Have you ever woken up so excited to spend time with Jesus that you could not get your shower and morning tea, or coffee, fast enough? That was me this morning. It wasn’t my doing. It was Jesus. He knows sometimes, that we need to be drawn to Him. Because He loves us, He beckons and draws and welcomes us into His presence by giving an unexplainable joy of what is to come. And He never disappoints!

He gets us excited about His plans, much like a coach does for an athlete. How so? Coaches motivate athletes by teaching them from experience, how to be successful. Jesus motivates us, in Matthew 6! But… we have to be “coachable.” Athletes are considered “coachable” when they are hungry for success, willing to do the hard work and they trust their coach. That begs the question…are we being good athletes for coach Jesus? Do we trust Him supremely? Do we follow His suggested regimen for a winning season? Does winning mean we get glory, or God does?

I found a regimen by coach Jesus! Matthew chapter 6 is like a playbook! Thank you, Lord! (I thought I could not be more excited this morning, but I was wrong.) What got me most excited is that I felt I was being coached by Jesus while I was reading it; He is the only one talking the whole chapter. You know how, when you go to the ocean, you are joyful because everything in your view is God-made and beautiful? That is how God made me see Matthew 6 today. All I see are His holy and beautiful words. Coach Jesus details His game plan to live a holy and beautiful life for God.

Here is part of the “playbook.” Jesus is coaching us:)

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Matthew 6:1-4 NIV

Glory goal…because giving God glory is what we were meant to do…Try to read Matthew 6 a few times today and really soak up our Savior’s coaching. You will walk away motivated by the holiness of God.

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for the joy that You give to Your “athlete” down here. I want to please You, but life gets hard and I forget the little details of Your game plan that make a difference for You in our world. Help me to remember that Your way is best and that means glorifying God, not me. You glorified God, too, in Matthew 6.You brought no glory to Yourself. You are an awesome Savior and coach. I love being on Your team! Thank You for all You do. Amen

Awaited atonement for all
Began when the broken body of Jesus
Christ was crowned at Calvary then crucified. He
Died, not deserving the desertion by almost
Everyone. He exacted our eternity, by earning,
Forgiving our debt of sin, fulfilling
God’s generous gift of
His son, hung to heal hearts with
Iniquity inside.
Jesus, Jehovah, “The
King of the Jews,” was buried, and
Lay dead in linen three days, then lived! So
Miraculous, this moment of marvelous
News that we needed!
Out of the tomb, the ousted
Prince of Peace arose, when the
Quake qualified Him as the quintessential
Rock, Redeemer and rescuer of our
Sinful souls. The sinless Savior
Traded the tomb, terminating death for
Us, a universal undertaking and unqualified
Valiant effort turned victorious
With a waged war won! His
Xemplary life is an extraordinary example to
You and me. Yahweh is our
Zealous hero!

Happy Good Friday! Jesus is Risen! He did what He said He would do. He is alive!

Love from Our Father to you all,

Christina

A new friend and I met for breakfast and discovered we both hate to shop! We joked that we will only do so if we absolutely have to. For example, if we are almost out of hair products we will make the effort to go buy what we need, even if it means paying a high price. Price and effort do not matter when you find something that is exactly what you need.

But what if we need something for our souls ,like strength, peace or happiness? Do we go to a car dealer, a jeweler or a realtor to find something that makes us feel better? Though those things can distract us for awhile, our souls will still be needy. True joy for a hurting soul can only be found from one source, Jesus! I have been guilty of looking elsewhere to find my joy, and then I remember, Jesus has all I need!

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him. Psalm 28:7 NIV

Have a great Thursday! With love from the Father from me to you.

Christina

Because Saul was on mission to persecute Christians, believers of the Jerusalem church had to scatter out to safety. They also spoke out, about Jesus. Philip was no exception. He traveled to Samaria and preached to multitudes, healing and drawing out unclean spirits from the possessed. He was on a mission for God and the results were amazing! Acts 8:8 says, “There was great joy in that city.”

But…could Philip help a sorcerer? Simon the sorcerer was well know among the Samarians and his sorcery was so convincing that they actually believed he had God’s power. Philip changed their minds about that, by proclaiming God’s Word and kingdom and Jesus Christ. Not only did they heed his words, but so did Simon! God’s truth changed him! He was soon baptized and continued with Philip.

Simon went from impressing others, to being amazed at what God did through Philip. What a change! Sometimes we try to impress others or even ourselves. We may be amazed at talent or success that comes from hard work and dedication. But there is nothing more amazing than what the Lord can do…He transforms souls!

“Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.” Acts 8:13

Have a blessed Tuesday. With love from the Father,
Christina

Because Saul was on mission to persecute Christians, believers of the Jerusalem church had to scatter out to safety. They also spoke out, about Jesus. Philip was no exception. He traveled to Samaria and preached to multitudes, healing and drawing out unclean spirits from the possessed. He was on a mission for God and the results were amazing! Acts 8:8 says, “There was great joy in that city.”

But…could Philip help a sorcerer? Simon astonished the Samarians with his sorcery, so they believed he had God’s power. Philip changed their minds by proclaiming God’s Word and kingdom and Jesus Christ. Not only did they heed his words, but so did Simon! God’s truth changed him! He was soon baptized and continued with Philip.

Simon went from impressing others, to being amazed at what God did through Philip. Sometimes we feel impressed with others or ourselves. We are amazed at talent or success that comes from hard work and dedication. But there is nothing more amazing than how the Lord can transform a soul.

“Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.” Acts 8:13

Have a blessed Tuesday. With love from the Father,

Christina

Jerusalem was chaotic. Saul was searching homes for believers and dragging them off to prison. He even allowed the Israelites to stone Stephen because his words about the Holy Spirit convicted and incensed them. As Stephen was being killed, his last words were a prayer. He asked the Lord not to charge them with his death. The story of Jesus’ love and forgiveness would not end with Stephen. He made sure of it.

All of this persecution of the Jerusalem church made believers, except the apostles, flee to other parts of Judea and Samaria. But they scattered with a purpose! They went and preached everywhere! The story of Jesus and His plan to redeem them did not end with them. They made sure of it.

As I read this touching story of Stephen and the church’s desire to continue the gospel, I realize that it was the Holy Spirit in them that enabled them to carry on His story. As believers, we are story tellers and preachers. No matter the circumstances, we can tell The Story so it will not end with us.

Therefore, those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. Acts 8:4

Have a wonderful Monday! Love and prayers, always,

Christina

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give

to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be

troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27 NIV

I woke up this morning to pouring rain; it had rained most of the night, so I was disappointed that God gave us even more. Then I remembered a beautiful song my momma used to sing when it rained, “It’s Beginning to Rain.” I joined in with the memory of her singing. More meaningful than the memory of her singing is the beautiful meaning of the words. God is raining down His abundance of all we need and asking us to drink it in. He is there for us in the rain.

Though it is not raining outside now and the sun has come out, someone, somewhere, is getting rained on. Figuratively, they may also be getting rained on with problems with no sun. We, who are having sunlight, can remind them that there is hope; trials do not last forever. We can hand them an umbrella, in the form of friendship and a dose of God’s Word. We can stand with them in the rain like God does for us.