Walk Boldly With Jesus

What is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception? Today, I decided to do something a little different.  I usually begin by sharing a scripture verse with you.  However, today is a very special day, at least in the Catholic Church.  There is a lot of confusion about this day and so I wanted to explain what we are actually celebrating today and why we are celebrating it.  Today, in the Catholic Ch...

Let’s Not Sleepwalk Through Life 1 Thessalonians 5:4-8 "But friends, you’re not in the dark, so how could you be taken off guard by any of this? You’re sons of Light, daughters of Day. We live under wide open skies and know where we stand. So let’s not sleepwalk through life like those others. Let’s keep our eyes open and be smart. People sleep at night and get drunk at night. But not us! Since we...

Have No Fear, Don't Despair Jeremiah 30:10 “‘So fear no more, Jacob, dear servant. Don’t despair, Israel. Look up! I’ll save you out of faraway places, I’ll bring your children back from exile. Jacob will come back and find life good, safe, and secure.” There are several things I like about this verse. Do you remember a while back when I talked about how you can personalize scripture? You can put...

Witness Wednesday #139 More PopWe Stories (Healing) Today’s witnesses are from Matthew West’s website called popwe.org. If you don’t know who Matthew West is, he is a singer, songwriter, and storyteller. This website is for the non-profit that he has with his father, a pastor. Matthew and his father encourage people to share their stories. They have various categories of stories. Today, I chose th...

Keep Your Eyes Fixed On Jesus Matthew 14:26-31 “When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified. “It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear.  At once, [Jesus] spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”  He said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began to walk...

Be Ready At All Times Luke 12:40 “So keep being alert and ready at all times. For I promise you that the Son of Man will surprise you and appear when you don’t expect him.” This verse reminded me of a conversation I had with my confirmation kids one year when I was teaching the confirmation class. We were talking about confession and why it is so important to go to confession. We were also talking...

Today, I have two witnesses that I have heard about from friends in this last week. The first one is from my friend who has been struggling with hearing loss. I did a witness about her last year also. She had a ringing in her ears, and she said it had gotten pretty bad. I reminded her that we were at Encounter School of Ministry, where they teach us and encourage us to pray over people for healing...

I Sought The Lord, And He Heard, And He Answered! Psalm 34:4-5 “I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.” When I saw this verse this morning, I thought of an elevation song that is on the KLOVE radio station a lot. I know I have mentioned it before, but if you haven’t checked out KLOVE, you...

Never Let Anxiety Enter Your Hearts Luke 12:22-23 “Jesus taught his disciples, saying, “Listen to me. Never let anxiety enter your hearts. Never worry about any of your needs, such as food or clothing. For your life is infinitely more than just the food you eat or the clothing you wear.” Wow, Jesus could not be more direct with us. He is not calling us to a fear-free life; He is commanding us not...

Thanks so much for that amazing teaching, Tina. I told you guys that you were going to like it! I don’t know about you, but I don’t know a ton about the angels, and I always jump at the opportunity to learn more about them. Thank you for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to meeting you here again on Monday. Remember Jesus loves and accepts you just as you and so...

Be Carefree in the Care of God! Luke 12:24-27 “Take the carefree birds as your example. Do you ever see them worry? They neither grow their own food nor put it in a storehouse for later. Yet God takes care of every one of them, feeding each of them out of the abundance of his love and goodness. Isn’t your life more precious to God than a bird? Be carefree in the care of God! “Does worry add anythi...

This morning’s witness is about my day last Saturday. I had the privilege of joining a group of young adults in the Boston area who belong to a ministry called Encounter. This is different than the Encounter School of Ministry that I attended. This ministry is a group of Catholic young adults that get together as a large group on the third Saturday of the month. They meet at a church in Boston, an...

Our Heavenly Bank Luke 12:33-34 “Now, go and sell what you have and give to those in need; you will be making deposits in your account in heaven, an account that will never be taken from you. Your gifts will become a secure and unfailing treasure, deposited in heaven forever. Where you deposit your treasure, that is where you fix your thoughts—and your heart will long to be there also.” Yesterday...

Sanctify Them In The Truth John 17:17-18 “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.  As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.  And for their sakes, I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.” The beginning part of this was the verse of the day today. I liked this verse because it talks about sanctifying them with the Lord’s truth. I wasn’t...

You Are Chosen! John 15:16 "You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.” This was the verse that the praise leader talked about at the prayer group yesterday. Her talk lined up so much with yesterday’s episode of the podcast. Then we had a bookmark yesterday at a prayer group...

God Knows You, The Real You! John 1:47-48 “When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” If you have not seen the chosen, I invite you to watch it. The series is amazing, and it helps you to understand t...

The witnesses today are from the Global Awakening Website. Randy Clark is An international itinerant minister birthed from a 4-day meeting in Canada; Randy Clark illustrates perfectly the aphorism, “Don’t despise small beginnings.” The son of an oil field worker, Randy, like most from his generation, learned the importance of perseverance. After his miraculous healing from a car accident when he w...

God Is Holding My Hand Isaiah 41:13 “For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” Since the mentoring theme this month is “Be Not Afraid!” I thought I would look up some verses along these lines and talk about them. Today, I found the one above. “For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear...

Don’t Worry, I Will Explain It 1 John 3:8 “Everyone who commits sin is a child of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.” I read this verse and thought, “Nope, I don’t want to go there.”  Actually, I read this verse and then read the next two verses after it.   1 John 3:8-10 says, “Everyone who...

Mutual Affection Romans 12:9-10 “Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good;  love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.” This was not the verse I thought I would be using today. I was planning on using the next two verses in this chapter. However, when I clicked on the whole chapter and read these two verses, the last part jumped out at me....

The Fruits of the Spirit Colossians 1:9-10 “For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God.” I was at a conference th...

Today’s witnesses are from Matthew West’s website called popwe.org. If you don’t know who Matthew West is, he is a singer, songwriter, and storyteller. This website is for the non-profit that he has with his father, a pastor. Matthew and his father encourage people to share their stories. They have various categories of stories. Today, I chose three testimonies from the God Stories Category. Often...

God Is In The Practical Things Too! James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” I read this one and I really liked it because I think wisdom is something that we might not think to request from God.  I think we all feel pretty comfortable praying to God when we are sick or when a loved one is sick.  I d...

Be Not Afraid! Jeremiah 30:10 “‘So do not be afraid, Jacob my servant; do not be dismayed, Israel,’  declares the Lord. ‘I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their exile. Jacob will again have peace and security, and no one will make him afraid.” This morning, when I read this verse, the words that jumped out at me were, “Do not be afraid.” The Lord is c...

Sacrifice Is The Heart of Worship Psalm 95:6-8 “O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. O that today you would listen to his voice!” This verse was received at prayer group yesterday, and when I read it this morning, I thought it would be a great one for today’s devotional. It...