Category: Faith in God

Wisdom, Hope, and Power          

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17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His great might 20 that He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,

Ephesians 1:17-20

I was pleasantly surprised when I found a New Testament passage that spoke of wisdom and referred to the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Just in time for Easter.  I am thankful for the way God brings passages from His Word for encouragement and help.  These verses were a part of the Wednesday night Bible study I attend.  I knew this would fit my blog for the day before Easter.

Here is my shortened version of Ephesians 1:17-20:
Wisdom comes from knowing God.  Those of us who have trusted in Christ have hope.  God’s power works in us – the same power that raised Christ from the dead.

Wow.

God is so good.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the filled treasure chest of thought in this passage.  Thank You for providing wisdom, hope, and power for those who call on You.  Thank You for Christ dying on the cross to save those who trust in Him.

I pray this in Jesus’ name.

God is so good.

Straight or Crooked Paths

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I have found myself being very nostalgic recently.  It has been a year since I received a diagnosis of DCIS.  Those were hard days.  I had decisions to make while feeling overwhelmed. This next week marks one year since I crashed after getting my first opinion.  While I am not a fan of crashing (I have done it more times than I like to admit), I am so glad that I got a second opinion.  I felt so much better about my decision after the calm atmosphere at CTCA in Zion, IL.  I greatly appreciate the expert care I received there.

God allowed what I would consider a crooked and rocky path last year to show me how He can make my paths straight.  I had to pray my way through repetitious thoughts of “I don’t want to deal with this”.   By God’s grace, He kept showing His love time and again as He led me through the situation. I am so glad this part of my story is past.  While I will always have some of the difficult memories and I bear the scar of surgery, I do not want to feel sorry for any of it.  God gave so much grace.  I continue to pray that God’s hand is visible in my life.  Whatever path God leads me to walk in the future.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for making my paths straight through tough times.  Thank You that I can lean on You.  Please help me to continue to submit to Your plans.  I want others to see Your hand in my life.

I pray this in Jesus’ name.

God is so good.

Christmas Reminders

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Last week, I mentioned the prophecy about Jesus Christ in Isaiah – He is Immanuel – God with us.  I think we get stuck on warm fuzzy thinking of God being with us.  The reason Jesus came was to save people from sins.  There is nothing warm and fuzzy about sin.  I think we struggle admitting the ugliness of sin in our lives.  Maybe that is why we have so much grumpiness during this Christmas season.

I wonder if the remedy for negativity is admitting our sin and asking Jesus to forgive us.  We might have more joy to share with others. I think it is worth a try. 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that Jesus came to save us from our sins.  Please help us to admit our sin and ask forgiveness.  Thank You for the joy of being forgiven.

I pray this in Jesus’ name.

God is so good.

Uncomplicated

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I have talked the last couple weeks about trusting in Jesus Christ to save us from our sins.  Some think that to have a relationship with God, there is a difficult formula to manage.  No, it is very simple.  Romans 10:9-10 tell us that it is as simple as confession (saying, “I’m sorry”) and belief that God has done what He says.  Jesus did the hard work when He died on the cross.  He took the penalty on Himself. 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for providing such a simple way to have a relationship with You.  You are worthy of all worship, but You made a way for us to come to You.  I praise Your name.

I pray this in Jesus’ name.

God is so good.

The Opposite of Sin

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Last week I talked about the fact that we are sinners.  If that was the end of the story, life would be endlessly depressing.  Thankfully God has the opposite of sin – righteousness.  It is simple – faith in Jesus Christ.  Then we can have the righteousness of God. 

I fear that our society doesn’t understand the beauty of righteousness in God.  Maybe Christians don’t understand that enough.  What is the remedy?  As Christians we need to band together to live the righteousness of God to show others how wonderful God’s righteousness is.

Dear Heavenly Father, please help us to live Your righteousness.  Thank you that it is available to all who place their faith in Jesus Christ.  Please forgive our sins and help us to live the righteousness that You have given.

I pray this in Jesus’ name.

God is so good.

Tough Days

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This week has been hard on my dad’s side of the family.  Yesterday morning, God chose to take one of my uncles home to glory.  This uncle had many health issues so while the family is grieving, we are thankful that he is no longer suffering.

The Bible tells us we will have difficulties in this life.  Each of us will suffer in different ways.  While I still struggle with the suffering piece of life, I can take comfort in the fact that Jesus has overcome the world.  When Jesus came to earth, His whole purpose was to die on a cross for us.  He came to pay the penalty for our sins.  Jesus overcame death and dying.  Those of us who place our trust in Jesus have hope for an eternal future.  I know that my uncle is rejoicing and whole. 

As you face the tough days in your life, know that you can have hope if you place your trust in Jesus.  He has overcome the world.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that Jesus’ overcame the world.  Please help me to share the hope that only comes from a relationship with Jesus Christ.

I pray this in Jesus’ name.

God is so good.

Running to God in Faith

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I grieve that so many in the world do not know about God or have a twisted view of who He really is.  Having the opportunity to please God through drawing near Him in faith is a great reward.  I have battled a difficult year.  Surgery in April and a year of supply chain issues {big effect on my job) is not something I would choose.  However, God has a plan for my life that includes drawing me closer to Him.  I can fight His plan or run to Him.  I can assure you, running to God is so much better than fighting against His way.

Dear Heavenly Father, when life is tough my first response is to run away.  I struggle when things are hard, but I know Your grace is strong enough to bring me through tough times.  Thank You for providing a way for me to draw near to You.  Thank You that You want me to draw close to You.  I am in awe of Your love.

I pray this in Jesus’ name.

God is so good.