Day 121: Recap

I apologize for today's devo being so late. I am prepping for finals week, and writing a lot of papers. I will make sure that they are on time this week. Thank you for your constant support and here is this week's recap.

Day 114: Bend But Don't Break

Today we talked about how God has made us unbreakable. We talked about the idea of the way palm trees bend very far but they never break, they can stand through the worst of storms. We focused on Isaiah 54:17, Matthew 13:3-6, 2 Corinthians 4:9. 

"If we are not deeply rooted in Christ it is easy to fall because there is nothing holding us down. It’s not the strength of the tree itself that keeps it standing, but the roots that hold it up and keeps it from falling. If there are no roots than it might as well be a tumbleweed heading in whatever direction the wind blows."

Day 115: Living Far from God

Today we talked about living far away from God, and professing with our lips but our hearts are far from it. We focused on Matthew 15:8, Hosea 6:6, and Psalms 73:26-28.

"We as the body of Christ are on a constant search to bring these perishing souls to Christ. Sometimes we have to stop and take a look in the places where the Christians are, there are souls perishing from the pews they sit in every Sunday."

Day 116: Stepping in the Desert

Today we started an unintentional series about the Exodus, as the Israelites left Egypt and stepped into the desert on their way to the promised land. We focused on Exodus 14:10-14, Exodus 16:3, an Numbers 14:4.

" Not only did God make a way  for them to cross the Red Sea and out of bondage, He drowned all the oppressors in the Sea. They could no longer pursue the people of Israel. There was no one to come and take them back, if they went it was solely their choice."

Day 117: Walking Through the Desert

Today we talked about what happened as the Israelites went through the desert on their journey to the promised land. We focused on Deuteronomy 8:2.

"We cannot skip over what it takes to get to where we are or where we are going, there’s always going to be a journey and it is in these desert places that we grow the most."

Day 118: The New Generation

Today we talked about the new generation that would lead the people into the Promised Land. We talked about how millennials are often called the Joshua and Caleb generation. Today was more about response to the passage. We focused on Number 32:11-12.

"The Joshua generation was built differently, they are  different people than the ones who left Egypt, this generation was born in the wilderness, they were born in the desert, this was all they knew. They were born into the rough times, they know what it is truly like to wander around in the desert all your life, because they have been doing it since the day they were born."

Day 119: The Courage to Act

Today we talked about David and Goliath and how sometimes all we need is a little courage. We focused on 1 Chronicles 28:20, Deuteronomy 31:6, and Joshua 1:6 and 9.

"We have to have faith in God, and know that apart from him we can do nothing. I know it’s scary and sometimes we have to put ourselves directly in the crossfire. Sometimes we have to run straight into the face of danger in order to defeat it. We have to be strong and courageous, as God tells Joshua."

I love I hope you had an amazing day, I apologize again for the lateness, but thank you for your patience, and make sure you come back tomorrow for Day 122. Pray for me as I go into finals week and I will be praying for everyone going through this horrendous and crazy busy week.

Day 120: The Courage to Act

1 Chronicles 28:20

David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished.

Deuteronomy 31:6

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Joshua 1:6,9

Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them...Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Sometimes we are tasked with something that seems overwhelming, and the broadness of the task makes it look impossible. Sometimes the things we are meant to conquer does not seem conquerable. These are the moments God tells us to be strong and courageous. Even though we are afraid and we have no clue what the outcome will be we have to approach as if we know with every ounce of our being that we will be alright.

Courage-the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty,danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery.

My favorite part about this definition is it says that is the the quality of the mind or spirit that enables a person. It is the quality of our mind and spirit that allows us to face difficulty, danger, fear, or whatever it may be. The simple definition of quality is how good or bad something is. Our mind has to be focused on God and our spirits in tune with Him, only then can we find the courage to face the things in life that nearly paralyzes us with fear. It is faith in knowing that God goes before us, that He is bigger than what seems to be the biggest mountain in our lives. He’s there to help us climb even when we think we can’t. When we think we can’t do something, we look to God and see just how great He is. How he equips us to do the very things we think we are incapable of doing. The thing about God is that He is capable of everything and anything.

This brings me back to the story of David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17), but also Goliath and Israel. Goliath was a champion and by the way he talked he thought he was untouchable, and up until this point he probably was. The way he was described, he’s the guy that you don’t want to mess with. He comes and calls out the army of Israel, they were all there for a battle. Then Goliath comes and basically says, “Try me.” He tells them to send someone and if that person is able to kill him then they will be servants to the Israelites. Saul and the Israelites were shaking in their boots, they were scared. David comes and he’s like, do not be afraid, I got this. Saul is like, no you're too young, this man has been fighting wars since his youth. David was like, I’ve taken down lions and bears, I can take him down too.  

Then David says, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” David knew that it was God who would equip him with whatever he needed to defeat Goliath. He wasn’t out there fighting lions and bears alone, he knew that it was God delivered him from the hands of these beasts, that could have ripped him to pieces.

*It’s about to get crazy. *

They go to put armour on David and it wasn’t good for him. He hadn’t tested the armour so he said he could not fight with it. He took the armour off,

*pause, he took off his armour to go fight Goliath, a war champion. WHAT!?!*

Not only does he take of the armour he goes and picks out five rocks, puts it in his pouch and heads toward Goliath.

*Okay pause for another second.

Now if I were there I would have been afraid for David, Just like, what are you doing David! You need this armour. What are you going to do with rocks! Have you seen him?! I would have been having a melt down.* But David doesn’t, he courageously walked into the face of danger carrying five rocks in a pouch. The Philistine sees David’s size and starts trash talking, and David is #unbothered. He tells the Philistine that he comes in the name of the Lord, and that God will deliver him (Goliath) into his heads. David then proceeds to tell Him, not only will I kill you but I will cut off your head. By this point you just kind of start rooting for David, like I don’t know how you are going to do it, but I know you are.  

*Here’s where it gets intense.*

David ran towards the battle line as the Philistine started approaching. He ran confidently with five rocks in a pouch up against a fully armed war champion. David took a rock and slung it and hit the Philistine in the forehead. the scripture says, “The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.” Then he cut off his head with his own sword.  

All that to say, that if david can defeat Goliath with a rock, then we can conquer every giant in our lives. We have to have faith in God, and know that apart from him we can do nothing. I know it’s scary and sometimes we have to put ourselves directly in the crossfire. Sometimes we have to run straight into the face of danger in order to defeat it. We have to be strong and courageous, as God tells Joshua.  Courage gives us strength even when we are afraid.

God is calling us to do things that might scare the crap out of us, but He is there with us every step of the way. We just have to act, do it. Even if you’re trembling, do it, and do it courageously. Fear does not belong to us, and it will not stop us from conquering these giants and mountains in our lives. Courage will enable us to do the things we thought we could never do. We find this courage in the Lord, we have it through him. Our spirits are fed by God and His word, and that is where we get courage from. Know that you are capable and you cannot do it alone. God’s got your back, if He tells you to step forward, don’t back down.

Reflection

1. Is there a Goliath in your life?

Prayer Time

Allow your answer to the above question guide your prayer today. Whatever struggles or fears you have give it to God. Talk to God about whatever is on your heart today, whatever stood out to you talk to God about it. Have a conversation with God.

I love you and I hope you have an amazing day or evening. Share this with someone and be sure to come back tomorrow for Day 121! Enjoy you weekend, and if you are going into finals week, you are in my prayers.

Day 119: The New Generation

Numbers 32:11-12

‘Of all those I rescued from Egypt, no one who is twenty years old or older will ever see the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for they have not obeyed me wholeheartedly. The only exceptions are Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they have wholeheartedly followed the Lord.’

We are considered the Joshua generation. I’m not sure how many of you have heard this saying before but it seems to be a theme with Pastor’s, when they start talking about our generation specifically. . Being in church around the age of sixteen, when the pastor would talk about our generation they would always say that we are the Joshua or Caleb generation. I didn’t really know what that meant until I opened up my bible and found out.  It is just a biblical way of saying we are the new or next generation to complete the task. To receive the promise and lead our people into the promised land (no pressure). We are the ones who will inherit the blessings of our fathers and do what they could not do.

What’s crazy about the scripture above is that when you think about it, almost everyone who entered the desert died there. They never got to see the promised land, except for Joshua and Caleb. Not even Moses was allowed to enter the Promised Land.

The wilderness generation

The Joshua generation was built differently, they are  different people than the ones who left Egypt, this generation was born in the wilderness, they were born in the desert, this was all they knew. They were born into the rough times, they know what it is truly like to wander around in the desert all your life, because they have been doing it since the day they were born. Seeing that they viewed the desert as home, this is all they have know their entire life. They are the wild children, literally born in the wilderness.

They fought for the Promise

They did not just stroll across the river and enter into the promised land, they had to conquer and claim. They had to build an army and fight for the land God had promised them. They had to strategize and plan, they had to fight for what was already theirs. This land was promised to them long before they were even born. This land was promised to Abraham and his descendants (And we are all descendants of Abraham) God built up a people who were willing to fight and take what is there’s.

They Appreciate the generation before them,

Joshua and Caleb did not takeover and act like everything they ever did they did alone. If they had said that it would have been a blatant lie. They picked up the baton and finished the race, they are the ones completing what their fathers, forefathers, ancestors started. If it had not been for Moses, Aaron and the generation before them they would not be in the position they were in. It was their fathers that had to be led out of Egypt in order for them to enter into the Promised Land. Now they may have held themselves up by constantly disobeying and grumbling against God, He used it for His glory. Through them God raised up and entirely new generation.

We are that generation, we are the generation picking up the baton’s and finishing the race. We were born in a crazy era, and we are here to fight for the promise.

Reflection

Today I gave a lot of context and not much opinion, and that was on purpose. I want you to respond, go through and read the stories. How do you feel about being compared to Joshua and Caleb generation? Do you think this generation is up for the task? Take what was talked about today and put in modern times. Do we have a task to complete?

Overall how do you relate to the text?

Prayer Time

Talk to God about this current generation, pray for our generation and ask God for guidance and direction for yourself but also for our peers.

I love you, I hope you have an amazing day or evening! Share this with someone, start a discussion, and make sure you come back tomorrow for Day 120!  

Day 118: Walking Through the Desert

Today we are going to continue with yesterday’s theme of, this idea of stepping into the desert out of bondage.

Deuteronomy 8:2, Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.

We are all aware that the Israelites wandered through the desert for forty years. A journey that should have taken a few weeks ended up taking forty years because of the Israelites disobedience, complaining, and grumbling. They held themselves up. Today we aren’t going to go into too deep of detail about that (not yet), but we are going to talk about the journey. Yesterday we talked about stepping into the desert, today it’s about walking or journeying through the desert.

The only way to the promised land was through the desert.

One of the biggest lessons I have learned in my life is that the journey is more important, than the destination. Getting there is what is important, it’s what counts most. We cannot skip over what it takes to get to where we are or where we are going, there’s always going to be a journey and it is in these desert places that we grow the most. Which is why we often hear people talking about the journey more than the destination, there's some hills and valleys to go through first. We have to walk through those hard places, and learn some lessons in the desert. Now, one thing I must say is that our generation is the generation of immediacy. We want everything immediately, and with technology, online shopping, and social media we don’t have to travel far to get it.  We want God to do things for us, but we don’t want to go through the desert with Him. We want Him to take us places but we only want to be there for the final destination, not the journey. Life doesn’t work that way, if we want something we have to walk through the desert to get it, the same way the israelites had to walk through the desert to get to the promised land. The promised land wasn’t coming to them, they had to go to it. God has prepared a promised land for us, but we have to go to it. He opens doors for us, but we have to walk through them. We have to take the journey to get to the places we need and want to go. The journey is so important because there are some things we have to drop along the way. There are some things we have to leave in the desert.

There were some things they brought out of Egypt that couldn’t go into the promised land, they had to drop it in the desert.

A lot of times God takes us through the journey to teach us, and help us grow. In the desert we are completely stripped of all things that will lead us away from God. We cannot take the attitude of bondage into a land of freedom. I believe that, that was one of the reasons it took them forty years to get to the promised land. God had to make sure that they were not entering the promised land with the same things they left Egypt with. There is always a purpose to the journey, there is always a testimony in the desert.

Reflection/ Prayer time

Talk to God about the passages today, allow His love to serenade your heart. Thank Him for the journey you are one, even the valleys and deserts we have to go through.

I love you and I hope you have an amazing day or evening! Thank you for reading, share this with someone and make sure you come back tomorrow for Day 119! For those of you entering finals week or the last stressful parts of the school year, or college, you are in my prayers.

Day 117: Stepping into the Desert

Exodus 14:10-14,As Pharaoh approached, the people of Israel looked up and panicked when they saw the Egyptians overtaking them. They cried out to the Lord, and they said to Moses, “Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? Weren’t there enough graves for us in Egypt? What have you done to us? Why did you make us leave Egypt? Didn’t we tell you this would happen while we were still in Egypt? We said, ‘Leave us alone! Let us be slaves to the Egyptians. It’s better to be a slave in Egypt than a corpse in the wilderness!’” But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again.  The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.”

Exodus 16:3, “If only the Lord had killed us back in Egypt,” they moaned. “There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.”

Numbers 14:4, Then they plotted among themselves, “Let’s choose a new leader and go back to Egypt!”

The people of Israel were in bondage for four hundred years. They were slaves to the Egyptians, and throughout those four hundred years they cried out to God, praying and begging Him to free them from bondage. So God goes, “I’ve heard the cries of my people, I will free them from this bondage and give them a land flowing with milk and honey.” He sends Moses, and long story short, Moses goes to Pharaoh like, “Let my people go!” and Pharaoh is like, “No”. Then God sends all these plagues and Pharaoh is like, “Take them!” Then as they are leaving Pharaoh and his army decides to go after them, and God parts the Red Sea for their ultimate escape, and Pharaoh and his army drowned in the Red Sea. Then their is a journey they have to go on, before they can get to the place of milk and honey. They have to walk, they didn’t have cars back then all they had were horses, carriages, and sandals. Seeing that they were slaves most of them probably didn’t even have that. And it was Africa, they were near the equator, lots of dry land and heat. The Middle east was the same, desert and heat everywhere, there’s no escaping it. They had to go through the desert in order to get to the promised land.

Now the Israelites cried out to God to be free, but before they were even completely out of the sight of Pharaoh and his army they were begging to go back. They were complaining that it was too hard. THis was before they crossed the Red Sea. They saw the people who had them in bondage for four hundred years coming towards them and for a moment forgot who was really in control. I love Moses’ response to them as they are freaking out and having meltdowns. He seems to be at peace with the whole situation. He’s like, “Chill y’all, chill out God’s got us.” God will not bring us out of something and not see us all the way through. He will always make a way, to the Israelites it looked like it was over. They were caught between the enemy and the sea, but here comes God being God, splitting the water so they could walk on dry land to get across that sea. God won’t bring us to the sea and not give us a way through or across it. Not only did God make a way  for them to cross the Red Sea and out of bondage, He drowned all the oppressors in the Sea. They could no longer pursue the people of Israel. There was no one to come and take them back, if they went it was solely their choice. Which brings me to my next point.

What do we do when the grass isn’t greener on the other side. Not in a sense that where they left was better than where they were going. They had to do some gardening if they wanted that grass to be greener. Meaning what do we do when we realize we have to grow the grass; we have to do some planting and watering, and waiting before anything pops up from the ground.? These are the things the people of Israel faced, they had to go on a journey before they could get to the Promised Land, they weren’t teleporting there. They had to walk through the hot desert, and at some points they said, it would be better if we had stayed in Egypt. In this specific passage the people were in the need of food, they were hungry. They were probably hangry, and the angry part of that word go the best of them (giving them the benefit of the doubt). I don’t know, all I know is sometimes hanger makes you a little crazy. Now the people are complaining to Moses and they’re all, “At least when we were in Egypt we weren’t dying of starvation, you brought us out here to die.”  It seems like every time the journey got hard, they started to reminisce about what it would be like if they were still slaves. It wasn’t the best life but it was better than this, or that’s what they thought. God heard the cries of the people and He gave them bread from heaven in the morning, and gave them meat to eat by night. Then in Genesis 17 the people are once again complaining because they are thirsty, and God hears their grumbling, He gives them water, from a rock. From a rock!

THe israelites got what they wanted, but when the saw that it wasn’t exactly how they wanted it they were ready to go back to their old lives. But the most profound thing about this story is that if the Israelites had never stepped into the desert they would have never experienced the true glory of God. They would not have witnessed the miracles, they would not know that even when there seems to be no way, with God there is always a way. It was only when they lost faith that they started to regret leaving Egypt. But sometimes, sometimes we have to step into the  desert and watch God work. We have to venture into the unknown, we have to go places we don’t go. Stepping out into the desert is taking a step or leap even when you don’t know where you foot or feet will land. That’s called faith. If God can split an entire sea, if he could make bread and manna rain down from heaven, if He can give us water from a rock. What more can He do? God won't lead us to the sea and not give us a way through it. He won’t lead us into the desert without making sure that we are taken care of.

When we ask God to bring us through or out of something, we have to be sure that we are ready to walk into the desert. That we are ready and willing to trust Him. I know we get mad at the Israelites for doing all of this stuff. But that is or has been many of us as Christians. When things get hard, we think or even sometimes vocalize that life was a lot easier when we were living in the world. I can tell you that the trip back will be just as hard, as the trip there, the difference is one has a reward, and the other is just old news that we decided to turn back to.

Reflection

1. Can you Identify with the Israelites?  
2. Have you ever thought about going back into the world when life as a Christian gets hard?

Prayer Time

Allow your answers to the above questions guide your prayer. Whatever stood out to the most today bring it God in prayer. Just talk to HIm, have an open conversation with the Lord.

I love you, and I hope you have an amazing day or evening. I love you so much, make sure you share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 118!

Day 116: Living Far From God

Matthew 15:8, “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.”

I grew up hearing these scriptures. I was always told, either you’re in or out, there’s no straddling the fence. Choose who you want to serve. It’s like when I was younger, and my siblings and cousins and I were always playing outside. We all tended to run in and out of the house all day, and it seemed like a lot because there were a lot of us. At some point or another throughout the day multiple adults would tell us to stop running in and out of the house. After not listening, someone’s mother (usually mine), or our grandmother would say, “Hey! Stop running in and out of this house! Either you stay in or out, make a choice.” Not wanting to come inside we would choose to stay outside.

The problem with this story and what upset the adults is that we kept running in and out, every five minutes a little kid was running through the house, then we would run right back outside. We couldn’t decide if we wanted to be apart of what was going on inside or play outside. How often do we do this to God, we are constantly in and out when it comes to having a relationship with Him. We are in when we really need Him, but out when we’ve gotten everything we need. We have to choose if we are going to be near God, or will we stray far from Him.

The heart doesn’t always agree with the lips.

I think it is safe to say that we have all said things that we do not really mean. We have used our words to cover up how we really feel. Our lips say one thing but our hearts say another. We’ve all lied to our mom or aunt before and told them something they cooked was good, even when it was horrid. I will use myself for an example, there was a time when I was telling everyone about how good God was and reading my bible constantly, and even preaching, but my life and my heart said something completely different. I honored God with my words but my heart was so far from it. (I am beyond grateful for grace and mercy, and that Jesus didn’t strike me down in my mess). We can all talk, as long as we have lips and a working voice box, but do our actions line up with our words? I could read the bible all day long, but if I am reading it just to show and people how good a Christian I am, is it even worth it? I can memorize every scripture back and forth but until I allow it into my heart and start living it, does it really matter how many scriptures I can quote? And I did, I did all of this, I memorized scriptures, read the entire bible, but in the end it was only to look like a better Christian, not actually be a better or different person. We have so many people who go to church and live so far away from God. Being a Christian is not a Sunday only thing, it is every day of our lives. It is more than saying, “I’m Christian.” or raising our hands during worship in church. We do not have to go around saying we are Christ followers, because our lives will speak for us. It is very true that actions speak louder than words. We cannot say we serve God, when we are living any type of way. We cannot claim to love and serve God when our hearts are far from Him. One thing about the heart is that it doesn’t lie, and eventually our hearts will show. We cannot avoid it or get around it. The question is, when your heart shows who you truly are, will you be embarrassed or ashamed of what comes to light? Or will you be happy to show your heart?

Hosea 6:6, I want you to show love,not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings.

God wants us to show love over sacrifices. Seeing that this is a passage from the old testament, He is referring to the daily sacrifices and offerings of the israelites. But God says, I’d rather you show love, I’d rather you know me. A lot of times we think that what we do is pleasing to God. We think the amount of money we give, is enough. We think giving food to a homeless person is enough, or doing ‘good deed’ is enough. While those are all good, God says, I would rather have your heart, I would rather you know me. Some of us have or are walking around, serving in the church, without even knowing God, because we think our sacrifices of showing up early to church to volunteer is enough. But there is so much more, it goes deeper than just doing things just to do them. When we submit ourselves to God, every part of our life becomes a service to Him. We know God more and more everyday, we start to love like Him. And God is like, “I want that.” He wants that love, He wants us to truly know Him. He will take that anyday over our empty words that claim to praise Him.

Psalms 73:26-28, my flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you. But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.

The scripture says that those who are far from God will perish. We as the body of Christ are on a constant search to bring these perishing souls to Christ. Sometimes we have to stop and take a look in the places where the Christians are, there are souls perishing from the pughs they sit in every Sunday. Asaph (writer of this psalm) then goes on to say, “It is good for me to be near God.” When we get a taste of what life is like to be near God, that’s where we want to be. We know it is safe to be in that place, near God is the best place to be. But we must make the choice to draw closer to Him. Serving God is so much more than just talking about Jesus, it’s living like Him, it’s allowing our words to match our actions. We cannot serve God and live far away from Him. It won’t work.

Reflection

1. Does your heart agree with your lips?
2. Would you say you are living near or far from God?

Prayer Time

Allow your answers to the above questions guide your prayer today .Whatever stood out to you or struck you, talk to God about it. Maybe you are living far away from God, today is the day to draw near to Him. Maybe you know someone who is living far from God, lift them up in prayer today. Lift up the church and the body of Christ today that we will all be fully devoted to Christ every day of our lives.

I love you, I hope you have an amazing day or evening. Make sure you share this and come back tomorrow for Day 117!

Day 115: Bend but Don't Break

I’m from Los Angeles, California and one of my favorite things about being from LA is the Palm Trees. They are beautiful especially in the summer on a quiet street right at about sunset (Pictured to the left). Palm trees line almost all of the streets in LA, and you can find them even on the beaches, they are amazing. I’ve tried to climb them growing up, but we’re going to talk about that today. However, growing up, my mom would always tells us that palm trees bend all the way the ground but they never break.  I used to see palm trees in certain places that looked deformed because they had bent so much. Whenever we would have windy nights I would watch the trees outside my window, and they would be bending with the wind but they never fell. These trees are strong and beautiful.

Isaiah 54:17

No weapon formed against you shall prosper,And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn.This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,And their righteousness is from Me,”Says the Lord.

We are like those palm trees, God gives us strength to stand even when we are being pushed down. Even when the force of the storms or winds in our lives seem stronger than us. We are planted firm that we will not fall, and we have the strength of the Lord, so we will not break. Our spirits may be deformed but they are not broken, We have all been in places in our lives where we thought what we were going through was going to be the end. We thought there would be no coming back from this. It may be different for all of us, but one thing's for sure is that, when it rains it pours and the only way to get out of the storm is to go through it. These trees can stand through the worst of weather. The wind and water, palm trees can survive hurricanes and tsunamis, out of everything destroyed in a storm the one thing still standing is the palm tree. As the body of Christ, as Christ followers that is how we are. Out of everyone, we are the last ones standing. We cannot be moved by even the worst of weather.  

We would never know how strong we are if we never have to use our strength or how much faith we have if it is never tested. Sometimes we need to go through times when we’re bent out of shape, so that we can grow. God allows us to face struggles, He knows how much we can handle, but it is in those moments when we are fighting to stand strong, when we are learning and being pushed on all sides, that we learn to look to Christ. Sometimes we can even feel like we are being stretched past our limits, and we feel like we are going to break. We feel every part of our being ready to give up, or throw in the towel. Things get so hard, that we don’t know how to hold on anymore. But the beauty in all of it is, we do. We don’t break even though it feels like we’re going to, we don’t give up or give, we hold on, even if it takes all the strength we have. Because God made us strong enough to bend not break. Even in that weakness we find strength in Him. Like the palm tree the wind blows us from side to side, and we bend very far, but we never break. We never fall, because God is making sure that we are still standing.

It is said that palm trees fall over when the roots are weakened due to disease or improper planting. When we are not rooted properly the best of us will fall.

Matthew 13:3-6

And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, "Behold, the sower went out to sow; and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. "Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. "But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

IF we are not deeply rooted in Christ it is easy to fall because there is nothing holding us down. It’s not the strength of the tree itself that keeps it standing, but the roots that hold it up and keeps it from falling. If there are no roots than it might as well be a tumbleweed heading in whatever direction the wind blows.

In 2 Corinthians 4:9, Paul says, “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;”

These things come against us but we are not destroyed by it. We will go through some things in our lives, but we will not be destroyed by them. Isaiah 54:17  tells us that no weapon formed against us will prosper. It doesn’t mean that nothing will come against us, we are not invincible or untouchable. But because of who we serve because of our Father in heaven, it will not succeed in doing what it was intended to do. Our God is too great, too mighty, too magnificent.

Reflection/Prayer Time

Talk to God today about whatever is on your heart. Ask Him to make you like the palm tree that bends but doesn’t break. Allow Him to speak to you. Take this time to just talk with God, about whatever it is you need to bring to Him today. Remember that a prayer is just a conversation with God, talk to Him.

I love you, I hope you have an amazing day or evening! Make sure you share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 116!

Day 114: Recap

Day 107: Your Mistakes Don't Define You 

Today we talked about Peter and the time he denied Jesus. We went through a lot of different scriptures including, John 13:36-38, John 18:17, 25-27, Romans 7:15, John 21:7, 15-17, and Matthew 16:18-19.
"We all make mistakes, we’ve all screwed up in our lives, I know I have pretty bad in my 24 years of living. There is conviction which is from God, that leads us to repentance, and there is self-condemnation or condemnation from others that leads us to regret. One is the right way the other is not so great. God can change a repentant heart, because we are giving our sin up to follow Him."

Day 108: Help Me Maintain

Today we talked about being able to maintain when life is hard, when we know that God gave us the tools but we still have to go through the fight. W focused on Psalms 119:28, 1 John 5:5, and Matthew 17:20.

"We overcome through Christ. At our weakest  moments, that is the time to hold on to Christ the most. These are the times to stretch our faith a bit further. To go that extra mile. It’s the moments when we are the weakest that we find God to be the strongest. The moments when we are doubting that we find God to be faithful. God is always there, we just have to have an ounce of faith. "

Day 109:Strong Enough To Hold

Today we talked about God making sure we are strong enough to hold the magnificent blessings He will hail on our lives, and also knowing that God is the solution to every problem, we just have to choose to obey HIs word. We focused on John 21:1-11.

"There are three things to note in this passage: Problem, instruction, solution. God is the solution to all of our problems but we must listen to and follow His instructions. God always has a solution, it never fails.   

Problem: They had no fish after fishing all night long.

Instruction: Throw the net on the right side of the boat.

Solution: They hauled in 153 fish.

There is a step in between ‘instruction’ and ‘solution’ called obedience, and this is where we decide how the story will end."

Day 110: The God-Shaped Hole in Our Hearts

Today we talked about our desperate need for for God, how we all have this hole in our hearts that can only be filled by God. No one and nothing else can fill it. We focused on Isaiah 45:18 and Genesis 2:7.

" We have that hole in us that only God can fill. It’s His breath that fills our lungs, His Holy Spirit that carries us through every day of our lives. There is nothing and no one that can fill these voids, there is no one else but God. No one else can fit into that hole but Him."

Day 111: TheWay He Loves Us

Today we dived into the story of Hosea and Gomer, and how it is a parallel of our relationship with God. We focused on Hosea 1:2, 3:1-2, and John 3:16.

"The most beautiful part about it all is that God can be angry at us, but He will always look at us and say, “But I love you.” He loves us so much.

God tells Hosea to go love His unfaithful wife. Go find her eventhough she is committing adultery with another man, love her. God doesn’t say leave her, He says love her. And it will be a symbol of how he stills loves israel even though they have turned to different gods. God is not into giving up on His people, even when we deserve to be left out in the desert. He says I will never leave you but I will forever love you."

Day 112: Dare to Fail

Today we talked about taking chances, and giving ourselves a chance at life. Stepping out of our fear and taking a leap, even if that means we fail the first time, we have to get back up and try again. We focused on Proverbs 24:16 and Galatians 1:10.

"Failure isn’t always bad, we learn from these things, we find light in the dark places, because we have to. We grow in the valleys, so when we get to the mountain tops we understand what it took for us to be here. Failure is a part of life, it is also a part of success."

That's all for this week, I love you and I hope you have an amazing week, for those of us heading toward finals week and the end of the semester, I will be praying for you. Enjoy your Sunday and be sure to come back tomorrow for Day 115!