“I’ll never change. I’ve always been like this. My father was a loser and now I am just following in his footsteps.” My heart broke as her eyes gazed far away at an imaginary, (yet in her mind) inevitable future. Despite her belief in Jesus, her eyes seemed blinded to the truth of her heritage in Christ. …
Breaking the Spirit of Fear
Father, Thank You that You are the Unmovable Rock of my salvation (Psalm 18:2) and are far greater than my anxious and quavering heart (1 John 3:20). You tell me over and again in Your Word, “Do not fear,” but I forget easily and allow my heart to be heavy and weighted down with worry (Luke 21:34). Yuck. My …
A Life-Changing Text
Dear Friend, Seems that each time we talk, anxieties rise to the surface of our conversations. Have you noticed? So, as I’ve prayed for the both of us, Matthew 6:31-33 has returned to speak to my heart. “Do not be anxious….But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.” Herein lies …
The Mice of our Mind (Part 2)
If you couldn’t guess – I hate mice. Not necessarily the little pet store ones in the cage, but definitely the field mice variety. I’ve been noticing a mouse epidemic in our culture. Maybe not the brown furry kind, but the kind that invades our thoughts and emotions. The mice of the mind. The mice of the mind …
The Baggage of Inadequacy
“Behold, (Saul was) hiding himself by the baggage” (1 Samuel 10:22). What is the future king doing crouched down in pile of the utensils and clothing? We know that it wasn’t because he was a shrimpy little guy. In fact, if we keep reading, we find out that he was a head and shoulder taller than anybody else in …
Plan of Action
The holidays are over and the New Year is pending. Unfortunately, words like financial uncertainty, natural disaster, and questionable politics seem to dominate our future. If you like, you can focus on these anxious variables or we can choose to turn to Rock Solid Truth. The latter is how I’ve selected to begin the New Year. Wanna …
Toss Away the Worry
Remember learning about “merimnao”? (We talked about it last Monday, if that helps). It had the root word meaning “to be drawn in different directions”. Basically, distractions. Let’s dissect another verse that has that same word, “merimnao” in it. “…casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). “Casting” …
Worry and Control
My friend Kathy and I recently discussed this idea of worry and worship. She said, “We want to control the situations that affect us. When we realize we can’t, we turn to worry.” Hummmm. That’s true. But He has promised to accomplish all that concerns me and you. Then isn’t worrying about it a lack …
Change Your Future
In the same way that the Kudzu vine stifles any life underneath it, worry does the same in our hearts. In fact, I would go so far as to say that: Worry changes our future. When the Word talks about our future, He uses words like hope, wisdom, glory, and a treasure of fulfilled living. He …
Worrisome Roots
Let’s look at the tendons of worry. In the parable of the sower, Jesus likened anxiety to thorns (Luke 8:14). It literally choked the potential fruit life out of the seed of Truth (Matthew 13:22). Just think of it. Allowing worrisome thoughts to take root in your life actually takes up the space that the fruit …
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