Walk Boldly With Jesus

God Will Exceed Your Wildest Imagination!

Ephesians 3:20 “Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energizes you.”

Wow, I think this is something we should all put on a sticky note and put it on our bathroom mirror. Actually, put it on several sticky notes and place them all around your house. It is such good advice. “Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this.” This is something we do often, or at least I do often. I doubt God can work in me. I don’t doubt it because I doubt God’s mighty power. I doubt it because I know I am broken. I know I sin. I know I am not worthy. I know I am not enough, and all the other things we tell ourselves when we hear that God wants to use us.

What just came to me is that when we think like this, our focus is on ourselves. Listen to what I said above again and try to count how many times I say I. “I doubt God can work in me. I don’t doubt it because I doubt God’s mighty power. I doubt it because I know I am broken. I know I sin. I know I am not worthy. I know I am not enough, and all the other things we tell ourselves when we hear that God wants to use us.” I used the word “I” 12 times within those six sentences. Yes, when our focus is on us, or when our focus is on the task we are being asked to do, we will always fall short in our minds. We won’t believe it can be done because we know our limitations.

However, if we focus on God and how powerful He is, it is easier to believe He can use us because He is God, and He can do anything. There was a woman at the Encounter Summer Intensive yesterday and she had a problem with her leg. She hurt it in a skiing accident when she was younger, and the doctors glued it all back together. However, it started hurting again. She is now 83 years old. The doctor told her the fix they did when she was younger was all disintegrating, and there was nothing they could do. I reminded her that although there might not be anything that the doctors could do, there is always something God can do.

This verse is a great verse for anyone who has a great ambition to do something great someday. Maybe you want to be an extraordinary painter, or maybe you want to start a non-prophet to help people. Maybe you want to climb mountains all over the world. Maybe you want to be the best mom, dad, grandma, or grandpa you can be. Whatever it is that you would like to do, it is important to know that God can work in you and through you. It is important we don’t doubt this because God is powerful, and He can do anything!

The next line in the verse is just amazing. It says, “He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination!” Can you believe that? This gives us permission to dream big, to ask for big things from God, and to let Him help us accomplish our dreams. This verse shows us what a good, good father God is. He doesn’t just give you the bare minimum. He doesn’t just give you what you need to survive. He is not stingy with His mercy and His blessings. He lavishes them upon His children.

The last sentence is great, too. It says, “He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energizes you.” This is definitely something we forget, or maybe we never knew it in the first place. God’s miraculous power constantly energizes you. Did you know that? Did you also know you can pray for supernatural energy when you don’t feel like you have any? I prayed this with my friend of mine, and she said she felt so much more energized for the rest of the day.

We need to stop putting God into a little box. We need to stop telling Him what He can and can’t do. We tell Him He can’t use us because of this reason or that. We tell Him we can’t do this or that because we lack energy. We give up on our dreams because we figure they are not going to come true. We don’t doubt God’s power, but we doubt our ability to be a part of His plan; however, by doubting that, we are also doubting God’s power. We are putting a limitation on that power. We say, “Yes, you are all-powerful, and you can do all things, but you can’t use me.” Do you see how that is a contradiction? Either God is all-powerful, or He is not. Either He can do everything, including using you, or He can’t do any of it. We don’t get to pick and choose what God can and can’t do.

God tells us so often in my Charismatic Prayer Group that we have to stop doubting Him. He constantly says, “If I tell you that you can do something, believe that you can do it.” If he says this each week, then you would think we would listen. However, our pull to not believe in ourselves is great. If we want to change this, we must shift our focus away from us. We need to focus more on the power of God and less on our own feelings of unworthiness. God is more than enough!

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless everyone listening to this episode today. Lord I ask that you help us to turn our focus on you. Please help us to believe everything in this verse. Please help us believe that you will achieve infinitely more than our greatest request, our most unbelievable dream, and exceed our wildest imagination! Thank you that your miraculous power constantly energizes you.” Thank you for being so amazing. Thank you for constantly energizing us. We love you so much 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 hope you have an amazing weekend and I look forward to meeting you here again on Monday. Remember Jesus loves you, just as you are, and so do I! May the grace and favor of our Lord Jesus Christ be upon you!

Today’s Word from the Lord was received in February 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 little children, come and sit with me awhile. And I will teach you all you need to know. Give me all your fears. Give me all your burdens. Give me all that bothers you. I am the Lord. I will take care of it all. You only need to sit with me. I am the Lord. I will bless you each in my will. It is as easy as that. Sit with me. I'll give you each the treasures you need for yourselves. Just come.”

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

CLICK HERE 📖 Get the Daily “Word from the Lord” Email

CLICK HERE 🎧 Get My Free Audio Training + Join My Email List

Click Here 🌐 Visit Finding True North Coaching

God’s Endless Love

Ephesians 3:18-19 “Then you will be empowered to discover what every holy one experiences – the great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ in all its dimensions. How deeply intimate and far-reaching is his love! How enduring and inclusive it is! Endless love beyond measurement that transcends our understanding – this extravagant love pours into you until you are filled to overflowing with the fullness of God!”

Man, I am truly in love with the passion translation right now. It helps me understand the Word of God in a deeper way. Last night, I was talking to Deacon Joe, the director of the Boston campus of Encounter’s School of Ministry, and I told him that I feel like my mission is to bring God’s love to others. I want every person in the entire world to know and understand how incredibly loved they are by their heavenly Father.

Love is lacking in this world. It is absent in so many areas. The love that we do have is nothing like the love of our Heavenly Father. People are desperate for love these days. Maybe we always were; I’m not sure. I do know that people feel unloved and unwelcome right now. Most people don’t feel comfortable in their own skin. They wish they were different in many ways.

With social media and how easy it is to see what everyone else is doing, it is easy to compare yourself to what they look like, what material possessions they have, what vacations they take, and how many friends they have. When we start to compare ourselves to others then we start to be unhappy with who we are and what we have. Yet, who we are is who God created us to be. He gave each one of us unique strengths and weaknesses. How many of us can only see our weaknesses?

Matthew 22:36-40 says, “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” I think we all know this first one and find the first one of these two commandments the easiest. It is easier to love God than it is to love others, at least most of the time. If you are going through a really hard season then you might be angry at God, but for the most part, we can get on board with loving God the Father with all that we have.

However, the second commandment listed here is one that many people struggle with. First, loving our neighbor doesn’t just mean loving the person next door. It means loving everyone we meet. It means loving our enemies or those who have wronged us. There seem to be a lot of unlovable people in the world—people who are angry or unkind. How are we supposed to love people who treat us badly? How are we supposed to love people that we don’t even really know? How are we supposed to love people who know exactly what to say to get under our skin?

In order to understand how to love others, let’s take a closer look at how the Lord loves us. The verse above starts with, “Then you will be empowered to discover what every holy one experiences- the great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ in all its dimensions.” When I looked up the word astonishing, it said, “causing a feeling of great surprise or wonder.” That is the Lord’s love for us. It is full of surprises and wonder. Have you ever been surprised by God’s love?

I spoke with a young woman last night at an Encounter event who was blown away by God’s love. She had been suffering from concussions and a condition where her feet couldn’t sweat. She had gone to a healing service a while back and did not see a lot of relief from her symptoms. Then, after a day and a half or so later, she was completely healed of both conditions. She just couldn’t believe the love of her Heavenly Father. She couldn’t believe that He healed her of not just one condition but of both of them at the same time. She definitely felt the astonishing love of God that evening.

Next, the verse says, “How deeply intimate and far-reaching is his love! Wow, this is incredible, too. God’s love is far-reaching. I have seen this far-reaching love in my life. My husband and I had been struggling for a long time in our marriage. It got to the point where I felt like we needed to get a divorce. I do not believe in divorce but us living in the same house just wasn’t working. We have three boys, and the constant fighting was not good for anyone. Although there was no doubt in my mind that we needed a divorce or at least a separation, I still didn’t want it. I went to God often, and I asked Him to fix our marriage. I asked Him to change our hearts. I asked Him to keep our family together. This was for sure a far reach as we were pretty broken. Yet, God fixed us. He changed our hearts and helped fix not just our marriage but our family, too. There is no questioning God’s love for you when you can see Him work so powerfully in your life.

Next, it says, “How enduring and inclusive it is!” This is something I think we often forget. God’s love is inclusive. Jesus did not come to save the righteous. He came to save the sinners. Jesus ate with the prostitutes, the tax collectors, and the sinners. Jesus met everyone right where they were, and He showered them with love and respect, and then He told them to sin no more. He didn’t meet people with condemnation and judgment. His love was and is inclusive. His love is also enduring, which means long-lasting, which seems like an understatement as His love is forever; it never goes away. You could live to be 500 years old, and He would still love you.

Next, it says, “Endless love beyond measurement that transcends our understanding.” Do you ever wonder why God loves you? I mean, none of us are perfect. We all mess up, we all make mistakes, and we all hurt God in a variety of ways. So, why does He love us? The answer is that His love transcends our understanding. His love is not dependent on us understanding it. Also, as I mentioned earlier, his love is endless. It is like a circle. There is no beginning or end to God’s love. He has always loved us, and He always will. Isn’t that incredible?

Do you see now why I love this translation of the Bible? It has this amazing way of describing things. I love how it describes God’s love. It puts into words what really can’t be put into words. It helps me understand God’s love at a whole new level. I mentioned above how we are called to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. It is easier to love ourselves if we understand how loved we are by our heavenly Father. If we love ourselves then it is easier to love others. I invite you to take some time today and reread this translation of the verse above. You can look it up online or go to the Bible app on your smartphone. This is the passion translation. I invite you to sit with the Lord and thank Him for loving you so well. If you struggle to feel the Lord’s love, then I invite you to sit with Him and ask Him what is getting in the way of you feeling His love because I assure you His love is there.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless everyone listening to this episode today. Lord, help us understand how much you love us. Help us learn to love ourselves and our neighbors. Thank you, Lord, for being such an amazing example of love. Thank you for the way you love us so unconditionally. Help us do the same with all those we meet. 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. I will be opening registration to my October retreat soon, so be on the lookout for an email in your inbox. If you are not on my email list you can click on the link below to sign up and I will send you an audio training on how to invite God into your everyday life. I know we are all busy and feel like we can’t add one more thing into our schedule. In this audio training I teach you how to add prayer into the things you are already doing so it is not adding anymore time to do you day but adding a lot of value. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I. May the favor and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be upon you! Have a Blessed day!

Today’s Word from the Lord was received in February 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, “Nothing will ever separate us. Nothing—no suffering, no sin, no pride, no willfulness—can undo the bond of our love except unbelief. Believe in my words to you this day. Remember my love and mercy for all. For this is the day that I have made. Be glad and rejoice in it.”

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

CLICK HERE 📖 Get the Daily “Word from the Lord” Email

CLICK HERE 🎧 Get My Free Audio Training + Join My Email List

Click Here 🌐 Visit Finding True North Coaching

Witness Wednesday #121 More PopWe Stories (Marriage/Family)

Today’s witnesses are from Matthew West’s website called popwe.org. If you don’t know who Matthew West is, he is a singer, songwriter, and storyteller. This website is for the non-profit that he has with his father, a pastor. Matthew and his father encourage people to share their stories. They have various categories of stories. Today, I chose three testimonies from the Marriage/Family Category. Satan is attacking our families and I think it can help us to see that God is looking out for us. Satan wants to destroy families but God wants to preserve them.  Often, we can hear our own story in someone else’s story. When we listen to others tell their story, it helps us see that we are not alone. When we hear how God worked in their situation, it gives us hope that He will work in ours, too! I pray when you hear these testimonies, you get the faith and hope to believe that miracles can happen in your situation also. I pray you know that God wants is there with you and if you invite Him into your family issues He can help.

Zachary: 2016 started out as one of the most exciting years for me and my wife, Amanda. We were living in Calcutta, India; working at Calcutta School of Music and starting our own company to support local artists and musicians in the city. Amanda was expecting our first baby, Chloe West Ray, and she was due to arrive at the beginning of December. Amanda was in her third trimester when she became very sick one night. We admitted her into the hospital in Calcutta, India on a Monday night. Tuesday morning Amanda was feeling better and Chloe seemed to be doing ok too. Wednesday morning, before we were about to leave the hospital, we went in for one more ultra sound. I can still hear the doctor say, “We can’t find a heart beat” as if it was today. We found ourselves sitting in that hospital room broken and confused, with no idea of what the next steps would be.

There were very few words of comfort that helped. Although people were praying and offering their words of comfort, it felt like a season of being abandoned by God. The dreams of holding our little girl were stolen and shattered. Grief is a funny thing. The initial sting and pain becomes dull over time, but the memories and dull ache continues. I don’t think our hearts are created for this world to overcome “grief” from tragedies or loss of loved ones; it becomes a part of our story, our life. We become a different person. The beautiful thing is that God stays the same and meets us where we are. I can honestly say God tangibly became my refuge in one of the darkest times in my life. He brought a healing into my soul like no earthly person could. We may never be the way we were before, but He shapes us into a new and often stronger person. I don’t think we get over grief until we leave this world.

We found out the following year that we were expecting another baby. Due to the loss of Chloe, it was difficult to not allow our fear and worry to overwhelm our joy. We simultaneously jumped for joy, and breathed a sigh of relief when our son was born.

Pam: My husband and I had 7 kids – he had 3 and I had 2. Then we got custody of our 2 nephews. Less than a month after we received custody papers, our nephews’ dad passed away. Their mom lived nearby, but didn’t have much to do with the children. That has always caused its own set of problems.

When we were going to get the boys out of foster care, we had no idea how we’d provide for 2 more, except for the fact that God had always provided for the 7 of us!  We were fully trusting in Him to provide for all 9 of us. He did just that! We always attended church with the kids. We served in the church and paid our tithes. God never let us down.

Recently, we had been praying for a job that would allow us more time together and get a lot of debt off of us. Biblically, we felt this was right. God is answering our prayers through a job we now have. We can work closer together and prayerfully begin to make more money and to pay off our debt.

Even though life with a triple blended family was tough, and there were times we wanted to give up, we didn’t. God saw us through. He is faithful and trustworthy. We hope and pray that our kids will remember that we gave and served, and that God was faithful. We are thankful!

Most of our kids are grown now and one is in the service. We pray they will always remember that their relationship with God is most important!

Theresa: In my past relationship, I walked on eggshells, was hyper-vigilant, and lived in fight or flight mode every day. His behavior was a constant up and down. He would ignore me, then act nice to make me think everything was okay, then abruptly follow it with rage. He would manipulate and gaslight me, keep me exhausted, and criticize me frequently. He’d make excuses for his behavior, never took accountability, and blamed me for everything. Nothing I did ever seemed right, and I slowly lost confidence in myself. I was lonely, unloved, and felt like a nobody. Any sign of me leaving resulted in violence. I was trapped in a trauma bond and I didn’t see a way out. Some nights I would pray just to make it through another day.

For years I endured financial, physical, mental, verbal, and emotional abuse. I had lost all hope but God had other plans for me. When I began focusing on the word of God and reading the Bible every day, I gained a newfound confidence that gave me the courage to seek help and find freedom. For the first time in a long time I am safe, hopeful, and looking forward to my future. I am blessed that God is giving me a second chance in life. Trials and tribulations are a part of this life, but with Christ, you can do all things!

Thank you all so much for sharing your stories. I pray you continue to rely on the Lord and that He continues to bless your families. I know it can be hard to share your story with the world and yet when you do it helps other’s see God working in their life as well.  Thank you again!

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

CLICK HERE 📖 Get the Daily “Word from the Lord” Email

CLICK HERE 🎧 Get My Free Audio Training + Join My Email List

Click Here 🌐 Visit Finding True North Coaching

Even God Gets Angry

Exodus 4:14-15 “Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, “What of your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that he can speak fluently; even now he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you his heart will be glad. You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and will teach you what you shall do.”

In mentoring this month I have been teaching about our emotions and how our emotions aren’t universally good or bad. This is something that is easy to say and hard to believe. There are definitely some emotions we think are good, and some we think are bad. For instance, we don’t think it is “Christian-like” to be angry. When we are angry, we are probably not going to share that with our Christian friends because being angry isn’t what God wants from us. It isn’t just anger, either. There are a whole host of emotions that we struggle to reconcile with our faith.

We might think, how can I be disappointed in this situation when God has given me so much? How can I be angry when God has blessed me and my family? How can I be impatient when I know God’s timing is best? How can I be sad and grieve the loss of a loved one when I know they are in a better place now? Do you get the idea? We struggle to understand how we can feel what we are feeling. We also tend to feel guilty for some of our feelings, and then, on top of our original feelings, we now add guilt and shame to them.

Emotions can be tricky. I am not trying to say they are easy. I do believe we should let ourselves feel all of our emotions. Emotions are our body’s way of warning us of something. They bring something to our attention so we can deal with it. However, if it is an emotion we don’t like or that makes us feel uncomfortable, instead of exploring it to see what it is trying to tell us, we ignore it, stuff it down, and pretend it is not there. Stuffing our emotions down can be bad for a few reasons. One of them is that when we stuff our emotions down over time, they build up, kind of like the pressure in a volcano. Then, one day, they explode all over someone, and usually, it is not the person who gave you those unwanted feelings. It is usually some innocent bystander who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and said the wrong things. Unfortunately, I think we have all been in that situation at one time or another and we have all regretted it.

Another reason stuffing down our emotions can be bad is that if we ignore them, we can’t hear what they are trying to tell us. Our emotions might be telling us we need to get out of a situation, that something needs to change, or any number of other things, and yet if we ignore them, we are not getting any of their messages.

This can be avoided in part by not stuffing down our emotions. We can give ourselves permission to feel whatever feeling comes up. We can examine our feelings and see what they are trying to tell us. We can bring our feelings to the Lord and ask Him to help us understand our feelings. Our feelings are not bad. It is ok to feel all the different ranges of feelings. God felt a wide range of feelings, and so did Jesus. God is only good. If he felt angry, then how could anger be bad?

It says in the verse above that “the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses.” Just before this verse, God was telling Moses that He wanted Moses to go to Egypt and free the Jewish people. Moses, like many of us, had lots of reasons why he was not qualified to do the job God asked him to do. What if they didn’t listen to him? What if they didn’t believe God had sent him? God gave Moses all sorts of answers to these questions. Every excuse Moses gave him, God responded with an answer. Then Moses continued to ask God to send someone else, and God got angry.

I love this because I can relate to God’s anger in this situation. It makes me think of my kids when I ask them to do something, and they have a million excuses for why they can’t. It doesn’t matter if you shoot down 1 million excuses; they will always have just one more. It is so frustrating, and I can imagine it would be even more frustrating for the Lord. I mean, He is God. He knows everything. If He says you can do something, you can do it. So, I can see why He would be angry that Moses didn’t trust him.

In verses 10 & 11, it says, “But Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor even now that you have spoken to your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”  Then the Lord said to him, “Who gives speech to mortals? Who makes them mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?” The Lord is telling Moses, I know you, I made you. I know what you can and can’t do. However, I am the Lord, and I can do all things. If God can make the deaf hear or the blind see, then don’t you think He could give you whatever you need to do whatever He is calling you to do? That is a lesson for another day, though.

Today we are talking about how God was angry at Moses. This is not the only time that God got angry in the Old Testament and Jesus also got angry in the New Testament as well. If you are struggling with shame or guilt for feeling certain emotions, look them up and see if they appear in the Bible. You could do a quick search on the internet for what verses in the Bible talk about anger, sadness, guilt, shame, joy, happiness, jealousy, or whatever emotions you are feeling. You will see you are not alone.

I did want to mention that although our emotions aren’t universally good or bad, our actions definitely can be. It is ok to be angry, it is not ok to sin in that anger. It is ok to be sad, it is not ok to sin in that sadness. We must learn to deal with our emotions in an appropriate way. It is not ok to stuff them down and not think about them. It is also not ok to act out of them and hurt others or to sin against God. There are many ways to feel our emotions and then deal with them without hurting others. This is something God can help us with if we take the time to invite Him into the situation. I invite you all to sit with the Lord this week and ask Him to show you where in your life you might be avoiding your feelings and then ask Him to help you change that. Ask Him to help you begin to deal with those feelings in a healthy way.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless everyone listening to this episode. Lord, please help us to learn to feel all the feelings, even the uncomfortable ones. Help us to learn to process our feelings and emotions more appropriately and in a healthy way. Lord, help us to feel free to share our emotions with others so that we are not alone. Help us to release any feelings of guilt surrounding our emotions. We ask you to help us to not sin because of our emotions as well. 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. Our last session for the July mentoring series, Our Emotions is tonight. We will be going through the Bible and examining the wide range of emotions that God & Jesus felt. It is not too late if you would like to join us! If you want to see what it is all about before joining, just email me at [email protected] and I will send you the link to join the zoom tonight. I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you, just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day and may the favor and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be upon you!

Today’s Word from the Lord was received in February 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 trudge the earth as I did, bringing hope and blessings to those I send you. You continue my incarnation. I feed you in my Eucharist each day. You must be me now.”

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

CLICK HERE 📖 Get the Daily “Word from the Lord” Email

CLICK HERE 🎧 Get My Free Audio Training + Join My Email List

Click Here 🌐 Visit Finding True North Coaching

We Are Saved By God’s Grace

Ephesians 2:3-5 “The corruption that was in us from birth was expressed through the deeds and desires of our self-life. We lived by whatever natural cravings and thoughts our minds dictated, living as rebellious children subject to God’s wrath like everyone else. But God still loved us with such great love. He is so rich in compassion and mercy. Even when we were dead and doomed in our many sins, he united us into the very life of Christ and saved us by his wonderful grace!”

I love verses like this because when the Bible points out the things I am doing wrong, I know I am not the only one doing them. If I were the only one, or if only a few of us were living by whatever natural cravings and thoughts our minds dictated, then God wouldn’t put it in the Bible. The verse starts by saying, “The corruption that was in us from birth was expressed through the deeds and desires of our self-life.” We were all born with original sin. Adam and Eve were born into a perfect world. There was no sin; there was only love, and they got to stroll through the garden at night with the Lord. Their heavenly Father would come to visit them and talk with them.

However, they were tricked by the serpent and ate the fruit from the tree of good and evil. I don’t know if they were misled or just enticed. The devil was laying out a pretty good picture of how God was trying to control them by telling them not to eat that fruit. The serpent told them they would be like God if they ate the fruit. Who wouldn’t want to be like God, right? So they ate the fruit. The interesting thing is that they were already like God. God made us in His likeness and image. They were already like God. However, once they ate that fruit, sin entered the world, and it didn’t want to leave.

This is the corruption from birth that the verse is talking about. We are all born with original sin, and that is why Catholics believe you should be baptized as soon as you are born. Once you are baptized with the Holy Spirit, sin can’t say, it must leave. However, because we are human, our choices can allow sin to creep back into our lives. This sin that creeps back into our lives is expressed through our deeds and desires of our self-life. When sin creeps back in, we tend to live for ourselves instead of for God.

I was listening to an Encounter Ministry talk yesterday, and the teacher talked about how she had a niece or a friend’s child whom she spoke to often. When the girl was little, my teacher would say things like, “How did you get to be so beautiful?” or “How did you get to be so nice?” and the little girl would say, “That’s just the way God made me.” There is such an innocence in this response. However, once we get a bit older and the world corrupts our thinking, and our sin crowds our minds, then we forget that this is how God made us and that He made each one of us just as we are for a reason.

Once we allow sin to creep back in with our deeds and desires, our thoughts get distorted. We start to hate who we are, what we look like, what we sound like, and everything else about us. I was at a women’s conference once, and the speaker said that she asked everyone in the audience who hated their body to stand up, and 90% of the women stood up. She didn’t ask, who would change something about their body if they could? She didn’t ask, who dislikes something about their body? She asked who hated their body, and 90% of them stood up. This is the work of the enemy. We are not born hating our bodies. We are born with so much love, and then this broken world pollutes our minds and bodies.

The line in the verse says, “ We lived by whatever natural cravings and thoughts our minds dictated, living as rebellious children subject to God’s wrath like everyone else.” This pretty much sums up my struggle. I have so many cravings and thoughts in my life that seem to dictate my life. Some things seem like they are not really a big deal, but when we really examine them, we see that they are not good for us. Do you have any cravings that take your focus away from God? You have thoughts that take up all your focus and that you are thinking about all the time. If you have ever had an addiction, you know exactly what I am talking about. I am lucky in that the addictions I have had have not been life-threatening, like drugs or alcohol. I am lucky that my addictions have not affected my life in ways like losing my family or losing my job. However, that doesn’t mean they were damaging.

When I was addicted to TV, while I still am, but now I manage my addiction, I would watch TV all day long. I would not get anything done while the kids were at school, and I wouldn’t do anything after they went to bed, either. I would watch hours of TV a day.  I can only imagine how different my life would be if I had spent that time growing closer to the Lord, growing my spiritual life, reading books to further my knowledge, or really anything else that would have been productive. The enemy kept me sitting there watching TV because he knew what would have happened if I had spent that time with the Lord.  He knew how different my life would be if I weren’t addicted to TV.

Now, let's look at the last part of this verse because I don’t want to leave you today thinking about all you may be doing wrong or all you could have done differently. This is not the point of today’s episode. The point of this episode is to let you know that even though we have all sinned. Even though we don’t live perfect lives, we are all saved by God’s grace. The ending of this verse says, “But God still loved us with such great love. He is so rich in compassion and mercy. Even when we were dead and doomed in our many sins, he united us into the very life of Christ and saved us by his wonderful grace!”

It is so important that we all know this. No matter what we are struggling with, God loves us with such great love. All those reasons the enemy is telling you that God can’t possibly love you are complete garbage. God still loves you with such a great love. There is nothing you can do to stop Him from loving you. There is no losing that love. I know I say that a lot, and I will keep saying it until every single one of you believes that God loves you just as you do, and there is nothing you can do to lose that love. It is your forever. Whether you want it or not, whether you deserve it or not. God is so rich in compassion and mercy. He knows why you did what you did, and his mercy covers it, covers you. His mercy is enough to cover anything you have done.

The last line is awesome, too. “Even when we were dead and doomed in our many sins, he united us into the very life of Christ and saved us by his wonderful grace!” This means that even though God knows all we have done. Even though we did some pretty terrible things, God united us with Christ and saved us by his grace. God’s grace is enough for you and all your sins. Jesus’s sacrifice was big enough to cover all your sins. God loves you with such a great love. He is full of compassion and mercy. That is what I want to leave you with today. God saved us by His wonderful grace!

Dear Heavenly Father, please bless each person listening to this episode today. Lord, we love you so much. We don’t want to be dead and doomed in our many sins. We want to be free of them. Please help us. We want to put you first and to show you our love by our actions. Please help us. We want to be able to live by the Spirit and not the flesh. Please help us. Help us to see where our sin is getting in the way of our relationship with you, and then give us the strength to change. 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. I hope to open up registration for my retreat in October on August 1st. Stay tuned for details. It is going to be a great retreat. The theme is “Come As You Are.” I hope you will join me! I will have more information soon. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! May the grace and favor of our Lord Jesus Christ be upon you. Have a blessed day!

Today’s Word from the Lord was received in February 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, “Cast your net into the sea when I tell you because I tell you. Your obedience pleases me. Your fruitfulness of the cast is mine to give or not to give each time.”

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

CLICK HERE 📖 Get the Daily “Word from the Lord” Email

CLICK HERE 🎧 Get My Free Audio Training + Join My Email List

Click Here 🌐 Visit Finding True North Coaching

Be An Advertisement of God’s Immense Power

Ephesians 1:19-22 “I pray that you will continually experience the immeasurable greatness of God's power made available to you through faith. Then your lives will be an advertisement of this immense power as it works through you! This is the mighty power that was released when God raised Christ from the dead and exalted him to the place of highest honor and supreme authority in the heavenly realm!”

I love this verse and the translation. I am really enjoying reading the passion translation. There is so much passion in what is said. I try not to use the same verse more than once as I think there are over 31,000 verses in the Bible, so it will take us a long time to get through them all. However, when I read this translation of this verse, I felt called to use it. This verse might just be my life verse. It is definitely one I will write down on a sticky note and look at often. This verse sums up the goal of this podcast and my life. I want my life to be an advertisement of God’s immense power. I want everyone in the world to know and understand what it means to have the Holy Spirit living inside of them.

Can you even imagine if just 10% of the people in the world knew the power they had living inside them? If just 10% of the world’s population knew the power they had living inside of them, that would be 790 million people. Can you imagine that? Now imagine every Christian in the world knew the power they had living inside them. That would be over 2.4 billion people. Can you imagine how much change could happen if we had 2.4 billion people walking around experiencing the immeasurable greatness of God’s power made available through their faith?

But we don’t need to start with 2.4 billion people. Let’s start with you. Do you truly understand the power you have residing within you? Do you comprehend that the Holy Spirit dwells within you? The verse states, this is the mighty power that was released when God raised Christ from the dead and exalted him to the place of highest honor and supreme authority in the heavenly realm. If you have been baptized in any Christian denomination, then you have the Holy Spirit within you. If you have doubts, you can read all about it in Acts 2:1-13. When Jesus was preparing to ascend to his Father, He promised to send us a guide.

I don’t know if you know this or not because I didn’t know it for the first 40 years or so of my life, but the Holy Spirit that Jesus asked the Father to send to us is the same Holy Spirit that Jesus had inside of Him when He walked the earth. It is the same Holy Spirit that helped Jesus heal all those people. It is the same Holy Spirit that helped Jesus multiply all that food. It is the same Holy Spirit that helped Jesus perform all the miracles He performed. It is also the same Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead.  This verse reminds us of that. It says, “This is the mighty power that was released when God raised Christ from the dead.”

Can you believe that? I don’t know about you, but when I first heard that, my brain kept repeating it as I tried to wrap my head around this idea. I found it so hard to believe that I had the same Holy Spirit that Christ had flowing through my body. The same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives inside of me and it lives inside of you too! How amazing is that? The next thing that came to mind is a question I want to invite you all to ask yourself. What am I doing with that power? How am I using the Holy Spirit? Or, I should say, how am I allowing the Holy Spirit to use me? It's a personal responsibility we all have, to utilize this incredible power within us.

Have I given the Holy Spirit permission to work in my life? Have I invited the Holy Spirit into my life? Have I asked the Holy Spirit to guide my thoughts and my words? Have I asked Him to guide my actions? God believes so strongly in free will that He won’t push His way into our lives. He waits to be invited, and He comes where He is welcomed. Some of the things we may be blaming God for may be things that happened because we didn’t invite God in. Some things may happen because we thought we could do it all on our own. Or, maybe you didn’t know you needed to invite God in. Either way, I want you to know now so you can ask Him from now on.

I said earlier that my goal for my life is to be an advertisement of the immense power of God as it works through me in my life. For me, this means being used by God to heal people, to be His instrument to restore the blind and open deaf ears. To be His instrument to  heal cancer, MS, fibromyalgia, and all sorts of diseases, for there is no cure. I pray the Lord uses me for creative miracles such as growing arms and legs. I pray the Holy Spirit works through me to multiply food, resources, and any other way the power of the Holy Spirit wants to work through me. I pray the Holy Spirit tells me what to do, and I do it.

However, this doesn’t have to be everyone’s goal. You can have the power of the Holy Spirit working in your life without a goal of performing all sorts of miracles. We can all aim to be an advertisement of the immeasurable greatness of God’s power without having to go out and pray over people to be healed.

Can we all just start by inviting the Holy Spirit into our lives? Can we just give the Holy Spirit permission to work in our lives? This can be a straightforward statement. Holy Spirit, I invite you to work powerfully in my life. I give you permission to guide all my thoughts and actions. Holy Spirit, lead me. We can be an advertisement for the power of the Holy Spirit whenever we show restraint. When we are in traffic and get angry, we can ask the Holy Spirit to come and give us peace. We can ask the Holy Spirit each morning when we get up to protect us from any plans the enemy has for us that day. We can ask the Holy Spirit to help us to see others through His eyes. We can ask the Holy Spirit to help us love the unloveable.  We can ask the Holy Spirit to show us who needs prayers, and we can pray over or with those people.

We don’t have to make grand gestures to be advertisements of the greatness of God. We live in a world right now where kindness and love are not the default. We can simply ask the Holy Spirit to help us show kindness and love to the world right now. Our simple acts of kindness will show the world the power of the Lord living inside us. I invite you all to talk with the Holy Spirit this week. Ask Him to show you where you could use more of His power in your life. Ask Him where in your life you have not invited Him into. Ask Him for any situations or circumstances in your life that you have not invited Him into. Invite the Holy Spirit into all aspects of your life and see how your life changes.

There is one more thing that just popped into my mind that I didn’t mention. The Holy Spirit comes where He is invited, welcomed, and expected. I talked about the first two, but I didn’t talk about the last one. We need to expect that He will show up when we ask the Holy Spirit to show up. I am sure the Holy Spirit will show up each time I pray with someone. Now, that doesn’t mean I always get the outcome that I want; it doesn’t mean everyone I pray over is healed in the way I want them to when I want them to. God has His plan, and I know it is better than mine. However, the Holy Spirit always shows up and leaves things better than they were. For instance, when people weren’t physically healed the way I wanted, they still felt something, whether it was a partial healing, a peace coming over them, the love of God, or many other things.

We need to expect the Holy Spirit to show up. He always comes when invited, so invite Him in and expect changes. Be on the lookout for changes. What is different since you invited Him in? They might be subtle changes at first, but if you are on the lookout, you will see them. Are you more loving towards your family? Are you more patient in traffic or at work? Are you more patient with your kids? Are you more joyful? Do you have more compassion for those in need? Be on the lookout for what changes when you invite the Holy Spirit into your life. Remember, it’s the same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, so yes, He can handle whatever you are going through!

Dear Heavenly Father, please bless all those listening to this episode. Lord, we want the Holy Spirit in our lives. We want the power of the Holy Spirit to work through us. Lord, we ask you to help us to see this power at work in our lives. Please help each person listening understand the power of the Holy Spirit and help them to invite that power into their lives. Help us to expect that power to work in our lives. Give us a hunger for more of you and the Holy Spirit in our lives. Give us a hunger to be an advertisement of your power, Lord. We love you so much, 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 look forward to meeting you here again on Monday.  Remember, Jesus loves you, just as you are, and so do I! May the grace and favor of our Lord Jesus Christ be upon you! Have a blessed weekend!

Today’s Word from the Lord was received in February 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, “Many of you say, I want more of you, Lord. And you long for more. But you do not ask for more. Longing and wanting will get you nowhere. Ask, and you shall receive. But then believe that you have received and move on. Don't stay stuck. Move on and believe that I have given you more when you have asked for it. But you must ask. And I wait and long for you to ask. I call you now. Ask, and it shall be given. But believe that it is given.”

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

CLICK HERE 📖 Get the Daily “Word from the Lord” Email

CLICK HERE 🎧 Get My Free Audio Training + Join My Email List

Click Here 🌐 Visit Finding True North Coaching

I Am The Least Of All The Saints

Ephesians 3:7-13 “Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace which was given me by the working of his power.  To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all men see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.  This was according to the eternal purpose which he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord,  in whom we have boldness and confidence of access through our faith in him. So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.”

It was tough to pick a verse this morning. I have been reading Ephesians, and there are so many good verses in there. I kept reading and re-reading chapters 1 and 2, and so many things were jumping out at me, but I didn’t feel like any of those verses were the ones I was supposed to talk about today. Then I went on to chapter 3, and this verse jumped out at me. I felt the Lord wanted me to speak to you about evangelization today. If you are like me, that word might scare you a bit.

When I hear that word, I want to look around and see who else the Lord might be talking to. When I hear that word, I instantly feel inadequate. Why is this? I know several Gospel stories and parables, so it is not as if I don’t know what’s in the Gospel. I know that God is love, which is the most important word to get out there. I know it is essential that people discover the love God has for them. I know these things, so why do I feel so afraid when I hear someone say that we are all called to share the good news with everyone we meet?

St. Paul was an extraordinary man and a great evangelizer. He is credited with writing about half of the books in the New Testament. Yet, in this opening verse, it says, “Of this gospel, I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace which was given me by the working of his power.  To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, to preach to the Gentiles.” St. Paul knew he was called to be an evangelist as well. He knew his calling was to spread the word of the Gospel to all he met, but he really didn’t feel qualified.

I take comfort in this. I take comfort in knowing I am not the only one who gets nervous when I look at the call the Lord has placed on my life. I also hate to be the bearer of bad news, but God has also put this call on your lives.  We are all called to bring the Gospel to all we meet. Does your stomach feel funny when I say that? Do you get nervous when you realize God calls you to spread His word? If you do, you are not alone. I don’t know anyone who is only excited to go out and share the Gospel. Don’t get me wrong, I know people who are excited to share the Gospel with others; however, they are nervous about doing it and feel inadequate to do it. I don’t know anyone who sets out to evangelize, thinking they know everything and that it will be easy.

This is why the next line is so important. It says, “This was according to the eternal purpose which he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord,  in whom we have boldness and confidence of access through our faith in him.” This verse says we have boldness and confidence of access through our faith in him. Jesus can give us the boldness we need. Let me read you this part in the message translation. “I have been made a messenger of this wonderful news by the gift of grace that works through me. Even though I am the least significant of all his holy believers, this grace gift was imparted when the manifestation of His power came upon me. Grace alone empowers me so that I can boldly preach this wonderful message to non-Jewish people, sharing with them the unfading, inexhaustible riches of Christ, which are beyond comprehension.”

I love that this translation says, “by the gift of grace that works through me.” Grace is a gift from God. Grace can help us do things we could never do on our own. The verse also says, “Grace alone empowers me so that I can boldly preach this wonderful message.” God is calling us all to share the Gospel with all we meet. This means that He will equip us with all the grace we need to do so. If you feel inadequate to share the Gospel, join the club; we all feel inadequate. However, that doesn’t mean we get to excuse ourselves from doing it. How we feel doesn’t stop us from fulfilling our calling.

There is a podcast I used to listen to called “Do It Scared.” This is what we are called to do. We are called to step out in faith even when we don’t think we are the best person for the job. Who are we to question God’s judgment? We are called to step out in faith even when we are scared. We are called to trust that God’s grace is enough to empower us to do what He has called us. We are called to step out with a holy boldness. Sometimes, that boldness won’t come before you step out, but it will help you say what He wants.

If you are like me, you may think, “That is great, Catherine. I get that God’s grace is enough. Yet, I still feel inadequate and need something more practical to help me step out in faith on this journey.” If this is you, I have you covered. In one of our Encounter Ministry classes, they gave us a list of declarations that we can say each day to help us begin to believe that we can go out and evangelize. If you say or write these declarations often, they can help build your confidence. They can also replace your negative self-talk around the word evangelization and your ability to do it. Declarations work best if said daily, out loud, and while looking in a mirror. However, if that doesn’t work for you, do what does. I write these declarations most mornings. Writing seems to work well for me, although now that I say that, I will probably start saying them out loud and writing them. Here are the declarations:

1. Everywhere I go, I am overwhelmed by God's love for people, and that motivates me to share the gospel.
2. It is easy and normal for me to articulate the gospel.
3. I have an anointing for evangelization.
4. Today, my mind and spirit will tune in to the people around me and find those who desire to be saved. I will lead those people to Jesus.
5. I am fearless and courageous, and I live with an understanding that people are hungry for Jesus.
6. I am creative in my evangelization and I adapt well to bring powerful God encounters to different kinds of people.
7. I love evangelizing!
8. It is easy to share the gospel with others because they want to know the God that is inside of me.
9. When I feel afraid to share the gospel with someone I will remind myself that on the other side of fear is a testimony.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless everyone listening to this episode today. Lord, we love you so much. You are amazing. We thank you for giving us the grace we need to fulfill our mission. We are sorry we question you and feel inadequate for all you call us to do. We believe you will equip us, Lord. Help our unbelief. Please help us feel more confident in the call you have given each of us. The call to share your Word and love with everyone we meet.  Help us step out in faith and try to do this Lord. Help each one of us try to let one person today know that Jesus loves them. 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. Can I ask you a favor today? Would you forward this podcast to someone you know today who would be blessed by it? I would really appreciate you helping me spread the Word of God to more people. If you don’t think this would be the right episode to send to someone, they pick your favorite one and send that one to them. Thanks so much! I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! May the grace and favor of our Lord Jesus Christ be upon you. Have a blessed day!

Today’s Word from the Lord was received in February 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 can turn all who oppose you and all your enemies. I can turn their hearts of stone into hearts for me alone, but it is through you, my children, that I choose to use as instruments to turn those hearts.”

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

CLICK HERE 📖 Get the Daily “Word from the Lord” Email

CLICK HERE 🎧 Get My Free Audio Training + Join My Email List

Click Here 🌐 Visit Finding True North Coaching

Witness Wednesday #120 More PopWe Stories

Today’s witnesses are from Matthew West’s website called popwe.org. If you don’t know who Matthew West is, he is a singer, songwriter, and storyteller. This website is for the non-profit that he has with his father, a pastor. Matthew and his father encourage people to share their stories. They have various categories of stories. Today, I chose two testimonies from the Healing Category. I know so many people who are looking for a healing right now and I think these stories will offer some hope and encouragement.  Often, we can hear our own story in someone else’s story. When we listen to others tell their story, it helps us see that we are not alone. When we hear how God worked in their situation, it gives us hope that He will work in ours, too! I pray when you hear these testimonies, you get the faith and hope to believe that miracles and healing can happen in your situation also.

Allison:  At the age of 23, I looked back at my life and I couldn’t think of a time when I felt healthy. I had struggled with chronic illness ever since I could remember, and I still didn’t have a name for all the symptoms that I was experiencing. It was years of trying to explain what I was feeling but not getting any answers. I felt alone and misunderstood.

At times, I wondered if God even cared about me at all. The summer before I turned 23, things took a turn for the worse. I got into a car accident which left me feeling overwhelmed with guilt as it was my fault. On top of that, my symptoms were getting worse. Fatigue, aching joints, nausea, anxiety, depression, memory loss…the list goes on and on. I didn’t think I was going to make it. In fact, I asked God to just take me home because I didn’t want to endure the pain any longer.

I met with one of my pastors for prayer about the car accident a few weeks later, (at least that’s what I intended on discussing.) But God. He had different plans. Somehow the whole meeting ended up being about my health. Towards the end of the meeting, my pastor looked at me and said “Allison, I think you have chronic Lyme Disease.” I would be lying if I said I wasn’t annoyed. I spent years of my life trying to get to the root of my health problems and no doctor could even give me a diagnosis, so how would a pastor know anything about my health? The next day I cried out to God. I asked Him to show me if it was true, and if it was, to lead me to the right doctor.

He answered. Loud and clear. Multiple times over the following weeks He confirmed it. Through a stranger, I was given the name of a doctor in my town who specializes in treating Lyme. I had an appointment with him, and it turns out my pastor was right. After years and years of waiting, I had an answer. Today, 6 years later, I am healed. I ended up getting treated by that doctor, and God used him to save my life. I know I wouldn’t be here today if God hadn’t intervened.

Through this journey,  God has shown me His faithfulness.  I know now that He heard me every time I cried out to Him. He is the God that sees me. He sees you, too!

Emily:  Hello, I’m Emily. I’m a 10 time Breast Cancer Survivor. Yes, you read that right, ….TEN.

It all began with a stomach ache in 2008. As I went to my doctor for a routine exam, she found the Cancer! Of course, I had to go through an ultrasound and mammogram first, but my doctor had saved my life by detecting this early, I thought.

I was 33, had 3 kids, (ages 6, 2, and 8 months) and a full-time job teaching 1st graders at a public school. Cancer? Who has time for Cancer? I was told it is an aggressive form and difficult to treat, because doctors don’t know much about it. I have Triple Negative Breast Cancer. I fought with everything I had through chemo, radiation and a lumpectomy.

God and I spent a lot of time talking about how I was going to win this battle and with His help, I did, for 4 1/2 years.

The Demon itself returned in March of 2012, just before my 5 year clear mark. I was devastated, scared, angry, frustrated and MAD at God. Why was this happening to me again? Why do I have to go through this again? This isn’t fair! God carried me through the second battle, just as He did the first with just as much grace and comfort.

Fast-forward to 2022. I’ve now had TWO double mastectomies, a lumpectomy, ten biopsies, a DIEP flap reconstruction surgery, 3 more rounds of chemo (78 total treatments), 3 different types of radiation (67 total treatments), and Proton therapy (35 treatments) to try and kill this cancer. It has reared its ugly head 10 times and this is going to be the last!!!

Just a month and a half ago, I learned about a new drug that people were having success rates with. It was a Godsend and true miracle. An email delivered to my inbox revealed something we’ve been waiting for for 15 years!!!! The product is working and I will have another scan in February to hear that there is NED (No evidence of disease)!!! I am positive after reading the success stories!

I tell my story to say this… God is the only reason I am still here!!!! Nobody survives Cancer 10 times without God. Period. ✝️ If you are battling Cancer of any kind, just know that God is on your side and He is the ultimate healer!!!! Without Him and our faith, we are nothing!! I’m still standing AND teaching for 15 years and 10 battles later!

God is so good and Matthew West, you’re my favorite!!! Your music inspires me and the children in my class from rough homes every single day!! Our favorite is “How Good Of God!”

Thank you both so much for sharing your stories. God is so good and yet if we don’t share our stories with people then they won’t know just how good he is. I thank you for being willing to be vulnerable and share you stories. I know they will bring hope and joy to many. I am so very grateful God brough you both heeling. I pray you have a healthy and full life. I pray all of this in Jesus’s holy name.

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

CLICK HERE 📖 Get the Daily “Word from the Lord” Email

CLICK HERE 🎧 Get My Free Audio Training + Join My Email List

Click Here 🌐 Visit Finding True North Coaching

Treasures of Redemption

Ephesians 1:7-8 “Since we are now joined to Christ, we have been given the treasures of redemption by his blood—the total cancellation of our sins—all because of the cascading riches of his grace. This superabundant grace is already powerfully working in us, releasing all forms of wisdom and practical understanding.”

As soon as I read that verse this morning, I knew it was the one I needed to use, as this is something we all get stuck on. We all know and understand that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, but when we look at our sins, we think they are too bad for Jesus to forgive. I love that the verse says, “Since we are not joined to Christ, we have been given the treasures of redemption by his blood.” I love how it reminds us that redemption is a treasure. It is something of great value, and it wasn’t easy to give that to us. It is important to remember what Christ went through to provide us with our redemption. He had to die on the cross for us to have this treasure of redemption.

Next, the verse says, “the total cancellation of our sins-all because of the cascading riches of his grace.” Let me read that last part again for those of us who get stuck here. It says the total cancellation of our sins. It does not say the partial cancellation of our sins. It doesn’t say the cancellation of the sins that aren’t too bad. It doesn’t say the cancellation of some of your sins. No, that is not what it says. It says the total cancellation of our sins. That means even that one sin that you feel like He could never forgive, He already has.

When we decide that our sins are too big for God to forgive, we are telling Him that we don’t think Jesus’s sacrifice was big enough to cover our sins. Do you know what a slap in the face that is? Jesus went through agony to provide us with redemption, and we are essentially saying no thank you to that redemption. We are saying we appreciate what you did, but it just wasn’t enough for the gravity of my sins. When we do this, we are letting our pride get in the way of the love that the Lord has for us. Is this what we want?

Trusting in the forgiveness of sins requires faith. It requires us to believe the Lord’s Words. It requires us to believe in the Lord’s love for us. Why else would He send His son to die on the cross for us? God’s unconditional love for us cannot be separated from what Jesus did on the cross. If God didn’t care about us so much, if He didn’t love us so much, then there wouldn’t have been a cross. He would have let us deal with the consequences of Adam and Eve. God did not create sin and He certainly didn’t create a world full of sin. God created us to live in Harmony with Him in the garden of Eden. Can you imagine what that would have been like? Eating anything we want except that one tree. Taking a stroll through the garden with God at night. That must have been paradise.

I don’t want to forget to talk about the ending of this verse either. It says, “all because of the cascading riches of his grace. This superabundant grace is already powerfully working in us, releasing all forms of wisdom and practical understanding.” Did you know God gives us graces? I love that this translation says, “cascading riches of his grace.” I think this is a great illustration to show how generous our God is. He is not holding back His grace and rationing it out in case He runs out one day. He knows He will never run out and He pours His grace down on those who ask for it. Do you ever wonder why it seems like some people have more favor with the Lord, or some people receive more grace? I believe it is because they ask for it. When is the last time you asked God for some grace in your life? When is the last time you asked God for some favor?

God is a good good Father and if we ask He will give it to us, unless we are asking for something that is not good for us. Don’t be afraid to ask the Lord for anything you need. I believe He loves it when we come to Him and make big requests becasue it shows him that we believe He can do it. Sort of like when we need to open a jar. We don’t ask someone to help us unless we think they are strong enough to help us. We ask them because we believe they can open that jar. The same is true with God. We are not going to ask Him to find a way to help us pay our mortgage if we don’t believe that he can do it. So, by asking Him for big things, we are actually showing Him how much we believe in Him and I think He loves that!

Now, back to His Superabundant Grace. We all have this grace working powerfully in us. How do you think you do all the hard things that you are able to do. Through God’s grace. I love that it says in the verse that His grace is already releasing all forms of wisdom and practical understanding. I didn’t realize or know until fairly recently that God gave us wisdom or knowledge. I mean I might have read it in the Bible and I might have known it on some level, but I didn’t actually know we could ask God for wisdom and that He would give it to us. That is pretty cool. I also didn’t realize we could ask for practical understanding but I have done this over this past year also and He has always answered. God is amazing! His grace is amazing! I believe God pours His graces out freely over all of us and yet I think if you want more graces, all you need to do is ask and he will give you more. Don’t be afraid to ask God for anything. He loves His children and would do anything for us. Even if you aren’t sure if He can do what you are asking for, just Ask, There isn’t anything He can’t do.

Dear Heavenly Father I ask you to bless everyone listening to this episode. Lord, we love you so much. We thank you for the treasures of redemption you have given to us. Lord, we thank you for all you do for us. We thank you for all the graces you shower upon us and we ask for more Lord. We ask for more not because we are greedy but because we are needy. We need you Lord and we know that. 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. I hope you will check out the link below to join mentoring. Tonight is week #3 of the Our Emotions series and it will be great! I hope to see you there. I look forward to bringing you a new Witness Wednesday tomorrow. May the grace and favor of our Lord Jesus Christ be upon you.

Today’s Word from the Lord was received in February 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 am the love that binds you all. It is that love that can transform each one of you and remove whatever walls that are in the way. It's love that removes the wall. It removes as you forgive others, the walls gently start falling and it transforms your heart and the hearts of those around you.”

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

CLICK HERE 📖 Get the Daily “Word from the Lord” Email

CLICK HERE 🎧 Get My Free Audio Training + Join My Email List

Click Here 🌐 Visit Finding True North Coaching

Unstained Innocence

Ephesians 1:3-4 “Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm has already been lavished upon us as a love gift from our wonderful heavenly father, the Father of our Lord Jesus—all because he sees us wrapped into Christ. This is why we celebrate him with all our hearts! And in love he chose us before he laid the foundation of the universe! Because of his great love, he ordained us, so that we would be seen as holy in his eyes with and unstained innocence.”

When I read these two verses this morning, I thought they were so beautiful. They begin with “Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm has already been lavished upon us as a love gift from our wonderful heavenly father.” Isn’t that beautiful? Did you know that your heavenly Father is lavishing spiritual blessings on you? The word blessing in this verse is a translation of the Greek word eulogy, which means “to speak well of.” Since God is acting in this verse, we can say that God has spoken good things about us or pronounced good things for our benefit. The good things that God has decreed for us are probably beyond our ability to number.

Can you imagine your heavenly Father showering you with blessings? Did you know that is what He is doing? I know sometimes it doesn’t feel like you are getting any blessings, but this might be because you are in the middle of a hard time. You might not be able to see the blessings because you are so focused on the hard thing that is happening. You might think there is no way God could be blessing you because of all you are going through.

This isn’t true. God can bless us in the middle of a hard time. He can bless us whenever He wants to. You might be wondering what that may look like, what it would look like to have a blessing while in the middle of a hardship. That could look like someone you know checking on you to see if you need anything. It could look like your friends and family bringing you meals when they know you have no time to cook. It could look like you getting a job promotion right when you need it the most! Have any of these ever happened to you? What about when a stranger says something to you out of the blue and it is exactly what you needed to hear?

God is not just blessing us, He is lavishing spiritual blessings upon us. This can go against our picture of God. We all have a picture of God in our head and for some of us, probably a lot of us, it is not a picture of a wonderful heavenly Father. Many of us picture the heavenly Father similar to our dad growing up. So if you had a loving Father growing up the idea that our heavenly Father is loving is easier to grasp. However, if our earthly Father was not outwardly loving and was hard on you, maybe expected a lot out of you, then this is how you might see our heavenly Father too. But God's love is beyond our earthly understanding, and He cherishes each and every one of us.

I know a lot of people who picture the Lord as an old man with a white mustache and beard sitting up in heaven, looking down on us and judging us. They picture God as someone who is just waiting for them to screw up so He can punish them. They are sure they are disappointing Him all of the time. I think this is why I chose these verses and why I like these verses so much.

The second verse for today dispels this myth that God is up in heaven just waiting for us to mess up. It says, “And in love he chose us before he laid the foundation of the universe! Because of his great love, he ordained us, so that we would be seen as holy in his eyes with and unstained innocence.” First, it says that God chose us before He laid the foundation of the Universe. God chose you. Let that sink in for a moment. God chose you before He even created the universe. Does that sound like the act of a Father that is sitting up in heaven waiting for you to screw up so He can punish you?

Next it says, “Because of His great love, he ordained us, so that we would be seen as holy in his eyes with unstained innocence.” Listen to that last part again, “so that we would be seen as holy in his eyes with unstained innocence.” God doesn’t look at us as if we are a wreck waiting to happen. In His eyes, we have an unstained innocence about us. God doesn’t want us to mess up. He doesn’t want us to sin or to fall away from Him. He loves us. He chose us. He wants us to be right there with Him for all eternity.

God loves us. He looks down upon us as a loving Father would. Once we realize this our relationship with the Heavenly Father will become so much closer. If we haven’t really experienced true love in this world, then it might be hard to understand how much our heavenly Father loves us. One thing I am finding that can help with this is to read the scriptures. Read the Psalms, read the New Testament. Last week I read Philippians and this week I am reading Ephesians and they are just beautiful. The Bible is a living document. It is not just a book of words that the Lord told His people back in the day. The Bible is speaking to each one of us right now. When you read the Bible you will realize it is just as relevant to what you are going through today than it was back then. God is so good, His Words are timeless.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless everyone listening to this episode today. Lord, we ask that you help us to understand your love for us. We ask you to help us understand how loved we are. We ask that you help us to change our hearts and are minds about who you are and what you want from us. We want to see you as you truly are not as we picture you in our minds. 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 look forward to seeing you again tomorrow. Remember, there is mentoring tomorrow night for anyone who wants to join us. This month's theme is our emotions and how to feel them without letting them control our actions. Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! May the grace and favor of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your Spirit!

Today’s Word from the Lord was received in February 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, “Do you see me in the downcast, the repulsive, the weak and the needy, the arrogant and the brash? Do you see me in your crosses and afflictions, troubles and conflicts? I am the incarnate one. I am in all things and people, working for the salvation of all. See me, help me, praise and love me in all people and in all ways.”

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

CLICK HERE 📖 Get the Daily “Word from the Lord” Email

CLICK HERE 🎧 Get My Free Audio Training + Join My Email List

Click Here 🌐 Visit Finding True North Coaching