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"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)

What's that you're carrying on your back? It looks pretty heavy. You look like you've got the weight of the world on your shoulders… dragging you down.

When did you pick it up? How long have you been dragging it around? Why are you holding on to it?

With all the stuff we're carrying…  ( Click for more )

For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" Esther 4:14 NKJV

When things aren't going the way you hoped, have you ever wondered why you are where you are, why do you have the job you have, why you're in the relationship you're in or why you are in whatever situation you might currently find yourself in? And in the midst of that you ask, "Why God? Why have you brought…  ( Click for more )

And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. 1 Kings 19:11-12 KJV

Can you hear it? ...Silence?

What do you think of silence? How do you experience it? Does it make you uncomfortable? Would you rather have the…  ( Click for more )

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33 NASB Who comes first in your life? Is it a "special someone", is it your work, your best friend, your parents, your own wants and desires, or is it God?

I wish I could say God always comes first in my life… but if I did I would be lying. I WANT God to always come first. It is truly my desire for Him to be first and foremost in my life. But as I make my way throughout the day and am faced with various decisions, I find myself asking the question, "How…  ( Click for more )

Then the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone..." Genesis 2:18a NASB

I live alone. Well, sort of. My dog Shelby, who is 12 years old, lives with me too. I have some amazing friends that I often get together with for dinner and such. My family lives nearby and while we do talk on the phone we don't see each other very often. I live in a condominium community and I have some close neighbors. We always wave and sometimes speak when we see each other. I work from home, but I do interact with a number of people on the phone and sometimes in person. I attend…  ( Click for more )

For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. John 1:17 NASB

Grace is "a showing of kindness, a favor done without expectation of return, an act of mercy."

I'm sure most of us have probably experienced grace at some point in our lives. Someone has shown us kindness. Someone has done us a favor without expecting anything in return. Someone has been merciful toward us.

As human beings we all have a capacity for grace. But no one has ever come close to expressing the grace that God has shown us. The grace we show others…  ( Click for more )

I wanna be Your hands, I wanna be Your feet I'll go where You send me, I'll go where You send me I'll be Your hands, I'll be Your feet I'll go where You send me, I'll go where You send me And I try, yeah I try To touch the world like You touched my life An I'll find my way, to be Your hands

Hands and Feet by Audio Adrenaline

I just returned from a volunteer mission trip to Kenya. This makes my third trip to East Africa, but my first to work with the Maasai tribe. It is an experience I will never forget.

After 3 flights totally…  ( Click for more )

My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me. Psalm 63:8 KJV

I am involved in the greatest love affair of all-time… the pursuit of God. I want to know Him more than anything else this life has to offer. As I've invested time into this relationship my life has completely changed. I've gone from being a selfish, self-absorbed person to someone who desires to share love with others. I want everyone I meet to know this man… Jesus, who died for me… so I could have a relationship with my father – God in heaven.

We pursue God…  ( Click for more )

So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith. Galatians 6:10 NASB

As I sit in my air-conditioned home, drinking clean water, haven taken a shower, put on clean clothes and am getting ready to go out to eat, the thought of those suffering from the lack of these things in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama seems almost incomprehensible. Sadly, it is all very real. The stories continue to come of loss, sadness, and despair. It is hard to believe we are watching something that is happening on our…  ( Click for more )

When you hear the word "surrender" what comes to mind? I heard God speak this word directly into my heart this week. I've spent a lot of time thinking about it, praying about it… trying to understand it and I'd like to share with you what I've discovered.

Upon first thought, I had this image of an army raising their white flag in surrender to the enemy. It was a sign of their giving up. This image didn't bring me much comfort – at first. I think it was due to the fact that I saw this as a battle and that the "good guys" were surrendering to the "bad…  ( Click for more )

And Jesus answered and said to them, "Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' it will happen. "And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." Matthew 21:21-22 NASB

Last Friday my world got turned upside down. I lost my job. (Again.)

Unfortunately, I'm sure many of you reading this column have found yourself in similar situations. It's definitely not fun.

Up until 2001 I had never left…  ( Click for more )

Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace." Nehemiah 2:17 NIV

In the Old Testament there are many stories of cities building walls. Physically, walls were a means of protection against the enemy. In the book of Nehemiah we read Nehemiah's response to the people after surveying the city of Jerusalem. He saw what was once a great city, but the walls of the city were now in ruins. He began to dream again of a city…  ( Click for more )

The works of His hands are truth and justice; All His precepts are sure. Psalm 111:7 NASB

Truth is not a feeling. Truth is not an idea. According to Webster's Dictionary, truth can be defined as "a transcendent fundamental or spiritual reality; a judgment, proposition, or idea that is true or accepted as true."

So how do you know if something is true? Is it true just because you read it on the internet or in the newspaper?

Experience has taught me to be very cautious about believing what I read. How many times have you gotten one of those emails about winning…  ( Click for more )

"For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; for it will certainly come, it will not delay." Habakkuk 2:3 NASB

Sometimes I'm in such a hurry I struggle with the 30 minutes in the waiting room at the doctor's office, the 3 minutes for a bag of popcorn to pop in the microwave, or even the 30 seconds for the light to turn green at a stop light. I can't imagine what it must have felt like to wait for as long as some did in the Bible, like Abraham, the nation of Israel, Simeon, Anna,…  ( Click for more )

The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. Isaiah 50:4 NASB

I am often told I'm a great communicator. As a writer, I consider that a wonderful compliment and am sincerely humbled by it. But being a great communicator is more than just talking or communicating thoughts and ideas… the flip side of being a good communicator is listening. I might be skilled in expressing ideas verbally or in written form, but I am always seeking to…  ( Click for more )

Thomas doubted.

So the other disciples were saying to him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." John 20:25 NASB

Judas betrayed.

Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?" And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him. From then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus. Matthew 26:14-16 NASB …  ( Click for more )

Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer. Romans 12:12 HCSB

I've been reading the book of Romans lately and just really meditating on the lessons that can be learned and applied from this book in my daily life. In reading it I am reminded of how I'm supposed to "live the life" as a believer and follower of Jesus Christ.

I am challenged daily in so many ways to go against living the life. From the poor service I received in the restaurant last night, to the person who cut me off in traffic, to the customer that got angry with me for…  ( Click for more )

"Show me, O LORD, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man's life is but a breath. Psalm 39:4-5 NIV

Have you ever stopped to think about how life is truly "only a moment" in time?

As David composed this psalm, I can't help but wonder what must have happened for him to write something so deep and so passionate. It is obvious it must have been something big that caused him to wonder about the number of days we are…  ( Click for more )

For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness"—He has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God's glory in the face of Jesus Christ. Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us. We are pressured in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed. 2 Corinthians 4:6-9 (HCSB)

I fell down today and something got broken Lord. I'm not exactly sure how to fix it. My first instinct is to…  ( Click for more )

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" Luke 10: 38-40 NIV

Today I feel a lot like Martha. I have so much to do. I've been distracted all day long by the details – too many to recount. I don't enjoy…  ( Click for more )

"These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." John 16:33 NASB

I'd like to ask you a question. And I'd like for you to be honest. Have you ever started a sentence with the phrase "the problem with that is…?"

Now, if you answered yes, have you ever wondered why you start a sentence with this phrase? I know several people who frequently start sentences with that phrase. It's not something I say very often, and yet I hear it so often - I'm…  ( Click for more )

But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7 NKJV

One of my favorite shows on television is Extreme Makeover Home Edition. My best friend and I love to watch this show. I think the reason we like it so much is that it is such a feel-good program that always has a happy ending. I can't watch it without being moved to tears – tears of joy and compassion. No…  ( Click for more )

O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. Psalm 139:1-2 NIV

Oh what I would give to be truly known.

I've been hiding. I put up walls and don't want to let anyone in. Seems like every time I let someone get in, get close, I get hurt. I'm tired of getting hurt. I'm tired of the pain.

So, I pretend it doesn't matter. I put on a mask and hide behind a smile. They don't know do they? They can't tell, can they? I've worn this mask for so long, sometimes…  ( Click for more )

Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life. Proverbs 4:23 HCSB

We are a society that guards many things. We guard our property. We guard our assets. We even guard our health. In fact, it would be easy to read the title of my column and wonder, am I'm talking about your heart "physically"? Health seems to be on everyone's mind these days and don't get me wrong, it is important. But the question I'm really asking is… where do your thoughts come from?

Have you ever thought about that before?

The word "heart" as it's used…  ( Click for more )