In Devotions

A Heavenly Heartbeat

November 24, 2019 No Comments

“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” John 13:34—35.

The love we express to one another is a living testimony that we are the disciples of Jesus. People will know if our words are void and lack true emotion, but true love will be expressed from our hearts.

The Power of a Heartbeat

The human heart begins to beat at the first month of conception. From the moment it starts beating until the moment it stops, the human heart works tirelessly to give you life. When the human heart stops beating, the body cannot survive.

The average heart beats 72 times per minute.
In the course of 1 day it beats over 100 thousand times.
In 1 year it beats approximately 38 million times.
By the time a person turns 70 years old it has beaten 2.5 billion times.

Our heart beats automatically, without having to think about it because it was built for a purpose. God has formed our hearts to express love and to prove there is life.

The Heartbeat of Our Savior

The heartbeat of Jesus was vibrantly loud as He hung on the cross, and it is in the flow of His blood streaming down from Calvary that we can experience forgiveness, mercy, and love.

God’s heart is beating right now and it will never stop beating. It is beating for you, it is beating for your family, it is beating for your coworkers, it is beating for the broken, it is beating for the world.

What is your heart beating for?
What is your hearts desire?
Do you desire a heavenly heartbeat?

Today, let’s pray for the heartbeat of God.

Prayer: Lord, I pray that I would feel your heartbeat. Let me love what You love and love who You love. I desire for my heart to beat after Yours. Lay a persons name on my heart to pray for. In Jesus name.

In Devotions

Come Home—The Grace of Hosea and the Love of God

November 23, 2019 2 Comments

The book of Hosea describes a heartrending love story of a unilateral love affair. Hosea is instructed by God to marry Gomer, a harlot. The Bible is intentional with every word, story, and text; God is teaching us that He loves us, even at our worst, and even when we run from Him.

Hosea and Gomer live together as man and wife. She bears three children and all seems well, until a yearning for the strange paths of her old life. After meditating on distant horizons, she makes the decision to return to the streets to become a woman of the night once more. She adorns herself and seeks to find former lovers.

Far Away From Home

This fantasy world breathes a false sense of belonging. Perhaps there are parties, friends, and laughter, but the fun is only a facade. Life begins to deteriorate at a rapid pace.

Soon Gomer’s beauty fades and her laughter is only a memory. She is penniless, homeless, and filled with despair.

Gomer’s inability to pay her debts forces her into slavery. She is too poor to buy food. In time, she is no longer useful to her master and he takes her to the auction to sell her to the highest bidder.

Hosea 3:1-3, “The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.” ²So I bought her for fifteen shekels^[a] of silver and about a homer and a lethek^[^b^] of barley. ³Then I told her, “You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will behave the same way toward you.”

Come Home

Hosea, brokenhearted and his children abandoned, discovers Gomer’s predicament and arrives at the auction block with every asset he has acquired: fifteen pieces of silver and 1.5 homers of barley.

Beautiful Gomer is reduced to a broken, unwanted, and unattractive woman. She is wrinkled and gaunt and her eyes have lost their luster. Her clothes are ragged and soiled, hanging on her skinny frame. She has no shoes and her whole body shakes with apprehension.

She cannot look into Hosea’s eyes.

Hosea is undaunted by her appearance, unfazed by her avoiding look. He pays the asking price and takes her to be restored to her rightful place—home.

God puts this example in the Bible to help us understand the agape love with which he loves the lost, the broken, the runaways.

He asks us to love them as He loved us. A lost soul may have a beautiful outward appearance, but spiritually they are disfigured. God wants us to love them. God desires for us to forgive them, too. He is the God of restoration and hope.

If you feel like you are Gomer, know that God manifests Himself above a seat of mercy, not judgment. He loves you with an everlasting love.

Come home today.

In Devotions

One More Candle

November 22, 2019 No Comments

Last week was my birthday. One more year. One more candle.

I use to cringe at the thought of growing one year older, but now, I realize that it is a gift. I know there are those who have walked into eternity who would have gladly accepted grey hair, wrinkles, sunspots, and whatever else comes with aging. Growing old is not a curse, it is a blessing.

Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. Isaiah 46:4

Don’t Give In To The Pressure

Our society puts so much pressure on women, and even men, to halt the aging process by undergoing surgeries, paying for multiple injections, buying a 10-step skincare regiment to decrease the appearance of wrinkles. Even though I look at pictures of when I was 20 years old and think, oh look at how young I look, I have to remind myself that I would never want to be that age again. I don’t want to go back to being a teenager, either. I want to move forward with my life and the only way to do that is to welcome my laugh lines with as much grace I can gather.

Whatever your age is right now, embrace it.

If you are still a teenager.

If you are still a teenager who aches to be taken more seriously, embrace your youthful energy and know that God has something for you to accomplish in your adolescence. You do not have to live up to the world’s standards by giving in to their expectations, but you can give your life to the Lord. Take time to discover the unique calling and ministry God has formed in your life.

If you’re in your twenties.

If you’re in your twenties comparing yourself to everyone else around you, embrace the path God has for you. Maybe some of your friends are married, maybe some are travelling, maybe some are pursuing a degree opposite of yours. So many questions may keep you awake at night, as you lay there wondering if you’re making the right decisions. Place your future in God’s hands, He knows the way you take.

If you’re in your 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, etc…

If you’re in your 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, God has a purpose through your pain, your loss, your up’s, your down’s, and your disappointments. You are not too old for God to accomplish something great in your life and He will not forget about you! You are still just as valuable and important as you were 20 years ago. Just because you have a few grey hairs doesn’t mean God is through with you.

If you’re well seasoned in age.

If you’re well seasoned in age, you matter. Every wrinkle and grey hair tells a story. What your eyes have seen, what your heart has beat after through the years, and what you have invested your time into, tells a story. We want to hear your story. We need to hear your story. Please do not ever feel like you are outdated or too old to be relevant. Your life will bring so much meaning when you share it with others. God has a ministry for you and people for you to reach.

One more candle on your cake is one more year of opportunity to make a difference in this world.

Embrace each moment, each day, each year—they are a gift.

Prayer: Lord, I pray that You would help me understand what You desire for me to accomplish in my life. I want to please You through every season and every age. As long as there is breath in my lungs, there is hope. Help me to put all of my hope and trust in You.