November 3, 2024

Nothing is more important than continually abiding in fellowship with the Lord. Living in His presence, consciously aware of Him and His Kingdom, gives me all of the light and understanding I need to work through any adversity that comes my way.
There is no problem for me to solve because He always has the perfect solution. I can unconditionally trust Him to make every situation work in harmony with Him to accomplish His purpose.
Every situation in which I experience worry, doubt or fear is a simple reminder that I am leaning on my own understanding instead of trusting the Lord. Now that I know the secret of living continuously and victoriously over every circumstance, I am free from fear, bitterness, resentment, anger, frustration, ambition and every form of discontentment.
My future is in God’s hands and I know He will guide me, one step at a time, to walk with Him through the mountains and valleys that are ahead of me.

November 2, 2024

For many years it was difficult for me to understand the paradox that the Lord is both inclusive and exclusive.
He never keeps a person out of His Kingdom because of race, nationality, gender, age or any other distinguishing feature. Whosoever will may come and drink from His fountain of life.
At the same time, He prohibits anyone from coming any other way than through the cross of Jesus Christ. If there was another way, He would have spared Jesus the agony and excruciating form of death He endured.
That is the offense of the cross and the reason for resistance to the gospel. God appears to be exclusive by refusing to allow anyone to come to Him by their own righteousness. As the creator of all things, He alone has the right to determine how people are reconciled to Him.
I thank God for His ingenious plan of redemption that enables me, a sinner, to experience His peace and joy, and maintain your perfect justice.

November 1, 2024

Today’s talking point is sincerity. How can we be sincere about doing something God wants us to do if it conflicts with our desires of the flesh?  We need to be in the Word. The Bible is God’s revelation to us; it shows us God’s character, builds our faith, and directs us on how to live our lives.  When we spend time with the Lord, we allow ourselves to hear him more clearly over all the noise that clutters our lives, and he will change our desires to be more like his.  As we devote ourselves to one another, we become blessed by being in relationships with other followers of Christ. Let’s be authentic with our brothers and sisters in Christ, sharing our struggles, allowing communal prayer and encouragement, and speaking the word into each other’s lives. When applied, these aspects of our Christian walks help us to sincerely live out what scripture explains in Romans 12:9-11.

October 31, 2024

I remember the first time I attended a Cypress Creek women’s Encounter. One of the speakers said that as women, we seem to rank ourselves among one another, but none of that is true—we are all equal!

First off, that’s so true, and I’m sure Men have some sort of false ranking system too.  But imagine we were all to see each other the way Jesus does. Would our doors open wider for the marginalized?  Would we be more willing to invite certain neighbors to church, our community groups, or even our homes for a meal?

In Luke 19, Jesus chose to have dinner with Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector who, in the eyes of the Jewish people, was a thief. However, Zacchaeus was just as important in Jesus’ eyes as anyone else, including you, the neighbor with political differences, and the poor man who shows up to church with his clothes torn and tattered.

I challenge you this week to pray and ask God where you may have biases and for him to change your heart.

 

October 30, 2024

Leadership has its challenges. It requires you to think extra about people’s feelings, make up for others’ mistakes, and often graciously work through things with people in situations that feel futile.  You have to be subjective about your feelings and wants, constantly placing them on the altar to ensure you’re making decisions that are best for your flock and not based on vain conceit and desires.  God has placed great examples of leadership in my path who have joyfully shepherded me in this way, so all I had to do was follow in their footsteps. However, even if we don’t have tangible examples of this in our lives, we do have Christ, the perfect shepherd to look to. Jesus went as far as to lay his own life down for us.  We will most likely not be called to such measures, but will be asked to put others before ourselves, considering the Lord’s will in every decision and action we take.

October 29, 2024

I tend to do just enough to appease those around me to get by. For example, you know when you’re expecting company over, and you just shove everything in a room or closet to clean up? Well, guess what…God sees what’s in the closet or room and knows the clean-up job isn’t complete. The above scripture is saying that whatever work we are being called to in this season of our lives, we should do to the best of our ability. This is a conviction for me, but for you, it may be an encouragement; maybe it’s both. You may be doing your best, but may also have unrealistic expectations put on you by other people. God sees you. He knows your heart and abilities. Therefore, you can be at peace knowing that he is ultimately the one you are serving.

October 28, 2024

It’s easier for me to think of a boss/employee relationship here, but I believe the same principles apply.  I’ve had many jobs where I felt unappreciated or mistreated, and I’m sure many of you have as well. A bad boss can make life miserable, but Imagine God is your bosses boss or the owner of the company.  I think that’s what this scripture is saying. You may feel undervalued, unappreciated, or even mistreated at your work, but God is the ultimate judge and the ultimate rewarder. Therefore, we are to do our work with a heart of sincerity as if we were serving him directly.

October 27, 2024

Before I started following Jesus, I was living in darkness, making choices based on the illusion of my past or future. I was developing an image of myself apart from God, not understanding who I was or what I was supposed to be.
I have always believed in God but didn’t have an intimate relationship with Him like I do now. When He became real to me, through faith in Jesus Christ, I developed a vision and understanding of His Kingdom in a way I had never experienced before. It took many years for the Lord to bring me into the place of fellowship I now enjoy with Him, and I am so grateful for the guidance of the Holy Spirit that brought me here.
I used to view each second as a stepping stone to an event in the future, not realizing how decisive and wonderful each moment is. Now, I enjoy fellowship with Him almost continually without interruption, and the time I spend with Him is filled with peace and joy.
It doesn’t matter what has happened in the past or what will happen in the future because each moment I live in communion with Him is the most crucial event in my life. Now I realize that this is what abiding in Jesus is all about because He and the Holy Spirit are also always abiding in our Heavenly Father.
No matter where or who I am with, I can be with Him because He never leaves or forsakes me. Nothing is more important to me than that.
I pray that God will help me seize every moment and enjoy my fellowship with Him, along with those He brings into my life.

October 26, 2024

My greatest example of perseverance is Jesus Christ, my Lord, Savior, and Friend. Even at the cross, Jesus never stopped trusting God to do what was right.
There was a time when all it took for me to give up was a little pain, rejection, fear, or disappointment. Now, I have learned that most of the time, God simply desires that I be still and silent, maintain my focus of attention on Him, remain aware of what is happening from His perspective, and trust Him.
Some time ago, for a few brief moments, I saw the moon block out the brightness of the sun during a solar eclipse, and it felt very eerie to me. However, I had no doubt that everything would return to normal when the eclipse was over.
So it is with the darkness I experience when God is seemingly not shining brightly in my life. All I have to do is keep centered on Him and quietly wait for His return. Just as dark clouds may obscure the sun, I know it is shining somewhere in the same way God is always watching over me.
I pray that the Lord will remind me of this the next time I am faced with a difficult trial.

October 25, 2024

Growing up my mother-in-law would hand write scriptures on a napkin and put them in my husband’s lunch. Although he found it embarrassing at the time I know as an adult he is grateful. Seeing those scriptures everyday made it easy for him to memorize them and now I see him quote these scriptures to our kids regularly.

As Kids Pastor, I also think about the time I have with your kids every Sunday morning. I love and care for your kids the same way I love and care for my own. I have the same hopes and desires for your kids as I do mine. I see my time with your kids as a gift, a season, an opportunity. When I have all the kids together we spend a lot of time talking about the importance of studying and memorizing scripture. We talk about Psalms 119: 11 and how important it is to have God’s Word tucked inside our hearts. That verse says, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”  My hope and prayer as their Pastor is to come alongside your families and to help create a firm foundation within each child, so that when they are old, they will not turn from God’s way.