What is He doing? I can imagine these words rolling through the disciples’ minds when He told them to make the 5,000-plus people sit down in groups. For what? There wasn’t enough food for the disciples, let alone for all those people. Someone mentioned a little boy had a lunch of 5 little loaves of bread and 2 small fish,…

Packaging. Sometimes, it’s the packaging of a product that draws your attention to the product. You might not need the product, but the packaging was so impressive that it drew your eye to the item. The placement of the item in the store also drew your eye – it was designed to bring you in, make you pause, look, and…

Don’t let others do the work God sent you to do. If you forfeit the work, you’re handing the job over to someone else. God didn’t make a mistake by tasking you with the job, but should you choose not to do it, God will make sure His work gets done by someone who is willing!! The story of Mordecai…

You are supposed to be there- in that environment mixed with blessings and opposition, aka giants. You are equipped to not just see/taste what the future holds but to also get an understanding of the opposition you will have to face.  What you believe matters in this season because you can derail your opportunity or embrace the fact that God designed…

The ten spies sped past the good news about the fruit and the land, but they landed hard on those giants. They were – ugh, GIANTS. They couldn’t see anything else – not the land’s bounty, the fruit they brought back, not the fact that God was currently providing manna and quails, the pillar of fire at night and cloud…

Joshua and Caleb were the only men out of the 12 spies Moses sent to return with iron-clad conviction that God had given the Israelites the land.  So what if the giants, called the Anakins, occupied the land?  Joshua and Caleb believed God positioned Israel to defeat the enemy!  They could taste victory.  Unfortunately, the other ten spies tasted death.  They convinced the masses of…

As a little girl, I loved organizing my room, especially my dresser. Oh, it had to be just so. I’d dump every drawer out onto my bed and begin the enjoyable process of reorganizing. Although I did love to be organized, it also served a greater purpose. You see, I hated going to bed. So, I decided that I would…

Manna. The provision God sent from heaven to feed the Israelites during their 40-year punishment in the wilderness. What captures my attention tonight is they wouldn’t have even known about manna if they’d believed Joshua and Caleb’s faith-filled “we are well able to possess the land” report. Instead, their unbelief and defiance prompted God to punish an entire generation by…

King Herod jailed Peter with the intention of killing him after Easter.  He’d already had James killed, and Peter was next.  The saints were praying for Peter while he was in jail.  The night before his scheduled death date, God miraculously delivered Peter.  He went to the house where the saints were gathered to share what God had done. Peter knocked on the door…

May you feel the gift of strength the Lord has given you in the volume you need for this day. Whether you’re celebrating with family and friends,  acknowledging the time in solitude with memories of days gone by, or bogged down in difficulties, there’s still the need for the Lord to see you through today. While commercialized versions of the day are…

Hard times. Joseph had his fair share of hard times. Thanks to his boss’ lustful wife’s lies, he sat in a dank, dark prison. Joseph’s destiny wasn’t prison, but it was part of the journey to his destiny of serving as the provider for the nation of Israel. Hard times. Sometimes they serve as the vehicle that drives us to…

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to know what is in store for you in life? You could dodge the potholes, take a detour from the hard stuff, and take an extended tour through the scenic routes of life. But we all know that’s not possible. Boy, we would be some lopsided people. God always makes sure we’re balanced. I’m thankful that…

Sarah pushed for her servant, Hagar, to hook up with her husband, Abraham, hoping Hagar would get pregnant so Sarah could technically call the child hers – enabling Sarah to leave the stigma of being barren behind!  The sad part is Sarah knew God “restrained” her from bearing.  So, she devised her own plan to get away from the ugly word “barren.”…

I originally wrote and posted this devotional on Thursday, April 28, 2016.  I was reminded of it today and it continues to bless me.  May it bless you as well. Details. I’m so grateful the Lord has purpose for those little details in life.  Everything has purpose.  If it’s in your life then God has purpose for it.  It blesses me to…

I was thinking about the prayer Hannah prayed and God’s response of giving her Samuel.  At first glance, it’s obvious that Samuel is exactly what Hannah asked for – yet there’s so much more.  All she wanted was a male child.  Yes, she was willing to give him back to the Lord, which was huge!  But God’s purpose for Samuel exceeded Hannah’s vow…

I’m still in the story of Abraham having to send Ishmael and Hagar away. But I’m back at the beginning of it all. We don’t know exactly what Ishmael said to Isaac or if he’d mocked his half-brother before. But we do know that he teased Isaac, and Sarah was close enough to witness it. And because she saw and…

“Move the stone away from Lazarus’ grave,” Jesus said. That’s what Jesus told Mary, Martha and company after weeping over Lazarus. The instruction went over like a lead balloon and swiftly met opposition – he’s been dead four days. Oh, the stench! Nothing good could come from following that directive– or so they thought. Some trees were being cut down…

I’ve been in Genesis 21:1-12 in recent weeks, and I’ve been marinating on how God gave Abraham a bothersome answer to a situation that he faced in his household. The drama involved his son Ishmael and the newest addition, the miracle child called Isaac. One day, Sarah, Isaac’s mother, saw Ishmael tease her son. The fallout behind the brief encounter…

Give the Pontoon Away! (as told to me by Sister Debbie Porter, Dayton, OH) Sister Porter had been physically, financially, emotionally and spiritually abused by her husband during their tumultuous 32 year marriage.  The last beating took her close to death’s door. She knew she had to get away or the next time she would die at his hands. While…

It’s interesting how there is always someone around willing to tell you what you should/shouldn’t do when it comes to you believing God and walking in faith. The enemy of our souls will make sure to put doubters in your way to dissuade you from holding firmly onto the Word and worth of God’s word. Examples abound in the scriptures…