Have you ever been in a “dark place”? Perhaps you are now. Everywhere you look, it’s dark, and what’s worse, you don’t see a way out.  If you have been there or you are now, can you imagine what it would be like to be in darkness forever and to know that you’d never ever escape?

God and Satan are powerful. They each have domains/kingdoms. Satan’s domain is a place of evil and darkness (Colossians 1:13).  First John 5:19 tells us the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. That is, you lie in the power of the evil one unless you have responded to God’s invitation to rescue you from the domain of darkness and transfer you to the kingdom of His beloved Son (Colossians 1:13).

If you’re a Christian and in a dark place today because of circumstances beyond your control or even because of sin, run to your Savior. Stand against the darkness by singing songs of praise to Jesus. Lift your hands and voice in praise to God. Claim your place as a child of the kingdom of light.

Lord Jesus, You are our RESCUER! We love You! We thank You! We praise You for rescuing us and transferring us to Your kingdom. 

If you have not yet responded to God’s invitation to rescue you, why not? Please consider His invitation. If you have friends or family who don’t know Jesus as their Lord and Savior, you can prayerfully share this with them.

Are the storms in your life overwhelming you, perhaps literally? Whether the storms are literal or metaphorical, fear can flood our emotions. Lightning bolts of regret can strike us to the core. Worry can flood our minds. But God doesn’t want us to stay overwhelmed, drowning in fear, worry, and regret. That’s why He has given us His Spirit, His very presence to be with us.

Psalm 46:1 reminds us that God is our refuge, a very present help in trouble. Just as shelters offer a place for flood victims, God calls us to come to Him for refuge. The Hebrew word “refuge” means shelter from danger or falsehood.

The more closely we stay under God’s arms of truth, the more protected we are from the enemy’s lies. So go to Him. Shelter under the truth of His love for you.

Do you feel drained or spiritually empty? You know you’re saved, but you’re tired and discouraged. What do we do when we want to serve the Lord and energetically live for Him , but we’re weary and feel like we have nothing left to give? God answers our questions in Jeremiah 31:25 by saying, “I satisfy the weary ones and refresh everyone who languishes.”

The Lord is our refresher! Jesus echoes this in Matthew 5:3-6. Are we poor in spirit? Are we mourning? Are we hungry and thirsty for righteousness? If so, we can go to the ever-flowing river of life in the Lord. We can drink deeply of His Word and Spirit. We can be refreshed and our energy renewed to do what He places in our hands. What a joy. What a God!

Heavenly Father, our daily lives often leave us feeling drained. Thank you for being  our REFRESHER. Fill us with Your presence and renew us so we are energized to serve You and others. 

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Is there anything about you that isn’t perfect? If you are perfect, congratulations. I’m not. As a matter of fact, the closer I grow to Christ, the more aware I am of sin in my life. If you, like me, are mindful of your sin, Malachi 3:3 has some encouraging words: “He [the Lord] will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the Lord offerings in righteousness.”

What good news! As Christ’s priests (1 Peter 2:9), we have confidence in our refiner who is extracting sin from our lives. He is purifying us so we can stand before Him one day, perfect, presenting to Him offerings in righteousness.

Do you commute to work and want to listen to some encouraging teachings by Debbie while you drive? Let her podcasts on Podbean, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify help you set your mind on Christ before you start your day!

Are you looking for peace and happiness? Do you want a better life? Only one person, our redeemer, has the holiness, wholeness, power, and grace to be our all in all. As Colossians 1:13-14 says, “He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

Jesus is the only One able to rescue us from the domain of darkness and transfer us to His kingdom. He is the One who is able to rescue us from the sin and heartache of this world and take us to the holy heights of heaven. So we look to the cross and our resurrected Lord. We turn to the Bible and anticipate Christ’s return. We know that as Jesus kept His Word and came once for salvation, He’ll return to redeem us out of this world and take us to our eternal home. Our redemption is closer today than it was yesterday. Praise Him!

Do you ever wonder if we’re in the end times? Would you like to learn more about the signs of the end times? Grab a copy of Debbie’s Bible study, End Times: What You Should Know, What You Can Do HERE. Access the free accompanying videos and podcasts HERE.

Have you noticed that people in our nation are at odds with one another? “What an understatement,” you may say. And, you’re right. Rioting in the name of peaceful protests. Name-calling and accusations. One faction looks at the other as an enemy.

In light of that, did you know Romans 5:10 says we were once enemies of God? Gulp. Not a good position! How did we get on the right side of God so we’re not His enemy? “We were reconciled to God through the death of His Son.” It took Jesus’s death to reconcile us to God. Romans 5:10 continues, “we shall be saved by His life.”

No one wants to be on the wrong side of an issue. No one wants to be on the wrong side of God. We have Jesus to thank for reconciling us to our glorious Heavenly Father.

Jesus, thank You that You RECONCILED US to God through Your death on the cross. We rejoice and praise You!

Would you like to deepen your relationship with God? Discover the many resources on our website that can help you grow in your walk with the Lord. We offer several free resources, including podcasts, video teachings, listening guides, and more!

Have you ever been driving and keeping your eyes on the road before you when suddenly a car came up too fast behind you? If so, do you remember the startling feeling? Do you remember hoping the driver would slow down rather than rear-end you?

Often, we speak of the Lord leading us, but Isaiah 52:12 also speaks of the Lord as watching out for our backs: “…the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.”

In this verse, God is referred to as a rear guard when the Israelites escaped Egyptian bondage. God is also our rear guard. He watches over us, leads us, and not until heaven will we know how many times He’s protected us from encroaching evil and danger. Just as it was important for Moses and the Israelites to pay attention to and follow God’s instructions, it’s important for us to pay attention and follow His instructions. How do His warnings and instructions come to us? Through the Bible and the Holy Spirit’s promptings. How well are we paying attention with a grateful heart?

Lord, thank You for being our REAR GUARD and for all the ways You watch over us and protect us. Help us be ever sensitive to Your promptings. We love You so much. 

In addition to being our rear guard, the Lord is also our fortress. Debbie discusses this further in her blog post, “A Good Place to Be.” To read the full post, click HERE. 

Did you see the movie, Ransom? Mel Gibson played the father of the son who was kidnapped. There was no way the kidnapped son could free himself. The kidnappers demanded the father pay a certain price, a ransom, to get his son back.

That’s what our Heavenly Father did for us. We were captives in sin so our Heavenly Father gave Jesus as the ransom to pay for our freedom. Was it only our Father’s idea? No. First Timothy 2:6 says that Jesus was in one accord with the Father. “…Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all.” Yes, our sweet Lord gave Himself as a ransom so we could be reunited with Him and our Heavenly Father forever.

How do we become free from sin? We say “yes” to the offer of Jesus being our ransom so we are released from being captive to sin and Satan.

Lord Jesus, we praise You, our RANSOM, our LORD. 

Would you like to learn more about how Jesus demonstrated His love for us as well as His command to love one another? Watch Debbie’s teaching on John 13 HERE.

Death. It seems so final. I’d prepared for my mother’s death because she’d been ill for a long time. But the casket. The cemetery. I broke down weeping. Some family members whispered they were surprised at my grief, but all I could think of was how much I was going to miss her.

So what does Jesus want us to know about death? What did He prove when He raised Lazarus and others from the dead? He wants us to know that death isn’t final. Jesus describes death as sleep. Just as a loved one rouses us from sleep by calling our name, Jesus will rouse us from death.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.” (John 5:25)

Yes, believer, you will hear Christ’s voice (Imagine that!) and will wake in Jesus’ presence. There are no better words we could hear. Who do we need to share them with?

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