Room For Redemption

redeemed

I remember walking in my counselor’s office broken, tattered and torn.  I was in a dark place and I told him that.  He listened to me share a lot of things I have done, many of which I was not proud of and suffering for.  I will never forget any of the words that he said to me especially on that day.  I was having a hard time coping with life, situations and everything inside me was in turmoil.
This is what he said:

Control your feelings
But don’t deny them
You are human
Give yourself room for redemption
Because we ALL need it!

I walked out of that room feeling like such a weight was lifted off my chest.  That was in December of 2013.  Sometimes we forget what Jesus Christ did for all humanity.  He died for ALL our sins which will encompass past, present and future.  He took our burdens to the cross and our sickness and shame.  Isn’t that what the word declares?  That is why Jesus said on the cross “It is finished” in John 19:30.  As humans, we always see from a human perspective and not from a spiritual and biblical perspective.  God sent His one and only Son for this purpose.   Continue reading


The Silent Prayer Works

A-Prayer-For-YouI love the life of Hannah in the book of 1 Samuel chapter one. You can reference this in verses 1-19, with a title, “Hannah Pours Out Her Heart to God”, in The Message Translation.  In this passage Elkanah has two wives, Hannah and Peninnah.  This becomes a story of rivalry where Hannah has no children and Peninnah has many.

I believe Hannah has such an amazing story that so many of us can relate to.  She has a prayer that all of us have prayed.  For some this is a prayer that they know often which is called “the silent prayer.”  That is the kind of prayer where there is such an anguish of soul that you really have no words to say but only a sound coming from you as a harmonious cry to God’s ears.  It is the type of prayer where you think you are not even heard and that is why you are crying all the more.  But I love how Hannah, this woman of God, makes such a decision for a turning point in her life.  Continue reading


The Soul Cries Out

FullSizeRender“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for though art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4

I was running through the fields today and stopped to take a picture of my long journey with no one there.  I was not afraid of my surroundings.  I knew God was with me.  I was enjoying the sunlight, sound, solitude and serenity. Yet in all of this I always feel this heaviness pressed upon my heart where my soul just cries out.  I begin to feel this absence where no one else can fill but him.  The tears sting my eyes and I feel all my soul shake at the hollowness that was left there.  I ask “Why do I still feel this, Lord.  Can’t you just take it away.”  But even in that I know the answer already.  It is always going to remain there.  That place will only be filled by God now and forever.  That is the place that was taken so that He could remind me of everything else I tried to do to fill it.  It is not meant for anything or anyone else to fill but Him.   Continue reading


God Chose You

ChosenTitleHave you ever asked God why He called you?  Maybe you feel inadequate or unqualified for the assignment.  You may think that you are not fit for the role of leadership, that you don’t meet all the criteria, perhaps too young or too old, inexperienced, something damaged or this constant struggle in life and don’t feel quite ready.  I am sure that David must have felt the same way in his walk.  I am sure that he did not feel as qualified to do anything most days.  But David did have the characteristics for great leadership even during the most agonizing, stressful and weakest points of his life.

1 Samuel 22: 1-5 states “David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam.  When his brothers and his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there.  All those that were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him; and he became their leader!  About 400 men were with him.  From there David went to Mizpah in Moab and said to the king of Moab “Would you let my father and mother come and stay with you until I learn what God will do for me? So he left them with the king of Moab and they stayed as long as David was in the stronghold.  But the prophet Gad said to David “Do not stay in the stronghold.  Go into the land of Judah.”  So David left and went to the forest of Hereth.”  Continue reading