Category Archives: Truth

Jun27

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…Lessons From Dusting.

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Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…Lessons From Dusting.

You know how you clean your house top to bottom, carefully and methodically searching every nook and cranny for dust and dirt? You dust, you scrub, you spray copious amounts of disinfectants, Pledge, toilet, and bathroom cleaners. You vacuum and sweep every inch until your home looks and smells pristine. But the minute you put the vacuum away and sit to enjoy the fruits of your labor, you see it, a tiny speck of dust staring back at you in full defiance, and as you turn your head, you see another and another—and you realize dirt cannot be tamed.

Today, as I cleaned, I realized the full meaning of this scripture: “Apart from Me, you can do nothing.” Nothing means NOTHING. You see, no matter how well I clean my house, I will NEVER be able to remove all the dirt. Why? Because I can’t. It’s the same with our lives with God. No matter how hard we try (in our own strength), we will never be able to clean our own dirt. Again, because we can’t.

But here’s the truth, friend, God can. ONLY GOD CAN. Here’s an even better truth: God wants to. So, stop trying to clean up your filth, give God the duster, and let Him get to work.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whosoever 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

So what am I thankful for today? Lessons from dusting.

Feb21

DAY 51 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…Choosing God.

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DAY 51 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…Choosing God.

Lately, the state of the world and America have been heavy on my heart, for lack of a better description, what I am seeing grieves my heart. It scares me to think about where we are heading, especially as I watch people I respect and some I love fall into the trap of the world and its traditions. If we, who are called to be salt and light, look like the world, what hope is there? This question has been an ever-present fixture in my heart and mind for a while now. Sometimes it leads me to a sweet time of reflection and growth as I seek God and His words for direction and wisdom, and other times, it leads me to deep sadness and near depression because instead of looking to my Lord and Savior who walks on raging seas, I focus on the darkness I see engulfing us.

Here’s a reminder from God’s word of who we are and what God has given us, but most importantly, it’s a reminder that sin is subtle, it sneaks in, like satan in the garden, and distracts us with half-truths and tries to redirect our hearts and minds with questions like, “Did God REALLY say…” How do we combat this? By KNOWING WHAT GOD DID SAY.

“That their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments…See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ…Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch,” (Colossians 2:2B-4, 8, 21).

Our hope is Christ, our guide and the director of our path is Christ. Christ is who we look to when the world is upside down. Christ is where our hope and safety are found, NOT religion, NOT man, and NOT the world. God says DON’T handle, DON’T taste, and DON’T touch. We are God’s representatives to the world. Our call is to represent Him correctly, and God takes this charge seriously; we should, too.

“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the river and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, CHOOSE YOU THIS DAY WHOM YOU WILL SERVE.” (Joshua 24:14-15A).

Here’s the truth, friends, we are going to serve something. Whether that be self or God is our choice to make. I hope, like Joshua, your answer is, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15B)

So, what am I thankful for today? That we can choose God.

Feb2

DAY 33 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…A God Who Still Knows The Recipe For Manna

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DAY 33 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…A God Who Still Knows The Recipe For Manna

Recently, while listening to K-LOVE, I heard Annie F. Downs say, “God has not forgotten the recipe for manna.” Those words stuck with me. I have been mulling them over for a few weeks now. I have been thinking about how God caused food to fall from heaven to feed the people He loved, and how He provided exactly what each person needed for that day and only that day, so they wouldn’t be overwhelmed. God was faithful to do this EVERY SINGLE DAY for forty years. For forty years, the children of Israel never had to worry about what they would eat, because the God they served and followed was (and still is) faithful.

Which is why watching them disobey God over and over again is so crazy to me. I judge them hard and say to myself, “I would never.” Yet, as I look at my life, I see how many times a day, a minute, a second I live life as though God has forgotten the recipe to manna. I forget the needs He’s met, the prayers He’s answered, His love and grace over the smallest hiccups. One tiny little thing that doesn’t go my way has me on the floor in tears, wondering where God is and why He’s left me. Oh, me of little faith.

Here’s the truth: I’m the one who’s forgotten. I forget the weapons of our warfare are not flesh, but have divine power. Power that can destroy strongholds. I forget. Not God. God has not forgotten the recipe for manna. He knows what we need for each day, and He gives us divine power, power to destroy arguments and strongholds that try to keep us from His will for our lives. We have a hope that never fails, because our God can’t (and will never) fail or forget.

“For the weapons of our warfare are not flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4).

God is faithful to provide for us, to meet our needs, and to answer our prayers. But more than that, He has given us the power to break down the strongholds that keep us from what He has for us. So, friends, let’s stop living in our fears and live like we know God hasn’t forgotten the recipe for manna.

So, what am I thankful for today? God still knows the recipe for manna.

Jan10

Day 10 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…Sorrow

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Day 10 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…Sorrow

Yesterday was a hard day for me, emotionally, to the point that I did not post on day 9. In 2024, my mom died suddenly, and even though it’s been almost two full years since her passing, the pain still feels like it happened yesterday. Yesterday was not a traumatic day by any means. Nothing that should have thrown me into the depths of pain and loss that I experienced; it was, from all accounts, a normal day, and as weird as this sounds, normal days are the hardest. Why? Because on normal days, I am more acutely aware that she’s not here. I can’t just walk into her room for a hug. She’s not here spontaneously singing at the top of her lungs, or saying words wrong and doubling down that her way is the correct way, and everyone else is wrong. On normal days, I simply miss her more.

There is no cut-off time for grief, and there is no proper way to handle it. We each experience it differently, and that’s how it’s meant to be. So, if you need to cry, cry, let grief wash over you, don’t run from it, don’t hide from it, and don’t ever say “I should be over this by now.” God promises to be close to us when our hearts are broken, when the pain we feel is so deep that there are no proper words to describe it.

“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit” (Psalms 34:18).

Here’s the truth, friends: grief is real, as are loss and pain; there is no getting away from them or pretending them away. So don’t hide or run from the hurt, let loss have its moment in your life, and the God who is acquainted with our sorrows will be by your side to walk you through the pain and pour out His love and peace and joy on you that no one and nothing will be able to take away. Just as He promised, “You have sorrow now, but I will give you joy again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” John 16:22.

So, what am I thankful for today? Sorrow that leads to joy.

Jan5

Day 5 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…A God Who Hears.

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Day 5 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…A God Who Hears.

I have had an annoying and debilitating crick in my neck for the past three days. It’s not a life-altering issue for most people, even though it is inconvenient and irritating. A crick can happen from sleeping poorly, overuse, and even bad posture. All very normal, natural, and dare I say mundane reasons. However, for me, a crick in the neck can be a sign of stenosis (a narrowing of the veins) or of the vein expanding, which could lead to rupture. It sounds very dramatic, and I guess in a way it is. What looks pretty average on the outside can mean life-threatening results for me.

As I struggled to move my neck while doing my devotion today, I had this thought: this crick in my neck is a lot like sin (no, not that I have it because of sin). But just like a seemingly mundane pain in the neck, there are sins in life that seem so normal and uneventful. At times, we do them without thinking, because it’s the norm in the world we live in, yet at their core, these “sins” want to steal our joy and peace, narrowing our view of what God is doing in our lives and expanding our hurt, pain, and weariness. Things as simple as a wayward thought, sarcastic words, and doubts can lead to devastating outcomes.

What sets the child of God apart from the world is not a lack of sin, but hope in a God and Father who forgives our sins and hears us when we call out to Him in surrender. So, cry out to God, friend; He will hear you and rescue you from your troubles. He will take your broken heart and crushed spirit and give you His peace. Now that’s some good news!

“When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of their trouble. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:17-18).

So, what am I thankful for today? A God who hears.

Jan4

Day 4 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…Redemption.

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Day 4 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…Redemption.

It never fails to amaze me how God speaks directly to my heart and meets me exactly where I need to be met. It shouldn’t surprise me, but it does, every single time. He sees my fears, my questions, and my uncertainties. I think the awe comes when I realize this: the God who spoke the world into existence and made it with such intricate detail and creativity that trees can communicate with each other about dangers and food sources. That very same God cares about my fears and understands my shortcomings.

When I feel like I’m walking far from His will for me, He gently reminds me that He is carrying me, that He has wiped out my offenses, casting them as far as the east is from the west. Life on this earth is never going to be perfect. We will have troubles, trials, and tribulations. We will have fears, and we will fall short. But here is the truth, friends, a hope that you can hold fast to. Our fears, sins, and messes have no power over us. No, really, it’s true. How? Because God loves us and has redeemed us in Jesus.

So, if you feel like you’re failing, falling, or have messed up so bad that God can’t forgive you. Take comfort in God’s words to us through the prophet Isaiah and know that you are redeemed in Him.

“I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you” (Isaiah 44:22).

What am I thankful for today? Redemption.

Jan3

Day 3 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…JESUS

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Day 3 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…JESUS

Today, while doing my devotion, I wondered out loud if there was a way to live this life not feeling like a hamster on a wheel, continuously repeating the same mistakes, working hard (in my own strength) to figure out the lessons God wants me to learn, so I can move forward. I constantly feel like Paul, wanting to make the right choices, wanting to do what pleases God, but falling constantly. Do you ever feel the same? Wonder what you’re missing, not seeing clearly? Living that Romans 7 cycle?

“For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am!” (Romans 7:22-24A).

How do we free ourselves from the cycle, the never-ending rolling wheel of sin and shame? Here’s the truth, we can’t. If we could right our wrongs and wipeout our misdeeds and missteps, God would not have needed to send His Son. But fear not, friends, for we are not as those without hope. Our salvation does not depend on us, it is not for us to right our wrongs. This sin that we cannot tame or control is exactly why Christ came. We have hope, the same hope that Paul expresses in Romans 7.

“What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24-25).

What am I thankful for today? Jesus Christ, my Lord!

Dec29

Day 363 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…God Taking My Heart of Stone

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Day 363 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…God Taking My Heart of Stone

Yesterday at church, I read a verse that I am sure I have read many times before, but it felt like the first time I had truly seen it. The verse is from Mark 6:52. However, before I write the verse, let me give some backstory: Jesus had just finished feeding over 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish. He then told his disciples to get in the boat and go ahead of him, while he spent some time in prayer. As the disciples continue their journey, a storm begins, and they struggle to keep control of the boat. Jesus sees this and comes to meet them by walking on the water. But upon seeing this, the disciples are afraid, mistaking Jesus for a ghost. We will pick up in verse 50b as we make our way to verse 52. “Immediately, He spoke to them and said, ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’ Then He climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, for THEY HAD NOT UNDERSTOOD ABOUT THE LOAVES; THEIR HEARTS WERE HARDENED.”

You see it too, right? “They didn’t understand about the loaves, their hearts were hardened.” I have read the book of Mark more than once, and I have never noticed this verse before. The disciples lived with Jesus, ate with Jesus, journeyed with Jesus, and witnessed every single miracle FIRSTHAND and STILL DID NOT UNDERSTAND. It made me think about my life, about all the ways I see God move in my life and in my world daily, and how, despite all He’s done, I still struggle to trust Him with 100% of my heart. It can feel discouraging, can’t it? Like a hamster on a wheel, only the hamster knows where the food is, has all the tools needed to get off the wheel, yet speeds up its pace of going nowhere. We complain about the disciples and declare that we’d have done it differently, yet here we are doing the exact same thing in real time.

Here’s the hope, friends, Jesus didn’t leave the disciples; He continued with them because He knew that one day He would lead them to understanding, one day their eyes would see fully, and when that day came, they would change the world in His name. Here’s a promise to hold on to when you feel like your heart is hardened: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws” (Ezekiel 36:26-27).

Today, I am thankful that God will take away my heart of stone.

Dec23

Day 357 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…Grace That Covers Disobedience

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Day 357 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…Grace That Covers Disobedience

Recently, I was asked a question that I want to pose to you. If you were to give God a Christmas gift, what would it be? I had many answers: my heart, my soul, my love, and my praise. All good answers, all things that God deserves, because, well, He is God. However, as I have been going through my devotions in the Old Testament (currently in 2 Kings). I realized that what God wants above all things is our obedience. In 2 Samuel 15, God commanded Saul to completely wipe out the Amalekites, and by wipe out He meant everything, complete annihilation. But Saul did not obey, and in verse 22, Samuel, God’s prophet, says this to Saul, “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”

As I think about what I would give God for Christmas, my answer is obedience. Not robotic, or fearful obedience, but obedience that comes from a heart that desires to give God my very best at all times. Does that mean I’ll never disobey? No. Will God forgive me when I fall and fail? Absolutely, that’s why Jesus came. Here’s a reminder, friend: “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace“ (Romans 6:14). God desires obedience, but understands our weakness and gives us grace through Jesus, who fulfills the law so that we can live in grace.

Today, I am thankful for the grace that covers my disobedience.

Dec21

Day 355 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…My Weakness

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Day 355 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…My Weakness

Do you sometimes feel weak, have feelings of inadequacy? Times when you’re fearful that if you move, you will fall flat on your face? Our weakness can be crippling, keeping us from moving forward, worried that if we do, we will fail for everyone to see. Here’s a truth that we often find hard to believe: don’t fear your weakness. Embrace it. Yup, I did say embrace weakness. Why? Because in our weakness God is strong. When we look at weakness through the lens of our humanity, we see it as less than or not good enough. However, when we look at weakness through the lens of God’s love and grace towards us, we, too, like Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9, can hear God say, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” To us, weakness, for the lack of a better word, is, well, weak. But God sees it as an opportunity for His power to be made perfect.

If the road you are walking seems to have more pits and potholes than paved paths. Don’t let fear of being too weak to make it keep you from taking that first step. God is there walking with us, and if we trust and believe, we will see His power being perfected in us.

“Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” John 11:40

Take heart, friends, God wants to show us beautiful, glorious, perfected power, so don’t fear your weakness. Embrace it.

Today I am thankful for my weakness.