make it known. . .

Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.

- Ephesians 6:19

Once more I receive affirmation that sharing the gospel in this format is what God has called me to do.

We all need to learn and grow, and I ask that you keep me in your prayers, that God would continue to guide me in sharing His word. But also I ask that through my words I am able to reach those who have not yet come to know Jesus.

I ask that you all share His word daily as well.

You never know when your smile and loving words are the only smile and comfort someone will receive on that day. 

Have a blessed day!

I am known!

I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.

- John 17:26

Sometimes I wonder about my “calling” to share a daily Bible verse and commentary.

And then I hear this – “I have made you known to them”

Oh oh – song reference!

I don't need my name in lights
I'm famous in my Father's eyes
Make no mistake
He knows my name
I'm not living for applause
I'm already so adored
It's all His stage
He knows my name oh, oh,
He knows my name oh, oh

I'm not meant to just stay quiet
I'm meant to be a lion
I'll roar beyond a song
With every moment that I've got
True to who You are
You saw my heart
And made
Something out of nothing

God makes sure that the love I have in Him shows.

He knows my name.

And He gives me the means to share His love with you.

I hope you enjoy the daily emails/blog posts, and I hope that you let God in you. 

Have a blessed day!

I do what I want!

In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.

– Judges 21:25 

Isn’t that scary?

There was no king, everyone did whatever they pleased, regardless of the laws.

Sounds a little familiar, doesn’t it?

And isn’t that scary?

We have raised up a generation of needy, helpless, selfish people, because everyone does what they see fit.

The world has become a disaster of “political correctness” where you can’t say or do the right things because you might offend someone.

We need to look at every decision we make and ask ourselves if we are living for society or living for God.

I am not big on awards shows, but I heard about an acceptance speech that took place recently.

Chris Pratt, an actor best known for his role on a sitcom, was the recipient of the Generation Award at the MTV Movie & TV Awards

His acceptance speech, given on national television was absolutely amazing.

"I'm going to cut to the chase and I am going to speak to you, the next generation," Pratt said. "I accept the responsibility as your elder. So, listen up."

He followed that with what he called 9 rules for living.

Some of them were a little silly, but please note rules 2, 6, 8 and 9.

1. "Breathe. If you don't, you will suffocate."

2. "You have a soul. Be careful with it."

3. "Don't be a turd. If you are strong, be a protector. If you are smart, be a humble influencer. Strength and intelligence can be weapons, so do not wield them against the weak. That makes you a bully. Be bigger than that."

4. "When giving a dog medicine, put the medicine in a little piece of hamburger and they won't even know they're eating medicine."

5. "It doesn't matter what it is. Earn it. A good deed. Reach out to someone in pain. Be of service. It feels good and it's good for your soul."

6. "God is real. God loves you, God wants the best for you. Believe that, I do."

7. "If you have to poop at a party, but you're embarrassed because you're going to stink up the bathroom, just do what I do. Lock the door, sit down, get all of the pee out first. And then, once all the pee is done, poop, flush, boom! You minimize the amount of time that the poop's touching the air. Because if you poop first, it takes you longer to pee and then you're peeing on top of it, stirring up the poop particles, create a cloud, goes out, then everyone at the party will know that you pooped. Just trust me, it's science."

8. "Learn to pray. It's easy, and it is so good for your soul."

9. "Nobody is perfect. People will tell you that you are perfect just the way that you are, you are not! You are imperfect. You always will be, but there is a powerful force that designed you that way, and if you are willing to accept that, you will have grace. And grace is a gift. Like the freedom that we enjoy in this country, that grace was paid for with somebody else's blood. Do not forget that. Don't take that for granted."

I hope people stop doing as they see fit and start turning to God.

Have a blessed day!

what is our daily bread?

Give us today our daily bread.

– Matthew 6:11

Yesterday we talked about unanswered prayers.

Today we ask “give us this day our daily bread”.

What is the difference?

Our daily bread – our need for sustenance every day.

God knows our needs, and He will provide – look at what He did for the Israelites when they were in the desert: He gave them manna, a daily bread.  

I call this email / blog “daily bread” for a reason.

It is my prayer that He fill me with His word every day, fill my heart and soul, so I can share with others.

Food for the soul.

Our daily bread.

Have a blessed day!

unanswered prayer

When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

– James 4:3 

As a child, I can recall wishing and praying so hard for a certain toy, and being so disappointed when I did not get it.

As a teenager and young adult, I prayed many times for a certain guy to be in my life “forever”, and it never happened.

It has taken me many years to understand that those things I wanted so badly were wrong for me.

OK, so really, what was wrong about a little girl wanting a doll house?

I can’t answer that, but I know this now – I did not get that doll house not because I didn’t deserve it, or because I was a terrible child, but because everything happens in God’s timing, and that doll house – it was not in His plan.

Looking back, I am so thankful for the unanswered prayers of “forever love” I prayed as a teen, because I have been given a much better gift in my wonderful husband, and I am glad God led me to wait for him.

Those others? They could have destroyed me, but God knew what He was doing, and He loved me enough to protect me.

Recently I have been able to witness several answered prayers, and I honestly cried with those recipients of the answered prayer because the answers were a long time coming.

But so worth the wait.

So next time you are angry, upset or frustrated about an unanswered prayer, file it away in your memory, because I just bet you’ll understand why someday.

Have a blessed day!

world vs. soul

What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his very soul?

—Mark 8:36

Oh you know this is a song reference!

But I will spare you today.

I am going to make a weird comparison here, so bear with me a moment.

Think about a time when you have gone shopping and you are getting ready to check out and the cashier says “if you spend $100 you get 10% off” and you think whoa!! What a deal, and head back to do more shopping?

But what if you had only had $50 in merchandise? 

Are you going to go spend another $50 just to save $10?

Those bargains and deals sound great on the surface, but in reality you just spent $90 when your original trip was only $50.

(thank you to my husband for teaching me wise financial decisions!!)

Now slip back to the Bible verse.

How many times do you suppose that you are offered the “deal of a lifetime” but not warned of the consequences?

I remember an episode of The X-Files, when Mulder and Scully were investigating a magic genie in a lamp.

Mulder wished for world peace, and the wish was granted, and he was the only person left in the world.

When he asked why, the genie said that the only way for there to be world peace is for there to be no humans, because humans are predestined to fight and go to war.

Now, I don’t know about all that, but I do know that I am not willing to give up my family, my friends, and my soul just to gain the world.

Oh – and if you are interested, go listen to Toby Mac “Lose My Soul” – that is the song reference.

Have a blessed day!

keeping me from harm

The Lord will keep you from all harm — He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

—Psalm 121:7-8

I am not sure what other reassurance that we might need.

God does not intend us harm.

When bad things happen, that isn’t God, that is the devil trying to break us down, to shred our faith, to get us to turn away from the Father.

We are not alone – God is with us, always.

That reassurance is enough for me.

Have a blessed day!