Time with Him

“He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭8:31-33‬ ‭NIV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/bible/111/mrk.8.31-33.niv When someone tries to rebuke you because they think they know God’s plan for your life better than you do, it’s okay to correct them.  Jesus had clear boundaries. He took time aside when he needed to get alone with the Father. He had 3 close friends, Peter, James, and John, yet he had to rebuke one of his closest friends and disciples in front of the others.  Sometimes we have to teach others our boundaries and it may come out as ...

To be broken is OK. To be broken is ACCEPTABLE. To be broken leads to a humble heart.  Humility pleases the Lord.  Brokenness leads to humility.  Humility leads to favor.  It’s okay to allow a season of brokenness to change you.  "God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” 1 Peter 5:5b-6 NIV Your brokenness may keep you from others, but will draw you close to the Lord. He will not push you away in your brokenness.  “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.” Psalm 51:17 In your brokenness, find space, find time to bring every broken piece of your heart to the Lord. Every broken habit. Every broken thought or emotion to Him.  From a position of humility, your Father will hear you and heal you and forgive you and put you back together whole.  ...

What does it mean to “just be yourself?” We often hear the advice “just be yourself” when going through a transition in life maybe from someone who cares about us when they’ve taken notice that we are possibly lacking confidence at the moment. For example, when interviewing for a job a friend may remind us to “just be yourself.” The phrase means, be who you are. Remember your strengths and weaknesses. Don’t exaggerate your skills and talents. And be that unique you that you were created to be; which in this case is good advice. I was thinking of that phrase “just be yourself” when I came across this passage the other day. It talks about self in a different way. It made me think, “What does the Bible teach us about just being ourselves?” Which version of “yourself” are you being,  your old self or your new self or perhaps a little old and a little new?  The apostle Paul in Ephesians 4:22-24 reminds us, “You were taught, with regard to your former way of l...

If we claim to love and follow God, we must obey Him and what He commands. Jesus commands us to love one another as He loved us. If you remember His love, it was a love that forgave, a love that healed, delivered and freed many. It was a love that loved the unloved sinners and prostitutes. Whatever condition God found you in when you called out to Him, He loved you and looked past your sins and into your soul and found value in loving you.  That’s the kind of love he wants us to have toward one another. He loved even Judas and ate with him even when He knew the betrayal He was about to face by Him. He hung on the cross as some hurled their insults at Him and He prayed and asked the Father to forgive them for they knew not what they were doing; hating God’s Holy Son. How is it possible to love some people when their behavior is impossible? Jesus lived it by example. He also taught His disciples to pray for their enemies and bless them and that’s what we are to do when ...

As humans, (which we all are) we have a way of doing things- a way, a pattern, a routine, a schedule, traditions, celebrations, cultural similarities and differences that make us human; that make "life worth living", but sometimes we put these things in front of following Christ fully. Our goal as Christian humans/Christ-followers, is not to make our "life worth living," because our goal should be "living a life worthy" of the Lord.  In Colossians 1:9-11, we read:  "For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyful...

When we think about giving our all to God, we may think He is going to shackle us with a burden too heavy to bear, but what   He does  is actually cut the shackles  off our wrists we didn’t know were there.  He removes what binds us and frees us from the prison we’ve unintentionally  created for ourselves.  His ways are pure and free.  We cannot fathom how He does right  when we are so accustomed to doing wrong and being wronged.  When He cuts away those ties,  we are free to live and love without sin, without our own selfish preferences keeping us from experiencing a full life.  Our own desires always get in the way and drag us away from the good things He has for us.  We must stop wanting things, but begin to want the One who made all things.  May our desire be Him alone,  because  He has  our best ...