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Struggling with Low Self-esteem
Dear Heavenly Father, Many of us are struggling with low self-esteem, and it is causing us to indulge behaviors and attitudes that prevent our happiness and success. Some of us stay in relationships with men who are abusive and don’t honor us. Others of us have friends that take advantage and don’t truly appreciate who…
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Are You Willing to Do What He Asks?
1John 4:8(NLT) tells us, “But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” Our Heavenly Father has given us everything we need to know about Him in this one verse. He is love, and since we are His children, He has an expectation that we will aspire to be love…
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Remembering the Sacrifice of Christ
Many believers today are experiencing tremendous challenges in their marriages, health, finances, and overall well-being. The pressure of our circumstances puts our backs against the wall, and we feel as if we don’t know what to do. We’ve prayed constantly to the Father about it, and there does seem to be progress, but total deliverance…
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He Will Turn Things Around!
Dear Heavenly Father, Sometimes, we feel overwhelmingly sad about the situations and circumstances we face. These sad feelings can come on us very quickly and make us feel as if we’ve been hit by a ton of bricks. They can turn into a dark cloud that seems to loom over us everywhere we go and…
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Supernatural Ability, Identity, and Purpose
There are three words that sum up any individual’s attitude towards God, our Creator: supernatural, identity, and purpose. How we view these words will ultimately determine how we approach life, and most importantly, how we approach God. He desires a relationship with every human being living and that has ever lived, but He doesn’t force…
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When Answers Don’t Come Easy
The psalmist said in Psalm 23:3 (NKJV), “He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” This is what God will do for us. He will restore our souls, and then lead us in the path of His righteousness. The question we…
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When Everything Isn’t Gravy
I was born and raised in the deep south, where most of the days were sunny and warm. I moved to the north after graduating high school and had no idea the weather could change so quickly and drastically, at the drop of a dime. The winters are long, and the summers are short. This…
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Replacing Jealousy with Gratitude
Dear Heavenly Father, A friend of mine has been dating a guy that seemed like a very nice person. He is a Christian and after hearing him pray one night, like my other girlfriends, I was very moved by his humility. I personally became excited for my friend, because from all appearances, this new man…
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Examining Your Motivation to Partner
A friend and I were having dinner and noticed a young couple holding hands at the table near ours. They couldn’t have been more than about 25 or so, but they looked so happy together. The way the young man treated the woman caught my attention. When they were…
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The Frustration of Sameness
I make a point of trying not to refer to human-beings as creators of anything, because in truth this would be a misleading statement. None of us are creators. We have the pleasure of taking what the Father has created and making something out of it; but it’s His raw material we’re using. In the…
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Ask the Right Question to Receive the Right Answer
There have been a record number of published studies on single people in the past few years. Those in recent history suggests there’s never been as many unmarried adults as there are right now. More adults are opting to remain single, and those that are married are taking longer to get there. It’s no secret…
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The Spiritual Realm vs The Soulish Realm
A common mistake made by many believers is that of giving the enemy, satan, far too much credit. The truth is that we are a greater enemy to ourselves than he is in many cases, because the greatest warfare takes place within our own minds. Many believers are going through it in the areas of…
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The Good Work He’s Planned for Us
Ephesians 2:10(NLT) “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Years ago, I met an older woman with whom I forged a great friendship; she was like a grandmother to me. She was outside cutting her grass…
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Please Help Me Remain Obedient to Your Will
Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for placing people in my life that know Your Word and can offer me Godly encouragement and wisdom when I need it most. Recently, I had a very informative conversation with a close family member. Her counsel was so spot on and razor-sharp that it cut through all my reservations…
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The Accelerated Pace of Blessings and Warfare
Ephesians 6:13(NLT) tells us, “Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.” There was a time, and it wasn’t that long ago, that we…
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When Will It End?
When will it end? This is the question many of us are asking Heavenly Father. We are perplexed by the magnitude of spiritual warfare we’re facing, because it is beyond the level of anything we’ve encountered in the past. And not only are our problems complex, they are compounded by the agitation of not knowing…
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Single, Over 55, Desiring Marriage
A wonderful sister in Christ that’s in her early sixties wrote to me about the challenges of finding a good man. She’s looking for companionship that will ultimately lead to marriage, but she’s feeling very pessimistic about finding a compatible partner. Most women have a pretty good feel for the pool of eligible prospects in…
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He Will Not Fail You!
There have been times where my life felt like a washing machine. All the various components of my life were my laundry, and without my knowing it at the time, they were being cleaned. Every season of spiritual growth and promotion will take us through this washing-machine process, but it only takes one time for…
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That Your Joy May Be Full
Dear Heavenly Father, One of my mentors told me about a class she took when she reached a desperate point in her life. She has been a believer for many years, but said she was still a very sad person. She knew it wasn’t Your Will for her to feel this way, so she prayed…
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You Did Your Best, It Didn’t Get Better
Through the Apostle Paul, God tells us in Ephesians 6:13(NIV), “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” When it comes to issues and morals that are important to us, most…
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He’s Allowing the Shake Up before the Take Down
The more mature we become physically, and most importantly, spiritually, the more we’ll realize how little we know and how little we are really able to do as human-beings. We will encounter situations and circumstances that exceed our capacity to understand or resolve them. I’m not talking about the run-of-the-mill issues that throw a monkey…
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Don’t Faint in Your Mind
I was encouraging a group of single sisters in the Word a few months ago, and I strongly encouraged them to resist the temptation to get weary in their minds from the wait. I’m pretty adamant about encouraging my beloved Sisters in Christ. It’s because I know from experience that once we allow our minds…
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Eyes on the Prize
Dear Heavenly Father, I am learning very important lessons about different seasons in a person’s life. Just as You created the four seasons within the earth, You have created this same pattern within the lives of Your people. You tell us in Ecclesiastes 3:1(NLT) “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity…
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Encouraging Others When You Don’t Feel Encouraged
Most believers will agree that the greatest battle takes place in our minds. We have an enemy, the devil, and he is after our minds and hearts, because he wants to destroy the Christian. Jesus Christ told us in John 10:10 that the devil is a thief who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Not…
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Prayer and Patience
Dear Heavenly Father, This week, the Holy Spirit spoke a word to me, and it was beyond wonderful! I hear people talking about how much they want to hear from You, and they don’t feel as though they can. I relate to their desire because I, too, had a deep yearning for two-way dialogue where…
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Reaching Higher than the Miracle You Need
The Old Testament gives us the record and history of Joseph, Jacob’s son. He is one of my favorite people in the bible because he’s a dreamer. And since I’ve always fancied myself a bit of a dreamer too, I’m thrilled by the grandiosity of Joseph’s dreams. Even more impressive is his obedience and trust…
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Constructive Criticism Requires Finesse
Proverbs 15:31-32(NLT) tells us, “If you listen to constructive criticism, you will be at home among the wise. If you reject discipline, you only harm yourself; but if you listen to correction, you grow in understanding.” God’s wisdom is golden, and it will never fail, but many of us single believers find the first sentence…
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Fight the Good Fight!
Dear Heavenly Father, The Apostle Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:7 (NLT), “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” He had endured more than any of us living today can imagine. He had an intimate encounter with Your beloved Son on the Road to Damascus and…
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Loosed and Free, Breaking the Chains of Loneliness
In John 8:32(NLT), Jesus Christ said, “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” A person that has never experienced the bondage of things like addiction, debt, lack, loneliness, or imprisonment of any kind, may not appreciate the significance of the words of Christ in this verse. They may not…
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Taking What You Have and Making It Great!
Witnessing a miracle thousands of years ago when our blessed Savior walked the earth was just as extraordinary as it is to witness a miracle today. However, one could argue that the needs of many people were much greater back then. During the time of his ministry, people were amazed and excited by the wondrous…