Talking to God is a natural part of my daily routine, mostly through casual conversation and worship. But when something I’m asking God takes longer than I expect, my prayers can begin to sound more pitiful than powerful. When that happens, I know it’s time to pick up my Bible and call for backup.

Paul’s prayer for the Philippians is one of my favorite prayers from Scripture because it’s a prayer motivated by love that we can still pray today.

[9] I pray that your love will overflow more and more and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. [10] For I want you to understand what really matters so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. [11] May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation-the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ-for this will bring much glory and praise to God. (Philippians 1:9-11 NLT)

Paul understood the divine connection between love and a joyful life. That’s why he asks God to give the people spiritual discernment so they and us would know what REALLY matters – that we are fully known and fully loved by God.

This “love” Paul speaks of comes from the ancient Greek word agape; it is the concept of a self-giving love that gives without demanding or expecting re-payment- it is the God-kind of love.

Since this is God’s kind of love, it comes into our life through our relationship with Him. If we want to love one another more, we need to draw closer to God. Every human relationship is like a triangle. The two people in the relationship are at the base of the triangle, and God is at the top. As the two people draw closer to the top of the triangle, closer to God, they will also draw closer to one another. Weak relationships are made strong when both people draw near to the Lord!

Christ-like love has a domino effect on people. God’s love for Paul spilled out onto the Philippians, which he then prayed for that love to overflow into the lives of others. Prayer is the ultimate expression of love. Who can you pray for today?

Sending peace, love, and prayers to all!

If you enjoy reading mysteries but aren’t reading the Bible, you’re missing out on the greatest mystery of all time. In the OT days, there were many truths hidden and later revealed in the NT called mysteries. The Greek word musterion is found 27 times in the NT and means “secrets” or “mysteries” but not in the sense of being unknown. Rather, hidden truths known only by God that He reveals at a predetermined time and for a specific purpose.

The ultimate mystery revealed

Before Jesus, having the title and privilege of being a child of God was dictated by birthright. But in Ephesians, the apostle Paul demolishes the old way of thinking when he reveals the mystery of Christ – the greatness of God streams from Jesus into the hearts of EVERY person – both Jew and Gentile.

As you can imagine, this glorious news rocked the Jewish culture and belief system, sparking great controversy; hence Paul writes this letter to new believers in the Asian Minor territory from a Roman prison cell. When false prophets claiming to be in authority were threatening new believers’ security in Jesus, they didn’t have the gift of God’s Word breathed onto paper. So, Paul offers encouragement through his letter, reminding the believers who they were in Christ and the inexhaustible resources available to them through Him.

Redemption in Christ brings:

• A limitless supply of God’s grace (Rom 5:20)
• Forgiveness of sin (Matt 26:28; Acts 13:38-39; Ep. 4:32; Col 2:13; 1 John 1:9)
• Divinely-bestowed spiritual understanding.

Spiritual understanding

What Paul’s referring to here goes beyond human understanding (Prov 3:5-4); it’s divinely inspired wisdom that is only available to a mind captivated with Christ. He desperately wants us to grasp that divine revelation depends upon a continually deepening intimacy in our relationship with Jesus and a spiritual diet filled with God’s Word. Notice how Paul stresses his point again before revealing the ultimate mystery of our new life in Jesus:

As you read what I have written, you will understand my insight into this plan regarding Christ. (Ephesians 3:4 NLT)

Friend, I so wish I could look you in the eyes and share the many ways God’s proven His faithfulness in my life. There’ve been obstacles so enormous that people told me I’d be crazy to think they would move – and yet, God faithfully moved them. But here’s the most critical part, I’d missed all the evidence had I not had my nose in His Book while earnestly seeking His face. When we get serious about seeking Jesus, when we want Him more than we want anything else, He’ll make sure we’re not disappointed!

Sending love, peace, and prayers to all!

Happy New Year, friends! I’m curious to know how if you have a specific routine or goal-setting process you follow at the beginning of each new year. When I worked in the corporate world, my superiors typically set goals, and it was my job to implement a step-by-step plan to ensure that I met those goals. Being a performance-based overachiever, I never settled for less than exceeding, not just achieving my boss’ expectations. I wish I could say the same is true for my writing career.

I love to write about the things God teaches me as I read and study Scripture. Rather than taking my writing seriously, I make the mistake of treating it like a hobby, but I’m determined to do things differently this year.

Goal setting is a spiritual responsibility

While studying the Scriptures recently, the Lord reminded me that goal setting is more than a method to help us achieve our dreams for the future; it’s a spiritual responsibility for every believer in Christ. First, in Matthew 25, where Jesus uses the parable of the talents to emphasize faithful stewardship and the tragedy of wasted opportunity. Then again, in 1 Timothy 4 where the apostle Paul stresses the responsibility that accompanies spiritual gifting.

Why is goal setting important to changing my life?

I always begin the year with fresh vigor and good intentions, but my lack of follow-through in setting SMART goals is the primary reason I’ve had few accomplishments to celebrate in my 10-year career as a writer.

Maybe you, too, are finding it difficult to make plans for the future while sitting in the uncertainty of our current circumstances. But without clear goals, we’re just coasting through life, reacting rather than living.

Since this is an area of weakness for me, I fasted from social media during the last 40 days of 2020 to eliminate distractions and reserve that time as a season of infilling and direction from the Lord. I learned the Bible has a lot to say about goal-setting. Today I’ll share three biblical reasons why goal setting is essential to changing lives.

1) Goals are statements of faith (Matt 9:29)
2) Goals focus my energy (1 Cor. 9:26 NCV)
3) Goals build my character. (Phil 3:12 TEV)

Godly goal setting begins with prayer

Every person is born with a God-ordained, predestined purpose that goes beyond our natural skills and abilities. When we successfully fulfill that purpose, we make a positive difference in the world and help grow God’s Kingdom. (Eph 2:10) As a woman who loves Jesus, I won’t settle for less than pursuing His goals for my life, and neither should you.

The first step in the believers’ goal-setting process is to pray; ask for God’s help to identify, set, and accomplish His writing plans for me in 2021. I want to be a good steward for Jesus and do what I can to make this world a better place. Setting goals in the early stages of our writing career will help us achieve them faster and more often than those who fail to take the processing Pray-oritizing and pursuing God’s goals for our lives seriously. So I’m taking a step of faith this morning and starting the new year with a prayer, asking for God’s help, and I invite you to join me:

Father, my heart desires to please You, to lead the people I know and love to You so they can see and experience the depth of Your love and amazing grace. I cannot do what You’re calling me to do without Your help, so I’m following Your instructions that say if I lack wisdom, I can ask You, and You will give it generously without finding fault. (James 1:5) Your Word promises that You’ll teach me, show me how to go, and counsel me with Your loving eye on me, and I’m trusting you to do just that. Thank You, Father, than you never call us to do anything You haven’t already equipped us to accomplish through Your strength. In the mighty and precious name of Jesus, Amen.

How do I know my goals are worthy of God’s blessing?

2 Chronicles says that the Lord strongly supports those whose hearts are completely his.  So let me ask you: How important is it to you that the Lord strongly support what you are doing? If it is important, then your heart must be completely his. When you embrace what is important to him, you bring your heart into alignment with his. When your heart is completely his, you are blessable.

What kind of goal does God bless?

1. Will this goal honor God? (1 Cor 10:31 CEV; 2 Cor 5:9 NIV)
2. Is this goal motivated by love? (1 Cor 16:14 NLT; 1 Cor 14:1 NLT)
3. Will this goal require depending on God? (Proverbs 16:9 MSG)

To illustrate the process, I’ll share one of my goals for 2021, to write one new blog post each week with all content themes cohesive across my social media platforms.

I know this goal will honor God because the content I write and share brings the good news of the Gospel to others.

The motivation for my goal is a yearning for the people I know and love to come to know and love my Jesus

I can’t achieve this goal without God’s help because I need His spirit to empower me. (Zech 4:6 NCV); His Word to guide me (Joshua 1:8); and the wisdom, support, and resources of other believers.

Friends, the Bible tells us that obedience ALWAYS leads to blessing. As we make our plans for 2021, let’s take the time to ensure they are in alignment with God’s will and worthy of His blessing and favor.

Sending peace, love, and prayers to all!

If you, like me, have a natural inclination to steer towards a performance-based mentality, you’ll find freedom in David’s divinely inspired words that teach us what God requires of us; He – not us, works in our inner man.

Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. (Psalm 51:6 ESV)

Psalm 51 is a song of deep repentance and sorrow written by King David after his affair with Bathsheba and his murder of Uriah, her husband. Initially, King David was oblivious to the grievousness of his sin. But when the prophet Nathan confronts David, he is overcome with grief and remorse over sinning against the Lord. (2 Samuel 12)

In the first section of verse 6, “you delight in truth in the inner being,” David reveals his understanding that God gladly forgives when repentance is sincere and heartfelt. The Hebrew word used here can mean “something that is covered over, hidden, or concealed.” So we could paraphrase this as “You desire light in my darkness” or “You want truth to expose my secrets.”

In the second part of this verse, “…you teach me wisdom in the secret heart,” David’s asking for something else. He is asking God to give him a radical transformation of his inner self so that he might have wisdom and adopt God’s perspective on all things; he deeply desires spiritual insight to know better in the future.

One of the reasons this verse resonates with me is that it speaks of the Lord taking delight in his children during our times alone with Him. Sometimes there are seasons where for whatever reason, we disengage from the regular day-to-day routine, and we’re spending lots of alone time with God. It’s here, in the fields of isolation, God most often reveals things we’ve stuffed down deep – false beliefs we hold but don’t recognize. Until those false beliefs are brought to the surface and dispelled with God’s truth, they’ll keep us from living in the freedom that is ours in Christ. We see this illustrated with King David, but without the backstory from 2 Samuel 12, we’d miss the fact that it took God’s wisdom, delivered by a prophet, to open David’s eyes to the sins he had committed.

Though we don’t have a personal prophet to convict us when we’ve done wrong, we do have the power and ability of God’s Word and the indwelling Holy Spirit. God works traditionally, enlightening our minds as we read the Scriptures, but He also, as David is expressing, through His grace and goodwill towards us, works in us to make the changes that only He can desires.

God doesn’t want us to obey Him just because He says so. Relationship with His children is why he made us, and it’s His desire for us to have obedience that stems from integrity and revelation knowledge of His will. That’s why it is critical to spend quality time alone with God and His Word. Before we can experience the supernatural power and ability of God’s Word at work in our lives, we have to put it inside of us so that it saturates our thoughts and serves as the foundation for the words we speak and the actions we take.

Friend, I want you to know that spending time alone with the Lord can be the absolute, greatest delight of your life! Further, it’s THE determining factor in your level of joy and peace, especially in seasons of uncertainty. Trust me on this, had it not been for the cultivated habit of spending the first part of every day with God and His Word, I’d never have survived 2020 with my faith intact. So I encourage you, seek Him, seek His face because that’s the only place you’ll find true delight!

Sending peace, love, and prayers to all!

 

 

You might also enjoy:

• Delight in Jesus Podcast excerpt
• Delight, God’s encouraging word for steadfast faith in 2020
• Seek God first each day, and joy will follow!

Delight Word for 2020

Do you ask the Lord to give you a specific word to focus on for the new year? I started this practice four years ago, and so far, God’s fingerprints on His chosen word and its significance in my life is undeniable. Right now, I’m in the praying and waiting stage for God’s selection for 2021, and the hints He’s giving me have piqued my excitement to discover His plans for the coming new year!

While I’m waiting on the Lord’s confirmation, I’d love to share how, delight, God’s chosen word for 2020 has divinely played out over the last twelve months. Delight made sense to me from the get-go since spending time with Him and His Word was already my favorite thing to do. But with the unprecedented challenges of 2020 now exposed, I believe God was giving me a heart check and a warning to keep Him front and center in my life.

While we could never have imagined the drastic lifestyle changes, isolation, and fear that would soon grip our country and it’s people, God knew. As I wrestle to find justification for the incredible losses we continue to face, the Holy Spirit reminds me of who God is. He’s so much more than a creator or deity; He’s our Father, who, like us, loves His children but on a much grander scale than we could ever imagine. Therefore, He’d never send us on a harrowing journey without first supplying us with everything we need to make it through to the other side.

Before proceeding, I’ll admit the obvious; God didn’t hand out COVID vaccines or infuse divine immunity into our veins before the epidemic began. But He did and still does, offer us an opportunity to live and abide in Him through our relationship with His Son and the unstoppable power of His written and revealed Word.

My mind is overactive, which means I have to pay attention and be selective with the thoughts I allow to reside there. On my own, I’d be a lost cause, so once or twice a year, I buy a spiral-bound set of index cards to record Scriptures that address my personal, professional, or relational challenges prone to distract me from God’s path. Three different scriptures on my index cards for 2019 focused on the importance of seeking delight in the Lord and trusting Him to respond in favor:

• Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart (Psalms 37:4 ESV),
• The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him, (Psalm 37:23 NIV), and
• You lead me in the path of life; I experience absolute joy in your presence; you always give me sheer delight. (Psalm 16:11 NET)

In the OT, the Hebrew terms most commonly used for delight are hepes, which means to bend or incline towards an object or person, and rasa, which means to take pleasure in or delight. I need no further evidence to support God’s well-documented point; our proximity to the Lord is the determining factor in our measure of pleasure in life.

Don’t get me wrong; I yearn for group worship, spending time with friends, family, and attending outdoor concerts with my husband. However, what I most enjoy has not and could never be taken away, and that is the grace gift of intimacy with our heavenly Father. When we draw near Him by reading, receiving, and obeying his Word, we’re divinely aligned to experience His peace, His joy, and ultimate delight!

Friend, if you’re struggling with loss, loneliness, fear, anxiety, or any other ailment robbing you of the abundant joy the Lord desires for you, hear me when I say, that is not His will for you. While Jesus affirms, we will have trouble in this life; He will never guide us to a place where He will not provide for us. So seek His presence as you pray and ponder over His Word, and He will come through for you!

Sending peace, love, and prayers to all.