Saturday, April 15, 2023

April 15, 2023

Our friend is an auctioneer, and he is auctioning off the contents of a wedding venue that will become a housing development. Yesterday, we went to the preview because they have a lot of nice things that we might be interested in purchasing. Before the property became a wedding venue, it was a horse farm, and it was gorgeous. The beautiful trees, barns, and facilities are unmatched by any other event centers I’ve visited. It seems a shame to tear it all up for houses, but that’s progress, and everyone wants to live in Florida. I can’t blame them; I love it too.

God will move forward without you if you don’t learn to adhere to his word and keep progressing. Learn to bend and move with him so you don’t break.


Think about it like a water hose; you can easily move it around trees and shrubs, but sometimes it gets a kink and shuts off the water supply. We then have to follow the hose back to see where the problem is. Once we find and un-kink it, the water begins to flow again. It’s the same way with progressing with God; sometimes, sin kinks our hose, and we must adjust and ask forgiveness so we don’t get cut off from God’s valuable resources.


You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion is not from him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. Galatians 5:7-10

Friday, April 14, 2023

April 14, 2023

Yesterday, I spent most of my morning cleaning and sweeping up construction debris in the main house. The dust was incredible. Now that we finally installed our last exterior door, our house is sealed. It has been trying at times because we had to destroy and rebuild the house the way we wanted. Now, the pieces are being put back together, and we can almost see what the finished product will look like. Though I’m happy where I am now, I can see something better on the horizon, and the closer it gets, the more excited I get. 

Refurbishing the old house is similar to our lives as Christ-followers; our interior must be torn down and gutted so God can rebuild us the way he wants us. When we start to see what He intended, we get excited about our new lives taking shape because our future looks so much brighter. The process is not physical, but our bodies can benefit from renewing our minds because of the peace we get from no longer serving the world, allowing us to relax in our heritage as children of God.


So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. Galatians 4:7

Thursday, April 13, 2023

April 13, 2023

This year’s garden is blessing us with produce daily. The green beans, squash, and okra are prolific bloomers and have continually given us food. From just one seed came one plant, producing multiple fruits, and the new seeds were more than I could count; that’s if I were to count them instead of eating them. On top of that, we are about to have more tomatoes, peppers, and peas than we can eat.

Why did God give us the law if it is impossible to keep it? The answer is to show us that we need Jesus. God’s promise to Abraham, “In you shall all the nations be blessed,” came before the law was given, and that promise remains. Abraham’s blessing came to fruition through Jesus; we receive that promise because of him. Jesus is the seed of the promise, and only through faith in him did we become children of God. Our genealogy is not part of it; we are saved only by faith in Jesus. Jesus is the one who is multiplying Abraham’s seeds, and we, the followers of Christ, are the fruit.


Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. Galatians 3:7-9


And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. Galatians 3:29

Wednesday, April 12, 2023

April 12, 2023

Unless our government changes and veers off the road to destruction, we may, out of self-preservation, have to hide our affiliation with Christianity. In many countries, Christians have to go underground to teach and learn about Jesus because their lives are threatened by their association with him. However, if you are hiding your faith in Him now, no good will come from it. There are ways to get around censorship online if you use it as a platform for spreading the gospel; it’s by learning not to use specific keywords. However, altogether avoiding telling others about Jesus while we still have our freedom is a form of denying him. 

Paul had an issue with Peter living like a free gentile but reverting to Jewish law when he was around other Jews, so he confronted him about it. Are you for Jesus, or are you against him? You can’t have one foot in the world and one foot in Christ; it doesn’t work that way. Choose today whom you will serve; as for me and house, we will serve the Lord. 


yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. Galatians 2:16

Tuesday, April 11, 2023

April 11, 2023

Have you changed from pleasing the world to pleasing God? I know that it's hard to stop caring about what others think of you, but that's precisely God's expectation of us. Once we go from feeling obligated to people to becoming bound to God, it will result in people becoming naturally drawn to us because of the confidence we exude from our loyalty to Him. We must learn to trust Him with our lives, and He will surround us with His people, those who are like-minded and have also set out to please God. In Paul's letter to the Galatians, he doesn't mince words when he calls them out, telling them that he wouldn't be a servant of Christ if he were still trying to please man. Trying to please man will often result in sinful behavior. Assess yourself and make sure your actions match God's expectations of your life. If you're unsure what that is, open up your Bible; He makes it clear in His word.

For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. Galatians 1:10

Monday, April 10, 2023

April 10, 2023

In a small part of my garden, I’ve included perennial food plants that thrive in Florida’s heat and humidity, are relatively cold tolerant, and easily reproduce themselves. I thought it might be a good idea to have some dependable crops if food becomes scarce and we have to forage for it. They are unusual and may require getting used to if we have to include them in our diet. In researching these types of plants, I found some interesting things; we have edible weeds that grow rapidly in our yard and are also valuable for medical purposes like managing pain. I bet they would stop invading my garden if we started eating them! 

There are so many things that God has given us that have long been forgotten or are not taught anymore. Our world is rapidly changing, and if we don’t start learning the basics of living, we may find it hard to thrive in a country slowly collapsing from poor management. Hopefully, you are paying attention, heeding the warnings, and discerning the times so you are not caught off guard. 


And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. Genesis 1:29-30

Sunday, April 9, 2023

April 9, 2023

He has Risen! Jesus defeated death, which is why we celebrate Resurrection Day, the holiest of all days! It’s not about the prolific reproduction of bunnies and the abundance of eggs; those things distract from what happened on that wonderful day. The enemy always dangles a carrot in front of the people to take attention off the truth. That is why we must break through the lies in search of the truth and make it our mission to reject anything intrinsically evil. Though bunnies and eggs are innocent and not evil individually, using them as a replacement for the observance of the glorious resurrection makes the practice idolatry, primarily since its roots can be traced back to idolatry. Today is a good day to worship our Lord and Savior, Jesus; what he did for us on that special day could not be replicated by any other human. How privileged are we to be included as part of the chosen? Set aside your woes for one day, give God the glory he deserves, honor our Savior, and be thankful for receiving the Holy Spirit as a placeholder until Jesus returns. Forget your burdens for a moment and make today a happy day.

He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Matthew 28:6