Journal of Faith: Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling Philippians 2:12

Today I realized that even if I don't share my ideas with anyone, someone else will likely have the same idea. I typed in journey of faith trying to get to my blog when I ran into this ministry website that was doing everything I thought that God showed me to do.  They had my name, vision, and outlets.  I was happy to see that God was doing awesome things with these ladies, but I was also hit with some resentment.  Have I displeased God to the point that he picked someone else like he did Saul in Bible times?   Fortunately, holy spirit stopped me in my tracks and reminded me that there is nothing new under the sun.   “The thing that hath been, it  is that  which shall be; and that which is done  is  that which shall be done: and  there is  no new  thing  under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 1:9 Solomon wrote these words with it seems a heavy heart in realizing that the more things supposedly change, the more they sta...

Good Morning, have you ever tried to change people?  How about yourself?  The other day I resisted eating a second brownie only to have my body revolt on me for saying no to myself.  My vision blurred and I became dizzy at the thought of giving away that second brownie.  In that moment I rebuked the gluttony in me and realized that this thing had sitting down in me for a while.  I am prone  to overindulgence in several areas of my life. I realize that now, and unfortunately so is one of my children.  This is not something that can remain unchecked. Some people are naturally self disciplined and so they seem to not need God for this, but I do.  I have to make an intentional decision to exert my energy to discipline myself, and the only way this works for me is Jesus.  I have to take up my cross and follow Jesus(see Mathew 10:38, Mathew 16:24, Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23, and Luke 14:27).  The mention of carrying our cross has a prerequisite, a...

Most miraculous moments in the Bible happen because of a request, but there is an interesting moment in Acts 9 where Jesus introduced himself to a man in such a way that it changed his entire life without his permission. Saul had been travelling to a town called Demascus to capture Christians when he was stricken down by the voice of GOD. All he could bring himself to say was "who are you Lord?" Saul, a man who was known in Christian history as the one who was zealous in persecuting anyone who declared Jesus to be the savior, was blinded and confounded by that same Jesus.  Saul thought that he knew who God was, but found out that he didn't know GOD at all.  Sometimes in all of the Christian culture, we get so wrapped up in our own identity that we forget that we should be chasing after that for which we were apprehended (see Phillipians 3:12).  I encourage you and even dare you, Christian or not, to ask the question that changes a life of self importance to a life of pu...

 I was thinking this morning about how blessed I am to have the family that I have, one that intrduced me to Jesus and has allowed me to see them grapple with the word of God and their faith, but what if they were wrong? What if I am wrong?  What if Jesus isn't the way, the truth, or the life?      If Christianity isn't true then there are millions of people who are trying to live honorable lives.  They are giving to the biggest charity in the world, the church.   They are forgiving people who didn't say I'm sorry because they believe that they have been forgiven.  If its not true then there are Christians out there who have made mistakes and are trying to make it right and/or grow beyond it.  They are trying to live in a way that doesn't harm others.  There are millions of people right now who are clinging on to hope in dire situations.  There are millions of people singing and dancing in spite of what it looks like around them....

As a parent (boy mom of three as of last week!),  my children do things sometimes that they know are not right, and some days I get so angry that I have to pass the responsibility of punishment on to my husband just to make things more objective.  Why do I get so angry?  I get angry because I want my sons to become men worthy of honor that show the glory of the LORD in their lives.  Their willful disobedience is in direct resistance to the legacy that I am trying to build, and it is embarrassing!   Sometimes when we go out, I have one child asking for everything, one child wandering off, and one child (as of last week) crying as if I have done him some terrible disservice.  Now imagine all of this happening in front of some kids that know my family and don't particularly like us.  Spectaters or not it is my responsibility to correct my children and you bet I do, but I also am aware that I still have to protect my family from those who would try to dest...

     I was reminded this morning in my devotion that God wants me to enjoy the best life.  It is funny because I had to explain this to one of my sons yesterday.  He was angry because my husband and I were getting on his case about not listening to instructions before running off to do what "he thought we wanted".  Really, he was just running off to do what he was willing to do rather than what we asked him to do.  This resulted in us giving him unwanted redirection.  We made him start over and do things the way that we told him to originally.  This was a time sensitive instruction because we had a family event to go to.  He was holding us up with his disobedience and lack of cooperation. He bulked and got angry when he realized that we would not be going until he complied.  He cried and insisted that he wanted to go. He thought that he was fast tracking the process by doing things his way when really he was slowing everythin...

The bended knee can represent many things. For some it means defeat, for other it means rearing to go, but for me in means dedication.  If I am on my knees it means that I have refused to quit. I have made a choice not to lay down and die.  To be on my knees means that my pride has taken a backseat to my determination and faith. I am tired, but it's not over. I may be injured, but it's not over. I may have lost some ground, but I am going to find it. I may not know how to win, but I have a God who never loses. As I bend down God stands up for me.  I would argue that the best place to be is down on your knees. From here you can learn things that you may have missed from your previous perspective and from here you can gather your strength. Scripture says that God's strength is made perfect in weakness.  When you bend the knee to God, he will fight for you. To bend the knee is to honor the Lord and when you humble yourself before the Lord, he will lift you up. ...