Month: August 2025

Patience

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“Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,” James 1:19

Life really is important and how you live it. To be intentional and alert. Life is like making cookies for example. Cookies are good and delicious if made correctly but you have to read the directions and follow them carefully or they might not be so good. God has given us the directions for the perfect life but if we choose to ignore the directions we can cause problems that we really don’t want. Some mistakes can be painful and hard. We want to be well taken care of and blessed but that is up to us. God is very faithful and he keeps his part. But he has left us with free will to choose what we want. To do it our way or the right way. Just keep thinking of the hot, chewy, delicious cookies that come from following directions and it’s not so hard. One minute at a time. Think before you speak because once you say something you cannot take it back. Our emotions can take charge over our brains if we aren’t careful and hurtful, angry words will come out. You also should listen intently as someone is speaking so you don’t misunderstand and jump to conclusions. Really hear what they are saying and think with love and compassion. It is better not to speak if you don’t know what to say. Even a fool looks wise when they keep quiet. Our words can bring life or death and sometimes hurt and pain. Be patient with people even when they do something you don’t agree with. Take a breath and be quick to forgive while it is still easier. We have to deal with people all day everyday so it’s important to be loving. God has given us a great example in his son. If he wouldn’t do something then there is a good reason because he only did his Father’s will for him. Perfectly! He new his mission and followed it the whole way through no matter how hard or painful because he knew how important it was to have that big perfect family to spend eternity with, and it was worth it.

Praying With Confidence

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“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” 1 John 5:14

So much can be accomplished through prayer. It is really the only way we can have some control over the problems that come into ours and others lives around us. We are guaranteed to have troubles and we can overcome them by prayer. If we pray for God’s will. But how do you know God’s will? By immersing yourself in the word of God you will get to know his character and his ways. The more you know about God the more you can pray with confidence. That just means he hears you and that he knows you care and he will do what is best for the situation. It may not always be what we want or how we think he might do something but he does know best. Sometimes people still die even though we pray believing but if they are saved they get to go home to their mansion in paradise. Now that is perfect for them but he will give us peace and strength to get through even though it is hard. Also people can have terrible things happen to them that really are good things. Example: I had a bad stoke and it left me in a nursing home unable to care for myself and unable to do a lot of things like walking. It saved me from myself. I wasn’t living for the Lord but for myself. It also gave me plenty of time to really get to know the Lord and it totally changed my life for the better. I’ve found my purpose for living and am protected from the evil in the world in my own little bubble. Where I don’t have to do anything but get to know God better and keep my mind sharp so I hear him. So now I’m happier than I ever was before my stroke. I may not be healed physically but my mind and attitude are better than ever. So basically God will do whatever is best and only he knows what that is because he made us and he knows our hearts and minds.

The Risen King

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“I want to know Christ- yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.” Philippians 3:10-11

What Christ did for us on the cross is so important. Not just that he died so that he could pay for our sins but there is so much more. We need to really look at what he went through and why. First he had to totally die to himself, his wants and desires were not important, only our needs came first. We were in desperate need of getting rid of our sins and this was the only way. We could do nothing to redeem ourselves. Someone had to pay it for us. One life for another life. Just like animal sacrifice was to pay for the sins of the priests and the people but once was not enough. They had to continue to do it regularly, but it was never enough. Christ was human and this was very scary and difficult but his Father was always with him giving him strength just like he is always with us to give us all the strength we need to do things he has asked us to do. We also need to die to our desires. Doing the things he has asked in his words. But actually doing these things gives us the desire to want to do more. The more i am reading God’s word and praying the more I get to know him and I want to be like him. One day I will die and I will also be resurrected to an eternal life with him in heaven forever. That is pretty exciting. Considering what I’m giving up now is not important compared to forever in heaven. I figure I can do anything for an hour. That is how I look at it. I just set out to do the next right thing that I need to do and then the next. One step at a time. Always keeping eternity in my sight. If I keep doing all I can I’m promised eternity because it’s a heart thing and my heart tells me to do all I can for him. Jesus looked ahead at what was possible. He thought about a million brothers and sisters that loved him spending eternity with him in paradise forever and in was all worth it. And we helped him to do it.

Humbleness

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“Humble yourself, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” 1 Peter 5:6

God loves the humble but resists the proud. He does not like when we think too highly of ourselves. Thinking we can take care of ourselves and that we control our future. I sure know that I’m thankful for all he has done for me and all that I have. I willingly die to myself every day and live totally for what he has for me and he has never let me down. He always gives more than what I could have alone. Because of my stroke I can’t do a lot of things anymore. I’m totally dependent on others to meet my needs but that has caused me to trust only in him. That wasn’t always easy because I feared what others might do wrong but God let me know that he was in charge of everything! He loves me and does take good care of me still. He still helps me to stay independent during the day. If I can’t do something I pray and he gives me strength or an idea to help me accomplish something and I do things to help those taking care of me to make sure they have what they need to help me. I have also found ways to encourage others. Even though I can’t do much I can write what he has taught me through everything and it does feel good to know God’s purpose for your life. I am a child of God and he has called me to encourage others. I may have been able to do so much more before my stroke but my heart wasn’t trusting or humble and that comes from a total change of the heart.