scripture study

Our Father’s Love (Part 9) Can We Be Angry With God?

Psalm 103:13-14 “The same way a loving father feels toward his children—that’s but a sample of your tender feelings toward us, your beloved children, who live in awe of you. You know all about us, inside and out. You are mindful that we’re made from dust.”

This verse probably means different things to different people. I can feel the love and tender feelings that our heavenly Father has for us because I know how loving fathers can be. I had an amazing example of a father. I always knew my dad loved me, and I knew of his tender feelings towards us. I wonder if this verse means as much to those who did not have a great father. What if you didn’t know your father loved you? What if he didn’t show you any tender feelings? Are you still able to feel the love coming from this verse?

If you did not feel loved by your Father while you were growing up, I want you to know you were loved by your heavenly Father. He created you and loved you before you were even born. Before your parents even thought about having you, God knew everything about you. The verse above says, “You know all about us, inside and out.” This is something we forget sometimes. We try to hide things from the Lord as if He doesn’t already know. This is especially true when we are angry with the Lord. We don’t think it is okay to be angry with God, so we hide it from him. We actually try to hide it from ourselves as well. We pretend we are not mad, or we tell ourselves we are not angry. When we do this, our anger festers under the surface, and I believe it blocks some of the graces God wants to give us.

When we are holding this anger in and just ignoring it, then we aren’t dealing with it, we aren’t processing it, and we certainly aren’t bringing it to God. These are the exact things we need to do to get rid of the anger or really any feeling that we are having. I understand why we don’t think we can be angry with God. I mean, He is God. He knows what He is doing, and He can prevent things from happening. Nothing happens that he didn’t allow to happen either with His perfect Will or His Permissive Will. We know God uses all things for our good, so how can we be mad at God when He will use whatever we are going through for our good? I understand where these feelings come from, and yet I don’t believe they are complete. Yes, God allows all things to happen, and yes He will use all things for good. That doesn’t mean you won’t have to go through some really hard times. That doesn’t mean that we won’t get ourselves into some pretty serious trouble.

Just because God can use it for good doesn’t mean He wills it for us. It doesn’t mean it was His plan for our life. None of us listen to God perfectly. None of us follow His plan perfectly. Sometimes we will do things to mess things up, and God will allow the consequences of that for some reasons we can understand, like to help us learn and grow, and for some reasons, we will never know about this side of heaven. However, sometimes our painful situations are not a result of something we have done. Sometimes bad stuff just happens, and we have no idea why. No matter how we look at it, we can’t seem to make sense of it.

The reason for this difficult time you are going through or have been through doesn't matter; it is still okay to be angry with God. If there is anyone who can handle our anger, it is the Lord. If you want to have a real relationship with Him, you have to be honest with Him. Think about the people in your life that you have the best relationships with. Why are you so close to them? What makes it a good relationship? The people I am closest to are the people with whom I can be completely honest. I don’t have to watch what I say, and I don't have to pretend to be ok when I am not. They are also the people who know me the best, and I know them the best as well.

Do you have people in your life like that? Do you have someone in your life who can just take one look at you and know that you are not okay? They know you so well that when you say I am fine, they can tell just by the tone in your voice that you are not really fine. Do you have someone in your life who you can tell you you are angry with something they did, and yet you guys are still friends, and you still love each other? I know I do, and it is such a blessing in my life. If we can have friends and loved ones who are capable of loving us even when we are angry with them for something they have done, why do we think we can’t have the same thing with our Heavenly Father? If your friends can tell when you are upset, don’t you think God can tell too? The verse says that He knows all about us, inside and out. That means He knows your feelings too. He has intimate knowledge of every part of you, even more so than your friends or family members do.

Here is the reason I believe it is okay to be angry with God. There were plenty of people in the Bible who cried out to the Lord. I also believe that anger is an emotion, and we can’t help our initial emotions. However, we can decide what we do with those emotions. Are we being angry with God, turning away from Him, and never looking back? Are we angry and crying out to Him and asking Him to help us? Are we asking Him to give us strength? Are we asking Him to give us some understanding? If we get angry and turn away from God, I don’t believe that is ok. However, if we are angry with God and then we try to figure out what to do with that anger, and we take that to God and ask for His help, I think that is ok.

We get to decide if we allow the anger to push us away from God or pull us closer to Him. We can have control over our emotions by having control over our thoughts. Our emotions are caused by the story we are telling ourselves. For instance, if I am angry at God for something, I need to examine what I believe about that thing. For instance, if I am angry with God for taking my child, I would need to examine what I am telling myself. Why am I blaming God? What is the story I am telling myself about what happened, why it happened, and who caused it? If I do not know the answers to these questions, I should bring them to the Lord. The why it happened may be an answer that we don’t ever get this side of heaven. That doesn’t mean we can’t ask the Lord. He wants us to come to Him, He wants us to ask questions. He wants all that we go through to bring us closer to Him, not further away. Our heavenly Father loves us and has tender feelings towards us. He can handle your anger and yet does not want you to stay there. He wants you to take it to Him and then lay it at His feet and let Him pick it up and carry it for you.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those who listen to this episode today. Lord, we love you, and we don’t want to be angry with you. We also don’t understand why you allow bad things to happen to good people. We don’t understand why kids get cancer, why there is human trafficking, why there is domestic abuse, and why people lose their kids or their spouses. There is so much we don’t understand, Lord, please help us. Help us to turn to you when we are confused and when we are angry. Help us to ask you for understanding. Help us to control the story we tell ourselves. Help us not to stay in that anger. We love you so much, Lord. We know you love us, and you know us better than anyone else, and we are so very grateful. We are so grateful for all the unknown things you have protected us from. You are so powerful! 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 look forward to meeting you here again on Monday. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed weekend!

In Part 7, I mentioned that I felt the Lord was calling me to end each episode with a Word that He has given to our prayer group. The point of this is so we can all get used to hearing how the Lord talks to us, and so we will recognize when it is Him and when it is the enemy. Here is the word: I ask you to look at your brothers and sisters in the world and recognize that I love them. I want you to be a tangible instrument of my love to them. Do not judge or be impatient. Love them with the same love that I have for you. Be vulnerable as I am vulnerable.

Our Father’s Love (Part 8) Get Intimately Familiar With The Real One 

Psalm 103:12 “Farther than from a sunrise to a sunset, that's how far you've removed our guilt from us.”

Today’s verse goes right along with the past few days, and yet it confirms it a bit stronger. For the last few days, I have been talking about God’s love and God’s mercy. We now know how much God loves us. We know He is not just sitting in heaven waiting for us to mess up so he can punish us. We know he does discipline us at times, but not never as much as we truly deserve. We also know from the previous episode that the Lord wants to talk to each and every one of us. When he talks to us, He is gentle and loving. We know He also has different ways of talking to us. If you did not know any of these things, or you struggle to believe any of these things, you can go back and listen to the last 2-3 episodes. However, if you have missed any in this series about the Father’s Love, then I would recommend going back and listening to them all, as I am really loving Psalm 103.

Today’s verse says, “Farther than from a sunrise to a sunset, that's how far you've removed our guilt from us.” Do you understand what this verse is saying? Do you understand the magnitude of this verse? God is separating us as far away from our sins as the sunrise is from the sunset. These two things never touch. They are as far apart as they can be. The sun rises in the East and sets in the West. Wherever you are in the world, take a moment and think about the most eastern point in the world you can think of. Then think of the most western point in the world you can think of. This is how separated you are from your sins.

We tend to think our sins are part of us. Oftentimes we take those sins on as our identity. For instance, I am a liar, not someone who has lied before. I am an adulterer, not someone who had an affair. I am a cheater, not someone who cheated in a game. Do you see what I am talking about? What is the sin that you are claiming as your identity? This is so common. I used to do this when it came to my children. I would say he is a liar. He said x, y, or z. My counselor would always correct me. He might have lied about this thing, but that is not his identity. This is hard for us. We find it easier to claim the sin and make it part of us.

I wonder if that is because when we do that, we also turn over our responsibility. If I am a liar, then it makes sense that I lied. I don’t have to take responsibility for it, and I don’t have to change it because it is just who I am. I have heard this a lot over the years. People justify the ugly things they say or do by saying, “That’s just who I am.” Or they justify their loved ones’ behaviors by saying, “That is just who they are.” Your sins and your behaviors are not who you are. They are not your identity. You are who God says you are. God says we are special (Eph 2:10), loved (Jer 31:3), redeemed (Gal 3:13), important (1 Peter 2:9), lovely (Dan 12:3), forgiven (Psalm 103:12), family (Eph 2:19), strong (Psalm 18:25), not alone (Matt 28:20), treasured (Deut 14:2), Protected (Psalm 121:3), created for a purpose (Jer 29:11), accepted (Rom 15:7), a new creation (2 Cor 5:17), chosen (John 15:16), a child of God (Rom 8:17), precious (1 Cor 6:20), empowered (Phil. 4:17), unique (Psalm 139:13), and cared for (Eph 3:17-19). The scripture references for each and every one of those words is listed in the show notes. Where is the scripture verse for the things you are taking on as your identity?

We think the Lord sees us as a sum of all our sins because that is how we see us. However, our ways are not like His ways, and our thoughts are not like His thoughts. If you listened to the previous episodes in this series, you remember Father Mike said truth can’t contradict truth. We know what is in the Bible is truth. So, if your idea of who you are contradicts the above identity, it can’t be the truth.  The verse above confirms that God does not identify us as our sins. It says He separates us from our sins. How great would it be if we could do the same?

Why is it so hard to see ourselves through God’s eyes? I think part of it is because we don’t really know God. If we aren’t reading the scriptures, if we aren’t reading faith-filled books, and if we aren’t spending time with God, then how can we know Him? In the last episode of this series, we talked about hearing the Lord’s voice and listening to what He wants to say to us. If we aren’t doing this, if we don’t know how He talks to us, then how can we possibly know the difference between His voice and the enemy's voice?

I heard a story the other day, and I think it is a great analogy/example for this. The woman speaking is a banker. She no longer works with physical money. However, she used to. She asked us if we knew how they teach bank tellers to spot fake bills. We had several ideas of the differences between real and fake, and she said yes, there are definitely ways to tell them apart. However, she said when you are learning how to tell the difference between the real bill and the fake bill, they have you get intimately familiar with the real thing. They don’t teach you all the various characteristics of fake bills because there are so many differences, and they are constantly changing as counterfeiters get better. What they have you do is learn all about the real bill. What does it look like, what does it feel like, what is the weight of it, what is the texture, what does it smell like? They have you spend so much time with the real bills that when a fake comes into your hands, you instantly know it is different.

I loved this story the moment I heard it. It is a perfect analogy for listening to the Father’s voice. If you listen to your heavenly Father, talk to you each and every day. If you read about Him in the scriptures and you spend time with Him, then you will know when the enemy starts whispering lies into your ears. You will know it is not from God because it doesn’t make you feel the same way it does all the other times you have talked with Him. You will know it is not God because what is said contradicts the promises you have read in the scripture. If you want to start recognizing the enemy, you need to get more familiar with the Lord. Become intimately familiar with the real thing, and you will recognize when the lies start creeping back in. You are not your sins. God separates us from our sins, so why do we cling to them so tightly? Isn’t it time we loosen our grip and let them go?

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, help us to release our sins. Help us to separate ourselves from them. Help us bring them to you and lay them at your feet for your infinite disposal. Lord, thank you for separating us from our sins. Thank you for taking our sins to the cross. Lord, any time we cling to our sins and claim our sins as our identity, it reminds us of the cross. Remind us that your sacrifice was big enough to cover our sins. It was ENOUGH. We love you, Lord. Help us to get to know you so intimately that when the enemy comes around whispering in our ears, we instantly spot him as a fake and what he is saying as lies. We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ mighty name, Amen!

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I hope you all have a very special Thanksgiving Day today! If you don’t celebrate, I still hope you have a special day! I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I!

I mentioned in Part 7 that I felt the Lord is calling me to end each episode with a Word that He has given to our prayer group. The point of this is so we can all get used to hearing how the Lord talks to us and so we will recognize when it is Him and when it is the enemy. Here is the word: “My children, when you are full of worry and fear, come to me. Give me your hand in trust, and I will help you. All your cares that you give to me I take care of in my time, not in your time. It is trust you must have with faith that never ends.”

God Is So Kind, Tenderhearted, and Patient!

Psalm 103:8-9 “Lord, you’re so kind and tenderhearted and so patient with people who fail you! Your love is like a flooding river overflowing its banks with kindness. You don’t look at us only to find our faults just so that you can hold a grudge against us.”

Today’s verses are ones I think we all need to hear over and over again. They speak such truths in them, yet they are often forgotten, or we simply don’t believe them. The first line says, “Lord, you’re so kind and tenderhearted and so patient with people who fail you!” God truly is patient with us. If you need evidence of this, look back at the Old Testament in the Bible. Look how many times God’s people turned away from Him. Look how many times he did miraculous things for them, and they repaid Him by worshiping idols. It wasn’t one or two times. It was often. Look at when He saved them from Egypt, where they were slaves, and then they complained because they didn’t have meat to eat. He gave them this miraculous substance called manna daily to eat, but they wanted more.

The Lord often told them to do something, and they did the opposite. They had so many kings who wanted to rely on other nations to protect them instead of relying on the one true God to protect them. Ever since the fall, when Adam & Eve ate the apple, man has failed the Lord. You can see even in the New Testament where we failed the Lord. The worst is when we crucified the Son of God. However, the apostles failed to trust Jesus or understand what He was saying all along the way.

God is still so kind and so patient with us. Even when you fail, and we all fail. Romans 2:23 says, “ For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Then the very next verse says, “and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Can you see how kind, tenderhearted, and patient He is with us? Even after all the times we turned away in the Old Testament, God still sent His only Son to be crucified for our sins. This also brings us to the next part of today’s verses: "Your love is like a flooding river overflowing its banks with kindness.”

Take a moment, close your eyes, and imagine a river overflowing its banks. Imagine how much water there must be in that river. Image what it looks like for that overflowing water to cover the river's surrounding land. Can you picture water covering the grass, the rocks, the dirt, everything? This is what the Lord’s love is like. It covers us with kindness. His love covers our dirt, our sins, and all of our weaknesses. What I love about this imagery is that you can’t control the water overflowing from a river. It can’t be contained. There is just too much to stay contained it the river. It just overflows to everything around it. This is what God’s love does for us. It fills us up and then overflows to all those who surround us.

The following line says, “You don’t look at us only to find our faults just so that you can hold a grudge against us.” This is a very common belief. I have talked to many people who admit that they think of God as a judge sitting up in heaven, looking down on us, and just waiting for us to screw up so He can punish us. I have known in my heart for a long time now that this is not true, and now I have a Bible verse to confirm it. It’s interesting that this line comes right after the line about God’s love overflowing with kindness. God doesn’t have to wait up in heaven, just waiting for us to mess up. He already knows what we will do before we do it. He knows when and where you will mess up. And guess what? He loves us anyway. He forgives us anyway.

I think it is hard to picture God as a good and loving father if we don’t have a good and loving father.  If our father was always waiting for us to screw up so he could punish us, then we can transfer that to God. Also, if we grew up with this image of God in our minds, it can be tough to switch our thinking. If we struggle to believe that our heavenly Father is loving and doesn’t just look at our faults, we don’t need to look any further than the cross. God sent Jesus to pay for our sins. Ellen Gould White said, “Christ was treated as we deserve that we may be treated as He deserves. He was condemned for our sins, in which He had no share, that we might be justified by His righteousness, in which we had no share. He suffered the death which was ours, that we might receive His life. 'By His stripes, we are healed.”

Does that sound like a Father who is just looking for our faults? Does it sound like someone looking for a reason to hold a grudge against us? If God wanted to hold a grudge against us, He wouldn't have to sit around waiting for us to sin; we sin daily. We turn away from God frequently. God has plenty of reasons to hold grudges, yet He doesn’t. Romans 5:8 is also reminds us of this, “ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” God didn’t wait for us to stop sinning to save us. Luckily, because I don’t think that is possible on this side of heaven. He saved us, knowing we would keep sinning. Jesus chose to die on that cross, not just for the sins of that day, but all the sins before that day, on that day, and all future sins.

When we hear all of that, it is hard to view our Lord as someone just sitting up in heaven waiting for us to sin so that he can punish us. Viewing Him like this doesn't make sense when we think about all He has sacrificed to save us. Father Mike always says truth can’t contradict truth. The words in the Bible are truth. They are the Words of God. The Bible is telling us plain and simple that God is not someone who looks at us only to find our faults, just so that you can hold a grudge against us. The facts in the Bible show us just how loving God really is. If you struggle to see what a loving Father in heaven we have, I urge you to read about Him in the Bible. Read the Psalms, the New Testament, and the Song of Songs. Read pretty much any part of the Bible, and you will be able to see how great God has loved us over the years. Looking back at our lives through the lens of “What had God done for us over the years?” we will see all the amazing things He has done for us. He really is a good, good Father.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Thank you for loving us so well. Thank you for showing us what true love looks like. Lord, we ask that you show us what a good Dad you are. For all of us struggling to get an accurate image or feeling of you, we ask that you help us, Lord. Please show us what to read and where to learn more. Lord, show us who you really are. Give us a renewal of our mind. Teach us to see the real you! 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. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!

Our Father's Love (Part 5) "Giving Justice To The Defenseless"

Psalm 103:6-7 “You're a God who makes things right, giving justice to the defenseless. You unveiled to Moses your plans and showed Israel's sons what you could do.”

The Lord’s timing is always perfect, although it doesn’t always feel perfect. I read this verse yesterday, and that timing was perfect because I felt it confirmed a friend’s situation. I have a friend struggling with workers comp for over a year. It has been so stressful, and he wants it all done and over with. I texted him on Wednesday of this week because he was supposed to have a Zoom meeting, which was sort of like a hearing to see the next steps. Several people told him he should have a lawyer present so he didn’t get taken advantage of during this hearing. He didn’t have money for a lawyer, and he didn’t want a lawyer. He said the Holy Spirit would be his lawyer.

I prayed over him on Monday that everything would work according to God’s plan. We prayed for God to give him the words to say. We prayed the truth would come up somehow. Then, on Wednesday morning, I sent him another prayer to fill him with peace about the situation. To give him courage and strength and again for the Holy Spirit to guide his words. He sent a text back saying the hearing was canceled, the insurance company dropped the suit, and no further actions needed to be done. That same day, I read the verse above, “You’re a God who makes things right, giving justice to the defenseless.” God is so good! He took care of everything for my friend. He answered our prayers.

He will do the same for you. Sometimes, we limit the scope of what we think God can do. We will go to Him when someone needs healing or if we need strength. We go to God when we have family issues, or our marriage is in trouble. However, when it comes to some things, we don’t go to Him because we can’t see what He could do in this situation. For instance, if we are in a legal battle, we might pray for strength but not for God to fix the problem because we can’t see a solution. We can’t see how God could do anything to fix it. It is difficult for us to understand that God doesn’t not have the same constraints that we have. He is not bound by anything. There is nothing He can’t do. If He can create the entire universe, He can get you out of whatever situation you find yourself.

I read this book called How To Be A Kings Kid. The author tells of a time when he was the president of a company. He put in a bid for a contract on a large government project. He was sure He knew all the details, so he didn’t read the fine print. After he signed the contract and committed the company to everything they owned, he saw that in the fine print, it required them to do something impossible for them to do. The out-of-town contractor sent them registered letters to inform them that the following communication they received would be the institution of a lawsuit for all they owned. The government was involved, the army engineers, seven contractors, hundreds of people—Top priority. Penalties on top of penalties—There was no way to undo what he had done.

The author said he panicked and asked God what he should do now. He said it seemed like God said, “It’s a little bit late to ask that question. You didn’t ask Me before you signed the contract.” The author said although he messed up he knows that our Heavenly Father has provided all kinds of latitude for His kids to goof, and then what we do about it is what determines the outcome. What does God say to do? If we confess our sins, He is faithful and will forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The author prayed, “Lord, I have goofed. I have really made a boo-boo. How are You going to get us out of this mess? Hallelujah!”

Next, instead of worrying about this problem, he headed to a retreat. The retreat started out by asking everyone to confess their faults to one another. So he stood up and told them what he had done. He said, “God’s kids never give up. Praise God. We don’t know how our God’s going to get us out of it, but He’s promised to do it. He said in Psalm 50: ‘Offer unto God thanksgiving and pay thy vows unto the most high and call on me in the day of trouble, I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” Then he said, “Lord, I’ll be glad to give You the glory because no man can deliver me.”

All of the people at the retreat gathered around him laid hands on him, and prayed in tongues over him. The interpretation of the prayer was beyond anything he would have had the nerve to pray: “Lord, make this whole transaction as though it had never existed.” It was a ridiculously impossible prayer, but it had been prayed. No way to call it back. And so he waited day after day for the lawsuit for his breach of contract to begin. Satan kept needling him daily, “It’ll come tomorrow.” But tomorrow, it didn’t; days passed, weeks, and finally, years without mentioning a lawsuit. During that time, he had to learn to praise Jesus all the time or else fall into the hands of the tormentor.

He doesn’t know what happened. The contractor still has his signature on the paper. And he is entitled to hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages unless God changed the minds of many people. He can’t explain to you how it happened. He is just reporting. God is in charge. The author said, “He used to be my partner, but no more. Since I’ve started to live like a King’s Kid, He’s Head Man. Hallelujah!

This situation seemed like a situation for the courts to figure out. The author didn’t even know how to pray for this situation. This brings me to something mentioned in the book, but everyone might now know what it meant. The book mentioned that the people prayed over him in tongues. Praying in tongues or praying in the spirit is a special prayer language and is a gift of the Holy Spirit. When you pray in tongues, the Holy Spirit is praying through you. The Holy Spirit is praying directly from your heart to the Lord’s. The Holy Spirit’s prayer is the perfect prayer. Sometimes, we don’t know what we actually want, or in this man's case, he wouldn’t have had the nerve to pray this prayer. Yet, the Holy Spirit knew his heart's desire and prayed for it. Many people do not want the gift of tongues. They think it is weird. I get it. It does sound weird. However, if you could pray a perfect prayer to the Lord for the deepest desires of your heart, wouldn’t you want to? One reason I love to pray in tongues is because it takes the pressure off me to know what to say. I just open my mouth, and the Holy Spirit speaks to the Lord for me straight from my heart.

The verse ends with, “You unveiled to Moses your plans and showed Israel's sons what you could do.” I think God is still showing us what He can do. We are lucky because ever since Jesus died on the cross, there is no longer a veil separating us from the Lord. We can approach Him. We can be close to Him. Nothing is separating us from the Lord. Well, we can put walls up, we can put blocks up. However, the Lord has removed all that is in our way. Now, it is up to us how close we want to get to the Lord. There is no question in my mind that the Lord is still showing us what He can do. Almost every day, I am blown away by His goodness. It would be every day, but sometimes I am not paying enough attention to be blown away. Sometimes, I get wrapped up in my own stuff. There are so many miracles that happen each and every day. We need to be paying attention to see them. If you have a problem, no matter the size or the type, bring it to the Lord. He will help you! It would be even better if we brought our decisions to the Lord before we made them and asked what He thought. I bet we would find ourselves in a lot less trouble that way.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today.  Lord, you are amazing and we are so grateful you take such good care of us. We are grateful you give justice to the defenseless. We are grateful you fix our problems even though we really don’t deserve it. Lord, help us to bring our decisions to you in advance so you can help us make the right decisions. Help us to turn to you, even in the impossible decisions. You are the God of the impossible. Remind us of that often, 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. Remember to sign up for my newsletter if you want all the details on my upcoming coaching program, retreats, and any other information. You can find the link to sign up on my website walkboldlywithjesus.com I look forward to meeting you again on Monday. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!

Our Father’s Love (Part 4) “You’ve Supercharged My Life”

Psalm 103:5 “You satisfy my every desire with good things. You’ve supercharged my life so that I soar again like a flying eagle in the sky!”

Last quarter, my Encounter Ministries class was all about intimacy with Christ, and I have to tell you, I am really feeling it. I can feel myself falling deeper and deeper in love with Christ, God, and the Holy Spirit. I have read the Psalms before and listened to the entire Bible three times now, yet things are hitting me differently this time. I am finding the words in the passion translation so easy to understand. I am being drawn into this relationship with the Lord in the most gentle way. It is not as if I have to spend time with Him. It is as if I can’t wait to spend time with Him.

Now, that doesn’t mean I am doing this perfectly. I have found that I love to sit in the church when it is just me and the Tabernacle and spend time with God. I feel so close to Him. Yet, I am simply not making the time to do that. I say this because I want you to know I struggle to do the right thing, just as many of you are. We want to spend time with the Lord, say all the prayers, and have all the devotions, yet life keeps getting in the way.

Guess what, my sisters, my brothers, life is not getting in the way. Life is the thing we were put here to do. Some people, very few people considering, are sent here to seclude themselves and spend almost all their time communing with God. God has called them to that task, and they have accepted. I always think that would be such a great way to live. Nothing getting in the way of my time with God. Then I remembered that if it were just me and God, I wouldn’t have my husband. I wouldn’t have my kids. I wouldn’t see my siblings or parents as much. They were called to that life and get to spend a lot of time with the Lord, but that doesn’t mean their life or their decision is easy. They are sacrificing a lot to live that life. I am so grateful to those who answered that call because we all benefit from their sacrifices, loyalty, devotion, and prayers.

Most of us are called to live in the world but not be of the world. We are called to live out our lives in various professions. We are called to live and interact with people. We are not called to be alone. This, too, comes with its own set of challenges. We have to navigate having to be in the world and yet not of the world. We have to figure out how to be a reflection of Christ to those around us. This is not always easy to do. It is easy to get caught up in the world and our lives and forget to make time for the Lord. So many people I know feel frustrated with their lack of time and energy. Most people I know seem tired and feel like they have no more to give. They have used up all they have been given.

We feel this way because we are not making time for the Lord. He is our strength. He is where our power and energy comes from. I love the part of the verse above that says, “You’ve supercharged my life so that I soar again like a flying eagle in the sky!” When we feel weak, worn out, and completely helpless, we can turn to the Lord, who can fill us back up again. I think I love this translation because it shows the power of the Lord. The power of the Holy Spirit, which we are blessed to have living inside of us. I remember hearing a testimony of a little girl about seven or so. She was laying hands on her aunt to pray for healing. She said she felt this heat and this electricity go through her hands just before she put them on her aunt. She said it felt like her arm was plugged into an electrical socket or something. That is the power of the Holy Spirit.

The wording of this verse says, “You’ve supercharged my life so that I soar again like a flying eagle in the sky.” How many of us could use our lives to be supercharged? How many days at 3:00 in the afternoon do you wish the Holy Spirit would come and supercharge your life so you can be awake for the rest of the day? How many of us are just going through the motions day after day, and we need the Lord to come in and supercharge our lives? We need the Holy Spirit to jolt us awake to truly live our lives. So often, it takes a tragedy to help us wake up and see how vital and precious life is. Don’t wait for a tragedy. Wake up and see the beauty of each new day today.

The first part of this verse says, “You satisfy my every desire with good things.” Did you know the Lord is the one who puts the desires down deep in your heart? Don’t you think He will help you achieve them if He gave you them? The hard part in all of this is waiting for them. We live in a world where we get instant gratification. Have you ever stopped to think about what it was like before all the modern inventions we have today? Have you ever thought about how long it must have taken to cook things back in the day? Today, we look for the next thing to make our lives easier. We want an Instapot because we don’t want to wait 40 minutes for our chicken to cook in the oven when an Instapot can cook it in 10 minutes. I hate waiting 30 minutes for the heat to warm up a room. Imagine lighting a fire and waiting for that to heat the whole house. Imagine having to light candles to have light in the house.

I say all of this to show you why it makes sense that we struggle to wait for God’s timing. It makes sense that we would be impatient when things take a while because we are used to having what we want when we want it. I ordered a canister of tea online the other day, which was delivered to my door the next day. Sometimes, we can have a desire placed in our hearts, and it can be there for a very long time, and we get so tired of waiting. This might be you right now. You might read this verse or listen to it and think, “God is not satisfying my every desire with good things.” If this is your reality right now, I want to ask you to take that to God and ask Him about it. Don’t feel as though you should just be grateful for what you have. Yes, be grateful for what you have, and also ask God for the desires you are still waiting for. In our prayer group, God tells us repeatedly that we are not asking for too much. We are asking for too little. God wants to grant us our heart desires.

This thought keeps coming up in the back of my head, so I think I am supposed to address it. What about the mom who constantly desired to have children of her own and didn’t? What about the mom who wanted a big family and only had one child? What about the man who wanted to get married and yet never did? Honestly, I don’t know. I am not sure why those desires went unfulfilled. So many things about God and how He does things remain a mystery to me, and they probably always will. I don’t think we will be able to ever fully understand the complexity of God while we are still living. I think the Holy Spirit put this on my mind to let you know that if you have desires that have been unfulfilled, know that God sees you. He knows your desires and is right there with you while you wait.

If you have deep desires that have gone unfulfilled, bring them to the Lord. It is ok to seek understanding. It is ok to express your frustration, disappointment, and even anger to the Lord. He already knows you are feeling it anyway, so why not take it to Him and ask Him for help processing it? Taking all of that to the Lord and asking for help instead of trying to process it on your own will help you to grow closer to Him instead of further away. He wants to talk to us. He wants to be a part of everything we do.

I really wish I had a better answer for you. I wish I knew why this says He satisfies every desire, yet it doesn’t seem that way to some of us. I do know that the Holy Spirit would not let me get that thought out of my head, and I feel I was supposed to mention it even though I don’t have an answer. Maybe I was supposed to bring it up so you would know you are not alone, you are not forgotten, and that it is ok to bring it to God and ask for understanding and wisdom into your circumstances. I pray you get the understanding you seek. The Lord says to ask, and it will be given; knock, and the door will be answered. Seek, and you shall find. What is on my heart right now is that we need to seek more. Don’t just be content with the disappointment. God is not a God of disappointment. Seek understanding, seek clarity. God has more for us if we just seek Him more.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, we thank you for fulfilling our deepest desires with good things. Thank you for supercharging our lives, Lord. We will take all you want to give us. More, Lord, more! Lord, some have deep desires that have not been fulfilled, and it doesn’t look like they will be filled. We ask that you give them understanding and clarity into your ways. We ask that you heal their hearts. We ask that you be with them; when they come to you, they gain the understanding they need. We love you, Lord, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ mighty name, Amen!

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

Our Father's Love (Part 3) You've Rescued Me From Hell!

Psalm 113:4 “You've rescued me from hell and saved my life. You've crowned me with love and mercy.”

I think most of us can say that God has rescued us from hell at one point or another. Of course, this hell looks different for each one of us. Your hell might look like years of depression that seem overwhelming. Your hell might be years of anxiety too much to deal with. Your hell might be an abusive relationship that you can’t seem to leave. Your hell might be money troubles that keep getting worse and worse. We all have something we are dealing with. Mine was family trouble for a very long time. It was really difficult to parent my children, and my marriage was not going well. This went on for a very long time. Maybe yours has gone on for a long time, too.

When our difficult times go on for a long time, it can be difficult to believe that God will rescue us from them. Understanding why God hasn’t rescued us from these difficult times can be challenging. However, He always does rescue us from them. Not only does he rescue us from them, but he walks with us while we are in them as well. God never leaves our side. He is right there with us each step of the way. In my Encounter Ministries class, they taught us an exercise to help heal wounded memories. The first step is to stop and ask Jesus, “Where were you when this occurred?” Did you know you could ask God questions like this? Did you know asking where He was when you were struggling was okay?

Did you know that if you ask and truly listen, He will tell you where He was? That may seem strange to you if you are not used to listening to or hearing the Lord’s voice. Well, actually, it’s not usually the Lord’s voice you hear. It is usually more like you hear your own voice in your head or you get a thought in your head with no voice.  But you will get an answer if you listen for one. I remember volunteering to do this exercise in front of the class so the teacher could demonstrate how it works. When I asked Jesus where He was during a specific experience with my boys, He explained that He was right there, giving me the strength to keep getting up each morning. He gave me strength and perseverance, so I never felt like giving up. He was with me through it all.

He is doing the same with you. You might have had some truly terrible experiences. Know that Jesus was right by your side through them. I don’t know why He didn’t prevent them from happening. That is something for Him to answer. I know He was there with you; no matter how alone you felt, you were not alone. He was there, walking by your side. God is so good like that!

The next part of the verse says, “You've crowned me with love and mercy.” These two things can be challenging for us to understand. We might be unable to believe that the Lord loves us for many reasons. If we have never been truly loved by anyone on earth, then it can be hard to believe anyone could love us, let alone someone as magnificent as the Lord. If we have had a hard life and done many things we are not proud of, then we struggle to believe someone could love us. The Lord’s love is unconditional. It is not dependent on what you do or say. It is not dependent on whether you love him back. You do not need to earn God’s love. It is freely given. This can be hard to understand, especially if we had to earn love as a child. We live in a broken world, so we don’t all love unconditionally.

The second part of this line also says we are crowned with mercy. The definition of mercy is “compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm.” This is why we struggle to believe in God’s mercy. We know He has the power to punish us. We know we deserve that punishment, yet God wants to shower us with His mercy. That doesn’t make much sense to us because that is not how the world thinks. We live in a day and age where we seem to be back to an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. It seems like if someone does something to you, you have to do something back to them.

For instance, when we are on the highway, and someone cuts you off, you have to blare your horn at them. You have to show them they did something wrong. My question is, “Why?” Why do you have to let them know they did something wrong? Can’t we have mercy on them and let them go on their way? I was driving with one of my sons the other day, and he wanted to get into a lane, but the driver wouldn’t let him in. He passed him on the right, and then my son got into that lane. However, my son was so angry that this man passed on the right and didn’t let him in. Where is the mercy? Where is the forgiveness?

People seem to get so angry at the slightest offense or at the slightest wrongdoing these days. This makes understanding how God can show us mercy when we have done some pretty big things more challenging. We are a flawed people, and we turn away from God often. So, how can he keep forgiving us when we don’t want to forgive those around us? These are all legitimate thoughts. However, we need to consider that we are not dealing with another human. We are dealing with the Lord God Almighty. He can do all things. There is nothing too great for Him. We are His children, and He crowns us with love and mercy, not one or the other, both. He is a good and loving Father!

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, help us to believe that you crown us with love and mercy. Help us to feel that down in our hearts! Thank you, Lord, for rescuing us from Hell. Thank you for all you did to get us out of that place and all you did to try to keep us out of it in the first place. We are sorry we don’t listen better. Help us learn to follow you more. Help us to hear your voice above all others. Help us to follow your path and no one else’s. We love you, Lord, you are amazing! Thank you for all you do for us. We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I haven’t mentioned it in a while, so I want to remind everyone that if you want to receive my newsletter and any information on my coaching program or upcoming retreats, you can sign up on my webpage, walkboldlywithjesus.com. Or you can click on the link in the show notes. There is a link to receive a free audio training on how to invite Jesus into your every day.

I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day.

Our Father’s Love (Part 1)

Psalm 103:1-2 “With my whole heart, with my whole life, and with my innermost being, I bow in wonder and love before you, the holy God! Yahweh, you are my soul’s celebration. How could I ever forget the miracles of kindness you’ve done for me?"

Yesterday, in the prayer group the leader read Psalm 103 to us. I was trying to listen to the psalm and yet I was also distracted. She did her talk about a few parts of the Psalm, so I got to hear a few of the parts again. This morning I decided to read the whole Psalm and ask the Lord to highlight any parts he wanted me to talk about. Well, let me tell you, He highlighted almost the whole thing. I really got the sense that the Lord wanted me to go deeper into this Psalm. I got the feeling that He wanted me to do a series of episodes on this Psalm. This is actually confirmation of a question I got asked last Friday. I was talking with my friend Cynthia and she asked me if I ever do themes or series on the podcast. It’s funny how the Lord will use other people to get his point across. I hear you loud and clear, Lord. I will do a series on Psalm 103.

Psalm 103 even has a beautiful title, “Our Father’s Love.” There is so much to our heavenly Father’s love. It is so vast and so all encompassing. In this psalm, His love is broken down into ways that we can understand better. Today’s verse starts with how we should love God. It begins with, “With my whole heart, with my whole life, and with my innermost being, I bow in wonder and love before you, the holy God!” This is definitely something to strive for. What does it mean to love God with our whole heart, our whole life, and with our innermost being?

The first thing that comes to mind is that we don't have other things competing for our love that are anywhere close to the way we love God. This may sound easy, and yet it is really isn’t. We my think we love God with our who heart and yet there are so many things we love. What if you had to pick between the Lord and TV, would you pick the Lord? My first response is, “of course I would.” Then I think back to all the times when I had homework to do for Bible study, or I felt the Lord was calling me to pray and yet I decided to watch TV instead. If you had to choose between the Lord and sleep, which would you choose. Again, my first instinct would always be the Lord. I would choose him about all else. Yet, when it is early in the morning and I am planning to get up and spend time with the Lord, I choose to hit the snooze button instead. In that moment I am not choosing the Lord, I am choosing sleep.

TV and sleep just happen to be the two things I tend to put above the Lord. Your’s might be something completely different. Maybe you put your phone or playing games on your phone above spending time with the Lord. Maybe you put housework or car work above spending time with the Lord. Wherever it is we are spending our time, that is where our affection is going. Think about a different relationship that you have. If you are married, think about your relationship with your spouse. You hopefully love your spouse with your whole heart. Yet, what happens when you don’t spend any time with that person. What happens when you are too busy doing other things?

The verse says, “And with my innermost being, I bow in wonder and love before you, the holy God!” How often are we bowing in wonder and love before the Lord? I was talking with a friend yesterday and we were talking about how amazing God is. We had a really Spirit filled Encounter Ministries class on Monday night and we were just in awe of the way the Lord showed up. My friend said she doesn’t know why we are so in awe each time as He does it so frequently. I think it is good that we are still in awe each and every time. I pray I never take his awesomeness for granted. I pray I never get used to the miraculous way He shows up each time we ask Him to. I pray I continue to bow in wonder and love before the Lord.

The next part of the verse goes along with this. It says, “Yahweh, you are my soul’s celebration. How could I ever forget the miracles of kindness you’ve done for me?” First, I love that beginning line. “Yahweh, you are my soul’s celebration.” How beautiful is that? Next, it reminds us to never forget the miracles of kindness He has done for us. I think today would be a great day to look back over your life, or even over this past week and recall to mind all the miracles of kindness that the Lord did for you. When we keep these miracles in the forefront of our mind it makes it easier to find joy. It makes it easier to make it through the hard times when we remember that Jesus helped us through the last hard time that we had.

This verse isn’t just talking about God helping us through the hard times, It is also talking about the small miracles of kindness as well. Someone in my prayer group mentioned yesterday that she felt the Lord put upon her heart to start a devotion of the Holy Face at her Tuesday prayer group. She chose St. Terese of Lisieux as the patron saint for the group. She asked the group to pray to St. Terese and ask her to show them a rose if she agreed to be their patron saint. One of the members said she got her rose, however, my friend did not. Then the other day she was walking by a thrift store and right in the front window was a picture of a Maine wild rose. This is significant to her because she is from Maine and because she received a word of prophecy from the Lord several years back while living in Maine. The Lord told her she was like this Maine rose and that he would transplant her some where that she could grow. Now she lives in MA.

There were plenty of people that probably walked by this picture of the rose and didn’t think anything of it, yet the Lord knew Carolyn would be walking by that day and that it would mean the world to her. God does this for each one of us. He knows us so intimately that He can set up something like this experience my friend had. I am sure if we all think about it we have all had many experiences like this. Think of at least one time when the Lord has blown you away with how well He knows you. What is one time when He showed up when you really needed it? When is one time when he provided for you when you least expected it? The Lord shows up for us more often than we even know. All those things that we chalk up to coincidences, are really the Lord showing us how much He cares. It is important that we know this and that we never forget those acts of kindness.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, we love you and we thank you for all you do for us. Lord, we ask that you help us to never get used to your miracles, but that we are always in awe when we see your handiwork. Lord, we ask that you help us to see, especially throughout the day today, all the ways you are showing up for us, all the ways you are working things out for our good. We know you know us so intimately and we thank you for all the ways you confirm this throughout the day. 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. I look forward to seeing you again on Monday. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!

What Are We Waiting For?

James 4:13-15 “Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

This verse is so good because it reminds us that none of us know how much time we have. We wake up each day and take it for granted that we woke up. Most of us do not wake up grateful for a new day. If we are being honest, we probably wake up annoyed that our alarm is going off and wonder how it could possibly be time to get up already when we just laid our heads down a minute ago. I think the part of the verse that says, “You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes,” demonstrates how brief our life actually is. We may seem like we are here on earth forever, yet it goes by in the blink of an eye.

It sounds like the beginning of this verse is telling us we shouldn’t make plans because we don’t know if we will be around to carry out those plans. I don’t think that is what the verse is telling us. I think this verse is trying to get us to remember that tomorrow is not guaranteed. None of us know the day we will pass on. None of us know if we will wake up tomorrow. I think we need to continue to make plans and yet when we are making them we remember what the verse says, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

We have dear friends that we have not seen in a long time and yet think of often. We met this family when we were stationed in New Jersey. Tony worked with the husband, and since our family was 4 hours away, they adopted us into their family. Their daughter babysat our boys and we got together for dinner. Dave & Susan have this saying that I think is exactly what this verse is talking about. When you check in with them to confirm your plans, such as “Are we going to dinner tomorrow night?” They always say, “If The good Lord willing and the creek don’t rise.” This might sound like a cute saying, yet it reminds us that we can and should make plans and yet we can only carry out those plans if the Lord wills them and if He grants us the gift of another day.

This afternoon I heard this song that I haven’t heard in a while. The chorus of this song always gets me. The song's name is What Are We Waiting For by King and Country. The lyrics that always get me are: So what are we waiting for? What are we waiting for? Why are we wasting all the time like someone's making more? What are we praying for? What are we saving for? What if we could be the light that no one could ignore? What are we waiting for?

I have two favorite lines in that chorus. The first one is, “Why are we wasting all the time like someone’s making more?” Does that hit you, too, or is it just me? I find myself wasting so much time throughout the day. While I was supposed to write this in the last hour, I got sidetracked with at least three different things. Sometimes, it is things that need to be done. Other times, it is checking my email, my Facebook, and my messages on my phone. Other times, it is watching TV or playing a game on my phone. Time goes by each and every day, whether we realize it or not, whether we are paying attention to it or not. Sometimes, we get so tired of doing things that we wish we could just be done and finished with. However, we don’t realize how important that thing may be.

Recently, I have been saying that I want my kids to get their licenses because they are 18 & 19, and I spend a lot of time driving them in the car. Also, Sam does not get out until 9:30, and I would love to be in bed before 10. This week, the Holy Spirit put on my heart that if I am not driving them to work, I may not have much time to talk with them. Noah got his license a few weeks ago, and since he has started driving himself to work, I don’t see him nearly as much. We definitely don’t have that 30 minutes of time to be with each other and talk. When I drove him to work, we didn’t always talk, but we did tend to talk about music or a few other things. Now, I see him briefly before school and when I go in to say goodnight. However, if I am going to be earlier, I will probably be in bed when they get home from work, so I may not even get to hug them goodnight each night anymore. Do you see what I mean about wishing time away?

The other line in the chorus that I love is when it says, “What if we could be the light that no one could ignore?” How great would it be if we could be the light that no one could ignore. What if we loved Christ so much, and we were so full of Him, that His light radiated out of us so brightly that those around us couldn’t ignore it? When I ask the Lord, how we do this, He tells me with love. We need to love others the way He loves others. I heard at Bible study this week that this couple was visiting with some movie star down in Florida. This man said that he met Mother Theresa when he was in Jail. He said he only spent a few moments with her and she didn’t say very much and yet he was inspired to change his whole life because of her kindness. There was a British Journalist who was an atheist and yet he was chosen to interview Mother Theresa. Just being around her and her kindness was enough to turn this atheist into a believer and eventually he became a member of the Catholic Church.

What if we could be the light that no one could ignore? What if that was us? What if just spending time with us, just being around us was enough to help people see the love of Christ? Wouldn’t that be amazing? It all starts with love. It starts by loving others for who they are, not loving people when they are perfect, loving them right where they are, loving them flaws and all. We can’t do this on our own and yet we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Ask the Lord for grace to be His light in the world. He has said, “ask and you will receive.” What will you ask for today?

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, we know each day is a gift from you, we just forget it often. Please help us appreciate that gift more. Lord, help us be better stewards of you time. Help us not to waste time on things that don’t matter. Help us appreciate the time we have with our spouse and our children. Help us to understand we will miss that time when we don’t have it anymore. Lord, help us to be that light that no one can ignore. Fill us up so much with your light that it just spills out of us onto all those we meet. 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 that journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I have a link on my website where you can register for my coaching program now, even though we won’t start the coaching until the New Year. You will input  your name and email and then when the New Year rolls around I will send a payment link. I will start the FaceBook group now for those who are registered so we can get to know each other and be there for each other through the holiday season. The Facebook group will be there for those who sign up for group coaching. I will continue to provide more information as we go. If you have any questions please reach out on social media or email me catherine@findingtruenorthcoaching.com I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember Jesus loves you, and so do I. Have a blessed day!

Persevere & Receive What He Has Promised!

Hebrews 10:36 "You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”

This was one of the verses I typed for our August discernment notes for the Prayer Group. The message translation came up when I looked up the verse on biblegateway.com to check out different versions. I love the message translation because it puts it in our current terms. It takes what the Bible says and uses common everyday language to tell us what they are talking about. Another thing it does is group verses together. So, instead of having verse 36, it had verses 32-39 all lumped together. This way, you don’t take any verses out of context.  I don’t always use this translation when writing the devotional, but I frequently look at it to ensure I understand what is being said. Today, I didn’t intend to look up the message translation; it just came up, and the verses blew me away. When I get a verse, I often read it before and after it. When I do this, I sometimes switch to those verses. This morning, the verses before this one give us much more context into what this verse means.

Here is the message translation for Hebrews 10:32-36, “Remember those early days after you first saw the light? Those were the hard times! Kicked around in public, targets of every kind of abuse—some days it was you, other days your friends. If some friends went to prison, you stuck by them. If some enemies broke in and seized your goods, you let them go with a smile, knowing they couldn’t touch your real treasure. Nothing they did bothered you, nothing set you back. So don’t throw it all away now. You were sure of yourselves then. It’s still a sure thing! But you need to stick it out, staying with God’s plan so you’ll be there for the promised completion.”

I loved these verses because it explains how hard it can be to stick with something. When we start something new, we are excited and go all in, or at least I do. I always want to do it because it is new and exciting. Even if it is hard work, it can still be exciting, and we can still be motivated. However, what about when it is not new or exciting anymore? Think about a hobby you started, and you were so excited about it, and you bought all the things to go with it and did it all the time. When I got married, my neighbor started selling Creative Memories scrapbooking supplies. To support her I started a scrapbook for Tony and me. Then, when I had kids, I got more into scrapbooking. I would stay up late doing it. My fellow moms and I would have scrapbooking nights going well into the mornings. I bought more and more stuff, and I loved it. Then as I had more kids and they got to ages where they were into more stuff, I slowly got away from scrapbooking. Now I have two bookshelves full of supplies, and I rarely ever scrapbook. I also got into running during COVID, and I was excited to go out and run. Not excited every day, but excited enough to get myself out there. I don’t think I ran much at all this past year. Our interests come and go. Our relationship with the Lord is something that should remain a constant in our lives.

The letters to the various communities in the New Testament addressed the people of the early church. Jesus came here to set up a new kingdom in this world. This religion was new and exciting. It was familiar in some ways and radically different in other ways. People were excited, and they were all in at first. People were excited about this new religion, and yet it was not an easy life for those who believed in Christ. Nowadays, if you believe in Christ, you may have some persecution, but nothing like they received back at the beginning.

Right after Christ died, there was a lot of persecution. Many could not openly worship and if they were caught they were put in jail or they were killed. Peter was crucified, Paul was beheaded, Andrew was also crucified, Thomas was pierced through with spears, Philipp was arrested and cruelly put to death, Matthew was stabbed to death, Bartholomew was a martyr for the Gospel, James was stoned and then clubbed to death, Simon, the zealot, was killed after refusing to sacrifice to the sun god, Matthias was burned to death, & John was the only one to die of natural causes. It was not easy to be a Christian when these letters were being written. This is why the early church father’s wrote letters to their people. They wanted to encourage them to keep believing.

These verses do just that. “Remember those early days after you first saw the light? Those were the hard times! Kicked around in public, targets of every kind of abuse—some days it was you, other days your friends. If some friends went to prison, you stuck by them.” This is reminding them of how they felt when they first came to know Christ. They are reminding them that times were hard even from the beginning and yet they followed Christ anyway. They were kicked around, and they were abused in all sorts of ways, and yet the Lord was still with them, and they were still with Him. It also reminds them that they stuck together. If their friend was in trouble, they did not desert them. They were right by their side.

Next, the verses remind them how they felt when they were full of the Lord. “If some enemies broke in and seized your goods, you let them go with a smile, knowing they couldn’t touch your real treasure. Nothing they did bothered you. Nothing set you back.” This verse reminds them of where the source of their joy is. Our joy is not found in our possessions. It is found in the Lord. If we have the Lord in our hearts, then we don’t care about our worldly possessions because we know we can’t take those with us. We know that we have the best gift inside of us, the Spirit of Christ. No one can take that away from us.

The verse says, “So don’t throw it all away now. You were sure of yourselves then. It’s still a sure thing! But you need to stick it out, staying with God’s plan so you’ll be there for the promised completion.” This part is reminding them that the time has not yet come. We need to stay in the fight. We have done so well for so long and must keep moving forward. We need to keep relying on God and defending God. We need to keep resting in the Lord. The verse reminds them that we can be just as sure of God today as we were when we first found Him. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He was there for us then and will be there tomorrow. We can count on that.

The verse I chose for today states, “You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.” This is a powerful reminder that we are all called to do something. What is God calling you to do? It also reminds us that God has made promises to us. When we have done the will of God, we will receive what He has promised us. That is pretty amazing! We just have to persevere. When it gets tough, and we feel we can’t keep going, we need to ask the Lord to help us. His power is made perfect in our weakness. We are never in this alone. The Holy Spirit lives inside of us, and that means we have the power of Jesus Christ living inside of us.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, we love you and want to persevere in following you. We want to not only follow you, we want to bring you to all those we meet. Please help us, Lord. Help us to stand up when we are persecuted. Help us to defend you, even when it is hard. Help us to keep going when we think we can’t. Lord, I ask you to help bring wisdom and clarity to your children. We pray in a special way for your children who have left the church because of the actions of some involved in the church. Lord, help them to see that the church is made up of broken people, but that does not make it a broken church. Bring them back to your loving embrace, Lord! We also pray for all those with mental health disorders, Lord. Please break through the enemy's lies and tell them how loved they are! 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. I want to let you know that I have decided to start the group coaching in January instead of November. I realize we are entering a hectic season for many people. Most people I know can’t add anything to their plate right now, even if it is a good thing. So, I will start the group coaching in January and take these next two months to talk about it and answer any questions.

I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!

Forget Yourself Long Enough To Lend A Helping Hand

Philippians 2:3-4 “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”

I had no idea this verse was in the Bible, yet it could be the answer to so many of our problems. Imagine what the world would be like if we did nothing from selfishness or empty conceit. Imagine if we all regarded one another as more important than ourselves. Imagine if we weren’t just looking out for our own best interests but those of others as well. I run into many people these days who clearly regard themselves as more important than those around them. You can tell in their voice when they talk to you that they are sure you do not know what you are talking about. You can tell by their actions they do not feel you are more important than they are.

Here is the verse above in the Message translation. Philippians 2:3-4 “Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.” How many of us are living like this? How many of us put aside what we want to help others get ahead? I love where it says, forget about yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. I wish we could all lend a helping hand a bit more.  What a better world we would live in if we did. I am not saying people aren’t doing this. I have seen people lending a helping hand. However, I have also seen far more people walk right by without stopping. I have seen people go out of their way to be mean to those less fortunate they are.

I can see extremes in two different ways. First, the person who thinks they are more important than everyone else. They don’t understand why they have to wait in line. They don’t know why the cashier can’t be faster or more efficient. They don’t understand why everything can’t be done for them. Most of their actions are done from selfishness and empty conceit. They care about themselves and no one else. They are definitely looking out for their own interests.

Then there is also the other extreme of those who never look out for their interests. The person who always puts others’ interests before his/her interests. This person has not been treated well and has been told they don’t matter. They have been taught that what they want isn’t as important as what those around them want. They have come to believe that what they want doesn’t matter. They think their worth is found in giving others what they want. They are not really choosing to put others first. They don’t know any other way.

None of the scenarios listed above are good. Yes, it does say to regard one another as more important than yourselves, but it doesn’t tell you that you don’t matter. It says, do not MERELY look out for your own personal interests. What you want and think matters. We should look out for ourselves. We shouldn’t make that our first priority, though.

We need to make sure we know who we are in God’s eyes. Even though we are called to regard others as more important than we are, we can’t forget that we were all made in God’s image and likeness. Jesus did now submit to others because He thought He was less than them. He didn’t humble himself to serve others because he had to. He did it because he wanted to. I feel this distinction is essential. This is shown in Philippians 2:5-6 “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,  who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.” Jesus knew He was God. He did not empty himself, humble himself because He had no other choice. He did this for us. He did this to show us what we should be doing. He is the “perfecter of faith.” He shows us how to love God perfectly.

The verse above asks us to humble ourselves and to put others before us. Yes, we want to be accepted into the kingdom of heaven. However, this verse tells us we don’t have to prove to God how great we are. We don’t have to act better than everyone else so that God will see us and favor us. Jesus was willing to humble himself. He was willing to empty himself to be fully human with us. Because He did this and because He was willing to be obedient to the Father, the Father lifted Him up and honored Him. Jesus tells us whoever is first on earth will be last in heaven, and whoever is last on earth will be first in heaven. Don’t we want to be first in heaven? Why are we trying so hard to be the best here on earth when this life is so short compared to eternity? Let’s all take some time today to think about how we can help elevate others instead of ourselves. How can we love others enough to regard them as higher than ourselves?

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today.  Lord, we love you, and we need you to help us. Sometimes, we step over others on our way to the top. Please forgive us and help us to change that. Sometimes, we regard ourselves as greater than others. Please forgive us and help us change. Lord, we want to treat others the way you treated others. We want to humble ourselves. We know we need your help, though.  Please help 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. My new group coaching kicks off tomorrow night. Check out my website for all the details. walkboldlywithjesus.com, I hope you will join me to go deeper in your relationship with the Lord. Why is it that we will go to an exercise class if we want to be fitter, we will go to the doctor if we want to feel better, we will seek help if we're going to improve most areas in our lives, and yet we don’t seek help growing in our relationship with the Lord? I remember hearing Matthew Kelly talking about this. He once asked His dad why he always told him and his brothers to “Listen to the coach.” He said it frequently. Matthew’s dad said you can get good at a sport independently. However, if you want to be exceptional, you need to listen to your coach. I never forgot this, and after hearing this, I decided to get a spiritual director. I was nervous to get the first time, but I knew I wanted to be an exceptional Catholic. I knew I needed help figuring out how to grow closer to the Lord. I can tell you that it is easier to grow closer to the Lord when surrounded by a community of fellow believers striving to grow closer to the Lord.  I hope you will consider joining me at least for the first month and see how it goes. Feel free to email me with any questions. catherine@findingtruenorthcoaching.com I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow! Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!

A Way Through The Wilderness

Isaiah 35:1-10 “The wilderness and the desert will be glad, And the Arabah will rejoice and blossom; Like the crocus,  It will blossom profusely And rejoice with rejoicing and shout of joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, The majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of the Lord, The majesty of our God. Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble. Say to those with anxious heart, “Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The recompense of God will come, But He will save you.” Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy. For waters will break forth in the wilderness And streams in the Arabah. The scorched land will become a pool And the thirsty ground springs of water. In the haunt of jackals, its resting place, Grass becomes reeds and rushes.  A highway will be there, a roadway, And it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it, But it will be for him who walks that way, And fools will not wander on it. No lion will be there, Nor will any vicious beast go up on it; These will not be found there. But the redeemed will walk there, And the ransomed of the Lord will return And come with joyful shouting to Zion, With everlasting joy upon their heads. They will find gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing will flee away.”

This is much longer than I usually do. I typically pick a verse and go with it. I heard the last few verses of this chapter in Isaiah at prayer group yesterday, and I really liked them. Then, when I read the whole chapter, I would pick a few verses in the middle to share. However, there were a few places in the verses that I didn’t understand. I was going to just explain the ones I did understand, and then I remembered how every time I look up the meaning of the verses I don’t understand, I am so glad I did. Whenever I look up the importance of the verses I don’t understand, I learn something interesting. Today is no different. I decided to look up the meaning of Isaiah 35, and I am happy I did.

I decided to use the middle verses because they talk about the eyes of the blind being opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. I know many people who need healing right now, so I thought these verses would be perfect. Yet, when I read the article about the meaning of Isaiah, it talked about that verse meaning our spiritual ears and eyes. It was remarkable all the things that were discussed in this article. I will place a link for it in the show notes, as it was a fantastic article to read. The article is called The Holy Way by Tony S. Everett. I will share with you the things that stood out to me.

“In today's lesson, the people of God have been living as exiles in Babylon, approximately 500 miles from their homeland. The mighty Babylonian army, under King Nebuchadnezzar, had conquered Judah, shattered the city walls of Jerusalem, and left the Jerusalem temple in ruins. As was the custom in those days, conquering armies would relocate thousands of leading citizens in order to prevent any organized rebellion. The only way home was through this vast, frightening, and overwhelming wilderness. Perhaps even God had forgotten them. Their hands were weak, their knees had grown feeble, and their hearts had become fearful. There appeared to be no hope, no help, and no way to be restored and renewed.”

We have all been in the wilderness at some point or another. A dark, scary place where we felt alone, scared, and forgotten. We feel overlooked by friends and family and sometimes even by God. Times when we thought we couldn’t go any further. The terrain was too challenging, and the hardships were too much. It was too dark to see where we were going. We lost all hope, we lost our way, and we just wanted to give up and hide under a blanket forever. Have you ever had a time like this? Maybe you are in a time like this right now.

Today, God promises that way. It is God's holy way through the very wilderness space in our souls. "A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way ... it shall be for God's people: no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray" (Isaiah 35:8).

I love what the author talks about next. He states that God did not promise to get rid of the wilderness. He did not promise we would never have to enter the wilderness again. He promised us a road right through the middle of the wilderness. He promised us a way of holy living in the midst of the wilderness. I love that! The author says, “The Lord is about to establish a new and faithful kingship in the world. Again, God will do this not by eliminating any and all wilderness space but by 1) changing the very wilderness itself, 2) changing the way God's people perceive the wilderness, and 3) transforming the way God's people behave in the wilderness.”

“First, God changes the wilderness. "Waters and streams shall nourish the dry land" (Isaiah 35:6 cf). "The burning sand shall become a pool and the thirsty ground springs of water" (Isaiah 35:7). "Wild beasts and predators will not be found there" (Isaiah 35:7, 9 cf). "Lions and other predatory beasts will not live in the wilderness anymore" (Isaiah 35:9 cf). "In the wilderness, the glory and majesty of the Lord will be revealed for all to see" (Isaiah 35:2 cf).” He goes on to state, “The Bible is filled with stories of how God changes the wilderness by being present within it. Remember that! Write it on your hearts! God does not eliminate wilderness from our lives. God changes those scary spaces by being present within them.”

“Second, God not only changes the wilderness spaces themselves, God opens blind eyes that just can't seem to see God's presence in those times of overwhelming fear, anxiety, confusion, and doubt. God opens ears so stopped up that they are deaf to God's word of promise and guidance (Isaiah 35:5). God empowers those who view themselves as trapped in their own wilderness; disabled by their own fears. God will increase their energy and send them leaping like a deer along God's holy way (Isaiah 35:6). To those whose voices can only speak pessimistic, contagious, doom and gloom about their own wilderness, God will give songs of joy (Isaiah 35:6).” Those chaotic and confusing spaces still exist. However, God changes the way we see and experience them; from hopeless and helpless, to potential and possibility; from exhaustion and despair, to renewed energy and anticipation. Look again with new eyes at your own wilderness spaces. Open your eyes to see God's presence and guidance on the holy journey of life.”

The author ends with his third point. “Third, and finally, God's holy way includes changing behavior as we travel. In our text, Isaiah describes that preparation for the discouraged exiles and for us. "Strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, be strong, do not fear! Here is your God ... He will come and save you" (Isaiah 35:3-4).”

“Well, that's easier said than done, right? Alone, yes; without God's promise to change the wilderness from burning sand to pools of water. Alone without God's promise to change the dry land to abundant streams and blossoming flowers. Impossible without God's promise of safety from prowling beasts and bandits; impossible without God's promise to change into rejoicing and singing the fearful, despairing way we see the wilderness. Isaiah writes in verse 8, "not even fools," like you and me perhaps, will go astray on God's holy way.”

Well, it turns out I just ended up reading most of the article word for word because the way he explained it was so good. I did leave out a few things, and I think you would get a lot out of going back and reading the full article. The article is The Holy Way by Tony S. Everett. CLICK HERE for article

What I liked best about this article is that it reminds us that God isn’t going to take all of our trials from us. He isn’t going to let us skate through life without any rough times. It is usually in the rough times that we learn and grow the most. However, God will walk through those tough times with us. He won’t leave us alone. He will make a way through them. He will also change us while we are going through them. I also like how the verse talked about the Lord changing the wilderness. He can do that, and I think sometimes we forget that. We may be looking at an impossible situation, and we can’t see any way through it or see anything to change. He can come in and change things in ways we couldn’t on our own. If we are trying to get through this on our own, then yes, we will be lost in the wilderness. However, if we do it with God, He will make a path right through the wilderness, and He promises in the chapter above that it will be a highway where nothing terrible can harm us.  Praise God, He is so good!

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, we thank you for making a way through the wilderness for us. We thank you for being right there with us in the wilderness. Lord, we thank you for changing how we see and hear you in the wilderness. If we are not open to that, Lord, I ask that you change our hearts. I ask you to help us remember all this when we are in the wilderness. Help us remember you are there. Help us not forget to look for the safe highway you created for us. Help us to remember you are protecting us. We love you, Lord, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and Jesus’ holy name, Amen!

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. Remember to check my website for all the details on my new group coaching program. I am most excited about us becoming a community where it is not just me sharing these podcasts daily. I am excited to get to know each and every one of you and help you grow closer to the Lord. I am excited to get to do life with you. I hope you will check out the website and join me. walkboldlywithjesus.com.

I look forward to meeting you again on Monday! Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed weekend!

Guilty Enough To Go Into The Fiery Hell?

Matthew 5:21-22 “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’  But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.”

Yesterday, the Gospel at mass was the beatitudes found in Matthew 5:1-12. While listening at Mass, I felt I was supposed to teach on those today. However, while reading them this morning, I felt the Holy Spirit nudge me to read further in the chapter. As soon as I got to these verses, I was told I could stop. What struck me about these verses is the importance of what they say and how easy it is for us to do. How easy is it for us to get mad at someone? Frequently, I would say. Mostly, I would say I get angry with people most when I am driving. I am not an angry driver and am usually pretty calm when driving.

Lately, I am still calm; however, I have noticed myself commenting on other drivers. It seems that people are driving worse and worse as the days go by. However, it could just be that I am getting old and less patient. I am not sure. However, I have noticed lately when I am driving, and someone cuts me off or drives in and out of the lanes, I think they are driving like an idiot. Sometimes, I might even say they are an idiot. This is exactly what I was thinking of this morning when I read this verse. The verse ends with, “And whoever says,

‘You fool’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.”

Did you catch that? If we call someone a fool, we will be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. I was talking to my dad one time about heaven and hell. We were discussing how Jesus died for our sins. We were discussing how some religions believe you have to believe that Jesus is our Lord and Savior and you get to go to heaven, and we were talking about how Catholics believe it is not just believing in Jesus, but it is your works as well. I have always believed that you will go to heaven if you are primarily a good person. My dad reminded me of what Mary told the little children of Fatima. She gave them a vision of all the suffering in hell, and she said to them that more people than we know are going there.

This concerned me, and I have spent some time thinking about it. Then, when I went to an Unbound training, I heard the story of the priest whose heart stopped. He died for a few minutes, and instead of going to heaven like he thought he would, he went to hell. When he saw Jesus, he was told he went there because he had unforgiveness in his heart. He wished God would punish those who had hurt him. I know we hear often that we must forgive, but I am not sure we understand what is at stake if we don’t forgive. The stakes are pretty high. The Our Father prayer says that God will forgive us as we forgive those. I think many of us don’t realize what we are saying when we say that prayer.

I believe God is highlighting these things for me because I am searching. I want to spend eternity with the Father, and God knows our thoughts. He knows our hearts. If we seek the truth, He will provide it for us. I don’t want to be writing about things on this podcast that might be leading you down the wrong path, or that might be false information. Before writing each episode, I pray that the words that come out are the Lord’s words for you, not mine. We will gain understanding if we seek to understand the Word of the Lord. The Lord said in Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

I often think of this phrase when I am asking for something. However, the Lord reminded me of its last part: seek and you will find. Let’s start seeking the truth. Let’s take our concerns to the Lord. Not just our prayer requests but also our concerns. Concerns such as, am I loving my neighbor? Do I love you, God, with my whole heart, mind and soul? Did you know you can ask the Lord to show you how you are falling short in your life, and He will? He won’t show you in a condemning way. He will guide you in a gentle yet convicting way. He also won’t show you a hundred things at one time. I believe the Lord will show you one or two things you can work on, and when you prove to be faithful in working on those, He will show you a few more ways.

When we make a conscious effort to live the way God calls us to, I believe  God rejoices in heaven. I think it makes Him so happy that we care enough about Him to stop and ask, will this bring me closer to the Lord or further away from Him? A few months ago, I was talking with my mother-in-law about whether we would go to heaven. She had a conversation with a friend, and they discussed what it takes to get into heaven, like my conversation with my dad. Actually that is why I was having the conversations with my dad. He is a deacon in the Catholic Church, so if I have questions on theology or what the Church says, I ask him. I also talked with a friend from Encounter Ministries, and she said she had just had a conversation with God about this the other day. Isn’t it funny how we tend to go to books, friends, or religious leaders, and my friend goes straight to the source?

She said she felt the Lord told her we were asking the wrong question. The question shouldn’t be, “Am I going to Heaven.” The question should be, “Do I love God.” This might seem like an easy question. Of course, I love God. Yet, do our actions show that we love God? If we love God, then we need to love each other. Jesus is inside each one of us. At Bible study this week, someone said they were listening to a talk, I am not sure who the talk was by, and the speaker said there are not two great commandments. There is only one. He said the two listed in the Gospels, Love the Lord your God with your whole heart, mind, and soul and love your neighbor as yourself, are actually one commandment.

He went on to explain they are equal to each other. Picture you have a math equation. 2 + 3 = 5 or 4 + 3 = 7. The speaker explained that if we love the Lord our God with our whole heart, mind, and soul, we will also love our neighbor. If we love our neighbor as we love ourselves, we will also love our God. We can’t do one without doing the other. If we attempt to do one without the other, we fall short. We are not truly loving God if we are treating His children with hatred and unforgiveness. Think about a sibling or a friend who has children, and you really don’t like how the children behave. Maybe you think they are spoiled brats. Are you loving your sibling well when you feel evil thoughts about their child? Are you loving your parents well when you are treating your siblings poorly?

I think the Lord is slowly revealing what is most important to Him. I know for sure that forgiveness is so essential, and this keeps getting confirmed the more and more I learn. Now that I know that deep in my soul, I believe he is moving on to the next thing: kindness and how we treat his beloved children. We can’t genuinely love Him if we are treating His children poorly. What I love about this verse is that it breaks it down so specifically. I don’t love what it says, as it is hard to hear. However, I would rather listen to it now and have the chance to change my ways than not hear it and inadvertently end up in a place I definitely don’t want to be for all eternity. Let me leave you with the Lord’s words today. I know it is a hard teaching, and it will take time to stop doing it. I also know we can stop doing it if we rely on the Lord to help us. All we need to do is say, Yes, Lord, come in and transform my heart and mind. Lord, I need you. Please give me the strength to stop doing these things. The Lord’s power is made perfect in our weakness. We have to humble ourselves and ask for help. Listen to these words and ask the Lord to let these words change your heart.

“You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’  But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.”

Dear Lord, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, thank you for caring so much about us. You are willing to tell us what we don’t want to hear. Lord, help us to change our ways. Lord, help us to understand the gravity of our actions. We think it is no big deal to call someone an idiot, and yet you are saying we will be guilty enough to go to hell. Lord, help us change. We want to spend eternity with you. That is all we want, which is most important to us. Help us Lord. We love you very much and 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. My new coaching program starts in just 5 days. Make sure to go to my website and get all the details. www.walkbodlywithjesus.com I hope you will consider joining me so we can all go a little deeper in our relationship with the Lord. I know doing something new can be scary. You don’t know what to expect and aren’t sure you will like it. What if everyone else is further along on their journey? What if they know more than I do? What if you ask the wrong question? What if you hate it? All of these are everyday thoughts. First of all, we are all on our own spiritual journey. I personally love it when everyone else is further along because I learn so much from them. I have always been nervous about joining a new group, but I can honestly say I have never regretted it. Being surrounded by others who share the same beliefs and have the same desire to grow closer to the Lord is such a fantastic feeling. It is not something I can explain. It is something you have to experience for yourself. If you don’t like it, you can quit. Just because you sign up for the first month does not mean you have to stay forever. You can quit at any time. There is no long-term commitment required. You can just come and see what it is all about. If you have any questions or concerns, I am happy to answer them. catherine@findingtruenorthcoaching.com I look forward to meeting you hear again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day.

Am I Falling Asleep Too?

Acts 20:9 “And a young man named Eu′tychus was sitting in the window. He sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer, and being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead.”

I heard a sermon on the Elevation Podcast the other day. This sermon was called I Didn’t Know I Fell Asleep and was preached by a visiting pastor named Robert Madu. He is the pastor of a church in Texas, and he was outstanding. He read a short passage and got so much out of it. Let me read the whole passage so you have some context for the passage I selected above.  

Acts 20:7-12 “On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the morrow; and he prolonged his speech until midnight.  There were many lights in the upper chamber where we were gathered.  And a young man named Eu′tychus was sitting in the window. He sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer; and being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead.  But Paul went down and bent over him and, embracing him, said, “Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.” And when Paul had gone up and had broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed. And they took the lad away alive and were not a little comforted.”

After hearing that story, I wonder if you have the same question. Why would he sit in an open window? If you have time, I highly recommend you go back and listen to the whole episode on the Elevation podcast. CLICK HERE for the episode. Pastor Madu made many good points; I couldn’t relay them all to you in the next 10 minutes.

I want to focus on the one that hit me the hardest. Pastor Madu said, “Maybe he didn’t know he was falling asleep.” As soon as he said that, I knew where he was going with this because it can be so easy for us to slowly fall asleep regarding our faith. We get busy and don’t realize it has been weeks since we have been to church. We plan to get up and devote the first 10 minutes to God each morning, and then we hit snooze a few times, and we don’t have time to spend with God now, or we will be late for work, school, or whatever we have planned for the day. We want to read the Bible and be in God’s word, yet all these other things keep coming up, and we don’t have the time.

It is so easy to fall asleep. I am not talking about literally falling asleep, although I am sure we have all done that, too. I am sure we have all fallen asleep or nodded off during mass, church service, or at least during our prayers. We are tired, and we are busy, and we do so much. We must be careful when it comes to becoming sleepy and falling asleep in our spiritual life.

Did you know that if you put a frog in boiling water, he will jump right out? He does not want to be boiled alive. He has self-preservation skills. However, if you put a frog in cold water and put that pan over a flame, and it slowly gets hotter and hotter, the frog will not jump out. It gets accustomed to the water and does not know it is in trouble until it is too late. The same can be true with us and our faith. We can grow tired on our spiritual journey, and yet it happens so slowly with one decision and then another and then another that we don’t know we are in trouble until it is too late.

Are we slowly boiling ourselves? Are we making bad decisions after bad decisions without even realizing it? Let’s take a moment to do an inventory. Have we fallen asleep in our faith life? When was the last time we spent one-on-one time with the Lord, just me and Him? When was the last time I was in His scripture, and I don’t mean mass on Sunday? Yes, mass is essential, yet that shouldn’t be your only encounter with God’s word each week. When did I last ask the Lord what He thought I should do? When was the last time I sat in the classroom of silence, as Matthew Kelly calls it, and just listened to what the Lord wanted to say to me?

All of these things are essential parts of our spiritual journey. All of these things help us grow closer to the Lord. Every time I look back at my prayer journal, I am amazed at how long it has been since my last journal entry. I love writing in my prayer journal because I usually ask the Lord to write back to me through my pen. I love spending that time with the Lord, yet I allow life to get in the way of spending time with Him. I have signed up for a Bible study to help ensure I am in His Word daily, and I love attending it. Yet, I haven’t done any reading for the study because I am doing other things. I am not even sure what else I am doing. I know I do have a lot going on, and yet I find time to spend on FaceBook or playing a game on my phone.

It’s crazy how easy it is to distract ourselves from the Lord and our relationship with Him. Our relationship with the Lord is similar to that with friends and family. It can be so easy to fall asleep in those relationships as well. What happens if you get so busy you no longer have time to talk with your spouse, kids, or friends? What happens if you get so busy that you no longer have time to listen to them? What if you don’t have time to hang out with them and spend time with them? If you do not put time into your relationships, they fall apart.

Luckily, our God is forgiving and patient and waits for us to return to Him. However, what if we run out of time? The Bible is full of parables that tell us not to fall asleep because we don’t know when our time is coming, when the bridegroom will be coming, and when the master of the house will be coming. We must stay away, we must stay alert, and we must always keep growing. Take a few minutes this morning and see if you might be falling asleep. If so, what can you do about it? I know for me, I am going to try hard to stop hitting snooze and keep my dates with the Lord in the morning. Maybe even move them from my office to the church down the street. It is open 24/7, and the last time I was in the church with just me and Jesus, it was a fantastic feeling. If you have a church near you that is unlocked throughout the day, try it. I think you will be surprised how much closer you feel to the Lord when chatting with Him in a church.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, you are amazing and we would never want to fall asleep in our relationship with you. Yet, we sometimes do. We let life get in the way gradually and then begin to forget to do all the essential things, like spend time with you, listen to you, and be in your Word. We ask that you wake us up gently, Lord. Show us where we are falling asleep and how we can change it. We want to be all in with our relationship with you. We want to be fully awake. Teach us how, 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! I want to take a quick minute to talk with you about how you could join me in a deeper, more personal way on this journey. I will be starting a Walk Boldly with Jesus group coaching program. I will teach on a topic on Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. EST on a Zoom call. The teaching will be about 30 minutes, and then we will have 30 minutes or so of small group discussions. This small group discussion time will be as valuable as the teaching time. This will give everyone a chance to process what was just taught and then figure out how you can apply it to your life over the next week.

The best part is that you will meet with those same people next week, so you can check back in with each other and see how the week went. We will all grow so much quicker if we do not just hear the teaching but apply it immediately in our lives. If you can not make Tuesdays at 8 PM EST, I’ve got you covered too! I will record the teachings so you can watch them when you have time. You won’t have the small group live discussions, but there will be a members-only Facebook group where you can discuss how you will apply it to your lives and check back in to see how it is going. Also, if a few people cannot make it but want to form a small group discussion at another time, I can set up a Zoom call for you to do at a convenient time for those who want to do that. If you have any questions, please let me know. This new coaching program will start in November. However, you can join at any point. If you know a fellow Christian who would like to grow in their relationship with the Lord and have a community alongside them on that journey, please pass along this information. All the info can be found at walkboldlywithjesus.com. Thank you!

I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!

Check out WalkboldlywithJesus.com to find all the details on my new coaching group. Here is a brief description. 

Have you ever desired a more personal relationship with the Lord? Have you ever been around people who seem so in love with the Lord and longed for that same relationship? Have you ever wished you knew more about praying, worshiping, praising, and so much more? Why is it that if we want to get better at something, like gardening, painting, or singing, we will seek professional help? However, we rarely do this when it comes to our faith. Yet, this could be the most critical area for improvement. In this coaching program, I will host a weekly group coaching session, and you can attend live or watch the recording.
My teachings will be for about 30 minutes. I will have a brief question and answer session, and then we will break into small groups where you can talk about what you just learned and how you will apply it to your life in the upcoming week. This is an excellent opportunity to create peer partnerships, which will help to create an environment of encouragement and motivation. You can help each stay on track and ensure you aren't just learning these things without applying them to your life. Trust me. It is much easier to grow in your faith when you have a community of people on the journey with you. I will also have a Facebook group where you can post your progress, struggles, questions, and any questions. I honestly believe I am where I am today because I have had a community surrounding me the whole way. So many of us feel alone, and when you join a community like this, you find out you are not alone!

God Intended It For Good

Romans 50:20 “Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today.”

I love this verse. I love Joseph. He persevered through so much stuff in his life. He was one of 12 boys in his family. Joseph was loved by his father more than the others because his mother was the woman he had first fallen in love with. His father had given Joseph this nice, colorful coat. Joseph was assigned to go with his brothers one day and tend the sheep. His brothers were tired and envied his favorite child status and the fact that David could interpret dreams, and they decided they wanted to kill him. One of the brothers convinced them to throw him in a ditch instead. Then they see a band of traveling slave traders and decide they might as well make some money, so they sold Joseph to the slave traders.

Joseph is bought by Potiphar, the pharaoh's superintendent of prisons. Potiphar's wife Henet is strongly attracted to Joseph and tries to seduce him. When he refuses, she falsely accuses him of attempting to rape her, and Joseph is imprisoned. Joseph is imprisoned with the Pharaoh's butler and baker, who have fallen out of favor. Dreams have plagued the two, which Joseph interprets correctly. When the Pharaoh has a dream he cannot decipher, his newly reinstated butler suggests he consult Joseph. Joseph interprets the dream to mean that Egypt will enjoy seven years of prosperity, followed by seven years of famine. Joseph suggests setting aside grain from the seven prosperous years in preparation for the famine. Pharaoh accepts the suggestion and appoints Joseph to take charge of the task.

Over the next several years, Joseph's power continued to grow. He marries a woman named Asenath and fends off an attack from the King of Syria. When the famine began, Egypt stored enough grain for itself and some to sell to neighboring nations. When Joseph's family back in Canaan travels to Egypt to buy grain, his brothers fail to recognize him, and Joseph shrewdly uses this to his advantage. He holds his brother Simeon (son of Jacob) hostage and orders the others to bring Jacob and Benjamin. Joseph reveals his identity and forgives his brothers.

That is pretty much the story in a nutshell. If you want to read the whole story, you can find it in Genesis 37-50. Do you see what I mean about having some tough things go on in his life? He was trying to do the right thing by not sleeping with Potiphar’s wife. He liked Potiphar. He treated him well. He also knew God wouldn’t like it. And yet He was thrown in jail for 13 years. Can you imagine being in jail for 13 years for something you didn’t do? Maybe you can. Do you feel like you are paying back time for something you didn’t do in your life? I used to feel that way when my boys were super hard. I used to think it wasn’t fair because I was a reasonably easy kid when I was younger, so why was I having such difficult kids?

Jacob had every reason to be bitter. He had every reason to be angry and resentful, yet he wasn’t. Jacob had been away from his family for 22 years before his brothers showed up on his doorstep looking to buy grain. Twenty-two years is a long time to go without seeing your family. Twenty-two years is enough to sit with resentment and anger and let it stew. However, this is not what Joseph did. Joseph used his position and his power to help his family. He not only gave them grain for free, but he also gave them a place to come and live.

Joseph’s brothers feared him as they knew what they did was terrible. Yet, David wasn’t angry with them. He forgave them and said the verse above, “Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today.” This is incredible. Joseph forgave them and realized that the people of Egypt might not have been saved if he hadn’t been there to interpret Pharoh’s dream. He understands that although his brothers wanted to ruin his life, they wanted him dead. God wanted to use him and his situation for good.

Do you know that God wants to do this in your life too? Do you know God can do this in your life too? I know it feels like you have been in this hard situation for a long time. I know it might even feel as though God has abandoned you. I assure you, he hasn’t! He is there with you in whatever it is you are going through. God did not abandon Joseph; He used him for incredible things. Joseph was in that jail cell so he could interpret the dreams of the Pharaoh’s butler so that the butler could then recommend Joseph to the Pharaoh so that Joseph could save the nation.

I wonder if our suffering would be easier if we knew the result. For instance, would it have been easier for Joseph to sit in jail day after day if he knew after 13 years, he would be the second most important person in Egypt? It would have made it easier to parent my boys when they were younger if I had known that the Lord would work all that for our good. I know that life was much less stressful once I truly learned to accept this. Once I surrendered to the fact that God is in control and can take all the crappy things in our lives and use them for good, I relaxed and let a lot of stuff wash right over me.

When my son was in rehab, I wasn’t worried, and I was able to be there for him because I knew God could work even for his good. I don’t know how he is working that for his good, but I know he has a fantastic future and will be brighter because he has that in his past. Actually, I do know at least one way God used that experience for his good. My son used to think we were the worst parents, like most teens. However, in rehab, he was with people who don’t have parents or have parents but not ones who visit. He was with kids who used drugs with their parents. He was with kids who lived on the streets. Being in rehab gave him a greater appreciation for all that he has.

I am sorry that life is so hard right now. I am sorry you have been in this rough situation for a long time with no end in sight. I am so sorry that you feel alone and maybe even abandoned. I want you to hear me when I say God is there with you. Turn to Him. Ask him for the strength to keep walking forward until things turn around. Ask Him to give you a glimpse into the good that is to come. Ask Him to fill you with love and hope for a future full of amazing things.  I love you, and I know God does too! Keep moving forward one small step at a time, and remember, God can use all things for your good.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, you are incredible, and we are so grateful! We ask you, Lord, to help us to keep walking forward when all seems lost. Help us stay in the fight long enough to see how you will use all this for our good.  Fill us with strength, hope, and peace during tough times. Lord, I know some things people are going through are really hard and have been going on for a long time. Please comfort them in a special way today. 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. I want to remind you all that I have the details for my new group coaching program on my website. You can find that by going to walkboldlywithjesus.com. It will be live coaching on Tuesday nights at 8 PM EST on Zoom. I will teach on a topic, and then we will have small group sharing time. The cost is $30 a month. I will also send out recordings if you miss the coaching session. I will also have a members-only Facebook group where we can all be a part of a community of people all striving for holiness. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!

Do Our Prayers Even Matter?

Ezekiel 22:30 “And I sought for anyone among them who would repair the wall and stand in the breach before me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one.”

We spent last night in class talking about prophetic intercession. I have discussed intercessory prayer before on various episodes as I think it is essential. Here, we have the Lord telling us the same thing. Intercessory prayer is when you pray on behalf of someone else. For instance my family was interceding for my dad last week as he was in the hospital for a bit. Whenever anyone asks you to pray for someone, you are interceding on their behalf. Catholics do this same thing when we ask the Saints to pray for us. We are not asking them for a miracle. We ask them to intercede for us just as we would our family and friends.

General intercession is when someone asks you to pray for someone, and you do. The way they described it in class is that we are interceding from earth to heaven. Someone on earth asks us to pray for them or a loved one, and we send our prayers to heaven for them. Last night, we learned about prophetic intercession, which sounds fancy, and yet I bet we have all experienced it to some degree at one time or another. Prophetic intercession is praying from heaven to earth. Have you ever felt like you were supposed to pray for someone out of the blue? That would be prophetic intercession. God will sometimes put on our hearts something or someone to pray for, and then we must follow through with that prayer.

Sometimes, we will find out later why we were asked to pray. For instance, God urged my teacher to pray the rosary for his wife’s cousin. It was precisely 7 PM when he felt this placed on his heart. He started the rosary right away. The next day, his wife called him at work to let him know her cousin had died. She was in an accident at 7 the night before. When we get these feelings to pray, it is essential to obey. Our teacher told us about another time when he heard a fellow deacon was sick. He had not met this man before because he was away when the man came to talk to his diaconate class. He happened to be by his house and thought he would stop by, meet, and pray with him. On the way to the man’s house, he felt called to do the divine mercy chaplet. He completed the chaplet just as he arrived at the man’s house. He went and knocked on the door and found out the man had just passed away one minute before he knocked.

This is what is stated in St. Faustina’s Diary about saying the Divine Mercy Chaplet for someone who is dying: “At the hour of their death, I defend as My own glory every soul that will say this chaplet; or when others say it for a dying person, the pardon is the same. When this chaplet is said by the bedside of a dying person, God’s anger is placated, unfathomable mercy envelops the soul, and the very depths of My tender mercy are moved for the sake of the sorrowful Passion of My Son. (811) My teacher had no idea this man was close to death. He just knew he was sick. God knew, though, and God used my teacher to pray this important prayer. God may be using you too!

Another time, God urged my teacher to do a Jericho walk around the flag pole. This is when you walk around the flag seven times, silently praying, and after the seventh time, you pray and praise the Lord out loud. The burdens of the nation were put on his heart, and this is how the Lord wanted Him to pray for them. Our teacher had so many examples; I believe that is because He always tries to listen to the Lord and then act when he hears something.

I was so excited to share this with you this morning because it reinforces that we are not helpless. This world is crazy right now, and with the news as it is, we can often get overwhelmed by all that is happening. We often feel helpless as it seems like the problems are more significant than any one person, which is true. They are more significant than any one person. They are not bigger than God, though. Knowing that our prayers can make a difference is important.

Another excellent example of the importance of our prayers is what I talked about in the witness Wednesday last week. There was a man who saw a woman being put in an ambulance and knew he couldn’t really help her as he was not a doctor. So, as he ran by her house, he said one hail Mary for her recovery. Jesus appeared to this woman in the hospital and told her that she was dying and that this man’s prayer saved her.  He held up his palm, and the face of the man running by was on Jesus’ hand. He said one Hail Mary prayer. One Hail Mary that only takes a few seconds to say.

We often say, “All I can do is pray,” as if we are out of options. Prayer is the best and most powerful thing we can do. Prophetic intercession is even more powerful because we are listening to what God wants us to do and then doing it. If you ever feel God is putting a person or a cause on your heart, take a minute and ask the Lord how He would like you to pray for that person—the how could make all the difference. Saint Faustina Kowalska was a nun in Poland. She received a vision that an angel was sent by God to chastise a certain city. She immediately began to pray for mercy, but no matter how much she prayed for mercy, she could not save the city. Then, she saw the Holy Trinity and felt the power of Jesus’ grace within her. At the same time, she found herself praying words that she heard internally, “Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world; for the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us.” (Saint Faustina’s Diary, 475) As she continued saying this inspired prayer, the angel became helpless and could not carry out the deserved punishment (see 474)

This example from St. Faustina is why this verse is so important. The verse above says, “And I sought for anyone among them who would repair the wall and stand in the breach before me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one.” Is God calling you to stand in the breach? Is He calling you to help repair the wall? Instead of worrying about all that is going on in the world, we can pray about all that is going on. We often think our prayers aren’t doing much. We are just one person. St. Faustina is just one person, yet her prayers prevented the angel from chastising a city. If the prayers from one person are that powerful, imagine how powerful the prayers of millions of people would be. Pray, Pray, Pray. Pray for our loved ones and friends. Pray for all nations, church leaders, and leaders everywhere. If you feel the prompting to pray for someone out of the blue, take a minute and press in. Ask the Lord how He wants you to pray for that person. The prayer they taught us last night in class is: “God let me think like you think and feel what you feel.” If you can feel what He feels and think what He thinks, your prayers will be better because you will understand what you are praying for more.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless each and every person listening to this episode today. Lord, we want to stand in that breach. Please let us help you. Use us, Lord. Show us how to listen to your voice. Show us how to obey when you call us. Give us the grace and the strength we need to follow your call.  Open our ears to hear your call and open our hearts to interceding for others. 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. I have updated my website, walkboldlywithjesus.com, with the information about my new upcoming coaching program. I am very excited to offer this group coaching opportunity as I know one-on-one coaching is not for everyone. Yet we can all use some help along our spiritual journey. Also, I am excited to see friendships develop as they have in my mentoring group. There is something so special about having others alongside you on your faith journey. I really feel the small group discussions are going to be very fruitful. Time talking with other Christian women is always a great time. The coaching sessions will be Tuesday nights on Zoom at 8 PM EST.

I look forward to meeting you all here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!

Jesus In My Presence

Song of Songs 8:1 "If only I could show everyone this passionate desire I have for you. If only I could express it fully, no matter who was watching me, without shame or embarrassment.”

This is another verse from the Passion Translation of Song of Songs. As I read and re-read this translation, I notice how I am beginning to see Jesus differently. I was reading our required reading book for this quarter last night.“Personal Prayer: A Guide for Receiving the Father’s Love.” The authors of this book were talking about how to relate to God, and they said, “The key is that we need to be sure we do not let God be or remain abstract when we pray. Sometimes, we mistakenly think of Him as far away, off in the heavens somewhere. This seemed to hit home with me and really made me think.

When I think about it, I can tell the difference in my prayers when I think of God as sitting right there with me and praying to my Father in heaven. When I go to Eucharistic Adoration, I sometimes picture Jesus sitting on the altar. Not the Eucharist form of Jesus, but the actual man, Jesus. My prayers differ when picturing Jesus in my presence or even feeling the Lord in my presence. They are more personal. They are more intimate. The book says later in the chapter, “If we treat Him like a stranger, He will remain a stranger to us. If we only share ourselves with Him at a superficial level, the relationship will remain superficial. If we only spend time with Him sporadically, the relationship will remain at the level of acquaintances. If we bring our whole lives to Him and share our fears, our hopes, our wounds, our failures, and our love, then we will see that the relationship opens up more and, because He is God, becomes infinitely deep.”

The author is not saying anything complex here, but I needed to hear it. It’s like it is common sense, and yet, it was something I had never thought of before. Who wouldn’t want a deep relationship with the Lord? Why would anyone choose to keep it superficial or the Lord as a stranger? I am going to guess that most people aren’t consciously choosing to stay distant from the Lord. I don’t think they are thinking in their mind, “I think I will keep my distance.” Although now that I write that, I could see how some people might be saying that. If they have been hurt in the past, they might be reluctant to let anyone in, even the Lord. Others don’t realize they are keeping the Lord at a distance. The author says, “In fact, there is no limit to how deep our relationship can be with Him; it is limited only by our own willingness to trust Him and be vulnerable with Him.

Our willingness to trust the Lord and be vulnerable with Him can vary significantly from person to person and depend on our past experiences. If we have been hurt and let down repeatedly, we may find it very hard to trust the Lord and be vulnerable with Him. If we lose a loved one, we might be so angry we don’t know how to trust Him again. We can work on our openness to the Lord, yet many of us don’t know there is a block there. We don’t know that there is more love to be had. We don’t know anything other than our relationship with the Lord, the one we already have.

As a teenager, I longed for more with the Lord. I didn’t know it at the time. The Lord just reminded me of it now. When I was going through confirmation prep, and they asked why I wanted to make my confirmation, I said because I wanted more. I wanted to be as much a part of the church as possible. The Holy Spirit is putting on my heart now that what I really wanted was more God. I wanted to know Him more intimately, yet I didn’t know it then. I wonder how different my life would be if I had started to read scripture back then if I had been journaling and talking to the Lord. I wonder how different it would have been if I knew God was right there with me. Not just in an abstract way but right there next to me. He was so close I could sit and talk with Him. I wish I had known back then that I could ask Him questions, and if I sat and listened, He would answer them. I am grateful I know this now, and I pray you know it, too!

Yes, I know I have not talked about my chosen verse. I know someone needed to hear all that because it was firmly on my heart. The verse above says, "If only I could show everyone this passionate desire I have for you. If only I could express it fully, no matter who was watching me, without shame or embarrassment.” This verse goes along with all that I said above because if we want to have a passionate desire for the Lord, we need to spend time with Him. We need to remember that He is not distant. He is right next to us at all times. I like this verse so much for two reasons. The first I talked about the other day. I wish I could tell the world about my love for the Lord. I wish I could tell every single person on the planet about God’s love and how much He loves them. I honestly would shout it from the rooftops if I could.

This brings me to the second reason I like this verse so much: It says, “If only I could express it fully, no matter who was watching me, without shame or embarrassment.” This is definitely one of my top 5 wishes of all time. I wish I weren’t hindered by what others might think of me or my fear of rejection. I wish when I felt prompted by the Holy Spirit, I could act and not hesitate, not chicken out. I wish I could worship like David did. I wish I could get up and dance like no one was watching.  I am getting better at this and will keep practicing and trying. I am grateful to my Encounter Ministries group because they encourage us to get up and express ourselves freely while worshiping, and there is no judgment.

It is not just while worshiping, though. I know I missed many opportunities to pray for people because I was afraid to ask them. Honestly, I don't know what I am afraid of. What is the worst that can happen? I know in my head the worst that can happen is that they say no, which is not the end of the world. Yet, for me, I get in my head. What if they say no? Then I will cry and feel dumb for crying, so I will cry more. Okay, even if this were all true, which has happened before, so what? So what if I cry and they think I am dumb? The alternative is that I don’t ask someone if they need prayer, and what if they really need prayer? What if they were going to say yes? Our teacher told us once that if the Holy Spirit is prompting you to pray for someone or to say something to someone, He has already prepared their heart for it.

I miss out on many opportunities to share my love of the Lord with others due to fear. This is why this podcast is called Walk Boldly with Jesus. That is my mission and my goal. I want to walk boldly with Jesus. I want to be able to talk about Him to anyone I meet. I want to worship Him in any way I want to. I want to ask everyone I meet if they need prayer. I want to do all of this without fear, even if it is not possible, despite fear. I want to shout from the rooftops all around the world that the Lord is Love and that He loves us so much. I want everyone to know that God loves them just as they are. They don’t have to change anything for God to love and accept them.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, we want to have a deep relationship with you. Please help us to realize you are not some distant God in some faraway place. You are our Father, right next to us each step of the way. Help us understand we can talk with you and that you will talk back to us if we give You time and if we listen. Lord, help us think about what was said in that book. Help us to realize the ways we might be keeping you as a stranger or ways we might be keeping our relationship with you superficial. Lord, help us to open up; help us to be vulnerable. 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. As promised, I have details of my new group coaching program that starts in November. Here is the description from my website. Have you ever desired a more personal relationship with the Lord? How great would it be to incorporate your spirituality into your daily routines? Have you ever been around people who seem so in love with the Lord and longed for that same relationship? Have you ever wished you knew more about praying, worshiping, praising, and so much more? Why is it that if we want to get better at something, like gardening, painting, or singing, we will seek professional help? However, we rarely do this when it comes to our faith. Yet, this could be the most critical area for improvement. The coaching sessions will be on Tuesday nights at 8 PM EST. My teachings will be for about 20-30 minutes. I will have a brief question and answer session, and then we will break into small groups where you can talk about what you just learned and how you will apply it to your life in the upcoming week. This is an excellent opportunity to create peer partnerships, which will help to create an environment of encouragement and motivation. You can help each stay on track and ensure you aren't just learning these things without applying them to your life. It is much easier to grow in your faith when you have a community of people on the journey with you. I will also have a Facebook group where you can post your progress, struggles, and questions. I honestly believe I am where I am today because I had a community surrounding me the whole way. So many of us feel alone, and when you join a community like this, you find out you are not alone! Please consider going deeper with me on this journey. I will discuss this for the next two weeks as I prepare for the launch. However, if you have questions, please feel free to reach out by email or social media. I hope to answer those questions here because others probably have the same questions. One person already asked if it would be strictly Catholic. The answer is no. I am Catholic, and so some things I say will be Catholic. However, this coaching program is not about religion. It is about how we can all grow closer to the Lord. It will not be a lot of theology as I am not a theologian. It will be more about how we get to know the Lord more. We will talk about prayer and incorporating Jesus into our everyday life. We will cover things like forgiveness, humility, trust, and whatever you might be struggling with. I want to help those in the group, so the topics I teach will depend on what those in the group need.

I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow.  Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!

Redeeming Love

Song of Songs 7:10-12 “Now I know that I am for my beloved and all his desires are fulfilled in me. Come away, my lover. Come with me to the faraway fields. We will run away together to the forgotten places and show them redeeming love. Let us arise and run to the vineyards of your people and see if the budding vines of love are now in full bloom. We will discover if their passion is awakened. There, I will display my love for you.”

I chose these verses for a few reasons. The first one was that I really like how it says all his desires are fulfilled in me. I have heard oftentimes that God will fulfill the desires of your heart. This is something I genuinely believe. This verse isn’t saying that, though. It is saying that God’s desires are fulfilled in me. Thinking that my life fulfills God’s desires is a nice thought. Thinking that I could contribute to the happiness of God in some small way feels pretty good. I believe I am doing that if His desires are fulfilled in me.

Another reason I chose these verses is because of the phrase “redeeming love.” It says in the verses above, “We will run away together to the forgotten places and show them redeeming love.” I love this idea. I love the idea of going to the forgotten places and the forgotten people and showing them the redeeming love of Christ. That phrase, redeeming love, is powerful. It shows us that God’s love is not passive. It is not like our love. It is an active love. It is a love that changes people. It is a love that is powerful.

I like that phrase because it reinforces that we don’t have to do anything to redeem ourselves. It reminds us that we don’t have to say the right thing to be redeemed. It reminds us that we don't have to do the right thing to be redeemed. It is not a secret formula we need to figure out. We don’t have to be a specific person to be redeemed. We don’t have to fix our lives and change everything about ourselves to be redeemed. God’s love is what redeems us. God loves us so much that He sent His only son to die on the cross for us. Jesus was the one who earned our redemption for us. The work has already been done. All we need to do is accept this love and allow it to come into our hearts and change us. I love that!

Another reason I chose these verses is because I love the idea of reaching the people in the forgotten places. There are so many people who have been forgotten. Forgotten by their families, forgotten by their friends, even forgotten by the church. There are so many people who feel so alone. It’s crazy because billions of people are in this world, yet so many feel alone. There are more ways than ever for people to keep in touch. There is Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok, which are just the ways I know about. There are so many ways to keep in touch, yet teens feel more alone than ever.  My biggest desire is to be able to help every single person in this world discover God’s love. I wish they all knew about this redeeming love. I wish I could go with Jesus to all the forgotten places and share His redeeming love with everyone.

The last part of these verses says, “Let us arise and run to the vineyards of your people and see if the budding vines of love are now in full bloom. We will discover if their passion is awakened. There, I will display my love for you.” What came to my mind when I read this was that this is precisely how you feel when you fall in love with Jesus. I must admit that I struggle with using the word lover when referring to Jesus or God. It is a pretty intimate term, and I didn’t really understand how it applied. However, reading this passion translation of this book of the Bible, I understand it a bit better.

I understand how we can fall entirely in love with Jesus and want to share that love with others. I feel like I am the woman speaking in these verses. I want to run around to all the people in the world and see if their passion is awakened. I want to help them to awaken their passion for Him. I want them to love Him as much as I do and to know he loves them. Actually, that last part is probably more important than the first part. Yes, I want them to love Jesus, and yet I think it may be more important that they know they are loved by him first.  

I understand better now how much the Lord is pursuing us. I understand how much our yes means to Him. I can also understand a bit more why some people say no to Him. Sometimes, His love can be overwhelming, and we aren’t used to that type of love in this world. We can think we don’t deserve that type of love. We can let fear get in the way of accepting His love. On Father Mike’s Catechism in a Year podcast, he talked about a young woman he was teaching RCIA to several years ago. She went through the whole program but decided not to do it when it came time to become a member of the Catholic Church. She said she could not, in good faith, commit to going to mass every Sunday. That felt too overwhelming for her, and she did not want to become a member of the Church if she could not fulfill all the requirements, for lack of a better term. He talked with her, but she couldn’t do it. He prayed for her over the years, and recently, she wrote him a letter explaining that after all these years, she realized that she was letting fear get in her way of the call she knew God was placing on her heart. She was afraid of not being able to measure up. She was afraid of letting the Lord down.

Many of us feel this way. We feel God is calling us to do something, yet we don’t answer that call because we feel we won’t be able to do whatever He calls us to do. If God is calling us, He will equip us. He will give us the grace we need to follow through. God doesn’t want our perfection. He wants our yes. God doesn’t need us to have everything all figured out. He needs us to trust that He will lead the way and be there to guide us and provide us with all we need to do what He called us to do. If you have been reluctant to say yes, I feel the Holy Spirit prompting me to encourage you to take that leap of faith and say yes. You will be surprised how God blesses you when you say yes to your call. You will also be surprised how much better you feel. There is a joy I can’t explain. You have to feel it to understand.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, we want to answer your call. Please give us the grace to say yes. Lord, we want to have an intimate relationship with you. Please show us how. We want to feel like this Shulamite woman feels about her Bridegroom King. Please show us how. Lord, we love you and want to bring your love to others. We want to bring your redeeming love to the forgotten places. Please help us. You are unique, Lord. You are King of Kings and Lord of Lords. You are the almighty one, a waymaker, and a promise keeper. Thank you, Lord, for being you. We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name. Amen!

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. Next week, I will bring you details on my new group coaching program that will help you discover how to walk more boldly with Jesus in your journey. I am so excited to share this journey with you! I look forward to meeting you here again on Monday. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!

Why Would You Seek Me?

Song of Solomon 6:13b “The Shulamite Bride: Why would you seek a mere Shulamite like me? Why would you want to see my dance of love? The Bridegroom-King: Because you dance so gracefully, as though you danced with angels!”

I wanted to stick with the Song of Solomon Book, also known as the Song of Songs. I am in love with the passion translation of this book. Let me explain quickly for those of you who, like me, don’t know much about the Song of Songs. The Song of Songs is a love story between a Schulamite Bride, the Bridegroom King, and the brides-to-be, representing our interactions with the world. The passion translation tells you who is talking in each verse, so you don’t have to guess. It is easy to understand, and it can be read like a play. It is so beautiful. If you want to read this translation for free, you can go to bible.com and search it. I will also link a Word document where I copied this translation so you can read it. You can CLICK HERE and download it if you would like. Once you read it, you will be just as in love with it as I am. Remember, this is meant to be our story, too. This is how much our Lord is pursuing us, too!

While reading through the book this morning, two things in particular stood out to me. I will talk about one today and one tomorrow. Limiting the verses to one or two is difficult, as this book has many good things. I love the whole thing. However, the point of this podcast is to go deeper into the verses, so I will do my best to select a few verses to talk about. Today is just one verse but a conversation between the Shulamite Bride and her Bridegroom King. The Shulamite woman is asking a question we all ask at some point. Why me? Have you ever asked yourself this question when talking to the Lord? Why would you pick me? Why would you want to work through me? Why would you want to use me? I know I have.

This was the exact question I asked the Lord when trying to figure out why I had been baptized in the Holy Spirit and yet could not speak/pray in tongues. I heard/felt the Lord very clearly say, “Why not you?” He is saying that to you, too. The Lord is so amazing. When we look at ourselves, all we see are our flaws. All we see are our mistakes. That is not what the Lord sees. When He looks at us, He sees the person He created us to be. When He looks at us, He sees His child. If you have children or nieces and nephews, consider how you look at them. Do you see their mistakes and flaws, or do you see the good in them?

So many kids, my nieces and nephews, my boys, and their friends, don’t like how they look or don’t like anything about themselves. They don’t feel comfortable in their own skin. I wish, more than anything, that they could see themselves through my eyes. I wish they could see how amazing they are. I could tell them, and I do, but they don’t hear me. They don’t believe me. I imagine this is how God feels. I imagine how we talk about ourselves and see ourselves breaks His heart. I imagine He wishes we could see ourselves through His eyes, too.

Did you know this is something you can pray for? I have prayed for this for a long time, and while I am sure I don’t see myself exactly like God sees me, I do see myself better than I used to. I know I am a beloved child of God. I know God loves me, and although I may still question why he would want to use me or if He is using me, I don’t question if He loves or likes me. I know He does. I used to think the disciple John was a bit prideful or arrogant, referring to himself as “the beloved disciple, or the one who Jesus loved. Now I know that He wasn’t. He could see himself a bit more through Jesus’ eyes. He was able to believe what Jesus said about him. Jesus didn’t just say it about him, though. He said it about all of us. John was just able to believe it a bit more than we are.

In the verse above, the Shulamite Bride asks, “Why would you seek a mere Shulamite like me? Why would you want to see my dance of love?” and the Bridegroom-King says, “Because you dance so gracefully, as though you danced with angels!” Do you see how differently the Lord sees us? Do you see the kind of gentle, loving answer we get when we ask Him to show us how He sees us or why He would pick us?  He doesn’t stop there, either. He goes on for almost another chapter, saying how wonderful she is.

God loves you! He really does. If you doubt this or think God couldn’t possibly love you after all you have done or all that has been done to you, I assure you, He can, and He does. If you have ever wondered what it feels like to be loved or pursued by the Lord, read this book in the Bible, and you will begin to understand what it feels like. When you read this book, resist the urge to discount yourself. When you read this book, fight the feelings you will have to say that God is not talking to you. This can be so easy for us to do. We can easily believe that God loves others but not us. We can believe that God forgives others but not us. God loves you! God forgives you!

Read this book and picture Jesus saying these things to you. Try to take them in and sit with them. Maybe you just read one chapter at a time and sit with it. Maybe you just read one paragraph and sit with it. Imagine the Lord saying these things to you. Imagine feeling these things about the Lord. If we want an intimate relationship with the Lord, reading this book might be a good start. Understanding the depths of His love for me becomes a bit more achievable when I read this translation of this book in the Bible. I hope it helps you as well.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, help us see your incredible love for us. Help us to believe you could be saying these things to us. Help us put ourselves in the Schulamite woman’s place. Help us truly take in how much you love us, pursue us, and long for us. We love you, Lord. We want to feel this way about you. We want to long for you. We want to pursue you. We want to turn over our lives to you. We need your help, Lord. We can do all things through you and nothing without you. We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name. Amen!

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

Will You Catch Your Foxes?

Song of Songs 2:15 “You must catch the troubling foxes, those sly little foxes that hinder our relationship. For they raid our budding vineyard of love to ruin what I’ve planted within you. Will you catch them and remove them for me? We will do it together.”

I had the best class at Encounter Ministries Boston Campus last night. Our teachers explained to us all about The Song of Songs book in the Bible. I am sure Father Mike explained it to me during the Bible in a Year, but not like they did tonight in class. They explained all about the different translations of the Bible and how they have a literal word-for-word translation, and they also have a dynamic translation which captures more of the phrase for phrase or thought for thought. Encounter Ministries decided to use the Passion Translation as they felt this was the best one to help us understand the Song of Songs best.

I am unsure if I knew anything about the song of songs before last night. However, it was beautiful how they explained it. Our teachers read out loud the first five chapters, stopping along the way to talk about what was really going on and what it all meant. It was incredible. I found myself so interested in the story and almost like I was a part of it. Which, of course, we are all a part of it. The Song of Songs is meant to be our love story with the Lord. Each one of us is pursued by the Lord just as this woman was pursued by her bridegroom. If you have not read the Song of Songs, I recommend you go and read it using the passion translation. I am sure we will have many more episodes from this book, as I heard so many incredible things last night.

However, as soon as I heard the verse above, I knew it was the verse I needed to talk about. I loved the language and the concept. “You must catch the troubling foxes, those sly little foxes that hinder our relationship, for they raid our budding vineyard of love to ruin what I’ve planted within you. Will you catch them and remove them for me? We will do it together?” First of all, there are so many things that get in the way of our relationship with the Lord. Thinking of these things as sly foxes is great because sometimes they are things we wouldn’t think would be a hindrance. For instance, we all had to take a few minutes and ask the Lord what our foxes were.  One of my classmates heard the word busyness. This is probably a hindrance for many of us. I think the enemy likes to keep us busy. Even if we are busy doing good things, it can still get in the way of our relationship with the Lord if we don’t put that relationship first. Everyday things can also get in our way, like TV, social media, and games on our computer or our phone. What are the foxes in your life? What are the things that are hindering your relationship with the Lord?

Did you know that the Lord desires a personal relationship with you? He doesn’t just want to know you from afar. He doesn’t just want to be someone that you talk to when you need something. He wants to be in a relationship with you. What does that mean? If you are in a relationship with someone, then you spend time with them, and you get to know them. You care about them, and they care about you. This is not only what the Lord desires. This is his deepest longing. Did you know the Lord longs for you? Isn’t it incredible when you think about it? He could have anything He wants, and yet what He longs for is an intimate relationship with you. That just blows my mind.

In the next part of the verse, after the author explains what the foxes are, he says, “For they raid our budding vineyard of love to ruin what I’ve planted within you. Will you catch them and remove them for me?” This explains what the things that hinder our relationship do, they steal the fruit of all that the Lord planted inside of us. Do you often wonder why we are not producing more fruit? Why aren’t our prayers more fruitful? Why aren’t our actions being more fruitful? Why aren’t we seeing more fruit in our ministry? I know I do. This verse tells us that it is because there are hindrances that are getting in the way. We might not realize there are things getting in the way. However, we can’t have an intimate relationship with the Lord if we never have time to spend with Him.

Think of a good relationship that you have. Do you spend time with that person? What if you didn’t spend any time with them? Would it still be a good relationship? What about your relationship with work? Would you be able to get things done at work if every time you tried something else got it the way? Would you be productive at work if you spent your work time watching TV or playing games on your computer or your phone? No, I don’t think you would.

The Lord calls us to catch these foxes and remove them for Him. Isn’t it beautiful that He cares enough about us to ask us to do this for Him? The last few words of this verse are great. “We will do it together.” The Lord doesn’t even ask us to do it on our own. He isn’t telling us to go and take care of our foxes and then come back when we have finished. He is telling us that we will do it together. How amazing is that?

This is like so many things with the Lord. He wants to partner with us. This reminds me of forgiveness. We don’t have to do that alone, either. All we have to do is give our yes, and then the Lord will come alongside us and heal our hearts. Whatever it is we are trying to do, the Lord wants to partner with us. With Him, we can do all things, and without Him, we can do nothing. Once we realize this, I mean truly realize that we need Him for everything. Our life gets so much easier because we start to rely on His power instead of our own. He is so much stronger than we are. We need His power.

The Lord is asking you to catch your foxes. Will you do that for Him? Will you take two minutes of quiet time with the Lord this morning and ask Him what your foxes are? What are the things that are getting in the way of you spending time with Him? Or, maybe nothing is getting in the way of you spending time with Him, but something is getting in the way of you growing closer to Him. Is something hindering you from opening up and letting Him in?

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, we don’t want anything to get in the way of our relationship with you. Please help us discover our foxes and catch them. Please help us discover the intimate relationship you want to have with us. Help us say yes to your invitation. Help us grow closer to you. 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. I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow. I will be sending out details about my new coaching program this week, so if you are not on my mailing list, CLICK HERE to join. I will also be adding the details on my website, walkboldlywithjesus.com. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!