May 25

The news, television shows, and social media, get me very angry when opinions go against the Word of God. It sets a tone for how I feel about the person speaking, or posting. I’m guilty of doing my own mini background check on people that I may be working with, and sometimes what I find posted on social media, colors my attitude towards them before even meeting them. As always, God sets me straight and gives me a verse that’s right on time. The good news is, that you feel better when you have a godly attitude, rather than hold a persons viewpoint against them. They don’t know the truth of who God is. They don’t fear Him. My heart should break for them instead of being angry at them. We must remember that God is in control, and His will shall be done no matter what happens. Please forgive me for using the same verse that I used in yesterday’s message. For some reason, it didn’t take root in me until today.

Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. 1 Peter 2:12

May 24

At the beginning of each year I ask God to give me a word that will describe the coming year. This year my word was “adventure.” I wasn’t too keen on that word because adventure can be good or bad, and I asked Him to give me a different word, but He didn’t, until now. Adventure will still be the description, but He has given me a word that describes the type of adventure; it’s sojourner. It makes perfect sense! The Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionary gives it this meaning: an alien alongside, that is, a resident foreigner: - pilgrim, stranger. As Christians, we can all be described in this way, being we are ambassadors representing Heaven for Jesus. It’s not comfortable being a sojourner, but that’s what we are. As sojourners in this world, and as representatives of Jesus, we must abstain from the passions of this world, because those passions wage war against our soul. Keep your conduct honorable, even if they call your love for Jesus evil. Remember, this is our temporary home; we are just resident aliens.

Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. 1 Peter 2:11-12

May 23

You are going to meet a lot of “church people” in this world. One Sunday, while visiting a church, I felt a chill, but it wasn’t the air! I was snubbed by a couple of people who looked like they were helping; it was likely because I was wearing shorts. I hadn’t thought to pack my Sunday best for this short vacation, but I wanted to be a part of congregational worship. This church was located in a vacation area, so many in attendance were probably visitors, but I’m sure some were full time residents. Thank goodness I know my place in the kingdom, otherwise I may have been deterred by their behavior. The lesson is this: even if you are new to a congregation, be friendly and open to others, they may be new too, and they may not know Jesus yet. As a Christ follower, it is our job to make others feel His comfort and peace. We represent Him wherever we go.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9

May 22

Remember Lot’s wife? As they were escaping the wrath brought upon Sodom, they were told not to look back. Jesus implied that she looked back with concern for her possessions, and way of life. God knows us, and what is in our hearts and minds. Jesus knew why Lot’s wife turned around, that’s why she became a pillar of salt, and didn’t escape God’s wrath. She completely disobeyed God’s orders. We are to love everyone, even those whose lifestyle goes against scripture, but we are not to engage in such activity or long to be a part of it. If living in such a manner was okay, why would God rain fire down upon Sodom and Gomorrah destroying it? If Jesus set us free from those rules, why would He bring it up? The truth is, if we are truly saved, we will not want to continue in a lifestyle that goes against God’s standards, whether it is a sexual sin, or some other sin we may be predisposed to. When we accept Jesus as Savior, our life changes so we desire to please God, and we feel shame when we engage in activities that are contrary to the precepts of God. 

On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. Remember Lot's wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it. Luke 17:31-33

May 21

As I was watching the sunset, I began pondering the wonders of God. Taking in His creation puts me in awe of Him. The surroundings were beautiful, and peaked all of my senses. My eyes could see the amazement of the sun as it appeared to dip into the Gulf slowly melting away. I could smell the salt air as it came in off the shore, so aromatic I could almost taste it. Hearing the waves crash as they rolled in, and the birds calling as they flew by, took me back to my childhood. I could feel a refreshing, gentle breeze as it blew past me cooling my skin, the sand between my toes, and the water as it splashed about my feet, all reminding me that I’m alive. Though that was enough to prove His existence, my thoughts turned to my ability to experience all of these things. Who had given to me my senses? The Almighty creator, who knew just the things we needed to experience life, and to acknowledge Him. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, together as One, we honor and worship for giving us life.

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. Romans 1:19-20

May 20

Little Gasparilla is a sweet place to visit. It still has the charm of old Florida, with its dirt paths, overgrown mangroves, and the sparkle of the gulf peaking through the trees. It was Sunday, and at the last minute, I decided to visit the old country chapel situated in a beautiful forested area of the island. The services start at 9 am because it has no air conditioner, and if you wait any later it will be stifling hot. I had to rush because I don’t usually post my blog until just before 9, and this day, I didn’t get finished writing until 8:40, and still had to get dressed and take a short walk to get there because my golf cart wasn’t charged. This is how I know God wanted me to go to church; with only twenty minutes to get dressed and walk to the chapel, I ask Him to increase my time, I got there early! I was in awe. When the Holy Spirit put into you something He wants you to accomplish, He will give you the ability to get it done, just like me being able to post my blog and get to church on time. 

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

May 19

We’ve all had those nights where it seems as though we will never get to sleep. We toss and turn, feel uncomfortable because we ache from an exhausting day, yet can’t sleep. I had a night like that, but it wasn’t until I prayed and asked Jesus to give me comfort, that I finally went to sleep peacefully. Isn’t that symbolic of our life? We will never receive the world’s definition of comfort and peace because this world is not our home, we’re just ambassadors here. We traverse our environment, looking for whatever we can find to help us get through, but it’s not until we seek Jesus that we find what we’re looking for, and are able to rest peacefully. Whatever situation you find yourself in, whether it’s health issues, marital problems, wayward children, emotional trouble, or any other number of earthly problems, run to Jesus, seek the Prince of Peace. We are going to have trouble in this world, but the only answer is to keep our eyes on Jesus, and hide in His shadow.

that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, Acts 17:27

May 18

We are influenced by those we are around the most. You may think you are holding your own, but even if it is ever-so-slightly, bits and pieces of their behavior will begin to take root. One example might be your friends and the things they like to do. They may like to party on the weekend, and you go along with it just so you can be around them. When you grow up, you realize what you actually enjoy, and those friendships grow stale; it’s not because you dislike them, it’s merely that you’ve grown in a different direction. The more you fill your head with the truths of God’s word, and take them to heart, the more distance you will put between you and those who believe differently from you. This is why we have different denominations in the church, some believe only certain parts of the Bible, while others believe in the whole thing, every jot and tittle. When the Lord opens your eyes to His truths, you will want to be around others who believe the same way.

Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. Proverbs 13:20.  

May 17

Living in a small community of only thirty-six homes, there are times when our neighbors make it hard to love them. Someone in my community once said to me, “it is very hard to keep up my faith with neighbors like them.” I think we can all agree with that statement! Some people are hard to love. Imagine the insults hurled at Jesus while He was being beaten and tortured, and then being hung on the cross, and tormented some more. Not once did He return the insults or sin while this was happening to Him. I am so grateful that He endured, and sacrificed Himself for us, because I’m not so sure I could have taken that kind of punishment without sinning, much less the minor insults hurled by my neighbor! We must remember, as we are being insulted by the ungodly, our Father is a just God, and you can expect the day will come when they will pay for their sins against His beloveds. If you are finding it hard to maintain your testimony while facing an adversary, try what C. S. Lewis suggests: 

“Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love them.”

When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 1 Peter 2:23

May 16

Have you ever noticed that you are more comfortable with some people than others? Some are naturally “salty,” and there are others who are openly friendly and never meet a stranger. Then there are those whose spirit matches your own, and when your spirits are combined, you feel like you’ve known them forever, even if you’ve just met. I know that just because we are believers, doesn’t mean we will get along, however, our common bond of Jesus is going to give us a boost. I have a friend that I met on Facebook several years ago, and upon meeting her for the first time, we had an instant bond, she captured my heart and I love her as if she were my own.

As an experiment, upon meeting someone new and without asking, see if you can tell if they are saved. Their mouth may give them away if they aren’t saved, but if they truly have the Holy Spirit, most of the time you will know without them saying a word. We are to love one another, and have a special place in our hearts for other believers.

“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”  John 13:35

May 15

A few years ago, my husband and I started going to a new church. As we continued to attend, we decided to get involved. The people of this church were very young, but if you are older, you don’t really feel older, so I didn’t concern myself with age, in fact I didn’t even notice. Then, a well meaning woman made a comment that she was so happy to have an older woman there. If that wasn’t enough, I had another woman say the same thing. You might say, ‘well they meant more spiritually mature,’ but they didn’t know me well enough to make that assessment. I was crushed. I began looking at myself differently. I allowed those comments to take root, and started noticing how different I was in comparison to those around me. Though it may have been subtle, the devil had found a way in, knowing that I would allow those words to become a form of rejection. This is why we must continue to renew our minds daily, and believe only what God says about us, and never let stabbing words take root in our hearts. It’s better to be God-aware than self-aware. Now that I’ve become aware of my own behavior because of those words, I can heal.

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. Romans 12:3

May 14

Last week a postal worker placed a bag in each of our mailboxes so we could give non-perishable items to charity. I was preparing to fill my bag, but when I went to pick out some items, I realized that everything I was picking up was expired! Well, I’m not going to give away expired food, that wouldn’t be right. I finally found a few things that I had recently bought to give. When I came back from the mailbox, I decided that I needed to clean out the pantry. The pantry is nearly empty and my outside trash receptacle ended up completely full. What a waste of food! How much stale and outdated food is in the pantry of your head? Take a survey of the things you believe. Are they God-centered? Do they hold to biblical principles? I hate to be a conspiracy theorist, but a lot of information we are fed is not true, and our minds are full of garbage. We must hold on to the things of God, and biblical truths; it is the only thing that has stood the test of time. Measure everything by the standards of God, and throw everything out that doesn’t measure up, just like you would for stale food.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2

May 13

After church, we decided to go out to eat. With it being Mother’s Day, everyone was trying to give their mom the gift of “not cooking,” which I agree with completely! However, when the whole of the community decides to do that, the establishments fill up quickly. I went to put our name in to get on the waiting list and found out that it could take as long as an hour and a half! Breakfast could be cooked five times in that amount of time. It was determined that we should just go home and cook for ourselves, which is exactly what we did. Going to church to be fed can be the same way. We may be wanting to hear from God, and go to church to seek that answer, but it could take a while, even weeks to hear the answer we seek through the message of the preacher, or the words of a song; but when we seek Him daily through prayer, and meditation on His word, we are likely to receive our answer sooner because we are diligently seeking Him. Don’t neglect to read your Bible, and feed yourself, God wants to speak to you daily, not just once a week during our weekly gathering of the saints.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:2

May 11

We’ve all been to those parties that we can’t leave fast enough. There was one time Richard obligated me to go to this scuba dive club party; the people were nice, but I was uncomfortable, and we stayed a little too long. They had been diving together for a while, and we were the newcomers just trying to find out what it was all about. They seemed to know what they were doing, but my first instinct was, “I’m not diving with these people!” They were having fun and being a little ridiculous by painting a dive flag on their big toenail, men and all, and sang the child song “Baby Shark,” because they thought it was funny. They hadn’t done anything wrong, they were just not my kind of people. I’m sure God had a purpose for us being there, and maybe our words had made someone feel included when they felt alone. My point is, if you wonder how such things could make a difference, remember, God has a divine purpose for the things we do. It’s like a puzzle piece, it's all part of the picture, and fits in to create a beautiful design. Remember, if you hadn’t been at that party, the picture would be incomplete.

The purpose in a man's heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out. Proverbs 20:5

May 10

The woman that owned my home before me, planted fern in the flower beds. The fern is absolutely beautiful, and like a vase full of flowers, it adds to the bouquet in my yard. However, as luscious as it is, it’s invasive and grows where I don’t want it to grow. I don’t mind a little, but with fern, you can’t just have a little. If I don’t pull it out, and get rid of the whole bunch, it will keep invading my easy going plants that just want to be where they are. The enemy is the same way, he will tempt you with a simple sin, maybe something that doesn’t hurt anyone, but that sin just opened the door for him to walk through. Like the fern in my yard, he gets comfortable there, and begins to spread out into other areas of your garden, and eventually takes over. Then all of the good that you’ve done will be overpowered by the sin you’ve allowed in. That white lie and those half-truths, become a foundation for the enemy to build upon. If you keep letting sin invade your life, and you don’t feel immediate remorse, you have to ask yourself, if it’s that easy, have I really surrendered to Jesus? 

If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.1 John 1:6

May 9

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I had a huge limb cut off my neighbor's tree that hung over our house. Self employed business people know what happens when a contractor gets into a neighborhood, other people need the same thing done, and it often draws more business. Low and behold, the tree guys are back today to work on my neighbors trees. When they saw what a great job they had done in my yard, and saw  their diligence and the courteous and respectful behavior of the employees, they knew they could expect the same work ethic in their yard. Word of mouth tends to be the best advertisement you can get. The same thing holds true for your profession of faith in Jesus, your life is an example of your love for Him, and your behavior is a mark of His excellence. Therefore, word of mouth could be enough to make the lost come to faith in Jesus. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want anyone to think that just living a good life will bring others to the saving knowledge of Jesus, you must open your mouth and tell them the reason that you are different.

but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 1 Peter 3:15

May 8

I’m sitting here trying to write, but I’m running into a brick wall. I’ve written two devotions so far, but none worth posting. Now I’m overwhelmed because we have tree guys coming to remove a branch from my neighbor's tree that hangs over our house, so that one day, we don’t end up with our entire home crushed when it comes down. When you live in the hurricane zone, you have to take precautions, or end up dead. Now I’m a nervous wreck because the branch is huge, and worry that it might drop on my house as they take it down! Well, I’ll look on the bright side, if it falls on the house, it will give me a reason to redecorate. If you are going through something life changing, just know, that God can turn it into something positive, use it to make you a better person, or redecorate your life.

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Romans 12:12

May 7

The sun rises and sets in a pattern, its pattern doesn’t change. God also created the earth to move in a manner that is consistent. Even though we may feel that we are entirely different from one another, we end up being similar in our ebbs and flows. Along with our joy will eventually come disappointments, and unfortunately that is guaranteed. This is why we should not rest all of our cares on our feelings, and we should remember to seek God in everything, whether it is joy or sadness. What is consistent, is that our life will seem inconsistent, even though what we are going through is nothing new under the sun. Though it may seem that way, we are not living in the worse generation, the things that happened during biblical days was pretty raunchy and disgusting too. Our best hope is to rely on God, seek Him, because He is never changing, powerful, always present, and all knowing. When we finally get sick of living our life in a hopeless manner, He is there to scoop us up.

That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away. Ecclesiastes 3:15

May 6

Our kids are grown and have been out of the house for many years, but I still remember, just like it was yesterday, the day the last child left the house. It was a very sobering reminder that your children aren’t yours forever. I cried, and hung my head in depression for a couple of weeks; it was the end of a season. The end of a season means that a new season is beginning, and something to look forward to. When I realized that I no longer had to clean up after a house full of people, and set my schedule to theirs, the sadness left me, and for the first time my husband and I could get acquainted with one another as husband and wife, and not as mom and dad. My pastor mentioned seasons yesterday, and then Steven Furtick sent me a 1 Minute message this morning about seasons, so I thought it might be the Holy Spirit saying that this is the topic of the day. Here’s the message in this, one season must end so a new one can begin, and just maybe, it’s time to dance. Begin looking for the light as a new day dawns, and embrace what the Lord has for you in this next season.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; Ecclesiastes 3:1-4

May 5

Now I know this is a tough pill for most of us to swallow, but these are not my rules, I’m just the messenger. God’s word is very clear on this issue, and always has been from the beginning of time; the man is the head of the household, but is required to love his wife the way Jesus loves the church, not the building, but all of us who make up the church. This means that the wife should not be ruled over harshly, making it hard to love the husband. My favorite commentator says it like this: 

“The love which God requires from the husband on behalf of his wife will make amends for the subjection which he demands from her to her husband; and the prescribed subjection of the wife will be an abundant return for that love of the husband which God has made her due.” Matthew Henry

The lack of love in the relationship is probably where this whole thing goes wrong. However, if love is done right, then this should never be a problem. If you hear of a woman being upset that God included this in the Bible, they are probably not getting the love that He demands.

Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, Ephesians 5:24-25