As the United States is being pounded from one end to the other with fierce winter storms; I thought how fitting to see what God has to say about the subject.

Psalm 107:29 ESV “He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.”

Well, I could sufficiently stop right there! He made the storm be still and the waves were hushed.”

Are the rains pounding, the wind howling, the seas threatening to capsize, the wolves howling at your door? Turn to the one who rules over the storms.

Mathew 8:23-27 ESV “And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him saying, ‘Save us, Lord; we are perishing.’ And he said to them, “Why are you afraid O you of little faith?’ then he arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying ‘What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him.”

Does your world feel swamped? Are you perishing? And then there was a great calm! Who did the disciples turn to? Jesus! Think about it!

Nahum 1:7 ESV “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the days of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.” He knows you, do you know him?

Isaiah 25:4 ESV “For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and shade from the heat; for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall.”

Joshua 1:9 ESV “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Dearest Lord,

The world we live in is a mess! Storms of many kinds brew; weather, poverty, rebellion, ignorance, anger, malice, and war! You have warned us that these days would come and they have. I humbly ask you Lord for your strength, wisdom, and protection. Whether the storms are the elements or personal battles within our bodies, homes, workplaces, or schools! I thank you for quieting the winds of our minds, calming the waves that unsettle our bodies, and the great peace you bring to our souls. Thank you Lord Jesus for your protection in any storms we may face; in your name, I pray with thanksgiving. Amen

Philippians 4:7 ESV “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Peace: Freedom from disturbances; tranquility. Oxford Language

Peace: a stress-free state of security and calmness that comes when there’s no fighting or war. Perfect harmony and freedom. Vocabulary.com

Surpasses: Exceed; be greater than. Oxford Languages

How does that sound? Wonderful or like a pretty plaque on the wall?

Sounds like a pretty plaque on the wall but I can attest to the fact that when we learn to put our hope, faith, and trust in Jesus we can actually find that elusive butterfly of peace.

Peace is always just a prayer away! It doesn’t have to be pretty, formal, full of thee’s and thou’s or flowery words. A simple cry of, “Jesus, Help Me I Need Your Peace!” will suffice.

Your prayer for peace can be for something small like; a toddler underfoot, a co-worker who won’t ever stop talking, a teacher who seems to pick on you, constant spousal needs, possibly a nosy or impossible neighbor, too many things to accomplish, and that’s accompanied by what seems as clanging noise everywhere!

Your prayer for peace might also be for the mountains you face; a medical report that leaves you reeling, a phone call that stops your world, a partner who announces one day they don’t want to be married any longer, the drug addiction, alcoholism, gambling debts, etc.

Whatever your situation whether large or small Peace is available!

However, to achieve Peace, you must obtain Faith as they go hand and hand and are a vital mixture. They also require some work on your part! We need to believe in our hearts that our prayers are heard, then continue to thank God for the answers and stand on that faith! Then keep standing, and stand some more!

Ephesians 6:19 ESV “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.”

Philippians 4:13 NKJV “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

So, while you are praying for the peace you so desperately seek add a prayer for an extra amount of faith that may be required to see this prayer through to its completion.

Peace within a storm is achievable or I wouldn’t speak to it but I will tell you it’s a muscle that needs to be built up in God’s gym same as the pecks and glutes in Gold’s gym.

Let the work out to a calmer you begin, I’ll be the one a few machines away!

Today is my dad’s 84th birthday!

I am blessed to be able to be with him to celebrate this special day with him and to celebrate the man who was and is so much to me!

I am among the blessed who grew up with a loving, hard-working, example-setting man. He set guidelines and boundaries in my life. I didn’t always appreciate those boundaries but within those confines I knew he loved me.

The perfect introduction to my other Father! Our Father God!

1 John 3:1a NIV “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God! And that is what we are!”

Psalm 103:13 ESV “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.”

Hebrews 12:7 ESV “It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline.”

Proverbs 20:7 ESV “In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, and his children will have refuge.”

As a side note, consider reading the above passages with the word respect in place of the word fear! When I learned that the passages spoke of reverence, respect, and trust, in his authority it brought a new gentler meaning to the verses.

The Lord asks for our trust and obedience to the boundaries he sets in place respecting he as the Father, knows best! That’s the fear that’s talked about, not fear of him tasing us with a lightning bolt followed by bouts of fire and hail every time we mess up!

John 3:16 ESV “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

John 14:6 ESV “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

2 Corinthians 6:18 ESV “And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”

So today as I celebrate my earthly father, I celebrate my Heavenly Father who never leaves me, never forsakes me, and loves me through good and bad! Just like my dad! Just like a dad! ❤️

Who are you, why do you write? What gives me the audacity to think I am anybody to write daily messages about God?

The daily messages are an extension of my mornings with God, and I share in the hope that I can help lighten a day, bring insight into someone’s life, and share the word of God in a manner that’s easier to understand! I learn so much from writers who break down and explain the Bible in layman’s terms.

First, I am a nobody! I am an everyday sinner just like everyone else; however, I do not desire to sit in that chair, so I read, listen, and learn from magnificent teachers, and then I work daily upon the desire to be a better me!

Romans 10:17 NKJV “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

Romans 12:2 ESV “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.”

Second, we, as Christ’s followers, are asked by Him to share his word and message of love!

Luke 12:12 NIV “For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”

Third, and this is the best part! The Bible is full of messed up people just like you and I! He often uses the everyday walk of life to show his Grace, Favor, and Mercy because who needs it more? The regular people like you and me.

Mark 2:17 NIV “On hearing this, Jesus said to them, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous but the sinners.”

Here’s a list of sinners who were used in a mighty way by God. The ordinary, the far from perfect, the impaired, the downtrodden, the less respectable, the everyday walk of life. You and me!!!

Abraham was prone to lie when he felt the circumstances required a twist of the truth! Elijah was suicidal! Moses had a speech problem; I’ve read that possibly stuttering was his affliction, so he asked the Lord for his brother Aaron to be his spokesman! God allowed!

Gideon was afraid, Samson was a womanizer, Rehab was a prostitute, Noah was reported to enjoy the wine of his vineyards, Jacob was a cheater, and King David was an adulterer and murderer! Jonah flatly refused God and headed in the opposite direction.

Zacchaeus was a money-hungry, cheating tax collector, the chief tax collector in Jericho, to be exact! Martha was a worry wart, fretting and stewing about everything. Peter, one of the Lord’s chosen 12, denies knowing him thrice on the night Jesus was arrested!

Mark 16:15 NASV “And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole world.”

So, here I am! No one and a daughter of The Almighty God at the same time! Just like you! 🥰

Hebrews 4:15 ESV “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

Let that truly sink in!!!

Jesus was God here on Earth! His mission was to become a one-time sacrifice for all men atoning for our sins but in doing so became a God who can relate to us in all our earthly aspects.

We all know what it’s like to talk to someone who has experienced what we are going through!

To sit and share our emotions with an individual who can quietly nod and silently understand. Relieving us of the dread of explaining every detail and trying to express our scattered, or shattered emotions. What a blessing!

Jesus experienced: sadness, betrayal, hunger, grief, ridicule, judgment, lonliness and sorrow!

John 11:35 NIV “Jesus wept.”

Matthew 11:28 NLT “Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”

Proverbs 3:5 ESV “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”

Romans 8:28 ESV “And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

Proverbs 3:6 ESV “In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

There is nothing we are, might, or will experience that we can’t talk to Jesus about! We can explain, complain, gripe, possibly yell, definitely cry, and basically sit down and look up with the expectation that he sees you, and your situation and is already working on solutions; it’s up to us to trust in him and his ways…remember his ways usually aren’t our ways but then it’s possibly our ways that got us here…

On this rainy Saturday morning; May I leave you with this scripture and prayer!

Romans 14:13 ESV “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Be blessed today, Amen ☺️

I read a great devotion this morning by Nicole Johnson, and I’d like to share a synopsis of that devotion with you.

She was talking about a cross-country move, the arrival day of the furniture truck, and how much to her horror the doors opened and the shambles many of her cherished possessions were in.

She spoke of a beautiful piece of stained glass art that arrived in a colorful array of glass pieces broken beyond repair and her broken heart that followed.

She spoke of having a few friends with her awaiting the arrival of her furniture and their shared dismay and empathy. Their hands that discarded and trashed pieces she couldn’t bring herself to do!

Fast forward a few months to Christmas and one of those friends whose hands lovingly discarded Nicole’s broken pieces happened to save the shards of colored glass and presented her with a completely different piece of artwork made from the same pieces of the past.

Her devotion is a perfect example of God and his restoring love for us.

We often arrive in prayer at His feet, trashed and broken, cracked and marred! We are often scared, confused, worried, worn down, tired, and lonely.

Psalm 34:18 ESV “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; the new has come.”

Joel 2:25-26 ESV “I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you. “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people will never again be put to shame.”

Deuteronomy 30:3 MSG “God, your God, will restore everything you lost; he’ll have compassion on you, he’ll come back and pick up the pieces from all the places you were scattered.”

Are there areas in your walk or life that are broken? Look up, Let Go and Let God! Are your thoughts, feelings, and emotions shattered beyond repair? Look up, Let Go, and Let God! Has something or someone robbed you of your peace, security, belongings, or station in life? Look Up, Let Go, and Let God!

When life or situations in life get too big and out of control; give it to the Creator of life! 🥰

Do you carry around guilt? Does guilty remorse cling to you like a wet blanket? Is guilt a mechanism easily used against you?

Here’s some good news! Guilt isn’t from God! It’s a tool the enemy uses to shame us into hiding our faces from God, and even other people.

I don’t know about you, but I can wrap myself in a cocoon of guilt in a nanosecond! Forms of guilt have manipulated me. I have tortured myself shamelessly over guilt and have gotten nowhere in doing so except hurting myself!

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

Roman 8:1 ESV “There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

2 Corinthians 7:10 ESV “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.”

Think about this last verse; godly grief produces repentance! Worldly grief causes death!

What is Godly grief, I believe it to be our spirit that is grieved at the works of our hands, mouths, thoughts, actions, and attitudes. It’s the heaviness that weighs on us from The Holy Spirit.

So, we pray our wrongs, sincerely asking for forgiveness, and have the strength to ask forgiveness of those we might have wronged or right a situation; we ask for forgiveness of our sins. The Word tells us we are washed clean, and our trespasses forgiven. Peace and Freedom!

What is Wordly grief, Worldly grief produces death! It tells us we are wrong, bad, ugly, cruel, and hopeless! Death of peace. Death of situations that go unrectified. Death of relationships, partnerships, and or friendships.

World grief will eventually turn into worldly justification, self-warrants, and anger! I deserve to feel this way, place some blame on someone else! I did what I had to do, it’s a dog-eat-dog world. If I didn’t say something someone else would have…so on and so forth! See the death creeping in?

Isaiah 6:7 ESV “And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

That new is you and me being set free from guilt! We may not be set free from those who try and trap us in their guilt trips but we have God’s Word that tells us otherwise. ☺️

One of my favorite scriptures falls in the Old Testament in the book of 1st Kings.

To set the scene we have the mighty prophet Elijah hiding in a cave trying to stay out of the way of King Ahab and his wife Jezebel!

God had sent Elijah to them with a prophetic message that wasn’t received well and threats of death were immediately issued upon Elijah! He Ran!!! He Hid!!!

1 Kings 19:11-13 NLT “Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in a cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.”

We have voices clamoring at us all day every day! Everywhere we turn there are sounds, distractions, fingers pointed, accusations made, demands put upon, and decisions that need to be attended to!

Most of the time the loudest voices are the ones in our head! I’m not talking about Sybil-type voices but the voices of our emotions, our needs, our moods, and our desires!

HELP!!!

This is when we need to find a quiet spot and pray! Talking to the Father about said issues, worries, choices…Your topic, your prayer!

Then what?

Then the battle begins; our minds and the enemy scream the loudest! They are like a petulant child who is throwing a hissy fit so they are sure to be noticed and heard!

Now we come to the very reason I love this scripture…its my meter!

Is the Lord in the bad mood seeking vengeance? No! Is the Lord in the anger, spouting angst? No! Is the Lord in the slithery voice telling you, you are justified, you deserve this, you need this, no one will know, worry about yourself first. No!

Where is he then? He’s in the voice that calmly helps you to take a breath! He’s in the voice of reason that enables us to see both sides of a situation! He’s in the strength that magically appears and the resolve to get back up!

Our Lord is NEVER pushy! He NEVER leads by guilt! He NEVER temps nor harms! He LEADS ALWAYS by Love…and leads us to LOVE!

So, maybe the next time the winds are howling, the rocks are flying, and the smoke is thick, say a prayer, let the storm pass, and then wait for the Gentle Whisper. ❤️

God is the true essence of love!

To truly know God is to truly know what love is!

We in reality can’t fully grasp the type of love or the depth of the love our Heavenly Father has for Us!

Merriam-Webster defines love as: Strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties. Some words they use are: desire, affection, tenderness, common interests, and devotion.

If you look at the definitions and words described to paint the picture of love; notice it is all about how the loved one fits emotionally for us!

Duh, to love and enjoy we must blend, and have mutual likes and interests…but that’s not what I’m talking about! I love you because you…do something for me!

Love should not be something earned! Great performance to maintain status quo!

Now view God’s definition of love and how it’s all about what he gives or wants to give to us: To Share!

John 15:13 ESV “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”

Roman 5:8 ESV “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

1 John 4:19 ESV “We love because he loved us first.”

Psalm 86:15 ESV “But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”

Psalm 136:26 ESV “Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever.”

Romans 8:39 NLT “No power in the sky above or in the earth, indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

God’s love is never based on our performance, our looks, our financial status, our job title, or ourselves! He loves us in spite of ourselves!

The biggest mistake we can make is putting God’s level of love on the earthly level. Man warrants love and affection based on performance, looks, and possibly money, how can you serve me to make me love you more!!!

Yet, while we were still sinners, dirty, messy, a bit ugly, rude, greedy, judgemental , and selfish God became flesh through his son Jesus Christ and became the ultimate sacrifice unto death to remove the curse of sin on the earth that he may gather us in his arms and what? Love Us!

So, the next time you might be feeling a bit unworthy of his love, wondering if he even loves you, thinking he couldn’t possibly love you reread the scriptures…

God’s invitation reads come as you are!