When It Feels Like You're Drowning...

There have been times when people have wanted to hurt me (physically, emotionally, and on the job) and they just weren't able to. It was like God himself stepped down from heaven and stopped it....
God loves us more than we know, and God cares more for us than we could ever imagine. He loves us enough to untie the ropes of sickness when they threaten our lives. He loves us enough to reach down from heaven and rescue us when we're drowning. And when people literally plot against us, He loves us enough to stop them. NO ONE can love us like He does.

God is not just watching us from Heaven. He is here with us and will step in right on time.

Psalm 18
1 I love you, Lord;
you are my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;
my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.
He is my shield, the power that saves me,
and my place of safety.
3 I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and he saved me from my enemies.
4 The ropes of death entangled me;
floods of destruction swept over me.
5 The grave wrapped its ropes around me;
death laid a trap in my path.
6 But in my distress I cried out to the Lord;
yes, I prayed to my God for help.
He heard me from his sanctuary;
my cry to him reached his ears.
7 Then the earth quaked and trembled.
The foundations of the mountains shook;
they quaked because of his anger.
8 Smoke poured from his nostrils;
fierce flames leaped from his mouth.
Glowing coals blazed forth from him.
9 He opened the heavens and came down;
dark storm clouds were beneath his feet.
10 Mounted on a mighty angelic being, he flew,
soaring on the wings of the wind.
11 He shrouded himself in darkness,
veiling his approach with dark rain clouds.
12 Thick clouds shielded the brightness around him
and rained down hail and burning coals.
13 The Lord thundered from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded
amid the hail and burning coals.
14 He shot his arrows and scattered his enemies;
his lightning flashed, and they were greatly confused.
15 Then at your command, O Lord,
at the blast of your breath,
the bottom of the sea could be seen,
and the foundations of the earth were laid bare.
16 He reached down from heaven and rescued me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
17 He rescued me from my powerful enemies,
from those who hated me and were too strong for me.
18 They attacked me at a moment when I was in distress,
but the Lord supported me.
19 He led me to a place of safety;
he rescued me because he delights in me.
Psalms 18:1-19 (NLT)

Just a Little Parental Advice

My child, never forget the things I have taught you.

Store my commands in your heart.
2 If you do this, you will live many years,
and your life will be satisfying.
3 Never let loyalty and kindness leave you!
Tie them around your neck as a reminder.
Write them deep within your heart.
4 Then you will find favor with both God and people,
and you will earn a good reputation.
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
6 Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.
7 Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom.
Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
8 Then you will have healing for your body
and strength for your bones.
9 Honor the Lord with your wealth
and with the best part of everything you produce.
10 Then he will fill your barns with grain,
and your vats will overflow with good wine.
11 My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline,
and don’t be upset when he corrects you.
12 For the Lord corrects those he loves,
just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.
Prov 3:1-12 (NLT)

Whoa Tiger!

As a woman, how do you handle having a FOOL for a husband???

The Bible answers this question thru the story of Abigail and Nabal in 1 Samuel 25. Abigail was married to a man named Nabal (which actually means 'fool'), who was rich and powerful just like Tiger. Nabal's ego was out of control and when David (yes, King David) asked him for help, he refused. David and his soldiers had been camping near Nabal's land and their presence had protected Nabal and his land from enemies. But when David asked Nabal for food in exchange for their protection Nabal refused.

“Who is this fellow David?” Nabal sneered to the young men. “Who does this son of Jesse think he is? There are lots of servants these days who run away from their masters.11 Should I take my bread and my water and my meat that I’ve slaughtered for my shearers and give it to a band of outlaws who come from who knows where?”
12 So David’s young men returned and told him what Nabal had said.13 “Get your swords!” was David’s reply as he strapped on his own.
1 Sam 25:10-13 (NLT)

David vowed to kill Nabal and the only thing that stopped him was Nabal's wife Abigail.

Abigail wasted no time. She quickly gathered 200 loaves of bread, two wineskins full of wine, five sheep that had been slaughtered, nearly a bushel of roasted grain, 100 clusters of raisins, and 200 fig cakes. She packed them on donkeys19 and said to her servants, “Go on ahead. I will follow you shortly.” But she didn’t tell her husband Nabal what she was doing.
When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed low before him.24 She fell at his feet and said, “I accept all blame in this matter, my lord. Please listen to what I have to say.25 I know Nabal is a wicked and ill-tempered man; please don’t pay any attention to him. He is a fool, just as his name suggests. But I never even saw the young men you sent.
26 “Now, my lord, as surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, since the Lord has kept you from murdering and taking vengeance into your own hands, let all your enemies and those who try to harm you be as cursed as Nabal is.27 And here is a present that I, your servant, have brought to you and your young men.28 Please forgive me if I have offended you in any way. The Lord will surely reward you with a lasting dynasty, for you are fighting the Lord’s battles. And you have not done wrong throughout your entire life.
1 Sam 25:18-19 ,23-28 (NLT)
David decided NOT to kill Nabal because of Abigail's intercession. When Nabal heard that David was prepared to kill him he actually had a stroke! Nabal died and David actually married Abigail after that.

So what do you do when you have a FOOL for a husband? Take your cue from Abigail and pray, do the RIGHT thing, and let God handle the rest. God will protect and provide for you just like He protected and provided for Abigail.

I Just Wanna Be Successful

I have been talking on my YouTube channel about celebrities worshipping the gifts of God (money, power, success, etc) instead of the giver of those gifts (God.) And my friend sent me this devotion today that gives a biblical example of that.

Sometimes the very blessings God has showered on us make us forget him (Nehemiah 9:28). We often tempted to rely on wealth for security rather than on God. As you read what happened to the Israelites below, look at your own life. Do your blessings make you thankful to God, and draw you closer to him, or do they make you feel self-sufficient and forgetful to God?

“But despite all this, [the Israelites] were disobedient and rebelled against you. They turned their backs on your Law, they killed your prophets who warned them to return to you, and they committed terrible blasphemies.27 So you handed them over to their enemies, who made them suffer. But in their time of trouble they cried to you, and you heard them from heaven. In your great mercy, you sent them liberators who rescued them from their enemies.
28 “But as soon as they were at peace, your people again committed evil in your sight, and once more you let their enemies conquer them. Yet whenever your people turned and cried to you again for help, you listened once more from heaven. In your wonderful mercy, you rescued them many times!
29 “You warned them to return to your Law, but they became proud and obstinate and disobeyed your commands. They did not follow your regulations, by which people will find life if only they obey. They stubbornly turned their backs on you and refused to listen.30 In your love, you were patient with them for many years. You sent your Spirit, who warned them through the prophets. But still they wouldn’t listen! So once again you allowed the peoples of the land to conquer them.31 But in your great mercy, you did not destroy them completely or abandon them forever. What a gracious and merciful God you are!
32 “And now, our God, the great and mighty and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of unfailing love, do not let all the hardships we have suffered seem insignificant to you. Great trouble has come upon us and upon our kings and leaders and priests and prophets and ancestors—all of your people—from the days when the kings of Assyria first triumphed over us until now.33 Every time you punished us you were being just. We have sinned greatly, and you gave us only what we deserved.34 Our kings, leaders, priests, and ancestors did not obey your Law or listen to the warnings in your commands and laws.35 Even while they had their own kingdom, they did not serve you, though you showered your goodness on them. You gave them a large, fertile land, but they refused to turn from their wickedness.
Neh 9:26-35 (NLT)