Live LIGHT

Do you make the time to listen for the Lord? Learn a tool that can help you listen for the Lord effectively today. Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, "Bring me the ephod." Abiathar brought it to him, and David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?" "Pursue them," he answered. "You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue.” A tool to listen for the Lord There is a tool that helps me listens for the Lord. I call it conversational journaling. I know I’ve told you about it before but my question for you during this time of of self-imposed exile for the good of the realm is - Do you regularly listen for the Lord? Habakkuk 2:1 says “I will look to see what he will say to me” Don’t to enjoy poetic prophecy? How do you look to see what God will say? How do you see what anyone says? Although I think we all get it. Anyone who has seen the voice of God gets it. Anyway, it goes o

How do strengthen yourself in the Lord? Since hope is a process, you better know how to do it. Learn how you can strengthen yourself in the Lord today. David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God. v.6 How do you strengthen yourself in the Lord? When I was in seminary, I often told pentecostal jokes. I figured it was the group I grew up in, so we’re the only ones I should probably poke fun at. Apparently some people didn’t’ know that about me. One day I came back into the class with a fresh cup of coffee before the break was over. There was a group in the back corner and I went to see what was going on. One of the guys turned to me and said, “Can you believe these guys still think tongues is still a gift for today?” “Hey me too!” I laughed, then challenged “How do you strengthen yourself in the Lord?” I don’t know if I ever talked to that guy agai

Hope avoids bitterness. The two can’t exist in the same place. We need to know how to avoid bitterness in our disappointments in life. David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. 1 Samuel 30:6a Two Keys to Avoid Bitterness Two key areas where we can grow bitter are when we are offended by others and when we live offended at God. Key 1 Hope avoids bitterness through Forgiveness When we forgive others we need to remember to do if from our heart. To forgive from the heart we need to make the decision to forgive, we need to have action that shows we’ve forgiven and we need to feel the peace that comes from forgiveness. Have you decided to forgive? If not, choose to “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32 NIV) Can you bless the offender? bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Luke 6:28 If not, fo

Hope accepts the reality of what has happened. It’s not wishful thinking or denial. Learn what that means today. When David and his men came to Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. 1 Samuel 30:3-4 Hope Accepts and the Stockdale Paradox You’ve heard me talk about the Stockdale Paradox. I’ll do it again, in case you don’t remember what it is. James Stockdale, former vice-presidential candidate, who, during the Vietnam War, was held captive as a prisoner of war for over seven years. He was one of the highest-ranking naval officers at the time. During this horrific period, Stockdale was repeatedly tortured and had no reason to believe he'd make it out alive. Held in the clutches of the grim reality of his hell world, he found a way to stay alive by embracing both the harshness of his situation with a balance of healthy optimism. Stockdale explained this ide

Hope is something we all may need a refresher on at this time. It’s something we can lose track of if we’re not careful. I’ve had to learn about hope the hard way. When my dad died of Bulbar ALS I had just placed my family, friends, finances and future on the altar and trusted God with the best of all I had. Then my Dad died and it took some time until I learned I also needed to trust God with my pain and hurt and disappointment. For me, faith is trusting God with my best, hope is trusting God with my pain. In this series we’ll help you to #CopeWithHope. Hope is the helmet of our salvation...that’s why it’s so often attacked. We’ll be attacked in the areas of our relationships, health and finances. It’s who we connect with, what we earn from what we do, and our body. The battle for hope is the battle for identity. How to Hope when life is a mess series In this series we’ll look at a story in 1 Samuel 30 to see how David hoped when he got news that knocked the knees out from him. Is

There is a lie that needs to be confronted in love. It’s that I can’t help how I feel. With Holy Spirit’s help, you can change how you feel. I CAN change how I feel. Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.  Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 The city I lived in banned Conversation Therapy. My country is in the process of making it criminal. The city didn’t define what Conversion Therapy was, but insisted no one be forced to give up how they identify. I’m in agreement that no one should be forced to change law

Is it right to live unoffendable anymore? Don’t we have to fight for our rights? Learn how you be more unoffendable today. I live unoffendable. Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud  or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.  It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.  Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 How can we live unoffendable? I saw a sign at the side of the road. It was advertising ads space. It is a sign of a monkey sitting on a tree looking at a sign advertising bananas. And I got a little offended. Is the company telling me I’m the monkey and it’s easy to sell to me? If I decide to buy that advertising space I’m definitely the monkey they sold the banana to. Have you ever noticed how easy it is for us to take offence? I’ve come to realize that if I get offended over ad

Honour helps you to change any situation that is interpersonal. Read why this is the case and why we need to choose to honour everyone. I honour all people. Respect everyone, and love the family of believers. Fear God, and respect the king. 1 Peter 2:17 Why should we honour everyone? Why would the Peter tell us to “honour all people”? Didn’t the king he told everyone to honour have Him die by upside down crucifixion? He told us to honour everyone because. It’s what the Father has done for us. Honour is when you change the relationship with another. It’s when you raise someone up to your level. You refuse to respond to them the way they respond you. This is what the Father did for us when we became part of His family and He seated us in heavenly places. Ephesians 2:4-6 (New Living Translation) But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you h

Peace is the feeling we can never be without. It comes from trusting God. Do you let peace rule your heart? Peace rules my heart. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Colossians 3:15 Peace needs to rule our heart. Peace comes from trusting God. We need to trust God with our whole heart. That’s a lot to unpack. Peace is the person of Jesus Let’s start with peace. It’s not the absence of war. Peace is the person of Jesus. I was researching for this blog post and decided to look at the context of the verses I wanted to use to encourage you today. The verse on my heart said, “Seek peace and pursue it”. In the version we’re going to look at it reads “Search for peace and work to maintain it.” I wanted to know what the Bible said about searching for peace and working to maintain it. And guess what? It suddenly became very practical for us. Let’s read 1 Peter 3:7-12 1 Peter 3:7-12 Ne

Finding Soul friends is the one thing you need to do to change your life forever. What are they and how do you find them? Soul friends are life changing friends. Love each other with genuine affection,  and take delight in honouring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Romans 12:10-11 What are soul friends? If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far travel with others. A soul friend is a friend that travels with you a long way. Soul friends love with genuine affection. Soul friends take delight in honouring each other. Soul friends make the decision to love with patience and kindness, without envying or boasting. They aren’t proud or rude or keep records of wrong. Do you have someone you’d call a soul friend? What if you don’t in this current time and place you’re in? How do you find soul friends? Soul friends require trust. Trust chiefly gets built over time. Men build trust by sweating together, but it still takes time to truly

The darker the night gets, the brighter the light gets. Learn how to show this natural occurrence in practicality of real life. The darker the night the brighter my light. Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” John 8:12 The darker the night gets, the brighter the light gets. It’s the way of the world. Can it be true in our lives? Or is it weak comparison? I know Jesus calls us the light of the world, but was he just waxing poetic? I know Isaiah said in 60:1-3 “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you  and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. But without doubt Isaiah’s prophecy was a poem, was it not? It’s not always true that light overpow

Little simple gestures change peoples lives daily. Keep up being the amazing you that you are. You’re changing the worlds that you’re probably not aware of. Little simple gestures change people’s lives. But this will be your opportunity to tell them about me.  So don’t worry in advance about how to answer the charges against you,  for I will give you the right words and such wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to reply or refute you! Luke 21:13-15 Oh my goodness, it seems like so long ago I had this thought thinking about how little simple gestures other people had on me completely changed my life. It came after someone made the effort to seek me out to thank me for something I did - that I completely forgot about doing. It was really not a big deal for me to do. Apparently it changed his life. Then I started thinking about things others did for me that were probably not a big deal for them, but it made a huge difference for me. The ones who took our kids so we could have