Faith (Page 8)

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” – Romans 15:13 [ESV] Do we have any sports fans out there? If you are, I’m sure you know what’s like when “your” team comes so close to taking it all but doesn’t. There can be years where your team can almost be a real-life analog for some inspirational sports movie, you…

I need to go to Iced Latte Anonymous. I know a group like this doesn’t exist, but I would be the first to sign up if there were such a thing! I am addicted to the velvety and bitey coffee taste, with whole milk and two Splendas, please! And it has to be iced, not hot. That’s much more savory, in my honest opinion. More seriously, we all have addictions. Co-dependence on others, drugs, alcohol, chocolate, or even iced lattes!…

“For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” – Ephesians 6:12 [NLT] Wars frequently occur on earth, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine is a recent example of hatred, conflict, and death. The news of Ukraine shocked the world because of the possibility of World War 3, and it brings to mind that despite the…

Just the other day, I was watching a sermon online from my pastor in Florida. He was preaching from Romans 8:28 and how God uses tragedy and negative events in our favor. When bad things happen to us, we usually blame ourselves or we blame Satan. In reality. negative things are an expected facet of this Christian walk. We will suffer, but our suffering won’t be in vain. When we were in the world before we were saved, we suffered…

I had my annual eye exam the other day; you know where they put that giant, awkward machine-thing in front of your face, and you have to rest your chin on it? The optometrist flips through a series of lenses, trying to help you see as clearly as possible to narrow down where your vision is. At the bottom of the exam wall chart was the letter B, but I swore that I saw it as an N. It was…

“Rest” doesn’t mean time away from God. Most people love the summertime. Aside from some blistering temperatures, depending on where you live, there are so many appealing things about the warmest months of the year. You may get to enjoy vacations, summer backyard barbecuing, no school, trips to your local beaches and campgrounds, and loads of fun in the sun. Yet just because it’s the summer months here in the Northern Hemisphere doesn’t mean we can press the “pause” button…

I am going through a lot in this season of life—many “firsts” for me. One of my good friends has breast cancer and had to get a double mastectomy. Cancer doesn’t run in my life, and I never had a friend who had cancer before. It’s hard to see her tired like she is and has suffered for the last two years. She got diagnosed at the start of the pandemic. With everything going on in the world, a cancer…

“Late in the afternoon his disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the nearby farms and villages and buy something to eat.’ But Jesus said, ‘You feed them.’” – Mark 6:35-37a [NLT] Jesus shocked His disciples when he told them to feed the multitude of people. Little did they know that they already had all they needed to provide food for the…

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” – Romans 12:1-2 [NKJV] To live a life that’s acceptable to God, we have to change our thinking. When we have…

Both I and my cousin are planning on moving pretty soon. He’s attempting to move his family to a different part of North Carolina while I’m trying to make the move back to Florida. This past Saturday, we had to clean up the house and had to clear up a lot of junk for the landlord. Getting rid of stuff isn’t always fun or easy, but it’s necessary for us to move forward. God puts us in an environment outside…

I miss many people that have passed from my life. Like I miss my grandfather, grandmother, and aunt so much. I know they are watching me from Heaven. But I had a special connection, especially with my grandfather, so he frequents my thoughts. And guess who frequents my thoughts just as my grandfather? My dog Zoey passed away when I was 20 years old. I got Zoey on my fifth birthday. I remember right before my birthday, my mom asked…

A person’s insight gives him patience, and his virtue is to overlook an offense. – Proverbs 19:11 [CSB] Having patience is the fruit of having wisdom. People who are impatient tend to act without reason. When you are willing to wait, you are more likely to be able to enjoy your reward more. Waiting is hard, but it’s better to wait than to regret it. Just like we teach children to wait to get their favorite toy, God can often…

After Predestination and Election, what is it that comes first in the Ordo Salutis (Order of Salvation) when God in “real-time” goes to save someone? Is it the act of hearing or reading the Gospel of Jesus? Or is it the divine act of regenerating a soul, AKA being born again, where God makes a spiritually dead man alive? It appears that the Gospel Call (not God’s Effective Call, but the actual human-transmitted speaking and preaching of the Word of…

Miracles are everywhere and many times in the least expected places! 1 Chronicles 16:11-14 says, “Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced, you his servants, the descendants of Israel, his chosen ones, the children of Jacob. He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth” [NIV]. From this Scripture, we can see that God is a Miracle Worker and…

“Kindness to the poor is a loan to the Lord, and he will give a reward to the lender.” – Proverbs 19:17 [CSB] Jesus came into the world as an unfortunate. He lived a very humble life, not so people could feel sorry for Him but to test the hearts of man. It’s easy to ignore people who are down on their luck, but it’s much harder to do that when that person is Jesus. During the time Jesus lived,…

“But Jacob crossed his arms as he reached out to lay his hands on the boys’ heads. He put his right hand on the head of Ephraim, though he was the younger boy, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, though he was the firstborn.” – Genesis 48:14 [NLT] God chooses our station or role in life. If we resist the sovereign ruler of the universe, we will always be proven to be wrong. The commentator Matthew Henry…

“Some people are always greedy for more, but the godly love to give!” – Proverbs 21:26 [NLT] When we are motivated by greed, we will never be happy, but we will always have an abundance when we are driven to give. God wants to provide us with plenty, but He can’t give it to us if we are selfish. Selfish people only care about themselves, but the Godly person wants to see others blessed. The Godly will give his resources…