The miracle is only the beginning...

When we pray for a miracle, we often imagine that once it happens, everything will finally make sense. We picture the moment everything turns around, the pressure lifts, and life “goes back to normal.” But when you look closely at scripture, miracles rarely function like a finish line. They are often a doorway - an interruption that leads in a new direction.

There is usually a season that follows the miracle - a space between - where God prepares us for what comes next.

One of the clearest examples is the resurrection of Jesus.

Jesus rose from the dead on the third day. That alone is the miracle of miracles. But after He rose, Jesus did not immediately leave. He stayed on earth for a period of 40 days - still teaching, still leading, and still shaping His disciples for what came next.

“During the forty days after he suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.” - Acts 1:3 (NLT)

And that detail matters, because it reinforces a truth we all need: God’s miraculous moments are not always the end of the story. Sometimes they are the beginning of a new one.

Think about how Jesus responded to people after He moved in their lives. When He healed, restored, or rescued someone, it was rarely just “Congrats, you are fixed - good luck.” The miracle was real, but it often came with a next step: a new way of living, a new level of trust, a new obedience, or a new direction.

“…And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I. Go and sin no more.’” - John 8:11 (NLT)

That is why it is so normal for us to feel a shift after the breakthrough. The miracle is not always the final answer - it is often the moment God turns us toward a new road.

The miracle is not the destination. It is the doorway.

A lot of us can relate to the disciples more than we realize. Many faith journeys start because something hurts. Something falls apart. Something catches up with us. Or something happens that we did not ask for. And we turn toward Jesus looking for peace, clarity, forgiveness, and stability: something real.

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.” - Psalms 34:18 (NLT)

Early on, we can feel strong. We start praying more. We show up more. We might even start seeing God move around us: answered prayers in other people’s lives, stories of provision, moments of grace. And if we are honest, it can stir a quiet question: “God, where is my miracle?”

“How long, O Lord, must I call for help? But you do not listen! ‘Violence is everywhere!’ I cry, but you do not come to save.” - Habakkuk 1:2 (NLT)

That tension is not new. The disciples watched Jesus do miracle after miracle, and yet they still struggled with fear and confusion. They did not always understand what God was doing while it was happening.

“Jesus replied, ‘You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.’” - John 13:7 (NLT)

And that is where I want to bring in something practical that keeps us steady in the “before”:

Tent time.

Not complicated. Not flashy. Just intentional time alone with God every day - prayer, Scripture, quiet, honesty. It is where trust gets rebuilt. It is where perspective gets corrected. It is where God reminds us of what is true when our feelings are loud.

The idea echoes something we see in the Old Testament. When the Israelites were traveling through the wilderness, Moses would meet with God in a place called the Tent of Meeting (Hebrew: Ohel Mo’ed - “ohel” meaning tent, and “mo’ed” meaning meeting, appointed time, or appointed place). It was a space set apart from the noise of the camp where he could spend time with the Lord and hear from Him.

“Inside the Tent of Meeting, the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.” - Exodus 33:11 (NLT)

In a lot of ways, that is what tent time looks like for us today - stepping away from the noise of life so we can sit with God and allow Him to shape our hearts again.

And when you think about it, the disciples experienced something similar after the resurrection. Jesus spent time with them before sending them into the world, teaching them, strengthening them, and preparing their hearts for the mission ahead.

One of the ways I try to prepare my heart for that time is through music. My favorite song to play before going into my own tent time is “So Will I (100 Billion X)” by Hillsong United. There is a section of the song that always stops me in my tracks because it captures the heart of the gospel and reminds me why I am sitting down with God in the first place:

“And as You speak,
A hundred billion failures disappear.
Where You lost Your life so I could find it here.
If You left the grave behind You, so will I.
I can see Your heart in everything You've done.
Every part designed in a work of art called love.
If You gladly chose surrender, so will I…”

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” - Romans 12:2 (NLT)

Tent time does not force a miracle to happen faster. But it does something just as important: it keeps us connected to the Miracle Worker. And it gives God space to reveal what we cannot yet see about Him, about us, and about what He is building in the waiting.

“That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” - 2 Corinthians 4:16–18 (NLT)

God is often teaching usbefore we understand what He is doing.
Then, in God’s timing, sometimes the breakthrough comes.

The door opens.
The heaviness lifts.
The relationship is restored.
The diagnosis changes.
The provision shows up.
The prayer gets answered.

And you feel great - relieved, grateful, even energized.

But after the initial rush, another question can creep in: “Okay…did this actually change anything?”

That question matters because scripture shows us something important. Miracles do not automatically transform a person. They can, but they do not always. In several moments in the Gospels, Jesus followed healing with instruction or a warning about how someone should now live.

“But afterward Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, ‘Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.’” - John 5:14 (NLT)

So, if you have ever felt like your miracle was real but still not “the whole solution,” you are not crazy. You are seeing the pattern.

Because the deeper work often happens after the miracle.

After God restores peace, He teaches you how to live from peace.
After God provides, He teaches you how to trust Him daily.
After God rescues, He teaches you how to walk in freedom.

“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” - 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT)

Before the resurrection, the disciples were learning who Jesus was.After the resurrection, they were sent to tell the world.

That is what Jesus did with the disciples. The resurrection changed everything. The same men who had followed Jesus as learners were now being prepared to carry His message into the world.

That is why those forty days matter so much. Jesus did not just prove He was alive. He strengthened them, clarified truth, restored their hearts, and prepared them for the mission they could not possibly carry in their own strength.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” - Acts 1:8 (NLT)

Simply put: sometimes the miracle you are asking for is not meant to return you to your old life. It is meant to launch you into a new one.

So, if you are in the “before” right now - waiting, praying, trying to understand - do not waste the season. Keep showing up for tent time. Keep giving God space to form trust in you even before you see the outcome.

“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.“ - Philippians 1:6 (NLT)

The “before” is often where God builds what the “after” will require.
If you are in the “after” - you have seen the breakthrough and are still figuring out what it means - do not be discouraged.

That does not mean the miracle failed. It may mean the miracle did exactly what it was supposed to do: open the door to a new road.

Maybe the miracle you are waiting for has not come yet. Or maybe it already has, and you are still discovering what it means. Either way, God is still writing the story…and your story is not finished yet.

Sometimes the miracle we pray for is not the end of the journey, but the moment God begins showing us why the journey mattered.

How many times have we seen others around us fall down spiritually and struggle to get back up because of the shame that they feel? How many times in our own spiritual walk with Christ do we feel like we are failing? And it may not be for something huge, it may be for something small. Yet no matter what it is, often when we fall short, we feel like we have let God down- like we have failed as a Christian. 

But the truth of the matter is: that is a big fat lie. Satan, after all, is the “Father of Lies”

"You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." - John 8:44

One of the biggest lies that Satan tells us- and tells us often- is that we have let God down or that we aren’t good enough for him. It literally says in the Bible that Satan is the “Accuser of the brethren.” In Revelation 12:10, the Bible says that Satan is the accuser of the brethren and goes before the Lord night and day accusing them.

The devil wants to attack our identity in Christ just like he did to Jesus himself when Jesus was tempted in the desert.

Matthew 4:3 says, “Then the tempter approached Him and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

“IF” is the beginning of doubt. “IF you are the Son of God…”-or for us- “IF you are a child of God…”  

The devil wants to instill doubt. He wants to attack our identity in Christ and our worthiness to Him. Satan wants God’s people to feel unworthy. He wants us to feel like we aren’t good enough because feeling like we aren’t good enough keeps us distant; it keeps us feeling shameful.  

And yes, we aren’t good enough. But that doesn’t matter to God. He knows that we are sinful people. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23)

He knows that we can never measure up until we are perfected in him when we are reunited with Him. But the thing is- God doesn’t care about any of that. 

He loves us because he loves us. 

We are gifted with righteousness because He says we are. That is part of the gift. It isn’t something that is earned- it is something that is given and given freely.

Ephesians 2:8-9, “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift- not from works, so that no man can boast.”

As we have just gone through this Easter season and Holy Week, we have a fresh remembrance of what Christ did on the cross.

“He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God,” - 2 Corinthians 5:21

If salvation was something that had to be earned, his work would be all for nothing. But it wasn’t for nothing. It was for everything. Every sin, every failed attempt, every set back, everything. We are washed totally clean when we accept him into our lives and follow after him.

1 Peter 1:18-19, “For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb.”

So these setbacks that we face, no matter how big or small,  can never separate us from the love of Christ or the work that he did on the cross. Just as Romans 8:38-39 states, “ For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels not rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor heights nor depths, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

Maybe you have been struggling to wake up early and dedicate the first fruits of your day to him. 

Or maybe you have just relapsed on the drug that has been dragging you down for years. 

Whatever it is- whatever you have done- nothing can keep God from loving you or keep you away from him. The only thing that will maintain that distance from the cross is believing the lie of the enemy- that you have failed God and can never return. 

But with every lie, you need to fight it with the truth. And the truth is that God loves you and there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." - Romans 8:1

So if you are a part of God’s kingdom and have accepted Jesus as your savior, yet, you feel like you are too big of a mess up for him to sanctify you - remember Lamentations 3:22-23, “Because of the Lord’s faithful love, we do not perish, for His mercies never end. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness.”

 And if you are not a part of God’s kingdom and feel like you are too unworthy or unclean to come to him, know this truth found in Psalm 103:8-10, “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse us or be angry forever. He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve or repaid us according to our iniquities.” 

God sent His only son to die on the cross for our sins so that ANYONE who believes in Him may have an everlasting life and join into a life eternal with Christ forever

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16

All we must do is follow him and we can shed off that life of sin and shame. 

So I invite you today to plug up your ears to the lies of the enemy and open up your heart to the truth of Christ. There is nothing too big or too small that can separate us from the love and salvation of Christ Jesus.

God created us to be together with Him. He wants us with Him.

Zephaniah 3:17 The LORD your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.

 Even one of His names, Immanuel, says He is with us.
 
Matthew 1:23 Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a Son and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated God with us.

But being in relationship with God, well we messed that all up. God was not satisfied to just leave the situation the way it was and already had a plan in place so that our relationship with Him could be restored. Jesus is God’s answer to that problem. Jesus made a way possible for us to be with God because They (Father, Son & Holy Spirit) knew we could never do it on our own. Without God, there is nothing that we can do on our own. We cannot even exist without God.
 
There is so much of life that is taken for granted – our eyesight, hearing, taste, and touch. How many times do we think and are grateful for breathing? I can’t say I ever really even thought about breathing. Breathe in, breathe out, repeat. It’s simple. That is until it’s not - until the day I was rushed in extreme pain to the ER struggling to breathe and barely able to talk. I woke up that morning feeling fine but by that afternoon, while in the ER, I wondered if I would be going back to my apartment, ever! A blood clot had traveled to my right lung and, I was told later, part of my lung had died. It is called a pulmonary embolism, or PE and it can be fatal. I did not know that at the time but seeing how fast the ER team brought me back to a room and how quickly that room filled up with people, it didn’t take me long to realize it was good that I decided to go get help. God was there and I am so glad He was. He got me through. I couldn’t pray out loud. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t praying.

Psalm 23:4a Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me
 
Living without God is like a lasagna without noodles, a sunset without a sun, or hitting a home run and having nowhere to run. It makes no sense. It just can't be. Plodding through life trying to get ourselves to be good enough to go to heaven isn’t any better. But, dying to ourselves, letting go of what we want or think should happen, or what should be, and giving it all to God so we can really focus on Him, learning to desire what He desires and live for Him; now that, my friend, is truly living.  

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.
 
Imagine being on the cross with Jesus. I mean really, truly imagine being there. We deserve it. He didn’t and still doesn’t.  But imagine we’re up there, and everything that has happened to Jesus has happened to us. Can you see it? We are hurting so much from the torture, we wonder how we can still be alive. Everything hurts. Excruciatingly hurts. Jesus turns His head and looks us in the eye and as He does, we meld into Him and He takes over for us and together we die and together we are dead. I mean really, truly dead. That addiction we just couldn’t stop, well there is no draw, no pull to that any longer because…we’re dead. The battle with offense, unforgiveness, pride, selfishness. That’s all gone because… we’re dead. We are the can’t-do-nothing-ever-again kind of dead and the impossible-to-save-ourselves-cause-it’s-already-a-done-deal-and-all-over dead. D. E. A. D. 
They come and take Jesus’s body down and bury it. Since we melded with him, we were buried too – together with him.

As we lie there stuck in our grave, not knowing how much time has passed, suddenly there’s a glimmer of light to the side. We can’t really see it, we can’t turn our head,because we’re dead. Seeing that light sparks a tiny pinprick of hope in our chest. Maybe, we don’t have to stay here in the dark, alone and dead forever. Maybe, just maybe. Should we hope? It seems so futile because we deserved to die.

The glimmer of light suddenly flashes blindingly bright – too bright to look at. At the edges of the light we see we are in a cave, and a way out has been opened up. Jesus is there with us. We were not alone. He was lying down by us just as dead as we are, but now He is getting up! He’s no longer dead! We know He’s not staying here. He’s going to leave and go on living. We want to scream, “Please Jesus, please don’t leave us here!” But we can’t…we’re dead. We can’t even cry though we want to with all our being. There is nothing we can do…nothing…but hope in Jesus. Then Jesus starts to stand so He can leave and our hope fades knowing that by ourselves we deserve to stay dead…forever…without Jesus. Without God. Without Love. Tell me, why was that not more important when we were alive?
 
As Jesus rises, He turns, looks down, and sees us. He already knew we were there. He didn’t forget. He takes us by our hand and pulls us up. As we rise with Him, we come alive, truly alive, wonderfully alive, fully alive. We are filled with Love and Joy and Peace. Not our own but His Peace, His Joy and Him because He is Love! We meld back into Him as He walks out of the grave and forever, we abide IN Him because OF Him and FOR Him only. Because He lives and is victorious, so are we!

1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
 
God gave Himself as an offering to Himself to pay for our sins, (all of them, even the ones we don't talk about) because He knew we never could. We didn't have it in us. He is our present.  He made the way so we can be in His presence for all eternity.  Thank You God! Holy is Your name!

Psalm 139:7-10 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.
 
It’s all about Him!

Have you ever found yourself struggling with the most simple tasks? Getting out of bed, cleaning up the kitchen, doing the 5 loads of laundry that you keep telling yourself you will get to eventually? When we think about these tasks that seem daunting, we tend to complain or try to compromise by putting them off until later. It can be this way in our spiritual walk as well. When we have the mindset that I have to do these tasks, we often focus on the dread that comes with the word, have, and in our human nature, we have a tendency to sometimes forget our why.

Why are we serving the Lord? Why are we denying the world? Why are we continuing on the narrow road?

Whenever we are facing obstacles in our lives that take our focus away from the Lord, or whenever we are falling into the space of complacency, we have to remember our why.

I think of the song Communion and the first lines of the song state:

“We are returning to the place we’ve always belonged. Right here with you. Take me back to the garden. Lead me back to the moment I heard Your voice. Take me back to communion. Lead me back to the moment I saw Your face.”

This is our why, and what we have to remember. That moment when there was no space between you and the Lord. Love is what drew you in, and love is what will keep you.

“In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” - 1 John 4:10

Love is the very nature of God. He showed this by giving us his Son. We share this nature because we are born of him.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.” - Deuteronomy 6: 5-6

We all have burdens. We all have things in our lives that are weighing us down. For me, lately, it has been getting up in the mornings at the hour that I have appointed to spend time in my tent with the Lord. What started as a small, 10 minute snooze, had turned into not waking up until the last minute. This not only causes my day to feel rushed, it also doesn’t allow me to get lined up before starting my day.

So when I expressed this burden, I got hit with the statement, “remember your why.”

Why am I getting up in the mornings to spend time with the Lord?

The answer, because I love the Lord more than I do sleep. I love the Lord more than I do my bed. I love the Lord more than being a little tired.

“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” - 1 Corinthians 13:7

Love endures all things. So when we find ourselves in the middle of a struggle, when we are feeling distant from God, when we are tired, or are heavily ladened. Remember your why. Remember how the Lord drew you close to Him in the beginning. Go back to your well, and remember why you chose to follow Christ.

When we ask ourselves this question, we can look back and remember the goodness of who He is and turn our mindset from “I have to do this” to “I get to do this.”

How beautiful of a phrase to say I don’t have to, I get to because I love the Lord.

“So now faith, hope and love abide, these three; but the GREATEST of these is love.” - 1 Corinthians 13:13

We have all heard the sayings:
“Slow and steady wins the race.”
“Keep on keeping on.”
“Trust the process.”
“Progress over perfection.”

All of these sayings have the same sentiment: stay consistent.

I often tell myself, “progress, not perfection.” In reality, however, I still find myself wanting perfection and instant results. I struggle with the middle of the process, which is where it often feels easiest to give up. Yet, I have learned that giving up only means starting over again later. The key is to simply keep going: even if that means moving slowly. 

This is where consistency comes in. There is a quote by Aristotle that says, "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

Habits take time to form. Excellence is not birthed from waking up one day and deciding you are going to do something. Excellence is birthed from obedience, small steps each moment, each day that lead to the result you are seeking.

Go ahead and prepare yourself to stumble at times. We will never do any of it perfectly, because we will never be perfect and the Lord knows that.

As Christians, we are called to do everything with the spirit of excellence (not perfection). We are called to be obedient (not perfect). We are called to be faithful and steadfast (not perfect).

Philippians 3:12 says, "Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own."

We are not striving to obtain perfection, we are pressing on because we belong to Jesus and we rest in that.

Colossians 3:23-24 says, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”

When our hearts are aligned with His, then everything we do is for His glory. 

The word “steadfast” has been standing out to me lately in my tent time. 

Steadfast is defined as: resolutely or dutifully firm and unwavering.

Firm and unwavering are two qualities that I desire to have, but as humans, we will inevitably fall short at times. But our God is always firm and unwavering, never changing.

Steadfast is used to describe God at least 200 times within scripture. 
Here are a few:

Lamentations 3:22-23: "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

Psalm 136:1: "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever."

Exodus 34:6: "...The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness."

Psalm 89:2: "For I said, 'Steadfast love will be built up forever; in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.'"

Isaiah 54:10: "For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you.”

Not only do we serve a steadfast God, whose love is immovable, never changing, never ceasing, but He calls us to be steadfast as well.

1 Corinthians 15:58: "Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain"

I don’t know about you, but I want to be a steadfast person. I want to be a person of integrity who is reliable, who lifts others up and encourages. I want to be steady in my faith so I can be steady in all other areas of my life.

How can we do this? Consistency. Taking the small steps each day that lead to success, that lead to the goal.
 
This could be in every single area in your life. If you desire to go deeper with the Lord (which should be the case for us all) then you start spending more intentional time in prayer and the Word each day even if that is just 5 extra minutes at first, the Lord sees your faithfulness. If you have a physical goal and you want to eat healthier or exercise more, start with a very small achievable goal each day and once that has been established, you can add more and so on.

Are you wanting to read more? Are you wanting to spend more time with family and friends? Whatever it is, take the time to pray through it and decide on the steps you can take and simply move forward.

The sayings may be cliche, but it truly does start with just one step at a time.

Have you ever tried to do things on your own, but nothing was working?

That’s what happens when we try to control and take matters into our own hands. I remember journaling one day and I could clearly hear the Lord say, “stop trying to do my job.” If we try to control every little thing in our life, we cannot walk in the freedom or breakthrough that God wants to bless us with.
 
How do we give up control and let God take the lead?

We must deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow the Lord daily. We must invite God into our every day. When we try to do things our own way it takes our focus off the Lord and we become more  consumed with the worldly things than the eternal things. We must die to our flesh and continue to walk in the goodness of God as He has called us to do.
 
“For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” - Romans 8:13
 
“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” - Matthew 16:24
 
What does your daily schedule look like?
Are we waking up and scrolling social media?
Do we pray without ceasing when we are inviting God into our everyday routine?
Are we filling our hearts and minds with the things of this world or the righteousness and goodness that comes from our Heavenly Father?

Ask yourself these questions and examine your actions.

Are you inviting God into your every day?
 
Communication is a vital role in our walk with the Lord. We cannot expect God to be in our everyday schedule if we are not communicating or devoting our full attention to Him. God wants you to make your communication with Him a priority. Devote your time in consistent prayer within an alert mind, and thankful heart.
 
“Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.” - Colossians 4:2
 
Our time spent with the Lord should be top priority, it should never just be a check-off on our to-do list. Our heart and mind should always be in tune with the Holy Spirit. Sometimes we just need to stop what we are doing and begin to shift our focus on God.

What does that look like?

• Slowing down
• Resting in the Lord’s Presence
• Getting rid of all things that are distractions
• Seeking the Lord on a deeper level— a level that will grow us in ways like never before.

So… in what ways are you inviting God into your everyday?

John 15 is my favorite chapter in the Bible. In the entire chapter Jesus is speaking and what He says is so packed full of truth that I keep digging deeper into it, always finding more and more of God.

One of the first things to see in this chapter is that the word “abide” appears 10 times in the first 10 verses. Five of those ‘abides’ are contained in the phrase “...abide in Me…”

In school, I learned that anytime a teacher says something repeatedly, you should pay extra attention to what they are saying. The more they repeat it, the more important it is. In addition to that, if they also take the time to write that same information on the board or notate it some other way, it is a way to let you know that this information is very important and you should really PAY ATTENTION, take notes, and make every effort to remember, because eventually, that information will be on at least one test, if not more. 

To be repeated 10 times tells us that abiding in Jesus is very important to Him. In this test called life, Jesus wants, desires, and is pleading with us to abide in Him. Anything that important to Him should be important to us too. Not only does He say to abide in Him, but He also says we are to abide in His love in verses 9 & 10.

Besides abiding in Jesus and abiding in His love, there is another phrase He repeats twice. He says, we are to “love one another” in verses 12 & 17. It is His commandment. He also mentions loving one another in Chapter 13:34 & 35.  

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” - John 13:34-35

In verse 14 Jesus says, 

“You are my friends if you do what I command.” - John 15:14

Sometimes it takes boldness to do what Jesus commands. Just like Peter when he dared Jesus to command him to come meet him on the water. Peter showed complete faith in Jesus as he stepped out of the boat… until he took his eyes off Him.

I wonder, what did Jesus and Peter talk about after He pulled him back on top of the water and  they walked together back towards the boat? Did He continue to get on him about doubting, point out the spectacular view or some big fish under their feet? (I hear the Jaws theme: Do doomp Do doomp) Or did He encourage him that at least he trusted Him enough to get out of the boat at all?

Besides that, how can someone, anyone “start” to sink? I grew up around water. People don’t “start” to sink. They just sink. One second they are on top of the water, and the next, they’ve sunk and are under it. Even at that moment in Peter’s life, when he had gotten distracted by the waves and took his eyes off of Jesus, He showed him mercy and was still working with him, giving him an opportunity to refocus on Him and ask to be saved. 

Jesus, You are good like that. You really are. I like that about You!

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All those commandments in the Old Testament, Lord, I cannot keep them. In verse 10 You say “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in My love…” I already know I cannot keep Your commandments, but I want to abide in Your love. And then in verse 12 You say, “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” and in verse 17, ”These things I command you, that you love one another.” Now those two verses about loving one another, I think I can handle. It sounds much easier and less confusing than all those commandments in the Old Testament. All I’ve got to do and remember is to love. That sounds easy enough, UNTIL I start thinking about what love really is? I am not sure I’ve known love, true love that is. Except for You, God, and what You have done for me, I don’t know that what I’ve experienced and what I’ve felt for others has been true love. 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 is something to strive for, but I don’t think my life, my motives, thoughts, and actions have been based on Your version of love. Thank You that I am forgiven and change me, Lord into who You intended me to be.

Lord, help me abide in You. Help me to love others as You have loved me. I want my life to bear fruit, lots of fruit, 100 fold fruit. Please prune me so that I can. Help me stay focused on You and not be distracted by anything. Even if You have to super glue my forehead to Yours and put horse blinders on me so I can’t see anything on the sides, please do so. Please help me to not lean on my own understanding but to lean on and acknowledge You to the point that if I don’t move when You do I lose my balance until I find You again.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” - Proverbs 3:5-6

 Help me to truly love You to the point that the life I live is totally in You and because of You.

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.” - Galatians 2:20

Walk me through how to love others. Teach me what that looks like, feels like, and how to think like that. Help me to honestly say, “All I have and all I am is Yours. Do with me as You will because it’s all about YOU!”

I was recently reading John 13, and, like the Bible so often does, it struck me in an entirely new way. There’s a lot going on in this chapter, but we are going to focus on one main piece - Jesus washing His disciples’ feet.

This passage is typically taught in a way that reminds us to love others with a servant-hearted love, modeled by Jesus, which is absolutely true and a great lesson to glean from this scripture. As I read it through this time, the Lord showed me that it goes even deeper.

When Simon Peter asks Jesus to wash all of him, Jesus responds with,

“The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” - John 13:10

We’ll circle back to the second part of that verse in a minute. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross washes clean any who believe in Him. But the feet still get dirty. This is representative of our daily need to be cleansed of sin.

Until Christ returns, we are in a process of sanctification. That means that we are already saved and washed clean, and yet, Jesus is still saving and washing us clean. It’s one of those "already/not yet" concepts of scripture that we are already set apart and made whole under the blood of Christ, and yet we are actively being transformed into His image every day until He returns.

Yes, by washing the disciples feet, Jesus was giving them an example of how to love with a servant's heart. And also, I think there was something else at play here: forgiveness.

If washing depicts a cleansing of our sins, both once and for all as well as daily, then forgiveness has to have a part in it. Jesus forgives our sins by His death on the cross when we confess him as Lord. And He daily forgives our sins when we walk in repentance and bring our sins before Him each day.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness.” - 1 John 1:9

But the other important part of this passage is that Jesus gave the disciples (and by extension, us) an example to follow.

“For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.” - John 13:16

Jesus is illustrating for his disciples the importance of forgiving one another - daily if need be - and forgiving even before the person repents.

Now that is tough.

How many times do we say in our hearts, “I’ll forgive them if they apologize first”? Or try to manipulate and pander for an apology after we’ve been hurt by someone?

I know, I’ve been there too.

But Jesus’ example is different. He shows us how to forgive before the other seeks forgiveness and even before the betrayal took place.

Let’s go back to the second part of John 13:10 - “And you are clean, but not every one of you.”

Jesus was referring to Judas Iscariot, who was preparing to betray Jesus into the hands of the Romans. Earlier in the chapter, John tells us that the devil had already placed the thought and intention into Judas’s heart. After Jesus washed his feet, scripture tells us the devil himself entered Judas.

Scripture makes it clear that Jesus had the divine foresight to know what Judas was about to do, and yet, he still washed his feet. I think this was a symbolic way of forgiving Judas’s offense even before it happened.

How hard is that? We want to rant and rave and vent to our friends before we are ready to take it to the Lord in prayer and turn our heart toward forgiveness… if we even make it that far. But what if we sought the Lord and extended forgiveness first? Then when you don't even need to tell your friends about it, or if you do, you can speak of the other person in an uplifting, life-giving way.

“A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.” - Proverbs 29:11

Let me clear up a common misconception - venting doesn’t quell your emotions, it often fans the flames. Especially depending on who you vent to.

One really helpful tool to overcoming big emotions is to have an un-offendable heart. It’s a lot easier to forgive when you can’t be offended in the first place!

But that’s something that is hard for us humans to do, and we can only get it by the power of the Holy Spirit.

“...bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” - Colossians 3:13

Jesus models quick forgiveness. He shows us how to not dwell on the offense, but to forgive immediately, not waiting for an apology, or weighing out whether they deserve it.

I’ll go ahead and tell you they don’t deserve it, and neither did you. None of us deserve forgiveness, but Jesus gave it to us without measure, so who are we, His servants, to withhold the same gift from others?

Forgiveness is a gift. When we apologize for hurting someone, we shouldn’t expect it, but should graciously receive it when it’s offered. And, as Jesus modeled, we should be quick to give it, even before the apology.

Forgiveness strips the enemy of his power over you. It strips emotions of their power over you. Once you forgive, the enemy can’t use that pain as leverage to stir up evil thoughts in your heart. If you have an un-offendable heart, he can’t use that offense to stir up hate toward a brother or sister and sow division.

Forgiveness is one of the most powerful tools Jesus has given us, so let’s use it, Church!

As I am sitting here in worship this morning, I am listening to The More I Seek You, and I thought what a simple concept. The more we seek, the more we find. So why is it so hard for us to grasp that concept sometimes?

“Then, you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” - Jeremiah 29:12-13

Just as the lyrics in this song say, the more we seek, the more we find. The more we find, the more we love him and it got me thinking, what else are we seeking? What else are we finding and are these things leading to loving the Lord more, or the world?

We live in a world today where seeking the world is the standard. We are told to seek after money, after entertainment, after sports, after the next viral trend, and we have completely lost the one thing that we are commanded to do.

“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” - Mark 12:30

These words from Jesus in Mark tell us to love the Lord your God with everything. If we are not seeking the Lord, how are we finding him? If we are not finding the Lord, how are we to uphold this commandment to love him?

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” - Romans 12:2

The world has a way of dangling things in front of our face that make us want to chase or seek after it. Not everything looks dark and evil. Most of the time these things present themselves as good. Why wouldn’t we seek after these things that may promise to prosper us? But with seeking these things, there comes a price. A price that not many of us may realize.

“But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” - James 1:14-15

This is a hard truth from James, but it is one that needs to be said. All throughout scripture the Lord reveals the truth to his people, that we are not to conform to this world. That it is evil, dark, and we are to abstain from being a part of it. If we sit back and examine all that we seek throughout our lives, most of the time these things do not look bad, and 90% of the time they aren't. It’s only when we seek these things above seeking the Lord. It’s when we make more time for these areas in our lives, than we do the Lord. This is where the sin comes in. This is where we run into idolatry.

“Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted work, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” - James 1:21-22
 
I have a note in my bible that I put next to this verse that says “Do the do’s” and in my Fire Bible, a note under this verse reads, “We deceive ourselves if we think that being exposed to Bible teachings and Christian ministry is enough to keep us in a right relationship with God. We can be involved in all kinds of church activity and ministry and know a lot of God’s Word, but if we do not put that Word into practice, all of our activity and knowledge is meaningless.”

The Bible mentions the word “seek” 204 times. Going back and looking at all of these, it is used one of two ways: what to seek and what not to seek. Emphasizing the importance of prioritizing God in our lives.

So, when it comes to seeking, are we truly seeking the Lord with everything? Are we waking up and putting him at the center of our day? Are we following the commands and teachings in our Word? These questions, though tough, are questions we need to ask ourselves. Is there any area in our lives that we are seeking more than the Lord? If there is, then we need to consider James’s words. Those desires that are enticing us and luring us, once conceived, bring death.

So to encourage you all who are reading this blog, there is hope. Going back to Romans 12:2 - Paul tells us to be transformed by the renewal of our minds. This is something that we have to do constantly. It is here where we can shift our gaze and look to the Lord. Where we can walk by the Spirit and not gratify the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16). The world is filled with temptations that want to take our attention away from the Lord. It wants us to seek the things of it, and not seek the things of the Kingdom. But with a renewed mind, we can begin to see clearly and begin to seek the Lord more.

Take some time throughout your week to ponder on the ways the world is trying to get you to seek after it. Pray and ask the Lord to show you these areas that you may be pouring more time into than stepping into your tent time with the Lord. If you are bold enough, ask him to examine your heart and point out those areas. Repent to the Lord if there are any areas in your lives where you have fallen into this temptation. He commands us to love him with everything and above everything, but it starts with seeking him first. The more we seek him, the more we find him. The more we find him, the more we love him.

“But whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him. Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” - 1 John 1:5-6

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Lord, I thank you for your Word and your promise that the more we seek you, the more we will find you. I thank you that in a world that is filled with temptations and desires, you give us the power and authority to stand firm and not seek after these things. Lord, I pray that as we go throughout our days, that you reveal these areas in our lives that we may be putting before you. Point out those areas that we are seeking more than seeking you. Draw us to repentance and help us to remain in our tents, to not grow weary, and give us the strength to abide in your commandments. Help us to walk in the same way that you walked. Seeking first the Kingdom of God. Amen.

More than likely you know the story: the Israelites in the desert, waiting on Moses to come back down from the mountain. They get impatient, and they create for themselves a golden calf to worship. 

“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, 'Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made for themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it and have sacrificed to it and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’” - Exodus 32:7-8

It is easy for us in modern day America to read this and think it’s crazy. To think, “we would never do such a thing.” To think, “how silly it would be to worship a golden cow.” But the reality is that we all worship idols at times; we all have put something other than God on the throne.

Most of the time we don’t realize we have done this; it is not a conscious choice to make an idol, it probably isn’t even one singular choice. It is decisions made each day, decisions to worship God or to worship yourself, your time, your money, your family, your entertainment, your status, and the list could go on and on.

An idol is anything you turn to that is not God. Anything you run to first. Anything that takes up your time and your focus more than God. 

I am going to go out on a limb here and say I think a big one for our society today is our phones. For most people, it is the first thing they touch when they wake up and the last thing they touch before going to bed. 

I also believe that most people, especially adults, realize this is a problem; They realize this is not profiting them, and yet, they can’t quit it. This item has power over us and we would be foolish not to realize it is a tool of the enemy.

I read a quote recently that said, “if your hands won’t release it, your heart might be worshipping it.”

Anything in our lives we turn to for security, comfort, identity or purpose instead of the Lord is an idol. Most of the time these things are not inherently bad, and because of that it is easy for us not to recognize them as idols. Even your family or your ministry can become an idol. This is why it is so important to stay connected to the Lord, to seek Him in all areas of your life. 

1 John 5:20-21 says, “And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. Little children, guard yourselves from idols.”

When we know Him who is true, when we know who we are in Him, and stay connected to the vine, we can guard ourselves from idols. The Word tells us to guard ourselves, so we must be aware and vigilant to not form idols in our lives.

If there are things in your life you think could possibly be idols, fast from them. Choose to fast those things, release them, put them down for a time, and seek the Lord. This is the perfect time, a new year, a new season: join in on the 21 day fast and choose to fast anything that you think could be an idol in your life and see what the Lord shows you. There is so much freedom in casting down the idols and turning back to the one true God.

“Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?  Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.” - Psalm 24:3-4

As we enter into this new year, let us all choose to make it all about Jesus. His mercies are new every morning. Rid yourselves of anything that is holding you back from more of Him. Dethrone the idols and choose today to worship God and Him alone.

As I was coming home from work one night, the Lord kept giving me the word “Crushing,” I instantly thought of the song “New Wine” by Hillsong worship. Here are some of the lyrics-

In the crushing
In the pressing
You are making new wine
In the soil
I now surrender
You are breaking new ground
So I yield to You into Your careful hand
When I trust You I don't need to understand
Make me Your vessel
Make me an offering
Make me whatever You want me to be
I came here with nothing
But all You have given me
Jesus bring new wine out of me

This song often brings me back to the verse in Matthew 9:17-
“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the old skins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine is stored in new wineskins so that both are preserved.”

We can’t put new fresh wine into old wineskins; we have to be willing to be pruned so that we can fully flourish in our walk with the Lord.

When we try to put new wine into old wine skins, it stops the growth from producing and takes away the opportunity to be strengthened in our Faith. We can’t put the new into what is old and from the past. We can look at the crushing as an opportunity to walk in confidence knowing that the pruning and growing will begin to blossom the Lord’s blessings in our lives.

Crushing grows us and it brings in a new and fresh anointing in our lives. Do you realize that when you are in the crushing, God is beginning to prune, grow, and elevate you to your next season in life. Your crushing and pruning season has a purpose, and that is to glorify the Lord. Our crushing can sometimes be an encouragement to someone else because they may be walking through the same hardship or something similar. We have to be willing to be pruned and crushed so that growth in the Lord can take place in our lives.
 
The Lord uses our difficult seasons and challenges to grow us for His glory. We have to fully surrender in our crushing so that our faith doesn’t start to become weak. We have to learn to give up our own control when some seasons are more difficult than others. The process of the crushing is never easy, but the result of surrendering and trusting in the Lord brings freedom and peace.

Whatever season you may be walking in, whether it’s good, hard, long, or short….. Praise HIM anyway because He is forever faithful in every season. As we walk into a new year, allow the crushing to grow and strengthen you in our Heavenly Father.
 
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” - John 16:33
 
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.” – Isaiah 43:2
 
 

You know those moments that just stick with you? The ones that form you and shape you more than you would have ever expected. The ones that are really pretty mundane, but somehow get cemented in your memory. 

I had one of those moments in college sitting with a group of friends in a dorm room, and one girl shared how it had taken her years to fall in love with the Bible. She said she read it diligently every day for about 3 years before she started to genuinely enjoy it. 

I remember feeling a sense of relief, because I didn’t always enjoy reading my Bible in that season. Some days it felt like a chore and it didn’t make sense. But I also remember being so encouraged that it was possible to really fall in love with the Bible. 

This was a girl my age getting a regular college degree and she had fallen in love with the Bible. This simple moment freed me up to realize that I didn’t have to be a pastor, theologian, or seminary student to love the Bible. I just had to be diligent and keep reading, even on the days I didn’t understand.

“Then he said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures,” - Luke 24:44-45 (emphasis added)

The disciples followed Jesus at least 3 years before their minds were opened to understand the scriptures. He even told them point blank what would happen to him and they couldn’t believe it.

We can’t begin to understand it until the Spirit opens our hearts to understanding, and that’s not in our control. The Spirit decides when to do that. All we can do is obediently submit to Him, reading scripture daily or more with a heart that desires to understand.

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” - Isaiah 55:9

Like the disciples, we may not understand, and we won’t fully understand until Christ returns and that’s okay. His ways are higher than ours and often we have to be ok with not fully understanding. We just need to trust Him.

“At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, ‘Ask what I shall give you.’ And Solomon said, ‘...Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil…’” - 1 Kings 3:5,9

God came to Solomon and asked him what he wanted. He asked God for wisdom, discernment, and understanding. God was so pleased with him that he gave him riches and honor and a long life too! In order to ask for wisdom, Solomon first had to be humble enough to recognize that he wasn’t wise. He knew how much he needed the Father if he was going to lead Israel well.

Is that something that blocks you from understanding the Scriptures? Do you feel like you already know everything you need to know, or are you open to being humbled and learning wisdom from God’s word?

Like Solomon, ask for wisdom and it will be given to you. In that wisdom, you will begin to understand things about scripture in a supernatural way. 

And when, like me, you are struggling to even want to read the Word, you can ask the Lord and He will give you a hunger and desire for it. That’s in part why He gave us the Holy Spirit. When we don’t have the strength, the Holy Spirit helps us. He gives us the desire, and gives us the strength to keep pressing on. 

“Lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.” - Proverbs 3:5-6

We have a limited viewpoint of things. We can only see our own circumstances from our own eyes, and interpret it with our own mind. God sees it all. He sees the whole story playing out on a cosmic scale and He can understand things beyond our comprehension. Sometimes He will grant us understanding, and some things will remain a mystery at least until Christ returns.

We’ve got to learn to be patient when we come across scripture that’s difficult to understand and rely on the Lord to reveal to us what we need to know. God doesn’t expect us to have it all figured out. That’s why he told us to seek Him, and promised we will find Him.

So I challenge you to seek Him this week and don’t give up when you come across a difficult scripture. Keep pressing in and seek the Lord.

“I love those who love me; and those who diligently seek me will find me.” - Proverbs 8:17

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility, count others more significant than yourselves." - Philippians 2:3
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For a lot of us—in recovery and honestly just in LIFE—the Christmas season is hard.
It brings reflection whether we want it or not. Sometimes it’s years ago. Sometimes it’s yesterday.

For me, it brings memories of holidays with my parents.
Holidays with friends who aren’t around anymore—for different reasons.

This season is more than trees, lights, and presents.
And some folks won’t like this, but it’s even more than just remembering the birth of our Savior.

This is the season where we need to pay attention to people.

What’s going on in their hearts.
What’s going on in their lives.

In 2024 alone, we lost roughly 250,000 people to overdose.
We lost about 800,000 men to suicide.
At times, that’s two men a minute who felt like there was no hope left.

I don’t know this for a fact, but I’d bet my life on this part:
A lot of those people reached out in some way—and it went unnoticed.
A lot of them just needed someone to CARE.
Someone to NOTICE.
Someone to LOVE them.

The truth is, most of us get wrapped up in our own problems. Our own stress. Our own schedules.
And we stop really looking around us.

But if you pay attention, you can usually see it.
Patterns change.

People stop going to church.
Stop going to meetings.
Stop answering calls.
Stop showing up.
They isolate.

This is the first Christmas in more years than I can count that I’m actually looking forward to.
I’m excited to have my family around me.

I don’t have much money, and yeah, I wish I could do more for them.
But what’s changed my Spirit isn’t stuff.
It’s relationships that were rebuilt after I destroyed them.

That’s the GIFT.

So here’s what I’m asking:

If you notice a change in someone you care about—especially during the HOLIDAYS—reach out.
A call.
A text.
A knock on the door.

It might feel small to you.
But it might be everything to them.

You really could Save a Life.
You really could change how someone sees the WORLD

Love  y’all.

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return of his soul? - Matthew 16:24 - 26

The idea of denying ourselves and taking up our cross can be unsettling. What are we willing to lay down to follow Jesus? Are we willing to take up the cross, just as he did and follow him? Are we willing to detach ourselves from the world to walk with him?

These are questions we must ask ourselves to move forward. I saw a video the other day that really put into perspective the reality of Christianity and being a true follower of Christ. There were two paths, one was a wide road filled with thousands of people, packed and walking under a large, beautifully built sign that said, “I believe in God.” To the left, above the crowd was a small dirt path with only a few people walking past a little wooden sign that read “I Obey God.”

What a powerful representation of Matthew 7:13.

Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
 
To add a touch of personal testimony, I did not always have this perspective. I walked on the wide path for a very long time. I read the scriptures, but there was always a justification for the things that I was not willing to let go of and there are still many things that the Lord is showing me in my personal life and in my family that still need to be laid down. It isn’t easy, and death hurts, but there is a willingness to be obedient to the Lord, because the promise that will follow by walking in obedience, and not simply believing in God is worth far more than anything this world can give me.

Are you willing to lay it all down for the sake of Christ. Are you willing to let go of the things of the world? I want to encourage you to search your heart. Ask the Lord if there are any areas of your life that are keeping you on the wide path. The narrow path isn’t pretty or flashy, it is hard, but it leads to life.

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! – Psalm 139: 23-24

Have you ever had times where you wanted to spend time with the Lord, you wanted to be in the Word and in prayer, but your mind was taking you a million other directions? You were bombarded by the endless to-do list or replaying all the things that happened in the last week or thinking about something else you needed to be doing? The list of distractions could go on and on.

In those moments when we are setting aside time to be with the Lord, but we can’t get our minds to focus; we are battling all the distractions, and are unable to wrangle the never ending thoughts. We have to stop and think about why? Why are we so distracted in those moments?

I believe the distraction in our tent times can sometimes stem from us allowing distractions in our everyday moments. Throughout our days we are making decisions that lead into distraction over connection with the Lord.

For example, in your down time when you have a free minute, are you grabbing your phone to scroll social media? In the evenings before you go to sleep, are you watching a few hours of TV? When you’re sitting in your car waiting for your grocery pick up, are you grabbing that phone again for some more scrolling?

Or instead of resting in His truth and seeking Him in the quiet moments of your day, do you find yourself filling the quiet moments with anxious thoughts about all the things you have to be doing? Are you filling every moment of your day with things to be done and staying so busy that it is a distraction from the connection with the Lord?

All of these little moments of quiet, where we could take a moment to breathe and reflect on the day and what the Lord is doing, to thank Him and to pray, to seek His wisdom and direction: moments when we can read a few Ipassages of scripture and renew and refresh our minds and worship Him, we are choosing to distract ourselves instead.

It seems innocent enough, we have our tent time in the morning, and then move on with our day. But we have to keep that connection going all throughout our day.

We are in a relationship with the Lord, and we need to be making the conscious decisions throughout our day that lead to connection with Him, not distraction.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

It is crucial that we abide in Him throughout our entire day. Choosing to shift our focus when our mind wants to wander into the endless to do lists or to the distractions will keep us abiding in Him. Through that abiding, we will become more and more fruitful. The less distracted we are, the more useful we become for the kingdom.

Our faith grows in those quiet moments of obedience. It may seem like a small thing, to choose a few minutes of prayer and worship over a few minutes of scrolling, but those small steps lead us to big faith. When we keep that connection throughout our day, our tent times are even more fruitful because they are being built upon a strong intimacy and connection with the Father.

In Psalm 119:37 it says to turn our eyes away from worthless things and to ask the Lord for life in His ways. When we do this we are revived according to His righteousness. This happens in our everyday moments of choosing to turn our eyes from the desires of our flesh and look to the author and perfector of our faith.

Of course we will have times when it’s hard to stay focused and we feel distracted, but those times will become less and less when we are making intentional choices to draw closer to Him throughout our day.

So the next time you find yourself with some down time or a moment of quiet, instead of reaching for your phone or turning on the TV or anxiously thinking through your endless to-do list, take a moment to acknowledge the Lord and seek your refreshment from Him instead. Choose connection over distraction and allow Him to strengthen and uplift you.

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Matthew 11:28-29

Matthew 14:31
And immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

The doubting of God’s word begins with a thought contrary to what is spoken. If the word of God is truth, how do we get to a place where we are now doubting the authenticity of it? Doubt is a tool the enemy uses to deter and discourage the heart of the believer. We know that the life we live now is by faith and not by sight. If the enemy can get us focused on what we see, he can cause us to doubt the truth or the word of God.

Doubt means a feeling or uncertainty or to call into question the truth of. It is a lack of confidence. It also means to consider unlikely. Bottom line, doubt is rooted in fear, not faith. It comes to kill, steal, and destroy faith in the lives of believers. The enemy doesn’t want us to walk in the belief that God is, and he is a rewarder of them who diligently seek him. He wants you to doubt that he has plans for you and that all things are possible with God. If he can get you to doubt, he can get you divided, and a house divided will not stand.  Because if the enemy can get you to start fearing the future again, you will doubt your life will ever change for the better.

We must remember who has the authority in our lives. The life we now live is in Christ. Even when our flesh is weak, we are made strong in and through Christ. The enemy comes at weak moments when our eyes are seeing a different story than the word Jesus spoke to us during our prayer time. Public display or the lack thereof can cause us to waver from what the truth speaker has given to us. But we must be like Mary when the angel came to her. We must accept what the Lord says and respond in faith. We must have this confession: That if he promised, faithful is he to perform it. We can’t allow the enemy to deceive us like he did in the garden. He presented a scenario that caused doubt even though they had the word of the Almighty God, the creator of heaven and earth. The serpent created a scenario that seemed true but was far from it. In that moment of doubt, sin entered the world.

When we doubt, we open our hearts to sin against God. Doubt will cause us to disobey God and turn from him and what he desires to do in our lives. If you allow doubt to enter your mind, it will get in your way and blind you to the truth. It will be false evidence appearing real. That’s what fear stands for, and doubt will enter the chat and potentially seal the deal.

Doubt has done enough damage to your faith and your life. It’s time to take back your destiny and follow through with what the Lord has spoken. You may be in the middle of a situation but keep going. Let your faith be louder than the fear and doubt that’s screaming at you. Remember the Lord comes with a small still voice. The enemy is always loud because it wants to be seen and heard, but you don’t have to give in to him to it any longer. Allow your faith to be on fire. It will burn doubt right out of the way.

There is great power in the words we speak. James tells us this in chapter three of his book, but this isn’t a post on gossip or taming your tongue. This is about confession. Out loud to another person, with real words, kind of confession. 

“So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.” - James 3:5

When I was a kid, I remember learning about the ABCs of salvation: 
Admit that you’re a sinner
Believe in Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection
Confess that Jesus is Lord

The thing is, we are all for admitting and believing, but we don’t seem to like the confession part as much. We want to just keep all of this between us and God, confessing in our hearts, but never speaking it out loud. 

Now there are two sides to this coin: confessing that Jesus is Lord and confessing our sins. Scripture speaks to both, and both are necessary. 

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” - Romans 10:9-10

Romans tells us that we are justified by belief in our heart, but saved by confession with our mouth. This is the part of proclaiming the belief we have in our hearts. Telling others about Jesus and His astounding love for us so that they might be saved. 

According to this scripture, belief in your heart is just the first step. That’s what justifies you, but the confession is what saves you. We can’t just sit back and quietly believe Jesus, never speaking about Him or standing up for His word. Confession is the natural response to belief. 

The other side of the coin is confession of our sins. Out loud. To another person. 

I know. We really don’t like this one. In our hyper-grace culture, this is not a popular idea. We think we can keep our sins between us and God, asking for forgiveness in our heart, and moving on without ever having to own up to it out loud. But that’s not scripture. 

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” - 1 John 1:9

1 John reminds us of the faithfulness of our God to forgive us and cleanse us, but we have a role in this relationship too: confession. When we confess our sins, we bring to light what was in darkness so that we can be set free from it and receive God’s forgiveness and purification.

By nature, confession has to be out loud to someone else. Yes, we need to confess to the Lord in prayer as well, and also, there is great power in speaking it out loud to our brothers and sisters in Christ. 

Still not convinced? Let’s see what James says. 

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” - James 5:16

Scripture makes it clear that we must confess to one another. There is great power in this, because confessing it brings the darkness into the light and invites others to pray with us and for us. If we are a people that believe in the power of prayer, we have to tell people what’s really going on that we need prayer for! We were never designed to do this alone - that’s why God gave us the church, but that’s a topic for another day. 

The dictionary definition for confessing is “to tell or make known something.” That means you have to say it out loud. Introverts, take a deep breath. You can do this. It doesn’t have to be on stage in front of a room full of people. In fact, in most cases, it probably shouldn’t be. Just start with one trusted person.

I understand from experience that this is an incredibly humbling practice, and not easy to do. But isn’t that what we want - to be humbled? After all, Jesus was a man of humility and if He’s our Lord and Savior, don’t we want to be like him? If you have any measure of pride in your heart, it will be revealed by this practice of confession.

It’s also something you should practice with someone that you can trust, as it requires a large measure of vulnerability. If you’re married, I recommend starting with your spouse. If not, a trusted friend, mentor, parent or sibling. You’ll be amazed at the barriers broken down and the closeness you experience in relationships when you start confessing to one another. 

Lastly, if we truly believe the good news of the gospel, we can confess with great joy that every sin we confess and bring into the light is covered by the blood of Jesus. Just look at the woman at the well in John chapter four.

“Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did!... So the people came streaming out of the village to see him.” - John 4:29-30

Her sin was brought into the light, yet she recognized the saving power of Jesus and instead of hiding away in shame (like she had been doing when she met Jesus), she rejoiced and led an entire village to her Savior! 

There is freedom in confession, and when we recognize that, we can begin to confess with joy to one another, because we know our God is faithful and just to forgive. So, take some time today to pray and ask the Lord to search your heart for any unconfessed sin, and confess it to someone with repentance. I guarantee you’ll feel lighter. Here’s a great scripture to pray to get you started:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.”
- Psalm 139:23-24

 We live in a world now, where the answers are at our fingertips. We ask a question, and we get instant answers. Anything from recipes, relationship advice, what colors look best on me, the questions are endless. I was an avid ChatGPT user. Notice I said was. ChatGPT was my go-to for quick, somewhat accurate information. My personal favorite thing to do was use it to rearrange the rooms in my house, giving me a new look for my home. The results were beautiful and made me want to go out and start turning my home into an Ai generated home. Because it looked good.

Ai, if you don’t know, stands for Artificial Intelligence. It is a robot or chatbot that uses algorithms to supply its users with answers instantly. It can do anything from giving you a projection to what your children will look in in 10 years, responses to emails/messages, to even giving you biblical principles and theologies. And it is very good at it.

In my experiences with ChatGPT or Ai, I found a sense of gratification of being able to have all the answers to my questions right at my fingertips. But it just took one thing to open my eyes and see the evil that Ai really is.

A little back story, I had a dream. I woke and wrote my dream down immediately and prayed that God would help me to interpret this dream and give me the answers I was seeking. Instead of waiting for His answer and seeking Him in my tent time, I thought “Hey, let me ask ChatGPT to break down this dream in a biblical way”. So, I went to the app and began to tell this chatbot about this dream. I got an answer within seconds. It broke down this dream piece by piece, gave me scriptures to coordinate with what it was telling me, and analyzed every part of this dream down to even the smallest detail. And it sounded great. It was spot on, and it was what I wanted to hear.

I then told my husband, Jamie, what I had done, and he immediately said, “I don’t like that”. I defended the response it gave me and questioned him on why he didn’t like it. His response was because Ai is terrifying. I told Jamie what ChatGPT had told me about the dream, and he nodded and was just as amazed as I was. But still, his response was the same. I don’t like that.
And as he said these words, it opened the door to a conversation, and the Lord immediately opened my eyes to the problem that I put myself into. At that moment, I let a robot take the place of the Lord. Instead of taking the time to sit and listen to the Lord and His truth about the answers I was seeking, I turned to an instant source that would give me the answer I was looking for. It had become my idol. My golden calf.

John 14:1-6 says:
“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go and prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas replied to Jesus and asked him how do we know the way? Jesus responded in verse 6 and said “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

We have reached a place in our culture where we are reaching for the truth, but we are reaching for an artificial truth. Jesus tells us that He is the truth. We can also look into Matthew 6:31 where Jesus is giving his Sermon on the Mount. He says in verse 31 that we should not be anxious saying, what shall we eat? Or what shall we drink? Or what shall we wear? For the Gentiles seek after these things and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.” And in verse 33, Jesus tells us “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

The 4 most asked questions that ChatGPT receives are as follows:

1. How do I actually do this? 2m+ queries a month.
Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to Trust in the Lord with all our heart and do not lean on our own understanding. In all our ways we are to acknowledge Him, and he will make our paths straight. When we ask Ai how do I do this, we are completely shutting out the Holy Spirt and the not trusting that the Lord will give us the answers. Philippians 4: 6 tells us “But in everything through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” We are in fact turning from God and relying on our own understanding or in this case Ai’s understanding.

2. Can you please do my homework? 3m+ queries a month.
This question is creating a lazy and procrastinating generation. Proverbs 13:4 says the “soul of the sluggard (lazy) craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.” Ephesians 5:15 says “we are to look carefully how we walk and not to walk as unwise but as wise, making the best use of our time because the days are evil.” Not only are we creating a lazy and procrastinating generation, but it also opens the door for a broken commandment. Thou shall not lie. You lie, you fry.

3. What exactly do I say? 1.5m+ queries a month
This shows that Ai has become the go-to confidant for dilemmas. Confrontations are biblical. But we have to rely on the Holy Spirit and lead with love in those times when it is needed. Galatians 6:1 instructs us who are spiritual to restore anyone who is caught in transgression with gentleness. 2 Timothy 3:16 says “that all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, reproofing, for correction, and training in righteousness.” So, what exactly do we say? This is where we turn to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to speak through us, through His Word, and prayer.

4. Why are relationships this complicated? 1m+ queries a month
Relationships can be complicated. Ai tells us in a “neutral 3rd party” perspective on how to deal with our relationships. Whether it’s a question about our spouse, or a question regarding our children, Ai will give us an unbiased answer. When looking for answers about our relationships, the only one we should be turning to is Christ. He is the example. “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8. If we truly want to know the answer to relationships, we need to look at scripture. 1 Corinthians 13 talks about the ways in which love operates. Jesus also tells us in Matthew 22:37-39 to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Perhaps it isn’t the relationship that’s complicated – maybe we just aren’t willing to look at ourselves?

We can’t stop technology. That’s the simple fact. The more we grow as a society, the more Ai and technology is going to grow. But I want to encourage you to research and dive into this topic on your own. I want to challenge you to compare it to scripture just as I have. I thank God for my husband, and the Lord for opening my eyes to the evil that Ai is becoming. Yes, there are some benefits to Ai, and it can be great tool to use. But eventually, its going to be the only tool we turn to; therefore, it is eliminating the use of our bibles and God all together. How can God be in that?

While researching this, I came across a blog that said “Ai cannot be saved spiritually. It has no soul, no emotion, it does not know the truth and therefore cannot be set free.” How can God be in that?

Now I am not saying Ai is the devil or the anti-Christ. But what I am saying is that it is deceptive, it is manipulative, and it gratifies your flesh. All these things go against Gods word.
Ai is replacing human contact and interactions with generated answers. It causes us to retreat because why do we need to ask another person their thoughts and ideas when we have a Chatbot who can answer for us, the way we want to hear it. It closes the door to all conversations and thus closes the door to our hearts to receive what another person has to say. It gives us false hope and eliminates Gods voice in the midst of our troubles. How can we learn to trust Him, and rely on Him for the answers when our go to is a robot?

There is so much evil behind Ai. I know many may look at it differently and that’s okay. I pray that the Lord opens your eyes to this, just as He did mine. I have seen countless videos of people turning to Ai as their God who provides them with everything they need. The enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy, and when we turn to Ai for answers, instead of lifting our concerns and questions to God, we will eventually get to the point where we don’t think He is needed any longer.

So, are we turning to the one who was created because of its “intelligence” or are we turning to the one who is the Creator and is all knowing?

Ephesians 6:10-18
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle with flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

John 15:7
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”

As the world continues to grow darker and colder, it is imperative that we stay connected to what is true and holy. If we’re not careful, we can find ourselves away from God based upon what’s happening around us. It’s easy to complain when we watch the news or choosing sides or views that may bring different opinions. In all things, we must remember to abide in Christ and trust in him.

Jesus said he was the true vine. Being connected to him is not about being a good Christian but being the light in a dark world. He needs us to allow his light to shine so others can see him. When we are disconnected from him, he says we wither away. Have you noticed when you don’t read your word or continue to feed the spirit how your joy, peace, and love seem to wither? You feel dry and out of place. This happens when we stop abiding in the things that kept our souls fed. Also, our branches no longer produce the fruit that’s needed to help feed someone who may not know him. Our fruit gives life when we are connected to the life giver. Without him we can do nothing.

If we are going to abide and trust in him, we must continue to take him at his word.  We have things we are asking God for. I know for me I am waiting on some promises to come to pass. There are times when I am impatient and want the manifestation of his word to come forth. I’ve gotten frustrated with waiting and even at some point wanted to give up. But he reminded me to abide in him. I must stay in a place of expecting him to show up because I have his word.

Psalm 130:5 says:
“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word, I do hope.”

The word of the Lord gives me hope. I can remember what he said, and grab hold onto what I know about him. I can abide in him because the word of the Lord is truth. He can accomplish what he’s spoken to me. His words will not return to him void. I must trust him and endure or remain steadfast until the change comes.

Above all, do not allow your heart to be troubled. If life changing decisions are made from frustration or fear, we will not abide. The Lord promised to give us wisdom when we ask. If his word abides in us, we have a promise of asking and receiving.