I love this quote by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as one I heard in an interview with his daughter, Rev. Dr. Bernice A. King:
“My father was a living epistle. He literally embodied the Spirit of Christ. There’s a power in believing and lining yourself up with God’s Word.”
Taking the first step is so important! When we exercise our faith, and our desires are lined up with God’s Word, the Lord will meet us there.
What are your hopes for 2023?
It may sound strange, but my hope in this new year is that there will be widespread recognition of the Biblical truth that we have all been born into a spiritually broken world; each of us born with a spiritually flawed nature and that many will accept Jesus’ standing offer for a transformation that He will freely provide to those who ask. My hope is the basis for my vocational choice of ministry as a Christian life coach and includes an emphasis on promoting genuine transformation.
One of my goals centers on helping clients re-write their stories – like I have been re-writing mine – and, in partnership with the Holy Spirit, helping them to become the people that God made them to be.
My personal goal for 2023 is more perfectly stated in the words of the 1896 hymn by Frances Brook, “My goal is God Himself, not joy, nor peace, nor even blessing, but Himself, my God.”
Only God, only Jesus, is faithful. As Charles Stanley observes, “His commitment to you is lasting…His friendship never changes.” Jesus is Immanuel, God with us, to all those who believe and receive Him. He is always with us, a shoulder to lean on, our faithful companion and friend!
The challenges we’ve all experienced over the last few years have caused many of us to evaluate where we stand with God and to draw closer to Him. Many desire the transformation that only a relationship with Him can provide!
What are your hopes and goals for 2023? Are you ready for a transformation?
New Year’s Eve fireworks made me think about Christ’s lighting up the darkness and the importance for each of us to share in helping the glorious Light of Christ to shine on this dark world.
This past week, I celebrated my 57th birthday. It sounds old to me because I feel as though I’ve been on a long and tumultuous journey thus far. I have made more than my share of mistakes, but they have led me to a place where I can share my experiences while helping others to share the joy in the Lord’s healing and unfailing Love.
God continues to reveal His plan for my life one day at a time. He puts the pieces together in His way and time, exchanging ashes for beauty and making me into the woman He intended me to be. He wants to do the same for you!
Together, we can add to a reflection that will help to brighten His light and reduce the darkness in this world!
We won’t be complete ‘til we are at Home with Him, but each year brings us closer!
Here’s to the brightening of His light in the year ahead!
Why did Jesus come? Despite our rejection of God in the Garden of Eden, His love for us and desire for restoring a personal relationship led Him to provide a plan for our redemption and reconciliation.
Christmas Day marks the introduction of God’s plan to come to earth in human form in order to demonstrate that, even though we did nothing to deserve it, His love for us is so strong that He was willing to sacrifice His only true Son to restore a personal relationship with Him for any of us who are willing to accept His offer. Jesus was, and is, Immanuel, “God with us”!
No matter how lonely you may feel, you are never alone if you have accepted God’s offer and have personally accepted Jesus to fulfill that restoration with God. If you have, you can be assured of His continual presence with you. (John 10:28).
Immanuel is the God of Hope. If you are feeling lonely, invite Him in and ask Him to fill you with the joy and peace that only He can provide.
Have you accepted Immanuel, God’s Christmas gift of love?
We’re surrounded by unusual color and beauty during the Christmas season. But the season also has a way of stirring up and increasing our anxiety.
My suggested formula for increasing the joy of Christmas is to decrease the anxiety by taking momentary breaks to ask our heavenly Father to intercede and remove the buildup of worry that you may be experiencing.
God hears those prayers! Even Jesus cried out to His Father when he was burdened while here with us on earth.
In 1 Peter 5:7, the Holy Spirit inspired Peter to write, “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”
During the Christmas season, as you focus on God’s ultimate Christmas gift to us, can you allow yourself to stop, as needed, and surrender your anxieties to Him?
Advent, meaning ‘Coming’ in Latin, is the word most churches use to describe our focus on Jesus coming into the world as a baby. Advent is a time to concentrate on what Christmas is really about!
After telling His disciples that He would send them the Holy Spirit, He said to them, “Peace I leave with you, My Peace I give to you, not as the world gives . . .”
Today, the prospect of peace, both in our country and our world seems more distant every day. Our world appears out of control. We wonder if we can ever find peace and whether that peace will be lasting.
There was also a great deal of unrest in the world at the time of Jesus’ birth. As it happened, Christ’s coming brought conflict rather than peace, ending with His death. But, as He promised, following His resurrection, He will provide the gift of personal peace to all who are willing to surrender their pride and put their trust and faith in Him, the Prince of Peace.
Our acceptance of Jesus, a personal gift of Himself, includes His abiding presence along with the gift of His peace! He is with us continually, even in the midst of the storms. His peace is a lasting peace.
Have you accepted Jesus and the peace of His presence?
One of the highlights of Christmas for me is the focus on the message of hope!
In the first verse of his first letter to Timothy, Paul references “ the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope.” Vine’s New Testament Expository Dictionary explains that the most frequent significance of the word “hope” relates to “a favorable and confident expectation” and “the happy anticipation of good”.
Without Jesus as our hope, we have no real, eternal hope. We are only left with speculation and confusion that abounds in our fallen world.
I celebrate the Christmas message of hope, the “confident expectation”, that putting our trust in Him brings the ultimate Christmas gift!
He is our hope!
What, or who, are you putting your hope in?
As the Lord encourages a closer walk with Him, my faith grows and becomes more integral to everything that I do.
A growing faith increases my desire to share my hope in Christ and helps me to assist clients to understand and experience the rest that only God can provide.
Faith also increases our comprehension of His love and cements our trust in Him to meet our deepest needs.
God alone is worthy of our worship and He is always faithful to keep His promises to us. When we have faith in Him, we can experience genuine rest and His great love.
Many tend to look to their partner to meet needs that can only be met by the Lord.
Who or what are you putting your faith in? To whom are you looking to meet your needs?
As Thanksgiving nears, my focus on the things that I have to be thankful for increases. I look forward to a road trip with my son to spend time with my parents in their retirement community. We are thankful for the homelike atmosphere and the opportunity to spend time with them as well as time with sisters and other family members in the area.
One day, out of the blue, my son quipped that we are not a “real family”. “We’re just two people who live together”. As a single Mom, his comment hit home. I told him that I understood how he felt because sometimes I sense a longing for a classic family – unified in accord with God’s will for His children. Perhaps your situation leads to a longing for your idea of life as part of an ideal family.
Reminding myself and my son of all that we have to be thankful for helps to keep our minds from wandering into the depths of sadness over missing life in our idea of the ideal family. We realize that so many are in less than ideal situations and we think of how we can be a blessing to others. We find that giving encouragement and showing our Father’s love to others is fulfilling and uplifting. I’m always thankful for God’s provision in meeting our needs and allowing me to make my son my priority.
God reminds us that we should be thankful for everything (1 Thessalonians 5:18)! It’s a sure way of shining light in the darkness and causing the evil one to flee.
As believers, we are especially thankful for being rooted and grounded in His love and that His love is transformational. Knowing how much He loves us helps us to grow into the person he intends for us to become. He has taken me by my right hand, pulled me up out of my sin and shame, and lifted me up to sit with Him for all eternity. The love that He displayed in rescuing, mending, and restoring me moves me to want to share my good fortune with others!
If you need encouragement and more to be thankful for, I am available to talk with you.
What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving season?
A few thoughts as Thanksgiving draws near…
Thankfulness always enhances our relationship with God and usually spills over to build better relationships with others.
Borrowing a quote from Andrew Murray that I like: “Thanksgiving will draw our hearts out to God and keep us engaged with Him; it will take our attention from ourselves and give the Spirit room in our hearts.”
We should remind ourselves that thankfulness, by itself, flows as a gift of the Holy Spirit and His residence in us as believers, cementing our relationship with God and Jesus Christ.
Regardless of our current circumstances, the Holy Spirit can guide us through God’s Word to boundless reasons for thanking the Lord!
Is thankfulness a main ingredient in your prayers? What are you thankful for today?