Then God said...

When God speaks, mountains move, the dead are raised, and a new life begins.

"But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ." Ephesians 2:4, 5

He takes that which is formless and void and makes beauty and life. He heals the brokenhearted and gives hope where all seems lost.

When John was in prison, he sent his disciples to go ask Jesus if He was the coming one.

Read devotion here.

God has not called us to disconnect from work and repress our natural abilities and creative desires; he calls us to be more human and expand upon what we have. We are to influence the world in our work, not the other way around, where the world impacts us.

I'm excited to kick off a new series called Through the Journal. In this series, we will be going through my journal and sharing thoughts I've written down about scripture and what God is doing in my life. God is at work, and as we will discover in this episode, He will finish the work He started in you. 

The following are scripture references from this devotion.

"For Zion's sake I will not hold My peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burns." Isaiah 62:1

"Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:6

"Then they said to Him, 'What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?' Jesus answered and said to them, 'This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.'" John 6:28, 29

Behold, our King comes.

"Strengthen the weak hands,

Are you tired and weary?

Soon the earth will blossom, and the trees will clap their hands.

We'll run through blossoming meadows,

Behold, the King comes.

Nothing is lost even though you have experienced things you wish you could change. Your suffering and not having all the answers is not a lost cause when you are in Jesus. Know that loss now is fullness later. Listen as we discuss the hope we have in Christ.

"as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things." 2 Corinthians 6:9-10

In my yard, I have daylilies growing. Each spring, they show off beautiful flowers. An interesting fact about daylilies is if left to themselves, they will never flourish as much as they should.

Read the devotion here.

Are you looking for peace in your life? 

Peace is not the absence of problems, and peace is something we can experience when we are going through difficulties. 

The scripture says, "casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you."

Listen as we discuss this topic.

There on the beach, Jesus showed up and had breakfast with the disciples.

I love the story John writes about Jesus showing up on the beach. There that early morning, the disciples were worn out from toiling all night and catching nothing, and Jesus asked, "do you have anything to eat?" They answered, "No." Then Jesus instructed them to cast the net on the other side, and they listened, and their catch was great. Then John said, "It is the Lord!" God showed up, and they had an excellent breakfast. Just ask Peter.

Read the full text here.

As believers, the hope we have is not grounded in what is happening now but is anchored in him. You may be facing difficulties beyond what you care to, but in it, you have hope. It would be easy to surrender to the cold dark chamber of fear and live under a cloud of defeat. Yet in the dark moment, though you don’t feel him, he is right there with you. Oh, that God would strengthen your weary hands.

Read more: https://creationspeaks.com/podcast/a-city-restored/