February 16

My husband and I went to the Florida State Fair. I realized that I’m no longer amused by the chaos and crowds that surround such an adventure. There were people from every walk of life and of every age, all there to fill up on fair food and possibly catch a glimpse of something unusual, both of which are easily achieved. We spent the money to get in, walked around until we found the delicacies we were seeking, sat, ate, and then found our way through the peddlers and bought a new American flag for our house, then we left! We didn’t even look at the farm animals as we usually do. The things that were once a thrill as a kid, no longer excites. Can you imagine what it will be like when we know fully what we do not know now of the truth about the Kingdom of God? The things we thought were so wise will become rubbish. So for your short time here on earth, love well - it’s the best we can do!

When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 1 Corinthians 13:11

February 15

Watching blessings fall into place is an exciting part of being a follower of Jesus. So many times the enemy’s attacks keep us focused on fighting him rather than looking toward what’s being accomplished for the Kingdom of God. One important lesson that I’ve learned is that, when you are under attack, it’s best to focus on Jesus! Our eyes should not be turned in any other direction. If you are getting worn out from the struggle, it might be time to hit the refresh button on that page! The battle is not yours to fight! Our power comes when we call on the name of Jesus - we are too weak for combat - He is our strength! The Israelites were encouraged to set up memorial stones so that every time they passed by, they would remember what God had done for them. Write your blessings down, set up memorials, and never forget the battles He’s already won for you.

And he said to the people of Israel, "When your children ask their fathers in times to come, 'What do these stones mean?' then you shall let your children know, 'Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.' Joshua 4:21-22

February 14

Happy Valentine’s Day! Today is a special day dedicated to love! Hearts and flowers adorn the shelves in the stores and sweet treats covered with chocolate make it hard to resist enjoying the day. The Bible’s main theme is love! Jesus called it the greatest commandment - love God and love people! Solomon, the king of love, wrote a whole book about it, and it’s full of passion; the Song of Solomon!  The story of Ruth and Boaz is one of my favorites! All the love stories in the Bible point to Jesus! Jesus our King, who loved us more than any other, was willing to sacrifice His own life because of His love for us. If you don’t feel love, it may be that you’re not focusing on our most important love; the love Jesus has for us! Make Him the love of your life and all other love will fall into the proper order. Spend time with Him today and tell Him how much you love Him - He’s worth it!

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." Mark 12;30-31

February 13

Do you ever have days where you wake up with a song in your heart? I know it’s going to be a great day when it’s a song that’s praising the Lord! That sets the tone for my day and puts it in proper order. When we praise God, great things happen! Some times the great things are just aligning ourselves with God’s plan and opening our eyes to the things He has waiting for us. The best way to see God’s work is to bless Him with your praise, worship Him with your actions, and make Him the center of your life. When your relationship with Him is strong and you align yourself with Him, you can expect amazing things to happen. Do you want to see Him move? Seek first His kingdom. A breakthrough comes when our faith overpowers what we see in the natural. Our God is the God of miracles and can override nature, but it all starts with our relationship with Him. Go to Him first and watch what happens!

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33

February 12

There is a portion of scripture that I had always thought was a little disrespectful. When Jesus’s mother and brothers sent for Him and He said, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" Jesus was not the one being disrespectful, it was His mother and brothers! Jesus was teaching, had a crowd around Him, and was doing what God sent Him to do, bring salvation to the lost! They didn’t even bother to go in and listen to His teaching, but instead, stood outside and sent someone in to get Him! His family knew who He was, why else would Jesus say to Mary during the wedding at Cana, "Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come." He made it very clear that those who do the will of God are His family, that includes me and you! We are to love everyone, but there is a special connection between those of us who love Jesus, remember to welcome them like family.

For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother." Mark 3:35

February 11

I learned a valuable lesson while attending church with one of my children. The pastor began to muddle through the sermon he had prepared, which seemed to be scattered with no purpose. I’m sure it wasn’t his intention and it may have come together to make sence at his conclusion, but something changed. The Holy Spirit took over! The message that the Spirit brought was full on gospel! I learned, in that instance, that the Lord wants the message of salvation brought! When the Spirit decided to take over, everything changed and man’s message was tossed out. If you weren’t saved by the end of this service, then your heart was hard. Never underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit’s influence in the church! You may not see tongues of fire as the early church did, but that doesn’t mean the Holy Spirit is not in charge, believe me He is!

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Acts 1:8

February 10

The Holy Spirit gave me clarity on something I have always had trouble understanding - the unforgivable sin. Maybe it’s just me, because I sometimes have a hard head and fail to learn the simple things, but I’m sure I’m not the only one out there who didn’t get it. The Word of God is not complicated, we just make it that way by reading more into it than we should. Calling the Holy Spirit, by which Jesus was casting out demons, an unclean spirit is blasphemy! Jesus and the Holy Spirit are of the same house! Without the Holy Spirit, there is no forgiveness of sins, whereas calling Him unclean would mean you have no way to wash them away. It makes perfect sense in light of this section of scripture. You must believe in the works of the Holy Spirit or your sins cannot be forgiven. This is why Jesus says that a house divided cannot stand. I hope this sheds a little light on the unforgivable sin.

"Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin"— for they were saying, "He has an unclean spirit." Mark 3:28-30

February 9

I’m not sure how it happened, but I’ve gotten wrapped up in my church more than I’d ever planned. Seeing the inner workings and the time it takes to get things done, makes me realize why we were told to take a Sabbath rest. Rest is not just from your daily job, but sometimes you need rejuvenation by spending quality time with the Lord. The Sabbath was made for man, not the other way around. I’ve seen people take the Sabbath so strictly that important tasks were neglected which caused undue hardships on others so that even kingdom work was ignored. Jesus had to school the Pharisees on this point by making it clear that important things were not to be ignored and that grabbing a bite to eat while walking through a cornfield was okay! Taking a day of rest should not be a penalty, but a pleasure, so don’t make it into a ritual or neglect real life issues.

And he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath." Mark 2:27-28

February 8

Many view following Jesus as a religious, and overwhelming hardship. If that’s your view, you’ve made it into something it’s not. Jesus has never put a burden on you. During the early part of Jesus’s ministry, John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees were fasting while Jesus’s disciples were just enjoying His company and learning. They asked Him why they weren’t fasting; He told them that you don’t fast while the bridegroom is with you. He then told them the parable about old wineskins and new wine. We must remember that Jesus disciples were not religious men and to place the burden of fasting on a new follower would have been too much for them and may have caused them to run away; thus causing the old wineskins to burst. We must be careful not to place too many religious burdens on new believers; loving Jesus should be easy, sweet, and pleasant.

And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins." Mark 2:22

February 7

There are days when I feel that it's important to remind you why you're saved at this particular time. God could have left you to wallow in your sin until right before your very last breath, but He chose to save you now for a reason. We have no need to fear "the day of the Lord". We will be caught up before the impending wrath of God takes place. But, if you want a sobering reminder as to why we need to evangelize and bring others into the saving knowledge of Christ, just do a quick search on the internet for "the day of the Lord". The wrath of God is not something we should take lightly. If you think that what's going on now is bad, just take a look at what's looming for those who do not know or have rejected our Savior. The devastation and the eternity that awaits them is quite overwhelming. If you truly have the heart of Jesus then you will want to save them from that wrath by telling them about Him. 

For the saved: And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. Revelation 22:5

For the unsaved: I will bring distress on mankind, so that they shall walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the LORD; their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung. Zephaniah 1:17

From my book: Jesus Will Meet You In The River Swamp - A daily devotional for the followers of Christ - January 6

February 6

As I was getting ready to go to a conference with a few people from my church, I decided that I would spend some time in prayer before I leave. I started my prayer as usual, “good morning Father.” Those words were fine, but the next words out of my mouth were, “what do you want me to gain from this?” They should have been, “how can I please you today.” Just like the quote from President JFK, “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country!” The same goes for the Lord, but more so! We must get beyond asking God for gifts and focus on pleasing Him. Offer Him your worship, He deserves it. What have you done to deserve His gifts? I don’t know about you, but I haven’t done anything to deserve them. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t ask for what you want, but get it right, focus on Him and everything else will fall into place.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33

February 5

I know you’ve heard it said that the roots of a tree run deep. When a tree is uprooted that saying doesn’t seem to hold true because most of the roots are broken off and left in the ground. As we grow in our faith, our roots are becoming established so that what is unseen is bigger than what is seen. We are reaching down deep, being watered by the Word and becoming stronger as we reach the nourishment that can only be found in Jesus. When the storms of life blow all our leaves off, because our roots run deeper than what is exposed, we will continue to stand tall. Our beauty may be diminished for a time, but as the seasons change, we will produce new leaves and become more beautiful than before. Don’t lose hope as you go through trials; a new day and a new season are just around the corner. Your roots will hold you firmly in place because they are established in Jesus.

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 17:8

February 4

As a part of my freedom maintenance, I trek into the woods away from my everyday routine to have some quiet time with the Lord. It’s amazing the details He will show you when you open your eyes and observe the things around you. As I walked to the area I felt Him calling me to, I noticed many things along the way and I will be sharing them throughout the next few days. The most obvious thing I noticed was roosters crowing. They were quite obnoxious! The message in this is very obvious; I felt like He was saying wake up! This was not just a warning for me, but a warning for all to be vigilant and make the best use of our time. We must be careful not to waste it by becoming a partner with the unfruitful works of darkness, but expose it to the light of Jesus. If you’re toying around with things connected to the dark side, it’s time to acknowledge it, and expose it to Jesus to get rid of it.

for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."  Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:14-16

February 3

When my kids were growing up, I was not having whiny, crying over a scratch, kind of children. My motto was “if it’s not broken or bleeding, don’t bother me!” As I’ve gotten older, my compassion has matured, so my grandchildren get the new me, a grandmother with sympathy and a heart for the tiny things that make them uncomfortable. There’s a bandaid for everything! “Are your feelings hurt? Let me get you a bandaid.” Did that bug touch you? I’m so sorry, here’s a bandaid.” It’s amazing how compassion grows as you grow closer to the Father. The Father is just like this with us! He is compassionate when He needs to be and firm when it’s necessary for us to learn. Sometimes He’s firm just so we will submit to Him and let His power handle the situation. Learn to give Him the power and submit to His authority! He’s much more able to handle it than you are.

"Agree with God, and be at peace; thereby good will come to you. Receive instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart. Job 22:21-22

February 2

Many look at church people and see them in their Sunday best, dressed up to present themselves as clean before others. They are sometimes seen as hypocrites, because many times their actions outside of church don’t reflect a Christlike attitude. Then there are people who want to attend church and feel that their attire is not acceptable to wear into a “holy” place. Jesus invited all of these people into His home; dressed up hypocrites and regular sinners! He reclined at the table with them! Imagine that, the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Creator of the universe, hanging out with a bunch of regular people! It may be harder for the dressed up, proud “Christians” to hear the truth because they think they’ve got it already, but don’t you worry about them; be concerned about you! Humble yourself, because believe me, you’re not that good! We’ve ALL sinned and fallen short of the example of perfection, Jesus. 

And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. Mark 2:15

February 1

The first of the month is the busiest for me and my husband. It’s when our tenants pay their rent, move out, move in, and when we pay bills. I tend to get anxious and sometimes a little overwhelmed, especially since my “boss” gets quite anxious too! I know in my heart that it does no good to get stressed over things I can’t change, especially because the push mostly comes from within myself and not from outside sources. Nevertheless, the stress is real, whether it comes from within or not. We all have things that overwhelm us and though we know that Jesus told us to be anxious for nothing, we tend to do it anyway. So, how should we combat it? Just talk to Him! Prayer is nothing more than having a conversation with Jesus. It’s realizing that your current circumstances will not affect your eternity. So, that’s what I do, I ask myself, “Will this affect my eternity?” The answer is always a resounding “no!” 

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6

January 31

Bath time is always a challenge when you have two Yorkies! They hate it, but sometimes their aroma is too much for these sensitive nostrils. They each have their own special personality. Coco, my female, fights me the whole time; water and soap go everywhere and it takes so much longer! On the other hand, Rudy my male, is pretty easy. He’s submissive which makes grooming him a breeze. He wasn’t always like that; as a puppy, he would try to claw his way out of the sink, but I think when he realized that he wasn’t going to die, he decided to let me do what I needed to do so we could get it over with. As God tries to groom you and clean you up, which one are you, Coco or Rudy? Do you submit or are you strong willed and resist? Things go a lot easier if you will just submit; you will become your original self, the person whom He intended you to be, much quicker. 

But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:6-7

January 30

This seems to be a very busy flu season. So busy that every state in the union has been touched by it. Can you imagine living in a day when medicine was undiscovered or not so readily available? Then this guy who seemed to be an evangelical doctor, comes to your town preaching and healing people so they didn’t even have to take medication. His point was to get the attention of everyone, to do these miracles as proof of who He was. I think He also used a little reverse psychology when He told some of those He healed not to tell; they surely didn’t contain their excitement over it! He ended up having to leave the towns for a bigger venue, the open country side. We would never hear about Him today, the media only wants to tell us the bad stuff. I’m glad He came when He did because we now have a written account of what He did for us, but if you don’t read it, it will stay contained in those pages.

But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter. Mark 1:45

January 29

There are unclean spirits in our churches! How do they get there you ask? They walk right in attached to humans! Jesus had to deal with one as He began His ministry. This particular spirit tried to undermine His credibility by calling Him Jesus of Nazareth, because it was said that no good thing can come from Nazareth! Jesus would have none of that and yanked that spirit right out of that man by telling him to “Be silent and come out of him!” Jesus’s credibility was enhanced causing the people to see the power behind the scriptures. At that point word spread like wildfire throughout the region about Jesus. I believe that it is important for others to know that not every person walking in the doors of the local church is a believer, and may be sent by the enemy to cause disruption and to try and soil the reputation of the church. Hopefully they will be quickly spotted before too much damage is done. 

And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God." But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!" Mark 1:22-25

January 28

When Jesus met the woman at the well, she didn’t know who He was. She figured it out very quickly that He must be some kind of prophet because He exposed her sin. Just imagine someone coming up to you today and uncovering all of your sin! You would tell them to mind their own business and call them all kinds of names! When you became a Christ follower, the Holy Spirit came to dwell within you, if you are continuing to go about your business as usual, before your conversion, you may need to consider that you being “saved” was just empty words you said to keep you from going to hell. If the Holy Spirit dwells within you, you don’t want to sin! When you do slip up, you are guilt ridden! Before Jesus left the woman, He told her to go and sin no more. You’ve received salvation through Jesus and you have the Holy Spirit, now go and sin no more!

For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God." John 3:20-21