What Are We Leaving As A Legacy?

The other day I passed a home where an elderly lady lived and saw many cars and people in and around her house. There were boxes and things on trucks. It was a clear sign that they (maybe family) were moving her out. A few days later there was a dumpster in front of the home, and my thoughts immediately went to sadness. Seeing the dumpster, I begin to think...one day my life may be summed up with things placed in the trash.

"Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto thy children." Psalm 90:16

What are we leaving as a legacy for our children and grandchildren? Is it one that glorifies God?
Will it all be thrown away in a dumpster or will it be a legacy of love that they will value forever? Are we spending more time investing in the things of life instead of investing in the people in our lives? Is it time to get rid of the clutter and sort through what's important and what's not?

I pray the times I have with my family are valuable, and the legacy I leave will be one that will never end up in a dumpster.

Love in Christ,
Tera

Lord, Please Fan That Tiny Flame

Is your love for God gone? When did it change? Why did it change?

God loves us so much. He has done more for you and me than anyone has ever thought about doing.  So why do we treat Him the way we do? Why are we serving and enjoying "things of the world" rather than Him? I don't get it. Why would we want to continue serving something that is not eternal, that is taking us further and further away from the One that cares and loves us unconditionally? Why are we teaching our children (which is our responsibility) that it is not essential to love God and serve Him instead of things of the world? 

Lord, no matter how small, please fan that tiny flame of love for You and help it to grow. Forgive us of our sins, our shortcomings, and help us to start over. To put You first in our lives. Give us the strength to get back to You, Your Word, Your church, Your people, that will love, encourage and support us. Help us to persevere in finding our lost love for You before it is eternally too late. Help us to stay strong when we are tested. Increase our faith. Increase our love. Increase our flame. In Jesus name. Amen

Love in Christ,

Tera

Strength and Determination

Have you ever watched ants? When I am sitting outside and see ants, I am amazed at how they carry their food, some of their loads are 10x bigger than they are. But they never give up. They keep carrying that load and are determined until they reach their final destination. Their struggle is huge, but they press on.

Just like the ants, we have heavy loads we have to carry. We get tired, we get weak, we struggle. Life's journey is hard. Day in day out we face problems and pray for God to lighten our load. Sometimes I believe God lets us struggle for a reason. It increases our faith. It increases our strength. There may be a lesson in it God wants us to see and learn, maybe our determination could help someone else that is struggling not to give up.

God does not want any of us to give up. He wants us to keep going, press on until we reach our final destination. Philippians 3:14 "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

We do not know what today will hold, but we do know Who holds today and Who gives us the strength and determination to press on.

Love in Christ,
Tera

Turn Our Focus To The Good Things

As I walked outside early this morning, it was so peaceful. I heard the birds singing, a rooster crowed from a short distance, a squirrel darted up a tree, and there was a little coolness in the air. As I looked around and heard the different sounds, I felt at peace. I felt a calmness. I wanted to take it all in because I saw and heard God's faithfulness and thought, "It is well with my soul."

But maybe you are thinking, my morning did not start out peaceful. My thoughts are not "It is well with my soul" but rather, "It's 6:00 in the morning and life stinks already!" As hard as it is when things are hectic or problematic, we have to put our trust in Him, turn our focus to the good things that bring peace to our mind, heart, and soul and remember He is our refuge, strength, and help even in the hard times.

Psalm 46:1 "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."

No matter what battle we are facing we can trust God and His faithfulness. He is our refuge and strength, our help with any problem or any trouble at all times.  

Love in Christ,
Tera

God's Wisdom Will Be A Blessing

"But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy." James 3:17.
"O the depth of the riches both of wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out! Romans 11:33

Love these verses each one is filled with such great advice. Seeking wisdom and understanding is something we all do. We want it for so many different reasons. Sometimes we try to seek advice from those we shouldn't, and it usually doesn't end well. We cannot get our answers or our peace from anywhere or from anyone but God. He should be the only one we seek for wisdom.

When we are struggling with any decision in our lives, we need to go to God and His Word.
Pray to Him with an open heart and mind, be sincere in our asking and humbly wait for His answer. When we receive His response, it will be pure, we will have complete peace and understanding, and we will feel and see God's mercy over us and in the situation.

God's wisdom will be a blessing, not a loss.

Love in Christ,
Tera

In What Do We Put Our Hope?

In what do we put our hope? Is it in people? Is it in our work? Is it in our salvation? Is it in Jesus Christ? We get so wrapped up in worldly things that we lose the true meaning of hope. This little word is significant in our faith. It is powerful. So, what is our assurance of hope? 
Is it assured? Is it based on Christ, the solid Rock, or is it on "I hope so" hope?

There is a beautiful hymn that talks about what our hope should be built on. The lyrics were composed by Edward Mote in 1834. The title is The Solid Rock. Here are a couple of verses and the chorus.

My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus' name.

His oath, His covenant, His blood. Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.
   
Refrain:
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand. 

If your hope is not in Jesus Christ, the solid Rock, please make Him your Savior today. When everything around you seems hopeless, let Him be your hope.

Love in Christ,
Tera

Stop And Smell The Roses

Ephesians 5:20 "Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Each day we have so much to give God thanks for. Summer vacation is one of those things. We can spend time with family, take trips to the mountains and enjoy the cool in the air, walk and play in the creeks, walk on the beach and swim and ride the waves. Watching and capturing a sunrise or a sunset each morning or night all of these are blessings.

Do we consider all things blessings? What determines our thankfulness?  Are we more thankful when we are on a mountaintop than when we are in a valley? Are we counting our blessings but not really seeing them? God's goodness is around us at all times we just have to stop and recognize them.

We have heard the old saying many times "Stop and smell the roses." We are all blessed in so many ways we just need to take the time to stop and consider all things God gives us and does for us and thank Him for them.

Love in Christ,
Tera

Great Is The Lord

"We love Him because He first loved us." 1 John 4:19

There is nothing or no one that compares to God's love. He loves us with an everlasting love.
He showers us with blessings every day. He watches over us and takes care of us like a Shepherd watches over his sheep. He knows what we need and provides for us when we need it. When we are weak, He is strong. Father, we thank You for Your faithfulness and greatness to us.

"Every day will I bless thee: and I will praise thy name for ever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable." Psalm 145:2,3

Great is the Lord and His love for us. Let us praise His name forever and ever.

Love in Christ,
Tera

Life Is Like A Roller Coaster Ride

I for one do not like a roller coaster, but there is probably plenty of you that do.
Have you ever been to a theme park and watched the riders on a roller coaster? Some are in a panic frame of mind with their eyes closed and ready for the ride to end, then there are those that love the challenge and are so excited that they are holding their hands in the air while coming down the high and scary slopes. Everyone is on the same roller coaster, but everyone's frame of mind is different. Isn't the same with life?

Some see life accepting each day that God gives us as a gift.
Some see life in a frame of mind of fear and despair.
Some see life as a challenge.
Some see life as it is, what it is, and makes the best of it.
Some see life as sadness and are ready for the end.

None of us can control what happens in life, but we can control how we deal with it. We can start each day with excitement holding our hands in the air ready to face whatever the day brings, or we can start each day with our eyes closed and miss the opportunity God has for us that day.

Life is like a roller coaster ride. Ups, downs, valleys, mountains. We are all in this life together, and it is our frame of mind that sets how we face it.

Love in Christ,
Tera

Loving and Caring Friends

If we are blessed with loving and caring friends, we are truly blessed!

What a wonderful gift God gives us through our friends.  I am sure each one of us has a friend or friends that we consider part of the family. Like family, they see us at our worst and at our best and love us no matter what. They hurt when we hurt and rejoice with us when life brings good news. They cry with us in our sorrows. They are friends we can share our secrets with and know they will never be revealed to anyone. We can go days or weeks not talking and then when we do get together, we pick right up where we left off. And just like family, they show kindness, love, and compassion when we need it and are always willing to pray with us and for us.

Proverbs 17:17 "A friend loveth at all times."

Father, Thank you, for our friends. Bless each one and their families today. Help us to always be a loving and caring friend to them and most importantly a worthy and loyal prayer warrior for them.

Love in Christ,
Tera

Who Am I?

"And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharoah, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?" Exodus 3:11

Have you ever felt you were not qualified to do something or you felt inadequate?  Has God ever spoken to you about serving Him in some way and you immediately said, Not me, Lord? Who am I?
I have no background in that. I am not qualified. I can't do that!

I am sure this was how Moses felt when God wanted him to go tell Pharoah to release the Israelites. Can you imagine a task that big? Moses began thinking about his inability to speak. That is a perfect excuse Moses thought. Exodus 4:10 "And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent...but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. And The Lord said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth?...Have not I the Lord? Then God said these words to Moses in verse 12 "Certainly I will be with thee..." Don't you love God's response?

When we start to question ourselves or think we are not adequate or maybe someone has made us feel that we are inadequate, we need to remember...God created us, and He knows what we are capable of doing. God is with us each step of the way. God will help us do anything He asks us to do as long as we believe and our faith is in Him and His plan.

Love in Christ,
Tera 

Jesus, Help Us To Become Less Us and More You

"He must increase, but I must decrease." John 3:30

John the Baptist preached and baptized and made sure his disciples and followers knew that he was not the Messiah but was preparing the way for the Messiah. As soon as Jesus arrived on the scene preaching, baptizing, caring and healing, John's disciples began worrying about his followers that were now going to Jesus. John knew what was happening. The scripture says, in verse 29b "Therefore, I am filled with joy at His success." It was time for John to decrease and Jesus to increase.

There is no one greater than Jesus. He suffered, died, and rose again for each one of us to be saved and have everlasting life. Jesus loves us so much. His love is personal, powerful, persistent, and profound! Though we will never be greater than Jesus, we can do our part in sharing The Good News of Who He is and What He did for us. We can care for and love those who are lost and hurting.

May our prayer be: Jesus, help us to become less us and more You.

Love in Christ,
Tera

My Flesh Became Annoyed

"Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice." Ephesians 4:31

Yesterday was one of those days. I had to deal with this person, and her attitude was just not a pleasant one. She had no desire to hear my complaint. She did not care about my complaint. She did not want to help me with my complaint. My flesh became annoyed. I'm thinking to myself you are going to help me too! The more I tried to be nice, the more she tried not to be. After a few minutes of getting nowhere, and my flesh becoming more annoyed, I decided to stop trying and move on. I said, "Have a blessed day!" Nope! Not going to happen in her lifetime!  It was like talking to the hand cause the face was definitely not looking.

Have you ever had one of those days? The spirit was willing to be strong, but the flesh was weak. It's hard, isn't it? We have to be so careful when our flesh becomes annoyed or aggravated because it can and will overpower our spirit. We have to walk away, hang up the phone, mumble to ourselves, and pray for strength. We ask God to help us with whatever problem we have and for strength for our weakness. He hears our prayers and will answer according to His will.  John 14:13 "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son."

As believers, we all struggle. We have people we have to deal with, the demands of life we have to deal with, things we have to deal with, but as long as we are walking and talking with God, He will give us the strength we need to face whatever or whomever.

Love in Christ,
Tera

The Light Of The Morning

"And He shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning with clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain." 2 Samuel 23:4

As I opened the blinds and looked at the beautiful sun coming up, the different colors of the sky, the glow in the clouds, I begin to think of the faithfulness of God. Just as He gives us the light of the morning, we can also depend on His love, faithfulness, and goodness throughout this day.

God, we thank You for the gift of a new day. Thank You for showing us Your handiwork and artwork in the sunrise. It would be hard to live without the sun because it brings us light, but it would be even harder to live each day without your son, Jesus Christ, that brings light and comfort to our souls. We thank You. In Jesus name. Amen.

Love in Christ,
Tera

Snap Judgment

Snap judgment: A hasty decision or opinion.
How many times have we made a hasty decision or a quick opinion about something?

All of us have to make decisions. It's life. Some are made daily. Some are not as important as others. Some are significant and need to be prayed over many times with much thought and God's wisdom.  We need to remember not all decisions can be changed once they are made...we may have to live with the results for a while or even a lifetime.

"Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord." Psalm 27:14

Take the time to pray.  Ask the Lord for peace, strength and wisdom before making a decision. Wait on Him. His answer could make all the difference between a life filled with regret or a life filled with contentment.

Love in Christ,

Tera

What Is Our Focus in life?

What is our focus in life? Are we focused on God or temporal things? Many earthly things in life will distract us and try to keep our thoughts and purpose away from serving and pleasing God. The things we do and have on earth are temporary. Eternity is just what it says... eternity. It is infinite.

"Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth." Colossians 3:2

If Jesus were to come back today would He be happy with how we are living our life? Would He find we are living to please Him or others? Would Jesus see that we are more concerned about earthly things or where we will spend eternity? Would He see that we are teaching our children about God and Christian values?

What is our focus in life? Do we glorify God in all we do? 

Love in Christ,

Tera

So You Want To Help?!

I read this the other day and decided to use it as my devotion for today.  It made me think about how much Jesus loves and cares about us.

" Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another." 1 John 4:11

A man fell into a pit and couldn't help himself out.

A subjective person came along and said, "I feel for you down there."
An objective person walked by and said, "It's logical that someone would fall down there."
A Pharisee said, "Only bad people fall into pits."
A mathematician calculated "how he fell into the pit."
A news reporter wanted the exclusive story on the pit.
An IRS agent asked if he was paying taxes on the pit.
A self-pitying person said, "You haven't seen anything until you've seen my pit!"
A self-esteem therapist said, "Believe in yourself, and you can get out of that pit."
An optimist said, "Things could be worst."
A pessimist claimed, "Things will get worst."

JESUS, seeing the man, took him by the hand and lifted him out of the pit.
                                                                                                                      -Selected

Do we love one another enough? Would we take the time to help someone or would we judge and walk on by?

Love in Christ,
Tera

Love Each Day To The Fullest

There are many days that all we do is run here, run there, do this, do that, our time is swallowed up by work, kids, sickness, doctor appointments, aging parents, and everything in between. We would like to love each day to the fullest, but we don't have time to!

Sometimes because of our busyness, life can become overwhelming. Our plate is full, and it seems there is nothing we can remove from it. This is when we need to stop and take our focus off our plate and look at our cup that overflows daily with God's goodness and blessings.
He woke us up this morning. His mercies are new. He protects our families and us. He gives us hope. His promises are true. He is faithful. His love is everlasting.

Jesus said "...I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."
John 10:10.

Jesus came to give us life, an abundant life. When we take the time to look at all the things He gives us and does for us, we see that we do have an abundant life. We can love each day to the fullness. There is always sunshine even on the cloudy days....we just have to look for it.

Love in Christ,
Tera

People Need The Lord

Every morning the news is about sadness, hate, evil and emptiness. I remember the song "People Need The Lord" by Steve Green. Here are a couple of the verses and the chorus of this song.
May God help us to take His light to those who are broken and lost.

Every day they pass me by, I can see it in their eyes.
Empty people filled with care, Headed who knows where?

We are called to take His light. To a world where wrong seems right.
What could be too great a cost? For sharing life with one who's lost?

People need the Lord, people need the Lord.
At the end of broken dreams, He's the open door.
People need the Lord, people need the Lord.
When we realize that we must give our lives, 
For people need the Lord. 

Love in Christ,
Tera

Thankful And Proud To Be An American!

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord..." Psalm 33:12

Today, as we celebrate the 4th of July and the beautiful patriotic colors of red, white, and blue, let's remember to be thankful to God for our freedom.

We are a blessed nation. I am thankful and proud to be an American! 

Enjoy your family, friends, food, and fireworks and have a safe and happy 4th!

Love in Christ,
Tera

There Is Power In Praying!

"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." James 5:16  

Praying is important to me. I start my day in prayer. I don't know about you but my day seems to go a whole lot smoother when I talk to God first thing in the morning.

I think praying effectually and fervently is how most of us pray. We pray from our hearts, and we are passionate about our request. I can tell you there have been many times I have prayed with passion through my tears and I feel sure some of you have had those same prayers also.

Our prayer doesn't have to be loud or long, sometimes soft and short is all we need to pray. God desires for them to be earnest, personal and specific of our need. Whether we are asking God for physical healing, for wisdom in making a life-changing decision, or for His peace, God hears them all, and He will answer according to His will.

There is power in praying!

Love in Christ,
Tera

Sow Seeds of Kindness

"And be ye kind one to another" Ephesians 4:32

Imagine if we took the time each day to sow seeds of kindness. Just one seed could be a smile, a card, a phone call, a listening ear, or maybe even a meal to those we know are in need. Kindness is being friendly, generous, and considerate. It is caring about someone that is broken and hurting.

Wasn't this the life of Jesus Christ? He showed kindness to the broken, the sick, the hurting and to those who needed hope and love in their lives.

We may think we don't have the time or the extra food to share, but I believe if God puts a person or a family on our hearts to help He will provide what we need when we need it.

Sow seeds of kindness. You will be the one that comes away blessed.

Love in Christ,
Tera