Walk Boldly With Jesus

The Zip It Challenge
Proverbs 18:2 “Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions.”
Proverbs is a great place to go if we want to get instructions on how to live a better life.  It is full of really great advice on how to be a good person, how to be a good Christian.  I have heard of people taking a month and studying one chapter of Proverbs each day.  There are exactly 31 chapters, so it works out nicely.  A chapter in the Bible doesn’t usually take long to read.  If you are looking for your next Bible study, or if you are wondering where to even begin in your Bible, consider reading through the Proverbs.  
This verse in particular is a very good verse, especially in this day and age.  Currently, it seems as though everyone has an opinion, and people share these opinions freely.  Many are not interested in trying to understand what is actually going on; they just want to shout their opinion from the rooftops.  Did you know you don’t always have to say whatever comes into your mind?  Did you know it is not your obligation to tell your opinion to everyone?  Sometimes, many times, it is appropriate to think something and not say it out loud.    
This is something I try to teach my children and actually my nephews too.  There are far too many people these days who do not have a filter.  Many of us have a filter, and well, we might think something unkind; we don’t say it out loud because we know it would only hurt others’ feelings.  However, if we didn’t have a filter, we would say it out loud, not necessarily meaning to be mean, and yet it hurts the person’s feelings anyway.  If we all stopped to think about how what we were about to say was going to affect the person or people we were saying it to, we would have a lot fewer misunderstandings in the world.  It doesn’t have to be a long time; you sit and consider how it will make people feel.  Just take a breath before opening your mouth and ask yourself, “Will I be helping the situation if I say this?”  You can also ask, “Am I adding value to the conversation by saying this?” Or, you can also ask, “Will I be hurting someone by giving this opinion?”  
Sometimes we think we need to give our opinions whenever we have them, especially to our spouse and to our children. This isn’t always the case.  If your child comes downstairs to go to school and they are wearing something that doesn’t match, or something you don’t like, you don’t have to give them your opinion.  Did they ask for your opinion?  If so, that’s great; feel free to give it.  If they didn’t ask, hold your tongue.  They like that outfit, or they wouldn’t have put it on.  You're saying something probably won’t make them change, but it may make them self-conscious that others may feel the same way.  It may also cause them to doubt themselves.  I know as parents, especially as moms, we want to save our children from any potential embarrassment. Yet, in doing this, we often wind up hurting their feelings or getting them to question themselves.  What if we didn’t say anything?  What if we just built them up and let them wear what they wanted to school?  
This isn’t just about school either. That was one example, but you can substitute the clothes they are wearing for any other argument you might be having with your kids these days.  I wonder what the world would be like if we all paused and considered the ramifications of saying whatever it is we want to say?  I wonder what the world would be like if we all realized we didn’t have to say every thought that comes into our heads?  There is a challenge I learned about in Big Life Mentoring.  It is from a book called Zip It: The Keep It Shut 40-Day Challenge by Karen Ehman.  
Here is the description of the book: We use our words everywhere: with family members, coworkers, the stranger in the store—even the words we text or post online. Our daily words can impact our relationships for better—or for worse. (Been there. Said that. Wish you could take it back. Can you relate?)
Karen Ehman’s 40-day devotional challenge Zip It—based on her New York Times best-seller Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All—offers practical ways to use our words to build, not to break; to bless, not to badger; to encourage, not to embitter; to praise, not to pounce.”
I have not read this book, or her first book, although they both sound like something I should check out.  Her book also has scripture verse for each day of the challenge.  It is more of a devotional to learn to hold our tongues.  “Zip It covers eight major topics: taming our tempers, sarcasm, gossip, gracious speech, sweet and salty language, asking for forgiveness, whether to speak up or remain silent, and how God’s word can alter our words.” 
The reason I mention this book and this challenge is that I know people who have made it a goal of theirs to not say any negative things for 30 days.  I know others who have decided not to nag their loved ones for 30 days.  They stop and think, before giving their opinion, will this matter in 5 years?  The thing you are about to correct- will it matter in 5 years?  Is it something that needs to be said?  Do they need to hear your opinion, or can you zip it and let it go?  What would your relationships be like with your loved ones if you zipped it more?  How would your relationship with your spouse be different if you didn’t tell them every time you didn’t like something they did?  How would your relationship with your children be if you didn’t tell them every time you disapproved of something they did?  I’m not just talking about little children either.  Many of you have adult children.  How would your relationship change if you decided not to say every criticism that came into your hearing?  If you decided not to tell them how you think they should live their life?  Honestly, take a moment and think about how things in that relationship might be different.  
This verse had two parts to it.  It says, “Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions.”  We talked about airing our own opinions; I just want to take a minute to address the understanding piece of this verse.  We will not always agree with everyone we may meet.  We may not even agree with everyone in our family or those who live in our house.  That is ok.  We don’t have to all agree on everything.  However, it is important to try to understand where the other person is coming from.  This country is so divided right now, and so many people don’t even want to try to understand the other side of what they believe.  I have heard this quote; I am not sure who said it.  The quote is, “Peace is not when everyone agrees.  It is when we can respect our disagreements and still play in the sandbox together.”  We don’t have to all be on the same page.  However, can we calmly listen to the other person and try to understand where they are coming from?  Can we calmly talk through our differences? Can we respect each other enough to at least try to understand what the other side is saying?  So much strife comes from misunderstanding.  We are not taking the time to fully understand what someone is saying, and we get so angry at the mere idea of what they might be saying.  However, when we take the time to fully understand it, we realize they have a point.  Maybe not one we can agree with or get behind, but at least we understand where they are coming from.  
This verse tells us that if we are not going to try to gain an understanding, we are fools.  It also says we should not take delight in airing our own opinions all the time.  We don’t want to be fools; we want to be wise.  I challenge you to think about your comments this week.  Did that comment you just said need to be said?  Did it make them feel better about themselves, or worse?  Can you stop and think before you say something and ask yourself if it needs to be said? I know you will see positive changes in your life if you can learn to let the negative comments and criticisms go without voicing them out loud.  Give it a try; what have you got to lose?
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today.  Lord, help us to control our tongue.  Open our hearts and minds to a greater understanding of those things we disagree with.  Help us to not reject things without first understanding them.  Help us to think before opening our lips.  Help us to use the filter you gave us to not just say whatever comes to our minds. Help us to see others through your eyes, O Lord.  We love you, Lord; you are truly remarkable, and we are so grateful for you.  We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen!
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus.  I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow. Have a blessed day!

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Why aren't we asking?
James 4:2-4 “You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask.  You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures. Adulterers! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.”
This verse came up in my daily devotional “Jesus Calling” today.  Actually, it was from August 20th.  The whole devotional for this day was on healing.  I love to read about healing.  I am so fascinated by healings.  I am so curious why some are healed, and some aren’t.  I believe God heals people on the daily.  I believe He miraculously cures people daily as well.  I have heard so many accounts of people who have witnessed God’s miraculous healings.  Actually, we just heard an example of one of these healings yesterday.  If you have not listened to this week’s Witness Wednesday, you can find it anywhere you listen to podcasts and also on YouTube.  I will read you the devotional today, as I think it has a lot of great info on healing, and I know so many people right now who need healing either for themselves and/or a loved one.
I am a God who heals. I heal broken bodies, broken minds, broken hearts, broken lives, and broken relationships. My very presence has immense healing powers. You cannot live close to me without experiencing some degree of healing. However, it is also true that you have not, because you ask not. You receive the healing that flows naturally from my presence, whether you seek it or not. But there is more—much more—available to those who ask. The first step in receiving healing is to live ever so close to me. The benefits of this practice are too numerous to list. As you grow more and more intimate with me, I reveal my will to you more directly. When the time is right, I prompt you to ask for the healing of some brokenness in you or in another person. The healing may be instantaneous, or it may be a process. That is up to me. Your part is to trust me fully and to thank me for the restoration that has begun. I rarely heal all the brokenness in a person's life. Even my servant Paul was told, "My grace is sufficient for you," when he sought healing for the thorn in his flesh. Nonetheless, much healing is available to those whose lives are intimately interwoven with mine. Ask, and you will receive.
I loved this devotional when God said we receive the healing that flows naturally from His presence, whether we ask for it or not.  I love that He is healing us even when we don’t ask.  I love that we just need to be close to Him and we experience some degree of healing.  What jumped out to me the most in this devotional was when He said, “You have not because you ask not.” God said he has so much more healing for us, and yet we aren’t receiving it because we aren’t asking for it.  The question that came to mind after reading that was, “Why aren’t we asking for it?”  I think people might not be asking for a healing because they don’t believe they are worthy of one, or they don’t believe a healing is possible.  I can understand both of these reasons, and yet, they are getting in the way of a healing.  
I can see how one might not feel worthy of a healing, especially if they have lived a life they are not proud of.  Sometimes we get headed down a wrong path; we somehow get all turned around, and we aren’t living the way God wants us to live.  I don’t think anyone sets out to live a life of being unkind and mean to people.  I think life happens, people experience things, and react to them the best way they know how, and eventually they get tired of things going wrong, and they become hard and unforgiving.  I could see how this person might not feel worthy of healing.  However, God loves them and is willing to give them another chance; all they need to do is be brave enough to ask for it.  Then there are other people who live their lives according to God but also don’t feel worthy of a healing because they feel others deserve it more.  Maybe they feel others are more deserving because they are younger, they have a family, they did more for the community.  Whatever it is they are thinking, it is not taking into account how big our God is.  God is not limited in the number of healings He can do.  We don’t have to hold back from asking for a healing because others are more deserving.  God can heal others, and He can heal us too.  We just need to ask.  
I can also see how we might hold back from asking for a healing because our illness is too severe.  Maybe the doctors have told you there is no cure for the disease you have, and so you don’t ask God for a healing because you know the disease you have is incurable.  The doctors are giving you all the information they have, and yet just because your illness is incurable with modern medicine doesn’t mean God can’t cure it.  Remember, our God is a God of the Impossible.  He is a Way Maker.  He cured leprosy long before modern medicine did. He cured blindness, and He has even brought people back from the dead.  There is nothing our God can’t do.  He just wants us to ask.  He will heal us to a certain point even without asking.  However, we have free will, and so if we want extraordinary healing, we need to ask Him.  He wants to know we agree to the healing, that it is actually something we want.  
I also like how in the devotional it said the first step to healing is to live closer to God.  I liked how it said that as we get closer and closer to Him, He reveals His will more fully to us, and then at some point He prompts us to ask for healing.  If we are looking to see more healing in our lives, we first need to start living closer to the Lord.  Make growing closer to Him a priority. The verse above also talks about how we need to live closer to the Lord.  It says if we make friends with the world, then we will be an enemy of God.  If we want to be a friend of God, we must not cling to the things of this world.  We must try to grow closer and closer to God.  Instead of spending time with things of this world, we must try to replace the things of this world with the things God wants us to do. Spend time with Him instead of spending time with the TV or the video games.  
He also said something I think many of us wish weren’t true.  He said, “The healing might be instantaneous, and it might be a process. That is up to me.”  I think we are all wishing for the healing to be instantaneous.  I know that is what I pray for.  I know I wish it were up to me.  However, when I start to think that way, I revert back to Isaiah 55:8-9: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” God has a plan; He doesn’t just flip a coin to see if you will be healed instantaneously or if it will be a process.  He has a plan, and His plan is greater than our plan.  I think sometimes we think God didn’t answer our prayers if we are healed with modern medicine instead of a more obvious miraculous cure.  If our cancer or our loved one’s cancer doesn’t just miraculously go away one day, we don’t think God is answering our prayers.  As the devotional says, sometimes he heals instantaneously, and sometimes it’s a process.  Both are God’s healings.  He is present in both ways.  One is not better than the other; they are just different.  
God says in the devotional our job is to trust Him fully and to thank me for the restoration that has begun.  I have a friend who just found out her scans showed that some of the lymph nodes are shrinking.  Her doctor told her the chemo is working.  This is a great example of God’s healing being a process.  She needed to try different drugs; she needed to hang in there and trust Him fully, and now she can thank Him for the restoration that has begun.  What is on my heart deeply today is to tell all of you not to get discouraged if the process is not what you wanted.  Try not to get discouraged if the healing you are praying for is taking longer than you like.  Try to keep trusting in God completely that the healing you have asked for is coming.  Ask, and you will receive; that is what God keeps telling us.  Also, if you are waiting for a healing for yourself or a loved one and you haven’t asked God for it yet, do that today.  God said in the verse above, “You do not have because you do not ask.”  If that is you, take a moment today and ask the Lord for the healing you want.  Don’t just hope for it; ask for it.  Then do all you can to grow closer to the Lord.  He is there waiting for you with open arms.  He is ready to welcome you in and to heal you or your loved one.  I leave you with these words from our Heavenly Father, “But there is more—much more—available to those who ask.”
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today.  Lord, you are truly amazing.  We are so grateful for the healings that flow naturally from your presence.  Lord, we are also so very grateful that you offer so much more to those who ask for it.  We are asking, Lord, please heal our loved ones and us.  Please help us to know you are healing our loved ones and us, especially if it is a process.  If it is going to be a process, please give us the strength and perseverance to not give up hope, to not stop trusting you.  Give us the strength we need to trust you all the way till we receive the healing.  Lord, sometimes things get worse before they get better; help us believe when it looks like it is getting worse.  Help us keep the trust and faith when it doesn’t look hopeful.  Help us to keep the trust and faith when the doctors are telling us there is no way.  Help remind us you are a way maker.  We love you, Lord; you are truly remarkable, and we are so grateful for all you do. We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen.
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus.  I look forward to spending time with you tomorrow.  Have a blessed day!

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We have all seen God working in our lives; however, we might not all be aware that it is God who is working in our lives.  This is why it is so important we start talking about it more.  The more we share our experiences, the more people understand how God works and how much He truly loves us.  If you would be willing to share any experience you have had of how God has worked or is working in your life, please email me at [email protected] or just click on the link below.  It won’t take up much of your time, and your story could be just the story that someone needs to hear today.  Prayerfully consider sharing.  Everyone has a story, and the world needs to hear them.  I look forward to spending time with you again tomorrow, and I will have another witness for you next Wednesday.  Have a blessed day!

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Why Do We Question Our Calling?

Jeremiah 1:4-9 “Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”  Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.”  But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you you shall go, and whatever I command you you shall speak.  Be not afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.” Then the Lord put forth his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.”

These are some pretty powerful verses.  Imagine the Lord coming to you and saying them; can you imagine that?  God starts off by telling Jeremiah that before God formed him in the womb He knew Him and before he was born He consecrated him, and appointed him a prophet to the nations.  This blew my mind last night.  I am surprised too, because I have heard these verses before.  I have heard people give talks on these verses.  I have also been hearing people say that you already have everything you need to succeed inside of you.  And yet, I never put two and two together.  I am not sure I ever knew it actually said that in the Bible.  Or maybe I did, and I forgot.  I am not sure, but it definitely stood out last night when I was listening to the Elevation podcast episode “Tricks are for Kids” with Pastor Steven Furtick.  

Pastor Steven said the Lord was telling Jeremiah that he had called him for amazing things, and before Jeremiah could start with the excuses, God told Jeremiah that He knew him before he was formed in the womb.  That struck me in a different way last night.  Perhaps it's because I am in this Encounter Ministries class, and they are teaching us to be activated in the gifts of the Holy Spirit and then to go out and use them.  The going out and using them part can be scary.  It involves risk, and risk can be scary.  In class, especially in this quarter, we have been speaking words of prophecy over each other, and that can sometimes feel scary or intimidating for both people.

It can be scary to feel like you are responsible for speaking God’s words over someone.  The enemy can come in and start to make you question yourself.  He whispers in your ear, “Who are you to hear God? You are nobody.”  “You aren’t good enough to hear God.”  “God would never pick you.” He will continue as long as you will listen.  We have to learn to shut the enemy down as soon as we realize he is there.  We can speak truth back to the enemy.  “Who are we?  We are children of God.”  “We aren’t good enough; we know, and yet God loves us and uses us for amazing things anyway.” “God did pick me and you and every single one of us.”  One important thing to remember is that we are not the ones coming up with the words to say; we are just the deliverers of those words.  God is doing all the heavy lifting; we are just the messenger.  

It can also be scary to be receiving the words because what if God is calling you to a task that you might not like, one you don’t necessarily want.  Imagine how Jeremiah must have felt.  God told Jeremiah that he appointed him as a prophet of nations.  Not a prophet of those he is close to, not a prophet of the town he grew up in, not a prophet of a nation, a prophet of nations.  How crazy is that?  I feel like that would be a lot for any one person to hear.  At least the disciples were sent out two by two.  I can’t imagine what Jeremiah must have been feeling. I think Jeremiah’s response was similar to all of our responses when God calls us to do big things.  Jeremiah replied, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” Yep, that is pretty much what we would all do.  We would start in with the excuses, and don’t worry if you don’t have any because the enemy will whisper plenty in your ear.  He does not want you to answer your call to greatness.  

If you are feeling called to something that seems scary to you right now, know that it is perfectly normal to come up with excuses why you can’t answer that call.  You are in great company; Moses came up with excuses, and Jeremiah came up with excuses; even Abraham questioned how it would be possible to have a child in his advanced years.  It is normal to question; God knows you have doubts, and when you bring them to Him, he provides answers.  In this case, Jeremiah was concerned because he was young and because he didn’t know how to speak.  Those seem like legitimate concerns.  Who is going to listen to a youth about important things?  How can he go out and speak to Nations when he is not a public speaker?  What will he say, and who will listen?  Do these questions sound familiar?  Are you questioning your call?  Are you wondering how God could be picking you for something when you don’t know anything about it?  You don’t know how to be a prophet, a healer, in deliverance ministry, a teacher, or any of the other things God is calling you to do.  That’s ok, God’s got you.  

I love God’s reply to Jeremiah, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you you shall go, and whatever I command you you shall speak.  Be not afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.” I love this because as much as we can understand what Jeremiah was thinking, we still have to remember he was talking to God.  Can you imagine telling God you can’t do what He told you to do?  I had a hard time saying no to my parents growing up; I feel like I wouldn’t be able to say no to God.  Also, it’s funny because when we question God about our calling, it's as if we are saying that we know more than God.  It is as if we think that God didn’t know the things we are saying about us, like He forgot that we were shy, or we didn’t like public speaking, or that Jeremiah was young, or Abraham was old.  It makes me laugh because we all do it, and yet He is God; He knows those things we see as weaknesses, and He already has a plan for them.  We just have to trust that He will equip us for the task he has given us. Actually, this verse says He has already equipped us.  He knew from before we were even a thought who He wanted us to be, and he filled us with all we need to become that person.

The verse ends with, “Then the Lord put forth his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.” Jeremiah didn’t have to know what to say; God gave him the words to say.  God put His words in Jeremiah’s mouth.  That is awesome. I hope God will do that for me too!  When I am writing my podcasts, I ask God for it to be His words I am sharing instead of my own.  Who wouldn’t want God’s words in their mouth?  God also tells Jeremiah not to be afraid because He will deliver him.  I am sure it took Jeremiah a while to let this all sink in.  God can tell us not to be afraid, and yet it is hard not to be afraid sometimes.  Our human understanding of the world gets in the way of understanding how God will deliver us.  There is a saying that I love, and I may have already shared it with you. However, I feel like it is something we can’t hear enough, as it is so true.  Instead of focusing on how big our problems are, or in this context, how big our calling is, we can focus on how big our God is.  

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those who are listening to this episode today.  Lord, we want to say yes; we just need some extra courage.  We are sorry we question you; our thoughts are not your thoughts, and we don’t see all that you see.  Please help us to trust more and question less.  We love you, Lord; you are amazing.  It is incredible that you knew us even before we were formed in the womb.  It is amazing that you love us that much.  You are so powerful; help us trust that you will deliver us from evil and equip us for any call you give us.  We are so grateful, Lord, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen.  

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus.   I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow.  Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I!  Have a blessed day!

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Into Your Hands
I have a very special gift for you today. My friend and spiritual advisor gave an amazing talk at our prayer group yesterday. Today I want to share her talk with you so you can be blessed as we all were. I know you will enjoy it just as much as we did. Here is Nancy’s talk.
Luke 23:46 “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”
These are the last words of Jesus before he died on the cross, in Luke’s gospel.  These follow the compassionate words of “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” and “I assure you: this day you will be with me in paradise.”
The words of a dying man should be heard with great earnestness. Let us focus on Luke 23:46: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit,” and start by looking at the word SPIRIT. This pertains to the vital principle of life, the essence of a person, the whole being: body, soul, mind, and heart.  Jesus was not holding anything back. Look at Him in your mind’s eye: bloodied, swollen, pierced by thorns and nails, His flesh torn apart by the whips, gasping for each breath.  Yet His focus was entirely on His Father, whom He trusted.  
To COMMEND is to trust for care or safe-keeping, or to give honor and praise.  Jesus commends himself and his mission of salvation to His Father.
Jesus, unlike us, was 100% trusting in His Father’s HANDS to grasp and hold Him. Jesus shows a close, loving, personal relationship with His Father and a complete confidence in Him even during His bitter anguish. These same words are in Psalm 31:6, which Jesus must have prayed often during His life. These words are a declaration of victory! Jesus is in the hands of His Father. Three times in Luke and Matthew’s gospel it is mentioned that Jesus would be betrayed and delivered into the hands of sinful men. Yet here in the hour of His death Jesus, Himself, commends His spirit into the Father’s hands.
Signs of this gift of Himself were abounding: thunder, darkness, the curtain in the temple torn from top to bottom (The historian Josephus records the veil was 3 inches thick), the earth shook, and the dead rose.
We, Jesus’s disciples and followers, have a powerful example to follow. How would it change our lives if we stopped and heartfeltly prayed these same words every day? It would transform us! It would draw us intimately into the union of the Trinity. When in our own anguish, it would give us peace; in doubt, it would shine a light; in simple routine things, it would give us hope;  in loneliness, it would give us God’s hand to rest in; in pain of all kinds, it would give us the loving companionship of God.
I pray that you and I will be touched deeply by these last words of Jesus and that they will be repeated often in our lives till we say them in that last glorious moment.
Thank you all so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I want to invite you to join my mailing list if you are not already on it. I will not overwhelm you with messages. I will not send out more than 1 email a week, and often it is much less than that. I send emails with information on what I am doing, any upcoming events like retreats, or new books coming out. CLICK HERE to join my email list. You can also sign up to receive the Word from the Lord emails. Then you will receive one word of prophecy from our prayer group each day. That is a great way to start your day! CLICK HERE to receive the Word from the Lord daily emails. I will place links for both in the show notes. You can always sign up, and if you decide you no longer want to receive emails, it is easy to unsubscribe. You just click a button at the bottom of the email, and you will no longer receive emails from me. I look forward to meeting you here again on Monday. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day!Daily Christian devotional, Short daily devotional, Christian encouragement, Grow closer to Jesus, Walk with Jesus, Bible devotional, Names of God Bible study, Christian testimony, God loves you, Christian spiritual growth
Today’s Word from the Lord was received in February 2026 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email [email protected]. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “I created the Universe and you! I AM the Great I AM! I AM He! Stop fearing! I AM with you!”

CLICK HERE ✨ JOIN WALK BOLDLY WITH JESUS MENTORING (Live Tuesdays + recordings available — $30/month)

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Give Me an Undivided Heart
Psalm 86:11 “Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart to revere your name.”
God has been teaching us His way since the beginning.  He has always guided us and shown us how we should live.  I don’t think the problem is God not teaching us; I think the problem is our divided heart.  The end of this verse says Give me an undivided heart to revere your name.  To revere someone’s name means to honor and admire it.  Are we doing that with God’s name?  I don’t think we are.  I hear people taking the Lord’s name in vain all throughout the day.  It’s not always in a bad way, and yet it is not used to revere God.  Think back over the last 24 hours.  Have you used God’s name in the last 24 hours?  How did you use it?  Were you honoring and admiring God when you used it?  What can we do to get back to revering God’s name?
God has done a great job of teaching us His ways.  At first He walked and talked with Adam and Eve, and I am sure they had some great conversations.  However, after the fall, that type of relationship was no longer permitted.  Even though we were no longer living in that same environment, God found ways over the years to teach us His ways.  He used prophets and other faithful people to teach us all we needed to know. Then God sent His only Son to walk among us and to teach us.  He also sent His Son so our relationship could be healed and there was no longer anything standing in between us and the real presence of God.  Then all these lessons and stories were written down so those of us who came after would know how God expected us to live.  
If we want to know how to walk in God’s truth, we can find out.  God has taught us many times over.  So, what’s the problem then?  The problem is our divided heart.  The problem is, we live in a world that is so contrary to everything God teaches us.  Our hearts are divided because we love this world.  We love our friends, we love our family, we love our TVs and our cars and all of our stuff.  This isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  It is good to love our families and friends.  It may even be ok to love your stuff.  What definitely isn’t ok is to love that stuff more than God.  You might be thinking you’re good; you are sure you don’t love your stuff, your family, or your friends more than God.  But what if we looked at how you are spending your time?  Are you spending more time with your family, friends & TV than you are spending with God?  What if we looked at your finances?  Are you spending lots of money on material things and not much money on the church, charity, or the poor?  
God is so good.  I took a break from writing this episode so I could get my run in because I could feel my motivation to do the run dwindling.  I don’t know about you, but I need to get my workouts done in the morning, or they just don’t happen.  While I was on the run, I was listening to a personal development podcast.  However, after a while I switched to praise music.  As soon as I did, God put on a song that goes perfectly with the podcast.  I love when He does that!  Does this ever happen to you?  You are wondering about something, thinking about something, or just really need encouragement about something and the perfect song for that moment comes on the radio?  This was actually the second day in a row for this to happen to me.  God is so good.
The song that I think makes the point I am trying to make really well is called House Divided by Josh Wilson.  Their lyrics are as follows:
Could someone tell me why, 
old habits just won't die,
It's like I've got two hearts inside one chest.
And one is beating for the life I'm headed toward
The other wants to drag me to my death

Bridge:
I am a house divided, but I've decided I'm gonna fight it,
I do what I don't want to, Oh God I need you, 
to make me new.

Chorus: 
Everyday (x3)

Verse 2:
I've never understood, 
the folks that think we're good, 
whenever we are left to our desires, 
Oh, the way i see it is, 
Alone, we are adrift, 
in an ocean in a boat we set on fire.
I especially like when the part that says, “I am a house divided, but I've decided I'm gonna fight it,
I do what I don't want to, Oh God I need you, to make me new.”  I feel as though I am saying this very thing to God every day!  I tell Him I am sorry for putting this, that, or the other thing in front of Him yet again.  I ask Him to help me because I, like St. Paul said in Romans 7:15, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”  This is what Josh is saying in this song.  He knows what he should do, and yet what he knows and what he does are two different things.  I also like when he said, “It's like I've got two hearts inside one chest. And one is beating for the life I'm headed toward; the other wants to drag me to my death.”  
This is actually what is happening.  There are two spirits competing for your soul.  The Holy Spirit is living inside of you and is trying to lead you to the life you are headed towards.  He is leading you to the amazing life God has planned for you.  The one that is so much better than you can even imagine.  Then there is the devil.  He is fighting for your death.  He would like nothing more than to drag your soul down to hell for eternal suffering.  I know that doesn’t sound good, and it may even sound scary.  I am not trying to scare you; I am trying to tell you what is going on.  Do you ever wonder why everything is so hard, why it feels like there is this force working against you?  The reason is that there is a force working against you.  The enemy is strong, and he is willing to do whatever it takes to win your soul.  
God gave us free will, and the enemy uses that against us.  He whispers lies into our ears all day long. He tells us we are not good enough; he tells us we will never measure up.  He tells us we won’t ever lose the weight anyway, so why bother trying?  He tells us it’s ok to sit on the couch and watch TV all day; we don’t have anything else to do anyway.  He tells us it’s ok if we aren’t living up to our potential; there are lots of people that aren’t, and we are doing better than a lot of other people.  He fills our heads with these lies so often we start to believe them.  This is why our hearts feel so divided.  Just as this song says, we need to recognize this is happening and we need to consciously decide to fight it.  We need to call upon God; He is the only one who can truly help us fight it.  I will leave you with the words of today’s verse, “Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart to revere your name.”
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless everyone listening to this episode today.  Lord, we want to walk in your truth; please help us.  Teach us your ways, soften our hearts and incline our ears so we can hear you.  Lord, give us an undivided heart.  If our heart is already divided, please help us put it back together again!   Lord, help us to put you first above all things.  If there is anything we are putting above you, please put it on our hearts and then give us the strength to change it.  We love you Lord, you are so powerful.  You are the Almighty one, and you are the Prince of Peace.  We adore thee, we bow before thee, holy is your name.  Lord, we are so grateful for all you do, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name. Amen.
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus.  Can I ask you a favor?  If you are enjoying this podcast, can you share it with at least one friend today?  Next to the title, or somewhere on the page, there are usually three dots; if you click them, you'll see lots of options, including sharing the episode.  Also, if you could subscribe, rate, and review the podcast, that would help ensure that more people can find the podcast.  Your reviews really do matter; they help the platform know you like the show and think others should listen too.  Thank you so much for your support!  It means the world to me.  I appreciate you showing up to listen.  I look forward to hanging out with you tomorrow.  Remember, Jesus loves you and so do I!  Have a blessed day!
Psalm 86:11 “Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart to revere your name.”
God has been teaching us His way since the beginning.  He has always guided us and shown us how we should live.  I don’t think the problem is God not teaching us; I think the problem is our divided heart.  The end of this verse says Give me an undivided heart to revere your name.  To revere someone’s name means to honor and admire it.  Are we doing that with God’s name?  I don’t think we are.  I hear people taking the Lord’s name in vain all throughout the day.  It’s not always in a bad way, and yet it is not used to revere God.  Think back over the last 24 hours.  Have you used God’s name in the last 24 hours?  How did you use it?  Were you honoring and admiring God when you used it?  What can we do to get back to revering God’s name?
God has done a great job of teaching us His ways.  At first He walked and talked with Adam and Eve, and I am sure they had some great conversations.  However, after the fall, that type of relationship was no longer permitted.  Even though we were no longer living in that same environment, God found ways over the years to teach us His ways.  He used prophets and other faithful people to teach us all we needed to know. Then God sent His only Son to walk among us and to teach us.  He also sent His Son so our relationship could be healed and there was no longer anything standing in between us and the real presence of God.  Then all these lessons and stories were written down so those of us who came after would know how God expected us to live.  
If we want to know how to walk in God’s truth, we can find out.  God has taught us many times over.  So, what’s the problem then?  The problem is our divided heart.  The problem is, we live in a world that is so contrary to everything God teaches us.  Our hearts are divided because we love this world.  We love our friends, we love our family, we love our TVs and our cars and all of our stuff.  This isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  It is good to love our families and friends.  It may even be ok to love your stuff.  What definitely isn’t ok is to love that stuff more than God.  You might be thinking you’re good; you are sure you don’t love your stuff, your family, or your friends more than God.  But what if we looked at how you are spending your time?  Are you spending more time with your family, friends & TV than you are spending with God?  What if we looked at your finances?  Are you spending lots of money on material things and not much money on the church, charity, or the poor?  
God is so good.  I took a break from writing this episode so I could get my run in because I could feel my motivation to do the run dwindling.  I don’t know about you, but I need to get my workouts done in the morning, or they just don’t happen.  While I was on the run, I was listening to a personal development podcast.  However, after a while I switched to praise music.  As soon as I did, God put on a song that goes perfectly with the podcast.  I love when He does that!  Does this ever happen to you?  You are wondering about something, thinking about something, or just really need encouragement about something and the perfect song for that moment comes on the radio?  This was actually the second day in a row for this to happen to me.  God is so good.
The song that I think makes the point I am trying to make really well is called House Divided by Josh Wilson.  Their lyrics are as follows:
Could someone tell me why, 
old habits just won't die,
It's like I've got two hearts inside one chest.
And one is beating for the life I'm headed toward
The other wants to drag me to my death

Bridge:
I am a house divided, but I've decided I'm gonna fight it,
I do what I don't want to, Oh God I need you, 
to make me new.

Chorus: 
Everyday (x3)

Verse 2:
I've never understood, 
the folks that think we're good, 
whenever we are left to our desires, 
Oh, the way i see it is, 
Alone, we are adrift, 
in an ocean in a boat we set on fire.
I especially like when the part that says, “I am a house divided, but I've decided I'm gonna fight it,
I do what I don't want to, Oh God I need you, to make me new.”  I feel as though I am saying this very thing to God every day!  I tell Him I am sorry for putting this, that, or the other thing in front of Him yet again.  I ask Him to help me because I, like St. Paul said in Romans 7:15, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”  This is what Josh is saying in this song.  He knows what he should do, and yet what he knows and what he does are two different things.  I also like when he said, “It's like I've got two hearts inside one chest. And one is beating for the life I'm headed toward; the other wants to drag me to my death.”  
This is actually what is happening.  There are two spirits competing for your soul.  The Holy Spirit is living inside of you and is trying to lead you to the life you are headed towards.  He is leading you to the amazing life God has planned for you.  The one that is so much better than you can even imagine.  Then there is the devil.  He is fighting for your death.  He would like nothing more than to drag your soul down to hell for eternal suffering.  I know that doesn’t sound good, and it may even sound scary.  I am not trying to scare you; I am trying to tell you what is going on.  Do you ever wonder why everything is so hard, why it feels like there is this force working against you?  The reason is that there is a force working against you.  The enemy is strong, and he is willing to do whatever it takes to win your soul.  
God gave us free will, and the enemy uses that against us.  He whispers lies into our ears all day long. He tells us we are not good enough; he tells us we will never measure up.  He tells us we won’t ever lose the weight anyway, so why bother trying?  He tells us it’s ok to sit on the couch and watch TV all day; we don’t have anything else to do anyway.  He tells us it’s ok if we aren’t living up to our potential; there are lots of people that aren’t, and we are doing better than a lot of other people.  He fills our heads with these lies so often we start to believe them.  This is why our hearts feel so divided.  Just as this song says, we need to recognize this is happening and we need to consciously decide to fight it.  We need to call upon God; He is the only one who can truly help us fight it.  I will leave you with the words of today’s verse, “Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart to revere your name.”
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless everyone listening to this episode today.  Lord, we want to walk in your truth; please help us.  Teach us your ways, soften our hearts and incline our ears so we can hear you.  Lord, give us an undivided heart.  If our heart is already divided, please help us put it back together again!   Lord, help us to put you first above all things.  If there is anything we are putting above you, please put it on our hearts and then give us the strength to change it.  We love you Lord, you are so powerful.  You are the Almighty one, and you are the Prince of Peace.  We adore thee, we bow before thee, holy is your name.  Lord, we are so grateful for all you do, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name. Amen.
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus.  Can I ask you a favor?  If you are enjoying this podcast, can you share it with at least one friend today?  Next to the title, or somewhere on the page, there are usually three dots; if you click them, you'll see lots of options, including sharing the episode.  Also, if you could subscribe, rate, and review the podcast, that would help ensure that more people can find the podcast.  Your reviews really do matter; they help the platform know you like the show and think others should listen too.  Thank you so much for your support!  It means the world to me.  I appreciate you showing up to listen.  I look forward to hanging out with you tomorrow.  Remember, Jesus loves you and so do I!  Have a blessed day! 

Today’s Word from the Lord was received in February 2026 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email [email protected]. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “I know you feel you are standing on the precipice of many unknown tomorrows. I AM here! Your God. The Mighty One! The Great I Am stands before you. What do you have to fear? Surrender your fears! I will wipe them away! ”

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I have two witnesses for you today. The first is a member of the Big Life Mentoring Group. The leader, Pamela Crim, gave us a PDF that helps us write our God story. It is great because every one of us has had God working in our lives and yet we don’t know how to talk about it. This PDF gives us a structure to use to get our story written down. Today’s first witness talks about how different her life was 15 years ago to 1 week ago. The second witness is from a member of my prayer group. He sent a prayer request from his brother-in-law. I have included the prayer request and the results of our prayers.  Let’s begin with the first witness.

Thank you both for sharing your testimony. When we share the amazing things God is doing in our lives, other people may start to see how God is working in theirs. When we hear of God doing miraculous things, it builds our faith. We all need that. We live in a world where you need to see it to believe it. So, the more we can hear about the supernatural happening, the more it builds our trust and faith that it could happen for us. We believe; Lord, help our unbelief!

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Don't Waste The Struggle

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Who Are You Becoming Like?

Proverbs 13:20 “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools suffers harm.”

Who you hang around with and spend your time with is so important.  I know I have talked about this topic before, and yet I feel it is so important for us all to truly think about it, so I am going to talk about it again.  I remember several years ago I told Tony that we needed more Catholic friends.  He jokingly made a comment about how we should be accepting of everyone and not limit our circle to Catholic friends.  I say jokingly because he knew I wasn’t saying we can only be friends with people who are Catholic.  I will ask you what I asked him.  If you want to be a really good tennis player, do you think it would be more helpful to hang out with other tennis players, or to hang out with soccer players?  It would be more helpful to hang out with tennis players because they know what it takes to be good at tennis.  Both groups of people are good people.  You can learn a lot from both soccer players and tennis players.  I am sure soccer players could help you learn discipline, sportsmanship, and lots of other great things.  However, they will not be as much help becoming great at tennis as tennis players would.  Do you see where I am going with this?

I don’t think everyone should surround themselves with people just like them.  I don’t think you should only have one type of friend.  I do think you should surround yourself with people who you look up to.  I think you should spend the most time with those who have the same beliefs as you do.  I think you should hang out with those who have similar values as you do.  Jim Rohn said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”  Who you spend time with matters.  There is another quote that says, “Show me your friends, and I will show you your future.”  They both tell us the same thing: who we surround ourselves with is an important factor in who we become.  Why is this?  Why is it so important to be intentional about who we spend time with?  

This is so important because we become like those we spend time with.  When you hang out with people for long enough, you start to talk like them, and you start to act like them.  If you are Christian and all of your friends are not, then you will probably start to compromise your beliefs to fit in.  You may not even do it consciously.  It will probably start off small.  For instance, you will not mention something amazing that happened because you don’t want to mention God in front of the others.  Or maybe you do mention something that happened, but you don’t attribute it to God; you casually say it was a coincidence, or you got lucky.  It seems when we are Christians, and our friends are not, we go out of our way not to offend anyone.  We don’t want to mention God because that may make them feel uncomfortable.  I am so grateful I have several Christian friends, and so I can talk openly about my faith and not have to worry about offending anyone.  However, I also have friends who are not Christian.  I still love to hang out with them; we just keep it neutral when it comes to religion.  

The verse above says, “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools suffers harm.”  Have you ever heard the saying You want to buy the cheapest house in the most expensive neighborhood?  I have heard something similar when it comes to choosing your friends.  I have heard that if you are the smartest person in the room, you need to find a better room.  We want to be surrounded by people that make us want to be better people.  People who make us want to grow and learn.  We will live up to or down to the expectations given to us.  If we surround ourselves with people who don’t believe in us, we won’t think we can do very much.  If everyone around us is perfectly content with staying where they are and they don’t want to grow, then growth will not be important to us either.  

If you are listening to this podcast, it means you want to grow; you want to learn.  That is awesome.  Growth is so important.  By starting your day off listening to me each morning, you are inviting me into your circle of influence.  I am so grateful I get to be one of the people you spend time with.  Who else do you spend time with?  Are they helping you reach your goals? Are they helping you grow in your faith, or are they pulling you away from it?  God continually told His people in the Old Testament that He set them apart from everyone else.  He set them apart and told them they could not marry people who weren’t Israelites because God knows how hard it is to be surrounded by people who are different than you and to not join in their ways.  Do you remember Solomon?  He was one of the wisest men in the history of the Bible.  God blessed him with Wisdom so he could rule the country.  God had told his people they must not intermarry because they would surely turn their hearts toward other Gods.  Solomon was very wise, and yet He continued to take wives from other religions.  Solomon had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray.  If Solomon, who was given an abundance of wisdom straight from God, couldn’t resist the pull of his wives, what hope do we have?

If you want to grow in your faith, and you want to challenge yourself, then you need to carefully select who you spend the most time with.  Some of us have family members that challenge our faith, or maybe make us feel we can’t do all we want to do.  If this is the case, I am not saying you can never spend time with those family members.  I do, however, think you should limit your time with anyone who doesn’t bring out the best in you.  While it is true we don’t get to choose family, we do get to choose how much time we spend with them.  We do get to choose how much influence those members of our family have on our lives.  Set some boundaries if you need to.  Protect what you are building.  Protect your beliefs from those who wish to change them. How we live in this world determines how we spend eternity.  Surround yourself with people who will help you live in a way that will help you spend an eternity it the presence of God.  It will be worth it, I promise!

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today.  Lord, we ask you to help us surround ourselves with those people who will help us grow in our faith.  Help us to set boundaries for those who wish to change us.  The enemy is always sending people into our lives; please help us to spot them and not let them change our beliefs.  Help us to follow you always.  Help us to be a good influence on those in our lives and help us to help bring others close to Christ.  We love you Lord, you are truly amazing.  We are grateful for all you do for us.  We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen.

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I would like to invite each one of you into my mentoring community. This is a new month, and the topic this month is “Created for a Purpose: Discovering God’s Plan for Your Life. Week 1 — You Were Created on Purpose, Week 2 — What Is My Purpose?, Week 3 — What Happens When Life Doesn't Go According to Plan? and Week 4 — Walking in God's Plan One Step at a Time. Is this the month you give mentoring a try? Is this the month where you decide to grow closer to the Lord with a small community of individuals who also want to grow closer to the Lord. There is a link in the show notes. I hope you will join us!  I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Have a blessed day!

Today’s Word from the Lord was received in February 2026 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email [email protected]. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “Hold my hand so you, in turn, can hold me, and I will proclaim that you are mine. Hold all that is dear to you and entrust it to me, for I will protect it, I will enrich it, I will give it back to you. Hold my hand, never doubt my love for you.”

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What Gifts of the Holy Spirit Are Available to You?

1 Corinthians 12:4-11. There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.  To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit,  to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.”

I wanted to go over this scripture today because someone brought it up in my mentoring group. I think it's something we should talk about. I don't have all the answers. I am not an expert on theology or on the Bible. So what I'm going to give you right now is what I've learned over the past several years.

Yes, there are different kinds of gifts from the Holy Spirit. We just went over some of them in this verse. There's wisdom, the gift of knowledge, the gift of faith, the gift of healing, the gift of miraculous powers, the gift of prophecy, another distinguishing between spirits, and another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and also the interpretation of tongues. So these are all gifts that are given by the same Holy Spirit. The question in my mentoring group is: this says the Spirit is given to each one for the common good. To one is given this gift and to one is given that gift. Meaning that some of us are given certain gifts, but that we don't all have the same gifts. And what I've learned over the last few years is that, yes, it's true. The Holy Spirit gives each person different gifts. So somebody might be really good at healing. They might have a charism of healing, or they might be really good at prophecy, or they might be really good at messages of wisdom or messages of knowledge.

And that's amazing. And also, just because you weren't given, or don't feel like you were given, a special gift for healing, it doesn't mean you can't become amazing at that gift. It doesn't mean that God can't give you more of that gift. And I think that that is actually proven in this scripture where it says, all these are the work of one and the same Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us these gifts. And every single one of us has the Holy Spirit living inside of us.

That means every single one of us has access to every single one of these gifts. I was listening to Mary Healy one time at a HOPE conference, who was saying that even though some people are given a charism of healing, if you want the gift of healing, ask God for the gift of healing every single day. Practice praying for people for healing. Read books on healing. Dive all into healing if that's a gift that means a lot to you or that you want to develop.

And the analogy I feel like the Lord gave me last night was that everybody is born with innate talents. Some people are really good at sports. And then there are other people who weren't blessed with the gift of sports at all. Let’s take basketball as an example.  Did you know that Michael Jordan did not make the varsity basketball high school team at first? That prompted him to practice more, and now some people say he is the best of all time. There is a woman I heard speak at a conference who was a runner but wanted to do triathlons. She didn’t know how to even swim. Two years later, she is winning a medal at the Olympics. Just because they weren’t born being really good at it doesn’t mean they couldn’t develop the skill.

Again, they're gifts, so they come from the Holy Spirit. However, you can develop those gifts by asking the Lord for them, by practicing praying for them or praying over people for them. That's what the Encounter School of Ministry was all about.

It was teaching us about the gifts of the Holy Spirit and then activating us in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Not just one, but in all of them. We practiced asking God for a word and then releasing it.

And was every single word that we released perfect and straight from God? Absolutely not. But when we released the word, we asked for feedback. We asked, did that resonate with you? Did that make sense? Did you feel like that was from the Lord? And sometimes they'd say yes, and we would grow because we'd know, what did it feel like when we heard that? What did our body react to when we heard that word? And then if they say no, that's not a bad thing either because we grow from that as well.

We learn from that feedback. Yeah, I really didn't feel strongly about it, but I released it in faith that it might be from the Lord. And the Lord is going to bless our efforts.

He's going to bless our desires and our wants. So if we want to develop one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit or multiple gifts of the Holy Spirit, all we have to do is call upon the Holy Spirit because the same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is living inside of each and every one of us. And that is amazing.

That changes everything. When you know that, when you really know that through the depths of your soul, that changes everything. You can become invincible because you know that the Holy Spirit is inside of you and that he's protecting you and that he's leading you and that he's supporting you in all the ways that you want to grow in the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

So yes, it is true that the Holy Spirit, as the Bible says, gives certain gifts to certain people. And it is also true that each one of us has the Holy Spirit living inside of us. So if we hear about a gift we would like to develop, we need to ask the Holy Spirit for it, learn about it, practice it, and maybe find a mentor who is especially gifted in that gift. And then they can mentor us, and the Holy Spirit will reward our efforts and our desires.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless each and every person listening to this episode today. Lord, I want to thank you for giving us the Holy Spirit, Jesus. I want to thank you for dying on the cross and then going up to be with the Father so that we could all have the Holy Spirit living inside of us. Lord, I ask that you increase our desires for the Holy Spirit, that you show us which gifts we have, which ones we've already been blessed with, and also give us the courage to ask for the ones we want and to practice and learn about the ones that we want that we may not feel like we have. I ask that you help us really embrace the Holy Spirit living inside of us. Help us to know what that means for each one of us. We love you so much, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus'holy name, amen.

Thank you so much for... Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I. Have a blessed day.

Today's word from the Lord was received in February 2026 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email [email protected]. Today's word from the Lord is, “Open and see my glory. Open and see how you can help others. Open to me for infinity.”

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