As you step into the month of love, consider those you love in every relationship and where you may need to find healing. Sometimes, in order to move forward in life, you need to sit in healing with the important people that God has for you. Every encounter you have with someone has the opportunity to bring healing to you and their future relationships. How can you bring healing to yourself and your ability to love others this month?
Read MoreThis carol always leaves me wondering why God chose Bethlehem for his only Son to be born in. Author and Bible teacher Liz Curtiz Higgs in her book The Girls of Christmas says that at the time when the angel Gabriel visited Mary in Nazareth, Mary was barely 12 years old and Nazareth had about 100 people living there.
Read MoreEvery page of this book is filled with big, beautiful pictures that help even my littlest, who is 2, understand the stories better. Each story is the perfect length to hold the attention span of younger children, but also descriptive and long enough to where they can understand the message of each story.
Read MoreOur marriage covenant binds us together, uniting us in the most profound and beautiful way possible. Our vows were spoken in the presence of our family and friends, but most importantly, in the eyes of God. We know that God brought us together, understanding our pasts and preparing our future.
Read MoreOn landing in Chennai, walking out into the crowded waiting area, a cute shrill voice was heard above the hum drum of the airport. ‘Shoba Paatti’, (Granma)! It was Nivin’s welcome call and then we saw a little figure move among the crowd to greet us with huge hugs, the brightest smile ever and a heart full of love.
Read MoreJesus says that those who worship God must worship Him in spirit and in truth. Knowledge of God, which we most fully receive through Jesus and the Scriptures, leads to worship that glorifies Him.
Read MoreIn the testing, let Him form in you a grateful praise that will take you to the high tower, where you will be “seated above, enthroned in the Father’s love.” The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run into and are safe. May you feel perfectly surrounded, seated above in His safe tower, and allow Him to metabolize any painful emotions in a healthy way.
Read MoreWhile we don't merit salvation by our works, Christianity is a religion. To be sure, it's more than a religion but it's not less. We are held accountable to obey God, because Christ bought us at the price of His blood. We are not our own.
Read MoreEach of us has our own unique way to show our love to Jesus and He loves it that way. So, if all you can give is a couple of cans for the soup kitchen, do it. If you read the Bible quietly in the University parking lot, do it. If you pray during your walk, make bookmarks with Bible verses for friends or carry one encouraging verse on your phone to read and meditate on, do it.
Read MoreGod’s love, mercy, grace, forgiveness, and kindness are all written on every page of the Bible. Through it, we get a glimpse of the Father’s love, an eternal, all-encompassing love that is not dependent on us but is, instead, freely given. Through Scripture, we can be part of the most remarkable love story ever told, a story of redemption, sacrifice, and newness that culminated in the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Read MoreI was reminded that Jesus is merciful and compassionate because He didn’t leave me in my darkness and encouraged me in my day of distress. Friend, no matter how dark the darkness seems around you, always remember that Jesus still saves and has “overcome the world” (New Living Translation - John 16:33). When life gets messy and you don’t know what to do or what to say, always start with God’s Word.
Read More‘Be perfect like your Heavenly Father is perfect’ says Jesus in the very last verse of Matthew 5. This is an important hinge in the chapters we call The Sermon on the Mount. Jesus’ kind of perfect was so very different from the ‘perfect’ defined by the world. Jesus not only described it, he modeled it for us.
Read MoreJust as I want to help my child and see him succeed, God wants the same for you. As much as I love my child, God loves His children more. Motherhood has shown me how much you can love your child and has given me a new understanding for how God loves us, his children.
Read MoreThe circumstances in our life that we are confronted with on a daily basis has a tendency to define us; but when we daily roll the losses we encounter onto the shoulders of a God who loves us fiercely and intimately, we learn to walk in His strength and not our own.
Read MoreJesus calls some to write a book, prepare a sermon, or start a podcast. He plans some to clean the toilets at church, design the cover page, manage the parking, or be a welcoming usher. As a college student, maybe he has called you to be a caring roommate and a hard-working student. At a particular time in my life, all I was called to do was be a loving wife and mother. Our roles change as we go through life. As we pray and wait on God, he shows us what we are called to do. He spells out our role!
Read MoreGod is not carrying around a big stick to hit or prod us with, to get us ‘back on track’ so that we can be ‘doing everything right’. He is leading us with gentleness.
Read MoreWhen dating, we have two choices. We can either lose ourselves by compromising who we are and what God has made us be or lose ourselves by allowing God to shape us in his image.
Read MoreWhen God always goes the extra mile with his boundless grace and overflowing love for us, shouldn’t we as his children do the same? Ephesians 5:1-2 tells us to “‘Be imitators of God and live a life of love’ for then our lives are a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God”.
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