This time of year we miss those who cannot be home with us. For families who have someone they love incarcerated, our emotions may run amuck. We might blame ourselves. We may feel angry with our loved one for putting themselves in this situation. We might run through a list of “could of’s” and “should have’s” wondering how we missed it. That’s how I felt the very first Christmas that my son was imprisoned. I found a letter that I…
Through Christ Jesus, our Savior, God has blessed us with gifts. What are we doing with those gifts? In my last post I shared how these gifts from God will never break, rot, malfunction, or expire. Yet, we need to keep our gifts stirred up so we can use them for God’s glory. “Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in your through the laying on of my hands” (2 Timothy 1:6). Let’s stir…
God gave us the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. He was born of a virgin and lived a life without sin. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we can become the righteousness of God (2 Cor 5:21). After growing up, Jesus suffered and paid the debt for sin that we cannot pay. He became our substitute, which gives us eternal life with God the Father. That, my friend, is…
Holidays are a special time for families to get together. However, for some family gatherings they have someone they love missing. Some have lost loved ones who graduated to heaven. Others are separated due to other extenuating circumstances such as illness, finances, work, military service, or addictions. Then there are the families with a loved one incarcerated. When my son was sentenced to prison, I grieved. Hard. The life I imagined our family would have vanished with the incarceration. That…
With the holiday season quickly approaching, many families with incarcerated loved ones begin to experience the tug of negative emotions. The empty place at the table and in family pictures is a reminder of not only who is missing but why. When we turn to the word of God, we find many comforting passages that remind us that we have hope in Him. “The Lord is my strength and my shield, my heart trusts in Him and I am helped:…
One of Jesus’ disciples said, “Lord, teach us to pray.” Even those who walked with Jesus in the flesh asked Him to teach them how to pray. Today, we still want to know if there is an effective way to pray. Jesus answered the disciples request by saying, “Pray like this. . .” (Luke 11:2). Then Jesus prayed a model prayer that we know as “The Lord’s Prayer.” Based on this prayer we have a model to follow (see Matthew…
The holidays are difficult when we focus on the desire to have all the family together. However, the reality is that most families are never ever really all together. For many families, someone is always absent. It’s the absence of someone we love during a special time that hurts. Some have loved ones who graduated to heaven leaving a void that cannot be filled. Others are separated due to military duties. Or there are the first responders (ER doctors &…
You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. I will be fully satisfied…
How long have you prayed for something you know is God’s will, but still have not received the answer yet? First, how do we know if it is God’s will? God’s word is His will. So, when we pray His Word, His word does what He says it will do. (Isaiah 55:11) However, there may be times in our lives that it seems we pray and decree the Word of God. We ask and ask. After all the Bible says, “Ask,…
After the death of Moses, Joshua was commissioned to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. Three times the Lord instructed Joshua to “be strong and courageous.” (See Joshua 1:6-7, 9) Where does strength and courage come from? We receive our strength and courage from the Lord. But do we just ask for it and it fall upon us? Perhaps God does that for us in certain circumstances. However, I believe the key component to receiving strength and courage is…