Walk Boldly With Jesus

Be Bold & Accept God’s Love

Romans 8:35 “Who could ever divorce us from the endless love of God’s Anointed One? Absolutely no one! For nothing in the universe has the power to diminish his love toward us. Troubles, pressures, and problems are unable to come between us and heaven’s love. What about persecutions, deprivations, dangers, and death threats? No, for they are all impotent to hinder omnipotent love.”

This is the passion translation again. I decided this morning to open it, read some of it, and see what jumped out at me. I really liked all of chapter 8, but I thought it best to limit it to a verse or two. It was tough to decide between this verse and the verses at the end of this section. This section in Chapter 8 is called “The Triumph of God’s Love.” Can you tell just by the title why I loved all of it? The end of this section was similar to this verse, yet it said it in a different, equally compelling way. I will probably use those verses on Thursday or Friday, so stay tuned.

I decided on this verse today because it drives home something that I try to help people see. Something I wish everyone in the world knew down deep in the depths of their hearts. God loves us ALWAYS, NO MATTER WHAT WE DO! The verse starts by asking us a question. “Who could ever divorce us from the endless love of God’s Anointed One?” I like that it uses the word divorce, which is a word where, unfortunately, everyone knows the meaning. The verse answers that question with an, “Absolutely no one!” There is so much in that one sentence. That one sentence tells us that no one could ever divorce us from Jesus’ love. Divorce means to separate something from something else. The verse is saying no one can separate us from the endless love of God’s Anointed One. This tells us that the love is endless. It is not fickle like human love. It doesn’t come and go with the changing of the winds or the changing of our moods. God’s love is endless.

The next line says, “For nothing in the universe has the power to diminish his love toward us. Troubles, pressures, and problems are unable to come between us and heaven’s love.” The first part was saying no one could come between us; now this verse says nothing can come between us. We might agree that no person could come between us and God, and yet we struggle to believe that nothing can come between us. We think our failures make it so God can’t love us. We think our sins make it so God can’t love us. This verse shows us that NOTHING in this universe has the power to diminish His love towards us.

It even says that troubles, pressures, and problems are unable to come between us and heaven’s love. I think it is really important to know this because what it doesn’t say in this verse is no one, and nothing will try to come between us and heaven’s love. You will find plenty of people that want to come between you and heaven’s love. You will find plenty of things that the devil will use to try to come between you and heaven’s love. If we know these things aren’t strong enough to block God’s love for us, we won’t worry so much. We won’t pay them so much attention. The enemy tries to convince us that every little thing we do makes us unworthy of God’s love. He tries to convince us that God could never love us; look at all we have done. This is why it is important to read God’s Word. It is important to know what the Lord is actually saying to us so we can stand up to the enemy and know when He is lying, which, by the way, is always!

The last line in this verse says, “What about persecutions, deprivations, dangers, and death threats? No, for they are all impotent to hinder omnipotent love.” This last part is interesting. You might think, why would these things hinder God’s love? I am not doing them; they are being done to me. For instance, persecution is hostility and ill-treatment, especially based on ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or political beliefs. Why would someone being hostile to me get in the way of God’s love? The reason we think this is because of the things they say to us. Their primary purpose is to make us feel like we are not good enough. They want us to think God could never love us. This verse confirms that even if we might feel far from God because of deprivations, dangers, and death threats, He is still right there with us, and He is loving us no matter what.

I love the language the last line uses. It says that all these enemy tactics are impotent to hinder God’s love. Impotent means unable to take effective action; helpless or powerless. I love to think about how powerless the enemy and His tactics are to separate us from God’s love. The only thing is, we have to know this, we have to believe this, and we have to live this. If we don’t know this, we will believe the enemy's lies and think we are unloved. We will feel like we are unloved. When we believe the lie, we empower the liar. The enemy convinces many people that the Lord couldn’t love them. We have to get His word out. We have to share what we know: that the Lord’s love is endless and unconditional. Nothing we can do or anyone else can do can take it away from us. He loved us before we were born and will always love us!!

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening today and all of their families. Lord, help us hear this message today and let it take root down deep in our hearts. Let us know that we know that we know that you love us always, and nothing can change that. We love you right back, Lord, just not quite as perfectly as you love us. We ask all of this in accordance with our 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 on Monday. 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 September 2024 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, “While you wait for me, I am still at work being fertile in you. Making things happen, setting the stage. Be patient with yourself. Be patient with me. I am patient with you.”

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Be Bold & Fix Your Eyes On Jesus (Be Bold Series)

Matthew 14:26-31 “ When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified. “It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear.  At once, [Jesus] spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”  He said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how [strong] the wind was, he became frightened, and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately, Jesus stretched out his hand, caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

I love this story. I remember the first time I remember someone talking about it was a speaker at a retreat in England. The theme of the retreat was Radical Trust. I loved that theme from the moment that I heard it. I instantly knew that was what I wanted. I wanted to have radical trust in the Lord. The speaker talked about how she loved Peter because he was always ready to follow the Lord. It seemed as though he didn’t always think before he did things, but that was part of what made him so special.

Just before the disciples were on this boat, they had just been with Jesus as he spoke to a large group of people, and they got to be a part of the miracle of feeding the 5,000 men with five loaves of bread and two fish. They witnessed a miracle and got to be a part of it. Afterward, Jesus told them to get in the boat and go ahead to the other side while he dismissed the people. Once the crowds of people had left, Jesus climbed the mountain to be alone to pray with his Father. He stayed there late into the night. Once he was done, He decided to catch up with His disciples on the water. However, it was the middle of the night, and all they saw was someone walking towards them on the water. They didn’t know who it was and they were afraid.

I think we all would have reacted this way if we saw someone walking on the water towards us. However, when they called out to Him, He answered them and told them they had nothing to fear, that it was Jesus. Then I love what Peter did next. He told the Lord if it is really you, command me to come out on the water with you. Jesus said, Come. What happens next is remarkable. Jesus invites Peter out onto the water, and Peter gets out of the boat onto the water. I wonder how many of us would have the courage to ask the Lord to invite us to join Him, and then when He did, how many of us would actually be brave enough to get out of the boat.

I have asked the Lord for many things. I have asked Him to use me for healing, and then I have absolutely had times when He said ok, and yet I was too afraid to do what He called me to do. Has this ever happened to you? You asked the Lord for something, and then when he said yes, you were surprised and afraid? I love that Peter just stepped out of the boat and was walking on the water with the Lord, at least for a bit. That is amazing. Imagine the opportunity Peter would have missed out on if he hadn’t asked or if he hadn’t gotten out of the boat. I wonder if all the other apostles were sad they hadn’t asked the Lord to call them out of the boat?

The next part is a part I think we can all relate to. Peter got out of the boat. He was walking on water to the Lord, and all was great, and then he took his eyes off of Jesus and looked at the world around him. Instead of keeping his eyes fixed on Jesus, he looked around and saw how [strong] the wind was. He became frightened and began to sink. I think we have all been here before, too. We had our eyes fixed on Jesus. We knew we were doing what He called us to do, all was going great, and then we started to look around us. We noticed others talking about us, we noticed the circumstances around us were different, we got enticed by our surroundings, and we stopped doing what we knew we should do.

God is not always calling us to do something easy. He is not always calling us to do something that will feel good or that will please others. Remember, Paul was thrown into prison while he was doing the work God called him to do. He was not in prison for disobeying the Lord; he was following the Lord’s directions and was imprisoned for it. You may know that you are doing the right thing, and yet if you take your eyes off Jesus and look around you, it may seem like the circumstances around you are overwhelming. If you start to listen to those around you, you may start to sink, just as Peter did.

I think it is important for us all to remember what happened to Peter so that if we are in a similar circumstance, we will know what to do. When Peter took his eyes off Jesus and started to sink, he cried out to the Lord, who saved Him. It says in the verse above, “He cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately, Jesus stretched out his hand, caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” It does not say that Jesus took His time to walk over to Peter and help him. It says that Jesus immediately stretched out His hand and caught him. Jesus will do the same for you.

We should try our best to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. When we do, we will not stray from the path God has laid out for us. We will not feel stressed or overwhelmed because we know that God is there to lead and help us. However, when we take our eyes off Jesus, which we will because we are human and make mistakes, it is important to know that all we need to do is call out to the Lord, and He will be right there, stretching out his hand to us. God will always be there for us! That we can count on.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless everyone who is listening to this episode today. Lord, you are amazing, and we are so grateful you are calling us all to something amazing. We are sorry when we pull back or are too scared to step into that calling. We are sorry when we step into it and fall down because we take our eyes off you. Please help us to keep our eyes fixed on you. We love you, Lord, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name, Amen!

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I am excited because I made a lot of progress on my 31-Day Devotional on Identity. I am hoping that I will be able to publish it by the end of April. I will let you know once it is done so you can be on the lookout for it. Thank you so much for all of your support. I truly appreciate you more than you know! I look forward to meeting you here 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 September 2024 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, “My Children, most of the time, you are in a rush, but I am a God who takes His time. I am time. I have time. I am a God who is constantly at work. I work in time. But in my Godly time, not your time.”

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Be Bold & Have Radical Trust (Be Bold Series)

Daniel 3:17 “If our God, whom we serve, can save us from the white-hot furnace and from your hands, oh king, may he save us!  But even if he will not, know, O king, that we will not serve your god or worship the golden statue which you set up.”

Radical Trust was new to me when I attended a conference in March 2011.  I had seen radical trust in action many times, but I don’t think I had ever heard it called that.  I was instantly in love with the phrase.  I loved the idea of having Radical Trust in our God.  I really enjoyed learning about that concept over the weekend.  The speaker, Anne Trufant, asked us, “Do you trust God?”  Not do you trust in God, but do you trust God?  Do you truly trust what he says to you, what he tells you?  It was a different way to look at it.  Do I trust everything God tells me when I read the bible?  Do I trust that he is saying those things to me?  Do I trust God?  I definitely took some time to ponder that and pray with that thought.  After that retreat, I started to pray for radical trust a lot more often.  I also tried to implement radical trust in my life.  It’s not just about saying, “Of course I trust God,” it's about truly believing that with your whole being.  Wouldn’t it be great if when we got a bill that we did not have the money to pay, we could say and truly believe, "God’s got this?"  "I don’t need to worry because He’s got this."  What about when we see that our kids are doing something that we know is wrong, and we can see all the ways they can get hurt if they continue down that path?  Can we truly say, "God’s got this," and not worry about it?  Ever since this retreat, I have prayed so many times for radical trust because, in my experience, it does not come overnight.  And it is not always universal. Over the years, I have found myself having radical trust in one area but not in another.  However, every day, I see the benefits in my life of praying for radical trust.  I am much better about radical trust now.  I have a supernatural trust that all will be ok.  I do not tend to feel stressed out about the future because I know that God is in charge, and I am not.  Why should I worry when he is the one in control?  

I enjoy reading books about radical trust because every example I read strengthens my trust a little more.  So, I thought I would give you a few examples. The next two examples I have heard from people close to me.  My mom and dad had 11 children.  My mom stayed home with the kids, and my dad worked.  He had a good job, but money was always tight because of the number of kids in our family.  One day, my parents’ friends had to go out unexpectedly.  They asked my parents to watch their kids.  They had 10 kids.  My parents said, “Yes, of course we will.“  Then they thought about how to feed all those 21 children when they had no food in the house.  They had a radical trust and prayed to God, trusting that he would come through.  They trusted even though they did not know how he would show up or come through for them.  A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door.  It was a neighbor with bags of groceries.  The neighbor’s father had just moved into their house unexpectedly, and they had nowhere to put the food from the dad’s house as they had just gone shopping.  So my parents gratefully accepted the food.  They looked through and noticed that there was some pasta and sauce in the bags.  They then thought they could feed everyone spaghetti if they just had meat.  A few minutes later there was another knock at the door.  A different neighbor had a cooler full of meat.  They had just gone hunting and stocked their freezer and fridge with all the meat they could hold, and they did not know what to do with what was left.  Again, my parents gratefully accepted it.  Then, they immediately thanked God for providing for them as he always does.  Another time, a friend was sitting in her car.  She was at the store trying to buy groceries for the week.  She had three small children.  Her daughter was with her.  The store had not opened yet, and they were the only people in the parking lot.  As she made her list of what she needed, she realized she did not have enough money to buy all the necessities.  She prayed to God then, “God, if I just had an extra $50, I could buy all I needed for the week.”  At that moment, her daughter saw something fly past the car on the ground of the parking lot.  Before her mom could tell her not to, she jumped out of the car to get it.  She got back in the car and gave it to her mom.  It was a $50 bill.  

 When reading a few articles about radical trust online, one of them talked about how radical trust is trusting God even when he doesn’t come through.  This is probably the hardest thing to do.  If you always see ways that God is coming through, it is easier to have radical trust.  I think it may be easier for me to have radical trust because I have seen and heard many examples of how people have trusted and God has shown up in big ways.  But what about if you have a lot of examples of when he has not shown up?  Can you have radical trust when you want a family and don’t have one, lose your job, pray for your loved one to be healed, and die or be given a life-threatening diagnosis?  That is when it is even harder to have trust.  Our friends from the bible, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, give us an outstanding example of how they had radical trust when all seemed lost.  Daniel 3:17 “If our God, whom we serve, can save us from the white-hot furnace and from your hands, oh king, may he save us!  But even if he will not, know, O king, that we will not serve your god or worship the golden statue which you set up.”  Imagine the trust they must have had to say that to the King in the face of death. 

 I read about a practical way to grow in radical trust from an article from Laura Fleetwood.  She said as soon as a fearful thought enters her mind, she takes it captive and hands it over to Christ.  In her mind, she snatches it and gives it to Jesus and says I trust you, Jesus.  It looks something like this…

Snatch…hand it over…I trust in you, Jesus.  Snatch…hand it over…I trust in you, Jesus.  Wouldn’t it be great if we could all do this a little more often and have a little less stress and worry in our lives?  My challenge is to practice turning your worries and scary thoughts over to Jesus and let him handle them.  After all, he is the almighty one, not us.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, we love you and want to have radical trust in you. We want to believe that you can do anything. We want to have the faith of Peter when he first got out of the boat. We want to have faith like Daniel in the lion’s den. Lord, we know you can do everything with our minds; help us know it with our mind, body, and soul. Help us to know it deep in our hearts. Lord, help us take our thoughts captive and redirect them to you. Help us not to take our eyes off of you. We are so grateful to you for all you do for us. We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name. Amen!

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I want to let you all know that I have started sending out a daily email called Today’s Word from the Lord. This email will have one of the words of prophecy that was received from a member of my prayer group during one of our meetings. I pray that by sharing these Words from the Lord, we will all start to recognize how the Lord talks to us, and then we will start to see Him talking to us in our own lives. My other prayer is that if you can recognize the Lord’s voice, you will also be able to recognize when it is not the Lord’s voice talking to you. I pray you will hear the enemy start talking, realize it is not God talking, and stop listening. If you would like to receive this daily email, you can sign up using the link in the show notes or email me at [email protected]. No worries if your email mailbox is full and you don’t want to get any more emails. I will read the Word from the Lord at the end of each podcast, as I did last month. I look forward to meeting you here tomorrow. Remember, Jesus and I love you! Have a blessed day!

Today’s Word from the Lord was received in September 2024 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, “You can always hear my voice. You may question it. You may wonder, is it really me talking to you like that? If you are unsure, ask the Holy Spirit to come. To come into your heart and assure you, and He will.”

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Be Bold & Praise While You Wait (Be Bold Series)

Acts 16:25-28 “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.  Suddenly, there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once, all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

This story actually begins a few verses before this. In Acts 16:16-24 it says, “Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.”  She kept this up for many days. Finally, Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to come out of her!” At that moment, the spirit left her.  When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities.  They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews and are throwing our city into an uproar  by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.” The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods.  After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.  When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.”

This is where our verse takes place.  They have been beaten with rods and are now chained up in prison.  You would think after a day like that they would feel defeated.  You would think that they would be questioning God and asking Him why they have to suffer so much when they are just doing what He asked them to do.  You might also think that they were passed out in pain and sleeping.  Is this what they were doing?  No, the verse says it was midnight and they were still praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.  This is something that always amazes me about the apostles and other believers in the faith, such as the Saints.  I am always amazed by their strength.  I know that God underwent extreme suffering in the 24 hours before He was crucified.  He sweat drops of blood. If that is not suffering, I don’t know what is.  And yet, I think we can downplay it sometimes and think, well, He is fully God and fully human, so of course He can withstand it; he is God.  However, countless other Saints have gone through extreme suffering and have done it with joy.  

Paul & Silas had just been beaten with rods, and yet they were not questioning God. They were praising and singing to Him.  This is something that I think we can hear sometimes and not pause and think about how truly amazing it is.  I don’t know if we glaze over it because we don’t understand it or because we don’t think we are capable of it.  I don’t know the reason, but I wanted to pause and take a moment to recognize how remarkable these two are for how they endured their suffering.  We could all learn a lot from them and how they lived not only when times were good but also when times were tough.  

The verse says that at midnight, while they were praying and praising, they were set free.  The door opened, and their chains came loose.  What strikes me about this verse is that they were set free yet did not leave.  They stayed there until morning, when the guard woke up.  What I hear the Lord saying to me about this verse is that everything He does is for His glory and the good of His kingdom.  If Paul & Silas would have left at midnight, they could have escaped.  However, it would not have been known how they escaped.  People could have said that someone broke in and freed them.  God would not have gotten the Glory.  However, by waiting until morning, they not only converted the guard and his whole house to believers, but they were also set free and did not have to worry about being caught for escaping.

Sometimes, the things we are going through or the things others are going through make no sense to us.  If we had been there in that jail cell, it would have made no sense to us that when they were freed, they didn’t leave the cell.  I can’t imagine sitting in that cell and just waiting for the jailer to wake up when we could have escaped and been hours away by the time the jailer woke up.  Luckily, Paul and Silas were good at listening to the Lord and trusting in Him.  They were not scared in that jail cell.  They praised the Lord and trusted that the Lord would get them out of the situation.  They were patient and waited on the Lord’s timing, and by doing so, they saved the jailer and his whole family.  

Do you see how if the apostles left at midnight, they would have escaped and would have been free?  Do you also see that they did not leave at midnight, yet they were still free?  We never know how God will work things out for us.  Sometimes, we can only see things in black and white.  We can see only two choices.  For instance, we could see that if we left the cell when the door was opened, then we would be free.  However, if we stay there, then we would be stuck in jail forever.  Sometimes, we are so angry, upset, scared, and afraid that we can’t see all the possibilities.  We only see the two.  Sometimes, we may not see all the options because we have limited information, whereas God has all the information He would ever need.  It seems as though the apostles waited for God to tell them what to do next.  They trusted that God would take care of it even though they didn’t know what would happen next.  

This may be the same in some circumstances in our lives, too.  We may not understand why God asks us to wait a little longer.  We know God can save us now, but we don’t understand why He isn’t.  We don’t understand why we are going through all of this in the first place.  Maybe God is using this thing you are going through to save someone else.  Maybe by watching your strength in the face of your situation, someone will decide to give God a try.  Maybe after watching how you were saved from your circumstances, someone else has also decided to be saved.  We don’t know what God’s plan is or why He does what He does.  There is one thing that we can be sure of, and that is that God has a plan, and He has a reason for everything.  God can use all things for His glory.  We may think that some things are a coincidence.  However, if you look back over the last 5 or 10 years of your life, I bet you will see how those things you felt were coincidences were actually things that God timed out perfectly for a specific reason.  It is amazing to me how detailed God’s plan is.  He has every tiny detail planned out.  

The next time we get tired of waiting for our suffering to end, maybe we can remember this verse, pray, and praise him even when we are struggling.  We can remember that if He has not saved us yet, it is for a reason and that a greater good will come from our situation.  I know that doesn’t always make it easier for us when we are in the moment.  However, I felt God wanted me to share with you that even when we don’t know His plan and don’t understand it, we should still know that He has a plan, and it is for our good and the good of his whole church.  

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask that you bless all those listening to this episode today.  We ask that you give us the strength of Paul and Silas when we suffer.  Lord, we ask that you give us the strength and the wisdom to pray and sing praises to you when we are suffering.  Help us know that you have a plan even when we don’t see or understand it.  Help us to know that we are never suffering in vain.  You will always use our suffering for your glory.  We love you, Lord, and thank you for all you do for us.  You are amazing, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and Jesus’ holy name. Amen.  

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk Boldly with Jesus. This month’s theme for mentoring is “I Am Made New.” I invite you to join us on Tuesday night and learn how you are made new through Christ. You can find all this information at walkboldlywithjesus.com or click on the link below. 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 September 2024 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, “In the silence of your hearts, I speak to you. I am not a loud, clanging, noisy voice that distracts you. I am just a small whisper telling you, “Turn to the right - go here. Turn to the left - see that person; they need your help. They need your prayers”.

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Be Bold & Step Forward in Faith ( Be Bold Series)

Hebrews 11:1-2 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.  For by it the men of old received divine approval.”

I have done the Bible in a Year podcast with Father Mike for two years.  This year, he is doing the Catechism of the Catholic Church in a Year.  The Catechism aims to summarize in book form the main beliefs of the Catholic Church.  I have owned this book for several years now and yet have never read the whole thing.  I did find some things highlighted today when looking through it, so I have looked through it, but never read through it all.  I was excited about this new podcast Father Mike is doing because I think it is important to be able to understand your faith completely and also to be able to explain it to others when asked.  People tend to have many questions as to why Catholics believe what they believe.  

The other day, when I was listening, Father Mike touched on something that I thought was important to share with you because it is something that we have all run into many times in our lives.  The Catechism talked about how God sometimes reveals things to people to invite them into His company.  The adequate response to this invitation is faith.  It goes on to say in paragraph 144 that Sacred Scripture calls this human response to God, the author of revelation, “the obedience to faith.”  It says to obey in faith is to submit freely to the word that has been heard because its truth is guaranteed by God, who is Truth itself.  Abraham is the model of such obedience offered us by Sacred Scripture.  The Virgin Mary is its most perfect embodiment.  Paragraph 145 says The Letter to the Hebrews, in its great eulogy of the faith of Israel’s ancestors lays special emphasis on Abraham’s faith; “By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where to go.” He lived as a stranger and pilgrim in the promised land by faith.  By faith, Sarah was given to conceive the son of the promise.  And by faith Abraham offered his only son in sacrifice.

Father Mike pointed out that all three people mentioned here, Abraham, Sarah, and Mary, acted in faith.  This was not the part that surprised me as I have heard the story of Abraham and Sarah many times, and I know everyone knows that Mary acted in faith when she said yes to carrying the Son of God.  What Father Mike said that makes sense when you think about it, but I guess I never really thought about it before, was that God didn’t give these three people all the information before they answered in faith.  He didn’t lay out every step they were going to take. He didn’t tell them every bump in the road they would run into.  He didn’t give them a five-year plan or a 10-year plan.  He didn’t even give them a one-year plan.  He gave them the initial invitation with very little detail.  Abraham knew he couldn’t stay where he was and that God was inviting him to leave his homeland.  He said yes without knowing where he was going and how all would turn out.  

Sarah knew she would conceive a son but was not given any other information about when or how since she was advanced in age.  Mary was invited to conceive the son of God, and she asked one clarifying question: How was that possible when she had not known man?  She was told the Holy Spirit would overshadow her, and she would conceive the son of God.  However, that was about all the information she got.  She also was not told everything she would go through.  She wasn’t told she would leave him in Jerusalem when he was 12, and she would be worried he was lost for 3 days.  She wasn’t told about his suffering and crucifixion.  She was told about just that first step.

This is the part that I think we can all relate to.  God is calling us all to something, and He calls us to it without giving us all the details.  He shines just enough light on our situation so we can see the next right step.  This can be scary for us.  We tend to want to know what is coming next.  We want to make sure we will be safe and secure.  But what if we knew everything we would go through and were scared we couldn’t do it?  Everything we go through in life prepares us for the next thing we will go through.  If you knew it all in advance, you might not say yes.  It is believed that Mary was very young when she got married and had Jesus.  Do you think a teenager could have said yes to having a child that was going to be tortured and killed?  Would she have had that kind of strength as a teen?  I think Mary was able to be with Christ through all that because of all the things that came before that.  Everything we go through, good or bad, prepares us for the rest of our lives.  

What about Abraham and Sarah?  Do you think they would have been all excited about having a child if they knew they would have to offer him up in a sacrifice?  Probably not, but God had been so faithful to His word that Abraham knew if God was asking him to do it, then He had a plan of how to make it right again.  Has God been faithful in our lives?  Can we look back and see where He has been with us the whole way?  Can we look back and see how things that didn’t make sense at the time now make sense with the benefit of hindsight?  Has God gotten you through some pretty tough spots?  Do you have things that you have done and looking back you can honestly say you wouldn’t have done them if you had known all they would entail?  God is so good.  He knows human nature.  He knows that we get scared easily.  He knows we tend to choose the easy route and try to avoid pain and discomfort at all costs.  

God’s ways are higher than ours, and His thoughts are higher than ours.  He knows that if we knew the whole picture, we might not accept the call He is calling us to.  Can we say yes in faith, like Abraham, Mary, and Sarah did?  Can we say yes to whatever new thing God calls us into without knowing all the details?  Can we trust that God has the details worked out and that if we are faithful and take the next step, he will shine a light forward to the next right step?  I also feel prompted to mention that God’s timing is not ours.  God told Abraham he would have a child, and then I believe they waited 25 years for that to happen.  They did not wait perfectly; they tried to make it happen independently, but in the end, God was faithful.  I guess I felt prompted to mention that because I know some of you are waiting for your answered prayers.  I know some of you have been waiting for a long time.  I want to encourage you and let you know you are in good company.  Sometimes we can think God doesn’t like us as much if we keep waiting almost like God is taking care of those more important to Him before He gets to us.  This is not the case.  God promised Abraham everything, yet he also had to wait a long time.

Have faith to take the next step, even when you can’t see where it leads. Take that step even if you don’t know the final outcome or all the details. Move towards wherever God is calling you, knowing that if He called you there, He will shine a light on each step until you arrive. Referring back to the verse, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." St. Augustine said, "Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.” God rewards us when we step out in faith. Where can you trust God and step out in faith today?

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today.  Lord, we ask that you help us to know what you are calling us to.  We ask that you help us to have the faith to step out in that call even though we don’t have all the details and don’t know what will come next or when it will come.  Lord, give us the perseverance we need to wait for your call and to not try and manufacture it on our own.  We love you, Lord. You are amazing.  You know what is best for us, and we pray that we can listen to you and wait for your plan.  We are so grateful that You have a plan for each of us and that You light our steps so we can follow Your plan.  We are sorry for all the times we didn’t follow your plan; we are trying, Dad.  We love you and ask all of this per 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 again tomorrow.  Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I!  Have a blessed day!

Today’s Word from the Lord was received in August 2024 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, “You must trust me fully. Let go of that humanness that keeps you away from me. Offer it to me. Nail it to the altar. The cross that I give you is not always the best. But I am bringing you to glory with your yes.”

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Be Bold & Fight Your Battles (Be Bold Series)

Hebrews 12:1-2 "Therefore, since we are encompassed with such a great cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Let us look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Two years ago, I was away on a retreat with 20 other Christian women who are all dedicated to starting their year off right and turning their focus to God.  Each year in Big Life Mentoring, shout out to Pamela Crim, we each pick a word and mantra.  Our word and manta is what we say every day to help remind us of the commitments we made to ourselves to live as the best version of ourselves.  This New Year’s retreat that I was on for the last 5 days was a chance to talk about what we want to get out of this year and also to form a great bond and friendship with several other ladies.  These ladies can be our accountability group and support throughout the whole year.  We know what each and every lady on this retreat wants this year, and we can pray for them and their goals.  

This was my first year going to this retreat.  It was an amazing weekend.  I love it when women who love Jesus get together to talk and get to know each other.  We played worship music and walked to the beach at night to look at the stars and thank God for all He has done.  We all talked about our strengths and our areas for improvement.  We discussed where we are struggling and what we want from this upcoming year.  We discussed what we would do to help make those wants a reality.  It was really good girl bonding time, and everyone loved it.  

While I was on this retreat, several ladies talked about how they have that negative voice in their head so often.  You know the voice I am talking about, the one that says you are not enough, the one that says God would never forgive you, the one that makes you feel awful about yourself.  That voice that makes you question every decision you have ever made.  That voice that makes you feel like you don’t belong.  We all have our own version of the mean voice inside our head.

This verse tells us that we can look to those around us as witnesses.  I saw so many witnesses that weekend on the New Year’s retreat.  The women who were on the retreat were truly amazing.  We all struggle with different things and are all good at other things.  We can look to each other for help with our struggles.  Who in your life could be a witness?  Who in your life could you look to for an example of how to live?  The people in my prayer group are also great witnesses.  They are all excellent examples of how to be the face of Christ to others.  In the 6 years I have been in this prayer group, they have taught me much about God and His love.  Look to those around you and learn all you can from them!

This next line is the one that really made me think this was the verse for today.  It says, “Let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” That is a powerful statement and one that we all need to remember when we have so many burdens in life.  We have so much that can go wrong each day.  If we can lay aside everything weighing on us and run the race with endurance, life will be much easier.  The verse also asks us to lay aside the sin that so easily entangles us.  This is a very true statement of how sin works.  We tend to get entangled in it.  We make one bad choice and then another; before we know it, we are wrapped up in sin, regret, and shame.  

This verse is telling us to lay our burdens and sins aside.  The question is, “How do we do that?” How do we lay our burdens aside?  How do we avoid getting entangled in sin?  The answer is right in this verse.  “Let us look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.”  Jesus is the author of our faith.  He can show us the way.  We can learn much just by looking at Jesus and how He lived.  We can also look to Jesus when we are trying to find the strength to lay our burdens aside.  We can look to Jesus when we are trying to find a way to make it through the day.  That weekend, there were at least two ladies who said they were afraid that the enemy was stronger than they were.  This is a real fear that many of us have.  The truth is, the enemy probably is stronger than we are, but he is definitely not stronger than God is.  God has already won that battle and come out as the victor.  

When we start to get scared that the enemy might be getting stronger than we are, we can remember Romans 8:31 “…If God is for us, who can be against us?” This is the truth that we need to keep reminding ourselves.  If God is for us, who can be against us?  God is for you and me and each one of His children.  Yes, you, you are His child.  Even when you don’t feel worthy, even when you don’t feel you deserve it, even when you feel like you can’t possibly be good enough to be his son or daughter, He is for you.  God doesn’t need us to feel good enough for Him to love us.  He always loves us!  He is always our Father, and we are always His children.  

One thing we did several times this weekend was listen to worship music.  We listened when we were in the hot tub, when we were at the beach, and while we were getting up in the morning.  We surrounded ourselves with worship music. One song played several times and is one that I think is a great song for us all to remember when we are struggling with the thoughts that the enemy might overtake us.  This song is called “Surrounded (Fight my battles)" by Michael W. Smith.  What I love about this song is the way it tells us how to fight our battles and then reminds us that God is there with us.  Here are the main lyrics:

… The word says

"For the spirit of heaviness

Put on the garment of praise"

That's how we fight our battles (yeah)

… This is how I fight my battles

This is how I fight my battles (yeah, yes)

This is how I fight my battles (what we're doing tonight)

This is how I fight my battles

Just when you think you're lost

… It may look like I'm surrounded but I'm surrounded by You, hey!

It may look like I'm surrounded but I'm surrounded by You

It may look like I'm surrounded but I'm surrounded by You

It may look like I'm surrounded but I'm surrounded by You

This is a great thing to remember.  When we feel overwhelmed by the attacks of the enemy, we can remind ourselves that although it feels like we are surrounded on all sides by the enemy, we are actually surrounded by the Lord our God.  The song repeats these verses over and over again.   It is so relaxing and peaceful when I listen to this song.  I hope you take the time to listen to it because I know it can bring you peace, too!  

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today.  Lord, be with us and help us feel you surrounding us.  When we feel the enemy is greater than we are, help us remember that we aren’t in this alone.  Help us to remember you are there, surrounding us and protecting us.  Spiritual warfare is real, and we are in a battle, whether we realize it or not.  We will fight that battle, lifting up praise to You as You surround us.  We love you so much, Lord; you are amazing!! You are so powerful, and we are so grateful that you already won the war over evil.  You conquered death, and sin no longer has dominion over us now.  Thank you, Lord!  We praise you, and we thank you.  You are awesome, and we are in awe of 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 meeting you here again tomorrow! I just want to take a minute to let you know what amazing things I have coming up. First, I am working on getting my audio book done for the Total Trust in God’s Safe Embrace Book finished. Second, I am going to be compiling all of the identity series podcast episodes into a daily devotional book. And third I will be sending my Abandon Anxiety Book to various publishers to see if one of them will publish it. I would appreciate your prayers for all of the endeavors and know I am praying for you as well. If there is anything specific you need prayers for you are always welcome to reach out on Facebook or email me at Catherine @Findingtruenorthcoaching.com. 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 August 2024 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, “You are my precious ones. You have been precious to me since you were in the womb. You are called to this time, to this place. But I need your permission to take you deeper. And I also need you to trust that I will do what I say.”

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Witness Wednesday #150 911 Miracle

Today’s witnesses are actually two things I read on line and really wanted to share them with you. The first one is about how good God is, even in a tragedy. It is a story about what happened to one family on the terrible day of September 11, 2001. The second one is about a little boy who had extraordinary courage to speak up against someone a lot older than he was in order to defend someone he didn’t even know. They are both amazing stories of how God is working in our world.

A man from Norfolk , VA called a local radio station to share this on Sept 11th, 2003, TWO YEARS AFTER THE TRAGEDIES OF 9/11/2001.

His name was Robert Matthews. These are his words:

A few weeks before Sept. 11th, my wife and I found out we were going to have our first child. She planned a trip out to California to visit her sister. On our way to the airport, we prayed that God would grant my wife a safe trip and be with her. Shortly after I said 'amen,' we both heard a loud pop and the car shook violently. We had blown out a tire. I replaced the tire as quickly as I could, but we still missed her flight. Both very upset we drove home.

I received a call from my father who was retired NYFD. He asked what my wife's flight number was, but I explained that we missed the flight.

My father informed me that her flight was the one that crashed into the southern tower. I was too shocked to speak. My father also had more news for me; he was going to help. 'This is not something I can't just sit by for; I have to do something.'

I was concerned for his safety, of course, but more because he had never given his life to Christ. After a brief debate, I knew his mind was made up. Before he got off of the phone, he said, 'take good care of my grandchild.' Those were the last words I ever heard my father say; he died while helping in the rescue effort.

My joy that my prayer of safety for my wife had been answered quickly became anger. I was angry at God, at my father, and at myself. I had gone for nearly two years blaming God for taking my father away. My son would never know his grandfather, my father had never accepted Christ, and I never got to say good-bye.

Then something happened. About two months ago, I was sitting at home with my wife and my son, when there was a knock on the door. I looked at my wife, but I could tell she wasn't expecting anyone. I opened the door to a couple with a small child.

The man looked at me and asked if my father's name was Jake Matthews. I told him it was. He quickly grabbed my hand and said, 'I never got the chance to meet your father, but it is an honor to meet his son.'

He explained to me that his wife had worked in the WorldTrade Center and had been caught inside after the attack. She was pregnant and had been caught under debris. He then explained that my father had been the one to find his wife and free her. My eyes welled up with tears as I thought of my father giving his life for people like this. He then said, 'there is something else you need to know.'

His wife then told me that as my father worked to free her, she talked to him and led him to Christ. I began sobbing at the news.

Now I know that when I get to Heaven, my father will be standing beside Jesus to welcome me, and that this family would be able to thank him themselves ..

When their baby boy was born, they named him Jacob Matthew, in honor of the man who gave his life so that a mother and baby could live.

Please take time to share this amazing story. You may never know the impact it may have on someone. God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

“I was on my usual running path when I heard an older man yelling loudly enough for me to hear through my headphones. "Sexy lady, hey hey hey sexy lady!" He kept screaming it and I decided to just ignore him and keep running.

This ignoring seemed to piss him off so he lashed out and said "eff you, dumb B****!" Now let's keep in mind he was well-dressed and appeared to be on his lunch break from an office job.

That was my trigger point. The B word. I ripped off my headphones prepared to stand up for myself when this little boy who was walking alongside his mother and little sister in a stroller looked at the guy and said, "Hey. That is not nice to say to her and she didn't like you yelling at her. You shouldn't do that because she is a nice girl and I don't let anyone say mean things to people. She's a girl like my sister and I will protect her."

The man was immediately embarrassed and started gathering his lunch to leave. I asked the mother if I could hug the little boy (his name is James) and I told him how grateful I was for him. He just shrugged and said "Well I just wanted to make sure your heart was okay."

According to his mother, this is a typical day in the life of James. Thank you so much to the mothers and fathers who are raising the next generation to be brave and courageous, and to be little earth angels for all. I am so touched.”

Weren’t those two stories amazing! The first one is a good one to remember when you are delayed for some reason and you feel like being angry. Maybe God orchestrated that delay for some reason or another. The second one reminds us that there are still good people in this world. If that little boy could stand up to a grown up for someone he didn’t even know, maybe we could have the courage to stand up for someone too. If we see someone being treated badly, we should stand up for them. God wants us to help those who can’t help themselves. It is our duty as Christians. We don’t want to be knocking at the door of heaven one day and hear God say, “I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness” Matthew 7:23.

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Be Bold & Fear Not (Be Bold Series)

2  Timothy 1:7 “For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power, love and self-control.”

There is a lot of fear in the world today. There was a lot of fear during the pandemic, but now there may be even more. It seems as though everyone is afraid of something, and some people live in fear all day.  People all over the world are fearful. There is so much violence in the world right now. So many people are fighting. In America, there is a lot of fear with the change in government. There are people afraid for their lives, afraid to get sent back to unsafe conditions in their countries. People fear losing their jobs, health care, and benefits like food stamps and social security. People are afraid of losing their rights as American citizens, and many are afraid of losing democracy altogether.

There are a lot of reasons to be fearful. These reasons are real; the threat is real, and it makes sense to be cautious. However, we need to remember who we are. We are children of God. He tells us in Matthew 6:27, “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” Worrying won’t get us anywhere. However, knowing this does not make our fear any less real. I was doing Jeff Cavin’s Walking Towards Eternity bible study during the pandemic. One of the chapters addresses fear.  One thing that I think is important to point out is that there is a difference between healthy fear and unhealthy fear. The difference is that a healthy fear keeps you safe and helps you make good choices. For instance, having a healthy fear of God can help you make choices that keep you from sinning. Having a healthy fear of COVID-19 or any disease can help you practice good hygiene and make other choices to prevent spreading the virus. An unhealthy fear is one that keeps you trapped in some way. For instance, you are so afraid of COVID-19 that you don’t leave your house even when necessary or spend every moment of the day afraid you might catch the virus. One of the questions I found in the chapter that I thought would be especially relevant for everyone right now was, “What practical steps can be taken to overcome fear?” Did you know that fear, all on its own, triggers more than 1,400 known physical and chemical responses and activates more than 30 different hormones? Here are several practical steps you can take to conquer your fear.

1. Turn your fear over to God. “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5. As soon as you notice you are having a fearful thought, take a moment and hand that thought over to God. 

2. Ask yourself if this fear is a legitimate fear/scenario.  Is it likely that the thing you are afraid of will happen? Oftentimes, we worry about things that never happen. Mark Twain once said, “I… have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.”

3. Educate yourself: “Prudent education teaches virtue; it prevents or cures fear … The education of the conscience guarantees freedom and engenders peace of heart.” (Catechism 1784) Learn your faith, learn to know God, the more you know and understand the word of God the less you will be afraid.

4. Understand your fear: Some fears are based on personal experience, and some are a result of culture and past experiences. Understand how your fears came to be. Understand how it comes on, how it makes you feel, and what level of intensity it is.

5. Visualize Courage: What would it look like if you did not have this fear? What would it look like if you overcame this fear? What if this fear did not exist in your life? 

6. Act as if: If you act courageously in a gradual way, you will overcome the limiting story you tell yourself. For instance, if you are afraid to give a presentation, one way to start overcoming this fear is to give a short presentation to a family member. When you are comfortable with that, you could give the presentation to a close friend and then to a not-so-close friend. The point of this is to step outside of your comfort zone slowly and then gradually expand your comfort zone. 

7. Move towards your fear: Instead of running away from your fear, turn around and face it. Write down 5-10 ideas of ways you can face your fear in some small way, and then act on these ideas daily . 

8. Don’t live in Denial: It is important to examine how your fear is limiting you. Sometimes, we are so used to our everyday routine that we don’t see the ways our fear has us trapped.

9. Fortitude: “The virtue of fortitude enables one to conquer fear, even fear of death, and to face trials and persecutions. It disposes one even to renounce and sacrifice his life in defense of a just cause. ‘The Lord is my strength and my song.’ ‘In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.’” (Catechism 1008) Keep going, even when you don’t want to, even when you are afraid. 

10. Channel your spirituality: When you are feeling afraid of something, lean into your spirituality even more. Read God’s word, say a prayer, talk to the Lord, do something to help you connect with God, and remember that he is your refuge. 

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult.” ~Psalm 46:1-3

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today.  Lord, we ask you to help us trust you more and have less fear.  Lord, we know you are protecting us.  We know you are strength and our refuge.  If we know this, we have nothing to fear. Help us know this more, Lord.  Help us understand with you, nothing can harm us.  Help us to focus on how big you are instead of how big our problem is.  We love you, Lord. You are amazing.  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 wanted to take a minute to let everyone know, in case you are new to listening, that I have a book that I wrote called TOTAL TRUST In God’s Safe Embrace.  It is a book that teaches the 15 ways in which I developed a really deep trust in God and a more intimate relationship with Him.  I have been through a lot of stuff over the last 18 years of my life, and yet through it all, I knew God was there with me and that things would be ok.  I discovered it is possible to have peace, even in the middle of chaos.  If life is hard right now, check out my book if you are struggling with something. It could help you find God in the middle of the chaos.  Also, if you want to reach out to me through my website or with an email to [email protected], then I can even send you a signed copy of my book.  I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow.  Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day.

Today’s Word from the Lord was received in August 2024 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 have come that you might have life, life to the full. I came also to give you an example of how to live your life. Follow my example, and you will have greater peace. I am your God, and I love you.”

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

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Be Bold & Be Strong & Courageous (Be Bold Series)

Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; be not frightened, neither be dismayed; for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

I saw this verse on my refrigerator this morning. A few years ago, someone gave me one of the desk calendars. Each day, a new page features a new picture of amazing scenery worldwide. The calendar also includes a different Bible verse. I hung this one on the fridge because I needed the reminder. Today, I know several of you need this reminder, too!

This is a great reminder to be strong and courageous. A lot is happening in the world right now, both in our own families and our own houses and the world at large. I know people who are scared because their loved ones had major surgery, and their recovery is going slow. They are worried that things won’t get back to normal or that it will be a long and painful road back to normal. I know someone living in her car right now who is tired of not having a safe place to sleep at night. I know someone else who is always scared, and she is unsure why. As you can see, there are many reasons why I thought this would be a great verse for today’s devotional.

In this verse, the Lord reminds us not to be afraid or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Do we know this already? I wonder if we are scared even though we know the Lord is with us always or if we forget this and that is why we are scared. It can be one thing to know the Lord is always with you and another to know He will take care of everything. I was talking with a friend the other day, and she knows the Lord is with her always, and yet she can’t help but be scared of things. This fear that she has did not just develop overnight. She has carried it with her from childhood and is only now finding some freedom from it.

Isn’t it amazing how things from our childhood or past can have such a strong influence on our present and future? Often, we don’t even realize our past is creeping into our present. We know we are scared of something but don’t know what. Maybe we are scared of our boyfriend or husband leaving us. We don’t know where this fear is coming from, and yet, if we look back at our past history, we have had loved ones leave us. We might be afraid that our loved one will not recover completely from surgery, and when we look back, we see that in the past, we knew people who had surgery and didn’t recover.

Our past can creep in and try to make us afraid of the future. This is one of the enemy's favorite tricks. He loves to use our past against us. He loves to point out all the places where we messed up in the past and try to get us to believe we will do it again. He loves to point out all the places where people have hurt us in the past and get us to believe they will do it again. We are not our past. Just because something has happened in the past does not mean it will happen again.

It is not easy to be strong and courageous. If it were, everyone would be doing it, and this world wouldn’t be such a scary place. However, it is possible. It says in 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity but of power, love, and self-discipline.” We were not born with a spirit of fear and timidity. God created us with a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline. However, sometime in the course of our lives, a lot of us have lost or forgotten about the spirit that God created us with.  We have become afraid and timid. It is time to reclaim our true nature, our true spirit.

The question is, how do we do that? How do we reclaim our spirit of power, love, and self-discipline? I think we can do it by remembering what this verse tells us. We must remember that the Lord is with us wherever we go. I think sometimes we think that we can go places that the Lord won’t follow. For instance, we are stuck in a pit of despair, and so there is no way the Lord would be with us there. Guess what? He is right there next to you in that pit. We think He won’t follow us into the hospital or home from the hospital. He is right beside you as you do your best to help your loved one. God does not leave your side, no matter where you go. If you are sleeping in your car, God is sleeping right there next to you.

God is always by our side, and the more we can remember this, the more we will be able to be strong and courageous. The more we believe that God is right there with us, the more we will trust in His protection. I have heard many stories of people who have been scared and cried out to the Lord, and miraculous things have happened. For instance, one time, a woman was about to walk down an alley and saw a man who looked pretty scary at the end of the alley. She asked the Lord for protection. The next day, she read in the paper that a woman was attacked in that same alley that same night. She went to the police station to help ID the man she saw in the alley. When she asked him why he did not attack her when she walked by, he said it was because of the tall guy she had walking with her. She didn’t have anyone but God with her that night. Isn’t that amazing?

God will protect you. He will give you the strength you need. I know some of you need an extra dose of strength today, and He can give it to you. I know some of you need an extra dose of hope today. He has that for you, too! The Lord is always with us, and He has whatever we need. He can give us courage and strength, He can give us love and hope, He can give us whatever we need. We just have to turn to Him and ask Him! If you feel scared, hopeless, or a little lost today, I want to encourage you to remember that the Lord is ALWAYS with you, even if you can’t feel His presence. Call upon Him, and He will be there with whatever it is you need.

Dear heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, we need your strength today. We need your hope and your love today. We need to feel your presence today, Lord. We love you, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name. Amen!

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. The theme for mentoring this month is I Am Made New. Click on the link below to get all the information on mentoring. It might be a great way to spend your lent. I look forward to seeing you 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 August 2024 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, “My children, I have told Peter and you in scripture to forgive 70 times 7. That's a huge number. It's not a number that you can even imagine. And I give it to you as good advice for your life. But I want you right now to remember that I forgive you many, many, many, many, many more times. I forgive you as many drops there are in the ocean. Do you know, could you possibly count that? Count on my forgiveness, believe in my forgiveness, and share my forgiveness with others.”

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