at once, right now! Roll up our sleeves and serve our Jesus! =D I'm in...are you? 

May the Lord bless you richly in Jesus today. May He give you strength and courage, and when you hear Him calling you to go somewhere, or do something, may you IMMEDIATELY, AT ONCE get up and be obedient in doing so:)

HE OPENS OUR PRISON DOORS! (01/11/2016): 
I started reading the book of Acts just a few days ago. As I got to chapter five there was a verse that really stuck out to me.

 "But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out." -Acts 5:19 (NIV) 

 It stuck out to me because while my head always seemed to realize it, my heart never grasped it. We are all in a prison. Your prison may or may not be different than mine. Before I knew Jesus, I was in the prison of homosexuality. I've had a big prison full of different terrible things. My prison has held many names over the years, but when I ask God to free me, He has the power to open my prison doors and bring me out of it. 

 What is your prison? Does your prison have one name or many names? Is your prison homosexuality, pride, adultery, gluttony, pornography, lust, envy, sexual immorality, drugs, alcohol, anger issues, other addictions? Maybe your prison is made up of a combination of some of those, or things that were not mentioned above. Regardless of what it is.... God can open your prison doors. He can bring you out into His marvelous light. 

 Maybe you find yourself in a real prison. Behind bars because you did something illegal. God can still free you from the prison in your heart. If you will ask Him into your heart and life, SINCERELY, He will open the prison door your heart is trapped behind and bring you out! 

 May God bless you magnificently as we head into the second full week of the New Year! And may He open the prison doors of your hearts in Jesus' name! =D

MERRY CHRISTMAS!! (12/25/2015):

May the Lord bless you all richly in Jesus name! 

THE INNKEEPER (12/24/2015):

I pray that everyone is having a great Christmas Eve. Please take some time to watch this and maybe even share it to help everyone remember the true meaning of the season:) There will also be a special video posted tonight. I posted the same video a year ago but it was so good it was worth posting again:) This video will be posted at 7PM. God bless you all!

OUR COMING SAVIOR: The Innkeeper

MARY AND JOSEPH (12/23/2015):

OUR COMING SAVIOR: Mary and Joseph

ELIZABETH AND ZECHARIAH (12/22/2015):I won't be posting a lot with these videos. But I always love how The Skit Guys manage to illustrate and bring to life the Christmas story every year in a fresh way. I pray that God will bless you all this Christmas week! Please take some time to watch and share this video. Because it slipped my mind that yesterday was Monday and I completely forgot to post, there will be this video now, and then another video posted this afternoon. After that I will post one a morning until Christmas:) GOD BLESS YOU!!!!!

OUR COMING SAVIOR: Elizabeth and Zechariah

WINTER SNOW (12/9/2015):
This is actually yesterday's devotional, however I got busy with some stuff yesterday and didn't remember to post it until late so I thought I would post it today instead. 

I actually had this week planned out differently. In fact, I was going to introduce something new, however it seems that God has had different plans. So this song has been on my mind for the last few days. I've been humming it, singing it, and hearing it in my head over and over and over again. It is a beautiful song about God coming in like a winter snow, instead of a mighty storm. 

I encourage everyone to take a moment, and listen. Allow God to speak to you through this song as you remember what this season is truly about:) May the Lord bless you all richly! :)

MAYBE IT’S NOT WHAT WE THINK (12/7/2015):

It is truly the most wonderful time of the year. In some places it has already started snowing, in almost every place you look Christmas trees have been put up along with beautiful lights and other decorations. Families are coming together, whether they really want to or not, and all the radio stations are filled with Christmas music. People have (hopefully) been Christmas shopping for their loved ones, and are making Christmas goodies.

Yes, the atmosphere at Christmas time is almost always a wonderful one. Something that I was thinking about today though. Has anyone thought that it’s not really what we think it is that makes the season so wonderful? What I mean is, many people see Christmas as the overly-marketed holiday that it has become. But what if the wonderful feeling that seems to consume the world at this time has nothing to do with the presents, twinkling lights, goodies, music or even jolly old saint nick, but instead is a special “settling” (for lack of a better word) of the Holy Spirit?

Like God’s special reminder of what this season is really about. His son. That precious baby born so long ago who was pre-destined to die for our sins. Maybe this feeling that most everyone gets this time of year, is actually, not about the season at all but really the Holy Spirit doing a work in all of us, a special work, to help us remember it all started with a precious baby boy, in a manger.

I know it’s all very crazy, and maybe it’s confusing, so if you’re confused don’t let it consume your thoughts, it is just a crazy theory. However it’s a theory I thought I’d share.

Really, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that we take the opportunity this Christmas season, to remember what is important. What does matter; JESUS. 

“Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in the darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.” – Luke 1:78-79 (NLT)

He sent a light to shine on us then and He still shines on us now when we believe in Him. In the business of the season, don’t forget to stop and remember why we even celebrate Christmas. Jesus.

May the Lord bless you richly this Christmas season. =D

"BEAUTIFUL THINGS" (11/13/2015):
God can take your broken life, all of the terrible, horrible, ugly stuff, and make it all beautiful for His glory. HE MAKES BEAUTIFUL THINGS! He makes all things NEW, including YOU! =D Please take some time to really watch this video and be encouraged my friend. God has MADE you beautiful in Christ =D

"SAME POWER" (11/12/2015):
The beautiful and encouraging truth that the power of Jesus is in YOU!!!! We can stand in victory, no weapon will prevail against us because guess what??? THE SAME POWER THAT COMMANDS THE DEAD TO WAKE LIVES IN US!!!!! Live in VICTORY child of God because the POWER of JESUS lives in you!!!! =D

Music video by Jeremy Camp performing Same Power. (C) 2015 Stolen Pride Records LLC. under exclusive license to Sparrow Records

"GRACE WINS" (11/10/2015):
I love this song. I'm sure we have all felt the way this song describes, feeling like God is looking down on us in disappointment, shaking his head in disgrace but this song is a great reminder that GRACE WINS EVERY TIME! =D You may be down, but by God's grace you're not out!!! May the Lord bless you richly and sing this truth over you today in Jesus' name:)

Music video by Matthew West performing Grace Wins. (C) 2015 Sparrow Records

"MY NAME IS LAZARUS" (11/9/2015):
As I was listening to my iPod the other day this song came on and instead of skipping it like I typically do I stopped and listened to it and decided that it would be the first of a worship devotional week this week. I pray that this song encourages you the way it has been encouraging me these past few days:)

Published on Oct 25, 2012Music video by Bill & Gloria Gaither performing My Name Is Lazarus (feat. Greater Vision) [Live]. (P) (C) 2012 Spring House Music Group. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction is a violation of applicable laws. Manufactured by EMI Christian Music Group,

FIRST LISTEN, THEN GO. (10/27/2015):

"Then he added, 'Son of man, let all my words sink deep into your own heart first. Listen to them carefully for yourself. Then go to your people in exile and say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says!' Do this whether they listen to you or not.' " -Ezekiel 3:10-11 (NLT)

I've been studying in Ezekiel recently, and a few weeks ago I came across these two verses. I got chills as God began unraveling this devotion in my mind. Not only because He was unraveling it the way that He was, but also because as He unraveled it, He allowed me to see how it could be pieced together with yesterday's devotional:) God is so awesome:) 

Yesterday, we discussed the truth that we are all called as believers to be missionaries, no matter what job we are "disguised" in:) Today, I want to discuss something quite important when spreading the gospel. Some advice that you might could say is hidden in these two verses. Are you ready? Here it goes:

We must LISTEN carefully for ourselves, and let sink deep into our own hearts FIRST, the Word of God. THEN, and only THEN should we GO and tell others what has been said to us:) 

Listening to God isn't hard. It means sitting down alone with Him and taking time to seek Him diligently through His Word, prayer, worship, and even in quiet stillness. You can't give others what you don't have yourself. So before you can go and carry out the mission of sharing the gospel as a missionary, you must first seek the Lord and LISTEN. You must let His words sink deep into your own heart FIRST, so that you can THEN GO and by the power of the Holy Spirit, allow the words you've been given to flow through you and penetrate the hearts of others. 

Could you imagine the revival that could take place if every believer would sit down every day and spend thirty minutes to an hour of uninterrupted, sincere, desperate God seeking time? Time that was filled with desperate prayer; passionate, all consuming, unreserved, intimate, worship; expectant reading of His word and listening to Him speak. Just think about it.... does it not fire you up? Does that very thought not overwhelm you to tears...? 


So are you with me? Are you ready to listen to God first, so that we can boldly go and spread the gospel all over the world? May God bless you with time that is JUST for Him, so that He can speak, and you can let all of His words sink DEEP into your heart. An appointment with Him that you can keep, and trust me, you won't want to miss it. :)

HELLO MISSIONARY! (10/26/2015):
Did you know that you are called to be a missionary? Well, you are! Merriam-Webster defines the word "Missionary" as "a person who is sent to a foreign country to do religious work." This is mostly true except you don't have to go to a foreign country to be a missionary. YOU ARE CALLED TO BE A MISSIONARY HERE:)

It's true. You need proof? Okay. 

"Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.' Amen." - Matthew 28:16-20 NKJV (The Great Commission).

See, your mission field could simply be the job you are in. No matter where you are, whether you are here or halfway around the world in a foreign country, if you are a believer, you are a missionary. You're called to be a doctor? FANTASTIC! But you're not really a doctor, you are a missionary disguised as a doctor! :) 

You see? The same goes for any calling, be it a teacher, pastor, firefighter, soldier, nurse, police officer, EMT, movie director, author, manager, pizza delivery person, waitress/waiter, chef, stay at home mom (or dad), retail person, etc... My friend you are not really what your job says you are. You are a missionary, DISGUISED as that position:) 

I love this quote by Charles Spurgeon:
"Every Christian is either a missionary or an impostor."

You are called to spread the gospel. The GREAT NEWS of Jesus Christ:) That my friend is your calling. So rise up Child of God, go out and spread the gospel among the nations! Go out and reach people for Christ! Go out and be the missionary you are called to be. Maybe God is calling you to do that in a foreign country, or maybe He is calling you to do that in a hospital, school, home, store, fast food restaurant, etc... Wherever He is calling, you GO. GO and know, you are NEVER alone. There are many brothers and sisters standing with you. 

"The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face to shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace." - Numbers 6:24-26 (NKJV)


God bless you my friends:)

I SHALL NOT WANT/I HAVE ALL I NEED (10/02/2015):
"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want." - Psalm 23:1 (NKJV)
"The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need." - Psalm 23:1 (NLT)

To some this may be as familiar a verse as John 3:16, for others maybe not as familiar but still pretty familiar, and still for others maybe a verse they've never heard. As someone who has been a Christian for only about three and a half years I have heard this verse but it's not quite as familiar to me as other verses. In fact, only recently have I found it coming to mind more and more. A short little verse about 8 to 10 words, depending on your translation, so it isn't something too hard to remember in times of need. I'm about to get pretty vulnerable with you here so bare with me.

As of late, I have found more and more often as I struggle with having a good enough job to basically afford life; paying bills, paying for a car and gas to go in the car, doing school, (and many other things that would take too long to list out), God brings this verse to mind. Sadly, there are times where I get flustered and doubt that anything is ever going to work out or work together, but then this still small voice reminds me of this verse. I feel that these two really cover both things needing to be said.

First, it covers a truth that we should burn into our hearts and minds, "The Lord is my shepherd". He is provider and protector. He takes care of His sheep and that's us!

"I shall not want." As human beings we tend to want things. For some it's a shiny new car, for others it's a bigger house, bigger paycheck, better job, new life etc... We have a whole lot of wants, and will focus on them most of the time a lot more than what we actually need. In fact many of us (myself included) tend to mix up wants and needs. Sadly, there are times that we will make ourselves miserable doing this. We believe that we "need" that better job and not only do we "need" it, but we "need" it NOW. At times we will mistake the lack of seeing the better job, better paycheck, or (insert "need" here), as God not answering or not caring. This couldn't be further from the truth. As children of God our WANTS should be in line with our faith in God. We should want more of Him, we should want to see unbelievers come to Christ, we should want His Kingdom to come and His will to be done... We are filled with so many earthly wants that sometimes we don't realize we have all we could ever possibly need and there is really no reason to chase so hard after that want. There is no need to "want" my friend:) Think about that sentence for a second and let it sink in.

"I have all that I need." I have been really focusing on this translation because I believe God is showing me that this truth has many meanings. This truth means that God knows every need I have, even the ones I don't know yet, and He provides all that I need. I believe this is true when I wake up, and when I go to sleep. This is true no matter what struggles I am facing, He will provide for EVERY NEED. However, all of that being said, last night I began to think about this verse in a new way. In a way that many of you could have already figured out long ago. This isn't just your physical daily needs. This doesn't just mean food, money to pay bills, or things like that. It also means in a moment where there is something you need emotionally or spiritually, you have it. If you NEED to be bold in a situation, God will provide. If you NEED to reach out to someone drowning in sin, God will provide. There are times when I NEED something new for devotionals and God allows me to see what He has already given me. In the same instance there are times where I just really WANT to make sure a devotional is posted but don't have everything I need because for some reason that day God decided that I didn't NEED to write one.

Do you see the picture I'm drawing? As a child of God stop wanting so much because the truth is friend, you ALREADY HAVE ALL YOU NEED! It is a wonderful and very comforting truth to come to grips with and hold on to.

May the Lord bless you ever so richly today and speak to your heart about the wonderful truth that you have all you need:)

SONS AND DAUGHTERS (09/28/2015):
What a beautiful and wonderful way to get to start my week (and I pray yours). This isn't going to be much of a devotional, but the song I am going to share with you this morning I believe has a beautiful message to speak to every heart of every child of God. 

In college worship this past Thursday night, I heard this song by Brett Stanfill for the very first time and wow did I need to hear these words. Please take some time this morning and allow the Lord to speak to you through this song. God bless you richly!

REVELATION 22, NKJV (08/22/2015):

The River of Life
"And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.

The Time Is Near
Then he said to me, 'These words are faithful and true.' And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place.
'Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.'
Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things.
Then he said to me, 'See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.' 
And he said to me, 'Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.'

Jesus Testifies to the Churches
'And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.' 
Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie. 
'I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.'
And the Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let him who hears say, 'Come!' And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. 

A Warning
For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. 

I Am Coming Quickly
He who testifies to these things says, 'Surely I am coming quickly.' Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen."

May God bless you all exceeding abundantly beyond all that you could ever ask or imagine!!! "Even so, come, Lord Jesus!" =D

ROMANS 14, NLT (08/21/2015):

"Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don't argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. For instance, one person believes it's all right to eat anything. But another believer with a sensitive conscience will eat only vegetables. Those who feel free to eat anything must not look down on those who don't. And those who don't eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them. Who are you to condemn someone else's servants? They are responsible to the Lord, so let him judge whether they are right or wrong. And with the Lord's help, they will do what is right and will receive his approval.
In the same way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike. You should each be fully convinced that whichever day you choose is acceptable. Those who worship the Lord on a special day do it to honor him. Those who eat any kind of food do so to honor the Lord, since they give thanks to God before eating. And those who refuse to eat certain foods also want to please the Lord and give thanks to God. For we don't live for ourselves or die for ourselves. If we live, it's to honor the Lord. And if we die, it's to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. Christ died and rose again for this very purpose—to be Lord both of the living and of the dead.
So why do you condemn another believer? Why do you look down on another believer? Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For the Scriptures say, 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will confess and give praise to God.'
Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God. So let's stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall.
I know and am convinced on the authority of the Lord Jesus that no food, in and of itself, is wrong to eat. But if someone believes it is wrong, then for that person it is wrong. And if another believer is distressed by what you eat, you are not acting in love if you eat it. Don't let your eating ruin someone for whom Christ died. Then you will not be criticized for doing something you believe is good. For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God, and others will approve of you, too. So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up.
Don't tear apart the work of God over what you eat. Remember, all foods are acceptable, but it is wrong to eat something if it makes another person stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything else if it might cause another believer to stumble. You may believe there's nothing wrong with what you are doing, but keep it between yourself and God. Blessed are those who don't feel guilty for doing something they have decided is right. But if you have doubts about whether or not you should eat something, you are sinning if you go ahead and do it. For you are not following your convictions. If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning."

May the Lord bless your richly in the name of Jesus!!! =D

PSALM 63, NLT (08/20/2015):
"O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water.
I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory. Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you!
I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer. You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy. 
I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night. Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your strong right hand holds me securely. 
But those plotting to destroy me will come to ruin. They will go down into the depths of the earth. They will die by the sword and become the food of jackals. But the king will rejoice in God. All who trust in him will praise him, while liars will be silenced."

May God bless you all with such a wonderful love and longing for Him. =D

JOHN 3, NKJV (08/19/2015):

The New Birth
"There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, 'Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.' 
Jesus answered and said to him, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.'
Nicodemus said to Him, 'How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?'
Jesus answered, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'you must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.'
Nicodemus answered and said to Him, 'How can these things be?'
Jesus answered and said to him, 'Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 
'He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.' 

John The Baptist Exalts Christ
After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized. Now John also was baptizing in the Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized. For John had not yet been thrown into prison. 
Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification. And they came to John and said to him, 'Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!'
John answered and said, 'A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness that I said, 'I am not the Christ, but, I have been sent before Him.' He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true. For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.' "


Praying that God will bless you all richly today in Jesus!!! Don't forget to get plugged in! If you are not already attending church somewhere tonight is a great night to start:) 

JOHN 9:1-25, ESV (08/18/2015):
"As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?' Jesus answered, 'It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.' Having said these things, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud and said to him, 'Go, wash in the pool of Siloam' (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. 
The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, 'Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?' Some said, 'It is he.' Others said, 'No, but he is like him.' He kept saying, 'I am the man.' So they said to him, 'Then how were your eyes opened?' He answered, 'The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash' So I went and washed and received my sight.' They said to him, 'Where is he?' He said, 'I do not know.'
They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, 'He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.' Some of the Pharisees said, 'This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.' But others said, 'How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?' And there was a division among them. So they said again to the blind man, 'What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?' He said, 'He is a prophet.'
The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, 'Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?' His parents answered, 'We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.' (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.) Therefore his parents said, 'He is of age; ask him.'
So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, 'Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.' He answered, 'Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.' "

May God bless you richly today!!!!! =D

ROMANS 12, NLT (08/17/2015):
"And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. 
Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don't think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ's body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. 
In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. 
Don't just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God's people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. 
Bless those who persecute you. Don't curse them; pray that God will bless them. Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other. Don't be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don't think you know it all!
Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. 
Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,

'I will take revenge; I will pay them back,' says the Lord

Instead,

'If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.' 

Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good."


May the Lord bless you all richly and may your life be consumed by His love and His Word! =D 

HEAVEN IS REJOICING! (07/28/2015):

"Count on it---that's the kind of party God's angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God." - Luke 15:10 (MSG)

Yesterday, I talked about the ULTIMATE BLOOD TRANSFUSION, so today I want to give you an amazing image, an illustration of what happens when you accept that blood transfusion.

I'm sure many of you have heard before that there is rejoicing in Heaven over sinners coming to Christ, but have you ever really grasped that and tried to picture it in your mind? The Message translation says that they throw a party every time one lost soul turns to God. A PARTY! As I was thinking about this yesterday the image that came to my mind was everyone in Heaven attending to heavenly business and suddenly there is a cry from a lost soul, they are calling on the name of Jesus and suddenly there is shouting! There is rejoicing! A PARTY IS THROWN FOR THE SALVATION OF THAT PERSON!!! There is singing, there is clapping, cheering, over that person! Then in the midst of the rejoicing they pour out some of Jesus' blood onto that person... they become cloaked in the pure, precious blood of Jesus. THEY ACCEPTED THE ULTIMATE BLOOD TRANSFUSION!!!!

How amazing is that? How beautiful a picture that paints in my mind... Now to be clear I don't know if that is exactly what happens in Heaven... but I know for a fact that there is joy, rejoicing, and celebration over the salvation of even one person. I know because it's in the Bible. It's in God's Word, and His Word is true. Has there been a party thrown on your behalf, for your salvation? If not... what are you waiting for?

May our God bless and keep you. May He open your eyes to your need for Him daily and consume you with His everlasting love. In Jesus' name:)

ULTIMATE BLOOD TRANSFUSION (07/27/2015): 

"Figuratively speaking a blood transfusion is essential from a qualified donor whose blood possesses the purity and efficacy required for the cleansing and healing of the mortally sin-sick soul." -Henry M. Morris, Science and the Bible

Some of you may have heard the saying that as a child of God you have royal blood flowing through your veins. While reading something for a class, I read this quote and thought about how cool that analogy was. God has provided a qualified blood donor with the purity and efficacy required for the cleansing and healing of our mortally sin-sick souls! That donor is JESUS. When we accept Jesus into our hearts, we accept that blood transfusion choosing life over death. Without the blood of Jesus, salvation and healing can't come.

"In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness." -Hebrews 9:22 (NLT)

Because Jesus shed His blood, we can be forgiven. We can be cleansed, healed, and purified. This is the ultimate blood transfusion. Will you accept the donor?

May God bless you and keep you. May your hearts be opened to Him and may your day be filled with His presence. Love you in Jesus!

THIS TOO SHALL PASS... (07/17/2015):

 "For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!" -2 Corinthians 4:17 (NLT)

"This too shall pass" a quote I think most, if not all of us, have heard and one that is fast becoming my motto...

Some of you know where I'm coming from. You've had that kind of day, week, month, or year. Maybe you're starting to find it hard to say, "this too shall pass", maybe you're just tired of reminding yourself. Maybe you no longer believe it...

Let me start by saying, there is a plan and purpose for every season good AND bad. While it may be easier to see that purpose in the good seasons, the bad ones are full of spiritual potential. I think this quote says it well:

" When life is sweet, say thank you and celebrate, when life is bitter, say thank you and grow." -Unknown

In each season, good or bad, you should give thanks to the Lord. However, while good seasons are a wonderful time of celebration, bad seasons are a wonderful (yet hard) time of growth. See, while no one really likes being in a bad season, good really does come out of them. In bad seasons you tend to be more aware of your weakness and His strength. You learn to rely more on God rather than yourself or your abilities. In bad seasons you learn and grow.

So right now I'm growing, I'm thanking God and I'm learning different things and with each day that goes by I remind myself "this too shall pass". God is faithful. He will sustain you during this season, He will work in your life through this. You're going to be okay. God is with you and for you. He will never leave you. THIS TOO SHALL PASS!! As the verse above states, this season will produce a glory that vastly outweighs your troubles and it will last FOREVER.

Don't give up friend, keep on pushing, keep on praying, keep on BELIEVING. This too shall pass. We are praying for you. We are here for you. GOD IS WITH YOU!

God bless you my friend. We love you here at Great News but more importantly GOD loves you! 

WILL YOU WASH THEIR FEET? (07/14/2015):
"So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples' feet, drying them with the towel he had around him." - John 13:4-5 (NLT)

Jesus took a lower role than theirs for their welfare. He did it for their good. He put their needs before His own. 

Similarly, we should be willing and happy to put the needs of others before our own needs. We need to humble ourselves. We need to wash their feet. It's clear in our world today that we have very little time left. That means we need to buckle down and start running hard after people for Jesus. 

The world is filled with lost people who just need someone to wash their feet with actions, love, words, and humility. They need someone to put their needs first... They need someone to not just TELL them about Jesus but to instead SHOW them Jesus. 

So will you? Will you take the time today to wash the feet of everyone you come into contact with? Maybe that will be a smile, or a friendly conversation. Maybe that will be an uplifting or encouraging word. Maybe it's a hug... maybe it's actually, physically washing someone's feet... It really doesn't matter how you wash their feet, just SHOW them Jesus... humble yourself, meet their needs and show them the love of Christ in doing so. 


I'm praying that God will show you how to wash someone's feet today. God bless you with an awesome, opportunity filled day in Jesus! I love you friend! =D

THE DAY OF SALVATION (05/15/2015):

We have talked this week about God's AMAZING GRACE. I have directed each devotional for believers and unbelievers but today I want to focus on the unbelievers. Those who don't KNOW Jesus. Those who are living without God's amazing grace.

I want you to know that it's not too late. You haven't gone too far, or done anything bad enough to make God stop loving you.

"And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow--not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below--indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." -Romans 8:38-39 (NLT)

NOTHING can separate you from His love. His love is unconditional, unlike any love you have ever experienced. Now is the time. What are you waiting for?

"For God says, 'At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.' Indeed the 'right time' is now. Today is the day of salvation." - 2 Corinthians 6:2 (NLT)

Today is the day my friend... will you give your life over to God? Will you respond to what He did for you on the cross?

"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." - Romans 10:9 (NLT)

I have said this multiple times this week so I will say it again. If you have questions you need/want answered contact us (greatnewsministriescontact@gmail.com). We want to help in any way we can. If you want to know Jesus and don't know how to go about entering into a relationship with Him, we'd love to help you with that as well. If we can't answer your questions we will direct you to someone who can. Please don't hesitate. This will be the greatest decision you've ever made.

May the Lord give you an open and responsive heart. May He pour out His Spirit upon you, and give you eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to obey. God bless you richly friend, hope to hear from you soon! =)

HE'S MY FRIEND. (05/14/2015):
"You are my friends if you do what I command." -John 15:14 (NLT)

Something really awesome I've gotten to do in the last week is look over a list of all of God's magnificent names. One of those names is, yep, you guessed it, FRIEND. 

We have all been an enemy of God at some point, and then we found His AMAZING GRACE, and because of that grace, we get to call GOD, FRIEND. He is a friend that is closer than any friend you have had or will ever have in the future. 

One of the many cool things about God is that He doesn't just give you His grace and say "see ya later, good luck, hope you make it through." He is actively pursuing you always. He calls you His friend. He wants to talk to you and hear from you. When you cry, He cries with you, when you hurt He feels your pain. When you want to give up, He comes in to encourage you. He whispers "I'm here" when you feel all alone. He is patient with you. HE LOVES YOU. You are His friend and He is yours. He will always be with you.

If you don't know God then please understand you are living as an ENEMY of God. You are living without His grace and protection. But that can change! Turn away from your sin! Run to our GRACIOUS God! Not sure how to do that? Contact us and we will be more than willing to help you out! (greatnewsministriescontact@gmail.com). Don't go another day, ANOTHER MINUTE, without knowing God as FRIEND. Now is the time! Today is the day of salvation! =D

Please don't hesitate to send us an email if you want to know Jesus. It can be as long or as short as you want just as long as you tell us that you want to know Jesus. Your information will never be shared, all we ask is that you make sure to tell us your name, so that we can specifically pray for you. Shoot us an email and we will send you one back that takes you through the process of salvation:) Can't wait to hear from you! =D


May the Lord bless you richly my friend and open your eyes to all that He has for you through His AMAZING GRACE! =D


HE KNOWS YOUR NAME! (05/12/2015):
"The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out." -John 10:3 (NLT)

The thing about God's amazing grace is that once you have recognized it, and you accept it, you are a part of this HUGE family! Not only that, but if you are a child of God, He calls YOU by name! He knows you!

He's our Shepherd and we are His sheep. He loves us and calls us His very own. We can recognize His voice over all of the other voices and loud noises that the world tries to distract us with. As children of God, He guards and protects us. Not in a way like any father you've ever known but in a way that only He can as our Heavenly Father. 

Think back to the questions I asked yesterday. If you need to go back and read over them. One of them was, are you living in grace? Another way to ask yourself this question is to ask; Can you hear HIS voice? Is He the one guiding and directing your every thought, action, and decision? Are you under His protection? 

If your answer to these questions are yes, and you know Jesus, great! =D But, if you answered no, then take some time to figure out why not. It is a good possibility that you just might not be saved. Maybe, these questions cause you to have more questions. If that is so we'd be more than happy to help you, whether that be giving you the answers you need or directing you to someone who can. Shoot us an email at greatnewsministriescontact@gmail.com

Please know that you are loved my friend. May the Lord bless you richly with His AMAZING GRACE!

IT'S ABOUT HIM (05/11/2015):
"For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." -John 3:16 (NLT)

This is a verse that just about every person on earth, Christian or not, knows by heart. Maybe not in the same translation but nonetheless, you've heard it. In this verse holds some idea of God's AMAZING GRACE. Jesus DIED for YOU.

Another verse that goes great with this one is:

"But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." -Romans 5:8 (NLT)

He didn't die for us because we were good people (we're not really, by the way). He didn't die because we deserved to live... He died because we were lost and trapped in sin. He died because He loves us SO MUCH, He wants to pour out His amazing grace on us, save us, and redeem us. What I want you to understand as we go through this devotional series is that it's not about us... it's about Him.

The questions I want you to ask yourself today and this week, are have you been saved? Have you been redeemed by the grace of God? Are you living in grace or are you trapped by sin? Realize what Christ did for you! Accept it, claim it, live it, and PRAISE Him for it! This isn't just grace my friend.... this is AMAZING grace.

May the Lord bless you richly throughout your day, pouring out His grace upon you! =D

CREATE IN ME (05/01/2015):
I love singing this song as a prayer to God and I want to encourage you all to do the same this morning. Cry it out to God with all of your heart:) Praise and thank Him for the fact that He is not finished with us yet! Such an awesome and encouraging truth this morning:)

As you go throughout your day, meditate on the verse that the song sings about:

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." -Psalm 51:10 (ESV)

May the Lord bless you richly as you go throughout your day and may the lives of others be touched because you spent time with your Father this morning! =D

REDEEMED (04/30/2015):
I love this song. Some may think that it is a little overused but it doesn't matter how much it's used its words should move you to worship as you claim them. We've all been there, some of us still are there but thank God there is redemption through Christ! Praise God because we can shake off every chain! Thank Him because you are redeemed and forgiven:) If you are reading this and you haven't been redeemed, thank Him because today is the day of salvation and you can accept Him into your heart and life and claim that redemption:) 

Finally meditate on all that the Lord went through to redeem you. His Word says, "Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross." - Philippians 2:6-7 (NLT)

He paid our penalty. Though He lived with out sin, God literally placed the sin of the WHOLE world on Him while He was on the cross. All the sins that had been, were then being committed, and even the sins that would eventually happen, all the way to the end of time. Think about that today. He did that for YOU. 

May the Lord bless you today with a deeper understanding of His redeeming grace:) God bless you in Jesus today friend! =D

NEVER ONCE (04/29/2015):
Something that always really sticks out to me in this song is simply that God is with us EVERY step of the way. Not part of the way, not just during the good times but EVERY SINGLE STEP we take, He is there guiding us, holding us, whispering to us, loving us...

I want you to take some time today and praise God that He is faithful and constant. Thank Him that as His Word tells us in Deuteronomy 31:6, He will not leave or forsake us.

Joshua 1:8 says, "Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do." That being said, today I want you to continuously meditate on the verse mentioned above, Deuteronomy 31:6:

"Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you."


I am praying that God will sink deep into your heart the message in this song. May you continually feel His presence as you go throughout your day and know that He will NEVER leave you. I love you in Jesus my sweet friend! =D

GREATER (04/28/2015):
I love this song mainly for the words "There'll be days I lose the battle, grace says that it doesn't matter, 'cause the cross already won the war." I found these words to be so encouraging in my own life and I pray that they will be just as encouraging to you:)

Today, I want you to praise God for the fact that He calls you redeemed. People may say that you're not worth it but friend, GOD says YOU ARE worth it. He proved this when He died on the cross for every sin you would ever commit. Thank God for the cross and what it means. Finally, as you go through your day meditate on the fact that though there will be days that you lose the battle, but because of grace it doesn't matter, the cross has already won the war. :) 

May the Lord bless you richly today as you go throughout your day, and may He open your heart to all that He has for you. =D

COME OUT OF HIDING (04/27/2015):
This is such a beautiful song with such amazing lyrics. As you listen praise God for the love He has and continues to display. Thank Him for the fact that seeing it all He still chose the cross. Then as you listen and even after the song ends and you begin going through your day meditate on the fact that He knows everything, there is no reason to hide from Him. Also meditate on the thought that YOU were the one He was thinking of when He rose from the grave:)

May the Lord bless you as you go throughout your day. May He use you to touch the lives of others and may the world be greatly impacted because you took this time of worship today:) Love you in Jesus my friend:)

REMEMBER WHEN... (04/14/2015):
"Think back on those early days when you first learned about Christ. Remember how you remained faithful even though it meant terrible suffering." -Hebrews 10:32 (NLT)

I want you to break this verse up with me and take it as advice. Really look back on those early days. Those days when you first learned about Christ. Do you remember how it felt to have your eyes opened to this amazing truth and love of Christ? How your heart quickened in your chest as you fell in-love with Him? As you realized just how in-love with you He is and all He gave for you? Nothing could stop you. You felt invincible. You knew love like no other. You felt peace that was unimaginable and had courage that you had never before known. You would have done anything for Jesus, even if it meant terrible suffering...

But then... something changed... Maybe you got stressed out over your family, your work, your school, your social status, or whatever... and with so much from the world weighing you down you're in a fog and have begun spending less and less time with Him... You've lost sight of what truly matters, and while you may still love Jesus... you will only go so far for Him...

Your fire seems to have dimmed a bit. You're not so excited about Jesus anymore... Sweet child... Whatever it is...it's not important enough for you to miss out on Jesus. Get away from whatever/whoever it is and just be alone with Jesus! Get the fullness of that fire back! Worship Him for all He is and all He has done. REMEMBER that love and fall BACK in-love with Jesus!! His arms are open... He never left... He loves you so much! So ask yourself... "What am I doing?"

To the person who is reading this thinking you still have that love, that excitement... DON'T LOSE IT! Stay alert, because the world... the ENEMY, will try to rob you of it. Spend time with the Lord WHENEVER you can and NEVER neglect your relationship with Jesus. 

Praying for you today my friend! May the love and peace of our Father consume you today in Jesus' name! =D  

EPHESIANS 5:1-20 (04/13/2015):

As I was praying last week for this week's devotionals, I sat down one night to study my Bible and as I was reading Ephesians 5, verses 1 through 20 really stuck out to me. I knew this needed to be a devotional so I wrote it on the calendar for today. This is going to be a little different than most devotionals because I'm not going to be adding anything. The devotional this morning IS this passage of the Bible. May the Lord give you eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to obey. Praying that this will speak to you. God bless you with an awesome day in Jesus!

"Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God's people. Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes--these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God. You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Don't be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him. Don't participate in the things these people do. For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said, 'Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead and Christ will give you light.' So be careful how you live. Don't live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don't act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don't be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." -Ephesians 5:1-20 (NLT)

HE BROUGHT SALVATION (04/03/2015):
"The crowd watched and the leaders scoffed. 'He saved others,' they said 'let him save himself if he is really God's Messiah, the Chosen One.'" -Luke 23:35 (NLT)

As I read this verse praying for a devotional for Easter God showed me the irony in the words spoken by the scoffers in this verse. They said "He saved others" and "let him save himself if he is really God's Messiah, the Chosen One." However, if you think about it, BECAUSE He WAS (IS) God's Chosen Messiah what they considered to be Him saving others wasn't even close. Him on the cross was what would ACTUALLY be the salvation He was here for. They were so blinded by the evil of the world they couldn't see it!

This weekend we celebrate the salvation that we've been given as a free gift from God. We celebrate the fact that after dying such a horrible death on the cross and being put in a tomb, Jesus rose from the dead, DEFEATING DEATH!

As you go about your weekend, don't forget what Jesus did for you. Remember what this weekend is about. DON'T BE BLINDED BY THE EVIL OF THE WORLD! Be saved by grace through faith in Jesus. HE IS RISEN!

May the Lord bless you with a wonderful Easter weekend in Him!

I AM NOT DEFINED BY... (04/02/2015):
I am not defined by... the people around me, my employment status, my grades, my relationship, my friendships, what I get done today or my to-do list and NEITHER ARE YOU.

I know it's hard to believe but status, people, relationships, and things do not define who you are. God does.

God's Word says that we are new creations, a royal priesthood, holy nation, God's special possession, His masterpiece, free from condemnation, His children, the righteousness of God, a temple of the Holy Spirit within us, friends of God, citizens of Heaven and the aroma of Christ to God (2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 Peter 2:9; Ephesians 2:10; Romans 8:1; John 1:12; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Corinthians 6:19; John 15:15; Philippians 3:20, ESV). And these are just a few of the things that God defines us as! Isn't that AWESOME? So why strive so hard to achieve all these things in life when they are all (while not necessarily bad) currently taking your focus away from what REALLY matters?

"And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?" - Mark 8:36 (NLT)

What is it going to do for you to gain that title, that grade, that friendship, that relationship, or the completion of that task if by doing so you are starving your spirit and taking your eyes off of God in the process? A verse that I have been having to focus on as of late is one out of Matthew that says,

"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." - Matthew 6:33 (NASB)

If your eyes are not fixed on the Lord... if your life is not a Christ centered life... then you will ultimately fail at having true satisfaction in any of those things you are trying to gain.

I want to challenge you (and myself)to live out Matthew 6:33. To live life seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness. Will you do this? Please don't allow yourself to believe that you are defined by worldly things. You DO NOT belong to this world, so therefore how could it EVER accurately define you?

May God bless you richly and remind you continuously of who you are in Christ. Love you today in Jesus my sweet friend! =D

ANGER (03/31/2015):
"And don't sin by letting anger control you: Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil." - Ephesians 4:26-27 (NLT)

Yesterday I mentioned that something I struggle with is anger. My question today is, do you? Are you filled with anger at the smallest things? Trust me, I understand. I struggle. Some of you may have been telling yourselves, "I'm okay" or maybe "I don't have a problem" or "every one gets angry at something." Let me be clear. I have never met a person who didn't have something that made them angry. However, with that being said, from my understanding, it is okay to be angry at the things that make God angry. For example, the sin in the world. However, at the end of the day we are to give that anger over to the Lord because as this verse says "don't let the sun go down while you are still angry."

Think about anger like a blister, wound, or sore. If it goes unchecked it will eventually fester and get infected. Over time the infection will go deeper than the surface and before you know it, the problem of anger has gotten out of control. Once the infection is so deep, surgery is needed to correct the problem. What I am trying to say is, if you keep your anger in check continuously the enemy won't be able to set up that foothold in your life and you won't need the extremely painful and hard spiritual surgery to fix your problem.

So, I repeat my question... do you struggle with anger? Don't immediately say no. STOP. Take a breath.... now ask God. Allow Him to show you whether or not you have an anger problem. If God shows you that you do, ask Him to change your heart. REMEMBER though! This will not be an easy process but you just have to trust God.

Praying that your eyes will be opened to anything and everything you need to see in your life today. May God bless you richly!!

HE WANTS TO DEVOUR YOU! (03/30/2015):
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." - 1 Peter 5:8 (NIV)

The enemy, YOUR enemy, and mine is seeking to devour someone. Devour you, devour me. This isn't a game. This is warfare. You should treat it as the war that it is. Think of it this way, if you were in actual war, on an actual battlefield you wouldn't go unprepared or allow yourself to be distracted in the middle of battle. You would have your armor on. You would be armed, and you would have some form of protection, like a shield for instance. Anyway, my point is, why should spiritual warfare be any different? We should wake up every morning and suit up in the armor of God. That means putting on the helmet of salvation, breastplate of righteousness, belt of truth, shoes of peace, taking up the shield of faith, and the sword of the spirit which is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:13-17). With all that being said lets look a little more closely at the verse above.

As I said before, you're not going to allow yourself to be distracted during battle. I mean just think about a war today. In a war today you've got bullets flying at you. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to be distracted with bullets flying at me. I would want to be ALERT! Don't you agree? With a spiritual warfare, and just with the Christian faith in general you also need to have self-control. Something I struggle with, for example, is anger. Sometimes I can be real quick to anger and lack self-control in that area. As Christians, we should have self-control in our lives, in fact if you look it is actually the last of the fruits of the spirit. The way I combat the anger I have, is by reminding myself of this verse:

"Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry." - James 1:19 (NLT)

Then I walk away from the situation (if possible) praying that God will help me to really have these characteristics in my own life. I pray for self-control.

We as Christians should always be self-controlled and alert. We have an enemy who is the devil, who is prowling around like a lion looking, waiting, so that he can devour us. His purpose is to "steal, kill and destroy" (John 10:10), and if we are not careful, if we don't take the time to prepare ourselves, become alert, and practice self-control, he may very well succeed in doing just that.

So my question for you, my challenge to you is to really sit down and take a look at your own life. Are you being self-controlled and alert? Are you aware of your enemy who is looking to devour you? If not, then why? What's stopping you? Whatever it may be, give it to Jesus.

May the Lord open your hearts and minds to all He, has for you and all that maybe you've allowed yourself to be blinded to. I love you today in Jesus my friend. God bless you with and awesome day in Him!

THE GIFT OF SINGLENESS (01/12/2015):

"We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps." - Proverbs 16:9 (NLT)

"We may throw the dice but the Lord determines how they fall." - Proverbs 16:33 (NLT)

When I first read these verses studying through the book of Proverbs a while back the first thought to run through my head was that the Lord is the ultimate decider of all things, in fact I wrote it at the top of the page in my Bible. So as I came across this verse once again while reading through a little bit of Proverbs, I thought of some girls I know. Some girls who are putting too much time and energy into finding the perfect guy and instead getting mixed up with the wrong guys. Some girls have taken God and put Him on the back-burner of their lives, who have barely touched their Bible, and who hardly come to church anymore unless they have to. They are trying to do God's job for Him and instead, without even realizing it, they are destroying their lives.

What these girls don't understand is if they would take the energy and resources they are putting into finding the "perfect" man, and put them into serving God, their lives would be much better and God would take care of EVERYTHING!

The Bible says:
"And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?" - Luke 12:28 (NLT)

Why try so hard at finding this "perfect" guy only to end up miserable when you could trust God and be more than happy!

Let's all be honest, relying on ourselves is just dumb. Really it is. Just think about it for a second, we as humans are weak, unreliable and limited. God, in all His glory is more than able, strong, almighty, unlimited, and perfect in all of His ways. There are no words in our vocabulary to describe God's greatness, not even when put together, so who would you rather rely on? Yourself? Your friends? That guy? Or God? I feel like the answer should be pretty obvious.

So I want to challenge you... STOP! Give up this tiring search for a man (or woman if you are a guy that has made it this far in the post) that you will never find without the hand of God. Take ALL of that energy, ALL of that time, and ALL of those resources that you're putting into finding "the one" and starting putting them into serving and worshiping God!

Joshua Harris talks about the gift God has given you of singleness, in his book called "I Kissed Dating Goodbye"

"God doesn't use our singleness to punish us. He has created this season as an unparalleled opportunity for undistracted devotion to God. And as a time for growth and service that we shouldn't take for granted or allow to slip by." - Joshua Harris (I Kissed Dating Goodbye. pg. 80)

"While we're single, dating not only keeps us from preparing for marriage, but can also quite possible rob us of the gift of singleness. Dating can tie us down in a series of pseudo relationships, but God wants us to maximize our freedom and flexibility to serve Him. Any season of singleness, whether you're sixteen or fifty-six, is a gift. You just might do God a disservice by wasting its potential on a lifestyle of short-term dating." - Joshua Harris (I Kissed Dating Goodbye. pg. 80)

So you see, stop looking at your singleness as a burden and start recognizing it as the blessing and gift that it is. Use this time to serve God. In the words of Joshua in Joshua 24:15 "...choose today whom you will serve...", will it be relationships or will it be Him? His perfect way.... or your imperfect way? What's your choice?

May the Lord open your eyes in ways you have never imagined. May He bless you richly beyond measure today!

CHRISTMAS EVE 2014:
Watching this video my heart is overwhelmed and I have no words to accompany it therefore I will only use a verse.

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." - Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)

Tomorrow will be the last post for this year! May the Lord bless you exceeding abundantly and may your heart overflow with joy in Jesus' name!!

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus Video « The Skit Guys

WISE MAN (12/20/2014):

"After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh." - Matthew 2:9-11 (NLT)

May the Lord bless each and everyone of you this CHRISTmas season! Remember that it's ALL about Jesus! =D Don't forget to check back Christmas Eve and Christmas day for two special Christmas posts =D Love you all!

First Christmas: Wise Man Video << The Skit Guys

SHEPHERD (12/19/2014):

"That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. 'Don't be afraid!' he said. 'I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.' Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.' When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, 'Let's go to Bethlehem! Let's see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.' They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger." -Luke 2:8-16 (NLT)

I love the excitement they had to just get up and go no questions asked. I can almost see the shepherds looking at each other and going "yeah, so that just happened. Let's go!"

May you be blessed beyond measure today!! In Jesus' name! =D

Tomorrow is the "WISE MAN" video! That will complete this week's devotional series. :)

First Christmas: Shepherd Video « The Skit Guys

MARY (12/18/2014):

"In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of Kind David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, 'Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!' Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. 'Don't be afraid, Mary,' the angel told her, 'for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his kingdom will never end!'
Mary asked the angel, 'But how can this happen? I am a virgin.'
The angel replied, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy; and he will be called the Son of God. What's more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she's now in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.' Mary responded, 'I am the Lord's servant. May everything you have said about me come true.' And then the angel left her." -Luke 1:26-38 (NLT)

While I would love to write out my thoughts on this scripture there is really nothing more to say than simply... WOW =D May the Lord bless you richly my friend!=D

Tomorrow is the "SHEPHERD" video! :)

First Christmas: Mary Video « The Skit Guys

JOSEPH (12/17/2014):
"This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. 'Joseph, son of David,' the angel said, 'do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.' All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord's message through his prophet: 'Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means 'God is with us.'' When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus." - Matthew 1:18-25 (NLT)

I think it is awesome that upon hearing the words from the angel of the Lord, Joseph didn't ask questions, he just did what he was supposed to do and trusted that the Lord would take care of every detail and that He would keep His word. AWESOME! May the Lord bless you richly as we get closer and closer to CHRISTmas:)

Tomorrow is the "MARY" video! 

First Christmas: Joseph Video « The Skit Guys

THE INNKEEPER (12/16/2014):
"And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn." -Luke 2:7 (ESV)

May the Lord bless you exceeding abundantly as we draw closer to CHRISTmas:)

Tomorrow is the "JOSEPH" video!

First Christmas: Innkeeper Video « The Skit Guys

ELIZABETH (12/15/2014):
"Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, 'God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.'" -Luke 1:42-45 (NLT)

This is kind of a neat little skit of "Elizabeth" talking about Jesus. May the Lord bless you richly beyond measure. May you take the time to remember what this Christmas season is REALLY about. JESUS! =D

Tomorrow is "THE INNKEEPER" video! =)

First Christmas: Elizabeth Video « The Skit Guys

(12/11/2014):
I don't really have much of a devotional today. Instead I would like to give you a few announcements, share my heart, and show you a video, so please keep reading!

ANNOUNCEMENTS: First of all, I would like you to be aware that, Lord willing, I will be posting a series of videos about Christmas next week as devotionals. Secondly, the week after next (Christmas week) I will probably share a few Christmas devotionals, but will probably NOT post the entire week (I will pray through that over the next weeks leading up). Finally, I would like to invite every person reading this to the Christmas program at my church, "HALLELUJAH!" It is going to be AMAZING!! It will be at Gardendale First Baptist, THIS Saturday and Sunday (13th and 14th) at the North Campus. The programs starts at 6:00PM both nights but if you want a good seat you better get there really early! Hope to see you there!!!

SHARING MY HEART:
Since I don't really have a devotional this morning I thought I would just share my heart with you. This involves a little bit of a peek into my brain about my reading this morning. You see, I'm studying through Matthew right now and as I was reading in chapter 9, there are a lot of stories about Jesus healing people and forgiving sins. In my mind I have to wonder to some extent, if when we get to heaven and we see the disciples sitting around talking if we will hear stories like "Man do you remember that time that Jesus raised the dead girl?!?!" 
"Yeah!!!! And what about that time He gave those two blind men sight??? How awesome was that???"
"Good times, good times." I mean can you just see it? That is probably a really crazy thought but that's what went through my brain while reading chapter 9 of Matthew. :)

VIDEO: With it being Christmas (even though it may not really feel like it with the crazy random weather) I thought it might be nice to share with you all a humorous video about the season:) May the Lord bless you all richly beyond measure! =D

Christmas Connection Video « The Skit Guys

DO YOU TREMBLE? (12/09/2014):
"My hands have made both heaven and earth; they and everything in them are mine. I, the Lord, have spoken! 'I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at my word." - Isaiah 66:2 (NLT)

Google defines the word "tremble" like this: "to shake involuntarily, typically as a result of anxiety, excitement, or frailty." 

A while back I posted about a moment when the Lord allowed me to see and experience in my heart just how tremendously special and sacred the book in my hands (the Bible) was (is). So my question for you today is do you TREMBLE at the Word of God? That's it... this is the whole devotional. DO YOU TREMBLE? 


May the Lord bless you beyond measure today as you think on this question and may your eyes be opened to the true answer. Seek HIM today!!!! =D

THE WIND AND WAVES (12/08/2014):
"Jesus responded, 'Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!' Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm." - Matthew 8:26 (NLT)

I came across this verse this morning and as I read it I got chills. In the past when reading this verse I simply had a picture of what was described. Jesus on a boat, the boat being tossed back and forth because of the wind and waves, Jesus waving His hand in the air to rebuke the wind and waves, and then the shocked looks on everyone's faces. So this time was a little bit different. Instead, I saw me on a small, rickety boat being tossed about by the people and things in life posing as waves of a bad storm. The people, the ideas, the questions, the opportunities all overwhelming me in one way or another and Jesus stands up asking me why I am so afraid of it all, and waves His hand. Everything calms, there is peace beyond understanding, there is comfort. He tells me to have more faith. 

What are your waves today? What is tossing you around in a boat? Will you trust Jesus to calm the storm of your life in His way and in His timing? Will you have more faith? Are you listening to His voice? Don't look at the storm around you. Look at Jesus! He loves you and He will take care of you even if you can't see it right now. He is ALWAYS faithful! May the Lord bless you with the most awesome, fearless day in Him =D 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! (11/21/2014):
"Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.  For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods." -Psalm 95:2-3

I just want to start this devotional by allowing you to know one of the many things I am thankful for. Music. God has given me the ability to sing and play music, and has given me the heart to use those gifts to worship Him with the biggest and most amazing worship family anyone could ever ask for:) 

However let's focus on this for a minute, how can we NOT be thankful for such an awesome God?? God is THE God, the King of kings and Lord of lords. His name is above every name! Why do so many of us take God for granted? He takes care of us in ways that we can't even begin to understand! He LOVES US!!!!! Even though we are the filthy sinners that we are... He saved us... by sending His son Jesus, to die for us on a cross.... Our every waking moment should be filled with praise from thankful hearts because He saved us... Think about that as you go through your holiday today.


I pray that the Lord will bless you with many happy memories made today, with sweet sweet fellowship in His name, and with grateful hearts for all HE has done:) God bless you richly with the most awesome thanksgiving in Him!!!!! Love you all!!!! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!! =D

WONDERFUL JOY AHEAD! (10/13/2014):
"So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while." - 1 Peter 1:6 (NLT)

Jesus told us on this earth we would have trials, we are all very aware of that fact I am sure. However, throughout the Word of God, there is a promise. A promise of eternal joy, a promise of a Kingdom where death and pain are non-existent and where our God will wipe every tear from our eyes. There is a promise of streets of gold and a love like we have never before truly known or understood. THERE IS A PROMISE OF WONDERFUL JOY AHEAD. It is going to be the most amazing day, when my Saviors face I shall see. BUT until then... we will have trials. Trials we must endure. Trials we don't understand. But the Word of God says:

"I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world." - John 16:33 (NLT)

He has overcome the world. Wait for the sound of the trumpet child of God. It won't be long now. The end times are here. Just hang on. Be truly glad. There is WONDERFUL JOY ahead, even though you have to endure the loss of that loved one, the loss of a job, that paycheck that just doesn't feel like enough, those family problems, that illness that plagues you, that feeling of loneliness.... There IS wonderful joy ahead. Just hang on. God is your comforter, Jehovah Jireh is your provider! He is the God of unexplainable peace even in the midst of chaos! HE IS YOUR HEALER!! HE is ALWAYS with you and He is a friend that sticks closer than a brother!!! CLING TO HIM CHILD OF GOD! That trumpet will sound before you know it but you have to do all you can for the Kingdom of God BEFORE it does. He will give you all you need. THERE IS WONDERFUL JOY AHEAD MY FRIEND!!!!! Just hang on. 


May the Lord bless you with the most unexplainable peace today. May He fill you with joy in the midst of your trials, may He bring healing to your life and allow you to feel His presence in the most overwhelming way! MAY HE REMIND YOU OF THE WONDERFUL JOY AHEAD!!! May the God of peace, strength, healing, and SO MUCH MORE bless you richly, exceeding abundantly beyond ALL you could ever hope or imagine today! I LOVE YOU IN JESUS TODAY SWEET FRIEND!!! =D

VETERANS DAY (11/11/2014):
Today I want to take the time to remind everyone of the reason that I am free to run this growing ministry. The reason that we all have the opportunity to have the Word of God in our homes and read it publicly. The reason that we are able to go to church on Sundays and Wednesdays and worship our Lord and Savior publicly. The reason that I (and others) are able to write and share devotionals. The reason that we are allowed to pray in public. FREEDOM. 

Today we honor the men and women that have fought and are currently fighting for our freedom. There are more countries than you might think that DO NOT have the freedom to read the Word of God, or pray and if they do and they are caught they are punished brutally. PRAISE GOD, that we live in a country where we are FREE to serve our God! Go out of your way today, to thank someone in the military for all that they do to keep this country free. 


May the Lord bless you and keep you today! HAPPY VETERANS DAY! =)

THERE WILL BE NO FAVORITES! (11/10/14):
"And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time as 'foreigners in the land.'" -1 Peter 1:17 (NLT)

Something that I think it's time a lot of us come to understand is that God doesn't have favorites. God loves us all equally and with more love than we could ever possibly fathom here on this earth, but it seems that some of us think that He will judge us according to the "favorites" system that so many people use today. In our minds, because many of us can't grasp how big and good and holy our God is, we try to compare Him to some of the best humans we know, but the problem is even the best people we know are flawed and imperfect when the God we serve is holy and without fault. Humans tend to love some people more than others and have their "favorites" but God is not like mere man. 

"'My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,' says the Lord. 'And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than you thoughts.'" - Isaiah 55:8-9 (NLT)

His thoughts are NOTHING like our thoughts. His ways are FAR BEYOND ANYTHING we could imagine! So why would we put Him into a human like category? He is divine! Far beyond anything we could ever imagine. He doesn't pick and choose favorites, He is higher than human standards! "He will judge or reward you according to what you do" not because He loves you any more or less than the people around you. The time is coming, Jesus will be coming back any day now I'm sure, when we least expect it like a "thief in the night". Are you ready? Are you living in reverent fear of Him during your time here on earth? He will notice. He see's you. What do you want to hear? "Well done my good and faithful servant" or "Away from me I never knew you"? 


I pray that you will have the most eye opening, Jesus filled, AWESOME day in Him! May the Lord bless you richly, exceeding abundantly, far beyond anything you could EVER hope or imagine!!!! =D My God is an AWESOME God! =D

PEACE (10/31/2014):
"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you. because he trusts in you." - Isaiah 26:3 (ESV)

"Blessed are the single-hearted, for they shall enjoy much peace… If you refuse to be hurried and pressed, if you stay your soul on God, nothing can keep you from that clearness of spirit which is life and peace. In that stillness you know what His will is."  –  Amy Carmichael

If you want to experience the PEACE of God then you need to fix your thoughts on Him, keep your mind stayed on Him, and trust in Him. God's word is true and He says that He WILL keep in perfect peace those whose mind is stayed on Him. May the Lord bless you with an awesome (and safe) day/night in Him. May He wash His perfect peace over you today=)

GRACE (10/30/2014):
"And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all." - Acts 4:33

“Do you find life too difficult for you? So did we, but not now, with the amplitudes of grace there are for us in Jesus Christ, it grows satisfying and successful and exciting beyond measure, becomes another and a richer thing.” - A. J. Gossip


May God's GRACE be upon you today. May the Lord bless you richly beyond all that you could ever hope or imagine!! WE SERVE AN AWESOME GOD!!!!! =D

TRUST (10/29/2014):
"Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday." -Psalm 37:4-6

“We must cease striving and trust God to provide what He thinks is best and in whatever time He chooses to make it available. But this kind of trusting doesn't come naturally. It's a spiritual crisis of the will in which we must choose to exercise faith.” - Charles R. Swindoll 


May your trust be fully in the Lord today! I pray that you will seek HIS will and HIS timing, TRUSTING completely that He knows what He is doing! May God bless you richly, beyond all that you could ever hope or imagine!! IT'S GOING TO BE AN AWESOME DAY IN JESUS!!!! =D

PATIENCE (10/28/2014):
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." -Galatians 5:22-23

“Cast not away your confidence because God defers his performances. That which does not come in your time, will be hastened in his time, which is always the more convenient season. God will work when he pleases, how he pleases, and by what means he pleases. He is not bound to keep our time, but he will perform his word, honour our faith, and reward them that diligently seek him.” - Matthew Henry

May the Lord bless you beyond measure today! Praying that you will have patience in everything today fully trusting in the Lord and HIS timing! 

HAS GOD BLOWN YOUR MIND?: (10/16/2014)
This is going to be a pretty short devotional this morning but I want you to think about the question above, and I mean really think. Last night standing in a Waffle House parking lot God blew my mind! Out of nowhere God made me realize that He is about to answer a prayer that started A YEAR AGO, and I didn't even realize it! =D All of a sudden thoughts were flying through my head about the first time that I had actually prayed about this subject and I realized that I had forgotten about it and moved on and just about a month or so ago I started praying the SAME prayer without even realizing it!! =D So has God blown your mind? Have you given Him the opportunity to do so? 

I can't wait to see what the Lord is about to do with all of this. I pray that you will spend time with the Lord and allow Him to have an opportunity to BLOW YOUR MIND! May the Lord bless you richly and immeasurably throughout your day! HE IS SO AWESOME! =D


"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." -Matthew 7:7 (NIV)

WHAT ARE YOU PRAYING FOR?: (10/13/2014)
"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." - Mark 11:24

Our girls student associate once said something during our college Sunday School that really had me thinking about my prayer life. She asked us if we were really praying for the college ministry. She told us that it was OUR ministry and that we should be praying for it, and she was right. Sometimes I find myself forgetting to not only pray for Great News!!!!! to grow as a ministry but I also forget to pray for my everyday ministry. Loving on people, going up to people and sharing the gospel (with words or actions), having opportunities to share my testimony and things like that. Recently, I have started praying for revival in the music industry. Yes, I know that seems HUGE and quite honestly it is, but God is BIGGER and He can do anything. Why should we pray tiny, timid prayers, when we serve a GREAT, BIG, STRONG, MORE THAN ABLE GOD? So what are you praying for? Your church? School? Work? Those are all great prayers, but are you praying something BIG and even seemingly crazy? Or are your prayers tiny and timid? While you should continue to pray for those things I'd like you to add something to your prayer list. I want you to start praying for something that you feel is HUGE, crazy and seemingly impossible. Make it a prayer that will be glorifying to God, of course (i.e. no convertibles, mansions, lottery wins, or other things along those lines) but something that you want to see the Lord do in this world. I want you to pray this prayer with all of your heart and remember that even though it seems impossible, ALL things are possible with God! 

HEY! Don't you know? Haven't you heard? THERE IS STILL POWER IN THE NAME OF JESUS!!! May the Lord bless you beyond ALL that you could EVER hope or imagine! I love you in Jesus my sweet friend!! 

"Don't pray when you feel like it. Have an appointment with the Lord and keep it. A man is powerful on his knees." - Corrie Ten Boom

CONSIDER IT PURE JOY: (10/02/2014)
 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance." -James 1:2-3 (NIV)

For the past few Wednesdays Pastor Kevin, has been talking out of James 1. Even though we have went on to a few other verses he seems to keep going back to this one. As I was reading over these two verses I thought about what it means to me to "Consider it pure joy," and I want to share that with you. I believe that when we face trials of many kinds, and persecution that we should scare people with the amount of joy we show. I mean just think when you come out of the storm your faith is STRONGER than when you went in because of what the Lord allowed you to go through and I think that is worth getting JOYFUL about! I'm not saying that you have to be happy, trials are hard, but show JOY in the midst of your struggles. Consider it pure joy because God is increasing your faith. This isn't something you can do on your own... So today, ask God to give you joy in the midst of your trial. Shout praises, lift up holy hands, sing joyful songs, but one way or another, consider it pure joy. 

May the Lord bless you with an awesome day in Him, may His hand be on you as you go throughout your day, and may He pour out His favor on you! I pray that God will give you great, pure joy in the midst of your trials today! Never forget, He is with you and He will never leave you nor forsake you! Love you all! =D



LET'S GET BUSY!: (09/30/2014)
"But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn't really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent." - 2 Peter 3:8-9 (NLT)

So many of us are ready for the Lord to come. We are ready to be rid of the sin, death, pain, suffering and sorrow that consumes this world. I have sat down a time or two and found myself thinking about about why it was taking so long for Jesus to come back but I never thought about this verse. PRAISE GOD THAT HE IS A PATIENT GOD, because otherwise I may not have found the truth before He came back! This realization however, has made me start to wonder something that I want to ask you. What are we doing to make sure EVERYONE hears and knows the truth? This verse says that He does not want ANYONE to be destroyed, but wants EVERYONE to REPENT. So if we are ready for the coming of the Lord why don't we, as believers, reach out to the non-believers and speak truth and life into them so that they may repent and not be destroyed? Maybe it's time we start sharing the gospel with this verse in mind. I think some of us have convinced ourselves that we, personally, could never share the gospel with EVERYONE on earth so we have just resigned to sharing with a few people every now and again. Don't get me wrong, this is a good start, but if that's been your goal most of your Christian life maybe you should make your goal EVERYONE. Just imagine for a second the impact we could make, if EVERY believer on earth made it their personal goal to share Jesus with EVERYONE on earth...the results would be more than we could imagine, and oh the smile on God's face:) The Lord will come any day now.... LET'S GET BUSY! =D


May the Lord bless you richly, may He fill you with His love and passion for the people of the earth. May He fill you with a HOLY boldness so that you will get busy winning souls for Christ! God bless you with the most awesome day in Jesus my friend!!! =D

ARE YOU READY TO MEET JESUS? (09/29/2014)
I don't know about you but I am ready to meet Jesus! Don't worry I have not gone crazy and no you don't have to worry about my safety, but when He is ready to take me home you can bet I will go singing!!! =D What I want to know, is do you feel the same way? Sure there are things that some people want to do before they die but let's be honest none of that stuff really matters when compared to meeting Jesus! Here is my next question and be sure to PAY ATTENTION. If you aren't ready to meet Jesus, then why not? 

My friends it is time to WAKE UP! We are living in the last days, if you read the Bible and look at the mess the world is in there is no hiding that fact! I believe that before we know it, Jesus is going to come and rapture the church (followers of Christ)! So, are you ready to meet Jesus? If the answer is no, then it's time to get ready. Give your life to Him, trust Him, start studying the word of God, and SUIT UP! 

May the Lord bless you richly! I pray that God will give you eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to obey. I pray that He will take your heart of stone and give you a fleshy, tender, responsive heart that is sensitive to Him and His presence. I pray that the Lord will surround you and fill you with the Holy Spirit! May you know, that you know, that you know, that you are a believer of Jesus! Finally, may the Lord bless you with an awesome day in Jesus!!! 


-Waiting for the sound of the trumpet! =D

HOW OFTEN DO YOU HESITATE?: (09/19/2014)

How many times in your life do you feel like God is leading you to do something but instead of listening you hesitate? I am incredibly guilty of this. There are times when God speaks so clearly that I can’t miss it and while I love those times I have often still hesitated to follow where He was leading me. SO be honest, how often do you hesitate no matter how clear it is that God is the one speaking?

In Acts chapter 10, shortly after God showed Peter a vision, the Holy Spirit told Peter that three men had come looking for him and that he was to get up, go downstairs and go with them WITHOUT HESITATION. I can’t help but wonder how often God is telling us not to hesitate but because of fear and uncertainty we miss it. So again I ask, how often do you hesitate? More than that, what is making you hesitate? Why are you holding back?

“But you will not leave in haste or go in flight; for the Lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard.” – Isaiah 52:12 (NIV)

I want to challenge everyone reading this and myself to STOP HESITATING. If you are unsure that it is the Lord speaking to you, then by all means pray, fast, do what you need to do to be sure but once you are sure. Get up and go. STOP HESITATING. God will take care of you! Just remember the verse above. God will be with you all the way if you will just trust in Him.

May the Lord bless you immeasurably today and through the next week! I pray that He will pour out His grace and favor on each and every one of you. May God give you His perfect peace and may He help you to stop hesitating. =D Love you in Jesus!!!!

JUST THINK: (09/16/2014)
"Then he (Pilate) released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified." -Matthew 27:26 NIV (parenthesis mine)

I want you to think about something today as you go through your routine. When I read this verse a while back I found myself looking up the definition of the word "flogged". The words whipped or beaten don't give you the full effect of what Jesus went through for you and me. "Flogged" means that Jesus was whipped and beaten harshly, WITHOUT mercy. They beat Jesus just up to the point of death, and then had Him carry His own cross most of the way to the spot where He would be crucified. 

The Romans beat Jesus mercilessly with a whip that had pieces of bone and metal on the ends so that it caught and ripped Jesus' flesh. Yes I know this is gruesome and not something that a lot of us want to think about but I want you to really think about the fact that Jesus suffered through this beating for YOU! Even if you were the only person on earth He would have done the SAME thing! He LOVES you! It doesn't matter what you have done! 

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with my mentor and something she said got me because I had never thought about it that way. She asked me to imagine, Jesus was on that cross with EVERY sin that had ever been and that ever would be on Him. Mine, yours, the Romans! EVERY SIN! So as you go through your day today I want you to think about everything you just read. Remember it, meditate on it and ask God to speak to you about it. You would be amazed how your life will change when you realize just how much Jesus went through for you.


May the Lord bless you and surround you with His love today. I pray that He will open your eyes to just how much He loves you=) May you have an AWESOME day in the Lord =D

AGE DOESN'T MATTER: (09/15/2014)

"Don't let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity." - 1 Timothy 4:12 (NLT)

Josiah was 8 years old when he became king and the Bible says "He did what was pleasing in the Lord's sight...". Jeremiah was young and claimed to be "too young" when the Lord spoke to him in Jeremiah 1. How about those of you that feel you are a little too old to serve the Lord. Noah was 600 years old when the earth was flooded and he died at 950 years old. Now you and I know that the Lord said we will live no more than 120 years (Genesis 6:3), but before He said this there were plenty of accounts of God's people who served Him faithfully well into ages such as 600 years old. So let me ask you what makes you think that you are any different? Maybe God doesn't speak to you the same way He spoke to these men above, but He is speaking. Are you going to let being "too young" or "too old" stop you from doing what the Lord is calling you to? I'm not. I'm pushing forward. Through every doubt, through every lie that the enemy tries to convince me of, through every stone Satan throws at me to trip me up, I push forward. Will you? Today is the day. Start now. Right here in this moment commit your ways to the Lord and let Him guide you to where He wants you. Determine that you are not going to listen to the enemy.

May the Lord bless you and keep you! May He take your every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ, and may He guide and direct you as you seek His face! Praying that you have an awesome day in Jesus and that the voice of the Lord will be the loudest and clearest you hear! 

THE ARMOR OF GOD: (09/05/2014)

Today's devotional is going to be more of a challenge. I want to challenge everyone that reads this to spend the next week memorizing this passage of scripture. This is such a powerful passage in scripture and is an amazing thing to pray as you start your day suiting up in HIS armor:)

"Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." -Ephesians 6:13-17 (NIV)

Our God is an amazing God. He is able to do far more than you can ever ask or think if you will just give your life over to Him and TRUST Him. In addition to the challenge of memorizing this passage of scripture, I want to challenge you for the next 21 days, to start your morning by praying this scripture. Putting on the full armor of God. They say it takes 21 times to make a habit so how about we make this a habit:)

Praying that the Lord will bless you with the most awesome day in Christ! SHARE THE LOVE OF JESUS WITH SOMEONE TODAY!!! =D

WEAKNESS: (09/01/2014)In your weakest moments what do you do. Do you look up, tell God that you can't do it and give up or do you tell God that you can't but He can and lean on Him? Some of us experience different weaknesses, for some it may be something we aren't exactly good at, for others it may be a physical weakness, we've grown weary after some struggles or after a certain season in our lives. For some it may be a current season in life. Each one of us no matter what the weakness may be should praise and thank God for it.

In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul talks about a "thorn" in his flesh, "a messenger from Satan to torment" him.

"Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, 'My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.' So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me." - 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 (NLT)

Do you see why I say that we should praise and thank God for our weaknesses? His power works best when we are at our weakest. I have been blessed to experience weakness in my life these last few days and every few minutes I find myself talking to God, I lean on Him more than I have before and quite honestly I feel like my relationship with God is stronger than it has ever been before. I am experiencing God's power through my weakness. So, when you are weak you should praise God, shout to the Lord, worship Him and thank Him because He is giving you the privilege to experience more of His power than you have before. Lean on Him because even when you can't go on He can carry you.

Praying that the Lord will give you strength in whatever weaknesses you may be experiencing in your life right now. May He also open your eyes to the opportunity this brings, to draw your heart closer to His:) God is more than amazing and MORE than ABLE! HAPPY LABOR DAY!

THE SOVEREIGN WORD OF GOD: (08/22/2014)

The Word of God is sovereign, holy and to be taken seriously. My heart is broken at the number of people from different God believing religions who pick and choose what they want to follow or believe out of the Bible. This may be a longer devotional than usual but let's set things straight and if I offend you I am sure that you can find the "unfollow" button or simply stop typing in the URL, depending on where you are reading this. It won't hurt my feelings, I will pray for you, and we can remain friends. 

As I was saying, to be clear. There are 66 books in the Bible, there is an Old Testament and a New Testament. BOTH are equally important and NEITHER should EVER be forgotten or downgraded! The trinity is super important and yes, it does exist. (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). This is NOT to be mistaken as serving three separate gods. There is only one God, but three persons (that is my extent of explaining the trinity at this time). Jesus IS the Son of God. He is fully God and fully man but either way He was/is sinless. Jesus was NOT just some prophet claiming to be the Messiah, He IS the Messiah. There is a VERY REAL place called Heaven and PLEASE understand HELL IS REAL!! It's not a scary story for parents to get their kids to act right it is REAL!!!! I don't want to be too harsh about this but at the same time you need to understand if you don't get right with God you are looking at an eternity in hell... hell is not a place to party with all of your drinking buddies or do everything that you like to do up here now, you will suffer for eternity there. 

The gospel can be put in many different ways (all meaning the same thing) but really at it's simplest form, it comes down to this:

Jesus came to earth and lived a sinless life.

Jesus died on the cross for our sins

Three days later Jesus rose from the dead

40 days after his resurrection Jesus ascended to the Father

and... Here is the big one... HE IS COMING BACK!

No matter what you believe grace is for EVERYONE!!! "God so loved the WORLD..." (John 3:16) that means me, you, the person holding a sign on the street, the person tending bar, your boss, your co-workers, and the list can go on and on and on. The fact is, at least before the rapture, there aren't just 144,000 of us going to heaven or "elect" ones, when the world comes to an end. Now just because God loves us does NOT mean that He loves our sin. You aren't supposed to be going out and getting drunk or even staying in and doing so. If you really want to get technical because your body is "the temple of the Holy Spirit..." (1 Corinthians 6:19) that means you shouldn't be putting ANY toxins in your body which means you shouldn't be smoking either. Let me take it just a step further here you shouldn't have obscene words coming out of your mouth either (Colossians 3:8). If you don't know what the word obscene means off the top of your head, it means profanity or cussing. My point?

STOP PICKING AND CHOOSING WHAT YOU WANT TO FOLLOW FROM THE WORD OF GOD AND START FOLLOWING THE WHOLE THING!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

I will not apologize for my ranting here, or for offending you because I did it out of love. I love each and every last one of you because God loves you. I want you to see Heaven and ALL its splendor.... I have brothers and sisters in different parts of the world who are dying because they REFUSE to deny Jesus.... They aren't backing down... so why in the world should I or any other Christian for that matter, back down? 

May the Lord impress on your heart the seriousness of this devotional. I love you all so much with the love of Jesus. May the Lord bless and keep you. 

GOOD AND BAD: (08/21/2014)

"Enjoy prosperity while you can, but when hard times strike, realize that both come from God. Remember that nothing is certain in this life." -Ecclesiastes 7:14 (NLT)

Something I think a lot of us choose not to acknowledge or think about is it's not just good that comes from God but sometimes He allows us to go through stuff. He does this to strengthen our faith, and make it stronger. Think of it this way, a lot of parents here on earth will allow us to be stubborn to understand the consequences or allow us to experience hard times in order for us to learn and grow. In the same way our Heavenly Father allows hardships in our lives so that we will grow in our faith and learn to lean on Him and trust Him in the good as well as the bad. 

So from now on whether you are experiencing good or bad, praise the Lord, ask for strength, ask Him to teach you and to open your heart to what He wants you to learn and absorb. The Lord is GOOD in all situations including the bad ones;) 

May the Lord bless you exceeding abundantly beyond all measure and all comprehension!!!! =D Today is going to be an awesome day in Jesus!!

"YOUR GOD IS COMING!" (8/19/2014)

"O Zion, messenger of good news, shout from the mountaintops! Shout it louder, O Jerusalem. Shout, and do not be afraid. Tell the towns of Judah, 'Your God is coming!'" -Isaiah 40:9 (NLT)

Your God is coming! Are you shouting? Are you telling everyone you can so that they can be saved and experience the joy of the Lord? It's time to tell them that your God is coming! This is not the time to sit back, this is the time to get busy winning souls for the Lord because as Revelation 1:3 (MSG) says, "Time is just about up!"

Are you afraid? WHY? Is it the person next to you? Are you afraid of what they will think or say about you?

"The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?" -Psalm 118:6 (NIV)

I've got news for you my friend, it's not going to make a bit of difference what others think or say about you now, when you are answering to the Lord later.

YOU AND I WON'T STAND BEFORE THEM ON JUDGMENT DAY!!!!!!!

STOP HOLDING BACK! Your God is coming back! Time is just about up and the Bible says that He will come like a thief in the night (2 Peter 3:10 KJV)

Will you please stand up and share Jesus with others today? Will you stop worrying about what the "mere mortals" think and START worrying about what God (the maker of heaven and earth, of you and me, the redeemer and so much more) thinks? Start here, DON'T just hit like....... hit SHARE, spread the Great News of Jesus. You won't regret it.

I pray that the Lord will pour His blessings out on you today my sweet brothers and sisters and that He will use you to bless others with His GREAT love:) SHARE JESUS!! Don't just sit back and wait while others are on their way to an eternity in hell!! I love you in Jesus! 

OUR GOD IS LOVE! (8/18/2014)
We have heard a lot about this over our lifetimes, or at least most of us have. It's the very last three words in 1 John 4:8 "....God is Love".
Now I could share a Bible verse and type forever about how awesome and loving God is, but what if I just ask you to chew on this for today, God is Love. He isn't just a big God watching over us, He is our Father, protector, deliverer, shield, defense, healer, and redeemer!! IT DOESN'T END THERE!!!!!!!! GOD. IS. LOVE!!!! Three very simple but so very wonderful words for you to think about today. There doesn't need to be an explanation, there doesn't have to be a condition because God's love is UNCONDITIONAL LOVE!! But HE is LOVE! 

I want to challenge you to leave a comment on the Great News Facebook page with at least ONE way God has helped you to see His love for you. I know that this devotional is different but I believe that this is what God has put on my heart so please GET INVOLVED. PARTICIPATE!!! GOD IS LOVE!

If you haven't followed on here and/or on the blog page please go and do so before you log off. God is doing some amazing things and I would love for you to be a part of them! May the Lord bless and keep you my friends!!! I love you with the love of my SWEET Jesus!!! =D

One more time for good measure: GOD IS LOVE:)

FEAR: (08/08/2014)
Not only is this word very familiar but it is also very common. Chances are you have heard sermons about it, watched movies that fed on it, read books that have increased it, or lived lives that have caused you to sink deeply into it. We have all experienced fear at some point in our lives, in fact some of us are struggling with this four letter word daily. I myself sometimes struggle with fear. Right now, I struggle with the fear of what if's. What if I don't get financially cleared for college, what if I hit the wrong note on stage, what if I can't pass these classes.... what if, what if, what if.... However as I work through this struggle, I have found myself asking why I fear the world I'm in when no matter what happens the place I'm going when I am done here, is the same whether I hit a wrong note, get denied the finances I need for college, or flunk a test. More than that, the Bible says:

"For you shall not go out in haste, and you shall not go in flight, for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard." - Isaiah 52:12 (ESV) 

God goes before us into every situation and as He leads us in He guards us from behind!!! So why should we fear?? I don't know what you are afraid of today, and I don't know what YOU will choose to do... but I'M laying my fears at the foot of the cross this morning. Will you? 


May God bless you richly with courage, strength and peace in Him today. May His love fill and surround you as He helps you to lay every fear you have at His feet. Love you in Jesus sweet friends=)

IT MATTERS!: (08/05/2014)
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." -Romans 12:2 (ESV)

I know I am about to step on a lot of toes but that doesn't really bother me. Sometimes, toes need to be stepped on in order for hearts to be touched. Too many of us have become conformed to this world. We watch the entertainment that television networks have convinced us is okay, when in reality we are breaking God's heart. Too often I hear the words, "it doesn't matter what I watch, it doesn't matter what I listen to, it's not that big of a deal, it's just a show, it's just a book, it's just a movie..." All the while you are sinking deeper and deeper into one of the LARGEST sin industries in the world. IT DOES MATTER!!! IT'S NOT JUST A TV SHOW OR A BOOK OR A MOVIE!!!!! 

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." Philippians 4:8 (ESV)

Let me give you a few things that aren't true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent and most definitely NOT worthy of the praise that sadly they receive anyway:
1. 50 shades of gray (movie or book)
2. True Bloods
3. The racy Hardee's commercial (yes, I went there)
4. Orange is the New Black
5. Family Guy
6. Addicted
7. Let's be Cops

Have I gone far enough? It's not just a funny show, it's not just a funny movie! You are filling your minds and your hearts full of filth and at the same time you are breaking God's heart!!!! DON'T YOU GET IT!!!! Tears are pouring down The Father's face, because you are allowing your heart to be entertained by a god of this world. PLEASE STOP!!!! I can not stress to you just how much it really does matter what you watch and listen to. Music is not much better, today it fills your head and your heart with words that should never come out of your mouth. It talks about pre-marital sex, one night stands, and gay relationships as if all of it is okay. It gives the message that it's okay to drink heavily, cuss, and if some drugs get involved what could it hurt right? WRONG. It's time to put an end to the profanity, the pornography, and the vulgar comedy. It's time to stop holding back to spare people's feelings and start speaking out to save lives for the Kingdom of God! 

I am begging you, with all of my heart, please STOP BREAKING GOD'S HEART! Turn off the television when garbage comes on, don't keep watching the movie if it is impure. Turn the radio station... open your Bible. I am praying for a MIGHTY move of God in America. Will you join me? Will you step up and remind our brothers and sisters that it DOES matter? Will you tell those who don't know, that there is hope? Or will you sit back, will you be quiet, and spare the feelings... 

"But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven." -Matthew 10:33 (NIV)


You don't have to speak to disown Him. You can stand by, and say nothing,and share nothing..... spare feelings and you are doing just as much harm. May God guide and direct you according to His will. May He pull your heart close to His so that your heart will break for the reasons His does and so that your heart will rejoice at what His does. I love you so much my sweet, wonderful brothers and sisters.

PRAYER, PRAISE, OR BOTH? (08/04/2014)"Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises." -James 5:13 (NLT)

Why is it that we will so quickly cry out "Lord, Lord" in our sufferings and hardships but when we are going through happy times we are so very quick to forget to praise the creator of those happy times. Not all of us, but some. When crisis, troubles heartaches, depression, devastation, hardships, etc. come our way, yes, the first response should be to hit our knees in prayer. However, we should also praise God day and night for good and happy times. HE IS GOOD!!! Not just sometimes but ALWAYS!! EVEN in the bad my friend.

So where are you at today my friend? Do you need to pray or sing some praises? Maybe both? Please feel free to share and I will join you, praying and singing in spirit:)

I am so happy to be back in full swing with Great News!!!!! If you've been keeping up you have seen me post a few times that change is coming! While I have not announced anything just yet I will start filling you in very soon on what those changes will be as the Lord leads:) Let's start here for now though, it's time for the readers (that's you!) to GET INVOLVED! What better way to start than to share this with absolutely everyone you know or have met!!! Not all have a Facebook? That's okay, give them a link to the blog home page. Not only that encourage people to comment and pray. Show them you are serious by being someone who comments starting here!

I pray that you are on the mountaintop praising God today my sweet brothers and sisters!! God is doing awesome things!!!
"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace." -Numbers 6:24-26 (ESV)

LORD TAKE THE LEAD! (07/14/2014)
Thought I'd start a little early on devotionals:) Can't wait to get back into things full swing and to make some changes!:) God bless you with a wonderful day in Him!:) "Then he told them what they could expect for themselves: 'Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat--I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? If any of you is embarrassed with me and the way I'm leading you, know that the Son of Man will be far more embarrassed with you when he arrives in all his splendor in company with the Father and the holy angels. This isn't, you realize, pie in the sky by and by. Some who have taken their stand right here are going to see it happen, see with their own eyes the kingdom of God.'" -Luke 9:23-27 (MSG)

Wow! I love the blunt way that is put in the first sentence. "You're not in the driver's seat---I am". For some reason we (myself included sometimes) grab the wheel and want to drive, staying in control and then after we have "wrecked", which is what happens every time we try to take control we look up and say "Why God?" when the truth is, it's not God's fault that we didn't give Him the steering wheel to begin with! I pray this passage speaks to you like it has to me todayt. While the other translations are good, The Message is my favorite for this passage:)

May God bless you exceeding abundantly today friend. I pray that you will hand over the steering wheel and let Him lead my sweet brothers and sister in Christ=D

REDEMPTION (06/11/2014)
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."  -Romans 3:23-24 (NIV)

I am redeemed. The blood of Jesus has redeemed me. Do know what that means?? It means that somewhere on me there is a little blood red bar code only Jesus can see that says "Belongs to Jesus, Paid for". Jesus paid the price of our sin. He paid in blood when He was crucified on the cross. Have you accepted the gift of salvation? Now is the time. Today is the day.

"For God says, 'At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.' Indeed, the 'right time' is now. Today is the day of salvation." - 2 Corinthians 6:2 (NLT)

Today is the day of salvation my friend. Will you make that decision?

I pray that you do. All fall short of the glory of God, ALL sin, but He justified us by His grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ. May God guide and direct you today, and may you be obedient to Him. I pray that you will accept the gift of salvation that Jesus has for you:) May He fill you to overflowing with His spirit and may you share Jesus with those around you:) God bless you with a wonderful day in Jesus my sweet friend in Christ! =D

HE IS RISEN!!! (4/20/2014) =D
"He isn't here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee," -Luke 24:6 (NLT)

HE ISN'T HERE!!!! HE IS RISEN!!! HE IS ALIVE!!!! REJOICE!!!! 

May God bless you and your family this Easter!!! Praying that there is a mighty move of God in your life wherever you may be!!!

THANK YOU!!!!! (04/11/2014)
"I always thank my God when I mention you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and faith toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints. I pray that your participation in the faith may become effective through knowing every good thing that is in us for the glory of Christ. For I have great joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother." -Philemon v.4-7 (HCSB) 

I wanted today's devotional to be more of a blessing and a thank you. I wanted to thank all of you for all of the prayers and words of encouragement this week. I shared my heart with you and you lifted my family and I up to the Father responding almost instantly. Some of you may never truly know what that has meant to us but I assure you it means a great deal. I pray that God will bless each and everyone of you exceeding abundantly for blessing us. Please continue to pray for my family, our friends and myself as we still need it. You are wonderful warriors of Christ and I am thankful for you! May you not be discouraged but instead encouraged when the enemy throws things your way because you are a threat to him and he will do everything in his power to stop you from serving God, just like you have been. Thank you my mighty prayer warriors:) The verse above is for you. May God bless you with a wonderful, awesome, Holy Spirit filled day in Him today! In Jesus name!!!! =D

"May Yahweh bless you and protect you; may Yahweh make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; may Yahweh look with favor on you and give you peace." -Numbers 6:20-26 (HCSB)


"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." -Romans 15:13 (HCSB)

"AND I LOVE YOU." (04/10/2014)
"Others were given in exchange for you. I traded their lives for yours because you are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you." -Isaiah 43:4 (NLT)

This morning's devotional isn't a long one, and it is very simple. God gave others in exchange for YOU. He traded their lives because YOU are PRECIOUS to Him. YOU are HONORED and look at that very last part.... God loves YOU! :) I shared with you in the last devotional that it's been a pretty rough two weeks. This verse has been something that I keep going back to if for no other reason than I love reading those three words from God... "I love you." 

Praying that you will hide this verse in your heart today, reminding yourself that you are precious and honored to God... and that He loves you. May you have an awesome day in Jesus today my sweet friend. :)


"May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace." -Numbers 6:24-26 (NLT)

WHEN NOT IF! (04/08/2014)
"WHEN you go through deep waters, I will be with you. WHEN you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. WHEN you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you." -Isaiah 43:2 (NLT)

Not once in this verse does God say the word IF. God doesn't say IF you go through deep waters, IF you go through rivers of difficulty, or IF you go through the fire of oppression. He says WHEN you do. I even capitalized the word WHEN in the verse above for you because I want you to get this. Life is hard. Jesus even said that in this world we will have many trials and sorrows but to take heart for He had overcome the world (John 16:33). There is a common misconception among people that once you are saved everything is supposed to be perfect and happy and easy all the time. That is wrong. However, you need to figure out that even in the trial there is a promise that God is with us. Even in the sorrow He tells us to take heart... for He has overcome the world. 

If you know me personally, you probably already know that my family has had a pretty terrible week. If you don't allow me to share my sorrows and my heart with you... Last Saturday a woman who meant a great deal to my family and others passed away, Monday was the viewing, Tuesday the funeral, Wednesday and Thursday went by okay and then Friday hits and I lose my dog suddenly. Just when you think it gets no worse than that, night before last a friend of the family passed from cancer. If you needed a number that was three losses in one week. You may be asking why I am sharing this with you, and to answer that I want to send you back to the verse above. My family and I are in the deep waters, we are fighting to stay afloat in the rivers of difficulty, and we are walking through the fire of oppression. How are we getting through? Because God has promised to be with us. I will share with you that I am hurting, and that yes, I am even angry. But I am working through all of this with prayer, time in the word, and time with God. God didn't say IF.... He said WHEN. 

As you go through your day today I pray that not only will you know that you are blessed, but that you will know that God is going to be with you no matter what. No matter what trial or sorrow. Your trial will not overcome you. You will not drown in your sorrow. 


"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." -Romans 15:13 (ESV) I love you today in Jesus my sweet, wonderful friend. :)

CHARGE IT TO MY ACCOUNT. (3/27/2014)

“And if he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self.” -Philemon v.18-19 (HCSB)

If you have ever read the book of Philemon you will know that Paul is writing to Philemon about a man named Onesimus. I came upon this verse while listening to a podcast sermon from The Brooklyn Tabernacle, and what is so awesome about these two verses, is that not only is Paul saying that he will pay for Onesimus' past sins, but if you look these verses are an example of what Jesus did for you and me!!! Jesus said these people are mine. CHARGE IT TO MY ACCOUNT, I died for them! Not to mention that you owe me everything. Don't you get it?? We owe Jesus everything, even our very soul! He owes us NOTHING. However He gives us everything He has! He charged our sins to His account. He took them away. I don't know about you but that fires me up!

I pray that throughout your day you realize 1 of 2 things. Either 1. He will charge your sins to His account if you just ask, or 2. He has charged your sins to His account and you are FORGIVEN! Don't lose sight of this truth today sweet friend. May you be blessed beyond measure today with an awesome day in Christ Jesus. I love you today in Him my friend!!!=D

“May Yahweh bless you and protect you; may Yahweh make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; may Yahweh look with favor on you and give you peace.” -Numbers 6:24-26 (HCSB)

LOSE YOUR LIFE TO JESUS (3/25/2014)
"And whoever doesn't take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. Anyone finding his life will lose it, and anyone losing his life because of Me will find it." -Matthew 10:38-39 (HCSB)

How many of us are really willing to do this? How many of us will take up our cross and follow God without looking back? How many of us are willing to lose our lives, whether it be metaphorically or literally, for God and His kingdom? People really do that you know. There are people that are persecuted in ways we cannot even imagine and some are even asked to deny their faith or die. They choose Jesus, they choose to hold onto their faith and because of it they lose their lives. Those people will find eternal life in heaven. The same goes for the metaphor. If you are willing to lose your life metaphorically, giving up friends, social events, and even things you love and are comforted by. Giving all of your life, every single aspect of it to God no matter what. If you are willing to lose your life... then and only then will you find it. 

I want to challenge you all to ask yourself this question today. Are you willing to lose your life (metaphorically or literally) for God in order to find your life? 

I am praying for each of you that God will help you know your true answer to this question. I pray that He will guide you and help you to search your heart. Our God is an awesome and mighty God. 


May God bless you exceeding abundantly beyond all you could ever hope or imagine!!! I love you today in Jesus my sweet friend:) and I'm praying for you. I may not know your name but Jesus does:) I pray you have an awesome day in Him!:)

DON'T DENY JESUS! (3/24/2014)
"Therefore, everyone who will acknowledge Me before men, I will also acknowledge him before My Father in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven." -Matthew 10:32-33 (HCSB)

I don't know about you, but that's enough to get me to step out of my comfort zone, and talk about Jesus. I don't want Jesus to deny me before the Father, therefore I am going to be sure that I do not deny Him before men. It's time to acknowledge Jesus in a big way. It's time to let go of the old, grasp onto the new and shout the name of Jesus from rooftops. It's time to pray and worship fearlessly because He is coming back. No one knows the day or hour but I think we can all agree that it will be one day soon. I wanna be ready, leaving everything behind and going home. I want Jesus to look at me and say "well done my good and faithful servant. You held on, you didn't deny me before your friends so I won't deny you before my Father."

As you go through your day, pay attention. Are you denying Jesus to your friends, coworkers, or even strangers? Or are you giving Him ALL glory and honor ALL the time?


Praying that God will speak to you throughout the day and that His voice will be the loudest voice your hear! :) May He bless you beyond all you can ask or think today! I love you in the strong name of Jesus my sweet, wonderful friend:)

EXPERIENCE HIS PEACE. (2/21/2014)
“I’m telling you these things while I’m still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught." -John 14:25-27 (MSG)

Do you get that last part? He isn't leaving us feeling abandoned or bereft. He is leaving us with peace. Perfect peace. Peace that we can't begin to imagine because it surpasses our understanding. He even tells us don't be upset and don't be distraught. The Holy Spirit is in you! Don't you know that?!?! He is living inside of you so that you aren't alone! God is always with you. In the midst of the storm the safest place to be is standing next to your Father! He will protect you, He will give you peace, He will calm the waves of the storm!!! Let me challenge you starting now and lasting forever; In the loudest confusion, in the loudest shouting, in the most chaotic of moments, get alone with God. Stop. Be still. Listen. Because His voice will be the quietest but if you just listen, you will hear it above all the rest.  


I love you today in Jesus my sweet wonderful friend. May the God of hope fill you will all joy and peace in believing so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. God bless you with an awesome day in Him! =D

DON'T ACT THOUGHTLESSLY. (2/20/2014)
"Don't act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do." -Ephesians 5:17 (NLT)

How often, when asked to do something, do you consider the Lord's will for it. I mean really consider it. How often do you sit down and take the time to pray "Lord what do you want me to do?" and listen? I'm not perfect. I don't pretend to be perfect, in fact I may be one of the most imperfect humans on earth, but I know that God made me, and I love my God. I don't always take the time to do this either but several things including a wonderful Bible study by Max Lucado called "Experiencing the Heart of Jesus" has had me doing this lately. For me it was looking at opportunities that could build my ministry, whether or not I needed to lead at BLAST this year, whether or not I should take the step to try and still go to Ecuador this year, etc. For you it could be a job, or a major in college, a career path you can't see yourself in but you feel pulled towards. All things that you can sit down and talk to your Father about. He is listening. He knows where you need to go and what you need to do and how it needs to be done. He is just waiting for you to get alone with Him, ask Him for His will, and listen. Be still before Him (Psalm 46:10). I know that in the hectic day to day, this idea may seem foreign but if you could just take 5 minutes everyday to give God EVERYTHING. You would be amazed at how much more time you'll want to spend being still before Him. Don't do something without thought today. Stop and ask God to help you understand what He wants you to do. 


I love you today in Jesus my sweet friend in Christ and I am praying that God will bless you far beyond all you could ever hope or imagine. May His hand be on your day that it may be an awesome day in Him and may your heart be fixed on Him and all He has for you. 

HE OWNS YOU!!! (2/18/2014)
"But if one loves God truly [ with affectionate reverence, prompt obedience, and grateful recognition of His blessing], he is known by God [recognized as worthy of His intimacy and love, and he is owned by Him]. " -1 Corinthians 8:3 (AMP)

WOW!!!!! I can't even begin to describe to you the way I felt when I read this verse. I've read it in a few different translations now but the last part of the last description in this one just blows my mind! "...and he is owned by Him." Can you imagine that!?!? We are OWNED by God almighty!!!! HE OWNS YOU AND I!!!! That to me is just beyond AWESOME!

I pray that you know you are saved and OWNED by an almighty, everlasting God. There is no other way to live your life my friend. You are loved and OWNED!

May God bless you with the most awesome day in Him and may you be constantly in His presence where there is fullness of joy!! 

NO OTHER GOD; FACE THE IDOLS (02/03/2014)
"You must not have any other god but me. You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea." -Exodus 20:3-4 (NLT) 

I am reading a book right now that we are about to study in my Sunday school class called "gods at war" by Kyle Idleman. Now I'm not far into this book but so far it is really good. This book is about defeating the idols that battle for your heart. Some of you might remember a post that I put on Great News!!!!! facebook page back in June of 2013 about everyday idols. I made mention that an idol doesn't necessarily have to be something that you bow down to, pray to, and/or worship. It can be television, Xbox, food, etc. Anything that you think of all the time, give too much of your time to, spend more time with than with God and His word, or dishonor God with. You may not even realize that you have an idol or maybe you just have realized the idol(s) in your life and you just haven't faced them yet. Kyle Idleman puts it like this:

"Just because we call them by different names doesn't change what they are. We may not have a god of commerce, the god of agriculture, the god of sex or the god of the hunt. But we do have portfolios, automobiles, adult entertainment, and sports. If it walks like an idol and quacks like an idol... You can call it a cough instead of cancer but that doesn't make it any less deadly." -Kyle Idleman, (gods at war, page 24.)

Do you get it? Just because you don't think it's an idol doesn't make it any less of an idol. God wants your whole heart and until you acknowledge the idol(s) in your life and destroy them, He doesn't have that. You may say "but I love God more," or "He will always be ahead of those things in my life." But you see God doesn't just want to be ahead of those things in your life. He doesn't want to be just first place to you. He wants to hold ALL places. There should be no other god even in His presence. 

Praying that this was a wake up call for you and that you will smash the idol(s) in your life and run after God, THE God and Him alone. 

May God bless you with and awesome day in Him today=D I love you today in Jesus my sweet friend!!! =)


DO WHAT YOU KNOW YOU OUGHT TO! (01/23/2014)
"Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it." -James 4:17 (NLT)

Okay you should re-read that. It's okay... I'll wait.... You got it? Good. I want it to really sink in. If you know what you are supposed to be doing and you don't do it, YOU ARE SINNING AGAINST GOD! There is no way around it, it's sin, plain and simple. Read God's word and learn the things that you should and shouldn't do. God loves you, and He has big plans for you but you have to get in His word and do what you know you ought to. 

Praying that you you are obedient to God and have an awesome day in Him today!! May God bless you and keep you:)

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." -Romans 15:13 (ESV)

JUST TRUST HIM. (01/21/2013)
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take." Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT)

Okay, so I know that some may find this verse over used, but it fits well. Today, I was informed that I will not be able to go back to Ecuador with my church this year. For those of you that have heard me talk about Ecuador and the people that I met there you know that my heart is now hurting. After I found out, I went to my room to be alone with God, and as I prayed this verse came to my heart. In my last devotional I mentioned that I have been focusing on the word trust lately. God is teaching me to trust Him more. In this verse it says "Trust in the Lord with all your heart" not half, not a piece, ALL. God asks you to trust in Him and Him alone, completely, with everything. Don't depend on your own understanding of things. In all that you do seek His will for your life not your own, or your friends, or your families but God's will, and then, He will show you which path that He has for you to take. We have to trust God with everything... that means no matter what happens, no matter what news we may receive, no matter what the world may throw at us, we have got to lean on God, and trust that He's got it. All of it. All the time. 

I want to pray that God will give you peace. That whatever you are going through will take a back seat as you allow God to overcome you with His presence, because in His presence there is fullness of joy. Please pray for me as I come to your mind today because I will soon have to let a family that I feel close to there know that I will not be seeing her and her son this summer. I am trusting God in this. 

May God bless you exceeding abundantly beyond all you could ever hope or imagine. I love you today in Jesus my sweet friend in Christ. 

LET HIS LIGHT SHINE THROUGH YOU (01/20/2014)
"I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark." -John 12:46 (NLT)

I have been focusing a lot on the word TRUST lately, studying scripture and applying it to my life. As I came across this verse I was reminded of a song by Kari Jobe that I posted a while back called "We Are". Jesus came into the world, and died for our sins so that we didn't have to. He came into this world so that we may be the light of the world (Matt. 5:14). When we trust in Him, He shines His light through us so that we can be a light in the dark lives of others. 

I pray that you will go out and boldly shine the light of Jesus into the world today. God has called you to be a light in the darkness, so fulfill that calling in all you do. 

May God bless and keep you. Praying that His favor rests heavily upon you, and that you are able to feel His omnipotent love consuming you. God bless you with a wonderful day in Him. I love you my sweet friend in Christ. =)

HE IS THE ONE WHO HELPS US!! (01/09/2014)
"You will look in vain for those who tried to conquer you. Those who attack you will come to nothing. For I hold you by your right hand    I, the Lord your God. And I say to you, 'Don't be afraid. I am here to help you.'" -Isaiah 41:12-13 (NLT)

"You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them, those who war against you shall be as nothing at all. For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, 'Fear not, I am the one who helps.'" Isaiah 41:12-13 (ESV)

How totally AWESOME is it that!!! That God himself! Holds our right hand saying to us FEAR NOT! "I am here to help you." God is standing at your side taking on the battles of your day. He is right there with you helping you every step of the way even when you can't feel Him, He is right there. The message version says that He has a firm grip on us and that He is not letting go. That kicks my brain into overdrive that God concerns himself with us each and every one of us, EVERY DAY of the week/month/year. Every breath He gives us to breath He is standing beside us. An omnipresent God. Who loves us with an OMNIPOTENT (all-powerful, almighty, supreme, preeminent, most high; invincible, unconquerable) love!!! My mind is blown at this fact... 

Thank you God for loving me that much. For loving me so much that you are at my side holding my right hand, not letting go, telling me that you are here to help. Bringing the enemy down to nothing. Thank you so much for all that you are and all that you do, my awesome and mighty God. 

May the Lord bless you beyond measure today! May He squeeze your hand as He stands beside you, or rather allows you to stand beside Him, letting you know that He is there to help. Nothing will stand in your way with the God by your side. Keep in mind... the enemy has already been defeated. :) Love you in Jesus today my sweet friend!! =) 

WILL YOU FOLLOW HIM WHEREVER? (01/08/2014)
"As they were walking along, someone said to Jesus, 'I will follow you wherever you go.' But Jesus replied, 'Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.' He said to another person, 'Come, follow me.' The man agreed, but he said, ' Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.' But Jesus told him, 'Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead! Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God.' Another said, 'Yes , Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.' But Jesus told him, 'Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.'" -Luke 9:57-62 (NLT)

Are you willing to follow Jesus, WHEREVER He goes, no matter what the costs, no matter what that means for you? Are you willing to follow Jesus even if it means you have no home? Are you willing to follow Jesus without looking back? Part of me wonders if even I have that commitment. I mean if Jesus woke me up in the middle of the night and said, Come, follow me. Leave everything, don't look back, just come, I hate to say that I don't think I would right away. Oh sure, in the end I would go wherever but in the moment that He asked I think I would do just what these guys did. I would say, "Well let me just grab this," or "let me tell my family good-bye." But when Jesus said leave everything, don't look back, He means every word of it. So my question to you is, in the end. Would you choose to follow Jesus, carrying nothing, not looking back, wholeheartedly trusting Him, or would you decide that your life, (where you live and sleep, who you friends are, what you do for a living, EVEN your family) is more important than following the one who died for you..? I pray that you would choose Him. I pray that you are following Him wholeheartedly now, in this moment and every moment. 

May He bless you and your family exceeding abundantly. And may you NEVER look back:)

HOLD MARRIAGE IN HONOR! (01/07/2014)
"Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous." -Hebrews 13:4 (ESV)

I have heard so many remarks from people lately about sex before marriage. Yes, I know this is a touchy subject. No, I do NOT care if it upsets you because I am speaking the truth from God's word. Over the last month or so the subject of premarital sex has been approached by some friends of mine, and when I have voiced my opinion to wait, or as they have stated that they know the Bible says to wait, the comment is made "What if you marry someone only to find out he/she is bad in bed?" Here is your answer. If you seek God's will and NOT your own, and you stop looking at every guy/girl as a potential boyfriend/girlfriend, God will lead you to the right person. And when GOD picks your future spouse, that person will fulfill all of your needs spiritually, emotionally and otherwise. God has made someone on this earth specifically for you. All you have to do is be patient, keep your heart open, and keep your focus on God. Serve Him FIRST and He will take care of the rest. 

I pray that God will open your eyes and your heart. That He will show you His will for your life in the present moment so that maybe you will quit grasping at the future. I pray that if you have already defiled the marriage bed, you will ask for forgiveness wholeheartedly, humbling yourself before God. I pray that you will know that God is a forgiving God and that if you are sincere and commit to turning from your old way of life and allow God to take over and change you from the inside out, that He will forgive you and do just that. Hold marriage in honor. Not just for you or for God, but for your future spouse. I love you in Jesus today my sweet sweet friend. May God bless you exceeding abundantly today:)  

HOW DID MOSES FEEL? (12/18/2013)
"When the Lord saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, 'Moses! Moses!' 
'Here I am!' Moses replied. 'Do not come any closer,' the Lord warned. 'Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground.'" -Exodus 3:4-5 (NLT)

Can you just imagine how Moses felt. Standing before a bush completely engulfed in flames but NOT burning up! And then for God to call out to him BY NAME! How did it feel to stand on HOLY ground??? Just the thought of being in Moses' place, standing before the GREAT I AM, in the form of a burning bush!! It just overwhelms me. And it was there on that Mountain that God shared His ETERNAL name with Moses. YAHWEH. Wow! What would you do if that was you?

May our AWESOME father, Yahweh, surround you with His omnipotent (all-powerful, almighty, supreme, preeminent, most high; invincible, unconquerable) love today in Jesus name! :)

Numbers 6:24-26 (TLB)

"May the Lord bless and protect you; may the Lord's face radiate with joy because of you; may He be gracious to you, show you His favor, and give you His peace."

ONE BABY CHANGED EVERYTHING. (12/16/2013)
Now normally I always have a verse or something like that before the devotion. However, today I want this devotional to be a bit different, and because of that it will be shorter. 

Here it is. This simple. Do you understand that the Son of God came into the world simply, as a baby. He grew up just like other little boys. But Jesus, as we all know, lived in this world without committing sin, and then just as God's word tells us, Jesus paid the ultimate price, by dying a sinners death, that WE deserved, so that we didn't have to. Some of you are looking at this and thinking yeah we've heard it before, or wow this isn't much of a devotional but that right there is the gospel. "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling place among us..." (John 1:14) and because God loved us so much He sent His ONLY son to die for us. So with that in your mind as your shopping or doing whatever you have to do for Christmas, remember what this holiday is really about. Christ. May you have a blessed and wonderful day in Him:)

AND HIS NAME SHALL BE CALLED!! (12/3/2013)
"For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
WONDERFUL COUNSELOR, MIGHTY GOD,
EVERLASTING FATHER, PRINCE OF PEACE." Isaiah 9:6 (NKJV emphasis added)

WOW! How awesome is that? I LOVE just meditating on the names in this verse. Every time I read it or even hear someone speak it, chills run down my spine. This is such a powerful verse to me. :) 

I pray that you will meditate on this verse and the wonderful names that are in it. May you be blessed with an awesome and wonderful day in Jesus today! =D


“The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26 (NKJV)

ARE YOU GRIEVED? (12/2/2013)
"Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy." -James 4:9 (NLT)

THIS is how we SHOULD feel when we sin against God! Our sin grieves HIM so why shouldn't that fact grieve US??? The NASB says "Be miserable and mourn and weep;" WEEP!! WHAT IS WRONG WITH US, THAT WE NO LONGER WEEP, OR BREAK OVER SIN!? It's as if it doesn't touch us... When you think back on who you were before you met God... do you not hurt? Does it not bring tears to your eyes...? Does the thought of that person you once were not give you, at the very least, momentary misery? Why not? He mourned for you, He HURT for YOU... His eyes filled with tears...

I pray that you truly think about this verse, and that you will meditate on it. If you REALLY know God, then rejoice because you are consumed by His omnipotent love. But if what you did before God doesn't grieve you, even a little... I think you should examine your heart. I pray that you have an awesome and eye opening day in Him today. I love you in Jesus my friend:)



 "The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you; The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you; The Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually)." Numbers 6:24-26 (AMP)

TALK LIKE A CHILD OF THE KING! (11/22/2013)
"Don't use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them." -Ephesians 4:29 (NLT)

This verse is something that has become very important to me. Last year when I spoke in First Priority my last lesson before I graduated was on things that people THINK the Bible says nothing about. The Bible does talk about cussing, this verse is a good example of that. In The Message Bible it even specifies "profane language". Cussing is also called profanity. Are you getting it yet? STOP cussing!! I will not apologize for speaking about my faith so don't expect me to apologize for this post. If you claim to love God, have a faith in Him, and live for Him, then a good thing for you to do would be to keep His word. You can't be a child of the King and talk like a child of the enemy. I've said it before and I'll say it again,  if it doesn't give glory to God then don't say it!! Cussing is foul, it is not encouraging and it is NOT helpful. If this post offends you well then I'm glad you read it because obviously it was for you. Sometimes the truth offends those who are not living by it. 

Please understand that even though you may not like the things I post I post them out of love for you. God has called us to love everyone. I love you with all the love that God has provided me to do so and therefore I will share HIS truth with you so that you may live by it. 

May God bless you and speak to you throughout today. And may you be blessed with an awesome and wonderful day in Him:)
Love you friend:)


"God bless you and keep you, God smile on you and gift you, God look you full in the face and make you prosper." -Numbers 6:24-26 (MSG)

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HAVE A LITTLE TALK WITH JESUS (8/05/2013)

Psalm 27:8 (NLT)
"My heart has heard you say, 'Come and talk with me.' And my heart responds, 'Lord, I am coming.'" 

How awesome is it that God speaks to our hearts and says "Come and talk with me."! God wants you to sit down and talk with Him. He wants to hear about your day!! Your wants, your needs, your worries, your fears, your trials, and your heartaches!!! Sure He already knows but He still wants you to tell Him! He still wants you to confide in Him as if He didn't. Meaning that He wants every detail:) Is your heart responding "Lord, I am coming."? Mine is:) I pray that you will respond and talk to God today!! 

LIFE WITH GOD=POINT; LIFE WITHOUT GOD=NO POINT (8/06/2013)

Psalm 28:1b (NLT)
"...For if you are silent, I might as well give up and die."

When someone asked me the other day if there was anything that could make me give up my faith, I thought about it. And then I thought "no." Because the way I see it, WITHOUT God I might as well give up, crawl under a rock and die, where I will then waste away to dust. Going through life WITHOUT God is POINTLESS. I've been there, and now that I know God, just the thought of going back to living WITHOUT Him is a NIGHTMARE all its own. I promise you life WITH God is far TOO GOOD to give up on faith. God is AWESOME!! And I am blessed to be a part of the family of Christ:) Please join me:) David had the right idea about it when he wrote that verse. May He bless you exceedingly abundantly today my friend! :) 

GOD'S HOLY TEMPLE (8/07/2013)

1 Corinthians 3:16-17
"Don't you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple."

Wow! Is that not AWESOME???? Together we are God's holy temple, and He will destroy anything that destroys us!! How awesome to have a God that loves us so much that He not only calls us His holy temple but says that He will destroy anything that destroys us. Feeling blessed to be a part of His temple today and everyday =D

LESS TALK; MORE ACTION (8/08/2013)

1 Corinthians 4:20
"For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God's power."

WOW! I believe those are some powerful words. Words I'm sure some of us don't really want to hear. You see CLAIMING to be a Christian, and ACTUALLY being that Christian are two different things. If you just go out and claim to be a Christian but don't act out what your CLAIMING to be, your words mean NOTHING. However, if your ACTIONS are that of a Christian, and you are LIVING as such, you don't have to claim to be such. Your actions and your words will be powerful enough to move mountains and when people look at you they will know that you are a servant for the Kingdom of God. I don't know about you but I want to be a servant of the Most High God. I want to work for the glory of His Kingdom, NOT just talk about it! Are you with me?

EXAMINE YOUR HEART!! (8/09/2013)

Proverbs 21:2 (NLT)
"People may be right in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their heart."

WOW! I needed a minute after reading that. Just think about that for a second, though we may be right in our own eyes the Lord knows our heart, and examines THAT. You can't hide anything from God! And if you didn't already know that...well...SURPRISE!!!! The Message says it like this:

Proverbs 21:2 (MSG)
"We justify our actions by appearances; God examines our motives."

So it doesn't matter how many times you tell yourself "I did it for the 'right' reasons." It doesn't matter how you try to justify it, God knows! He knew your motives before you did, not to mention better than you ever could. Some of you don't like reading this devotional. However, I'm not here to make you feel good about yourself, make you like me, tell you something you want to hear, or give you a feel good fix. I'm here to tell you the truth. And sometimes the truth hurts, but I pray that you will all take this to heart. I'm praying for all of you, and I may not know your name but God does. Thank you for your prayers and support. May God bless you and yours exceeding abundantly today. 

WEEPING FOR THE LOST (8/10/2013)

Ezra 10:1 (NLT)
"While Ezra prayed and made this confession, weeping and lying face down on the ground in front of the Temple of God, a very large crowd of people from Israel      men, women, and children      gathered and wept bitterly with him."

When is the last time that you wept over sin? Or maybe the last time that you wept over a lost friend, classmate, co-worker, or even enemy? (Yes God asks you to love your enemies too). Ezra is weeping in this verse for two reasons: (1) Israel has been unfaithful to God and (2) because of Israel's unfaithfulness, they've been separated from God. So Ezra weeps and prays. Humbling himself by "...lying face down on the ground...". He wants to be reconciled to God, he wants Israel to be reconciled to God. How often do you pray for someone you know, to be reconciled to God? A lot of us, when we believe we are right with God, don't hurt or weep over sin, or the lost. The thing is, we need to allow ourselves to break over these things. Over those that are lost in sin, and who have been separated from God. We need to break, weep, and pray over the sin that fills our surroundings. But so many of us are just not willing to humble ourselves before ANYONE, including God. Not even enough to weep for His lost children, pray over them, or ask Him to break us for them. So I want to end this post with a challenge, and I will remind you of this challenge through Facebook. My challenge for you is to ask God to break you. Ask Him to make you weep for the lost and unfaithful. I want to weep and pray on the ground before my Father, for a cause that is so dear to His heart. The lost. I'm praying for you today and everyday friend. May our father bless you exceeding abundantly, and may we all weep before the Lord, like Ezra. 

ARE YOU ATTACHED? (8/12/2013)

1 Corinthians 7:31 (NLT)
"Those who use the things of the world should not become attached to them. For this world as we know it will soon pass away."

So many of us hold so tightly to our worldly possessions and in some situations I understand, but in other situations, I wonder have we really thought it through? When we die, we're going out of this world with nothing from it in our hands. So, why hold so tightly to the things of a world that will "...soon pass away"? How tightly are you holding on to your worldly possessions? Are you attached? I pray I'm not, and I pray that you're not either. May God bless you exceeding abundantly today.

JUST LOVE GOD (8/13/2013)

1 Corinthians 8:2-3 (NLT)
"Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn't really know very much. But the person who loves God is the one whom God recognizes."

Today's devotional is as simple as this. Don't try to act like you know all the answers. It's okay to say "I don't know," sometimes. Love God with all of your heart. He loves you too so guess what? You don't have to do a whole bunch to impress Him and get His attention! Just love Him first. May God bless you with an awesome day/night in Him. :)

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!! (8/16/2013)

Okay this is something that I too am working on.

1 Corinthians 10:31 (NLT)
"So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all for the glory of God."

There is a woman that I'm sure I have spoken of more than once on here, and this woman is my mentor. Something special about her is that when given a compliment, she almost ALWAYS says "To God be the glory!" I pray for God to help me with that. I want to do that. When someone compliments me or tells me that they are proud of me I want to automatically give God the glory. The verse above says "...WHATEVER you do, do all for the glory of God." I want every part of my life to reflect His glory. Are you with me? May God bless you with an awesome day in Him!! =)

Also, if my mentor is reading this, since you know who you are now, Thank you so much for the example in and of Christ that you are. :)

LORD, I'M YOURS (8/17/2013)

Psalm 25:1 (NLT)
"O Lord, I give my life to you."

It's as simple as that. Announce this to God with sincerity. The note I wrote in my Bible is just a short prayer. Here I am Lord, I'm yours, everything is yours. USE ME, please Lord. -Amen. May you be blessed with an awesome day in Jesus today! :)

THE BODY OF CHRIST (8/19/2013)

1 Corinthians 12:12-13
"The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit and we all share the same spirit."

This is going to be a short devotional with a very simple but important point. We all as Christians are of one body. We all are supposed to work together praying for one another, helping one another, lifting up one another, and encouraging one another. NEVER bringing one another down. Jew or Gentile... Let's even go a little further. Black or White, English or Spanish, Big or small, physically healthy or physically disabled.... Mentally healthy or mentally disabled. WE. ARE. ONE. Everyone should really get a hold of that fact today. Praying that eyes, and hearts are opened today.

HOLY SPIRIT YOU ARE WELCOME HERE! (8/26/2013)

Instead of a verse centered devotional I wanted to make this devotional using a great worship song. Please listen to this and read the following:

When we sing this song at church or when I worship at home I always ask God to make this not just my prayer for Him to fill the room but to fill my heart, to fill me. I pray to be more aware of His presence. I pray to be overcome by His presence in not just the room but in my own heart. Have you let the holy spirit know that He is welcome in your heart? Is He? Praying you have a blessed spirit filled day in Him:)

I WON'T GO BACK (8/27/2013)

I love this song. The lyrics may be enough for some but I just have to add a little extra. Listen to this once this morning and just listen, then again singing with it this time, lift your hands to God, our AWESOME God and tell the devil, you have no more shame, no more guilt, your past is over and YOU WON'T GO BACK! =D

May you be blessed with an amazing day in Jesus today:)

THE MORE I SEEK YOU (8/28/2013)

I love this song.... It never fails to touch me. As you listen to the lyrics listen to the beautiful picture she is painting of a father and his child. God is our FATHER and we are His CHILDREN. I don't know about you but I would love to sit at my Heavenly Father's feet, drink from the cup in His hand, lay back against Him breath and listen to His heart beat. GOD'S heartbeat.... WOW! Talk about overwhelming. This song says it all this morning. May you be blessed with the most wonderful day today in Him, and may He bless you and yours exceeding abundantly beyond all you can imagine.

Deuteronomy 4:29 (NLT)
"But from there you will search again for the Lord your God. And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him. "

CHRIST IS ENOUGH FOR ME (8/29/2013)

This song for the most part is new to me. We sang it at church a couple of weeks ago, and needless to say, I love it. It says so much. I think my favorite part is "I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back" and "the cross before me, the world behind me, no turning back, no turning back." I know that I skipped some but it's okay:)

I think there is nothing else for me to say. The song says it all. Praying that Christ is enough for you today. May you have a blessed and awesome day in Jesus today! =)

2 Corinthians 9:8 (NLT)
"And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others." 

GIVE ME FAITH (8/30/2013)

What a prayer this song is. WOW!!!

"I may be weak, but your spirit is strong in me. And my flesh may fail but my God you NEVER will."

I love how this is repeated over and over at the beginning. OH, and how TRUE it is!!!! This whole song is just such a wonderful prayer to our mighty God.

Please Lord, cleanse every part of me. GIVE ME FAITH to trust what you say. Even though I am weak Lord your spirit strengthens me, though my flesh fails you NEVER fail my Father. Your Love is truly great. I give my life to you.

Praying for your faith in God and what He says. May His spirit strengthen you and may you know that He will NEVER fail.
God bless you with an awesome day in Him! 

9/3/2013

Luke 22:39-44

"Then, accompanied by the disciples, Jesus left the upstairs room and went as usual to the Mount of Olives. There he told them, 'Pray that you will not give in to temptation.' He walked away, about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, 'Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.' Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him. He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood."

Father I pray that we all have that same attitude that your Son had. Father your will be done not my will be done. And may we pray more fervently, earnestly, with more urgency and anguish than ever before. May your hand be upon us as we pray Lord and may we never think that our prayers are going no higher than the ceiling.

Praying that the Lord will bless you and yours exceeding abundantly with an awesome day in Him.

FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT (9/5/2013)

Galatians 5:22-23

"But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. There is no law against these things!" 

We should all partake in the fruits of the spirit NOT defile ourselves by partaking in the fruits of the world. "There is no law against these things!" May we learn and remember the fruits of the spirit throughout each day God gives us. And may we not defile ourselves. Praying that God blesses you exceeding abundantly beyond all you could ever hope or imagine. 

CARRY ME (9/6/2013)

Last night I was blessed to have the opportunity to sit at an altar for an hour and a half talking to God. That wasn't originally my plan when I arrived for prayer. I wanted to walk around and pray just like everyone else but we joined hands and started off together in prayer and before the first prayer was finished I had tears running down my face. When several had prayed aloud, we broke off and as everyone went to different places of the worship center, I found myself with just enough strength to make it to the altar about three steps away, hit my knees, and not move for an hour. God said it was time to talk. (heads up this is where arguing with God often gets you) I found myself crying out to him to help me. I needed something and I didn't know what but I knew He knew better than I ever could. So we talked. God made all of his responses clear to me and for the most part our conversation consisted of God allowing me to know that I needed to let Him carry me. I needed to allow myself to be weak enough to allow Him to carry me. He made me think of the several times throughout the day where a child was hurt or upset and I picked them up and carried them, and for a while that was okay but then they pushed off and said they wanted down. It's the same with us if we fight and push and say I want to walk God is going to let us walk... I needed to sit up but for some reason was too afraid to even though I was surrounded by my worship family... I told God I wasn't ready... God said take a minute, then let Me carry you. So I did, and I sat up, turned and leaned over once again in tears. I sat there for a little over half an hour before we all began to head out, and I let God CARRY me out of the worship center. Last night instead of arguing I finally just said yes Lord, whatever you want... yes. God had to carry me to my car and home last night because after my talk with Him I was too weak to do it own my own. 

I know some of you are reading this thinking that this isn't much of a devotional while others are looking at it and understanding why it is, but my point is, though God won't ALWAYS carry us; meaning that He will sometimes put us down so that we can remember and keep in our hearts why we need him, and to test our faith. Sometimes He will put us down because we demand to walk... but God will always be with us. And if we ask God, He will carry us. 

Psalm 68:19

"Praise the Lord; praise God our savior! For each day he carries us in his arms."

You don't have to be at an altar to have this kind of talk with God... but for me sometimes I feel closest to Him when I am at the altar, in His house.

Praying that you are allowing God to carry you today. May you have a blessed, awesome day in Him today.

PRECIOUS LIGHT (9/9/2013)

Matthew 5:14 (NLT)
"You are the light of the world--like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden." 

God has called us all to be a light. So wherever you are today, whatever you have to do, do it as the light that you were made to be, you are a CITY on a hilltop that CANNOT be hidden!! Don't try to hide your light... Shine it bright for the world to see!  You are a PRECIOUS light May you be blessed beyond all you could ever hope and imagine:)

  

LET'S GLORIFY THE KING! (9/10/2013)

Psalm 19:14 (NLT)

"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and redeemer." 

I posted something on Great News FB page a while back that said "Think before you speak!!! If it doesn't glorify the king don't say it!" I don't know about you but I want to please my Father with every aspect of my life. So this is my prayer for myself and you:

May the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing to you Lord, our rock and redeemer. Let's glorify the KING today!!!! =) May God bless you with an awesome day in Him!

                                              

LET'S DARE TO HOPE (9/11/2013)

I think, because of the day, this bit of scripture is enough.

Lamentations 3:20-24(NLT)
"I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!'"

Let's DARE to hope in the Lord today. Are you with me?? May God bless you and yours today, and may He sustain us as we remember... 

Numbers 6:24-26(NLT)
"May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace." 

WHERE IS OUR DESIRE? (9/12/2013)
Isaiah 57:10 (NLT)
"You grew weary in your search, but you never gave up. Desire gave you renewed strength, and you did not grow weary."

This verse is part of a poem written by the prophet Isaiah to the people of Judah. This particular verse is talking about Judah's determination to follow their false gods. You may be asking "Well why would you use this for a devotional?", but my question is why does that not instead describe our determination to follow God Almighty??? We should NEVER give up on chasing after God. So why can't this verse be a description of our PASSION for chasing God? Where is OUR DESIRE to chase the ONE TRUE GOD?

Praying that we all find this desire in our hearts for Jesus today. May God be with you and bless you and yours.

LET'S NOT WAVER (9/13/2013)

Psalm 17:5 
"My steps have stayed on your path; I have not wavered from following you."

WOW!!!!! How many of us can HONESTLY say this?? I know I can't, but I'd so love to be able to though. Praying that we would no longer waver from following the Lord but instead COMMIT to doing our best at leading an unwavering life for God!! 

May God bless you and yours today. May He strengthen you and help you to become more like Christ in all you do:)

PSALM 15 SERIES (PART 1) (9/17/2013)

Q:"Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord? Who may enter your presence on your holy hill?" -Psalm 15:1

A#1:"Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking truth from sincere hearts." -Psalm 15:2

Wow! And in my opinion that's not even the most powerful verse! How many of us can say that we lead blameless lives? I know I can't, I mess up. And I think it's safe to say that far too many people "fudge" the truth. Let's try something new this week. Let's try to lead blameless lives to the best of our abilities, and be honest in everything we say and do. 


Praying God strengthens us to accomplish this challenge. May God bless you and yours exceeding abundantly today! :)


PSALM 15 SERIES (PART 2) (9/19/2013)
Q:"Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord? Who may enter your presence on your holy hill?"

A#2:"Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbors or speak evil of their friends." -Psalm 15:3

Enough said. There is nothing I can add here but we should all try to refrain from doing these things. We should stay away from gossip, as hard as I know that may be for some of us. We shouldn't seek to harm our neighbors, and we should NEVER speak evil of our friends because then what kind of friends are we? Praying that God will help all of us with these things today. May He bless you exceeding abundantly!! 

PSALM 15 SERIES (PART 3) (9/21/2013)
Q:"Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord? Who may enter your presence on your holy hill?" -Psalm 15:1

A#3:"Those who despise flagrant sinners, and honor the faithful followers of the Lord, and keep their promises even when it hurts." -Psalm 15:4

So far during this series I have been hoping and praying that we would all begin to apply these verses to our lives so that WE may fit their description. But, personally I think that the last part of this verse is the hardest. I don't know about you but I'd really rather avoid something that will hurt me. The NASB says it like this. "...He swears to his own hurt and does not change;" How many of us would honestly swear to do something, if we knew to start with, it was going to hurt us. Sadly, I think the answer is, not many. Let's try to fit this verse today. Let's despise flagrant sinners but remember that God loves the sinner while He hates the sin. Let's honor the faithful followers of God, and keep our promises EVEN WHEN IT HURTS. 


Praying for an awakening in our hearts, love you all today in Jesus! May God bless you and yours exceeding abundantly. =)

LOVE HIM LIKE YOU HATE THEM (9/30/2013)

Luke 14:26 (NLT)
"If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison--your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters--yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple."

Wow! We talked about this in Sunday School yesterday morning and it really changes your perspective. Now, let me clarify; Jesus isn't telling you to actually hate these people. God wants you to love these people, and demonstrate His love to them as well. However He is saying though you are to love others, your love for God should make your love for them seem like HATE by comparison! That's a very STRONG love. Jesus even goes to say that if this isn't the case you CANNOT be His disciple, (meaning you can't be His follower). WOW... I pray that we all strive to love Jesus SO MUCH that our love for others starts to look like HATE by comparison.

Father, help us to have this kind of love for you and your Son. Fill us with your spirit, fill us with all the love our souls can stand and then some! May you be exalted and glorified, AWESOME King!!!! 

May God bless you and yours exceeding abundantly today and every day. May He bless you with a peace that surpasses all understanding and a love that overflows!! 


OUR SWEET JESUS IS SO AWESOME AND OH SO AMAZING!!!!!! =D

HE MUST INCREASE! (10/3/2013)

John 3:30 (ESV)
"He must increase, but I must decrease."

In our generation, and in this day and age we want everything to be about us. I know that is not a statement about everyone, I know a few people that give ALL glory and ALL honor to God. However, the majority of us want everything to be about our wants, our needs, our desires, our feelings... It's always me, me, ME!!! But what about HIM!!? How about STARTING today, meaning that this should start today and continue forever, we back off, we decrease and let God increase in us. Let God steal our show and take over. Starting today lets make it about His wants, His desires, His GLORY!!! I can't wait to see what God does when we do:)

Father, help us to step back and let you take over. Help us to stop making it about us and start making it about you!! 

Praying that you have a blessed, awesome, wonderful, HOLY SPIRIT FILLED day in Jesus!! :) 

BE STILL BEFORE HIM (10/4/2013)

Psalm 46:10 (ESV)
"Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"

Just a little over a year ago now, I sat down and had a Psalm 46:10 moment that led to Great News!!!!! and now it's grown bigger than I could have imagined and God has showed me that this is just the beginning!! I sat down a few weeks ago to have lunch with that wonderful woman that just happens to be my mentor. Now I don't know where this particular part of our conversation came into play but she made a reference to this verse in saying that we should wake up in the morning and before we even get out of bed we should ask God what He wants us to do and then BE STILL before Him as we wait for an answer. I will be honest, I still haven't mastered doing this but, I would like to do my best to make it a habit. We should all make being still before God a priority and a habit! There is nothing better than spending that time with God. Not moving, not thinking of everything else, not speaking just listening for God to speak to you!

I pray that the Lord's hand will be upon each and every one of you that you may make it a habit to spend time being still before Him.
May God bless you and keep you, and may you have a wonderful and AWESOME day in Him! 

WHAT DOES IT TAKE!?!?!? (10/7/2013)

Genesis 32:24-26 (NLT)
"This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break. When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob's hip and wrenched it out of its socket. Then the man said, 'Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!' But Jacob said, 'I will not let you go unless you bless me.'"

I just want to throw out there that I am by NO means a theologian, however I will tell you what I pull from this particular passage of scripture. Jacob is wrestling with God, he actually fights God!!! When dawn breaks the man that is to be considered God in this passage, sees that HE won't win the match, so He then TOUCHES Jacob's hip wrenching it out of its socket!! How often do you think we fight with God and God finally steps back and says "I'm not going to win this match, lets do this the hard way."?? WHAT DOES IT TAKE???? Does God have to dislocate your hip to get YOUR attention??? If He does, I think it's time you reevaluate your relationship. When He did this to Jacob, Jacob refused to let the man go until He blessed Jacob. In other words a light went off in Jacob's head and said "DING DING DING, THIS IS GOD YOUR FIGHTING WITH!!!" But that light only came because God in the form of a man touched His hip dislocating it! 

Praying that it doesn't take a fight for me to get what God is saying to me. May you be blessed beyond measure, and may the Lord keep you. =D Have an AWESOME day in Jesus today!!

JESUS IS COMING SOON! (10/9/2013)

Revelation 22:7 (ESV)
"And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book."

Sometimes, in our day to day life we get caught up in our agendas and lose track of what is important. I'm sure JUST ABOUT everyone is guilty of this, I know I am. We get busy with work, family, events, engagements (no, not the wedding kind), and yes EVEN church. Now don't get me wrong, these things are important but a very smart counselor once said to me, "Kelcy, your going to have to start SCHEDULING time to spend with God." Now... I didn't quite understand this concept at first because in a way I felt that the simple fact of me having to write down "God time" in my planner meant that I was too busy for God, and I was making Him less important. However, this counselor corrected me. The simple fact that I AM willing to sit down and schedule that time means that He IS important to me. Not scheduling the time means that I'll get to God when I get to God, and I don't want that. Now I know that you are looking at this devotional and the verse going.... these two don't really go together, but actually they do. Jesus says in this verse, "Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book." but the only way that we can do that is by making time in our day to sit down and study God's word. NOW YOU SEE!!!! :) 

Don't get me wrong LIFE in general can be very busy and very exhausting, but the fact remains that we need to spend time with God and in His word because if we don't then there is no way that we can survive this world. Plus there is some good news to this added part of your day... God promises to give rest to the weary:) (Matthew 11:28). And yes... I am going to make you look it up, just a little extra study time:) 

So here is my challenge for you, starting today, I want you to sit down as soon as you finish this post, and schedule a time (in pen) on your calender or in your planner to spend with God and in His word. Then, DO IT. Make it a priority!!! 


Praying for you and your "God time". May God bless you with an awesome day in Him. :) 


I'LL TRUST YOU (10/10/2013)

Psalm 31:14 (NASB)
"But as for me, I trust in You, O LORD, I say, 'You are my God.'"

Okay, to be clear, I AM NOT starting another worship devotional week, this song just simply fits so perfectly:)

I have had my own experience last night with truly trusting God. Some of you know how I hate to sing in front of people and last night, by the grace of God and ONLY by the grace of God, I sang in front of a few hundred...maybe more but I won't think about it. To my surprise I enjoyed it. No stress, no passing out, no medical team needed, just a mighty presence of God. I prayed quite often asking God, as some of you may remember from a few devotionals back, to carry me through it. I told God I would open my mouth and all I asked was that He would provide the notes and allow it to be Him up there and not me. I FINALLY fully TRUSTED God and let Him carry me fully, not half way. We all need to trust God, whether it is singing, playing, or speaking on a stage; or whether it is everyday life, we have to trust God. I love the way this song proclaims it, and the strength it puts behind the proclamation, "I won't dread the terror by night. For angels are all around me. So, I will not fear." How awesome is our God that there is nothing that can stand in our way, if we just TRUST. TRUST in God will move mountains!!!! 

Father, I WILL trust you!!! =D

Praying that you will start trusting God, or even start trusting Him more completely. May our MIGHTY, AWESOME, UNSHAKABLE Father bless you and keep you, changing your world for His kingdom!!! =D

Sorry but the "I'll Trust You" Video is unavailable here. Please click link below to be directed to it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBEd_ft8CEU

IS THIS HOW JESUS WOULD DESCRIBE YOU? (10/15/2013)

Revelation 3:8 (MSG)
"I see what you've done. Now see what I've done. I've opened a door before you that no one can slam shut. You don't have much strength, I know that; you used what you had to keep my Word. You didn't deny me when times were rough."

I look at this description and think WOW! I mean... Is that how I am living, is that how Jesus would describe me?? I pray that when I find myself without strength it is because I am using what strength I have to keep the Word of my God, the Living God. I pray the same for you. That together as a family in Christ we will stick together, stick up for each other, keeping the faith in all we do and keeping each other lifted up in prayers that are never ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17). Praying for you today my family in Christ. I love each and every one of you with the love of God. 

May you be blessed exceeding abundantly beyond all you could ever hope or imagine, and may you have an AWESOME day in Jesus today!! 



WHAT DOES GOD'S WORD MEAN TO YOU? (10/16/2013)

This morning instead of a Bible verse I would like to post something that I think needs to be taken to heart. Most of us own a Bible if not more than one, we read our Bible(s), we study the word and try to become very intelligent when it comes to God's word. However, while these things aren't bad, have we ever truly felt as strongly as we should about the word of God? We are so very privileged to hold a book in our hands that holds the words of God that were written by His appointed prophets. To have a book that holds the words spoken from the mouth of Jesus!! To have a book that should be valued as if it were the last piece of gold the world would ever see because it SHOULD be our most valuable material possession. I have been guilty of not holding the Bible like I should, reading it like I should, studying it like I should, LOVING it like I should.... But last night I picked up my small NLT Bible. Black leather, flimsy, full of marks and notes... and a chill ran up my spine, my heart began to beat faster, leaping into my throat, and tears came to my eyes. I became overwhelmed as God, in such a simple moment, revealed that truth to me. I sat down for a moment, and without opening it, simply held my Bible in my hands. Staring at it with the most joy I believe I have ever experienced. I then finally opened it and just looked over the pages, looked over the marks, the words, the red print that showed my Savior's words. How beautiful, just astoundingly beautiful, is the word of our LIVING God? God spoke to me last night and said "Kelcy, this is how I want my word to be viewed. Not as another book, not as just a 'very important book.' Not just as a book that you think you really need to study more, but as a TREASURE! As a way for me to comfort, guide, and teach you! Kelcy, these are MY words. NOT just another book!"

Oh how I hope and pray that you grab hold of this truth. May God reveal this to you as He did to me. I love you today in Jesus my sweet friend in Christ:) May He bless you with a wonderful and insightful day in Him. 

HAVE YOU DONE AS HE HAS COMMANDED? (10/21/2013)

Ezekiel 9:11 (NLT)
"Then the man in linen clothing, who carried the writer's case, reported back and said, 'I have done as you commanded.'"

Why is that not always our response? I know that I don't really have room to speak because I am the world's worst at arguing with God, but I sat down, had a talk with God and am now working on that. But my point is, our answer no matter what the task God gives us, should always be "I have done as you commanded." No ifs, ands, or buts about it. God is God! The ALMIGHTY ruler of the universe, and the ultimate creator. He is bigger than anyone or anything on or off this earth! He is infinite! And He MADE you!!!! He MADE all of us!!! So who are we to question GOD!?!? Here is my challenge and this is just as much for me as anyone reading this. Starting this very minute, right now, from here to eternity, let's make that our automatic response to God. Not because it is habit, but because He is God, and we owe Him EVERYTHING!!. From now on, when God prompts you to do something, without question, you pray to make sure it's Him and then you do it. Afterwards, you should be able to say "Lord I have done just as you have commanded me." Alright, let's get started and see how we can change the world:) It starts with a "Yes Lord." and ends with a "I have done as you commanded." Here we go! :) Have a blessed and awesome day in Him today!

WHERE WILL YOU STAND? (10/22/2013)

I have been reading a book called "Left Behind" and I have watched a movie recently called "The Mark". Both are very interesting. If you have ever read this series or watched this movie you will know that they both are about the rapture, those taken and those left behind. In both the book and the movie when God's people are taken from the earth, they just disappear leaving their clothes behind. This morning, for my devotional, I want to give you something to think about and chew on for a little while, and maybe if the answer isn't a good one it will motivate you to seek the Lord more, and to get your life in better shape when it comes to your faith. 

If God took all of HIS people from the earth. If it happened just like in the movie and the book and God's people just disappeared, where would you be standing? Would your clothes be sitting in a pile where you were while your standing with God, or would you be standing looking at the piles of clothes around you saying "I thought I did good enough"?

May God bless and keep you. Praying for you today friend, with all the love of Christ.

I WANNA BE LIKE YOU GOD! (11/4/2013)
In this video we know that Mowgli is being tricked by the apes and the king ape is wanting to know the secret of the red fire. Now, stick with me a minute. We all want to know the secret to becoming more like God, we all pray "God please help me to become more like you". Just like the ape does we say "God tell me what to do". But see all the "secrets" that we need to know are in that wonderful little book that sadly some of us only use when we go to church, and I've been guilty of the same here and there, so don't think I'm calling anyone out. When we open God's word we should seek more knowledge, answers, and ways to be more like God in the way we walk, and talk. 

Sweet King! I wanna be like you, I wanna walk like you, talk like you too!! 

May this be the way we all feel:) Praying that you learn to walk and talk like our sweet, amazing King:) Love you today in Jesus my friend!! 

I SEE THE LIGHT (11/5/2013) DISNEY DEVOTIONAL

Obviously these two are singing to each other in this song, but when I listened to this song I thought about what it's like when you finally choose God instead of the world. When you stop living for the world and start living for God, you see the light, and everything you look at you look at with a new perspective. Suddenly some things make a little more sense and the stuff that doesn't make sense, doesn't matter as much to you. I want to say a prayer over every single one of you that if you haven't seen that light, today will be the day. 

Father, I pray that everyone who comes across this devotional will see the light, Father, your light. That they will allow your light to overcome their darkness. I pray that those who have seen this light already, Father, will be lights into the lives of others. That they will speak truth and life into the darkness surrounding them and never give up sharing your word. May your hand be on each and every one of them, and may they know that you are always with them. Thank you, Father, for all that you do and all that you have planned.

I will continue to lift each and everyone of you up to the Father. Thank you so much for your prayers and support. May God bless you all exceeding abundantly beyond all you could ever hope or imagine. :) 

YOU'LL BE IN MY HEART (11/7/2013) DISNEY DEVOTIONAL
Think of this song as our Father's words to us. As He looks in awe of the children that He has created. Even the chorus, God keeps us in His heart because He loves us so much. God will protect us and the bond that we hold with Him cannot be broken, nothing can separate us from His love!!! He holds our hand and guides us, He wraps us in His loving arms and keeps us safe and warm, especially in the worst of times.  He will be in our hearts and we will be in His. Now THAT is love! 

May God bless and keep you today, may He make His face shine upon you. I pray that you will know God intimately today and everyday! I pray that you will welcome Him into your heart if you have not already and that you will know that He holds you lovingly in His!! OUR GOD IS AWESOME! =D

YOU WILL WIN THIS!! (11/18/2013)
"No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their vindication is from Me," declares the LORD. -Isaiah 54:17 (NASB)

No matter what someone is saying about you, no matter what life is throwing at you, no matter what the enemy tries to grip you with, God almighty says that no weapon formed against you will prosper. You can face your enemies with boldness knowing that your God has given His angels charge over you to guard you WHEREVER you go!!(Ps. 91:11) GOD is more powerful than anything that the world can throw at you. HE will fight for you, you need only to be silent (Exodus 14:14). If someone is talking about you, LET THEM! They will answer to God for their actions and it will make you no better to talk bad about them. God knows what they are saying. God knows the weapons they are forming. Be encouraged sweet child of the King!! Your suffering here will one day be worth it when you are standing in glory before your God!!  You have ROYAL BLOOD running through those veins!!!!!!! EVIL. CAN'T. TOUCH. YOU! HE is your refuge and your shield! He is your place of comfort! He is your strength when you are weak!! Satan doesn't have a chance. No matter what form he takes.

Praising God for how wonderful He is! May God bless you, may he strengthen you and encourage you throughout your day. May He touch your heart and give His angels charge over you:) Know that I am always praying for you because though I may not know you, you're a part of the family of faith. I love you today in Jesus my sweet, wonderful friend:)

"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace." -Numbers 6:24-26 (NIV)

ANGELS ON GUARD=D (11/21/2013)
"For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone." Psalm 91:11-12 (NIV)

WOW!!! How awesome is it that God has COMMANDED His angels to guard us! Think about it, no matter where you are or what you are doing there are angels GUARDING you! God loves us so much that he doesn't even want our feet to strike against stones! That is His love for us!! His OMNIPOTENT (all-powerful, almighty, supreme, preeminent, most high; invincible, unconquerable) LOVE!!!!! I don't know about you but the thought that God has that kind of love for ME, overwhelms me...I mean, God loves us all so much that He has put His angels on guard concerning us. Verse 10 says that "no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent." Wow... I pray that God will overwhelm you with the love that He has for you.

Praying that God will bless you exceeding abundantly beyond all you could ever hope or imagine:) and may you be blessed with and awesome day in Jesus today!  Love you friend:)

"May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace." Numbers 6:24-26 (NLT)

-Kelcy