Marked & Sealed For More

“I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven & earth.” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭121‬:‭1‬-‭2‬) Mountains of change around us and rises and dips within us. At times we might feel desperate.  How do we handle it all?  What if we look past the mountains to “THE HILL”?  What if we cling together to the Lord? If we “lift our eyes”?  Thoughts...

We were never promised easy. We were told our journey would be one of ongoing surrender and challenge. We must lay a solid break of devotion every day, for the tides are rising around us and the good Lord , “tells us the truth.”  It will cost us, but in the end, it will be worth it.  TODAY I'M STIRRED BY: Luke 24:28-32 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and c...

“The eternal God is your refuge, and His everlasting arms are under you.” (‭‭Dut‬ ‭33‬:‭27‬) We need One we can depend on & trust completely. One who will never fail, who will keep His Word & bring us out victoriously!  His name is Jesus. Dependable protector. His eye is on us. His heart is for us. Praying in the truth of His unchanging promises. We can take Him at His Word. He won’t fail...

"Someday God will, have a kingdom feast, how happy and privileged will be the ones who get to share in that joy." (Luke 14:15) Do we have the wrong idea of who’s invited? We do not come to Jesus all put together. Jesus invites the beggars, the poor and the blind, the disabled, hurting and lonely. (Luke 14:16-23) Do we make excuses? Do we bury our need? Do we understand we are accepted? H...

Did you know? There’s a green light offered by the Lord, to come before Him desperately honest. To expose every stirring of our hearts. The Psalms usher us into the postures we can take in our desperation, postures that will lead us into triumph.  I’ve practiced them. Desperation, deep cries & deliverance.  Consider Psalm 88 & 89 with me. Apply them. Pray through. Finding rest for our soul...

"You anoint my head with oil in the presence of my enemies." Have you ever taken this in? This part of Psalm 23. Our heads need oil. Our thoughts need refreshment, and the Lord is faithful to pour it out in abundance. Do you need oil poured over your head? Your thoughts renewed? The battle is real. His oil protects us from flaming arrows. There is plenty of oil to go around. Consider thi...

The Ancient of Days is peering over heaven’s balcony. Run to Jesus for dear life. “He’s our granite cave, our hiding place, our high cliff nest, our only true place of safety.” (Psalms 31:1-2) With all the traffic in our world, we need to seek shelter in the Most High with the entirety of our beings. We aren’t to trust in men, only the Almighty. He holds the whole script and all the answers. He’s...

We wrestle in this life. I’ve found that I wrestle most with wanting my own way, but the Lord invites me, us, into His ways that are higher and better. Of all the thoughts that stir in us, there’s a holy calling that continually intrudes. It’s easy to follow the flesh and dodge it, for we are quick to lean on ourselves. Yet, the life that Jesus offers requires this action, daily dying . The Lord i...

The Lord “makes” us lie down. He invites us to rest. He knows how much we need it!  He offers us green pastures of quietness, all in an effort to restore our souls. When we “lie down,” it signals that we trust Him. It signals we believe He’s in control. Will you  “lie down” & rest? HE’S GOT YOU (& ME)! “He makes me lie down and green pastures, He restores my soul.” (Psalm 23:2-3) MORE LIFE...

Even when life’s circumstances become paralyzing & all around us gives way, God’s faithfulness remains. “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” (Exodus 34:6) Listen. Let your soul settle. Let your heart be held. Choose to trust. He’s trustworthy. MORE LIFE HERE: “Urgent Care”

“Your mission is to live as children flooded with His revelation light.” (Ephesians 5:8) Happy New Year! We all have goals set, yet I found the “mission” marked out for us all that promises to deliver us into triumph. Stay on this mission day by day, come what may. We can count on the Lord, Immanuel, God with us. Amen & Alleluia. Take 5. Let this truth settle into your soul & pray with me....

We can always have hope, but is comes with a choice……Pause in God’s presence. Reset your soul. Let hope arise. “Put your hope in God. For I will YET praise Him, my Savior & my God.” (Psalm 42:11) “As for me, I will always have hope, I will praise you more and more.” (Psalm 71:14) MORE LIFE HERE: WORTH 1,000 WORDS

Every day offers another chance to return to our First Love. To tell ourselves what’s true. To set our hearts and minds that are prone to wander. To rejoice that we are held fast. Get quiet. Deep breath: Rest, reflect and  pray with me. “With every fiber of my being I will shout, “Eternal One, there is none like You!” You save the poor from those who try to overpower them. You rescue the weak and...

TODAY’S PODCAST: God sees us as “holy and blameless”?  But wait, I’m not, are you? While we were breaking the heart of God, He was accomplishing for us a newfound hope, a restored relationship, a new status. We are blessed in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 1) It’s a PURE  gift. Receiving every spiritual blessing in Christ starts with admitting we are...

Are you crushed over shameful regrets? Pause now in God’s presence and listen to the truth. Jesus was crushed for us. He bore our shame. His scars cover all of our scars. No one is exempt from shame and regret. We all fall short of God’s glory. We could never obtain any of His riches without His sacrifice. He was crushed for our iniquities, for all our wrongdoing. He was wounded for our transgress...

Our hearts might feel shattered and undone, but the Lord confirms His love is unfailing. He calls us to rest and be still in the truth that He will make all things right. His plans will ultimately end in triumph. He holds all things. Be still. KNOW that He is God. It’s gonna be ok. It “IS” okay. Though all around us and within us might give way, we can trust, we can rest in the Almighty. God’s eve...

LISTEN. God can’t be anything else but good. If you start to doubt it, if your valley tries to steal this unchanging truth, start to sing until your confidence is restored. Sing until the truth rises. Tell Him. “You can only be good.” He is trustworthy, His heart is for us. His love endures, His goodness is written into every chapter, even the mysterious ones. His script in our lives has purpose....

The Lord desires to release total well-being into our lives. Yet, we need to be delivered in our thought life to truly claim it. The battle lies here. Wouldn't you agree? We get so messed up in our minds. Admit it. You want a new mind. Receive it. The Lord wants to impart it. Lord, “claim the whole territory” of our minds. You are able. We desire to be free in our thinking. Thinking Your thou...

Don't you dare give up! We all can get so weary sometimes in this race called "life" & want to turn in our running shoes. Let's be real. BUT, we WILL make it if we fix our gaze on Jesus at the finish. Asking for His help to throw off the things that entangle us, placing more hope in Him, in His living word, in every promise. Together, let’s cheer for each other & hear J...

In the waves that roar, in the trials and undertows that mark our lives and threaten to pull us under, Our Savior remains faithful from the beginning to the end. He will carry us to completion. In the mysteries, God‘s voice of love is calling us to remember that He's faithful and unchanging. We can trust Him. Maybe you need this song too? Do you need your faith to rise and your fear to flee?...

Each lash He received, we deserved. The cross He carried was ours to bare. Yet, Jesus went with resolute determination to win our hearts and restore us, to accomplish our redemption. To bridge the great divide. Redeemed by His blood. He poured out His love before we loved Him.  He’s still determined to conquer our souls that no one will perish and that we might say and believe: (2 Peter 3:9) My ha...

“Jesus drove out all that didn’t belong in the temple.” (Matthew 21:12) He is clear that the temple is His dwelling place. "WE" are the temple & He wants to turn over things that don’t belong. It’s out of love He does this. Sometimes it’s tough to let Him. To turn over ourselves to Him, cause we’ve been sold out to the wrong things for so long. Tell Him. Ask Him to help turn over you...

Matthew 22:37. It’s a tall order, to "Love the Lord with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength." Yet, He calls us to it for our good. He knows our hearts are prone to wander, our souls to get weary, and minds to run on untruths and our strength to come up empty. He knows by leaning into Him this much, He can bring us abundant life.  Oh, He loves us so well. He will help us to love Hi...

LISTEN. Pause In Perfect Love. The postures of life. The faithfulness of Immanuel.  We come crawling. Jesus welcomes us with open arms. He teaches us to walk. We fall down over and over. We travel with tears and struggle, pain and heartache, but cry out and He lifts us to our feet once more. We find Him faithful and dance for joy over His constancy and ongoing deliverance. This is how we journey t...

Craving more life underneath the surface? It's signals our design and can lead us to the well that never runs dry. LISTEN. Focusing on Psalm 63. Closing song, "Closer" By: Maverick City & Brandon Lake “Come close to God and God will come closer to you.” (James 4:8)  “O God of my life, I’m lovesick for you in this weary wilderness. I thirst with the deepest longings to love you m...