Walk Boldly With Jesus

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.  Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I. Have a blessed day! 

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You Are Not Who You Were

Romans 3:23-24 “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty of our sins.”

We have all done things in the past that we are not proud of, and sometimes we get stuck thinking about those things. We replay them over and over again in our minds and think about how different our lives would be if we had not done them. Some of us think that the things we did were so bad that there is no way God could ever forgive us or love us. Regret is a terrible thing. It sucks the life out of the present moment if you let it. Our minds are powerful, and we will believe what they tell us. We may know in our hearts that God will always forgive us if we truly repent. We know in our hearts that God will always love us no matter what we do and that we do not have to earn his love. However, sometimes, that little voice inside of us will listen to the enemy, and our brain will believe the lies that he tells us. Romans 3:23 says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The evil one likes to take this phrase and use it to whisper things in our ears like, “See, no one is good enough,” or “No matter what you do, you will always fall short of God’s standards.” He tells us that we shouldn’t even bother because we are not enough. Do you ever feel that way, like you are not enough? What many of us may not know is what the very next verse, Romans 3:24, says, “Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty of our sins.” Yes, we all sin, but God’s grace “makes us right in his sight.” Another way the enemy likes to get to us is to tell us that we will never change. That we are still the same person who did that thing we regret. If we strive to change, he tells us that we can’t change. He reminds us of the things we have done in the past and whispers that we will do it again. There is a song I heard for the first time on the Big Life Devotional, and it is “Slave to Nothing” by Zach Williams. In this song he says:

You can tell me what I did
You can show me who I was before
Where I fell short
Hang it over my head
But I'm not the same anymore
One thing's for sure
The shackles have fallen
So I'm showing shame to the door
Make no mistake
I'm a slave, to nothing

If you get a chance to listen to this song, I highly recommend it. click here

Just because you have acted a certain way in the past does not mean that you have to act that way forever. You can decide to repent and change your ways at any point in time, and God will be there to forgive you and welcome you in with open arms. Think about the many saints that have had beginnings that were not so great. One of the most illustrious saints, I think, is St. Augustine of Hippo. He was a man who was known for having not one but two mistresses. He ran around for years before having a change of heart and settling down at 31. St. Augustine went on to become a Doctor of the Church. Then there is also Saint Mary of Egypt, who ran away from home at 12 and spent a dozen years living on the street as a seductress. According to Craughwell in an article in Live Science, “Nothing made her happier than corrupting innocent young Christian men.” Saint Mary went to Jerusalem looking for young Christian boys to seduce. At the doors to the church, she felt a strange force repulsing her, and she immediately changed her ways. There was also Saint Camillus de Lellis, a priest from Italy that founded one of the first healthcare organizations for the needy. He started out as a cardsharp, con man, and mercenary. 

There are also lots of modern-day examples of people who had a rough start. Jennifer Aniston, who is one of the most famous actors because of her role in the sitcom Friends, had 4 failed sitcoms in a row before she landed the role on Friends. Tim Allen, who starred in Home Improvement, is now starring in Last Man Standing and was also the voice of Buzz Lightyear in the Toy Story Movies. In 1979, he was caught with many illegal substances and went to jail for over 2 years. Then he got his life together and became the actor we know and love today. Oprah Winfrey grew up in poverty and did not have the best childhood. She was molested during her childhood and early teens and became pregnant at 14; her son was born too early and died in infancy. Can you imagine the things the enemy was trying to tell her? What was he trying to tell all of these people? What if these people would have believed the lies that they could not become anything different? If they believed that the version of themselves that was not enough or prone to sinning was all they could ever be? What if they stopped reaching for more because they believed they could never achieve more? 

What lies do you believe? How much more could you accomplish or become if you stopped believing the lies? You may have made mistakes in the past. You may wish that you could change certain things. Do not let those things hold you back from being who you are today. Do not believe the lies that you are not enough, lazy, selfish, greedy, etc. Just because you may have been those things in the past does not mean that you have to be those things in the future. You can be whoever you want to be because God has redeemed you with his grace!

This episode was inspired by The Big Life Devotional by Pamela Crim. If you have time to listen to the original episode that inspired me, I highly recommend it. You can reach that episode by clicking here. The episode was called A Slave To Nothing.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, you are amazing, and we love you. We ask you to help us guard our minds and help us not to believe the enemy’s lies. We ask that you help us believe we can change and that we are not who we once were. Change is possible. We ask all 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. A reminder that tonight is mentoring night. We will be talking about God’s reckless love for us. If you would like to join us, it is not too late to join us. Just send me a message, and I will make sure you have the Zoom link. CLICK HERE to sign up for mentoring. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!

Today’s word of the Lord is, “Today, my children, I send my love to all of you. I have placed you snuggly in my heart. Never doubt my children or my presence. It hurts my heart when you do. I do not leave my children out in the rain. You are living under my wings. Never ever forget that I am your refuge now and eternally. You, my children, remember who I am. I am the great I am, my children. Come to me first always. I am waiting. “

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A Private Audience 

Psalm 18:4-6 “The hangman’s noose was tight at my throat; devil waters rushed over me. Hell’s ropes cinched me tight; death traps barred every exit. A hostile world! I call to God. I cry to God to help me. From his palace, he hears my call; my cry brings me right into his presence—a private audience!"

I loved this verse because it is something most, if not all, of us can relate to. I also like it because it is in words and phrases that we can actually picture. Most of us can relate to a time when we felt like the hangman’s noose was tight around our throats. The situations could be different for all of us, but the feelings were the same. There could be many situations where we felt we were about to suffocate. Sometimes it is the people around us. They are choking all the life out of us, and we feel we may die. Sometimes, it is an illness that has us on the cusp of death, and we have nowhere to go. No matter the situation, it is still a feeling that is scary and unpleasant.

Then it says the devil's waters rushed over me. Which one of us hasn’t felt underwater before? This is such a strong feeling. Both the hangman’s noose and the devil’s water deal with us not being able to breathe. This is a common feeling. Things in our life get so crazy, and we feel like we can’t breathe. I just had the thought come into my mind, “Why do we let things get that bad?” Why don’t we turn to the Lord at the first sign of trouble, like we talked about yesterday?

This is a fair question for some of us. Some of us sit in our misery, and we complain, and we do what we can to fix it on our own, perhaps, but we do not bring it to the Lord. There are many reasons for this. We may not want to bother Him; we may think we aren’t worthy of His help, and we may be afraid of rejection. Whatever the thoughts are, we don’t bring our issue to the Lord, and we try to deal with it on our own. For all of us who do this, I would say, Yes, why did we let it get that bad? Why didn’t we turn to the Lord right away? Why didn’t we ask Him for help? Why did we suffer in silence for so long?

Oh, that is another thing we do. We are suffering, and not only do we not turn to the Lord, but we don’t tell anyone. We may think there are many reasons we don’t tell people what is going on, but there is really just one reason, and that is the enemy. He convinces us of all those reasons we think we aren’t talking about our suffering. The real reason we aren’t talking about it is because the enemy knows when we talk about it, we will be taking it out of the dark. When we talk about it, it will give others the opportunity to speak light into it. The enemy likes our suffering to stay hidden so he can heap on lie after lie. He speaks lies into our suffering. Lies that it won’t ever go away. Lies that no one cares about us. Lies that God must be mad at us, and that is why He is punishing us like this. Lies that God doesn’t love us. Lies that no one loves us. Lies that we are not worthy. Lies that we are not enough. The enemy stacks lies upon lies.

When we are struggling, it is easy to believe these lies. When we are struggling, we prefer to isolate and stay in the dark because the enemy convinces us the light will burn us. It is not our fault that we fall prey to the enemy; I mean, He has been torturing people since the beginning of man. However, we need to find a way to break out of the darkness. We need to prepare ahead of time for situations like this. When we are good, when things in our life aren’t as crazy, and we are living in the light, we need to build up our strength so that when the enemy comes, we can recognize the lies and dismiss them. Don’t even let them enter our brains.

Think about anyone who is good at their job. They have to anticipate problems that may come up and then prepare for them. What do you think would happen if a basketball player never practiced free throws until he needed to use them? He wouldn’t be very good. If we only call on God when we need Him, and the rest of the time, we ignore Him, how well do you think that will work out for you? He will come as it pains Him to see His children in trouble. It’s not that God won’t come whenever we call. However, if we are walking with Him in the good and the bad times, then He can help us steer clear of some of the wrong turns that we might make without Him.

The verse above talks about how death traps barred every exit. Have you ever felt like this? Have you ever felt as if there was no way out? Every way out seemed to end in death or at least defeat. I know I have felt like this. There was a point in my marriage where I really didn’t want to go, and I also knew I couldn’t stay. I had tried all things and couldn’t see any other way. I prayed to God often. I reminded Him of the covenant He had made with Tony and me. I begged Him for a better way. I had been Catholic my whole life. I knew the church’s stance, God’s stance on marriage. Matthew 19:6 “So they are no longer two but one flesh. What, therefore, God has joined together, let not man separate.”

I knew all of this, and yet I knew in my very being that I couldn’t stay how things were, and it didn’t look like things were going to change. I felt exactly as this verse says. Death traps barred every exit; if I stayed, it wouldn’t be good for anyone in the house; if I left, it would be breaking a covenant I made with God. The thing about God is that He is a waymaker. I couldn’t see a way to stay. I begged for one, but I couldn’t see one. God made a way, though. God completely changed Tony and I. He performed a true miracle in our marriage, and now we are doing great. Not perfect, as we are still human, but we not only love each other, but we want to spend time together and be with each other.

God can do this in your life too! It’s not just me that God did this for. You can read about God making a way for His people in Exodus 14. The Israelites were on the banks of the Red Sea with no way to cross it. The Egyptian army was pursuing them and about to overtake them. They looked around and had nowhere to go. All exits were blocked. They were doomed. Or, they would have been doomed if they weren’t God’s children. But God had promised to save them, and He wasn’t going to let something as small as the Red Sea get in His way. So he parted it, and His people walked across it on dry ground. God will do this for you too! All you need to do is ask and keep asking. God will rescue you as He rescued my family and as He rescued the Israelites. Just ask!

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, you are amazing how you work all things for our good. It is miraculous how you always manage to save us from ourselves. We love you tons! We thank you for all you do for us. We are sorry we don’t always come to you first. We are sorry we suffer in silence for so long. I am sure that it breaks your heart to see us suffering like that. Please help us turn to you first from now on, Lord. We ask all 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 would like to ask for your prayers once more for a safe journey home today. I want to remind everyone of mentoring tomorrow night. If you would still like to sign up, you can do so at walkboldlywithjesus.com or CLICK HERE. I would love to see you on Zoom tomorrow night. Also, if you really are not a Zoom fan but would like to develop a more intimate relationship with the Lord and walk more boldly in your faith, I encourage you to sign up and then watch the videos. You won’t have the small group time, but you will get all the teachings, mentoring notes, and activities. Pray about it and see if it is for you. I look forward to meeting you here tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!

Today’s word from the Lord is, “My children, I am the song within you, and gently, my message must go out to the world. Let it be a melody that touches each heart that you meet. Again I am the song within you. I am the joy that fills your heart. I am the hope that must be spread to one and all. My children, I am all that you need. I am the entire well-being of your soul. So go out there, my children, and spread the message of the song.”

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The Bedrock Under My Feet 

Psalm 18:1-2 " I love you, God—you make me strong. God is the bedrock under my feet, the castle in which I live, my rescuing knight. My God—the high crag where I run for dear life, hiding behind the boulders, safe in the granite hideout.”

Psalm 18 was brought up twice in prayer group today. It was not these verses; however, when I started reading the whole chapter, I fell in love, especially with the beginning. I will take a few days to focus on this Psalm. I am not sure how many, but at the very least, today and Monday, as it is so beautiful! This verse starts with, “I love you, God—you make me strong,” what a great opener. We can’t tell God enough how much we love Him. I don’t think He ever gets tired of hearing it from us. Also, what a great thing to remember. God is our strength. It doesn’t matter what kind of strength we need; it can be found in the Lord.

Next, it says that God is the bedrock under my feet. Bedrock is the solid rock underneath loose rock or soil. We may have other things that we rely on before God. There might be various ways that we try to protect ourselves; these things would be loose rock or soil. Maybe they work for a bit, but eventually, you will slip, or you fall on that loose grave. Underneath it all is our real protection. God is the solid rock that we stand on. With God as our bedrock, we can rest assured that our footing is solid and we will not fall.

It also says that God is the castle in which I live. God is a safe place for us to not only rest but for us to live. He is not just a stopping point, like a safe bench to sit on. We can live in his safety and security. It is always around us, just like the walls of a castle. If we are in a castle, we are surrounded by walls of stone so thick that we are safe from the enemy. The Lord protects us from all our enemies. We just have to live with Him. We just have to let Him surround us with His walls of protection. We just have to ask Him.

Next, it says God is our rescuing knight. How many times have you seen this in your own life? When we are struggling, God comes in and rescues us. He loves us that much. He doesn’t always come in right when we want Him to, and He doesn’t always save us in the way we want Him to. This is because He is so much smarter than we are. It is also because He sees the whole picture, and He thinks way bigger than we do. We definitely think our idea is the best idea. But what if what we are thinking is way smaller than what God is thinking? What if He has much bigger plans for us, but they require us to trust Him in these first few steps because we are not ready for the amazing life He has planned for us? We are still growing. We are still learning. If He had just plopped us into this new amazing life, we wouldn’t have been ready for it, and we might have ruined it. God knows what He is doing.

The last line in this verse says, “My God—the high crag where I run for dear life, hiding behind the boulders, safe in the granite hideout.” This is another way to show us how safe we are with the Lord. We can run to Him with anything, yes, even if our lives are in danger. This means when we are sick, when we are scared, when we are in danger. We can run to Him, and He will be there for us. He will ALWAYS be there for us, which makes me wonder why we don’t go to Him more often. Why don’t we run to Him at the first sign of trouble? Why don’t we hide behind His bolder and stay safe in the granite hideout?

I received a word last night at prayer group, and then at the end, we had a bit of a discussion about it. What my friend said might be the same reason we don’t always run to Him. The words I received were, “I want to be close to you, but you are keeping me at a safe distance. You are keeping me at an arm’s length away from you. What are you afraid of? What are you afraid of me seeing? Open it up to me. Let me in.” After the meeting, my friend said she thinks she is afraid of rejection. She is afraid if she lets the Lord into the innermost parts of herself, He won’t like what He sees.

She knows this is not true in her mind but is having trouble convincing her heart of it. She said she felt like she heard the Lord ask her, in a very gentle and loving voice, “Why would I reject you? I made you. I made every part of you. I have loved you since before you were born. I would never reject you.” Sometimes we feel like we want to hide things from the Lord. I don’t think my friend is the only one who fears rejection. We wonder what it would be like if God knew the REAL us. The one we don’t let anyone see. What if He knew the ugly thoughts we have sometimes? What if He knew about those things we did when we were younger? What if he knew the demons I was still struggling with? What if…

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but He already knows. He knows everything about you. Every thought you have, every single thing you have ever done, and yet He loves you anyway. He loves you just as you are. He wants to love and protect you just as you are. You don’t have to clean yourself up first. You don’t have to be perfect or have all the right answers. He loves you because He is your Dad, and He created you. He knows all the things you don’t like about yourself, and He thinks you are wrong; he loves those parts of you. He thinks you are handsome and beautiful and loves you with an unconditional, unending love that we can’t even comprehend.

Take a moment to think of the thing that you love most in the world. The thing you can’t live without. The thing that you would sacrifice all other things for. If you had to put a number on how much you loved that thing, what would that number be? Now take that number and multiply it by a million, and you wouldn’t even be close to how much God loves you. His love is overflowing for us. So, let’s take some time today in silence and answer God’s question. Let’s have a conversation with Him about “What are we afraid of?” Why aren’t we coming closer? Why aren’t we turning to Him at the first sign of trouble? Why aren’t we living in His safe castle?

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless each person listening to this episode today. Lord, we want to come close; please help us. Lord, we want to trust you and to let you into the secret places of our hearts; please help us. Show us what we are afraid of, and then help us overcome that fear. We don’t want anything preventing us from coming closer, Lord! We love you so much! You are the Best! Thank you for your love and your protection. Please open our hearts and soften our hearts so we can accept them both. 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 would like to ask you to keep me in your prayers this weekend. I am traveling to Orlando, and I pray I can get to and from safely and without catching the cold everyone seems to have right now. Also, prayers for Tony as he holds down the fort while I am gone. I look forward to meeting you back here on Monday. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed weekend!

The Word of the Lord for today is, “I want to be close to you, but you are keeping me at a safe distance. You are keeping me at an arm’s length away from you. What are you afraid of? What are you afraid of me seeing? Open it up to me. Let me in.”

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You Get Out What You Put In

2 Corinthians 9:6-8 “Here’s my point. A stingy sower will reap a meager harvest, but the one who sows from a generous spirit will reap an abundant harvest. Let giving flow from your heart, not from a sense of religious duty. Let it spring up freely from the joy of giving—all because God loves hilarious generosity! Yes, God is more than ready to overwhelm you with every form of grace so that you will have more than enough of everything —every moment and in every way. He will make you overflow with abundance in every good thing you do.”

I was planning to use a different verse today. Then, all of a sudden, this verse popped up in a notification on my phone as the verse of the day. The moment I read it, I felt as if the Holy Spirit said I want you to talk about the concept of “you get what you put into it.” When you first read this verse, you might think of money first. It sort of sounds like they are talking about how much money they will give to the church. In the verses before this section in the Passion Translation, they are talking about a donation they are going to give. I think the Lord wants me to touch on this, but this is not the main point of what He wants me to talk about today. So, let me begin with that to get it out of the way.

When it comes to how much money we give to the church, or to the poor, or whoever we are giving money to, this verse is very applicable. This can be a difficult decision to make because we want to make sure we are still able to pay all of our bills and buy all the things we want to buy. However, are we buying much more than we actually need? As the verse says, are we stingy with our giving to the church and yet have plenty of money to waste on things we don’t need? Giving to the church is part of our duty, even if we don’t want to, even if we disagree with all the church is doing. We are all obligated to give to the church. Many churches will recommend you give 5% of your income to the church and 5% to the poor.

This is where this verse comes in handy. It is a good thing to remember when you are deciding how much to give to the church. “A stingy sower will reap a meager harvest.” God cannot be outdone in generosity. We sometimes worry if we give too much, we won’t have enough for ourselves. There is no way that God lets you give so much that you don’t have enough for yourself. The more you give, the more God gives. God doesn’t want us to give just because we have to, though. He wants us to give freely, and He wants us to do it with a joyful heart. Think about how you are giving your money. Are you doing it with a joyful heart? Are you being stingy or are you being generous?

What I feel the Lord really wants me to talk to you about today is how much of You, you are giving to the Lord. How much are you putting into your relationship with the Lord? How much time? How much effort? How much vulnerability and openness? This is what jumped out at me when I read this verse this morning. If we are stingy with the time and effort in our relationship with the Lord, then our relationship will reflect that. We can not expect to have a close and intimate relationship with the Lord when we don’t put in any effort.

I always wondered what people meant when they said they wanted to have an intimate relationship with God or with Jesus. I mean, He is God; how can you have an intimate relationship with the Almighty God in heaven? The idea of it all seemed so foreign to me. I couldn’t even picture what that would look like. I couldn’t picture how that would work and how I could cultivate that. Yet, I still dove in. I joined a  prayer group full of people who clearly knew the Lord intimately, and I learned from them. I would like to pass along what I have learned to you so you can have the same thing they have. Let me start by answering the questions that I had because if I had them, then some of you do too.

My first question was, what does it even mean to have an intimate relationship with God? For me, it means really knowing Him and for Him to really know me. It means I know without a doubt of His love for me. I can take any problem to Him, and I know He will be there for me. I know He will comfort me and protect me. I know He will help me solve all my problems if I let Him. I also know He will celebrate with me. When good things happen, we celebrate together. When I need a pep talk, He is ready to give it to me. In short, He is my go-to for all things, and He is never too busy and never too upset. He always receives me with loving arms.

My second question was, how do I cultivate this type of relationship? This was surprisingly simpler than I thought. The reason it was simpler than I thought is because this is the type of relationship God wants with each of us. The way you cultivate an intimate relationship with God is the same way you would with a person. Think about your person. The one you can always go to with anything. The one who will celebrate with you when you are happy and cry with you when you are sad. The one who will give you that pep talk you need when you need it because they believe in you way more than you believe in yourself. Think about how that relationship developed. Most likely, it started out by talking with each other and getting to know each other. Then you probably started spending more and more time together. Once you built up trust you started being more open and more vulnerable. Eventually, you grow to really love and trust each other. It’s the same with God.

It is ok if it is a gradual journey. It is ok if you don’t trust God enough to open up and share your deepest darkest secrets with Him at the moment. He is ok with starting at the beginning. He is ok with just chatting with you. Just talking about surface-level stuff if that is what you want to bring to Him right now. The important thing at the beginning is to make the time to sit and talk with Him. What you are talking to Him about is not as important.

The next step would be to get to know Him. You can do this in a couple of different ways. First, you can ask Him questions and listen to His answers. God wants to talk to us, and He will reveal things to us if we ask Him. Second, you can spend time in His word. God revealed all we need to know about Him through Jesus. If we want to get to know God, we can spend time in His word and read about the things He has done in the past. You can read stories on-line of the things He is still doing now. If you seek to know God, He will reveal Himself to you in many different ways. It says in Matthew 7:7, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” So, ask questions, seek knowledge and understanding, and knock on doors, and the Lord will help you.

Once you start to spend time with Him and you get to know Him better, you will start to trust Him more. You will see you can bring all things to Him, and He will take care of them. If you begin to listen to Him, you will get to know how He talks to you. You will see He is gentle and caring. You will feel His love in a very intimate and personal way. You will understand what people mean when they say yes, God loves all His children, but He also loves you personally and individually. The love of God is something that is like nothing else in the world.

What would you give to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God loves you, forgives you, and accepts you? When I hear that question, my answer is, what wouldn’t I give? What about you? What is your answer? The verse above begins by saying, “A stingy sower will reap a meager harvest, but the one who sows from a generous spirit will reap an abundant harvest.” When it comes to your relationship with the Lord, you get what you give. If you invest heavily in your relationship with God, you will reap a great harvest. God already wants to have a close relationship with you, so you aren’t risking anything by asking Him for it. The last part of the verse above says, “Yes, God is more than ready to overwhelm you with every form of grace so that you will have more than enough of everything —every moment and in every way. He will make you overflow with abundance in every good thing you do.”

A notification just popped up on my phone as I was writing this episode. It was from the Amen app, and it said, “Do we have zeal and urgency to seek and follow Jesus?” Well, if that isn’t confirmation of what God wanted to tell us this morning, I am not sure what is. Spend time with the Lord, talk to the Lord, and learn about the Lord. You won’t be sorry that you did!

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode this morning. Lord, I pray that each person who hears this episode desires a close and intimate relationship with you. I pray that over each and every one of them. I pray they seek you, Lord. I pray you let your presence known to them and that they know beyond a shadow of doubt your love for them. Help us find the time to spend with you, Jesus. Help us to be more positive in our thoughts.  We love you, Lord, and we ask all 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 want to remind you about an audio training I did on how to invite Jesus into our everyday activities. Spending time with God, talking to God, and spending time in His word is a great idea, but finding the time for it can be a problem. This training shows you how to add these things to the things you are already doing. If you would like this training, just go to my website, walkboldlywithjesus.com, and click on the button to get the video, or you can CLICK HERE. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I. Have a blessed day!

Today’s word of the Lord was one I received yesterday at a prayer group. We were listening to a song by Tasha Layton called “Look What You’ve Done.” If you haven’t heard this song, I invite you to look it up on YouTube and listen to it. It is an amazing song. In the song, it was talking about the Lord digging all her roots up, and this is the word that came to me: “I want to do this in each one of you. I want to dig the roots up for every single stronghold you have. Jesus died for your sins, yes yours. Let them go. Why do you hold onto them when I have already forgiven them? Why do you listen to the enemy’s lies? Why do you let the shame in? I am stronger than the enemy. Is there anything too great for me? Let the shame go. Let my love in. You are blocking it. Open your heart with a few simple words. Come, Lord Jesus, come. I give you permission to come in and heal me. I love you, my children, believe that!"

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Jim's Website- SaintsBeToGod.org This is a great place to learn more about Jim, the relics, and how to bring those relics to your church. You can also give a donation here to support his mission. 

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We have all seen God working in our lives; however, we might not all be aware that it is God who is working in our lives.  This is why it is so important we start talking about it more.  The more we share our experiences, the more people understand how God works and how much He truly loves us.  If you would be willing to share any experience you have had of how God has worked or is working 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.  Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I. Have a blessed day! 

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Guard Your Heart and Mind

Proverbs 4:23-25 “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.  Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.  Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.”

I really like these verses. I don’t think we realize how important it is to do what they say. Did you know it was important to guard your heart and mind? Did you know when it talks about the heart in the Bible, it also talks about your mind? I just found this out the other day, although it does make sense to me. Our hearts and minds are interconnected. Our thoughts are actually what control our emotions. This is why it is so important to control our thoughts. I know a lot of people who feel they can not help how they feel. Perhaps you agree. I mean, when something happens, you just react. You can not help that. You instinctively feel a certain emotion depending on your past life experiences. However, we won’t all feel the same thing. For instance, you and I could be out for a walk together. We might see a dog walking on the other side of the street. You might be happy because you think dogs are cute and you love them. I might be nervous because I was attacked by a dog when I was younger, so they make me nervous.

This can happen with many emotions. My husband gets pretty angry when people cut him off or when we are stuck in traffic. However, most of the time, I don’t really mind either of those two things. So, let me go back to what I said earlier. I agree that when something happens, you may not have control over whatever emotion you immediately feel. However, you can do work so that you have more and more control over how you react to things. Even though you might not have control over the immediate emotion you feel, you do have control over whether or not you stay in that emotion. Your thoughts drive your emotions. We all have stories that we tell ourselves when something happens, and those stories can help us or hurt us. Too often, we allow them to hurt us.

For example, someone shows up late to a lunch that you had. They didn’t call and you are sitting there getting more and more mad. You are probably telling yourself a story like this, “I can’t believe they are late. They are always late. They are so selfish. They only think about themselves. They think there time is so much more important than my time. I can’t believe they are doing this to me. I can’t believe they don’t care about me or my time. Maybe I just shouldn’t have lunch with them anymore.” Do you feel the emotions that come along with this story? You are getting yourself more and more upset as you sit there telling yourself all these negative things. Take a minute and think about the emotions that story had you feeling. Now listen to this story you could tell yourself, “I wonder why they are late. I hope they are ok. This happens sometimes. They get caught up in something and lose track of time. I am sure they will be here soon. They have been late before, but they always come. I know how hard it can be getting out the door with 3 kids.” Did this story create different feelings? For me, I felt more compassionate when I told myself the second story. I was able to be more patient.

The reason we have to guard our thoughts is because the enemy is actively trying to take control of them. He wants you to have negative thoughts. He wants you to think you have no control over your thoughts or your emotions. He wants to destroy us, and that is the fastest way to do so. He can plant seeds in your thoughts and then walk away and watch those seeds ruin us. In John 8:44, Jesus says, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” The devil is the father of lies. Unfortunately, he doesn’t just straight-up lie; there is usually a kernel of truth in what he is saying, and yet he twists that truth to make you start doubting.

For instance, you called someone, and they didn’t call you back. The enemy will use this information to cause you to doubt your friendship. He will tell you that this person was home, and they just didn’t want to answer. He will tell you that they are mad at you, and that is why they didn’t answer. It all depends on what your insecurities are. However, the truth is, we don’t know why they didn’t call us back, and we won’t know until they do call us back. This is what I mean by guarding our thoughts. We need to shut the enemy down. It may be true that they didn’t want to talk to us, but until they tell us that, we have no way of knowing. So, wouldn’t it be better to tell ourselves a story that is just as plausible but that doesn’t make us upset? For instance, they are busy right now and can’t answer the phone. They are out running errands and will call back when they get home. These are also just as likely as the negative stories, and yet they don’t make me feel angry, hurt, or sad. I don’t feel the rejection the enemy wants me to feel when I tell myself a positive story.

The verse above says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.  Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.  Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.” We must guard our hearts and minds because all else flows through it. I told you that your emotions are a result of your thoughts, and I showed you why that is true. This is why we need to guard them. We need to focus on retraining our minds to not listen to the enemy. The negative stuff is so much easier to believe than the positive stuff. However, it is possible to believe the positive stuff too. It just takes more effort, and we need to be more intentional about it.

If we keep reading this verse, it gives us some ways that we can guard our hearts and minds. The very next line says, "Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.” There is a quote I really like from Lao Tzu that says, “Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions; watch your actions, they become your habits; watch your habits, they become your character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny.” The enemy is sneaky. He starts with our thoughts because he knows they are the key to so many other things. We are lucky, though, because we are sons and daughters of the one true king, and so we don't have to let the enemy have control of us. Jesus died on the cross to break that control, and all we need to do is stand in that freedom and take authority over our thoughts.

If we watch our words and what comes out of our mouths, then it will be easier to be the person we want to be. If we are always saying negative or mean things about ourselves or others, then our thoughts will be negative as well. The last line is the one that can probably help us the most. It says, “ Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.” To me, this means to fix our eyes on Jesus. Don’t look all around you at what others are doing. Look straight ahead. Kind of like when you are running a race, and they tell you to look at the finish line. Don’t worry about what the other runners are doing. Just look at your finish line. What is our finish line? It is eternal life with our heavenly Father. If that is what we want if that is our end goal, then we need to keep our eyes fixed on that goal, and we need to guard our hearts, our minds, and our words.

We can do this. The enemy thinks we are easy targets, but he doesn’t know the authority we have in our Lord Jesus Christ. We can just say that name, and the enemy flees. We don’t have to believe the lies. We can choose to believe the truth that we are children of God and that God loves us. We can choose to ignore the lies and tell ourselves better stories. If you would like to learn more about how important our thoughts are, you can join the mentoring session tonight; just email me or reach out on social media for the Zoom link. Also, you could go back and listen to episode #438, Our Thoughts Become Who We Are.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those who are listening to this episode. Lord, we need your help. The enemy is having a grand old time messing with our thoughts. We need your help to guard them. We need you to show us how to protect them. Show us how to guard our hearts and minds, Lord. Help us keep our eyes fixed on you. We love you! 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 those of you who are in mentoring this evening at 8 PM EST. If you are not in mentoring yet but would like to give it a try, you can head to my website, walkboldlywithjesus.com, to sign up or to get more information. If you would like to check it out before signing up, email me at [email protected], and I will send you the Zoom link for tonight’s session. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I. Have a blessed day!

Today’s Word from the Lord is, “I have made you fearless. The devil would have you full of fear. I have made you fearless. You are fearless because you live in me, and I am fearless. I am the Lord.”

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First Things First

Genesis 4:3-5 “ In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel for his part brought of the firstlings of his flock, their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering,  but for Cain and his offering, he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.”

I heard Father Mike talking about this story the other day, and it really made me think. The Bible really doesn’t say why the Lord had regard for Abel’s offering and not for Cain’s offering. However, many theologians or Bible scholars believe it is because Abel gave of the firstlings of his flock, and Cain did not. In other words, Able gave God the best of the best, and Cain didn’t.

This got me thinking, do I give God the best of the best, or do I give Him what is left over? Do I give Him the best of me, or do I give Him what is left over after I have poured out the best of me in my job and in my family? Usually, we fit God in when we can, if we can. We don’t give Him the best time of day to talk with us. We don’t always start our day off with Him. We don’t always offer Him the best parts of our day. Even when I do start my day off talking to Him, I am not usually at my best because I stayed up so late the night before I was just falling asleep during my time with Him.

What about our income? Are we giving the Lord the best of our income? Are we giving Him the top 10%, or are we paying all our bills, going out to eat, buying all the things we want for ourselves, doing all the online shopping, and then giving Him what, if anything, is left over? Are we giving the Lord what He wants or what we want? Father Mike told this story about his mother. One year, for her birthday, the kids asked what she wanted them to buy her. She said what she would really like is for them to clean the house for her, so she wouldn’t have to do it. That sounded like a lot of work and not something they wanted to do. So they asked her again, no, Mom, really, what can we get you? She said well, you could cut the grass and clean up the yard for me. Again, this was not something they had any desire to do.

The older sisters decided to borrow some money and the car from their Dad, and they went to the store and bought her a really nice gift. Father Mike and his brother, I think, took off on their skateboards, and they learned a cool new trick to show their mom for her birthday. So when it was time to give her the presents, the girls presented what they had bought for her, and the boys showed her the tricks they learned for her. She was very appreciative, said thank you, and didn’t complain. However, later in life, Father Mike realized that they didn’t really give their Mom what she wanted; they gave her what they wanted.

How many times have we done this to our Heavenly Father? How many times has he called us to do something, and we counter with something different? For instance, the Lord asks us to volunteer at church, and instead, we pretend we didn’t hear, or we offer to make a donation instead. How many times have we felt called to give money to someone or some organization, and yet we are worried we don’t have enough, so we don’t? Have you ever felt called to offer something up for someone, and yet it seemed like a lot of work, so you did something else instead? I will be honest with you: there have been a few times over the last few months when I have felt called to pray the miraculous rosary for someone and yet have resisted because that is a 54-day commitment.

It’s crazy to me to think about what I just said. The Holy Spirit prompted me to do something, and I didn’t. I thought it was too much work. Actually, I don’t know if I made the conscious decision not to do it. I think how it works with me, and maybe with you, is that I plan to do it, and I keep thinking about it and keep thinking I will do it, but then I never actually get around to doing it. I think we do this often. Maybe it isn’t always conscious, and maybe we don’t always want to admit it, but sometimes we just don’t want to do what God wants us to do. If it were easy to follow the Lord, everyone would be doing it. In Matthew 16:24, Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”

Are we doing this? Are we denying ourselves and picking up our cross to follow Him? When I examine my life, I don’t think that I am. I truly struggle with denying myself at times. Sometimes, I do great, and other times, I am not good at all. However, I think I know what the difference is. I think when I am trying to go at it alone, I don’t do well. However, when I invite Jesus into the struggle, I do much better. If we are being asked to do something that we think is going to be difficult, we can invite Jesus in to help us. We can pray for the strength, the fortitude, the perseverance to stick to whatever it is we are trying to do. This is true with all things. If we try to do anything on our own, it will never go as smoothly as it will when we stop before we do it and invite the Lord into it. Invite Him to help us and guide us.

I invite you to take some time with the Lord today and ask Him to show you where you are not offering Him your firsts, your bests? Ask Him where you could be doing better. What things could you be inviting Him into? Where in your life is He calling you to deny yourself and pick up the cross? Maybe ask these questions and then journal the answers. Remember, if you ask, He will answer, will you be there to listen?

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless everyone listening to this episode today. Lord, you are truly amazing, and we are sorry we don’t always put you first. We are sorry that, at times, we offer you what is left over instead of what is best. We are sorry that, at times, we offer you what we want instead of what you want. Please help us to change, Lord. Please give us whatever it is we need to get better. 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 want to remind everyone about my new mentoring program that meets on Tuesday nights at 8 PM EST. If you would like to give it a try before joining, you can email me at [email protected], and I will send you the link to join us for the next session. If you know someone else who may be interested, please pass on the information. All info can be found at walkboldlywithjesus.com, and then click on the mentoring tab. CLICK HERE Also, if you know someone who might like this podcast, can you please share it as well? If you have not left a review and would be willing to, I would really appreciate it as that helps more people to find it. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!

Today’s Word from the Lord is: “There is no demon who can touch you. There is no one who can steal my children from Me. You are ALL My children. I have given you a package of seeds. Those seeds will be scattered by each of My children. Some in small ways, some in big ways but not one seed sown is insignificant. It is all part of My forever plan. I am a part of you. Rest in My love and in My peace. You are a chosen people. Chosen for me from the beginning of time. I cannot for the times. I cannot. You are whole in Me.”

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Be Bold!

Deuteronomy 31:7-8 “Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel: “Be strong and bold, for you are the one who will go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their ancestors to give them; and you will put them in possession of it. It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

I thought it was interesting that this was a verse that I read this morning. Yesterday at prayer group, we stayed after and did our monthly bookmark meeting. What this means is that we take a look at the bookmark for the month, and we each say what stands out to us. The bookmark is the discerned word for a particular month. Each week at prayer group, we get several words of prophecy from the Lord. We record these words that are given, and there is a team that discerns the words given and picks one: Call, Proclamation, Promise, and Directive for the month. One of our members then types them up and puts them on a bookmark so we can share them with the entire prayer group.

Yesterday we did the bookmark from February 2023. That was almost a year ago, and yet the bookmark was similar to the words that we received yesterday. For the most part, the Lord is not saying new things to us. He is saying the same things we have heard time and time again. Sometimes, He says those things in a new way, and sometimes, He uses very similar words. What is striking to me today is how this passage says, “Be strong and bold,” and this is the same thing He was telling us last February and the same thing He told us yesterday.

In the February bookmark, the Lord said, “Do all to make me known and proclaim my Name. Be bold and step out. Serve me with all you are each and every day. Go now. Do not delay.” The passage talks about being strong and bold so they can take over the promised land. The passage in the bookmark talks about being bold so we can proclaim the Lord’s name. The apostles prayed for this boldness to preach the word of the Lord at a time when it was very dangerous to preach about Jesus. In Acts 4, Peter and John talk to people about Jesus and His resurrection. The rulers, elders, and scribes didn’t like what they were teaching, and they threatened Peter and John as to what would happen to them if they didn’t stop talking about Jesus.

Instead of cowering and obeying when they were told to stop talking about Jesus, they prayed for more boldness to do it anyway. Acts 4:29-31 says, “And now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”  When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness.” They asked for boldness, and they were given it. It is the same for us. All we need to do is ask. God is calling us to be bold in our faith. We sometimes worry that we will be alone in this boldness. Sometimes, it can feel like it is us against the world, and when we think about being brave, we aren’t sure we can do it.

In the verse above Moses reminds Joshua that God will be with Him when they go into the promised land. It says, “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” This is reminding Joshua that God will not let them down. He is reminding them that they do not have anything to be afraid of. It is not up to them to defeat the enemy. God will be with them, and He will help them! In the February bookmark, before God told us to be bold, he reminded us, “I am the Lord of the universe.”

God is not calling us to be bold on our own. He is right there with us. He goes before us to prepare the way. For instance, if God is calling you to be bold and step out in faith and pray over someone, then He has already prepared that person’s heart to accept that prayer. If God is asking you to be brave and ask for something then He has already softened hearts and prepared them for you. God says 365 times in the Bible, some version of “do not be afraid.” This is another way to say, “Be bold.”

My friend Peggy at prayer group yesterday was saying she has learned to be bold just by hearing the title of this podcast. She said it reminds her that she can be bold with Jesus by her side. She said she has gotten much bolder since listening. She gets a daily devotional from another friend of ours. She forwards it to many people. She was brave and took a step in faith and gave her grandson a Max Lucado book called “Fearless.” She wasn’t sure how he would respond. He is a teenager and, in the past, has been resistant to faith. However, recently he said he has been reading the Bible. She took this book off of her shelf and said she thought he might like it and gave it to him. Her grandson sent her a text message when he got back home to FL saying that he read the book the entire plane ride and he really liked it.

Do you see how God works? He is helping us to be brave by preparing those we encounter to receive us. I don’t think that means it will always work out as well as it did when Peggy gave her grandson the book. We may encounter some opposition when we step out in faith. We may encounter some people who say no to what we are asking. That is ok. The apostles saw this too. Our job is not to allow these times when people say no to deter us from our mission. That mission is the same for each one of us. That mission is for us to bring the love of Jesus to each and every person that we meet. We can do this because we have Jesus. He is on our side! He is leading the way. Be bold and step out in faith. Bring Jesus’ love to someone you know and love today!

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless each and every person listening. Lord, help us to be brave. Help us to look for opportunities to share your love with others, and then give us the courage to do so. We love you, Lord, and we ask 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 hope over these last two and a half years of listening you have been able to walk a bit more boldly in your faith. I look forward to seeing you here again on Monday. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!

Today’s Word from the Lord is, “Do not let the news of the times you live in wear you down, upset you, depress you. I am a God of victory. I have conquered all by giving my life on the cross and allowing the gift of my Father to raise me from the dead. A gift that He has given you through me. Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid no matter what things look like, no matter how they feel. Trust, Trust in me. Trust in the Father’s tremendous love for all of you and for all of His creation. Trust in the power that can be given to you through the Holy Spirit. Continue daily, daily, every moment you breathe to worship, to praise, to adore, for we are your God, One in three. Holy, undivided, blessed, glorious God. And we love you and give you the victory that is in us."

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I Waited and Waited and Waited 

Psalm 40:1 “I waited and waited and waited some more, patiently, knowing God would come through for me. Then, at last, he bent down and listened to my cry.”

This verse came from a good friend of mine in England. I posted on Facebook that I am trying something new this year. I decided I wanted to learn more Bible verses. So, what a few of my friends do is they pick a verse for each week of the year. Or, they have their friends and family give them verses for each week of the year, and then they write those verses in their planner, and they spend a week with each verse. They also pray for the person who gave them the verse for the week. I thought this was a great idea! I decided to take it a step further and write this verse at least once each day so it helps me commit it to memory. I made a post on Facebook asking friends and family to give me their favorite verses. If you have a favorite verse and would like to email it to me at [email protected] or you could find me on Facebook, Catherine Duggan, and comment on the post and I would be happy to remember you and your loved one and any prayer requests that you have during the week I am praying with the verse you gave me.

My friend gave me the verse above, and I instantly loved it. I love that it captures our reality at times, and it also really captures the love of the Father. Sometimes, we feel like we are asking and asking the Lord for something, and yet we wait and wait and see no answers to those prayers. Have you been in a season of waiting? Have you been asking the Lord for something, and yet you are still waiting for the answer to those prayers? This can be really hard. We pray to the Lord, and we want Him to help us right away, or at least I do. I really struggle at times with waiting to see the results of my prayers. This is especially true if I am praying over someone for healing.

I struggle because I know how powerful God is, and I know He can heal anyone at any time. I struggle because I don’t believe he wants to see anyone struggle, and yet He doesn’t heal everyone, and He definitely doesn’t heal everyone the second we pray for healing. So, we end up doing what this verse says, we wait, and we wait, and we wait. Sometimes we wait patiently, as this verse says, and sometimes, not so patiently. It all depends on our circumstances at the time. One thing I like about this verse is that it says I waited patiently because I knew God would come through for me. This is important for us all to remember. God will come through. It is also important to remember that His ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts.

If I can remember this, I think I could wait more patiently. I need to remember that God knows what He is doing and that His plan is better than my plan. He is the creator of the Universe; of course, His plan is better than my plan. If He is not healing someone right away, there is a reason for it. I don’t have to know that reason I just have to know that HE has one.

One way to remind myself that God has a plan to trust that God will come through is to think back to all the times He has come through in the past.  When did the Lord come through for you? When in the past did you wait on the Lord, and then he answered your prayers? I know for me, He has always come through, and sometimes I ask for some pretty big things. When I asked the Lord to heal my niece and let her live, He did, and we didn’t even have to wait very long. When I asked him to help my son get off of drugs, He did. When I asked Him to take away my dad’s pain, He did. When I asked Him to take away my sister’s pain, He did. When I asked Him to save my marriage, He did. God has come through for us more times than I can count, and this is why I can wait patiently. I know He will always come for me, though. He will always come through for you too! We just have to wait longer than we would like at times.

I love that this verse says, “Then, at last, he bent down and listened to my cry.” I love this because it shows the Father as a loving father. It shows that He cares about us. It doesn’t just say they finally heard us. I love that it says he bent down and listened to my cry. What I picture is a loving Father who bends down to listen to me cry. He doesn’t just stand there and let our cries go up to his ears. He bends down to show us we have His attention. I just picture Jesus; since we don’t really know what God looks like, I picture Jesus bending down, and I picture us as little children whispering our requests into his ear. Almost like we are telling Him a secret, one that no one knows.

I love to picture the Father like this. I think if we read more verses like this, we begin to see God as our loving Father instead of this stern Father figure who is judging us and just waiting to call us out on all that we are doing wrong. God loves us, and He wants to answer our prayers. However, like a loving Father, He also knows that when we are asking for something that is not good for us, or that we are not quite ready for. He knows this, so he either gives us something else or waits until we are ready. God is so good!

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless each and every person listening to this episode today. Lord, help us wait patiently for your timing. Help us to understand that your timing is best. Help us to see that you know what is best for us. Help us to have faith that you will come through for us. We love you, Lord, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen!

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. If you are on my email list, I sent out an email yesterday with a recording of Tuesday night’s mentoring session. It was on prayer journaling, and I think it will be very beneficial. Prayer journaling has made a significant impact on my spiritual life and brought me a lot closer to the Lord. I hope you enjoy it. If you are not on my email list but would like to be so you can get the recording of the mentoring session and any other info I send out about what is coming up with Walk Boldly With Jesus, then you can go to my website walkboldlywithjesus.com and click on the Free Audio Training to invite Jesus into your every day. That will sign you up for my emails, and it will also get you an awesome free audio training. I look forward to meeting you all here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!

Today’s Word from the Lord is, “Keep in my word. My word is your armor. It will help you defeat the enemy. It will guide you. It will help you be a light to others. Keep in My word. That is your armor. “

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