Tag: Spiritual growth

  • If You Think Suicide Is An Option

    You have to have gone through some things before you can say, “I’ve tried Him for myself, and I know He won’t fail you.” A person that hasn’t been there just won’t get it. We do, because we’ve been there. Teaching about the Good News of the Lord Jesus Christ is our great privilege and…

  • Are You Ready for the Fight?

    In Matthew 6:24(NLT), Jesus Christ said, “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other.” This is such common-sense wisdom that we might underestimate the depth of its truth. Not only is he giving us instruction and guidance about…

  • Father, Is It Going to Get Better?

    Dear Heavenly Father, We don’t like to think about things like the end of time as we know it, but the world we’re living in doesn’t seem to be getting better; it seems to be getting worse. In 2 Timothy 3:1-5 (NLT), You tell us, “1 You should know this, Timothy, that in the last…

  • You Are A Righteous Judge

    Dear Heavenly Father, Your Word tells us in Ecclesiastes 3:17(NLT), “I said to myself, “In due season God will judge everyone, both good and bad, for all their deeds.” We don’t often think about the reality that we will be judged for the things we do down here. When I didn’t know the Word as…

  • Uncompromising Womanhood

    It was around the 1980s when I started to hear about what is now referred to as autonomous or driverless vehicles. I thought the idea was too futuristic to even warrant a serious discussion. But here we are, some thirty years later, and semi-autonomous cars are actually on the road. Nearly all cars will have…

  • Exhaled Disobedience, Breathed in Life!

    Dear Heavenly Father, I remember watching movies and hearing stories of fairytales when I was a little girl. As I got older, like everyone else, I discovered that fairytales aren’t exactly based on reality, and that life isn’t as easy as wishing on a star at night. You didn’t promise that it would be easy.…

  • Rolling Up Your Sleeves Like a Conqueror

    There’s one thing that you and I can be sure of, and it is the reality that God is preparing us through whatever we’re dealing with today for what comes next. God became one of us and dwelt among us on earth to teach and show us the way. John 1:14(NLT) tells us, “So the…

  • The Angry Black Woman

    Unlike me, with my round body, chubby cheeks, and inherent shyness, my paternal grandmother was a prideful, slender woman. She was caramel colored with fine, flowing hair that she effortlessly pinned in an updo most days. A former school teacher, for many White folks in our small southern town, she was more articulate and poised…

  • Loving Someone Who Doesn’t Love You Back

    It doesn’t matter what we set out to do, from the smallest to the greatest of feats, if we do not begin it from a place of respect for God’s truth, the outcome will not be as awesome as it could be. This will always, always be the case, and it is never more true…

  • Secure in Our Own Self-Worth

    Dear Heavenly Father, Your Word tells us how much You love us and how much we mean to You. Even with all our flaws and sinful nature, You chose us to be Your very own. You tell us in John 3:16-17 The Message (MSG), “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his…

  • Preparation Reinforces Your Authority

    Preparation reinforces authority in you. We have to let that marinate for a minute. We’re going to dissect this truism more, and by doing so give our prayer lives a very necessary and bountiful boost. To begin, it’s necessary to state a perhaps basic but important truth. It is the reality that everyone is not…

  • Thank You for Victory Over Temptation

    Dear Heavenly Father, Now more than ever, we are being bombarded with temptations, but You have not left us defenseless, and You tell us in Your Word how to handle things. We learn in James 4:7-8(NLT)  “7 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come close to…

  • Help Us Bless Your Kingdom

    Dear Heavenly Father, As Your children, it’s our privilege and responsibility to be the salt of the earth. It’s our job to season it with Your love and goodness by spreading Your Word; for Your Word is excellent seed and will harvest good fruit. There’s no reason why our lives shouldn’t be overflowing with blessings,…

  • Opening The Floodgates Of Blessings

    God’s motivation for being in your life is to see you blessed. It is for you to live the fullest, grandest, and most fulfilling life of which you’re capable. This is the truth that must frame your entire existence. It is the lens from which you must view both your triumphs and mistakes. There is…

  • The Big Shake-Up!

    If there’s one thing that this environment of change and chaos has taught us, it is that we need God’s peace and love more than ever. From the outside looking in, it’s appears as though things are unraveling at an alarming rate, but the Christian can take confidence in John 15:1(NLT), where Jesus Christ teaches,…

  • I Am Not Ashamed of The Gospel

    Dear Heavenly Father, The Apostle Paul said in Romans 1:16 (NLT), “For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.” It is sad, Heavenly Father, that Paul wrote this thousands of years ago, at a…

  • Pray with Vision

    There are occasions in God’s Word where precious spiritual outpourings are shut up for a season and cease to flow into this earthly realm. When the door is opened and they begin to flow again, those in receipt of the outpouring, having gone so long without it, are better able to appreciate the blessing. 1Samuel…

  • God Makes Everything Work Out

    Dear Heavenly Father, I’ve learned in my walk with You that nothing works out if I try to do things my own way. Through choices about relationships, friendships, school, and those affecting family members, I’ve learned that if I stick with what Your Word says, things will work out. This is not always an easy…

  • Be Ready for What God Has in Store

    The wonderful passage in Proverbs 3:5-6(NKJV) tells us, “5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” I’m sure every Christian will agree that this is especially meaningful given the current time in which we…

  • Humility When a Kindness is Unappreciated

    Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for blessing me to learn another spiritual lesson. I’m very grateful that You’ve taught me how important it is that we give and pour into the lives of others. It keeps us thriving in a positive cycle, but sometimes our giving isn’t received in the way we hope. This week,…

  • Elevation, Progression, and Promotion

    Dear Heavenly Father, In Psalm 51:10(NKJV), the psalmist, King David, cried out to You, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.” This verse resonates so deeply in my heart. I haven’t experienced the weight of responsibility and danger that David did, but I believe my desire to…

  • The Game of Life

    There aren’t too many people that start off playing a game with losing in mind. Most of us play because it’s pleasurable, and the cherry on top is the win. Well, life is serious business, but there’s no mistaking it, it’s a contest and we very definitely have an opponent. The name of this game…

  • Our God is Awesome and Amazing!

    Newness is indeed upon us, this cannot be doubted. Lamentations 3:22-23(NLT) reminds us, “22 The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. 23 Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.” These verses should ignite excitement in us every day. We ought to be enthused about what the Lord…

  • Endure Out of Rest

                There are periods within our Christian journey where things run rather smoothly. We’ll notice that this is particularly true after we’ve received a spiritual promotion. When we’ve graduated from one spiritual level to the next, it is almost always connected to learning what God has ordained us to learn,…

  • God Wants You Strong and Living Long

    One of our primary responsibilities and privileges as children of God is to provide Him a field upon which His blessings will land. This field is a place and space in our lives. It’s when a clearing is forged because of our faith; just like the Red Sea parting that the Children of Israel experienced.…

  • How Past Hurt Can Navigate A New Path

                Wherever we are in life, we’re either inviting a new blessing to come in or causing it to remain at bay. This begs us to know two things, one is that we are responsible for making room for something new to take root, and the second is that God’s…

  • What NOT to Do When the Relationship is New

    When I was a teenager, like most kids my age, I wanted everything quick, fast, and on the double. Not only did I want my desires delivered with all due haste, this was the approach to just about everything else I did as well. I rushed through my homework, and I couldn’t wait until the…

  • How Are We Quickened by the Holy Spirit?

                  Anything that does not grow will die. This is a very plain statement of truth. It goes beyond that of being a fact. A fact is something that pertains to what we know in the present, but it could change when more information about the subject is gleaned.…

  • Enjoy His Glorious Kingdom!

                One of the things that we are constantly warned about is the temptation to get caught up in what the world is doing. We know from God’s Word that the world is under the dominion of the adversary and that the devil’s lease is almost up. Ephesians 6:12(NLT) tells…

  • Avoid the Post-Holiday Crash

    We love the holidays because of course, we adore our blessed Savior, and Jesus IS the reason for the season. In fact, he’s the reason for every day, and that’s why the holidays should be a time for some serious joy. We wait the whole year to pull out all the stops and ought to…