Faith over fear

This nation has so much to offer, and Lord, we pray for our nation to truly be a City on a Hill.

Thank you to God for your continued breath in your lungs and for the sun rising above your head again. Thank you because a new morning means His mercies are renewed. Thank you because a new day is another step toward whatever God has planned for you.

In what ways do you need to be reminded that God is your strength and your defense? He is fighting for you, and He is guarding You. I love how we know that it is the Lord who holds the victory, and we are His beloved children. Even when the war seems to tarry, our Savior reminds us of His everlasting presence and His power in the midst of the battle. We can have eternal mindsets with the help of H...

How do we live in this world while we’re waiting for the next? Paul tells us, that we are not to be conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). What is it that transforms our minds? God’s Word. When we saturate ourselves with the Word of God, we can focus on what is unseen instead of what is seen.

Jesus was trying to help his disciples see that the part of you no one sees is more important than the part of you that everyone sees because the part no one sees is who you really are. So how do your insides look, and who are you when it is just you and Jesus and no one else around? The way you answer that question will help determine if your righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees and the te...

The process of patience refines us and takes us on a journey of learning to trust in God. When we pray for patience, we are asking boldly for the Lord to give us more confidence in who He is regardless of what we see. We are asking Him to help us to slow down and believe that He cares for us and our individual needs and desires. Today, let’s go to His throne and ask Him to grow us in this amazing...

The Israelites were really good at creating idols for themselves or falling into the temptation to worship other idols from other nations. However, the truth is that we are all susceptible to this sin. Idolatry may not look like physical carved images for us today, but think about social media profiles, our houses, cars, popularity status, or hobbies. We can quickly have hearts that are not all ab...

God uses everything in your life for His purpose, Everything. It all matters – every ounce of it. Nothing is dropped, nothing is discredited. God wants you to flourish and grow in Him, and bear fruit for Him. We do this by giving ourselves fully to His faithful ways, trusting our lives in the hands of the master Gardner. It is then that we can grow and bear fruit and come to realize it all matters...

I have known many people who have, in the words of Phillip Yancey, experienced “disappointment with God.” Their prayers were not answered in a way they had anticipated. Life didn’t turn out the way they had planned. Sickness or tragedy interrupted their dreams. Psalm 26:8-12 has a special message for you. You do not have to understand the deep mysteries of the universe to come home to God. You can...

Anyone who gives his or her life to Jesus will be saved and invited into the family of God. Then, he or she will be given a new life and a new purpose. There is a beauty in being called to use our unique individual gifts to share the hope that we have in Christ.

Faith means that we live our lives with Jesus. It means that we do not cover over our feelings, our thoughts, our doubts, or our laments. Faith means we believe in the love of Jesus so strongly that even the raw and unkempt feelings of sadness, confusion, anger, or grief become directed towards the one who cries with us. And the incarnation means that Jesus is there. Jesus does not separate himsel...

Looking back can be a two-edged sword, on one side offering gained wisdom from former experiences, and on the other side, stirring up a longing for former things that aren’t in God’s will or plan for us.

After having accepted His sacrifice for our sins, we so want that for other people in our lives who have not made that decision yet. It can be easy to forget to pray for them or neglect to continue sharing with others, but God tells us that He is not being slow. He is being gracious to keep the door open to eternal life in Jesus. He does not want anyone to perish but for all to come to Him in repe...

Lord, I pray for anyone who is anxious. There are so many things happening in our world right now. We thank you, Lord, that you are on the throne. We thank you that nothing will happen to us that you are not aware of. I’m thankful you are sovereign. We love you, Lord, and we pray this in your Son’s precious name. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

We are called as believers to give thanks to God through Jesus. We can be grateful at all times when we have received the gift of salvation through Jesus. We know that we are eternally sealed, wholly His, and fully loved. There will be times when external blessings pour out on our lives and we can celebrate these great gifts from God. However, there will also be times of struggle and hardship. We...

The Lord has laid that proven cornerstone in our life, in our faith. That cornerstone is Jesus. He has been tested and proven to be sure, to be strong. He bore all the weight of sin from the entire world on Him as He died for us on the cross. He then rose again, defeating death for us. Jesus being our cornerstone means that as we align our lives and our hearts with Him that we will be sanctified a...

It’s hard when the people we love the most in this life disappoint us. It’s painful when those people, who we trust with our hearts, hurt us. It’s easy to replay scenes and conversations over and over in our minds, letting anger and frustration stew and steer us. Pride blurs our vision of ourselves, each other, conversations, and those scenes we replay. In fact, our brains are capable of editing t...

What’s difficult for you right now? What’s the hard thing standing in the way of confidence in the Lord? Sickness, anxiety, depression, and division seem rampant in society. The problems appear too big yet continue to grow. God longs to be your confidence. Take him at his Word. Spend time with him each day, meditating on his goodness and righteousness. Let him minister to the hurt places in your h...

ur life that you worshipping other than God? How can you shift your life to put God first? It may be taking a break from social media, hiding your credit card, or simply shifting your time to be spent with the Lord first during your day. Spend some time with the Lord asking Him to show you where you have idols in your life and ask for forgiveness. Ask the Lord to show you how to remove the idols a...

Do you hide your struggles in your faith or do you share them? Are you ashamed of the fact that you struggle with your faith? If so, why? There is nothing to be ashamed of. We are all humans, saved by faith through Christ. This means we are God’s children. He loves us, but it does not mean that we will not struggle in our walk with Him. The next time you’re faced with a new assignment, or a new ob...

Brother or sister, are you standing firm in faith? Is anything moving you right now? If so, take time in prayer to ask God to help remind you that He is your Rock. Are you giving yourself fully to the work of the Lord? If not, what is holding you back from fully serving Him in all areas? Are you laboring in the Lord or your own strength? How can you remember to stay humble and have Him be the lead...

We quickly acknowledge with our words that God is in control, that He alone is worthy of our worship, and that God’s Word is the ultimate authority for our lives. Yet, often, our decisions and actions are in direct opposition to the words we speak. Take a minute and examine your Christian walk. Do your actions reflect a life that is surrendered to Christ?

I used to pride myself on all that I could do, and when I was worn out, instead of going to the Lord for His strength, I would power up and keep pushing myself. It was like those I had seen around me who would wear busyness like a badge. The busier I was, the more effective I was, right? No. I found out instead that I was wrong. Dead wrong.

What is amazing about the Bible is that sometimes a verse will clearly tell us who God is and how He acts in our lives. We see these labels for God and it absolutely influences our understanding of who God is. This verse does exactly that. It tells us four things that the Lord does in our lives. He is a shield about me. He is my glory. He is the lifter of my head. He answers me.

Dear Lord, Hear my cry! Protect me! Shield me from the arrows that my enemies send my way, rescue me from this struggle I am going through, deliver me from this sadness at the things in my life that break my heart. Hear my prayer. Answer my prayer. Be the lifter of my head. May my life reflect your love, joy and peace that all those around me see how great you are! Amen.