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In Your Presence
Many mornings I lay awake, tempted to stay in bed, and have no desire to go through my “to-do list.” When this happens, I always feel the soft whispering of the Holy Spirit saying, “Celeste, you need to get up and spend time with me.” Truth be told, my entire day falls apart when I ignore this prompting. I have learned how important it is for me to begin my day in the arms of my Heavenly Father. He loves me so much that He knows what would happen if I don’t start my day in His presence. In Psalm 143:8, David urges us to start our day in the…
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From Death To Life
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Life is by Design and by Choice
We often ask ourselves, why am I going through a dark season? Where are you, Lord? Darkness is an overwhelming cloud that sneaks up when you least expect it. So how do we fight this overwhelming darkness that engulfs us and leaves us paralyzed with fear? The Scripture tells us that whenever King David was about to face a battle or fear tried to overpower him, he always withdrew and sought the Lord. David knew that God was faithful; therefore, he had hope in the One who loved him and fought his battles. The One who knew him; forgave his sins and saved him by grace. So, David came to…
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From Death To Life
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He Takes Good Care of Us
I took my grandchildren to a farm Saturday. The children had a great time feeding the animals. A sparrow suddenly flew by and began to pick up the leftovers my grandkids had dropped. At that precise moment, God reminded me of how awesome He is. The little sparrow had no one to feed him or his family, yet God knew he was hungry. In his song, Sparrows, Cory Asbury quotes, “The sparrow’s not worried about tomorrow or the troubles to come. The Lily’s not thinking about the seasons. The drought or the flood. A tree planted by the water isn’t fazed by the fire. A heart that’s planted in forgiveness…
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When We Can’t, He can!
My family fell apart a year ago. Roots of unforgiveness and old wounds overtook my family. I couldn’t understand why my family couldn’t get together and discuss those ‘old wounds that have kept us in chains for decades. I knew it was not God’s will to live like our ancestors once lived. Most of them were lost and didn’t know Jesus. But we do. Having been bought and paid for by Jesus on the cross, we are a brand-new generation that God has created to live as His children. Why then couldn’t we live that way? So what is holding us back: our pride, unforgiveness, old wounds? One night, I…
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Soaring Like Eagles
Time seems to stand still in the “waiting room” of life. It is a place where life is put on hold. When I visit my doctor, I sometimes wait in his waiting room for what seems like hours, but when I check my watch, it’s only been 20 minutes. When we are in the waiting room of life, it seems as if time has come to a screeching halt. This is how it sometimes feels while we wait on the Lord. One of the most important exhortations of the Bible is the instruction to “wait on the Lord.” Even though God promises special blessings for those who wait, waiting is…
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Hope, A Place of Expectancy
Today I read Chapter 2 of Luke. In this chapter, Luke tells us of an older man named Simeon. This man was a righteous man who served the Lord at the temple and held on to a promise our Heavenly Father gave him. God promised that he would not die until he saw the salvation God had prepared for all the nations. (See Luke 2:25-32) The incredible thing about Simeon is that he wasn’t just a righteous, devout man, but he eagerly waited for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. For Simeon, it wasn’t a question of “if” it would happen but “when.” Simeon had this kind of hope.…
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The Power is not in the Prayer but in the One Who hears it.
I can’t even begin to fathom this father’s suffering watching his son’s anguish and suffering since he was a young child. While other parents watch their children grow up and play with other children, this desperate father was trying to keep his son alive. According to Mark 9, this boy had been subjected to this evil spirit attempts to kill him by throwing him into fires and water since he was a young child. The father was likely exhausted and desperate for help. And what did he do? He cried out to Jesus in desperation. “If you can do something for him, please have pity on us and help us.”…
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Pouring New Wine into Old Wineskin
I remember when I first became a teacher. I would begin my day with prayers inviting the Lord to help me show everyone that He lived in me and through me. Then, I would end the prayer by asking the Lord to send His angels to guard and protect my students and me. I did this for years. My husband will remind me daily to make sure I show everyone through my actions that I am a Christian. Unfortunately, I was the only Christian teacher. Non-believers surrounded me. Although I tried to remain faithful, the influence of the outside world was overwhelming. Without realizing it, I was trying to be…
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God, do You Care?
Almost everyone has asked this question at some point in their lives. No one has ever gone through life without wrestling with this agonizing question, “Does God care?” Mark tells us in chapter 4, verses 35-41 that the disciples and Jesus were caught in a storm. As the winds howled and raged, the impatient and frightened disciples screamed with fear to Jesus, who was sleeping and resting from a full day of teaching and healing those in need. “Teacher, don’t you care that we are about to drown?” Jesus could have continued sleeping. He could have told them to be silent or ignored them. Even better, Jesus could have impatiently…
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Someday I Will…
Someday… what a simple word to utter with painful consequences. Someday I will get to buy a house away from the city. Someday I will retire and travel with my husband. Someday, my children will understand why I had to work so many hours. The truth is someday may never come. Max Lucado once wrote, “Someday… the enemy of risky love is a snake whose tongue has mastered the talk of deception.” My dear friends, I used to live a life in which ‘someday’ became my best friend. So I used to put things off, thinking someday it would get done. The day my father died, my school was holding…
