Fear is the root of nearly every problem you face.

Think about it.

I’m in a relationship where I’m constantly fearing that I won’t be pretty enough for him.  I worry that he’ll betray me for another woman.  I withdraw.  I question him constantly.  I make accusations based on my perceptions.  I become controlling.  I push him away.

Fear.  In some instances, the fear of betrayal (resulting in withdrawn love and control) may actually cause him to essentially betray me for someone whose love is not based on fear.

Tags: 1 John 4:18, afraid, fear, loss, love, rejection, relationships, root of every problem

Daughter,

You were made to wear a crown.

Your smile radiates My beauty to the world.

Your hands reach out and bring healing to the broken.

Your arms embrace and fill the empty with My love.

Your eyes sparkle and draw people into a revelation of who I created them to be.

You are an open invitation to the world.

My children who don’t know Me will see you and long for Me.

Hold that head of yours high.

Walk fearlessly.

Talk confidently.

Tags: daddy, daughter, God, letter, letter from God, love, purpose

Something is shifting.  Something has shifted.

For me, this is hard.  I’m honestly not ready for Jesus to come back.  I mean, from a spiritual standpoint, yes, I’m ready.  But I have so much in my heart that I’m longing to see and do.  Living to be 100 years old wouldn’t even be long enough.  I’m not one of these people that is white-knuckling it, hoping that Jesus will hurry up and come back so that all my problems will be solved.  I don’t have problems. I live the Word of God and I defeat satan on a daily basis.  I don’t wish and hope and pray for victory.  I have victory.  If satan creeps in with depression or sickness or poverty, I cut him to pieces with the Sword of the Spirit of the Word of God.  Through Christ, I always triumph.

Tags: Christians, End Times, get ready, God, God's Word, Jesus, Revelation, the end, the end is near, The Sword, truth

When I came home from Cambodia, I wouldn’t have thought for one second that I was a Pharisee.  If anything, I was the one that had it together.  I’d been away for five months and not once during that time did I butt heads with someone.  I got along with people.  I liked people.  And they seemed to like me.  So if anyone was in the wrong, it had be my parents.  And I couldn’t wait for them to see it.  I couldn’t wait for them to start treating me like I deserved to be treated.

Tags: family, hard love, Jesus, loving when it hurts, Pharisees, real love, tough love, worthwhile

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. -Jesus’ words to the Pharisees, Matthew 23:27

Because the name “Pharisee” sounds so old and out-dated and old-fashioned, I never thought much about the prospect of such people being alive today.  Weren’t those the kind of people who wore long robes and tried to fulfill long lists of religious rules and regulations?  I didn’t personally know anyone like that.  Maybe those people existed in dusty old Catholic cathedrals, but I was charismatic.  I had to be the furthest thing from a Pharisee.  There was no tradition in my church.  No list of rules to fulfill.  We just loved Jesus and wanted to be like Him.  What was Pharisaical about that?

Tags: God, hyprocrite, Jesus, love, Matthew 23:27, Pharisee, real love, whitewashed tombs full of dead men's bones

That should be at the top of every Christian’s to-do list.  Learn to argue.  Yes, argue.

I dare you to sit still for one minute — or even 15 seconds — and count how many times a lie comes into your mind.  Sure, you may not realize it’s a lie.  Perhaps the lies that will bombard your mind during that one-minute or 15-second interval are lies you’ve believed your entire life.  But if you can’t find them in God’s Word, they’re lies.  And lies are nothing more than satan’s arguments against the truth.

Tags: argue, God, Jesus Christ, Jesus in the wilderness, lies, satan, talk back, truth

I want to tell you a story about what happened to me last night.  I know a lot of the stuff I write on here about God’s Word and believing it and living it might seem like “a lot to ask for” to some people.  “Do you mean we’re actually supposed to live like that?” you might think.  But I can honestly say that about 99% of what I write on here comes from my own life.  And unless I can live it in my own life, I don’t think I have any business telling you to.

Tags: dizziness, God, God's Word, relentless, Sickness, truth

For anyone who has been reading through these rather war-like posts, I sincerely thank you.  I do.  I really mean that.

When I write like I’ve been writing, I don’t mean to be harsh or condemning towards you or myself or anyone else, but rather towards the subtle and not-so-subtle attacks that try to permeate our lives every single day.

Tags: battle, defeat, fear, fight, God's Word, The Sword, Victory, war

I always get to work like 30 minutes early.  Not because I want to, but because if I don’t leave at a certain time, it’ll take me twice as long to get there.  So during those 30 minutes, I sit in my car and hang out with God.  And you know what?  I might even start taking a journal with me and using that time to write.  Then later I could put it up on here.  Unless it’s rambly and pointless like most of my hand-written journal entries are.  In which case, I won’t.

Tags: battle, fight, fireman, soldier, Sword, war, warrior

For years, I straddled the fence between victory and defeat.  For years, I let the enemy push me to the ground and then drive me knee-deep through mud with a whip to my back.  I wanted so badly to see the victory of God’s Word manifested in my life.  I heard testimony after testimony but had no story of my own.  I read it all, heard it all, saw it all and believed it all.  But something was missing.  I wasn’t living it.  It’s not that I didn’t want to — I desperately wanted to, I tried to, I failed to and I even got back up to try again.  I celebrated momentary victories — even if they were later washed over by an onslaught attack from the enemy.   I felt like a 14-year-old splashing around in the baby pool while everyone else my age was jumping off the high-dive in the deep end of the big pool.

Tags: blind bartimaeus, Easter, Free, go on your way, God, God's Word, healed, healing, Jesus, Resurrection, Victory