Category: Relationship

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A New Beginning

Today’s the beginning of a new month. Never again will there be a first day of September 2026.

Let’s look at a couple of verses about beginning.

“In the beginning God…” Genesis 1:1a

In the beginning of creation – In the beginning of my life – In the beginning of my current situation – In the beginning GOD! God was there at the very beginning. He will be there halfway through and He will be there at the end!

He has chosen to invest Himself in my life, in my world, in my total existence. Stop and think, meditate, and ponder deeply these words for a few minutes.

“The Word (Christ) was in the beginning. The Word was with God. The Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 He made all things. Nothing was made without Him making it.” John 1:1-3 NLV

He hasn’t pulled back yet and He won’t. He will continue to be involved in all He has created for all eternity – He is the eternal, the everlasting God and Father. And He’s here for you, because He loves you!

Now let’s look at another verse.

“The one who has spoken these things says, ‘I am coming soon!’ So, Lord Jesus, please come soon! 21 I pray that the Lord Jesus will be kind to all of you.” Revelation 22:20-21

It should give you great joy to know that He is coming soon. Yes, with all the uncertainty in the world one thing is certain, He is coming soon. He was and is and will continue to be kind to all. That’s the reason He came – out of love He became our substitute, the sacrifice for our sins so that we can be reconciled to the Father. Forgiveness is ours; new life is ours, restoration is ours – we simply need to receive it as the free gift that it is.

As you focus on your beginning, you’ll find God and as you look to the end you will see that He’s coming quickly and reaching out to us in kindness.

This new beginning, this first day of September 2026, is a day of purpose. A day filled with promise for the future.

“ For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for well-being and not for trouble, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will look for Me and find Me, when you look for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:11-13 NLV

Blessings to you this day and this new month.

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Out of Balance

Practical. God is practical.

Everything He does has balance. Gravity, sunrise, sunset, changing seasons; earth, sky and water created before fish, plants and animals. Sun produces light and heat, the moon on reflects light and no heat. Balance.

What is out of balance and impractical about God is His unconditional love!

It doesn’t matter what we do or don’t do, God’s love for us will be the same. (Now that doesn’t mean He approves of everything we do, not in the slightest but He always loves us.)

Men won’t go to hell because God hates them. They will go because they don’t accept His gift of love and His sacrifice for them.

But let’s look at how God expects us to put His love in action. Since we have Christ living in us it’s His love that should be flowing out of us.

” Together with these things, the most important part of your new life is to love each other. Love is what holds everything together in perfect unity. 15 Let the peace that Christ gives control your thinking. It is for peace that you were chosen to be together in one body. And always be thankful.

16 Let the teaching of Christ live inside you richly. Use all wisdom to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 Everything you say and everything you do should be done for Jesus your Lord. And in all you do, give thanks to God the Father through Jesus.” Colossians 3:14-17 ERV

The most important thing we can do is love God and one another. Love brings us to a place of peace. When we love we know that we have done all God has asked of us and we are responsible to let God do the rest. When we trust God to do what only He can do we can be thankful because He definitely has the talent and capability of handling His part.

We love not because those around us deserve our love but because God first loved us and so we can extend that love to others. It makes our Father happy to see us acting like Him.

I’m not asking you to go out and love the whole world today but I am asking that you extend God’s love to your co-worker, your neighbor, your child or spouse or sibling.

Love unconditionally the way God loves you. Being out of balance isn’t practical but it is beneficial.

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Learning from a New Source

I am thankful for God’s love and strength today. Each morning when I get up, hear the birds singing and see the dawn I am grateful. Yesterday another one of God’s creatures reminded me of the Father’s faithfulness. He was just swimming in the harbor. He wasn’t distressed or anxious over the events of the day. He just swam by to say hello. All of creation has its own way of seeing God provide.

In my reading I was confronted with the strength we have been given to live the Christian life. We can’t do it on our own, but we are able to live this life victoriously through Christ because He has promised to be our provider of all that we need to be victorious.

“He gives us everything we need for life and for holy living. He gives it through His great power. As we come to know Him better, we learn that He called us to share His own shining-greatness and perfect life. 4 Through His shining-greatness and perfect life, He has given us promises. These promises are of great worth and no amount of money can buy them. Through these promises you can have God’s own life in you now that you have gotten away from the sinful things of the world which came from wrong desires of the flesh.” II Peter 1:3-4 NLV

“Now you are wearing a new life, a life that is new every day. You are growing in your understanding of the one who made you. You are becoming more and more like him. 11 In this new life it doesn’t matter if you are a Greek or a Jew, circumcised or not. It doesn’t matter if you speak a different language or even if you are a Scythian. It doesn’t matter if you are a slave or free. Christ is all that matters, and he is in all of you.

12 God has chosen you and made you his holy people. He loves you. So your new life should be like this: Show mercy to others. Be kind, humble, gentle, and patient. 13 Don’t be angry with each other, but forgive each other. If you feel someone has wronged you, forgive them. Forgive others because the Lord forgave you. 14 Together with these things, the most important part of your new life is to love each other. Love is what holds everything together in perfect unity.” Colossians 3:8-14 ERV

Hold your temper, be humble, show mercy and forgive quickly. Not easy things to do but since Christ lives in us we can draw on His strength and find it more than enough for each day.

He has given us this new life and has equipped us with all we need.

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Shine Jesus, Shine

For years I used to work to be “good enough” for God’s love. I, like a lot of people, wanted people and God to like me and I would work to that end. Leading Bible Studies, singing in the choir, baking cookies, doing all sorts of good works to get people to like me.

I would serve on committees and every place that a volunteer was needed to show the Lord and others my dedication to others to get them to “see” that I had a good heart and was a good Christian.

But one day the Lord instructed me from these verses in I Corinthians 3.

“And you are a house that belongs to God. 10 Like an expert builder I built the foundation of that house. I used the gift that God gave me to do this. Other people are building on that foundation. But everyone should be careful how they build. 11 The foundation that has already been built is Jesus Christ, and no one can build any other foundation. 12 People can build on that foundation using gold, silver, jewels, wood, grass, or straw. 13 But the work that each person does will be clearly seen, because the Day will make it plain. That Day will appear with fire, and the fire will test everyone’s work. 14 If the building they put on the foundation still stands, they will get their reward. 15 But if their building is burned up, they will suffer loss. They will be saved, but it will be like someone escaping from a fire.” I Corinthians 3:9b-15 ERV

I realized I was building with wood, grass and straw. My efforts were exactly that – my efforts. I wasn’t serving people for God’s glory and benefit but for my own. And it never seemed that I was doing enough…

The Father began to reveal to me how much He loved me. He loved me – not my works. It was ok to say “no” to some of the needs and let others fill them. The Father didn’t want me working “for Him” but serving “with Him”.

I didn’t have to earn His love! He loves me unconditionally and in that love I am free to serve because I want to and not because I have too.

It’s when we do that, serving and living life to glorify Him, that we begin to build with gold, silver and precious jewels. When we serve for us we will grow weary and discouraged. We get jealous and judgmental. (Remember Martha being upset because Mary wasn’t “serving”.)

So occasionally I have to inspect my building materials and ask the Lord to build a fire in my soul and burn off what isn’t acceptable. The good thing about gold is that the fire only purifies it – makes it more valuable. It isn’t consumed.

“Your faith will be like gold that has been tested in a fire. And these trials will prove that your faith is worth much more than gold that can be destroyed. They will show that you will be given praise and honor and glory when Jesus Christ returns.” I Peter 1:7 CEV

As I finished writing this, a song we sang in the 1980’s came to mind: Shine Jesus, Shine

“Lord, I come to Your awesome presence
From the shadows into Your radiance
By the blood, I may enter Your brightness
Search me, try me, consume all my darkness
Shine on me, shine on me

[Chorus]
Shine, Jesus, shine, fill this land with the Father’s glory
Blaze, Spirit, blaze, set our hearts on fire…”

My desire is to shine for Him!

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Something Greater

I need to tie this in with yesterday’s blog. My reading from Romans, chapter 5.

Yesterday I showed you where Abraham hoped against hope and received the heir God had promised he and Sarah years before. He never gave up believing that God would keep His promises.

The Bible tells us that Abraham was called the friend of God. They walked and talked together – friend to friend. The Lord and Abraham would share a meal and the Lord would reveal His plans to Abraham, they had that kind of relationship. (Genesis 13-19)

“When the three men got ready to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked part of the way with them. 17 The Lord said to himself, “I should tell Abraham what I am going to do,” Genesis 18:16-17 CEV

This is when the Lord told Abraham He was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because of their wickedness.

But let’s go back to Romans now and see how Paul ties Abraham’s relationship to the Lord with the relationship the Lord has chosen to have with us.

“By faith we have been made acceptable to God. And now, thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ, we have peace with God. 2 Christ has also introduced us to God’s gift of undeserved grace on which we now take our stand. So we are happy, as we look forward to sharing in the glory of God. 3 But that’s not all! We gladly suffer, because we know that suffering helps us to endure. 4 And endurance builds character, which gives us a hope 5 that will never disappoint us. All of this happens because God has given us the Holy Spirit, who fills our hearts with his love.

6 Christ died for us at a time when we were helpless and sinful. 7 No one is really willing to die for an honest person, though someone might be willing to die for a truly good person. 8 But God showed how much he loved us by having Christ die for us, even though we were sinful.

9 But there is more! Now that God has accepted us because Christ sacrificed his life’s blood, we will also be kept safe from God’s anger. 10 Even when we were God’s enemies, he made peace with us, because his Son died for us. Yet something even greater than friendship is ours. Now that we are at peace with God, we will be saved by the life of his Son. 11 And in addition to everything else, we are happy because God sent our Lord Jesus Christ to make peace with us.” Romans 5:1-11 CEV

Do you see what it says there? Something greater than friendship is ours because of Christ’ death. We have something greater than the friendship that God shared with Abraham, something much greater.

Let’s end today’s thoughts by jumping ahead to Romans, chapter 8. Now remember this is all one long letter that Paul was writing and so these thoughts are all part of one teaching.

” 15  God’s Spirit doesn’t make us slaves who are afraid of him. Instead, we become his children and call him our Father.” Romans 8:15 CEV

We don’t have to be afraid of God because of Jesus. His death gave us the right to become God’s children and we now share the same relationship with the Father than Jesus has.

Something greater than friendship is ours. It’s called sonship!!

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How to Continue when Hope Seems Gone

I’m reading through the book of Romans, again, probably for the 30th or 40th time. It becomes fresh in my heart each time I read it.

This morning I was reading about Abraham’s faith in the promises of God. Abraham wasn’t serving God because of rules and regulations. He was faithful to God because of their relationship. Abraham was called the friend of God.

“So you see that Abraham’s faith and what he did worked together. His faith was made perfect by what he did. 23 This shows the full meaning of the Scriptures that say, ‘Abraham believed God, and because of this faith he was accepted as one who is right with God.’ Abraham was called ‘God’s friend.’ ” James 2:22-23 ERV

Abraham’s relationship with the Lord was one that transversed the decades.

“Then He brought him outside and said, ‘Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.’ And He said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ 6 And he (Abram) believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.” Genesis 15:5-6 NKJV

Abram went year after year without an heir. Sarah never became pregnant. But Abram held on to God’s promise. That’s what Paul is telling the Christians in his letter to the Romans.

“There was no hope that Abraham would have children, but Abraham believed God and continued to hope. And that is why he became the father of many nations. As God told him, ‘You will have many descendants.’ 19 Abraham was almost a hundred years old, so he was past the age for having children. Also, Sarah could not have children. Abraham was well aware of this, but his faith in God never became weak. 20 He never doubted that God would do what he promised. He never stopped believing. In fact, he grew stronger in his faith and just praised God. 21 Abraham felt sure that God was able to do what he promised. 22 So that’s why ‘he was accepted as one who is right with God.’ 23 These words (“he was accepted”) were written not only for Abraham. 24 They were also written for us. God will also accept us because we believe. We believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from death. 25 Jesus was handed over to die for our sins, and he was raised from death to make us right with God.” Romans 4:18-25 ERV

Abraham waited almost 25 years to see the promise of an heir. But that didn’t weaken his faith, it strengthened it. Abraham trusted God, regardless of the circumstances. He knew that God was not a liar; He kept His word.

“Be careful. Hold firmly to your faith. Have courage and be strong.” I Corinthians 16:13 ERV

How long is too long when we are waiting to see God’s promises come to pass in our lives? Let Abraham be our example – never stop believing but grow stronger in faith!

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The Power of God at Work

This morning I’d like you to do something for me. Before you head out the door, I would like you to go into the bathroom and take a long look in the mirror. No, you’re not looking to see if your hair is combed or there are any bags around your eyes.

I want you to see the power of God at work in your life.

“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.17 This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, ‘It is through faith that a righteous person has life.’” Romans 1:16-17 NLT

The power of God planted a seed of faith in your heart and mine. Faith to believe in God’s grace to make us right. From start to finish our walk, our relationship with Him is by faith in His grace.

If you grew up in church, I’m sure at one time or another, you were presented with a list of do’s and don’ts. Don’t smoke, cuss or chew or go with girls that do! Yep, that was pretty much the law that was laid out before us. No movies, no drinking, no running amuck.

But not doing those things isn’t going to get us into heaven. It is by grace. Being conscious of sin doesn’t save us. Being aware of grace and accepting it by faith does.

Grace is the power of God at work!

” God doesn’t accept people simply because they obey the Law. No, indeed! All the Law does is to point out our sin.

21 Now we see how God does make us acceptable to him. The Law and the Prophets tell how we become acceptable, and it isn’t by obeying the Law of Moses. 22  God treats everyone alike. He accepts people only because they have faith in Jesus Christ. 23 All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. 24 But God treats us much better than we deserve, and because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins. 25-26  God sent Christ to be our sacrifice. Christ offered his life’s blood, so by faith in him we could come to God. And God did this to show that in the past he was right to be patient and forgive sinners. This also shows that God is right when he accepts people who have faith in Jesus.

27 What is left for us to brag about? Not a thing! Is it because we obeyed some law? No! It is because of faith. 28 We see that people are acceptable to God because they have faith, and not because they obey the Law. 29 Does God belong only to the Jews? Isn’t he also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, he is! 30  There is only one God, and he accepts Gentiles as well as Jews, simply because of their faith.” Romans 3:20-31 CEV

Thank you Jesus! The power of God at work in my life is because of what Jesus did and not what I try to do. My faith in Him has made me acceptable, not my works.

So, do yourself a favor. Go back, look in that mirror and say “Thank you Father that I am acceptable to You because of what Jesus did for me. I have faith in Jesus’ sacrifice and in Your power for my salvation. That’s very, very, Good News!”

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Need Help?

Yesterday I wrote on en-couragement meaning to instill courage or put courage in.

I remember on of my lowest moments in life. It was several weeks after my first miscarriage. I went out one night, sat on the kids swings, looked up to heaven and cried at the top of my lungs “I don’t understand, I hurt, I can’t go on”.

But God…met me there and filled me with peace. The pain and the grieving were still there but now that were wrapped in God’s peace, peace that told me I wasn’t alone and I would get through this.

Have you been there? Maybe, I’m describing what you are going through now. In our self-sufficient, self-reliant world it’s considered a sign of weakness and even failure to cry out for help. We can’t admit that we aren’t able to “handle it”, whatever it is.

“ ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you. And I will show you great and wonderful things which you do not know.’” Jeremiah 33:3 NLV

“The Lord is there to rescue all who are discouraged and have given up hope.” Psalm 34:18 CEV

“I look to the hills! Where will I find help? 2 It will come from the LORD, who created the heavens and the earth. 3 The LORD is your protector, and he won’t go to sleep or let you stumble.” Psalm 121 CEV

“Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth” Psalm 124:8 KJV

While doing a search on the word help, I found that it is listed 166 times in the King James version of the Bible. It’s something God is committed too.

It’s easy to get caught up in relying on our intellect, money, position, our government and even our family to be our basis for support and help. However, it’s important that we realize where our help truly comes from.

“ … God has said, ‘I will never leave you; I will never run away from you.” 6 So we can feel sure and say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. People can do nothing to me.’” Hebrews 13:5-6 CEV

“ So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved grace, and we will find help.” Hebrews 4:16 CEV

Whenever – come bravely – we’ll find the help we need!

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Put Courage In

En-courage.

Encouragement…we all need it from time to time. Maybe you know someone who has been going through a really tough time or maybe you see a stranger and sense that they just need a smile or a kind word. It might be your child or spouse, it could be a waitress or checker at the grocery store.

Keep your eyes open and your heart ready – ask the Lord to use you to bring hope, strength and joy to someone today.

But maybe you’re thinking, I wish someone would do that for me today. I need to be encouragement – I need a kind word! Take heart. I have good news for you!

“And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.” I Samuel 30:6 KJV

David’s wife and children had been stolen along with the wives and children of his men. His men were so distraught they were considering killing David because they felt it was “all his fault”. David needed someone to encourage him but there was no one so he encouraged himself…one version says he strengthened himself.

“All the men in the army were sad and angry because their sons and daughters were taken as prisoners. The men were talking about killing David with stones. This upset David very much, but he found strength in the Lord his God.” ERV

Maybe that’s how you feel today. If you need to encourage yourself today start with this verse. Look in the mirror and read it to yourself.

“You formed the way I think and feel. You put me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because you made me in such a wonderful way. I know how amazing that was! 15 You could see my bones grow as my body took shape, hidden in my mother’s womb. 16 You could see my body grow each passing day. You listed all my parts, and not one of them was missing.” Psalm 139:13-16 ERV

If no one else is there to offer words of encouragement this should put a smile on your face and hope in your heart! God formed you and He saw to it that nothing was missing in your development. He is still with you promising to never leave you or abandon you! You’re not alone!

Now take what the Lord has done for you and give hope to others. It’s wonderful to know that you can be used even in your toughest moments!

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It’s All About the Groom

This morning the Lord reminded me of a truth He impressed on my heart a number of years ago.

When we think about a wedding so much focus is on the bride – her bridesmaids, the dress, the flowers, etc. The bridegroom does not get the attention that the bride does. But in Paul’s writing to the church of Ephesus, it’s all about the groom.

“Be willing to serve each other out of respect for Christ. 22 Wives, be willing to serve your husbands the same as the Lord…25 Husbands, love your wives the same as Christ loved the church and gave his life for it…31 The Scriptures say, “That is why a man will leave his father and mother and join his wife, and the two people will become one.” 32 That secret truth is very important—I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 But each one of you must love his wife as he loves himself. And a wife must respect her husband.” Ephesians 5:21-33 ERV

A husband will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife…this is the truth that the Lord impressed on my heart. This is talking about Jesus.

This is what Jesus did for us. He left his Father, he came to earth and loved us enough to die for us. He joined himself to us and then made us the promise that He would never leave us or forsake us – He became one with us! He gave up all!!

The thing that really jumped out at me was that Jesus left his Father to be joined to us…ponder that. Really let it sink in. He gave up all, willingly. And what He asks of us in return is honor/respect/reverence.

Christ didn’t die for us and then abandon us to do the rest of this life on our own. He isn’t dictatorial and he isn’t abusive – He loves us so much that he willing gave all and died to save us.

“He left the Splendor of Heaven
Knowing His destiny
Was the lonely hill of Golgotha
there to lay down His life for me.

if that isn’t love
the ocean is dry
there’s no stars in the sky
and the sparrow can’t fly
if that isn’t love
then Heavens a myth
there’s no feeling like this
if that isn’t love” (If That Isn’t Love by Dottie Rambo)

Whatever is going on in your life today, good or difficult, you have a Bridegroom who has given His life for you so that you will know how much you are truly loved. You are cherished and precious.

“We love Him because He loved us first.” I John 4:19 NLV

It’s all about the Groom!

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