A good friend was frustrated by walking with someone spiritually through a difficult time. There were no changes, and whatever my friend tried to do, it either did not bear fruit, or the help was rejected. Many of us find ourselves in this position and ultimately abandon helping a person. But being a spiritual helper requires a directive from God first to help this person. Then it requires an understanding and spiritual insight about what is currently needed in the…
C.S. Lewis is noted for saying: “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” We are made for another world, so there is no experience on this earth that will come close to satisfying the longing in the spirit for its true ‘home.’ Author Jon Bloom notes in one of his books: “No relationship, no successful achievement, no possession, no amount…
Recently, I found myself lost in my journaling trying to capture every detail of every moment of every day. Journaling time became laborious and time-consuming. A good friend and life-long journaler recently provided some tips on writing in a journal, and these tips are certain to breathe new life into how I reflect on my days. First, she said, keep it simple. It is a gift to write what happened in your day and be able to read it at…
In a dream, my brother drove me to Texas from Colorado. I needed to make the trip and didn’t want to make the drive alone. I completed what I needed to do in Texas, then we started for home. About halfway through the return trip, he told me that he would not be able to take me the entire way, and he needed to return home himself. At the junction to continue straight or turn left, he dropped me off…
Known as the “Prince of Preachers,” 19th century minister Charles Spurgeon once said, “If God were a tyrant, it might be courageous to resist submitting, but since he is a Father it is ungrateful to rebel.” In a later sermon, Spurgeon gave excellent reasons why we should submit to God: We should submit to God because He created us. We should submit to God because His rule is good for us. We should submit to God because all resistance to…
When the end is near, death to all selfishness will birth the life that can be fully spiritually lived. Knowing that the current carnal life is not worth living, a new way can begin to be created. Die to live again. As both are spiritual places, the grave allows our surrender, and the womb prepares another life so they both lie in the hope and you lie in between. That’s the ‘hard place’ but it’s part of the preparation to…
It’s been 18 weeks and 3 days. Or breaking it down further, 129 days. 3,096 hours. 185,760 minutes. 11,145,600 seconds. That’s about 2,838,000 breathes, or 2,167,200 blinks, or 12,900,000 heart beats. Since my beloved passed. Although every step has been difficult, some things are worse than others. Letting go of personal belongings has been difficult, as it feels like a betrayal. Moving on from grief also is difficult because it appears that I am trying to cast out that very…
Sometimes crying is just feeling lost and helpless, like God is waaaay over there somewhere, and you’re waaaay over here. Lots of feelings will surface but they are not the guide – the spirit is. Crossing over is difficult, dry, alone and confusing, but God is preparing to bring you across, even if you wail like a spiritual baby. While there is movement forward, no place is going to be okay for a long time. Home isn’t where you want…
In a vision the man saw the face of a clock, and he could hear it ticking. He would turn away and look back at the time, which had barely advanced. And the Lord said “it may seem like time is almost standing still because of the anxiety to want to get moving, but it is not yet time to make significant progress; it is a time of transition and waiting. Some of My people are bored. Some feel aimless…
This question was posed recently: If Hebrews 11 had a verse 41 that included your name among the great cloud of witnesses commended for their faith, what would verse 41 say? Why would God give a good testimony of your faith? verse 4 By faith Abel offered verse 5 By faith Enoch fellowshipped verse 7 By faith Noah prepared verse 8 By faith Abraham obeyed … verse 41 By faith [your name] [your act of faith] Remember: James 2:26…