Walk Boldly With Jesus

No Weapon Formed Against You Will Prosper

1 Samuel 2:4 “The weapons of the strong are smashed to pieces, while the weak are infused with fresh strength.”

I decided to read the story of Hannah this morning. This month in mentoring the theme is Surrender. One of the videos I watched talked about Hannah and how amazing it was that she prayed to the Lord and then surrendered the outcome to the Lord. She also surrendered the fruit of those prayers to the Lord. I kinda knew the story of Hannah. I knew she wanted a baby and yet didn’t have any children. I don’t know if I knew that her husband’s other wife taunted her often, but she did. One day, Hannah went to the temple and cried inconsolably. She cried out to the Lord, and she made a vow to Him that if He stopped neglecting her and gave her a son, she would give the son back to God unreservedly and completely.

Hannah did conceive, and she had a baby boy. She named him Samuel, and when he was three, she brought him to the temple and gave her son to Eli to be dedicated to the Lord and to serve the Lord with Eli. After she gave her son over to the Lord, she prayed a beautiful prayer. Hannah was rejoicing in the Lord and celebrating his goodness. When I think about this, I wonder how she was able to be so happy.

I understand being grateful to the Lord for conceiving a son, and yet she wasn’t going to get to raise that son. That seems so sad to me. In the past, whenever I would think about this, I would wonder why it was so important for her to have a baby if she was never really going to get to see the baby. This morning God just revealed to me something that I didn’t really think of before.

In the age we are living in today, we know that there are many reasons why a woman might not be able to conceive. Back when Hannah lived, there was just one reason, and it was that God had kept you from conceiving. It doesn’t say in the Bible why Hannah wanted to have a baby. It does say that the Lord kept her from conceiving. In 1 Samuel 1:4-7a, it says,  “On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters; but to Hannah, he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb.  Her rival used to provoke her severely, to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb.  So it went on year by year; as often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her.”

It was customary for all to believe that if you couldn’t conceive, it was because God didn’t favor you or He had forgotten you. This could have been why it was so important for Hannah to have a child. She wanted to show everyone that God did not forsake her. She might have wanted to prove to everyone that she was favored by the Lord as well. It might have been less about being a mom and more about proving to everyone she was not forgotten by the Lord. It also could have been that she was tired of getting tormented each year by her husband’s other wife.

When we don’t understand something in our lives, we can surrender it to the Lord and ask for His help. Hannah was being tormented by someone for something she had no control over. She cried out to the Lord, and He helped her. He heard her cry and answered her prayers. He can do the same for you.

The verse above says, “The weapons of the strong are smashed to pieces, while the weak are infused with fresh strength.” This is from the message translation. It is from the prayer that Hannah prayed to the Lord after she dedicated her son to the Lord. She is stating that the weapons of the strong can’t stand against the Lord. Her rival tormented her about being unable to conceive, and her words hurt Hannah very much. However, Hannah is a daughter of God, and so the weapons formed against her will not prosper. Instead, God gave Hannah the strength to keep going on day after day. He gave her the strength to go to the temple and pray that God take this burden from her.

God can smash to pieces the weapons of your enemies, too. He can infuse you with a strength you didn’t even know you had. We need to go to Him and ask Him, though. We can’t just sit around in our misery and expect God to work. We need to ask Him, invite Him in and He will come in and help us. If you are struggling with something right now, if you need help right now, if you have prayers you really need answered, bring it to the Lord. You don’t have to make a vow like Hannah did. Just cry out to the Lord and tell Him all that is on your heart. Don’t hide anything from Him, as He already knows everything in your heart.

When you cry out to Him, He hears your cries, and He will intervene. We are not alone in our battles. We are never alone in our battles. God is right there with us, fighting alongside us. Yet sometimes, we don’t ask Him into the battle with us. He is a gentleman, and He wants to be invited in. If you want to fight your battle alone, He will be right there next to you, but He will let you fight it alone. If you want Him to fight alongside you, if you want Him to smash to pieces the weapons of your enemies, then invite Him into the fight. Give Him permission to work in your life, and then see what a difference there is when you invite Him in.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless everyone listening to this episode. Lord, we want you to fight with us. We are calling out to you today from the deep recesses of our hearts. We ask that you hear and answer our cries. Lord, many people are listening who have some pretty big requests, and they are looking for some pretty big answers. However, we know nothing is too big or too hard for you. We thank you for hearing our cries and for destroying all weapons formed against us. We are grateful you are for us and not against us. We are grateful you are a waymaker and a miracle worker. We love you, Lord, and we ask all this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name. Amen!

Thank you 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 weekend!

Today’s Word from the Lord was received in January 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, “Use the power that I give you. Use it now. Use it faithfully each day. And you will bring many to me, your God who loves you.”

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Can We Worship Through The Struggle?

Job 1:20-21 “Then Job arose, tore his robe, shaved his head, and fell on the ground and worshiped. He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

I thought this was an interesting verse in Job. This verse came right after Satan’s first attack on Job. Job has just learned that all of his oxen and donkeys were taken away from him, and the people who took them struck down the servants with swords. Then he learned that his sheep and the servants who took care of them were burned to death. As if that wasn’t enough another servant came in and told them all his camels had been captured and his servants had been killed with a sword. And then, to top it all off, a servant came and told him that his sons and daughters were eating and drinking over the older brother’s house when a powerful wind swept in and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on the young people, so they died.

This is one of the amazing things about Job. He is so faithful. I am not sure about you but if I learned that I had lost everything, my first instinct would not be to worship. I do love to worship but I don’t feel like I would be able to worship immediately. He had just found out that not only did he lose all physical things, but he lost all of his children as well. I feel like I would need to go through a period of being angry at God. I would also be angry in general. I would be sad, which I am sure Job was sad.

I don’t think my first thing to do would be to worship the Lord and say, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” Can you believe Job was blessing the Lord just minutes after finding out that his children had died? I knew he never blamed God; that is why he got into this predicament in the first place. He was such a good servant and the enemy tried to tell God it was because God blessed him so much.

I wonder if we would be this faithful. I wonder if we worship the Lord for all the blessings he gave us. Are we what some would call fair-weather friends with the Lord? We are there for Him when all is going well, and yet we blame Him at the first sign of trouble. Do we get angry and scream at Him when we lose our job or our car? What do we do when we lose our children?

Job didn’t just lose one of his children to a deadly disease. He didn’t just lose one of his children to suicide or murder. He lost all his children at the same time. Job went from being the father of seven sons and three daughters to being childless. I can’t imagine the pain he must have been feeling, and yet the first thing he did was worship the Lord. Not only did he worship the Lord, but he also said, “What the Lord gave, the Lord can take away.” He is acknowledging that God is the almighty one and that everything Job had came from Him. He is acknowledging that all we have comes from the Lord.

I just can’t get over Job’s faith. Satan did not stop here with this first attack. Satan came back and infected Job with terrible boils from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. Job was still worshiping the Lord. His wife told him he was a fool. She said to him, “Are you still holding onto your integrity? Curse God and die!”  Job replied, “You speak as a foolish woman speaks. Should we accept only good from God and not adversity?” Throughout all that Job went through He did not sin once with what he said.

This is remarkable. I can totally understand what Job is saying when he says that God gave us everything we have, and so He has a right to take it away. I also agree that if we accept the good from God, we must accept the bad, too. However, I agree with Him in the place I am at right now. I haven’t lost any children. I haven’t lost my home or all my belongings. I don’t know what I would do if I had to go through what Job had to go through.

Job truly loved the Lord. He trusted the Lord fully. I love that the first thing he did was to worship the Lord. I have talked with you many times about how important praise is and I think this is such a good example of how praise and worship can help get us through anything. I don’t think that Job understood what was going on. I don’t think He knew God’s plan, and I don’t think He knew how blessed he would be afterward. It would have been easier for Job to go through all he went through if he knew there was an end in sight and that he would be so blessed afterward.

However, God doesn’t always reveal His plan to us. He leaves us guessing and wondering, and this is where we can lose hope. We can lose hope, or we can praise Him and worship HIm and trust that even though we don’t know what His plan is, we trust He has one and that it is for our good. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” We can stand on this promise. We can rest assured that even though we may be going through a terrible time right now, God has got us in the palm of His hand and He will work all things for our good in His time.

I love that Job worshiped the Lord, but he wasn’t always happy. My sister pointed out the other day that when people usually talk about Job, they make it seem like he was full of joy while he was suffering. This is not the case. He was frustrated and confused. He called out to the Lord for help and expressed his confusion to the Lord. He even told the Lord it would have been better if he had never been born.

I am talking about Job today, not to make you feel bad about how you are handling your difficult situation. I am telling you about Job today to remind you that even though you are in a difficult situation, even though you are angry, frustrated, and confused with the Lord right now, you can still worship Him. You can be angry with Him and yet not blame Him. You can be angry with Him for what you are going through and yet praise Him for the unknown way He will work this for your good.

Romans 8:28 says, “We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.” We can rest on this promise, too! We can stand on it and declare it in those times when we aren’t sure how God will save us from our situation or how He will bring us through it. God is good. If we can find a way to worship him in the hard times, as Job did, then we will find those hard times just a bit easier. One way to do this is to make a worship playlist, and when the enemy starts trying to get you to blame God for your troubles, listen to the playlist and remind yourself of how good God truly is. Remind yourself of all the times He has blessed you in the past. One great song to listen to when the enemy is trying to whisper lies in your ear is “The Devil Is A Liar” by Colton Dixon. If you aren’t sure what praise and worship songs would be good, you can check out my playlist called Walk Boldly With Jesus Favorites on Spotify. It has many great songs for whatever you are walking through right now.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless everyone listening to this episode. Lord, help us praise you in the hard times. Help us to trust that You are good and that You have good things planned for us even when we can’t see them, even when we don’t understand why we have to walk through this really hard time. Help us to believe you will restore us double on the other side of this hard time just as you did for Job. Lord, help us to see you in all the little things while we are going through a hard time. Help us not to feel abandoned. Help us to feel your presence and to know you are walking through this hard time with us. We love you so much, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and Jesus’s holy name. Amen!

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. If this podcast is a blessing, would you consider sharing it with others or donating? There is a link below to donate, and if you want to share it, you can click on the three dots at the top of the screen, and it will say share episode. You can text it, email it, or send it to someone on Facebook Messenger. Whatever is easiest for you. I truly appreciate your help and your support. 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 January 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 am all-powerful. So, move forward in faith and trust. My power can overcome everything. There is nothing for you to fear. I am your God. I love you.”

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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 God Stories Category. The first story is of a woman who is in chronic pain and yet tends to say she is fine because that is just what we all seem to do. Her testimony is about how Matthew’s song “Truth Be Told” really spoke to her. The second one is about a woman who learned of a website that tries to help kids who live overseas and have severe medical problems get adopted. I pray when you hear these testimonies, you can see not only how God has helped them in their life but how He could help you in yours and in your loved ones’ lives, too. I pray you see the miracles in their lives and know miracles are possible in your situation too!!

Diane: I wanted to share this story with Matthew that I wrote during a particularly difficult time with my health. It’s about how his song “Truth Be Told” spoke to me.

“Lie number one you’re supposed to have it all together.  And when they ask how you’re doing Just smile and tell them, “Never better.” Lie number two everybody’s life is perfect except yours.  So keep your messes and your wounds and your secrets safe with you behind closed doors.” – From the song “Truth Be Told”

I was zooming with a college friend yesterday and when she asked how I was doing, I almost fell into my cookie cutter response, “Oh, I’m fine.” Usually when I say I am fine, I’m actually not. Yesterday, the truth came tumbling out. I had a very serious nerve pain issue on Friday and couldn’t stand without my husband lifting me out of bed under ten level pain. I would have gone to the emergency room if I physically could have. My lovely, caring, listening friend heard it all. Her sincere responses made me know she was truly interested in my situation and that I didn’t need to put on my happy face with her. I do tend to pretend all is well, especially if someone asks. Who wants to hear all my woes? Generally speaking, I think it’s a healthy practice not to tell everyone how you really are.

Those of us who suffer with chronic pain are never fine. And there’s not a lot of positive things that can come from dwelling on it. But there’s a fine line between being positive and stuffing your “I am not fine” feelings. I know “stuffing” to be lethal. The lightbulb moment came when she said, “You know saying we’re okay all the time is really a bunch of garbage.” I felt an immense sense of freedom hearing that. Like it was okay to shout, “I am really not okay right now!” When did I get to the place where I accepted the lie in Matthew West’s song that “I’m supposed to have it all together?” Or how about the rest of the telling lyrics……

“I say I’m fine, yeah I’m fine oh I’m fine, hey I’m fine but I’m not I’m broken. And when it’s out of control I say it’s under control but it’s not, and you know it. I don’t know why it’s so hard to admit it When being honest is the only way to fix it.”

Today, I’m getting honest. I am not fine. It’s all out of control. Sometimes things are just awfully bad. I for one am tired of holding it all together. And who says we have to? Sometimes, good things happen when we get real. Other people hear our struggles and don’t feel like they are alone in their pain. I’ve often given thanks for the courageous authors who have written books and songs about their pain and sufferings that have helped me feel less like I’m on an island of one.

I’ve considered it might be a bit prideful for me to suffer in silence, thinking I couldn’t possibly help someone else by opening up. I remember the day I first heard Matthew’s song. I was driving home from physical therapy and heard it on the Christian radio channel, The Message on Sirius radio. When a song truly speaks to you, it moves you to tears. That’s what happened to me. Did you ever feel like someone wrote the exact words that were in your heart? It’s a “stand still, block everything out” kind of moment. What if he never sang it? What if I never heard it? It would have been a loss I would have never known I’d missed. I’ve loved the song for a long time. Last night, when I was getting ready for bed, the refrain played in my head, strolling around my mind like an old companion paying a visit. I’m just so happy my friend’s words helped remind me of it when I needed it most.

“Truth be told, the truth is rarely told.” This may be my favorite line in the song. There can be great healing in the sharing of our truths if we are brave enough and strong enough to peel back the curtain and do it. I hope I’m one of the brave ones.

When my son, Ari, was 4, I came across this blog while staying up late at night searching for anything to help him, who was severely developmentally delayed. It was a family asking for prayer for their young daughter Chrissie who was facing open heart surgery. I began to pray for Chrissie and got connected to the family. Chrissie died. I was so heartbroken for them that I dug deep into their story and learned they had adopted her. I was in awe of this family with many children who went across the world at great expense to adopt a child with a very small chance of living. This family humbled me with their blind faith and commitment to living a radical Christian life. They shared a link to the place they found Chrissie.

I would look at the faces on that page for hours, crying and praying. I did this for months and then a new face appeared one day. A small brown boy with a scared face and a post that read “urgent, at risk of transfer.” I learned some awful truths that year; that orphaned children in Eastern Europe with Down Syndrome usually die before they turn six due to abuse, starvation, and neglect. It was something that had kept me up at night since my eyes were opened. I saw that little boy’s face and it haunted me. I felt in my heart that he had to be saved. As a single parent with a 4-year-old with significant special needs, as well as being a public school teacher at the time making less than $43,000 a year, I didn’t think there was anything I could do for this child. I prayed so hard, and I tried to find a wealthy Christian family to save him. No one came forward.

Months had passed and I knew that this child was soon to be “transferred” to the adult asylum in Russia where he was and that he would die soon after. The first photo I saw of him, his face was burned into my mind…and his name – Ian.

On July 4, 2010 I heard God call me. I knew it was me and Ari who were supposed to go and get Ian. I emailed the adoption agency and asked – can a single mother with little income adopt this boy with Down Syndrome in Russia? The answer was yes. It was also no. I was told time was out for Ian and that he would be transferred on his 5th birthday in April and there was not enough time to complete an international special needs adoption. There was also the issue of the nearly $65,000 it would take to save him. I did not have that; it was more than I made in a year and Ari’s expenses were great.

During this time, Matthew West’s song “The Motions” was being played on the radio. As I would be doing the dishes at night and scraping food we did not eat into the disposal, I would hear the words, “this might hurt, it’s not safe, but I know I’ve gotta make a change…and…I don’t wanna go through the motions, I don’t wanna go one more day, without your all-consuming passion inside of me.”

This song was like God speaking through Matthew directly to me, giving me the courage and will to do this hard thing. It wasn’t hard to want to save a life, but hard to fight the fears of all of the many things involved in trying to adopt this little boy. There were so many times listening to “The Motions” kept me on track over the 13 months it took to get Ian home. I didn’t have the money and my faith was so small at the beginning of what God had called me to. Our fight to save Ian was truly a fight to not live in that nothingness Matthew wrote about.

God brought every single penny of the nearly $65,000 it took to save Ian’s life and make him a part of our little family. 700 people donated to his adoption fund. Ari made the first trip to Russia for the first time we met Ian. People did extraordinary things to make sure Ian would not be transferred before we could get to him. I remember like it was yesterday, on my knees praying to God to help Ari and save Ian and I was so tired and worn. I would cry “The Motions”out onto the carpet at night while Ari slept, begging God to take us to the finish line of bringing Ian home. He did just that, and without one day to spare.

Ian arrived on US soil on August 26, 2011. From there, we went straight to the emergency room for malnourishment and a heart defect. He had open heart surgery on Thanksgiving Day 2016. He underwent two other surgeries to repair his eyes and internal organs. Ian could not speak the day I walked him out of the orphanage in Russia. He only made grunting sounds. Now, he speaks. He could not chew solid food at age 5.5 because he was bottle-fed till then. Now, he loves all foods, especially spicy things! He is the face of humanity and I see God each time I look at him, and very often too, “The Motions” will play in my mind as a clear reminder of how God changed me through a child and a song.

Thank you both for sharing your stories with us. Thank you to Matthew West and His father for providing a platform for people to share their stories so that God can get all the Glory.  Hearing other peoples’ stories helps us to know that we are not alone and that everyone else is not living a perfect life while ours falls down all around us. Seeing the miracles in their lives helps us know that miracles are possible in our lives as well. 

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

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Our Actions Matter

Matthew 3:7-10 “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sad′ducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit that befits repentance, and do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now, the axe is laid to the root of the trees; every tree, therefore, that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

I was reading Matthew chapter 3 this morning, and this verse stood out to me. What stuck in my head is the part where John the Baptist says to the Pharisees and Sadducees, “And do not presume to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now, the axe is laid to the root of the trees; every tree, therefore, that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” What came to me when I read this was that we can’t just rest on the fact that we are children of God.

The Pharisees and Sadducees were secure in their positions in life. They knew they were children of God, and so they thought everything they did was right. They held on so tightly to the laws that they forgot about the spirit of the laws and forgot to take care of God’s people. For many of them, it became more about being in control and having status than it was about helping everyone get into heaven.

Being a child of God brings a certain level of comfort. We know that He will always love us and that He will never forsake us. I just looked up the word forsake because I know what it means, but I couldn’t tell someone else what it means, so I wanted to know what the dictionary says. Forsake means to abandon. God will never abandon us, and He will never stop loving us, and we find courage in those facts. However, what I felt God wanted us to hear today is not to just rest in those facts and forget about everything else.

Yes, indeed, God is always with us, and nothing we can do will make Him love us any more or any less than he already does. However, that doesn’t mean we can just go through life doing whatever we want to do. God has a certain way that he wants us to live our lives, and He definitely cares how we treat people. Let me remind you what it says in Luke 13:22-30.

“He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them,  “Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.  When once the householder has risen up and shut the door, you will begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us.’ He will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from; depart from me, all you workers of iniquity!’  There, you will weep and gnash your teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.  And men will come from east and west, and north and south, and sit at table in the kingdom of God.  And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

This verse goes well with the verse above to remind us that we are not automatically going to heaven because we are a child of God. I know this is a controversial belief because it also says in the Bible that Jesus is the way to heaven, and if we believe in Jesus, we will go to heaven. I don’t think these two verses contradict each other. I think they help explain each other. Yes, we need to believe in Jesus and have to acknowledge that He is our savior. However, I think the verse for today and these other verses from Luke show us that our behavior also matters. We don’t have to earn our way into heaven, and yet we can lose heaven by the way we act here on earth.

The people in this parable thought they were headed to heaven. They thought they were sitting at the table with Jesus, and yet He said, “I do not know where you come from; depart from me, all you workers of iniquity!” If we couldn’t do something to lose heaven, why would Jesus put this in the Bible? Why would He share this parable?

Romans 10:9-10 “ because, if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved.” I don’t think the verses above contradict this verse. I know that this verse is often used to confront Catholics. We are asked why we don’t know we are saved because Jesus says so in this verse. We are asked why we think we need to earn heaven. We don’t think we need to earn heaven. We do however believe that God gave us free will and He calls us to live a certain way. He loves us so much that He gives us the choice of whether we want to live that way or not. The reason I don’t think the verses are contradictory is because I believe that if you know that Jesus is Lord and you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, then you will love God so much you will want to do the right thing.

The closer we get to God, the more we want to live in a way that honors Him. If we truly know who God is, then we will want to live the way He asks us to live. However, we need His help with this, as living a Godly life in the world today is very difficult. The world seems so contrary to our Godly way of life. The world teaches us to get ahead at all costs. The world teaches us that people don’t matter if they stand in our way. It teaches us it is ok to step on people to pursue our own happiness. It teaches us each person is to look our for themselves. This is not ok. This isn’t how God is calling us to live.

What I really want to get across to you today is that we can’t use the fact that we are Christians as a license to act however we want to. We can’t think we are all high and mighty because we just went to church and then go around judging people and being rude to everyone. God cares how we treat people. He cares about how we act and our relationship with Him. God knows everything; he can see into the innermost places of our hearts. We can’t just pay Him lip service. We can’t just tell Him we love Him and we want Him to be a part of our lives and then go about our day-to-day without inviting him in. Our actions matter. How we treat people matters.

Yesterday, we talked about living a virtuous life. If you are struggling to live a virtuous life, a life focused on the Lord, then I want you to know you are not alone. We all struggle with this. God is not looking for perfection. He just wants us to be aware of our actions and to repent and turn back to Him when we mess up.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless everyone listening to this episode. Lord, help us to be aware of our behavior and our attitude. Help us to cultivate an attitude that is in alignment with you. Help us to become pure of heart. Help us to become “Little Christs” to all those we meet. 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 some of you on Zoom tonight for mentoring. If you would like to sign up, there is a link below. The theme for this month is Surrender. I will meet the rest of you here tomorrow morning. 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 January 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 hold you near to me all the time. You are intimate with me all the time. This is because I am divine. You and your humanness cannot fathom the depth of my love, the depth of my presence. But I will give you glimpses, and you will know, little by little, how much I love you. It will entice you to draw near to me. Someday you will know in the fullness how much we are one.”

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Self-Control Is Important To Living A Virtuous Life

2 Peter 1:5-7 “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, virtue with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with devotion, devotion with mutual affection, mutual affection with love.”

Today’s verse came from the Ascension press app. They have a daily devotional, which I never listen to. However, today, the subject is about living with virtue. We don’t really hear much about this in this day and age, so it got my attention. The person who did the devotional was Hudson Byblow. He is a Catholic Speaker from Canada. He talked about how our faith proposes that we strive to live a life of virtue.

Hudson drew our attention to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) paragraph 1803, which says, ”Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” A virtue is a habitual and firm disposition to do good. It allows the person not only to perform good acts but to give the best of himself. The virtuous person tends toward the good with all his sensory and spiritual powers; he pursues the good and chooses it in concrete actions. The goal of a virtuous life is to become like God.

I like how this paragraph tells us to focus our thoughts on the things that are honorable, just, pure, lovely, or gracious—anything of excellence or worthy of praise. I also like that the description defines virtue in a way that we can all understand. It says a virtue is a habitual and firm disposition to do good. Do we have a firm disposition to do good? Do we focus our thoughts on those things that are good, or do we focus our thoughts on the fears and worries of the world? Do we focus our thoughts on those we don’t like and what they are doing wrong instead of focusing on ourselves and everything we could be doing right?

The CCC says that when we have virtue, it allows us not only to perform good acts but to give the best of ourselves.

The other part about what it says in the CCC is that The virtuous person tends toward the good with all his sensory or spiritual powers; he pursues the good and chooses it in concrete actions. This part of what the CCC says ties back into the rest of the verse above.

Remember the verse above says, “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, virtue with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with devotion, devotion with mutual affection, mutual affection with love.” It starts with how we should supplement our faith with virtue, which we just defined. Then is says virtue with knowledge. How can we focus our thoughts on what is good if we don’t know what is good? We need to spend time in God’s Word and learn what is good and what is honorable because the world is telling us to live the opposite of how the Lord wants us to live. We need to seek knowledge if we want to live a virtuous life.

Next, it goes on to say, “Knowledge with self-control.” Self-control is a big one. I don’t think we realize how big of an impact self-control has on our lives and our ability to live virtuously. l struggle with self-control. This is interesting to me because a few years ago, I did much better. I think it is always a struggle for us, but at some points in our lives, we do better than at other points in our lives. When I was doing great with self-control, I was listening to a lot of personal development podcasts I was listening to a lot of religious podcasts, and Bible studies. This truly helped me have more self-control. I was listening to people telling me every day that I didn’t need to give into my every whim. They were telling me I could do hard things. They were filling my mind with the truth and the light of God.

Lately, I have been filling my time with other things, and I have not been listening to those same podcasts. I have not been in scripture as much as I was, and so it is no wonder I am struggling with self-control. I can really see what this verse is saying about how we need to supplement our knowledge with self-control and our self-control with endurance. I believe the enemy is tricking us all into believing that self-control is not important.

I know he whispers in my ear that God doesn’t mind if I eat those cookies or if I drink that soda. He tells me God wants me to be happy. This is true; God does want us to be happy. This is why the enemy’s lies work so well. He tells us things that are half-truths or things that are true but not relevant to the situation. For instance, yes, God wants us to be happy. However, He doesn’t just want us to be happy. He is more concerned with the state of our soul than He is with our happiness. Also, God knows that eating a whole package of cookies and drinking soda all day won’t make us happy. We are searching for something to make us happy instead of turning to the Lord to make us happy.

God cares about our self-control because it is needed to help us become virtuous people. It said above in the section of the CCC, “he pursues the good and chooses it in concrete actions.” We can’t choose good in concrete actions if we have no self-control. Choosing the good isn’t always easy. Often it is hard to do the right thing. If we don’t have self-control, we will not be able to do the hard thing. I heard a saying, I am not sure who said it but the saying is about giving money to the church. They say, “If you don’t give 10% of a dollar when you have no money, you won’t give 10% of a million dollars when you do have money. I think the same is true with self-control. If we don’t practice self-control in the small things, like eating too many cookies, then we will struggle to have self-control in the big things like keeping our word to others or keeping the commandments. If we go throughout our life giving in to every whim and every desire it will be very hard to live a virtuous life.

This is why this verse is so important. It reminds us that we need more. It reminds us to supplement our faith with things that will help us grow closer to the Lord and also closer to heaven. Let me leave you with the verse. How about we all take some time today and ponder this verse? We can think about the life we are living and see if there is anything we can take away from this verse to help us live our lives better! “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, virtue with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with devotion, devotion with mutual affection, mutual affection with love.”

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless each person listening to this episode today. Lord, you are amazing. We ask that you help us exhibit self-control. Strengthen us and give us the knowledge that through you, we can do all things. We ask you to show us what we need to learn from this verse and help us apply it in our lives. We ask you to help us live a more virtuous life. We love you, Lord, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name, Amen!

Thank you for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. We are starting a new topic in Mentoring this month. We will be exploring what it means to surrender to the Lord truly. Surrender your problems, surrender your love, surrender all you have to the Lord. We tend to ask the Lord to fix our problems, then take them back from Him and try to fix them ourselves. This month, we will be looking at how to hand them over to Him and then not take them back again. If this is something you struggle with, I hope you will join us this month for mentoring. It is just $30 monthly with no commitment, so cancel anytime. Give it a try, what have you got to lose? I look forward to meeting you all 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 January 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 sheep. I have clothed you with the finest of wool. Fear not, for I always go before you.”

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2 Timothy 1:5-6 “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.  For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.”

I was listening to some praise and worship songs this morning and I was looking for one song in particular because I just love it.  I couldn’t remember the name but I remembered which playlist it was on, so I searched through and found it.  It is called Start a Fire and it is by Unspoken.  I love this song so much because I feel like it speaks to my soul.  I feel it expresses how I feel so deeply.  I love many praise and worship songs for this reason.  I find the artists ability to capture how I feel about God and put it into words is remarkable.  This is why I love listening to Christian music so much.  I will hear a song and find myself nodding my head and saying, yes, that is exactly it.  Sometimes I didn’t even know that was how I felt, I just couldn’t put words to it but as soon as I heard them I knew it was true.  

I want to share the words of this song with you:

This world can be cold and bitter

Feels like we're in the dead of winter

Waiting on something better

But am I really gonna hide forever?

Over and over again

I hear Your voice in my head

Let Your light shine, let Your light shine for all to see

Start a fire in my soul

Fan the flame and make it grow

So there's no doubt or denying

Let it burn so brightly

That everyone around can see

That it's You, that it's You that we need

Start a fire in me

You only need a spark to start a whole blaze

It only takes a little faith

Let it start right here in this city

So these old walls will never be the same

Over and over again

I hear Your voice in my head

They need to know

I need to go

Spirit won't You fall on my heart now

You are the fire, You are the flame

You are the light on the darkest day

We have the hope, we bear Your name

We carry the news that You have come to save

Only You can save

There are so many things I love about this song.  I love the part where it says over and over again I hear your voice in my head, let you light shine, let your light shine for all to see.  I feel God is telling all of this.  He wants us to let our light shine.  It even says in the Bible, don’t hide your light under a bushel, put it on the table for all to see.  I love the part where it says, am I really going to hide forever?  As if we can hide from God.  He sees us, He sees all of us and guess what, He loves us, just as we are.  I love the part where it says, “Start a fire in my soul.  Fan the flames and make it grow so there’s not doubt or denying.  Let it burn so brightly that everyone around you can see that it’s you, that its you that we need.”  This is what God wants from us.  He wants His light to shine so brightly in us that everyone can see it.  He wants us to be a reflection of Him and to pass His light on to others.  This is my prayer for each one of you listening.  I pray God starts a fire in your soul.  Actually I pray He fans the flames on the fire He has already started.  You would not be listening to this podcast if there wasn’t already a fire in your soul.  I also love the part that says, “You are the fire, You are the flame, You are the light on the darkest day.”  This is so true.  I hope you know that.  I hope you know that God is that fire you feel inside, He is the flame.  God is the light on the darkest day.  Your darkest day, that one where you felt alone, that one where you feel sad, mad, angry, or depressed.  God is there and He is your light.  He will light a way where you didn’t think there was one.  

The verse above starts by saying, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.” I met with some of the ladies in my prayer group yesterday to review what we had learned at a recently attended conference.   During the conversation we started talking about the faith that was passed down to us from our parents, who received it from their parents.  Your faith came from some where and I think we underestimate how important it is that our parents passed our faith down to us.  Maybe some of you listening didn’t have that.  Maybe you found your faith on your own.  Well, maybe God led you to your faith in another way.  That is great if you were able to find your faith despite the lack of faith in your childhood.  

For those of you that grew up going to church, I would like you to take a minute to appreciate how great that is.  Maybe you didn’t appreciate it at the time because, let’s be honest, most kids don’t enjoy the fact that their parents made them go to church.  However, if you look back now, can you see what a gift that was?  Can you see how your parents were giving you a firm foundation on which you can rely for the rest of your lives.  

I really don’t know if I would have made it through I made it through if I didn’t have my faith, if I didn’t have God right there with me.  I don’t know if I would have had the strength to keep fighting, to keep searching for answers, to keep trying.  Our family of origin, the family we grew up with has a large impact on who we become.  Sometimes we can get caught up in seeing all the negative things that came from our family.  Maybe today we could take a moment to think about all the good things that came from our family.  Maybe we can think about what a gift it is that our parents passed down the faith to us.  We can think back to how many other generations have kept the faith alive in our family so that we could have the foundation we have today.  If you didn’t have that firm foundation, if you had to find it on your own, maybe think about how important it is to pass that along to the next generation, so that they aren’t lost and so they don’t have to find God on their own.  What a gift that would be.  

The verse above ends with, "For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.”  It reminds us that God is a Gift.  Not everyone knows God, not everyone has received this gift.  This verse is telling us to fan the flame of that gift.  Fan the flame of the fire inside of us.  As the song says, “Fan the flame and make it grow, so there's no doubt or denying. Let it burn so brightly that everyone around can see that it's You, that it's You that we need.”  What if your love for God burned so brightly that there was no way to deny it?  What if it burned so brightly that is spread like wild fire to all those you meet?  Have you ever been with someone who had an infectious laugh?  They are filled with so much joy and when you are around them you can’t help but laugh too?  What if we were like that with the Holy Spirit?  We were so filled with the Holy Spirit that when others were around us they can’t help but be filled with the Holy Spirit too? What if we made that our goal?  What if our goal for 2023 was to fan the flame of our faith so that it grew so brightly that all could see it?  This is my goal, will you join me?

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today.  Lord, we love you and we want to fan the flame, will you help us?  We want to be so full of your love and goodness that it spills out on all those we meet.  We want the fire inside of us to be like a wildfire that spreads to each and every person we come in contact with.  We don’t want anyone to have to go another day without knowing your love, your mercy, your glory, and your grace.  You are so amazing Lord.  We are so grateful for those who came before us and passed on your faith to their loved ones.  Please help us to pass on our faith to our loved ones as well.  Give us the strength and the will power we need to do this Lord.  We love you and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen!

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

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Jesus leaves the 99 (replay)

Matthew 4:1-11 “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”  Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”  Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands,     so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”  Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”  Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”  Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Have you ever had a time like this?  A time where you felt like the Devil was right there by your side attacking you?  Did you know what to say?  Did you know what to do?  I remember reading this and wishing that I knew scripture as well as Jesus did.  I wished I knew the right thing to say when the devil comes to tell me the lies.  That is what he is known for after all.  Satan is the father of lies.  Usually they are not bold face lies.  Usually they have some sliver of truth that is twisted to make you question something.  But in this passage Jesus was not deterred from his faith.  He did not get drawn into a debate, defending himself, or His God.  He simply quoted scripture to the enemy.  

This is one reason why it is helpful to read the Word of God everyday.  The more we read God’s word the more we will know what to say to defend ourselves from the enemy. There are many reasons to read the word of God.  Another one would be so that we know how God wants us to live.  The Bible is full of stories, parables and laws that can help us govern how to live.  Knowledge is power and if we know how God wants us to live, we can try to live in an upright manner.  We can do our best to please Him.  God does so much for us.  The least we can do is try to obey his rules.  We can try to live in a manner that honors Him and makes Him proud.

Do you struggle with this, with living in a way that honors God and makes Him proud?  I know I do.  I often think of the passage from St. Paul in Romans 7:15 “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”  If St. Paul, who did amazing things for Christ struggled to live a holy life, then I think it is understandable that we may struggle at times as well.  However, remembering this passages and turning over our struggle to God can help us struggle a little less.  When we are struggling we need only repent and turn back to God.  

God does not need us to be perfect, nor does he expect it. God knows every step you are going to take before you take it.  Nothing you do is a surprise to Him.  He is our creator, He is the creator of all things.  He knows how your story ends before it even starts.  He can see all the roads you will go down.  He knows the windy road that is your life.  And you know what?  He loves you anyway.  He loves you even though you are not perfect.  He loves you even though you will turn away from Him from time to time.  Maybe you have turned away from him a long time ago and have not come back yet.  Guess what?  He loves you anyway!  And He is ready for you to turn back to him.  

When you do, he will rejoice and celebrate.  He won’t be thinking of all the things you did in the past.  He won’t be holding your past sins against you.  Once you repent and turn back to the Lord, He will rejoice that His son or daughter has returned home and He will welcome you with open arms.  That is just one of the many amazing things about your Lord.  He is filled with so much mercy and so much grace.  He knows all of our flaws, all of our mistakes and yet He still loves us, flaws and all.  There is nothing that you can do that is unredeemable in the Lord’s eyes.  

I know people who don’t understand how valuable they are in the Lord’s eyes.  They feel that because of their sins they are worth less than others.  Or, maybe they feel they are worthless.  If you are one of these people that is struggling with your self worth in God’s eyes, I ask you to picture that you have 2 pennies in your hand, one of them is shiny and new and the other one is old, dirty, and looks like it has been found in the gutter.  What is the value of each penny?  Is the penny that looks shiny and new worth more than the penny that is old and dirty?  No, they are both worth the same.  This is the same with God’s love.  You are not worth less because you have made mistakes, made bad choices, or turned away from the Lord.  

The Lord is our father and he is always there waiting with open arms ready for us to turn back to him.  Nothing makes him happier than when one of his lost sheep find their way back home to him.  In Luke 15:3-6 Jesus tells this parable, “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’  I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”

I love this passage for a couple of reasons.  First, I love the imagery of God leaving the 99 to come after me.  He does not just let me wander away, but he comes to find me and guide me back home again.  Another reason I love this passage is because it says that He will rejoice more over the one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.  If you are living you life righteously and you have no need to repent I admire you.  That is not easy and it takes a lot of courage, especially in this day and age.  However, if you are one that has turned away, or if you find yourself in the same boat with St. Paul, where you keep doing the things you don’t want to do and struggle to do the things you want to do, I hope you find comfort in this passage.  “There will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”  Is that one repentant sinner going to be you?  Is there some area of your life where you need to repent and turn back to the Lord?  I can already hear the rejoicing in heaven.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask that you help us see in our lives where we could repent.  Father, I ask that you shine a light on any darkness inside of us.  We want your light to fill that space.  I pray that you will put a love and desire for scripture inside our hearts.  I pray that you help us to do what is right and help us to overcome the urges to do what is wrong.  Lord, that is not easy and we cannot do it without your help.  Lord we love you and we thank you for all you do for us.  We want to repent and turn back to you, please just show us the way.  We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name, Amen.

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

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Great Is The Lord, and Greatly to Be Praised

Psalm 145:1-3 “I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever.  Every day I will bless you, and praise your name forever and ever.   Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; his greatness is unsearchable.”

This is a great verse.  I think if you know me at all by now, you know that I love to praise the Lord.  I think He is truly amazing and I think it is so important to tell Him that.  Our Lord does so much for us every day.  He gives us so much mercy and so much grace.  He forgives us again and again, even though we don’t really deserve it.  His love is unconditional and unending.  How many people can you say that about?  He performs miracles for us, just to make us happy.  He doesn’t need anything from us in return.  Again, how many people can you say that about?  How many people do you know that will do things for you without expecting anything in return?  I hope you do know at least one, because there are people out there like that, but they are certainly not the majority.  

This is why I love praising the Lord so much.  There is little that we can give God to repay Him.  There is nothing He needs from us.  He is complete and totally perfect just as He is.  Even though He doesn’t need anything from us, He does like when we praise Him.  Praising the Lord is something that costs us nothing but our time and is easy to do.  Once you start to incorporate praising the Lord into your daily routine, you will wonder why you weren’t always doing it.  It feels so good to say thank you to God for all that He does for us.  The more you praise Him the more you realize how amazing He truly is.  

When I attended a Life in the Spirit seminar, they gave us praise sheets so that we could participate in the praise part of the meetings.  You do not need a praise sheet to praise the Lord.  There is no right or wrong way to do it.  However, if you are new to praising the Lord, it may feel intimidating, especially if you are in a room full of people that have been doing it for a long time.  If this is your first time intentionally praising the Lord it may feel strange.  That’s normal, just keep doing it.  If you are like me and most people who have never really spent time praising the Lord before, you are not really sure what to say.  I understand this.  I had no idea what to say at first and even though I have been doing it at least every Thursday for the last 3 years or so, I still use the praise sheet.  I like the things that are written on the sheet.  I do praise on my own, with my own words at home sometimes, but I really like using the sheet.  

Here are some of the things that are on the praise sheet I was given.

Praise you our Lord and our God, Praise your holy name, we rejoice in your presence oh Lord, Jesus you are my strength, Jesus you are my rock, Jesus you are my fortress, Jesus you are my deliver, Jesus you are my refuge, Jesus you are my shield, Jesus you are my strong hold, Jesus you are my salvation, Jesus you are my healer, Jesus you are my teacher, Jesus you are my savior, Jesus you are my advocate, Jesus you are the great amen, Jesus you are the author of life, Jesus you are the beginning in the end, Jesus you are the blessed and only ruler, Jesus you are the breath of life, Jesus you are the captain of salvation, Jesus you are the good shepherd, Jesus you are the healer, Jesus you are hope and glory.

You are the Messiah, you are the fountain of life, you are the vine keep us attached to you Lord, you are the holy one of Israel, you are the Christ, the power and wisdom of God, you are the Lamb who was slain you are the word made flesh, you are the holy one who sits up on the throne, you are the living word, you are emmanuel, you are the son of God, you set my feet are dancing, you are truth, you are loved, you are power, you are wisdom, you are the faithful one, you are our redeemer, you are the great “I AM”  The list goes on, but those are several examples of the kinds of things you would find on a praise sheet.  

There is a great little book called “Opening The Gates of Praise” by Father John M. Capuci.  The reason I say little book is because it is just 38 pages long.  However, in this book Father talks about five things. First, why we praise.  Second, what are our obstacles to praise.  Third, ways to praise.  Fourth, how to develop a spirit of praise.  Fifth, He takes you through the steps so you can write out your own string of praise.  This was a great book for explaining praise.  

In this book Father has 10 great reasons why we should praise God.  I am not going to read them all to you as it is not my book, it is his.  I will list a few that you may find surprising.  One that I didn’t know is that praise breaks down the walls that are barriers to God’s grace.  Father Capuci says, “When we praise, the walls of arrogance, self-hatred and low self-esteem begin to be broken down.  God begins the healing process in us as we go before Him, praising His most awesome power!” Another reason we should praise God is because praise allows us the freedom to be ourselves before God and the community.  Father Capuci says, “When we can praise God for an extended time, on a regular basis, areas of being overly concerned with how people will look at us begin to be healed.  When a person can praise God out loud, in the midst of the community, we can be assured that healing of self-image is taking place.  The last reason I will touch on is because praise breaks down negativity in our lives.  Who couldn’t use a little less of that right now.  There is so much negativity every where we look.  If praise can break that down I say it is worth it.  Father Capuci says, “There is no such thing as a negative personality.  Instead, many people struggle with the temptation to fall into negativity.  What happens is this: it becomes increasingly difficult to see God’s goodness and action in our lives or even around us.  So, we begin to develop a spirit of negativity.  Praise binds the spirit of negativity, setting us free from its hold.  The more we praise the Lord we will see the effects of negativity loose its grasp and we will move toward the power of the Holy Spirit.  

I don’t want to relay everything in this book to you as it is not my information to share.  I would highly recommend you get a copy of this book if you can.  If you would like a copy, I will put the info from the back of the book in the show notes.  I do want to go over quickly the four different types of praise that Father Capuci talks about.  First, Praise God for being God, an example of this type of praise would be the phrases I mentioned earlier from the praise sheets.  The second type of praise is praise God for your history, for example, your faith, family, being born, you faculties, and your life.  The third type of praise is praise God for your present, your here and now.  What is God doing right now in your life?  Did He help you find your keys, did you give you a nice sunny day, a green light, what can you praise God for right now in the moment? The fourth type of praise is praise God for what the Spirit is doing right now, for instance, healing a headache, shoulder is heated, outpouring of the Spirit, Receiving new gifts, or perhaps healing your self-image.  Is there anything the Spirit is doing within you right now that you can praise.  Father Capuci talks about how if you string these four categories together then you have a “string of praise.”  He encourages us each to sit down and write down at least 5 things in each category and then start to use this list to praise God more often.  If you would like the praise sheets that I was talking about early just send me an email at [email protected] and I will send you a copy. 

I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention my favorite way to praise, which is to listen to praise and worship music.  If you are listening to this podcast and you have an smart phone or a computer I recommend you go to an app or website called spotify.  It is free to make an account and you can listen to all the Christian music you want for free.  It is a great way to try out a bunch of different artists and see who you like.  You could do the same thing on youtube if you like that better.  Listening to praise music can lift your spirits instantly.  There is a playlist on Spotify that was created by my mentor called “Big Life Mornings” and it is a great compilation of upbeat Christian songs.  I have discovered so many new great songs.  Maybe give it a try?  What have you got to lose?

Dear Heavenly Father, please bless all those listening to this episode today.  Lord, we love you and we want to praise you, please show us how.  Please put this upon our hearts and if we are not already praising you help us to start.  Help us to want to start.  Give us the courage to praise you silently and also in out loud.  Help us to push through the feelings of awkwardness until we get comfortable praising you Lord.  You are so amazing, you do so much for us and expect nothing in return.  Help us to do this for you with no expectations.  Lord, 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. Today is day 100 of that journey and I am so excited to get to share that with you.  Thank you for continuing to show up and listen.  Thank you for all of you that have given me your feedback, I really appreciate it.  If you are able to go to the rate this podcast, that would be great to help others see it more.  Also, if you have a friend or loved one you could share it with, that would be great too.  I look forward to spending time with you again tomorrow, Have a blessed day!

To order Fr. John Capuci's book please send payment to 

Rev. John M. Capuci

C/O H. O. M. Books

108 Aberdeen Stree

Lowell, Massachusetts  01850

**This is the info in the back of the book, however, I cannot be sure this is still where you would still order them.  It might be good to send an email to Father Capuci at his new parish and just check with him.  Here is the email for his  parish.  [email protected]

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“I Have Loved You With An Everlasting Love”

Jeremiah 31:3 “ the Lord appeared to him from far away.  I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.”

God loves us with an everlasting love.  Did you know that?  Did you know that there is nothing you can do to lose God’s love?  Sometimes I know that we feel unlovable.  Sometimes that’s after we have done something that we feel is wrong and sometimes that’s after someone else has done or said something to us.  However, God never stops loving us.  He loved us before we were even born and His love is everlasting, it never goes away.  

I remember hearing a story once, I think it might have been Jeff Cavins, in the Great Adventure Bible Story, but I am not sure.  Anyway, whoever was telling the story was talking about how God does not need anything from us.  This was vastly different from the other Gods at the time.  The other Gods got more power the more people worshipped them.  They were almost fighting for people to worship them.  Some of them even required human child sacrifices.  However, our God was completely self sufficient and did not need anything from us.  

I remember the person saying that this is the reason that some people turned from those other God’s to our God, the one true God.  They turned to God because of His everlasting love.  They turned to God because He loved them just for who they were.  They did not need to do anything to earn that love.  That love was just there.  This was something they had not experienced before.  

The next line in the verse is also an important line.  “Therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.”  This is important because God is always faithful to His word.  This is something we talked a lot about last week but I think it is important to touch on it again as it is amazing.  I think sometimes we may think that God stops loving us when we sin in some way.  Or that he stops answering our prayers when we have sinned against Him.  However, this verse dispels that belief.  God continues His faithfulness to us, even when we mess up.  

Look how many times He was faithful to the Israelites after they messed up.  In Matthew 18:21-22 it says, “Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.”  If Jesus is telling us to forgive seventy-seven time, then how much more will our father in heaven forgive us?

There is a song called “Reckless Love” by Cory Asbury.  It is a great song about how amazing God’s love is.  The song first talks about how good God has been to him.  The chorus says, Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God.  Oh, it chases me down, fights 'til I'm found, leaves the 99.  And I couldn't earn it, I don't deserve it, still You give yourself away”  When he mentions leaves the 99 is talking about Matthew 18:12-14 when Jesus tells the parable, “What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.”  

God does not want to lose any of his sheep.  He will not stop looking for us when we are lost.  He will not stop loving us and hoping that we turn back to Him.  Then the song goes on to say, “When I was Your foe, still Your love fought for me.  You have been so, so good to me.  When I felt no worth, You paid it all for me.  You have been so, so kind to me”  This is so true, when we have sinned and pulled away from God, or fractured our relationship with Him, He is still fighting for us and still loving us.  When we don’t feel worthy, God is still there doing all He can for us.  

This last part of the song is my favorite and it is a part I think we all need to hear because it the truth.  “There's no shadow You won't light up, mountain You won't climb up, coming after me.  There’s no wall You won't kick down, lie You won't tear down, coming after me.”  There is nothing that God won’t do to chase after His children to try and save them.  He gave His only son on the cross for us.  There is nothing hidden in the darkness that will prevent him from finding you.  There’s no wall He won’t kick down and lie He won’t tear down.  

I think I like that part the best because when I think of it I think of a father searching everywhere for his child.  Have you even seen the movie “Taken” with Liam Neeson?  In the movie Liam Neeson is a father who’s daughter goes to Europe on vacation with a friend.  However, in the movie his daughter is taken by sex traffickers.  She calls her dad when she sees someone breaking into the house.  Liam is some type of government spy in the movie and he stops at nothing to get his daughter back.  He does whatever it takes to find her and get her back.  If a mere human will go through all of that to get his daughter back, how much more do you think your Father in heaven will do to get you back?  

I know people who have often wondered if they are worth loving.  When I tell them the things I am telling you, they say that they know God feels that way about other people, but they tell me I don’t understand what they have done, or where they have been.  If you are listening to this and you think that this is true for some people, but that it is not true for you, I want you to hear me.  GOD LOVES YOU!!  He loves you right where you are at.  You don’t have to change in anyway for Him to love you.  He loves your perfectly right now, right where you are at.  Also, God’s love is everlasting.  It never fades.  It is always there no matter what we do or what happens to us.  Also, God remains faithful to us.  He keeps His promises.  If we are lost He will come and chase after us and find us.   He will be there for us whenever we decide to turn back to Him.  He will welcome us home with open arms and he will say to us, “I have loved you with an everlasting love.”

Dear heavenly father, I ask that you bless all those listening to this episode today. We thank you for loving us with an everlasting love, with a reckless love that will chase us down and leave the 99 to come and save us. Lord God we're so very thankful that you love us so much and even though we can't earn your love and definitely don't deserve your love you give it to us freely anyway. Lord I ask that you reach out to anyone hearing this that has trouble believing you could love them. I ask that you surround them with your love, that you rain down love and grace on them.  I ask that you open their minds and hearts to the idea of you loving them just as they are.  Lord, I ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen

Here are the lyrics for Reckless Love by Cory Asbury:

Before I spoke a word, You were singing over me

You have been so, so good to me

Before I took a breath, You breathed Your life in me

You have been so so kind to me

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

Oh, it chases me down, fights 'til I'm found, leaves the 99

And I couldn't earn it

I don't deserve it, still You give yourself away

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

When I was Your foe, still Your love fought for me

You have been so, so good to me

When I felt no worth, You paid it all for me

You have been so, so kind to me

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending reckless love of God

Oh, it chases me down, fights 'til I'm found, leaves the 99

And I couldn't earn it

I don't deserve it, still You give yourself away

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending reckless love of God

There's no shadow You won't light up

Mountain You won't climb up

Coming after me

There's no wall You won't kick down

Lie You won't tear down

Coming after me

There's no shadow You won't light up

Mountain You won't climb up

Coming after me

There's no wall You won't kick down

Lie You won't tear down

Coming after me

There's no shadow You won't light up

Mountain You won't climb up

Coming after me

There's no wall You won't kick down

Lie You won't tear down

Coming after me

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending reckless love of God

Oh, it chases me down, fights 'til I'm found, leaves the 99

I couldn't earn it, I don't deserve it, still You give yourself away

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending reckless love of God

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