“So it shall be, when the Lord your God 

brings you into the land of which He swore to your fathers, 

to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 

to give you large and beautiful cities which you did not build, 

houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, 

hewn-out wells which you did not dig, 

vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant—

when you have eaten and are full— 

then beware, lest you forget the Lord 

who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 

from the house of bondage.”

my twocents…

going back to this early story in the Bible, there is so much to learn. this same story repeats through time: people seek the Lord, are guided and blessed by Him, and then they lose sight of how they got to a place filled with blessings. what is this odd phenomenon where we are eager to pray to the Lord everyday when we are poor and troubled, but when we are in a place of enjoying all the prayers He has answered, we forget Him?

it can be so hard to grasp and understand, but our God, the one and only Almighty, is completely faithful and true to His Word. there are too many of these amazing promises to list, but here a few:

Isa 41:10 - “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”

Psa 37:23-24 - “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand.”

Rom 8:28 - "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” 

Isa 40:31 - “But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.”

Jer 29:11 - “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

Phi 4:9 - “The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.”

Exo 14:14 - “The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”

John 14:1`3 - “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”

Nah 1:7 - “The Lord is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him.”

John 8:12 - “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

so when we are looking for answers and resolution, let us speak and rehearse His promises. they are guaranteed to be fulfilled. everything that we have the honor of enjoying comes from Him: our loved ones, our home, our comfort, our nourishment, our successes, and our peace. we did not manifest these things. even if we feel ownership over something we built with our hands, remember that God first ‘brought us out of egypt’ before we could even be in a position to build that object. He has brought us out of the bondage of Sin, that kept us from joy and love. to enjoy anything, we first needed His forgiving salvation. remember that, and celebrate His goodness. when we pray, let us envision the Lord’s promises fulfilled- because they surely will be- and our rejoicing and praising of Him. let us never forget our amazing God; from whom all goodness and love pours from.

1/12/23

“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, 

that I have set before you life and death, 

blessing and cursing; 

therefore choose life, 

that both you and your descendants may live; 

that you may love the LORD your God, 

that you may obey His voice, 

and that you may cling to Him, 

for He is your life and the length of your days; 

and that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, 

to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”

my twocents…

read these words and hear the Lord speaking directly to you today. every day, the Lord offers us this same choice. this is the choice between life and death.

whether you want to believe it or not, God is real and He is our Almighty Creator. He loves us on a level that is nearly impossible for us to understand. people always ask, “if God is real, why does all this bad stuff happen?”. the Word tells us about the origins of this broken world. our life is so short and fleeting, and as chaotic as it all can be, God allows us to live here and have a chance to find Him as our Creator and our Savior. He waits for us patiently. shouldn’t we be thankful that we were not created and then put in a box and forced to specific actions- even if those actions are love and obedience? we don't do that to our children, and He doesn't do that to us.

but each day that we wake up, we remember how mortal we are. that’s why our choices are so important and our time is so precious. do you wake up to a barrage of negative thoughts and give into them? do you wake up angry and immediately feel the need to blame someone else? do you wake up lacking hope and purpose and then decide to neglect your own needs and the needs of those involved in your life? whether you know it or not, people rely on you to show up. if your day consists of coming into contact with other human beings, then you automatically have a responsibility to bring your best. when you choose death, you’re affecting those around you negatively. you’re making their walk more difficult. there’s no telling the domino effect here with people who are weak and frail. your choices matter. but giving up also isn’t doing any respect to the precious chance that God has given us.

if you had a choice between swimming downstream (very easy, kind of fun, everyone else seems to be doing it, but you gain no strength and move quicker to the ‘end’) or swimming upstream (challenging every moment, becoming the outcast by your unpopular choices, but gaining strength and purpose along the way to a glorious reward); which would you choose? making the choice for life implies that the next step is action: work, effort, sweat. just like the israelites, because they had to continue walking to their promised land and obeying the Lord along the way: stopping when He commanded stop, and continuing when He commanded to press on. like climbing a mountain, the reward is reaching the top. who ever sets a goal to descend a mountain? choose life and fight for it. show everyone that you’re on a mission to reject the deception of death.

the Lord calls us to choose life. choosing life allows us to live a full life, and as we lean into the Lord, He will show us a life filled with wonders we never imagined- even at 80 years old. don’t ever underestimate Him. if you choose life, you open the door for your children and your family to thrive. if you choose life, you will learn love and you will be joyfully obedient to our Gracious Maker’s words. His Word is filled with promises that He never fails to keep. and this is another great one.

1/23/23

“And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. 

He will be with you, 

He will not leave you nor forsake you; 

do not fear nor be dismayed.”

my twocents…

in all the trials and tribulations we go through, we cannot succeed without the Lord. we can easily get pulled down and pulled into worldly drama. we are his little sheep that get lost so easily, that stray into the woods, that follow those shiny objects. we get stuck in the mud and we cry for help. He is the One that helps us. He goes before us and He knows our boundaries. His promise is solid and He will never leave us nor forsake us. faith is in knowing this truth and faith in action is trusting this truth in all we do. our confidence is in the Lord. we put on our armor that He designed for us and it is all built with His materials. we can never be unarmed because He lives in us. we can’t be perfect without Him, but we are perfect and cleansed because of what He has done on the cross. through the cross we are able to be with Him and we are accepted to live with Him eternally because of our faith in Him. and as we strive to succeed in this world, in only the ways we know best, He is there to direct and redirect us. we continually learn, we are continually guided, and our wisdom grows as this faith is continually practiced. He is Our Great Shepherd. 

so in the worldly strife that we are surrounded with, let us not forget this amazing truth. we are His. there is no need to fear, even when we can’t see the path ahead. He goes before us. He paves our ways and ensures us safe travel. He quenches our thirst and satisfies our hunger. He knows our needs and cares for us. we may feel scared and unsure at times, and despite this, we have no reason to fear. we have no reason to bury our heads or shake in our boots. so let us hear this truth again and let us carry on with the power that the Holy Spirit beams from within ourselves. let us hear this truth and repeat it everyday and every moment that we forget. be strong and be confident in the Lord because He is always with us. 

1/28/23