“Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.” “I do not receive honor from men.” John 5:19, 41

My children, who are now adults, strived so hard in their sports. Back then, there were no participation awards, so it was a huge deal when they earned a trophy or medal. If they did win, it was because they pushed themselves as far as they possibly could, especially in gymnastics. Whether they did as well as they wanted or had a tough meet, I always reminded them, “Hard work pays off.” Even today, if they call me about a struggle, I can say “Hard work” and they will answer, “Pays off.” Have you ever gotten an award or recognition for your hard work? Doing all the work to get that honor, didn’t it mean so much?

Jesus strived too; He wanted to do something no one else had ever done, something that He could only do with God. He had to push Himself as far as He possibly could. He kept His eyes on the prize, which was not for Him. Yes, that’s right! His hard work on the cross was not even for Him! It was for us. He wanted no recognition either, but glory to God. Jesus did what is often hard for us to do, He deferred all earned glory to His Father.

May we glorify all that God has done through Jesus, and may we always strive to glorify Him more than ourselves,

Christina

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! 1 John 3:1

No matter how our emotions change, on any particular day according to our circumstances, I am so glad that God never changes. He is holy, unchangeable and loving. I re-discovered and appreciated that yesterday. Feeling the effects of a Covid vaccine in my body, I was in a bad mood, not wanting to be slowed down by a temperature and dizziness. I had so much I wanted to do that it was hard to sit still but I had to because my head was spinning. All my emotions revolved around being irritated that I was wasting a day. I felt bad about my attitude but I could not shake it. Eventually, I prayed about how I felt. I felt like an unhappy child.

Just like a child will come to the end of themselves before asking for help, I did that. I did all I could do to comfort myself and THEN I turned to God. He showed me that He was there the whole time I was wallowing in pity, waiting for me to ask for His help. He reminded me, like a parent, that I can come to Him for, what seems to me to be the silliest of reasons. He tells me we are still His children, no matter how old we are. He tells me He has His own reasons for what He allows us to experience, even being sick. I love that He is like this all the time, holy and in control. Unlike us, He never has an unholy moment. He is in perfect control even when we are not, and that’s perfectly okay.

With much love from the Father, and praise to the Father,

Christina

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation.

But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 ESV

Do you have a precious Momma that you miss? If not a Momma, do you have someone whose presence you desire when you are going through a hard time? Did they always have the right advice or comfort and make you feel like everything would be okay? Jesus told us we would have difficulties on earth, but it still kind of throws us when it occurs, doesn’t it? We feel like we do not want to be alone in our crisis. We want to be loved in our brokenness.

The Good News? Though we may feel lost, Jesus finds us. Though we feel hurt, the Holy Spirit comforts us. Though we don’t know which way to turn, God is full of light, to show us there is hope in Him. Though we get discouraged, we are never alone. The love and comfort you need, He has. I feel Him saying this to all of us, to me too.

“My child, why are you scared? What makes you that way? It is not me. I do not want you to be afraid or burdened and I will comfort you for as long as you need it. Though you will go through storms in life, you will never go alone. I am here. Do you feel me near? Please try to trust our Father. Please hold onto me in the meantime. I promise I can carry you and I want to. Together we can glorify God. There is no shame in me carrying you. I carried you on the cross, though you didn’t know it. As you carry your own cross, I will help you. I love you.”

This is who He is. This is what He does for us. He does what He said He would do. Praise Him! He is with us and brings us His peace. We will actually see the peace-giver someday!

Have a great day in the Lord,

Christina

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