Saturday, August 6, 2022

August 6, 2022

There are days I feel that I cannot write another word. Then God refreshes my thoughts and reminds me that he is my strength and that it is he who keeps me going. When I try to accomplish the task he assigned me without his help, I fall flat, but when I remember that he is in control and not me, the words nearly write themselves. If you feel inadequate or unworthy in God’s ministry, it’s because you are. Without his strength, we are nothing. When you set out to fulfill the command to go and tell everyone the good news about Jesus, the Holy Spirit propels you. If you try without his direction, you will fail miserably. God equips the called and will draw you to his Word, counsel you in prayer, and invigorate you when you praise and worship him; for now, those things may be your only assignment until he’s ready to release you. With that said, don’t fret over feeling you are not doing enough for the kingdom; you will know when God calls you to complete a task; he will make it obvious.

but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

Friday, August 5, 2022

August 5, 2022

Yesterday, I spent the entire day with home inspectors. Fourteen inspections, three inspectors, and a box full of keys! That's too many for one day, but at least it's over. Home inspections are the most dreaded part of my job, but when they are rentals, it's even worse because I'm invading the tenant's privacy. There is no getting around it, especially when an insurance company or a buyer is involved. They want to know what could be wrong with the property so the homeowner can make corrections and the party to the transaction can make a sound financial decision. 

It's for the same reason God searches the hearts and minds of those he loves, ensuring every iniquity is repented, cleaned up, and we make corrections to our behavior. Through Jesus, every sin is cleansed, but we must confess them and remove any unrighteous from our being that may have crept in and sullied our reputation as his follower.


Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! Psalms 139:23-24

Thursday, August 4, 2022

August 4, 2022

Jeremiah prayed for God to turn his wrath away from his adversaries, yet they plotted against him, dug a pit to capture him, and made a snare for his feet. They didn’t like his prophecy for them and wanted to keep doing their evil deeds rather than turning away from it so God would relent from bringing disaster. So Jeremiah prayed for them again; only this time he prayed against them!

Therefore deliver up their children to famine; give them over to the power of the sword; let their wives become childless and widowed. May their men meet death by pestilence, their youths be struck down by the sword in battle. Jeremiah 18:21


These people were nasty! He told them what God wanted him to say; he prayed for them and instructed them to turn away from wickedness, and yet they came after him because they didn't like what God said. They had the opportunity to change, not unlike today's evil. They've had warnings, and we've prayed for them to relent from their evil practices; it's time for us to pray against them. Pray that everything terrible they've planned for the ordinary people would fall back on them. Like Jeremiah, I'm tired of being nice, and now I'm praying that God would unleash his wrath upon them and remove them from this earth so we would have peace again.

Wednesday, August 3, 2022

August 3, 2022

After selling the cows in one pasture, we moved other cows into their vacated field. We weren’t sure how to get them to cross over, but we set up the panels across the driveway and moved their feed, hoping they would go on their own. At first, they didn’t move. We thought we might have to cut off their water supply so they would look for it in the new pasture. Thankfully we didn’t have to do that because it seemed cruel. They must have become curious because by the following day, that had all moved over, and we could close the gate behind them. They seem okay, but we can tell that they want to cross back over because they keep gathering near the access. 


When God moves you into a new pasture that is green and lush and sets a meal in front of you, don’t try to cross back over. Be thankful that your past is behind you and that God moved you forward. Your life in Jesus is about moving closer and closer to him and turning away from past sin into a new direction. Don’t look back! The promised land is just ahead. 


He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Psalms 23:2-3

Tuesday, August 2, 2022

August 2, 2022

After carefully placing my newly filled paint tray away from the ladder so I wouldn’t step in it, I stepped in it, and paint went everywhere! Not only that, but the flooring is green carpet that I had covered with a tarp, but it sloshed onto the carpet and seeped through the tarp. We have plans to replace the carpet, but not yet! After scooping most of it up, I had the presence of mind to pour Fabuloso on it to keep it wet until I could get some water to pour over it. After working diligently for about an hour, I got the paint out of the carpet and was able to finish the job. I didn’t get anxious but worked steadily through this unplanned situation.

Though this is minor and not world-changing, it’s an example of our challenges as citizens of God’s Kingdom. Life is certainly not easy, and even though we may face a delay for a time, if we work steadily, we will get through it, accomplish our goals, and receive our reward. If you are going through a situation, whether it’s your health, finances, or relational, don’t give up! Don’t rely on your own strength; have faith in God’s power. He will never leave you nor forsake you.


“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8

Monday, August 1, 2022

August 1, 2022

I did some weeding in my vegetable garden on Saturday. I had allowed them to become too numerous, so it took me a while to get them cleaned up. The gnats were bothering me, and the heat was intolerable. I decided to bring a fan outside and set it up in front of me, and it kept me cool and the gnats out of my face. It was the best idea I’ve had in a long time. Plucking them out gives me such satisfaction and immediate gratification. If only I had made it a daily practice to remove them, it wouldn’t have gotten so out of hand. 

The weeds are like sin, the heat and the gnats are like the enemy, and the fan is like Jesus. It will become overwhelming if you don’t pluck the sin from your life daily. Then when you decide it’s time to clean it up, the enemy will come along and torture you. However, you have Jesus, and he will help you keep the enemy at bay if you are sincere in your desire to remove it from your life. It is best not to sin, but sometimes it happens; clean it up immediately to avoid accumulation. 


If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8-9

Sunday, July 31, 2022

July 31, 2022

You must remain strong in this day and age.

*Become bold in your convictions.

*Stand firm in the Lord.

*Do not waiver in your belief.


The enemy is throwing everything at you because you belong to Jesus; don’t let that sway you. Think about issues happening in the world right now and lay these verses over the people causing them. The entities creating all the problems for the world will be brought to justice by God himself; he will remove them from his sight! 


Then the LORD said to me, “Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my heart would not turn toward this people. Send them out of my sight, and let them go! And when they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD: “‘Those who are for pestilence, to pestilence, and those who are for the sword, to the sword; those who are for famine, to famine, and those who are for captivity, to captivity.’ Jeremiah 15:1-2


God will use the very things they used to oppress the people as punishment for themselves. He is going to give them a dose of their own medicine. They will not get away with what they are doing to the people. Pray that all eyes open to the truth, and those lulled to sleep by the evil of this day will wake up.


“Who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem, or who will grieve for you? Who will turn aside to ask about your welfare? You have rejected me, declares the LORD; you keep going backward, so I have stretched out my hand against you and destroyed you— I am weary of relenting. Jeremiah 15:5-6