If I had a dollar for every time I have heard or said that phrase, I could take you all out for dinner! I grew up to my father saying those very words. A LOT! If you haven’t figured it out yet, I am a talker. I have having the pleasure of helping raise my little granddaughter Kenlee. We keep her every day. I find myself daily saying to her, “Kenlee, would you just hush?” Don’t you know that God wants to stay the same thing to us sometimes. He even said in is Word in Psalm 46:10, Be still and know that I am God. If we are not careful, when someone comes to us with a situation to help them pray about, we begin to tell them how to solve the problem instead of listening. God wants us to listen s

Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.” 1 Thessalonians 5:24 As we follow Jesus, he will move us deeper into faith by asking us to take risks. But I have learned they are never the proverbial “leap of faith” into darkness; rather they are specific risks that the Holy Spirit encourages us to take. He asks us to do this because each risk, taken in faith, shows us that Jesus will take care of us, just as he has promised. Each time we take a step of faith, it moves us further away from living by sight, independent from God, and closer to living a life of faith, where you truly believe you are secure in all God’s promises. “Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will

He is your praise and He is your God, who has done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen. Deuteronomy 10:21 I had a conversation with my grandmother one day about miracles and healings in the church today. The conversation started when I asked the question of why we did not see them as much anymore? I didn’t mean it in any mean way towards God, I just had the thought on my mind. So, as the conversation went on we talked about the old country church we used to attend and the things that I saw as a young boy in the seats on a Sunday night. They were great stories and some very fond memories. At this point, the question came up again in my head, what has changed. God

The third course in our 5 course meal plan to maintain our “Spiritual appetite”, is the Entree course. The Entree is an entrance into the Main Meal. It is a number of small courses on one plate to start the dinner. There are expectations to this portion. The Entree is brought to the table, encouraging you to seek God first. On this plate are some answers to “How we make knowing God, our #1 goal.” We will refer to Psalm 63:1; Oh God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. This chapter causes me to reflect on the last sermon my husband, Matt, preached on, “Are you just Convienced or Committed at 70m

We all experience problems or hardships, but today I wish to explain the problem in a different manner. Growing up the son of Pastor Tim Snider helped give me a different perspective. Anytime a problem would arise I can to this day hear his voice, “Son do not let the problem control you.” Most of the time it was doing just that, it had completely taken control. It looked like a mountain and it controlled me instead of me controlling it. Once you surrender to the problem it dictates your life, how you feel, where you go, and all of your emotions. I want to give a little nugget of wisdom that was passed to me by my father. A problem is nothing more than an opportunity, let that sink in because

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel. Hebrews 12:22-24 (NASB) I was reading my devotion passage from the Bible this morning from Matthew 26:26-46. I was so moved that I couldn’t stop reading. I continued to read about Jesus’ betrayal and arrest. It is so amazing how you can read the same scripture over-and- over again and each time gain some

I was reading in Luke chapter 18 about the blind beggar. It’s an awesome thing how as many times as we read the word of God New revelation continues to pour out. This story that I had read so many times, now revealed a new truth to me. Luke 18:38 “He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” This is where I had to stop and really see what was happening. This man, in an impossible situation, with an impossible request is shouting at the top of his lungs because he knows the answer is before him. He knows all the facts, and if that wasn’t enough the crowd of peo

Each servant in the story presents the master with the results of their stewardship. They tell their own story first as the Master listens, but the Master has the final word. When the first servant demonstrates that he has managed his affairs well and worked as the Master would work; the Master speaks. He is proud of how the servant handled the money/gifts he was given, gave the servant more responsibility and told the servant to share in the Master’s happiness (Matthew 25: 21). God delights in our responsible stewardship of His gifts. The same is true for the second servant who wasn’t given as much as the first servant. But the third servant is a different story. He didn’t manage his affair

First, the story begins with these simple words, “It (the kingdom of heaven) will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them.” (Matthew 25: 14) God has made us stewards of His property. His property could be our actual talents, our gifts, actual physical things, money, etc. We need to understand that God has put us in charge of His property. We learn next that each servant has a different amount of money entrusted to him, “Each according to his ability.” (Matthew 25: 15) Everyone receives something, but not everyone receives the same amount. In our day it is tempting to complain that we have not received as much as someone else, but we can be

The fundamental principle of stewardship is that God owns everything, we are simply managers acting on His behalf. It’s the one of the first assignments God gave the human race in Genesis 1:28 (MSG). That’s when God told Adam and Eve to “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.” God commands us to “Take Charge” which means to understand our rightful position that God has given us. To “Be Responsible” in managing His assets. And to “Prosper” doing it. What a command! Am I taking charge of everything in my life that God has blessed me with? That means our time, talents, treasure

The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of the word stewardship is Lord of the Rings. The kingdom of Gondor had a steward ruling over it because the true king had not returned to take his rightful spot. The steward was in control of the kingdom. He acted on the king’s behalf and in the king’s best interest. He was in charge of the dealings of everyday, he was in charge of how the people were treated, and he was in charge of the resources. However, he was not the owner of it. It was the king’s. That is how I think of how we are to handle everything in this world. We are not the owners of it, we are only stewards. Put here by God and entrusted by God to enact His will in how we hand

You are a special agent, ambassador full of authority to pray and intercede for all those that are before you. I want to remind you of a few things: 1. "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ..." Romans 13:14 Job says, "I put on righteousness and it clothed me." Paul puts it.."You are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus." II Corinthians 5:21 You and I have been made right in the sight of God no by the blood of Jesus. 2. "Let us draw near with boldness or confidence to the throne of grace..." Hebrews 4:16 God desires for us to come to Him as a Father. 3. "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." James 4:8 You approach God speaking out loud and hold nothing back. 4. Romans 6:13b "...but

We see in Daniel chapter 3 where King Nebuchadnezzar made a golden image for all to worship, praise and bow before. Everyone in all the land would come and see this golden image and when they heard the music they were to bow down and worship this image. We all know what happens in the rest of the story and for those of you who do not I encourage you to go read it now. I would like to focus on this first half of the story. We read it and as Christians we are so excited to see a group of believers who stand up to the King and don’t bow down to his idol. Although we may not have nine or ten foot golden idols set up in our schools or our towns or states. We have set up some little idols ourselve

This Christmas we traveled back to Miami (I’ve learned that in these parts I need to be specific so this is Miami Florida) to visit family. While we were there, the girls were impressed by how well people were dressed and put together, how in shape they were and the amount of new cars and high-end cars people drove. We did see a couple of Bentleys, Rolls Royce and Maserati – those can impress everyone. As we drove around we also saw the most beautiful old banyan trees – they are native to the area and used as dividers on main roads and to create canopies over others. Some of the trees had these massive trunks with some over six feet wide lush leaves and branches that seemed to dance in the b

But now faith, hope, love abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13 Since today is Valentine’s Day, it can mean many things. For some today is exciting. You are going to spend time a new special someone. For others, today is sad because their love has gone on to Heaven ahead of them and the day can be lonely and filled with memories. Some may even have a “love” still with them but aren’t celebrating because things have become habit and common place. Today can even be a day of frustration and anger over a love that once was and is no longer. Whatever today holds for you, never lose sight of the one that sets the example for love. Jesus Christ loves us so much

Lord, have I thanked you (enough) for your precious Holy Spirit? May I not be found, ever, not appreciating and valuing, and eagerly looking unto the divine Guide of Your 3rd Person! Desirous is my being of Your compass, whom in trust and confidence, will steer us out of troubled waters unto peaceable streams. The Anointed One accompanies, with His Sovereign Presence, all our hours- be they good, chaotic, funny, or right down sad. He, the Lord, perfects our faith, for in faith and love He came for each one! I ask Your help in increasing my faith for the extraordinary manifestations of the power of the Living God! Isaiah 50:7 “Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be dismayed. There

For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. Psalm 84:11 Recently I have been struggling with time, and time management to get all the things done at work that I need to, as well as being a dad and a husband at home that is not stressed out and grumpy. The last three weeks there have been three different messages at church that have hit me hard, and God was telling me if I would find more time with him, he will help in those areas. As he has been dealing with me, I have made it a point to spend more time in prayer and His Word, and all the other areas of stress and business in my life have worked out. My

I have come to believe that discernment is one of the greatest gifts the Holy Spirit can give us in our life, however it is something we have to allow the Holy Spirit to teach us, develop in us and then be obedient to when God uses it in our lives. Jesus was a man of great discernment, and if we want to be like him, we have to allow the Holy Spirit to teach us discernment. Having discernment means you evaluate things. You don’t just automatically accept what somebody tells you. You check it out. You don’t get sucked in by popular culture. Even if it’s mentioned on a talk show or a magazine cover or if everybody says it’s cool, you still check it out. You ask questions like, “Is this the trut

“Whoosh,” my husband Larry and the large rock where he stood dropped out of sight. He had ventured out onto a pile of rocks along the edge of a cliff in the Beartooth mountains in Wyoming. I moved quickly to the edge of the cliff, hoping to see where he had dropped and if he was hurt. He lay ten feet below on another large rock; the original boulder was still rolling down the mountain side. “Are you all right?” I hollered. “I think so.” He gradually moved his legs then stood up and surveyed his predicament. He wasn’t seriously hurt, just bruised. “Lord, please help Larry find safe footing as he climbs back up here,” I prayed. I didn’t have a rope nor were there any tree limbs close by for me

King Solomon is a very interesting and sober study. Solomon was the son of great King David, Just as David was not the oldest son when the prophet came to anoint a king from Jesse’s house, neither was Solomon and probably not the heir apparent in the eye of many. God, however, had a plan for David and he had a plan for Solomon to rule His people. The book of I Kings makes it clear that King David had in his heart to build a beautiful temple for God. David’s life reflected love, honor and respect for the God that had given purpose and direction in his life. David had the plans, made preparation for the temple and the deepest passion to complete the task. However, I Kings 8:18-19, “But the Lor