Scripture:  “Good understanding wins favor, but the way of the transgressor is hard [like the barren, dry soil or the impassable swamp].  Prov. 13:15 (AMP)A few months ago, I heard a judge tell a defendant, ‘….and you thought your idea was much better than mine?!?’  The defendant had removed himself from two treatment programs that the judge had specifically ordered him to complete.  Yet, for some...  Read More

Scripture: Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20A dear sisterfriend of mine and her husband had been trying to have a baby since they got married almost 7 years ago. Unfortunately...  Read More

Scripture:  Psalms 1:1-3 - Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither...  Read More

Scripture:  Psalm 1:3 - He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.There is nothing like a saint that’s seasonedGracefully enduring life in divine sequenceWe’ve seen a little bit of this, and a little bit of thatBut, in all our days, Jesus always had our backLord, you’ve bro...  Read More

Scripture:  John 5:24 (NASB)  -  Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.          Do you remember a couple of years ago when there were several billboards scattered around the city with the giant letters ‘BELIEVE?’ The signs were part of an ambitious campaign to motivat...  Read More

Joshua 1:8 - This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.         I have had the opportunity to go on two cruises.  How lovely and enjoyable were the trips and all of the amenities until a storm aro...  Read More

Psalm 127:4 (NKJV) - Like arrows are in the hand of a warrior, so are children of one’s youth. 5Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; They shall not be ashamed, But shall speak with their enemies in the gate.The verse above was written by the psalmist, King David.  King David made use of a proverb, which was rare for him to do as a means to convey truths. What is a proverb? A proverb i...  Read More

2 Chronicles 7:12-15 If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I (GOD) will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land.      The defining question for people who say they are God’s people is where is God’s position, place and priority in our lives?  What is true is not what other people see or sa...  Read More

Scripture: Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. Proverbs 4:23 NKJVGuard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life. Proverbs 4:23 HCSBOur hearts are the center of our being … literally! Whatever we have going on in our hearts is what we flesh out in our speech and our actions.  If there is love in your heart, you show love. If there is bitternes...  Read More

Philippians 3:12-16: Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward c...  Read More

Scripture:  “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself…”   Philippians 2:3 (NASB)   During my subway ride on Valentine’s Day, the driver announced over the p.a. system:  ‘If you’re smoking, please put it out; there’s no sense in holding everyone else up while we wait for the police!’  He repeated the wa...  Read More

Scripture:  John 14:6 - Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.I am torn by my feelings and The TruthEach provides an answer on how and what to doI am guilty of being more intrigued by my five sensesThe results are quicker with pleasing and selfish incentivesRather than pray and discern to reach a divine consensusI’ve chosen the temp...  Read More

Scripture:  Psalms 30:5b - Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.When you are in the midst of an overwhelming trial/storm, remember one day it will be worth it all when you see Jesus!  By faith, don’t focus on what you are facing now, because things will change.  Either your situation will change or how you deal with your situation will change.   II Corinthians 12:7-10 says...  Read More

Scripture: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:17Picture it – Huntingtown Elementary School, Calvert County Maryland, 5th grade Academically & Intellectually Advanced (A.I.A.) class. We were studying cause and effect for our science unit. My class was so excited about making our very own paper mache v...  Read More

Scripture:  Proverbs 16:3 (KJV) – Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.  Proverbs 16:3 (AMP) – Roll your works upon the Lord (commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and) so shall your plans be established and succeed.“Commit” is a word that in Hebrew literally means “to roll”.  Genesis 29:3 and Psalms 22:8-...  Read More

Scripture:  “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God”   1 John 3:1 (NKJV)Growing up, my mother used to tell me, her overly-sensitive little girl, ‘When you leave this house each morning, leave your feelings at the door; it’s a mean, nasty world out there, and folks don’t give a rap ‘bout your feelings!’  While that advice was then and rema...  Read More

Scripture: Psalm 95:4, 5-  In His hand are the deep places of the earth: The heights of the hills are His also. The sea is His, for He made it; and His hands formed the dry land.Approaching this subject, it seems appropriate to begin at the beginning according to the Bible. The first book of Moses is called Genesis, a Greek word meaning “origin,” “source,” “beginning.” For it is recorded that in t...  Read More

Scripture: (Matthews 6:33)  “….seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”(Matthews 6:25-32) Jesus warns the disciples against worrying. For the byproduct of worrying is more worrying.  Worrying today robs us of  trusting the Lord. Every day we tend to experience roaring minds filled with anxiety of things… putting our care upon things of the w...  Read More

Scripture:  1 John 3:18 - My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. How is love proven?It’s not about what I say, but what I’m doingI can’t afford to fall in love with words of satisfactionI’m purposing to fall in love with the person’s actionsThis will remove any developing doubtsI’m able to discern what this person’s motives are all aboutTrust is earned,...  Read More

Scripture:  Ephes. 2:4-6  NASB  - But, God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,…made us alive together with Christ….and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus….” I once owned an oversized plaid green cotton shirt.  I loved everything about it—the comfortable feel of the well-worn cotton, the intermingling of its deep f...  Read More

Scripture:  Luke 10:38-42 - Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. 40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid ...  Read More

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:15 HCSB  -See to it that no one repays evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all. I write little notes for my son and put them in his lunchbox to encourage him throughout the school day. Recently during our ride home, he explained that one of his classmates had taken his note and threw it away! He wasn’t extremely upset but you...  Read More

Scripture: (Isaiah 45:19) I Have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness … I, the Lord speaks the truth; I declare what is right.It is so true that we make decisions every day throughout our day. We have before us many options as to which is the right choice or best direction as we are pressured to respond especially when it involves what we consider major actions on our part. O...  Read More

Scripture: “Behold, I am insignificant.  What can I reply to You?  I lay my hand on my mouth.”  (Job 40:4)  NASBMany of us watched the 1992 winter Olympics during which figure skater Nancy Kerrigan sat on the floor at the rink crying out “Why?  Why? Whyyyyyyy?” in torrents of tears and deep anguish after a bat-wielding male attacker savagely banged her in the knee, jeopardizing her ability to comp...  Read More