Having Honest Motives Before God Part II A lot Christians worry constantly if they are living godly lives. They focus their attention on themselves. They try to live righteously in their own strength. Well, I can tell you, it's not possible! God did not design us to live in a self-focused manner and when we constantly try to get better on our own, be godly on our own, we are focusing all our attention - negative and positive - on ourselves, not the one who can actually change us. We are saved by grace through faith. Salvation is not based on our own works. We can never do enough or be good enough to become godly on our own. Righteousness comes from seeking God and allowing Holy Spirit to change us little by little. All we need to do is focus on Him. We need to focus our mind and heart on God, His Word, His will, and our motives will then become more righteous.  Instead of striving selfishly on becoming what we think God wants us to be, maybe we just focus on falling in love with th...

 Honest motives before God How can we be sure our motives are truly pure before God? When we come to Him in prayer, are our words rooted in selflessness—or driven by our own ambition? By practicing the following, we position ourselves for God to reveal what’s hidden within us, so we can release our own agendas and align with His purpose. 1. Ask God to purify our hearts.      a.  Before He creates a clean heart in us, He will first show us what is unclean in our hearts. Then we need to repent of that sin.     b. Once we truly repent, we need to fully receive the Lord's forgiveness for that impurity found in us.     c. Then we can c ry out to God to give us His motives. Psalms 51:10 "Create in me a clean heart, oh God, and renew a right spirit within me." Psalms 139:23 "Search me, oh God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Philippians 2:13 "...Fo...

 Is God Calling His Women Out Of The World? In the past 6 months I have gone through a major dynamic shift in my life. For as long as I can remember, I've put my God-given identity on the back burner and forced a new identity influenced by the world. Every step I've taken in the last 20 years has been to build a career to make as much money as I can and gain high standing in the workforce. I've pushed myself to earn certifications and I've constantly pursued continued education in areas that I wasn't really interested in but knew it would gain me a nice paycheck. But I have been unhappy. I've been lost. The better I was doing in my career, the more hopeless I became. Eventually, I lost my true identity in the rat race.  My last job was horrible and after losing it, I tore myself apart trying to figure out what my next step was. Should I find another full time corporate job doing what I really didn't like? Or did God have something else for me? But if the lat...

 The other day I was reading through Psalms. Every time I open that book, something different rises to the surface depending on the season I'm walking through. Scripture has a way of meeting you exactly where you are.   Right now, I find myself deeply grieved by the evil being exposed in our world. The reports surrounding the Epstein files are horrifying. It’s sickening to consider what powerful leaders, entertainers, and business figures were/are doing right under our noses—and how many innocent lives have suffered because of it. But we must remember this: God is not blind, and He is not indifferent. Judgment belongs to Him. No one escapes His justice. Those who seem untouchable are still dust before Him—vapor in His hands. In His time, He will remind them who He is. In the meantime, Scripture gives us clear instructions. We are commanded to pray for those in authority over us. Not just the ones we like. Not just the ones we voted for. All of them.  We are told in Jeremi...

What the Gospel of Jesus Christ Actually Is — and Why His Death Was Necessary The word “gospel” gets used so often that its meaning can become blurred. For some, it’s reduced to a motivational message. For others, it’s simply “Jesus loves you.” While both are true in their own way, neither captures the full weight, cost, or power of the Gospel. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not merely encouragement—it is a rescue mission. To understand it fully, we must look behind the scenes at why Jesus’ death was necessary and why He is called the Lamb. The Original Problem: Separation From God From the beginning, humanity was created for intimate relationship with God. Adam and Eve walked with Him freely—no shame, no fear, no separation. But sin changed everything. Sin is not just “bad behavior.” It is rebellion against God’s authority, a fracture in the relationship between Creator and creation. When sin entered the world, it brought with it spiritual death—separation from God’s presence. God is...

Becoming the "It Girl": Is it costing you your identity? The world’s standards of being an “IT Girl” are, on the surface, pretty positive. Wake up early and start your day off right? Sounds great. Be ambitious and not lazy? Love that. Take care of yourself mentally and physically? Absolutely. Travel the world and wear designer clothing? Who wouldn’t enjoy that? But here’s the question no one seems to ask: If we all follow the exact same checklist to become the exact same "IT Girl," what happens to our identity? What if waking up before the sun isn't how God designed you to operate? What if being hyper-ambitious, constantly grinding, and obsessing over self-improvement isn’t actually holy hustle—but a distraction? What if the enemy’s newest trick is simply getting us to focus so much on ourselves that God’s purpose for us quietly slides to the back burner? I say this because I’ve lived it. For most of my life, I was a night owl. That was when creativity visit...

 ...as they went, they were cleansed. In Luke 17:12-19 we read about 10 lepers healed by Jesus. The difference of this healing compared to many others we read about is that it was not an instantaneous healing.  In verse 14 it states that once Jesus saw the lepers, he said to them, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." and that's it. He didn't touch them, He didn't say anything more than just that. And that verse wraps up by stating "And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. " This speaks volumes to me as someone who has become disheartened when I didn't get an immediate response to my prayer like I thought I should.  This is so dangerous for us as believers because it puts us in a position of demanding of God what we think He should do or how He should act.  And when He doesn't respond to us accordingly, we lose faith. When healing does not take place instantly our faith waivers and we sabotage our progressive healing. We need to stand...

Spiritual Warfare: A Practical Guide - Part 3 In our last part on Spiritual warfare, we took an in depth look at the full armor of God and how to apply it daily. Below is a bonus thought to add even more fuel to your fire for God. Praise & Worship The Bible teaches us that the devil is  “a roaring lion, roaming around, seeking whom he may devour” . This is a daily thing. Especially if you want to be effective for God’s kingdom, you will have daily resistance, which is why putting on this armor daily is so important.  In addition to putting on the armor, the following will aid in success against the enemy.      I recently had dinner with a group of amazing women and picked their brains about what they do daily to stay close to God in the midst of their busyness. What was their daily training?  Full time mom of three, single mother working more than full time, recent empty nester working full time, and a full time working mother of two college kids and tw...

Spiritual Warfare: A Practical Guide - Part 2 In Part 1 of Spiritual Warfare: A Practical Guide , we reviewed what spiritual warfare is and some of the tactics that Satan uses against us. Now let's look at what we can do to stand against the devil and his minions in battle. Our Help From God: Even though the devil and his army is against us, Scripture has two valuable promises for us. That while these forces are admittedly powerful (Satan is described as a “roaring lion,” looking to devour people),  they are ultimately subservient to our almighty and omnipotent God. We also have immediate assistance. If we don the full armor of God—the full array of his promises for us, which are truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, God’s Word, prayer—we can stand firm against any attack. We are not meant for weakness, we are meant for strength.  James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefor to God. Resist the devil (**Resist his authority**), and he will flee from you.”. ...