Tag: Scripture

We Have This Hope

I don’t know about you, but my heart has been so heavy lately. There is SO much going on in our world right now. There are natural disasters that are affecting so many lives, constant political arguments and one side bashing the other side. Evil is no longer lurking in the shadows. It is blatant, right in front of our faces. The world has a way of taking things that the Lord made to be beautiful and twisting them into something perverted. 

With everything that is going on, nowhere in the world seems safe right now. I have to be honest that I have felt fear working its way into my heart, making every effort to cripple me. I have had to step back and recognize that the Lord foresaw everything that is happening right now. Scripture shows us that everything happening is leading up to the coming of our Jesus. 

It hit me the other day while I was in the car. I can either choose to bow to fear of all the things that will continue to unfold during these end times,  or I could cling to God’s Word that promises Jesus is coming back for His bride. I choose the latter. 

As disciples of Christ, we have this hope. We know that there will be tribulation here on Earth. But we know that the story will not end there. We hold to the hope that we are covered in the blood of the Lamb, and no matter what happens here on Earth, we have eternal life through Christ Jesus. Our citizenship is in heaven. One day Jesus will come back for us.

Romans 14:10-11 tells us that there will be a day where all will stand at the judgment seat of God. 

“For it is written, as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow to me, and every tongue will give praise to God.”

Philippians 2:9-11 says, “For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow-in heaven and on earth and under the earth-and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

I don’t know about you, but these Scriptures give me chills! EVERY knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. There is power in the name of Jesus, and He is the ultimate authority. 

In a world that seems scary and a time that seems so uncertain, we cling to Jesus Christ. He is our hope. And we endure and run this race until the day that He comes back for us. This will be a glorious day where He will make all things new.

 “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more because the previous things have passed away. Then the one seated on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new.” He also said, “Write because these words are faithful and true.” (Revelation 21:4-5)

Called To Be Set Apart

For you are a holy people to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

Deuteronomy 14:2

They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.

John 17:16-17


Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

1 John 2:15

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Philippians 3:20

Live set apart.

I feel that the Lord has put this topic on my heart for many months. I look around at the world around me and my heart feels so heavy. There is SO much happening right now. Natural disasters, division among people, protests, war…we are experiencing the birthing pains that Matthew 24 talks about. 

I feel the urgency of our time. I know that Jesus is coming back for us soon. And it grieves me that so many people do not know him. I have even seen people that profess that they know Jesus choosing to side with the world instead of siding with Word.

 My heart hurts. I want everyone to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior not because they are scared of Hell, but because nothing compares to having a relationship with Jesus. Nothing on this earth even comes close to knowing Christ.

I think about bringing children into this world. I think about my husband and my family, our close loved ones, and the generations to come. My ONE desire is that they will be firm in their faith. That they will not be shaken or conform to the patterns of this world. 

And I pray this for you. I pray this for whoever is reading this right now. May you know the Truth and may the Truth set you free. May you know the Lord personally and intimately and choose to proclaim the Gospel even if it contradicts what those around you say. 

Let me tell you that God’s Word is ALIVE, but we cannot pick and choose which Scripture we want to apply to our life. I watched a sermon once where the pastor shared that so many people take the Scripture and bend or stretch it to apply to their life instead of stretching themselves to come under the authority of God’s Word (you can find this sermon on Youtube: Social Dallas “When Healing Hurts”). I cannot tell you how many times I have heard people say, “Yeah well that is in the Old Testament, so it doesn’t really apply to us today.” Y’all, God is the same yesterday, today, and for the next 1,000 years. He does not change, and His Word does not change. It is alive and active, and applicable to us even today. We cannot twist His Word or pull the Scriptures that we like best. That is not how it works. 

 The Scripture is so clear. We are called to live in the world but not be of the world. What exactly does this mean? It means that we do not live as those around us live. We choose to honor Christ in every decision whether in private or in public. We choose to speak truth in love even if we know that it may not sit well with others. We choose to stand on what the Word of God says instead of conforming to the culture of our day. 

The Bible warns us that it is not easy. John 15:19 tells us that if we loved things of the world, then of course the world would love us. But because God has chosen us, and we are not of the world, the world is going to hate us. This shouldn’t surprise us though, because the world hated Jesus too. I love Romans 8:18 that encourages us to press on through the hard because the sufferings of our present day do not even compare to the glory that is going to be revealed to us. 

This is something that I could write about all day. I myself have walked through some hard situations and been criticized by people because I choose to stand with Christ instead of standing with the world. I know it can feel lonely sometimes, and that is why I want to encourage you…

IT IS WORTH IT! Christ is worth it. Living set apart and choosing to side with the Word instead of side with the world is worth it! Keep on fighting the good fight and living the set apart life because you are heaven bound friends!

WRITTEN ON OUR HEARTS (GOD’S WORD)

Okay, let’s be real together here. How many times have you read your Bible just to cross it off your list? Have there been days where you feel like your Jesus time has become more like a daily chore rather than a deep desire to grow and be with Him? Yes? Well, friend, me too.

I have plenty of days where I want to read my Bible, but I have 1,001 other things going on as well. I open my Bible, I read a chapter, and boom check mark. Stick my Bible back on the shelf and call it good for the day. Yet, sometimes I forget what I just read the instant I close the cover. Can you relate?

One piece of Scripture that has been stuck in my mind lately is Deuteronomy 11:18. 

Imprint these words of mine on your hearts and minds, bind them as a sign on your hands, and let them be a symbol on your foreheads. (CSB) 

We are to have God’s words written on our hearts. Yes, there will be seasons where we may feel dull and read the Word to cross it off our list of things to do. But the key is not just reading Scripture but rather meditating on it, letting it sit and simmer in our minds and hearts in a way that transforms us and the way we live out our lives.

There are plenty of verses that share this same idea of writing God’s commands on our hearts. 

Psalm 40:8 and 119:11

Proverbs 7:3

Colossians 3:16

Hebrews 8:10 and 10:16

Here is the key that I am learning…we can read the Bible and call it a day, but what will we benefit from this? God’s Word is alive and active (just as Hebrews 4:12 describes it). It has the power to transform our hearts and minds as we soak up the words that we read. 

Now you may be wondering, hmm what exactly does it mean to write the Word of God on my heart? 

I like to think about it as living God’s Word out through our daily actions. We can live out Scripture in the way that we interact and love others, the way that we address difficult situations with grace and truth, in the way that we serve and work not for recognition but rather unto God’s name, and there are many other examples. 

Here is the really cool thing…as we are digging into the Bible and have a desire to grow, the Holy Spirit will remind us of different passages throughout our day to day tasks. I cannot tell you how many times I have wanted to let my frustration or stress get the best of me, and then the Spirit nudges me to bite my tongue or cast my cares to Jesus through a passage I had just recently read. Maybe you have had similar situations where you are in a tough place and want to respond in a certain way, but then feel the Holy Spirit convict you by placing a verse on your heart. 

This is what writing the Word of God on our hearts looks like. Not just reading the Bible then boom, shut the book and place it back on its spot on the coffee table next to you. But allow the Words to brew in your mind, be imprinted on your heart, and transform your everyday life. 

Will you let the power of God’s Word be written on your heart and transform your way of living?