Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Stay Out of Your Dark Room: Advice on dealing with Worry, Anxiety and Fear.

 

Read: Matthew 6:25-34 and Philippians 4:6-8

You may be old enough to remember (or if too you're young, Google it ☺), there was a time that predated all things digital. Like film vs. digital pictures and many other "analog" vs."digital" technology. 

Cameras weren't a part of phones and instead of digital, they were stand-a-lone all film devices much like the digital camera cousins today.

As a kid, I recall taking pictures via rolls of film. When I was done snapping pics, I'd take the film to the local photo developing place at a given store. I'd wait a couple days to a week for the film to be developed from the negatives and then go back, pick up the photos to enjoy the shot of the memories I captured.

Saturday, January 14, 2017

Keeping & Evaluating Hope!

HOPE...its another vital part of our existence. 

God brings hope to us every day in ordinary ways (general hope) and extraordinary hope too! (through Jesus) 

We're to be agents of hope, peace and more... 

Saturday, January 07, 2017

He Made You a Part of The Body of Christ & It's Not Optional!


To my fellow followers of Christ,  I wonder sometimes why some of you make it so easy for yourself to disconnect from the church/fellowship/weekly gathering or more importantly with your relationship with God? 

Some of you will go weeks or months without attending any weekly services/gatherings, serving using your gifts and talents, or connecting with other believers. Furthermore, you spend hardly any time daily, (if at all)  developing your relationship with God through reading and studying the Word, prayer and prayer/communicating with Him.

Speaking from experience,  we all can go through somewhat dry seasons in life sometimes, but, I know that the seasons are even harder on us when we withdraw from the relationships, connections, fellowship, etc that we know are good for us by putting them in the "optional" category. 

Sunday, January 01, 2017

Happy New Year - 2017!


Hello Friends, 
Happy New Year!  As we close out 2016 and begin a new year, I wanted to share a few brief thoughts with you. 

1. I'm thankful that because of God's love and grace, each day is a a gift of a new beginning and an opportunity to make a fresh start. As you approach 2017 may you look at it as another gift and opportunity to begin fresh and forge the best path forward with God's help while putting the mistakes of the past behind you! Begin again my friend, begin again! 

2. As you make your goals and plans for the New Year, remember The One Who goes before you! Trust Him, communicate with Him and include Him in "your" plans. You'll be more successful in all your ways if you do so. 

3. There is a phrase in Romans 5 (5:5 NASB, but read it in context of course, read Romans 5) that says "hope does not disappoint" or in some versions it says "hope does not put us to shame". No matter what you face in the New Year don't lose hope... Keep hoping in the Lord as He's with you every step of the way! Enter the New Year with hope and prayer! God's hope does not disappoint and you will not be put you to shame! 

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement in 2016! Its been an honor to serve you and I look forward to prayerfully serving you in 2017 as we seek to live life on purpose together! 

You're prayers for wisdom, direction and God's provision for these ministry endeavors are always appreciated as I seek out what God's will is for me according to His calling on my life. 

Again, Happy New Year! Keep your hope in the Lord alive! I'm praying for God's best for you and please don't hesitate to let me know how I can serve you in the New Year! 

In Christ Alone and for His Glory, 

rlk 



#hope #future #faith #opportunities #plan #GodIsGood #encourage #encouragement #inspire #inspiration #inspirational #christian #Christianity #christfollower #bible #scripture #Godsword #heart #mind #soul #strength #ashepherdsheart #2017 #newyears #newyear

Sunday, December 25, 2016

Advent Christmas Eve or Day - A Prayer of Praise and Rejoicing in Christ (His Arrival!)


Read: Luke 2:1-35

Dear Heavenly Father,

As we enter Christmas day we rejoice in the arrival and indescribable gift of Jesus! We celebrate the most important birthday of all time and the most amazing gift to mankind!

We praise You for His arrival!

We celebrate, Emmanuel...You with us! What and awesome reality!

We praise You and thank You that Jesus humbled Himself to come here so we might have life through Your love and forgiveness.

I ask for Your help through Your Holy Spirit to help us point people to Your son and that we'll proclaim Who You are, Who Jesus is, Why He came and the true meaning of Christmas!

We praise You and thank You as we have much to be thankful for and celebrate.

I pray that we keep Jesus in the center of our Christmas celebration and the center and forefront of our lives day-to-day!

I pray that You're Joy and peace would be at work in and through us!

I pray for comfort for those where Christmas is really hard for them. 

I remember and pray for those who are mourning this Christmas for a lost loved one or who are battling disease, depression, anxiet or other things. Please help them to know Your love and may Your love overshadow their grief. I pray that You would heal them in Jesus Name!

I pray that relationships, especially family relationships, would be mended and differences would be put aside for this Christmas and beyond. 

May Your peace reign in each household and each heart in Jesus name!

May we remember anew the gift of Jesus Who was wrapped in cloths as we unwrap our gifts and as we enjoy a wonderful meal and celebration.

As we open presents, may we remember His presence today and each day. 

Thank You for all that Christmas represents and I pray that we never become cynical about the Christmas celebration and each year may our awe, wonder and childlike faith be renewed!

I thank You and praise You again for the indescribable gift of Jesus!

In Jesus name I praise You and Thank You, Amen.

Because He is THE Reason for the season,
Your Brother and Servant,

rlk

P.S. : As a little Christmas gift from me to you... Here's a link to a recording of the Luke 2 account of the birth of Jesus: https://soundcloud.com/user-335546274/the-birth-of-jesus-luke-21-35 Merry Christmas!

Sunday, December 18, 2016

Advent Week 4 - A Prayer of Peace


Read: Isaiah 9:6-7, Philippians 4:7, Romans 6:23

Dear Heavenly Father,

As we enter this fourth week of advent we consider peace, especially the true peace that come from You!



I thank You and praise You that Youre Word reminds us and we celebrate this time of year, that Jesus is the Prince of Peace!


I praise You that we can experience true and lasting peace through knowing Him!

Even amongts the chaos that we experience in life HIs peace is beyond our understanding. 

Monday, December 12, 2016

Advent Week 3 - A Prayer of Love


Read:  Micah 5:2, John 3:16, 1 John 4:9-17

Dear Heavenly Father,

As we enter this third week of advent we consider love...most importantly Your great love.


I thank You and praise You that we can celebrate and rejoice during this season and beyond that You sent Your love down to earth through Your Son Jesus. 

Friday, December 09, 2016

6 Practical Ways You Can Help People In Need


Read: Matthew 25:31-40

Not too long ago I went on an outing to a local wildlife refuge wetlands area to enjoy some bird watching and hiking.


It was a cold late fall day and I was outside for hours. About an hour into my time I realized I was getting cold and even though I'd worn a warm sweatshirt and warm outdoor vest, I'd forgotten a hat and gloves. Needless to say I was feeling it. I pressed on for a couple more hours but then my hands and ears started to feel numb and my hands started to turn reddish. So, I decided that I better get out of the elements and warm up a bit.


On the way back to the car I saw a path I hadn't taken...then after I started down it I stopped myself and turned back to my car because I was starting a shiver because of my poor planning. Yes...I needed to get out of the cold.


Monday, December 05, 2016

Advent Week 2 - A Prayer of Joy


Read:  Isaiah 35:10, Luke 2:7-15, Nehemiah 8:10, 1 Peter 1:7-9

Dear Heavenly Father,

As we enter this second week of advent we consider joy in You. 


I thank You and praise you for the great and true joy that comes from knowing You!


As we sing songs of this wonderful season just as "Joy to The World", we remember that Jesus is our true source of joy. 



Thursday, December 01, 2016

The Prayer of Jabez: Praying In Faith and Cutting Out Superstition


Read: 1 Chronicles 4:10, 1 John 5:14-15, Mark 11:24, Matthew 21:22, Hebrews 4:16 

The prayer of Jabez is a simple but very poignant prayer full of faith, however, to be very honest, it's not one that we should be superstition about thinking that just by speaking this amazing prayer or any prayer that God will do exactly what we ask. 

It should however expand our prayer life and faith in God's provision and goodness!

What I find is that we can often over-spiritualize or become superstitious about things like prayer thinking if we say or do certain things that that's the ticket to blessing or to release God's "bank account" upon us. 

Monday, November 28, 2016

Advent Week 1 - A Prayer of Hope


Read: Luke 1:26-38, Romans 15:12-13, Romans 5:1-5     

Dear Heavenly Father,

As we enter into this Christmas season, I praise you and thank you for sending Your one and  Only Son Jesus as He's our only hope. 

I praise You that Jesus is the hope of all mankind! 

I pray that we hold onto and never lose the true hope we have in You! May we carry it all year through and proclaim your goodness all year through. 

May You help us proclaim the truth that Christmas represents as captured in Your Word.

Help us not to put hope in anything or anyone that is temporal, rather, completely place our hope in You the never changing one! 

Help us to remember that You will never let us down!

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Thinking about Thanksgiving...in the day-to-day


Read: Colossians 3:15-17, Colossians 4:2, Psalm 7:17, Psalm 28:7, Psalm 57:9, Psalm 69:30, Psalm 118:29, Romans 14:6, 1 Corinthians 15:57

Everyday, we have so much to be thankful for and we need to pause and reflect more on this fact.


First and foremost as believers we are thankful to God our Father in Heaven. We should be thankful for His great love in which He sent His Son to die on our behalf providing the way of salvation! 

With this, we are thankful for Jesus Christ and for His Spirit - the Holy Spirit actively working in our lives. We can be thankful for even the gift of life itself. 

Every breath that you and I take is truly a gift from God. There are so many seemingly mundane things we could thank Him for. So many things that we could make an infinite list in thanksgiving to God about, if we put ourselves to the task of making such a list. 

It really comes down to the attitude of our hearts and whether or not we choose to thank God and see His hand in every "little" and "big" aspect of our lives.

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

The Fruit of The Spirit - Peace


Read: Galatians 5:22-23, 1 Corinthians 14:33a, Matthew 5:9, John 14:27, John 16:33, Isaiah 26:3, Romans 5:1, 1 Peter 3:10-11, 1 Peter 3:10-11, Romans 12:18, Colossians 3:15, Isaiah 48:18, 1 Peter 5:7  

Peace. It's something everyone deep down wants. Why wouldn't we?! Who really likes conflict, turmoil or anything else that is the opposite of peace?! 

We want peace in our home lives and work lives. 

We want peace during war time and peace in the world overall. 

We want peace within ourselves as we face much turmoil in this life. 

We want peace in every circumstance, however, the peace society has bought into isn't true peace because it's based on shifting standards.

So, what is peace and what is the Spiritual fruit of peace? How can we experience it? Do we have a responsibility to pursue it or can we go on "auto pilot" and let the Holy Spirit do it all?

Friday, November 04, 2016

Are You Listening to What God Says About You?


Read: Matthew 6:25-29, Psalm 139, Ephesians 2:8-10, Ephesians 1:13, 2 Corinthians 1:22, Romans 5:8-10

Have you found yourself struggling to forge a path or find yourself struggling with self worth issues? 

Let me ask you - when was the last time you cracked open or dusted off your Bible, God's Word and read all He has to say about you and your relationship with Him? To read about His everlasting and unconditional love for you? 

In the pages of scripture you will see more about who you are as well as see that God loves you, He sent His son to prove it and in turn Jesus sent His helper, The Holy Spirit to help you navigate life! You need to know who you are and be confident in you're worth. There's no need to continue to follow the crowd wandering through life trying to find out who you are. 

For instance...

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

The Fruit of The Spirit - Joy


Read: Galatians 5:22-24, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Romans 12:12, Romans 16:25, Nehemiah 8:10, Acts 2:46, 13:52, 1 Peter 1:8, Luke 2:10, Luke 1:47, Luke 1:44, John 15:11

When it comes to joy, there will be times when you are filled with joy and hope and then there will be times when you’re not. It's pretty much a guarantee in life that we'll experience both ends of the "joy spectrum". 


As you crack open God’s Word we see that He says a lot about Joy! 


In fact, depending on the specific translation, it refers to the words Joy or Rejoice (where we get our word for Joy) over 300 different times!


God’s Word teaches us a lot about joy in part because He created us to live in a joyful relationship with Him and He wants us to experience the true joy that is found in Him!


You may be asking, What's the difference between Joy and Happiness? 

Let's take a brief look at the difference as well as some of the things that can increase or decrease joy.

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Relationship Fuel

For study and encouragement Read: Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, Proverbs 18:24, Proverbs 17:17, Proverbs 27:17, Proverbs 12:26, Job 29:4-6, Job 16:20-21, John 14:15-17, John 14:26, John 15:12-15, Galatians 6:2


God didn't create us to go through life alone. He created us to be relational. He created us to do life together. 


We can all recognize that depending on how we're wired, we may need varying levels and quantities of relationship interaction. 


For instance, if you're an introverted person then you'll typically need less than an extroverted person but the same truth remains that we were create for relationship beginning with a growing relationship with God as well as with others. 


We're meant to pour into one another. Build one another up and in a sense - be fuel for one another. 



Thursday, October 13, 2016

The Fruit of The Spirit - Love


Read: Galatians 5:22-23, John 3:16, Mark 12:30–31, John 15:13, 1 John 3:11, Romans 5:8, Luke 6:35, 1 John 5:3, John 13:35.

For the believer, when it comes to The Fruit of The Spirit, Love is one of the hardest fruits to bear as it doesn’t come naturally to us.

In the landscape of culture, background, upbringing and more, it can mean many things to each person.

To add to the confusion, it also doesn't help that what is called "love" is also skewed by what we often see represented in multiple venues such as movies, TV, books and even people around you that you may know. 

It may also be personally hard for you accept, receive and give to others because of how you were raised, the horrible ways you've been treated as well as the false examples of love you've experienced. 

If your/our idea of love falls into any of the before mentioned examples that we see in the culture, or the negative ones you've experienced first hand, we need to work hard to reject these ideas in order to see true love, the perfect love that God replaces the worlds love with. 

Because of how prevalent the culture and our sinful nature is, we need to rethink and re-calibrate what love really is. 

God's Love including the Love that comes through the Fruit of The Spirit, are completely different than the love we can experience and that we see exhibited in the world.  

Sunday, October 09, 2016

Rest


Rest. 

Rest is healthy and it's Biblical. 

There are many examples of instructions in God's Word where He wants us to enter into rest. He makes special emphasis about the importance of rest.

Whether it's through a specific day such as sabbath (Exodus 20:8-10) that we set aside for Him, ultimate rest found in Him (Matthew 11:28-30) or practical and regular times to rest - we need time to rest! 

This includes times of vacation!

Take time to actively rest in Him as it will help rejuvenate your morale, your heart, mind and soul! 

Even Jesus took time to rest! You aren't designed to keep going 110 miles an hour as you need to unplug and rest regularly! 

Blessings in Christ, 

rlk 

#rest #peace #hope #ashepherdsheart #faith #joy #truth #wisdom #life #encourage #encouragement #inspire #inspiration #inspirational #inspirationalquotes #quote #quotes #christian #Christianity #christfollower #bible #scripture #Godsword #heart #mind #soul #ashepherdsheart



Need your prayers!

Appreciate your prayers for my audio/video venture! Find more information about it here and please pray for me! Only asking for prayers here but this link has information about the projects I'm trying to do. Thanks! http://www.ashepherdsheart.org/p/online-store.html#!/Audio-Video-Venture/p/53206936/category=0

Saturday, October 08, 2016

You're Not A Waste Of Time!

You may feel like God is too busy for you or that you've lived so a horrible life that He thinks you're a waste of time. 

With The Lord, there's Never a lost cause or a waste of time. 

He's not like the imperfect human beings you experience in your life who are conditional in their love and care for you! 

He's full of grace, love and truth for you. He's, there for you and loves you unconditionally so why not abide in Him and seek Him with all that is within you (heart, mind, soul and strength) each day!? 

What are you waiting for? He's constantly trying to draw you to Himself so why not listen to Him?

Blessings in Christ, 

rlk 

#saturday #foodforthought #ashepherdsheart #grace #truth #love #faith #hope #trust #wisdom #truth #life #Godisgood #GodLovesYou #Christianity #ChristFollower #Christian #encourage #encouragement #inspire #inspiration #inspirational #inspirationalquotes #quote #quotes 



Need your prayers!

Appreciate your prayers for my audio/video venture! Find more information about it here and please pray for me! Only asking for prayers here but this link has information about the projects I'm trying to do. Thanks! http://www.ashepherdsheart.org/p/online-store.html#!/Audio-Video-Venture/p/53206936/category=0

Tuesday, October 04, 2016

Prayer...It's not just a lifeline!


Can you imagine if you never spoke to people, especially important people in your life? Or, if you never shared your joys, struggles, trials and pains? It would be a lonely and depressing existence!

It's the same with prayer except you're communicating with your Creator who is your Father in heaven!

Prayer isn't just a lifeline, rather, it's a daily moment-by-moment communication with Him.

Prayer is a privilege as you talk to Him about what's going on in your life, seek wisdom and intercede for others and more!

Hebrews 4:16 encourages us to:

"Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." -
Hebrews 4:16

Simply put, approach Him with confidence and never ever think that He's too busy for you! He always is there so...pray!
"God does things in and through our lives by prayer that He does in no other way."  -Henry Blackaby
God is at work in you when you pray my friend!

We're also told in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
-1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Prayer is a constant activity as you abide in Christ and through every and any circumstance you pray through it.

Don't wait for a struggle or trouble to come to start communication / prayer with the Lord! If you aren't already... Start praying each day or moment as He created you for relationship with Him and He wants to hear from you!

In Christ Alone,

rlk