My Thoughts and Reflections

Draw your strength from the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 2:1 (CEB) No matter where I am in life, one thing remains the same in how I conduct my life.  That one thing is the necessity for me to continually draw my daily strength from the grace that is in Christ Jesus. When I rely on myself, I let myself down. Sure, I have some bright moments, but inevitably, I will meet temptation, fail to resist it, and fall flat on my face. Paul's admonition to Timothy in this letter is so important for all of Christ's followers.  If we draw our strength from the grace that is in Jesus, then our passion for Christ will far outweigh the fleshly passions and temptations that confront us throughout the day.  If our passion for Christ increases, it increases as we continually and daily draw on the grace that Christ has made so readily available to us, then we will not have to worry about those temptations when we meet them.   If you failed to start your day...

"You will seek me and find me  when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV) How often do you find yourself seeking God, let alone with your whole heart?  I find that quite often, it is so easy to seek God on a part-time basis and call it good enough instead of seeking him with all of my heart.  However, I must confess, when I seek God only partly, giving him only some of my attention, I do not often find God! Just two verses after God promises that his plans for us are fully known by him and that they are for our benefit and give us hope, God continues to tell us that all we need to do to find him is to seek him with all of our hearts! If you have not taken the time yet today to seek God and to seek him with your whole heart, stop what you're doing and do it now!  When we orient our lives around seeking God instead of trying to "fit" God into our busy lives, we will set ourselves up to be living into the plans that God has for...

"I always put the LORD in front of me; I will not stumble because he is on my right side."  Psalms 16:8 (CEB) This verse is a recognition of the truth of God's guidance in our lives. A similar verse is one of my childhood favorites, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" (KJV). As long as we put God first in our lives, we cannot fail and we will not stumble and fall because he will be right there at our side to keep us on the "straight and narrow." How good is it to know that it is impossible to fail in life when we place God at the front of our lives? I believe that this is great news that cannot be repeated enough!  This truth applies to all aspects of life, especially parenting. As parents, it is our responsibility to model this truth to our children and to teach them to do the same in their own lives. It is important to not be deceived into thinking that this is a promise for an easy life, for easy parenting, or for a...

"Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty"  Psalm 91:1 (NIV) In this world full of evil, sin, violence, sickness, and death, have you ever felt unsafe, unprotected, and unloved?  It is very easy to feel lost and vulnerable in a world that is full of the consequences of our original sin in the Garden of Eden when humanity first decided to walk away from God and become gods to themselves.  This world of sin is a result of each and everyone of our own sins and the sins of those who came before us.  Yet, there is hope. In this Psalm, we are comforted with a promise that whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  Whoever runs to God seeking protection will ultimately find it.  Each person will find rest and safety.   Originally in the Old Testament, they would have took this to mean finding shelter and safety in the Lord's tabernacle or in the te...