Finding Refuge in the Lord
The next morning, I was reading one of my daily devotions in The Upper Room. That day’s scripture was the same one the Holy Spirit whispered to me during the storm. “[The Lord] will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge” (Psalm 91:4).
Giving Glory to Our Father in Heaven
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven”—Matthew 5:16 (ESV). I was having difficulty locating the product I wanted while shopping at a local home improvement store. The item was on sale and the sale ended that day. As I sought help from a store associate, I became frustrated. The big box store was closing in an hour. I was tired. All I wanted was to find the item, check out, and go home. I’d had a long day. I …
Springtime Brings Spiritual Renewal
“Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens. For He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight”—Ephesians 1:3-4(MSG). My heart sank when I saw the empty nest. Just the day before, I’d peeked inside to check on the four perfect blue-green eggs. The young robin who’d laid the eggs had meticulously built an elaborate nest in the limbs of my Prairie Fire Crabapple tree. When I first discovered the egg-filled nest, I was so excited …
An Encounter with the Living God
“Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations”—James 1:2 (AMPC). A friend recently posted the following on social media: “One encounter with God can change your whole life.” She added, “I’ve personally experienced many God encounters that created a 180-degree change in my life.” Her post led me to ponder my own “God encounters.” My earliest childhood memories of experiencing God were in nature. I grew up in southwestern Louisiana, where I spent many hours outside inhaling His creation in the branches of a Mimosa tree …
When Decisions Lead to Defining Moments
“The Lord’s word came to Zechariah: The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims: ‘Make just and faithful decisions; show kindness and compassion to each other!’”— Zechariah 7:8-9 (CEB). Looking back on your life, can you remember a choice leading to a life course change? At some point in our Christian lives, we’ve either faced or will be faced with crossroad decisions. Crossroads decisions are defining moments. Those decisions influence or change our lives and affect our future. Imagine a fork in the road. Depending on the moment, and how you react to it, your life can go in one direction or …
Finding God’s Peace in the Unplanned Moments
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world”— John 16:33 (ESV). A recent trip to the zoo with our youngest granddaughter was more memorable than we’d anticipated. We expected to experience the sights and sounds of the wild animals through a five-year-old’s eyes—which we did. However, we didn’t expect unplanned events to lead to delays throughout the day. The first delay was easily solved when the women’s restroom was shut down as we waited in line. Two toilets overflowed …
Helping Others Reveals Our Love for God
“He answered, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and, Love your neighbor as yourself’”—Luke 10:27 (NIV). In a recent sermon, our pastor used the parable of the Good Samaritan to remind us that we can all do something to help another in need. He said, “I’ve decided never to do nothing. Because we can always do something.” Then, in our Sunday School class after church services, we shared stories of when we helped a stranger or missed an opportunity to help someone. …
Has Your Faith Been Shaken?
“All of creation will be shaken and removed so that only unshakable things will remain”—Hebrews 12:27 (NLT). It was 1987 when I learned Oklahoma has a series of fault lines running through our state. When I heard this, I laughed in disbelief at the agent who was promoting earthquake insurance. I associated earthquakes with California, not Oklahoma. Twenty-two years later, I wasn’t laughing when our state experienced its first noticeable earthquake, at least in my lifetime. Late one evening, while I was reading a book, my bed began to vibrate. “Nah,” I thought, “I’m just imagining things.” Then, it happened …
Are You Hungry for More of God?
“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry”–Matthew 4:1-2 (NIV). Several years ago, a social media challenge became popular as parents tested the patience of their toddlers. Some toddlers surrendered to the temptation before them, while others passed the test. The test involved placing a handful of candy on a kitchen table. The toddler, seated at the table, was then told not to eat the candy while the parent was out of the room for several minutes. Some toddlers didn’t realize they …