Walk Boldly With Jesus

“He Is” Series Day #1 Elohim (God as Creator)

“He Is” Series Day #1 Elohim (God as Creator) Genesis1:1 “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth.” Welcome to He Is, a devotional journey through the names of God. So often we focus on what we need from God — peace, provision, healing, direction. But in this series, we’re going to shift our focus to who He is. Because when we truly know His name, we begin to trust His heart. Over the Next month or so, we’ll explore the powerful names of God found in Scripture — from Jehovah Jireh, our Provider, to El Roi, the God who sees us — and allow each name to renew our faith and anchor our identity in Him. Lateley I have been hearing people mention the various names for God. It is not new for me to hear things like, God is our provider or God is our healer. However, I have been hearing people use the Hebrew and Greek names for the Lord. These are new to me. I have heard a few before, but I didn’t realize there were so many. The other day, I heard someone mention a few of the names, and I felt in my heart that I was supposed to do a series on them in case others haven’t heard of them either. The more we know about God, the closer we can get to Him. If we don’t know God, if we don’t know all of Him, then how can we trust Him? How can we be in a close relationship with Him if we don’t know who He is? I pray that at the end of this series, you know more about God and who He really is. I pray you learn more about God than you did before. I pray this series not only blesses you, but transforms your view of God and our relationship with Him! Elohim is the first name for God given in the Bible. It was given in the very beginning when describing how God created everything. Today’s verse is, “In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth.” However, that chapter goes into much more detail about all things God created in those first few days. God spoke the entire universe into existence. He thought of light and darkness. He thought of land and water. He thought of animals for the land and for the sea. He thought of days and nights and the sun and the moon. He thought of everything. I invite you to take a moment and think about your life. Think about how much detail went into creating the life you have now. Imagine how many things had to line up in order for you to have your parents. Imagine all the things that lined up so you could go to the school you went to or have the job that you have. When I take a moment to look at my life, I think about all the ways God was creating the life that I have now. In high school, I dated a guy whom I thought I would marry. I wanted to go to school in New Jersey to be close to where he was. However, I ended up going to school in Connecticut because I couldn’t afford the school in New Jersey. I ended up breaking up with my high school boyfriend two years later. Then my roommate was taking ROTC classes at UCONN. They had a bring-a-friend day, and that is where I met the man I would marry. God knew what He was creating. When Tony and I got married, we had to move away from family because he was in the military. We both agreed that once he was done with his four-year commitment, then we would get out of the military, unless we both wanted to stay in. Which we both agreed was unlikely. Then, 4 years turned into 15 years before we finally moved back close to family. It turns out God knew what He was doing, and we both loved moving to new places, meeting new people, and exploring different parts of the world. God is an amazing creator. He can orchestrate things we never would have thought of. He can work with you to create the most amazing life you can dream of. He can create jobs you didn’t even know existed. I was just listening to a podcast this morning about a couple who started doing TikTok videos as a spur-of-the-moment decision. Now the husband has quit his full-time job, they make money from their videos, and they're taking on other adventures they never would have thought of before. When you look at this couple on paper, they do not look like they would fit together at all. She has ADHD, and he has autism. He had a steady job for over 20 years, and she bounced from job to job. He has had 2 divorces and two children with two different moms. She has had numerous relationships with men and women that have never worked out. Even when they talk about their relationship, they talk about how it doesn’t make sense on paper. They are two very different people. Yet God helped them create a beautiful life together. They have learned so much about each other and how they function best. They have gone into business together, making these videos, and have written a book or two. Things are really good with them. I do want to say one thing that I think we tend to overlook a lot. God did create a beautiful life for me and Tony and for this couple and for so many others. However, that doesn’t mean we go through life perfectly without any problems. God didn’t say we wouldn’t struggle; He said he would be there with us through the struggle. So, Tony and I still argue with each other, we still argue with our kids, and we still struggle with life at times. Yet, we know God is here with us to help us through it. The same is true for you. When you look at your life and you wonder why you might be struggling, remember that God is with you in your struggle. Try to find the amazing things about your life. Try to focus on the good instead of the bad. If all you see are the bad things in your life, then pray to Elohim. Pray to God to create more of whatever you feel you are missing in your life. Do you need Him to create more joy, more fun, more adventure, more love, more peace? Whatever it is, ask Him for it. Ask Him to help you create the life you have been dreaming of, the life you have always wanted. God is an amazing creator. If he can create the entire world in 7 days, I think He can make some magic happen in your life as well. All we need to do is ask. Dear Elohim, please bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, you are the creator of all things good. You are the reason we have what we have. Thank you, Lord! Thank you for our families, friends, and all those in our lives. Lord, help us to create the life we want to live. Help us to create a life full of all the things you have put in our hearts. Help us to remember to come to you first, Lord! Help us to remember that you are always there with us and that you are the creator of all! We love you, and we ask this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name, Amen! Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! God is on your side and we are both rooting for you! Have a blessed day! Today’s Word from the Lord was received in September 2025 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “My children, I know you listen. I know you hear me. Don't turn your back on me when I tell you something to do. Do it. It'll turn out right, because I am in it. And I have commanded it.” www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace

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Be Wise With Your Words

Mar 600:12:00Tap to summarize

Be Wise With Your Words Proverbs 10:11–14 “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses. On the lips of one who has understanding, wisdom is found… The wise lay up knowledge, but the babbling of a fool brings ruin near.” During our Wednesday morning prayer group, someone received this word from the Lord: “Be wise with your words. Be positive, not negative. Use your words to build up and encourage, not discourage.” At the same time, someone else received today’s verse. It felt clear that the Lord wanted us to reflect on the power of our words. Lent seemed like the perfect time for this. One woman in my Thursday prayer group said she is fasting from unkind words this Lent. I thought that was a beautiful idea. Often we speak without thinking. We say whatever comes to mind, sometimes believing we are helping someone by pointing out what they are doing wrong. But is it truly wrong, or simply different from what we would do? And even if correction is needed, is this the right time and place? If we slowed down and thought before speaking, this world would be a kinder place. I love how the verse says, “The babbling of a fool brings ruin near.” Ruin does not always mean something dramatic. Sometimes careless words ruin a moment, a day, or even a relationship. Our words truly carry power. As Proverbs 18:21 reminds us, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” Because of this, we must choose our words carefully. The world already has enough harsh voices. What if we stood out because of our kindness? What if people said about us, “That person never has an unkind word to say”? As followers of Jesus, the Holy Spirit lives within us. What if we spoke to others as if we were speaking directly to Jesus? In many ways, we are. Another powerful fast we could consider is fasting from gossip—not just during Lent, but permanently. When we refuse to participate in gossip, people eventually stop bringing it to us. It may feel awkward at first, but it is possible to gently change the conversation. The world needs more kindness, less judgment, and more people willing to use their words for good. This morning I watched a video from a young adult with autism who shared how often she has been misunderstood. Because she struggles with non-verbal cues, she sometimes loses friendships without even knowing what went wrong. Her friends might imply something or give subtle signals, but she needs direct communication. It reminded me how important it is to learn how others communicate. Sometimes we take offense to someone’s words when they never intended to hurt us. They may simply communicate differently. When we feel offended, it can help to pause and ask ourselves:Why do I feel offended? What might the other person be experiencing right now? Communication is a two-way street. Both people share responsibility for speaking with kindness and seeking understanding. Recently our family learned that one of my sons has autism in addition to ADHD. This has opened my eyes to how easily misunderstandings can happen. Looking back, I realize there were many moments when clearer words or different phrasing might have helped him understand better. You may not be communicating with someone who has autism or ADHD—but you might be communicating with a teenager, a quiet spouse, a struggling coworker, or someone carrying burdens you cannot see. Each person may require a different approach. Communication matters more than we often realize. Two people can say the same words but receive completely different responses because tone, body language, and attitude matter just as much as the words themselves. If we want to walk boldly with Jesus, we must pay attention to how we communicate His love. The same message can be delivered with compassion or with harshness. The difference matters. I believe the Lord is inviting us to make a sincere effort to communicate in ways that help others feel seen and understood. When we take the time to do this, people often experience the love of Jesus through us. If you ever feel misunderstood in a conversation, pause and quietly pray, “Come Holy Spirit, come.” Ask the Holy Spirit to guide your words. If a conversation feels difficult, invite Him in before it even begins. He knows exactly what needs to be said. Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless each person listening today. Lord, help us to be wise with our words. Give us the strength to avoid gossip and unkind speech. Help us become people who build others up and represent you well in the world. Show us where we need to grow in our communication and teach us how to understand those around us. We know we cannot do this alone, but with you, all things are possible. We ask this in Jesus’s holy name, Amen. Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I. God is on your side, and we are both rooting for you. Have a blessed day! Today’s Word from the Lord was received in September 2025 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group or how to join us, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “I am the Lord your God. There is none like me. I come in joy and glory. I wish for you to share it all with those you meet. Share it with others, for I, your Lord, love you.” www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace

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Stand in the Breach

Mar 500:11:43Tap to summarize

Stand in the Breach Genesis 18:32 “ Then he said, “Oh, do not let the Lord be angry if I speak just once more. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.” This verse comes from a discussion between God and Moses. Let me read you the whole conversation, so you have the context. This section follows immediately the one in which God promises Sarah and Abraham that they will have a son. In this section, God wonders if He should hide from Abraham what He is about to do to Sodom and Gomorrah, and He decides He shouldn’t. He has chosen Abraham to teach His children right from wrong, and so He decides to tell him the judgment He is about to hand down to Sodom and Gomorrah. Let’s read from Genesis 18:20-33. “Then the Lord said, “How great is the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah and how very grave their sin! I must go down and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me; and if not, I will know.” So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before the Lord. Then Abraham came near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will you then sweep away the place and not forgive it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will forgive the whole place for their sake.” Abraham answered, “Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” Again, he spoke to him, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” Then he said, “Oh, do not let the Lord be angry if I speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” He said, “Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.” Then he said, “Oh, do not let the Lord be angry if I speak just once more. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.” And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.” There are at least two things I love about these verses in the Bible. First, I love what it shows us about God. It shows us that God is approachable. It shows us that we can talk with Him and that He will listen. God knows everything. He is the almighty one. He could have very easily shut Abraham down and told him it was none of his business how God handled those cities. He could have been offended because Abraham was questioning Him and His judgment. He didn’t do either of these things. He listened to Abraham, He allowed Abraham to make His case, and He agreed to spare the lives of the righteous. This shows us how compassionate God is. It also shows us his mercy as well. He was willing to have mercy on the whole town for the sake of a few righteous people, as few as 10 righteous people. According to the internet, about 1,200 people lived in those cities at the time of destruction. Can you imagine having mercy on 1190 people who are doing awful things, including child sacrifice, just because there are 10 among them who are doing the right thing? That is how much God wants all of us to be saved. He is willing to give us so many chances. He was willing to spare the whole city for the sake of a few. We tend to think a lot less about God’s mercy and think more about His judgment and how He is just looking for us to mess up. That is not our God. That is not the God in the Bible. When we read scripture, we get to learn who God truly is. The story of Sodom and Gomorrah can be looked at as a story of how harsh God’s judgment is. However, if you read the whole story in context, you can see that God did not want to destroy the towns. He was willing to save them even if there were just 10 righteous people in the whole town. However, He couldn’t even find 10. The other thing I love about these verses is that Abraham is willing to stand up for those he didn’t know. Right before this section, God told Abraham and his wife, Sarah, that they would have a baby. They had tried for a long time, and they were beyond their baby-making years, age-wise. This was going to be a miracle. I would like to think many of us would have done what Abraham did. I would like to think I would have kept asking God to save those people over and over again. The truth is, I don’t know if I would have. Would I have been afraid if I pushed God, He would take away the miracle He promised me? Would I have been afraid God would have gotten tired of me asking and punished me in some other way? Would I have been happy if God’s focus was on someone else’s sin and not my own? I don’t know what I would have done. I love what Abraham did, though. He stood up for those he probably didn’t even know. He begged God to save the wicked for the sake of the righteous. There was a concept we learned about in Encounter that is similar to intercessory prayer, and yet it seems so much more powerful the way they explained it. When they talked about us interceding for others, they said it’s like we are standing in the breach. We stand between them and God, pleading on their behalf. There is a scene in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy that my teacher used as an example. The good guys are being chased by the bad guys. They are crossing over a bridge, and it is collapsing. All of a sudden, a dragon or something comes after them, and the white wizard, the most powerful guy, protecting them, stands strong on the bridge and says, “You shall not pass.” The good guys are able to get away, and the bad guys are not able to pass. When I think about interceding for others, I picture myself standing in the breach and not letting anything bad happen to them. I am standing there to pray for them and ask God to protect them from evil, sickness, sin, and whatever else they need protection from. Abarham was standing in the breech. He was brave enough to stand up and ask God to reconsider His plan. God wants us to stand up for those who don’t know any better. He wants us to pray for all the lost souls. He wants us to pray for sinners. He wants us to pray for the wicked. God doesn’t want to lose a single one of His children. He wants us all to celebrate with Him in heaven one day, and to do that, we need to pray for those we don’t want to pray for. He is calling us to pray for those we don’t like, those who are not nice, those who do things we don’t approve of. God is calling us to His team to pray for everyone. We have no idea how powerful our prayers can be. You don’t know if your prayer can be the one thing that makes the difference between someone going to heaven or hell. What if that person just needed one person to pray for him or her? What if they just needed one person to believe in them? What if. So many saints I have read about have prayed for sinners, lost souls, and even those who have hurt them. Like St. Maria Goretti, who forgave and prayed for her attacker. Stand in the breech for others. Help God bring all his children home! Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless everyone listening to the episode today. Lord, you are so good. You want to bring all of your children home. Please help us to help you. Please help give us the strength to pray for those who have hurt us in some way. Please help us to pray for our loved ones who don’t know you. Please help us to see that it is never too late with you. You are a merciful God who gives us so many chances to turn back to you. Help us to be brave and pray for those we feel do not deserve our prayers. Convict our hearts of who you want us to pray for, Lord. We love you, and we ask this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s Holy Name, Amen! Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. If this podcast is blessing you, please share it with a friend or leave a review. That simple step helps more people find it. And if there’s someone you’ve been wanting to talk to about Jesus, but you don’t know how to begin, send them an episode and let me do the talking. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! God is on your side and we are, both rooting for you! Have a blessed day! Today’s Word from the Lord was received in September 2025 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “Stay the course. Be strong in my name. Pray for those who have been deceived. Oﬀer your day to the fallen. Be my intercessors.” www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily life<a href="https:...

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Witness Wednesday #199 Catherine D.

Mar 400:11:30Tap to summarize

Witness Wednesday #199 Catherine D. Today I would like to share with you a witness about how God came through at the last minute. He does this sometimes. Sometimes it can feel like He is not there, like He didn’t hear your prayers, and then just when you think all is lost, He comes through. Last September, I went to Ecuador for my niece’s baptism. This was a really big deal for me, as my niece was born at 27 weeks and almost didn’t survive. That is a witness for another time. She was in the hospital for 4 months, and just as she got to leave the hospital and go home, COVID happened. She had to stay in her house for over a year. Her grandparents, my brother-in-law’s parents, couldn’t come here from Ecuador to meet her, and they couldn’t travel there due to the pandemic. So, this past September, right before my niece turned 2, they decided to have her baptized in Ecuador. They had asked me to be the Godmother, and I was honored to make the trip to celebrate this amazing occasion. She is a miracle baby for so many reasons, and I was looking forward to being a part of bringing this beautiful girl into the church. My mom and dad traveled down a week early with my sister, brother-in-law, and my niece. Then I was traveling with my mother-in-law, Joanie, as she also loves to travel. The beginning of our trip shows how God shows up in all the details. We had a really early morning flight, and then we had a long layover in Florida. When I say long, I mean we had a 12-hour layover in FL. We were both wondering what we would do to pass the time. We thought about leaving the airport and looking around the city, but we had our luggage, and we didn’t really want to walk around town carrying our luggage. I was praying about this on our flight to FL, and the thought came to me that we could rent a car. This way we could keep our luggage in the trunk and drive around the town. Once we landed and got to the car rental place, it turned out it was very inexpensive to rent the car for the day. We were all set and on our way. We drove to the beach, we walked along the boardwalk, we got ice cream, we drove through a beautiful scenic park, and we even got out and went for a nice walk through the park. We had a fantastic day and made it back to the airport in plenty of time to make our next flight. God was in all the details of that day, and He worked things out perfectly for us. This next part of our journey is where things got a little bumpy. We had been traveling since about 4 am. We arrived in Ecuador at about 11 pm. We were tired and ready to get to the hotel and get some sleep. My brother-in-law had our flight info, but we had no way to reach him as our phones did not have international service. This wasn’t really a problem as our flight was not delayed, and he could always check with the airport if it had been. Joanie and I wait in the line to go through passport control. We finally get up to passport control, and we can see the door to go out to meet all those waiting to pick you up. We hand over our passports, and the man looks at them, then he looks at us. Then he calls over someone else, and he looks at them, they talk in Spanish, which I don’t speak, and I can see the one he called over shaking his head. I start to get nervous. I ask if there is a problem. He said, yes, I am sorry, ma’am, but your passport expires in less than 6 months. No, it does not expire until March of 2022 and we are in September of 2021. He explained that in order for me to enter the country, I have to be at least 6 months away from my expiration date. We looked at my passport, which expired on March 6th, and I landed on March 16th. He said they will only give a 10-day grace period, and I was already at my 10 days. Are you getting this? If I had traveled one week earlier, I would have been fine, but since my passport was going to expire in less than 6 months, 6 months, I couldn’t stay. I had this sinking feeling in my stomach, and I asked what that meant. He said he was going to ask his supervisor, and he was going to try to see what he could do, but it probably meant that I would have to get back on a plane that night and go back to America. Joanie and I were so confused. We didn’t know what to do. They asked if she wanted to stay, but she said she was with me; if I had to go, she was going home too. The man left us standing there for what felt like a really long time and went to talk to his supervisor. I told Joanie we needed to pray, and we both started to pray. We prayed that God would work some miracle. We prayed that we would get to go to the baptism. I pleaded with God, I begged Him to work his magic and not let them send me home. I praised God and thanked Him, I did and said everything I could think of in that moment, and you know what? It didn’t work. The man came back and said he was really sorry, there was nothing he could do, we had to wait for someone from the airlines to come and escort us back to the other part of the airport so we could get on a plane and go back home. Go home without seeing my family, without a way of telling them what is going on, without seeing my niece being baptized. I was heartbroken, and so was Joanie. Even though we were heartbroken, do you know what I told Joanie? It’s not too late. We are not back in America yet. We don’t have a new ticket yet. We can’t give up. Yes, we had done all we could humanly do to help ourselves, but God is the God of the impossible, and He is a way maker. He makes a way where there is no way. I had a chat with God. I told Him that I appreciated all He had done for us that day. I told him how extremely grateful I was that He saved Charlize and that I got to be her Godmother. I let Him know that if he wanted us to get on a plane and go back to America, then we would obey. I also told Him that I knew it wasn’t too late for Him to fix this. I told Him I wasn’t giving up on the idea that we would make it to the baptism. I told Him that I loved Him, that He is amazing, and that whatever He wanted in that moment was what we wanted. I said, Lord, we believe, help our unbelief. Then I prayed in the Spirit because, honestly, I had no idea what to pray for or what to say. I had no idea how the situation could be fixed, but I knew the Holy Spirit could convey the messages in my heart much better than I could. We sat there for about 20 minutes just waiting for someone from the airlines to come and get us so we could go back home. Then, all of a sudden, the man from passport control walked over, and he said they worked it out and they were going to let us go into the country. He said we were very lucky as they never do this, but they will make this one exception. He was surprised. I told him it wasn’t luck, it was the power of prayer. I tell you, I have never been so excited to see my brother-in-law as I was that day walking through those passport control doors. God is so good! He really is. If you are listening to this podcast, then I know you already know this, but we should say it again and again. We should say it often because He really is that good. We don’t just say He is the WayMaker, or the God of the Impossible, because it sounds good or because they are cool names. We say it because it is who God is. He really does make the impossible possible. He makes a way where there isn’t one. There was no logical reason why they let me through that night. We should have been put on a plane and sent back to America, and yet that was not what God wanted, so He made a way for us to stay. I know you have seen similar things like this in your life. If you haven’t, I don’t think it’s because they aren’t happening; I think it’s because you aren’t looking for them. God is working in every detail of our lives. If we want to see Him working in our lives more, all we need to do is open our eyes more and look for Him. www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace

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We Have Been Set Free (replay)

Mar 300:09:31Tap to summarize

We Have Been Set Free 1 Corinthians 6:12 “ All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are beneficial. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.” The prayer point for the healing service team today is to free the captives. This instantly made me think of my friend who I am praying for this week. I have asked those I know to give me a Bible verse, and I will assign a different verse to each week of the year. Then I will pray for that person during the week I have assigned their verse. This week, I am praying for my friend, and instead of praying for her, she has asked for prayers for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and for food and medical aid to reach the sick and injured. When I read the Captives this morning, I thought of all of those who were captured in the Gaza Strip many months ago. Then, when I started reading the scripture verses we were given, I realized there are many ways that we can be held captive. Some of us are physically held captive, like those in war-torn countries, those who were abducted and forced into human trafficking of all kinds. There are also many of us who are held captive by our own beliefs, addictions, or wants and desires. This morning, while I was reading over the various verses, I asked the Lord to highlight the one he wanted me to talk about. I asked Him to make it clear to me. He actually highlighted two verses. The first one that jumped out was the verse above. 1 Corinthians 6:12 says, “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are beneficial. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.” I thought this was particularly fitting for today since yesterday was Ash Wednesday, and so Lent has just begun. Lent can be a difficult time of year because it is a time of sacrifice. It can also be a sad time of year as we remember all Christ went through to save us from our sins, to save us from ourselves. Lent is also a great time of year to show ourselves that we don’t have to be controlled by our wants and our desires. We get the chance to show God that although we love chocolate, wine, alcohol, beer, swearing, desserts, TV, or whatever else we decide to give up, we don’t let them as much as we love HIm. We get to show ourselves that it is ok to deny ourselves something we want and that when we do we will be even more stronger for it. I have a friend named Sarah Jane. I remember she came over to my house one time, and I asked if she wanted a brownie. She said she gave up chocolate for the month. It wasn’t lent so I asked her why she gave it up. She said each month, she gives something up for the month to show herself she can and so that she does not get too attached to anything. This is an awesome idea. I actually did this for a few months last year, but I don’t think I made it past May. I do think it is important that we know that just because we can do something doesn’t mean we should do it. It also doesn’t mean it is good for us. If we want to be holy, we must go beyond the letter of the law. This is what the Sadducees and Pharisees were doing. They were following the letter of the law but not the spirit of the law. They were so focused on doing things perfectly that they lost all sight of what God was really about. They forgot about the love God had for His people. They forgot about His mercy. They got caught up in all the laws and the rules and somehow got lost. What I felt the Lord wanted me to remind you of today is that you do not have to become slaves to things of this world. The second scripture He highlighted to me is Galatians 5:1, which says, “For freedom, Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” This shows us that we have a choice. Before Jesus came to save us, we had fewer choices. Before Jesus came, we had the laws to tell us what we should do, but we didn’t have the Holy Spirit inside of us to give us the strength to resist the things that were not good for us. Then Jesus came, and He died on the cross to set us free from sin. Then He went to be with His Father, and they sent the Holy Spirit to be with us so we would no longer be left on our own. Because of this, we no longer have to accept the yoke of slavery. Because of this, we have been set free. However, this does not mean that we are all free. We must make a choice to be free. We have to decide that our freedom in Christ is worth more than that cookie, that drink, that drug, that extramarital affair. Christ died so we could be free, but we still have to choose to be free. God has given us free will and He won’t force us to follow Him or to love Him. He won’t force us to choose Him. We have to do that on our own. Well, not really on our own because He gave us the power of the Holy Spirit living inside of us. We can rely on that power. We do need to make the choice, but then we can rely on the Holy Spirit to help us keep that freedom. We can rely on the Holy Spirit to help us stay on the path we want to be on. When we feel like we want to be free of something and yet we don’t think we can, we can’t see a way to give it up. We can call on the Holy Spirit. We can ask the Holy Spirit to take away the desire for this thing. We can ask the Holy Spirit to come and give us strength. We can say, “Come, Holy Spirit, come.” The enemy wants us to think we don’t have a choice. He wants us to think we can’t do the hard thing. We can’t give up drinking. We can’t give up the drugs, the affairs, the food. The devil is a liar. Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” It doesn’t say some things, and it says all things. You can do all things because you have the mighty power of Jesus living inside of you. All you have to do is call upon that power. So, this Lenten season, let’s remember that we are no longer slaves to our desires. Whatever you gave up for lent, it may seem like it is going to be a long 40 days. You might be thinking about it and thinking there is no way you make it 40 days without that thing. If so, remember that you are not dominated by anything. You are a free son or daughter of Christ and of the one true God. You can do anything with Christ! You have been set free! Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, you are truly amazing. We are so grateful you sent your son to set us free. We owe you a debt we could never pay, so we offer you these 40 days as a small token of our love for you. Please help us through these next 40 days. We ask that you help us every day. Lord, remind us when we forget that nothing will dominate us. Remind us when we forget that we do not have to accept the yoke of slavery. Remind us of your love and mercy each time we forget. We love you so much, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name. Amen! Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow. If you are interested in receiving my monthly newsletter so you can be the first to know what is going on or when I am planning an event, please click on the link below or go to my website, walkboldlywithjesus.com. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day! Today’s Word from the Lord is, “Be not afraid to say yes to the Lord. When the Lord calls, He equips. He will give you everything necessary to fulfill what He asks of you. Be bold. Do not fear to answer the Lord. He loves you, and He will take care of you. You are His children, and He is your God, so go in boldness and answer the Lord's call.” www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace

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Jesus Leaves the 99 for the 1

Mar 200:09:53Tap to summarize

Jesus leaves the 99 for the 1 Matthew 4:1-11 “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him. Have you ever had a time like this? A time when you felt like the Devil was right there by your side, attacking you? Did you know what to say? Did you know what to do? I remember reading this and wishing that I knew scripture as well as Jesus did. I wish I knew the right thing to say when the devil comes to tell me the lies. That is what he is known for after all. Satan is the father of lies. Usually, they are not bald-faced lies. Usually, they have some sliver of truth that is twisted to make you question something. But in this passage, Jesus was not deterred from his faith. He did not get drawn into a debate, defending himself or his God. He simply quoted scripture to the enemy. This is one reason why it is helpful to read the Word of God every day. The more we read God’s word, the more we will know what to say to defend ourselves from the enemy. There are many reasons to read the word of God. Another one would be so that we know how God wants us to live. The Bible is full of stories, parables, and laws that can help us govern how to live. Knowledge is power, and if we know how God wants us to live, we can try to live in an upright manner. We can do our best to please Him. God does so much for us. The least we can do is try to obey his rules. We can try to live in a manner that honors Him and makes Him proud. Do you struggle with this, with living in a way that honors God and makes Him proud? I know I do. I often think of the passage from St. Paul in Romans 7:15, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” If St. Paul, who did amazing things for Christ, struggled to live a holy life, then I think it is understandable that we may struggle at times as well. However, remembering these passages and turning over our struggle to God can help us struggle a little less. When we are struggling, we need only repent and turn back to God. God does not need us to be perfect, nor does he expect it. God knows every step you are going to take before you take it. Nothing you do is a surprise to Him. He is our creator, He is the creator of all things. He knows how your story ends before it even starts. He can see all the roads you will go down. He knows the windy road that is your life. And you know what? He loves you anyway. He loves you even though you are not perfect. He loves you even though you will turn away from Him from time to time. Maybe you have turned away from him a long time ago and have not come back yet. Guess what? He loves you anyway! And He is ready for you to turn back to him. When you do, he will rejoice and celebrate. He won’t be thinking of all the things you did in the past. He won’t be holding your past sins against you. Once you repent and turn back to the Lord, He will rejoice that His son or daughter has returned home, and He will welcome you with open arms. That is just one of the many amazing things about your Lord. He is filled with so much mercy and so much grace. He knows all of our flaws, all of our mistakes, and yet He still loves us, flaws and all. There is nothing that you can do that is unredeemable in the Lord’s eyes. I know people who don’t understand how valuable they are in the Lord’s eyes. They feel that because of their sins, they are worth less than others. Or, maybe they feel they are worthless. If you are one of these people who is struggling with your self-worth in God’s eyes, I ask you to picture that you have 2 pennies in your hand, one of them is shiny and new, and the other one is old, dirty, and looks like it has been found in the gutter. What is the value of each penny? Is the penny that looks shiny and new worth more than the penny that is old and dirty? No, they are both worth the same. This is the same with God’s love. You are not worth less because you have made mistakes, made bad choices, or turned away from the Lord. The Lord is our father, and he is always there waiting with open arms, ready for us to turn back to him. Nothing makes him happier than when one of his lost sheep finds their way back home to him. In Luke 15:3-6, Jesus tells this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” I love this passage for a couple of reasons. First, I love the imagery of God leaving the 99 to come after me. He does not just let me wander away, but he comes to find me and guide me back home again. Another reason I love this passage is that it says that He will rejoice more over the one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. If you are living your life righteously and you have no need to repent, I admire you. That is not easy, and it takes a lot of courage, especially in this day and age. However, if you are one who has turned away, or if you find yourself in the same boat with St. Paul, where you keep doing the things you don’t want to do and struggle to do the things you want to do, I hope you find comfort in this passage. “There will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” Is that one repentant sinner going to be you? Is there some area of your life where you need to repent and turn back to the Lord? I can already hear the rejoicing in heaven. Dear Heavenly Father, I ask that you help us see in our lives where we could repent. Father, I ask that you shine a light on any darkness inside of us. We want your light to fill that space. I pray that you will put a love and desire for scripture inside our hearts. I pray that you help us to do what is right and help us to overcome the urges to do what is wrong. Lord, that is not easy, and we cannot do it without your help. Lord, we love you, and we thank you for all you do for us. We want to repent and turn back to you. Please just show us the way. We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name, Amen. Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to spending time with you tomorrow. Have a blessed day. www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace

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Don’t Worry, I Will Explain It (Replay)

Feb 2700:10:24Tap to summarize

Don’t Worry, I Will Explain It 1 John 3:8 “Everyone who commits sin is a child of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.” I read this verse and thought, “Nope, I don’t want to go there.” Actually, I read this verse and then read the next two verses after it. 1 John 3:8-10 says, “Everyone who commits sin is a child of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose: to destroy the works of the devil. Those who have been born of God do not sin, because God’s seed abides in them; they cannot sin, because they have been born of God. The children of God and the children of the devil are revealed in this way: all who do not do what is right are not from God, nor are those who do not love their brothers and sisters.” Ok, after hearing all that, do you see why I didn’t want to touch this verse? First of all, I didn’t really understand it. If I sin, am I a child of the devil? What does that even mean? We all sin, don’t we? Then it says Those born of God do not sin. But wait, I am born of God, and yet I do sin? It is definitely confusing and not something I felt qualified to talk about. Secondly, I didn’t want someone to hear this verse, or read it in the transcript, and then think they weren’t a child of God because they sin. Because let's all be honest, we all sin. So, I was happy to skip this one and go on to find another verse. I felt the Holy Spirit stop me and ask, what does this verse mean? What if someone already read it and didn’t stop to ask what it means? What if someone is walking around thinking they are no longer my child just because they sin? I am always humbled when the Holy Spirit reminds me of the purpose for this podcast. It is not to talk about all the things I understand. It is not the time to talk about things I really love talking about. It is to help myself and you, all those listening, to understand scripture a little better. My purpose is to help you walk boldly with Jesus one verse at a time. The only way to do this is to take difficult scriptures, ones I don’t understand, and figure them out, examine them, research them, and then share that with you. I may not always get it right, but I do try my best, and I ask the Holy Spirit to take care of the rest. I am sure I will keep needing to be reminded to stop and examine a verse if I don’t understand it because the enemy loves to try and stop me by telling me I am not qualified to talk about the scripture. He tells me I don’t know what I am doing, and so I can’t help others. Do you see how he takes a kernel of truth and twists it? He is right, I am not qualified, and I don’t always know what the scriptures mean. However, the way he twists it is because I am not sharing just my thoughts on it. I am researching and looking to those who do know the answers. I am taking the time to explore the meaning and then sharing what I learned from those who are qualified so that you don’t have to take that time. If something I say is confusing, or you still don’t understand the verse, I urge you to reach out and let me know. I would be happy to explore it in more detail with you. Or you can explore it on your own as well. I just type “What is the meaning of 1 John 3:8” or whatever verse I am looking at in the search bar on the internet, and usually a list of articles comes up. Whatever it is in the Bible we are trying to understand, there are probably plenty of other people who have come before us who have asked the same question. Look for the answers they found. I will put the links to two of the articles I read in the show notes in case you want to read the full articles. Now that I explained all that, what did I discover? What does this confusing verse mean? From what I found, I understand it to mean that when we are sinning, we are a child of Satan, meaning he is influencing those behaviors. When we are following God’s ways, God is influencing those behaviors. I feel the Holy Spirit just gave me an analogy that made me smile. It is one that if you have kids, you have probably said it, and even if you don’t, you probably heard your parents say it. When our kids are not behaving, I tell Tony they are his kids, and when they are behaving, I say they are my kids. Of course, they are all of our kids all the time. However, when I say that, I am implying that his DNA is what is influencing the kids' misbehavior, and my DNA is influencing their good behavior. It made me smile when this thought came to me because I could just picture God up in heaven shaking his head, looking at Satan and saying, nope, they are your kids today. I know He doesn’t do this, but it made me smile, remember all the times Tony and I went back and forth, nope, these are your kids. One thing that everything I read agreed on is that this verse does not determine your salvation. This verse is not saying that because you sin, you are a child of Satan, and you are going to Hell. That is not the case. It does not say that if you want to go to heaven, you can’t sin. It is not talking about your salvation in any way. We are all born with a sinful nature. Ever since sin entered the world, it has plagued us. Sin entered the world because of Satan. He brought it here, and when we sin, it is because of His influence. It is because we are allowing his influence to shape our behaviors. We are cooperating with him. However, the ending of this verse says, “The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.” This means that although we were born with original sin and a sinful nature, Jesus was sent to destroy that. If you have been baptized, you have received the Holy Spirit living inside of you. Even though we have the Holy Spirit living inside of us, we also have Satan trying to influence our behaviors, trying to get us to go against what God says. One example I found in one of the articles talked about Matthew 16:23 when Jesus said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan!” He was revealing the source of Peter's rebuke of Christ by which Peter demonstrated that he was representing Satan's purpose, not God’s. I pray these explanations clear up some of the confusion surrounding this verse. The verse is not saying you will go to hell if you sin. It does not mean you belong to Satan if you sin. It is saying that while you are sinning, you are under the influence of Satan. It is a good reminder, as sometimes we can write off little sins. We can say that it wasn’t so bad. We can question, is that really a sin, does it really matter? I think when we read this verse, it can speak to those situations. If you are sinning, you are cooperating with the enemy. Does it matter if it is a little cooperation or a lot of cooperation? Let me ask you this question. If one of your loved ones was being influenced by someone who was sent here to steal, kill, and destroy, would it matter to you that they were only being influenced a little? God cares deeply about even our smallest decisions. Instead of being offended by this verse, let’s take it as a warning to try harder not to be influenced by the devil. Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those who are listening to this episode today. Lord, we want to follow your ways. Please help us. We want to only be influenced by you. Please help shield us from the influence of the enemy. Please help us put on your armor, Lord. Lord, I ask you to help each one of us understand what this verse is saying, and I ask that if we don’t understand it, you will inspire us to go deeper. Lord, we want to understand your Word. We thank you for your word and thank you for giving it to us. You are truly remarkable. We love you, Lord, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen! Thank you for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. I just want to remind all of you that if you haven’t gotten a chance to check out my book yet, I invite you to do so. Or if you have checked it out, I invite you to leave a review on Amazon or suggest it to a friend. If you didn’t know, I wrote a book; you can find it on Amazon. It is called Total Trust in God’s Safe Embrace. Thank you to all of you who have already purchased it. I truly appreciate it! Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I. Have a blessed day! www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace

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Still Waters Psalm 23 (Part 3) Replay

Feb 2600:11:47Tap to summarize

Still Waters Psalm 23 (Part 3) Psalm 23 “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.” Today I will talk about the last part of this Psalm. There is a lot to like about this ending. First. It starts by saying that God will prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. I don’t have to be worried about my enemies as God has got me. He is my shield and my refuge. Now he is saying we will prepare a feast for me. When someone is preparing a meal for us, they are not usually stressed out about it. They don’t worry about all the things going on around them. Picture this, there is chaos all around you, and yet in front of you is this beautifully set up dining room table. You have a seat and God is bringing you a feast one course at a time. He is not concerned with your enemies because He knows they can’t touch you. You are not concerned either because you feel so at home and taken care of. Isn’t that a beautifully relaxing image? Next, the verse says that God honors us by anointing our heads with oil. Did you know that you have an anointing on your life? We all do. Did you know through baptism you were anointed to be priest, prophet, and king? It’s true, just as Christ was all three of these, you are also anointed to be these three things to your community. What does that mean for us? Let’s start with the priest. Drawing on the priesthood of the Old Testament, a priest is one who offers sacrifices (see Genesis 14:18; Exodus 29:38- 42; Leviticus 23:6,8). Some sacrifices are personal, and some are on behalf of others. These sacrifices will look different for each one of us depending on our circumstances. However, sacrifice to some degree should be a part of our everyday life. I have tried to embrace this in different ways over the years. At times I did a bread and water fast one day a week. Other times I would fast from one thing for a whole month. I would switch it up each month, but there will always be something I am fasting from. I believe that this helps me to appreciate things more and it will also show me that I am not a slave to that thing. For instance, if I feel like I just can’t stop eating chocolate, then I will fast from that for a month. By the end of the year, I will have shown God and myself that I do not need these things. I will have also made a small sacrifice each month for 12 months. Next, we have prophet. A prophet is a spokesperson for God or one who speaks on God’s behalf (see Exodus 4:30; Deuteronomy 18:18; Isaiah 42:19). In the Old and New Testaments, prophets called people to a different way of life. Can we be a spokesperson for God by how we live our lives? Can we live in a way that when people see us they think to themselves, “I want what they have?” Can we call others to a different way of life, not necessarily with our words, but with our love? Can we love others as Jesus did? Can we speak love and light into the world, into people’s lives? Can we be prophets? Lastly, we are anointed as kings. What are kings called to do? Usually rule over others. We are called to rule over ourselves first and foremost. We are all responsible for making sure we are living our lives according to God’s laws. Most kings are called to rule over others, however, as Christians, we are called to servant leadership. A servant leader leads by serving others. In other words, servant leaders place the interests and needs of their followers ahead of their own self-interests and needs. Generally, they value the development of their followers, building their communities, acting authentically, and sharing power. Now that we know what each one of these means, hopefully, we can apply this to our everyday life. God has anointed us in our everyday tasks too. For instance, I was anointed to be a mother and a wife. That was where God called me and that is what He set me apart to do. Maybe you are anointed to be a doctor, a lawyer, a pharmacy tech, a garbage collector, a grandmother, a teacher, whatever it is, God has anointed you to do it. Your baptismal anointing is not meant to replace any of those other calls on your life. You are anointed to be a priest, prophet, and king in the life you are already living. Think about your day-to-day life, how can you incorporate sacrifice into your days? How can you be more of a prophet spreading the Lord’s Word in your daily lives? How can you be more of a servant leader right now, right where you are? The verse then goes on to say my cup overflows with blessings. This is also great imagery. I love to picture a teacup, as we grew up drinking tea in my family. Although I don’t picture a regular tea cup, the image I am getting is an English fancy tea cup from a china set. The tea is being poured into it with a steady stream and the cup is overflowing and running all over the table and even onto the floor. This is how many blessings God has for you. He wants to rain down blessings upon blessings on all of His children. Sometimes we get in the way of God’s blessings. Sometimes we don’t appreciate the blessings that we have so why would God give us more? Sometimes we find ourselves complaining about all that is going on in our lives instead of praising God and giving thanksgiving. God has ridiculous blessings for you. All you have to do is believe that and then praise God for any blessings, even if they are small. If you can be faithful to the small He will increase your blessings. He is a good, good Father! The ending of this verse is beautiful. “Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.” We had this word pursue the other day. I love that word. This verse is saying that God’s goodness and unfailing love will pursue us all the days of our lives. Isn’t that wonderful? We don’t have to chase after God, because He is already chasing after us. All we have to do is let ourselves be caught by God’s goodness and unfailing love. Unfailing love is not like any love we can find here on earth. It is an incredible love that knows no limits, that knows no boundaries. God’s love never leaves us. No matter how much we may try to run from it. No matter how much we try to reject it or send it back. No matter how much we might mess up. God’s unfailing love will pursue you every single day of your life. How incredible is that? And the very last part of the verse says, “I will live in the house of the Lord forever.” Yes, please! I want to live in the house of the Lord forever. I think we all do. It is so amazing to me that God has an open-door policy to heaven. All are welcome. Come as you are, in your broken and wounded state. You do not have to earn your way, you don’t have to do anything to get there. Jesus has earned you your right to be there. All you have to do is surrender to God and let Him help you, let Him give you the strength to follow Him. Following God is not always an easy road but it is a rewarding road and one that leads to spending eternity living in the house of the Lord. Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening today. Lord, we thank you for loving us like you do. We thank you for preparing us for a feast in the presence of our enemies. We thank you for the ridiculous blessings you want to give us and we are sorry if we get in your way of doing that. We thank you for making us priests, prophets, and kings and we ask for your help in discovering what that means for each one of us and how we can incorporate that anointing into our lives. We love you Lord and we can’t wait to live in your house forever! We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen! Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to bringing you another witness tomorrow. It will be an update from my friend Bruce. I have shared his story at least twice, and we have a new update coming tomorrow. Mentoring is tonight, so email me if you would like to check it out! Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day, and may the favor and grace of our Lord Jesus be upon you! Today’s Word from the Lord was received in April 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “Trust me. I know what I'm doing. I know that sometimes trust is like pulling yourself through an eye of a needle. Those are the times when you need to trust the most. Because that's when I loom the largest. I love you, my children. Trust me.” www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily life<a hr...

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Witness Wednesday #198 Healing & Men's March for Life

Feb 2500:08:01Tap to summarize

Today, I have two witnesses that I have heard about from friends over the last week. The first one is from my friend, who has been struggling with hearing loss. I did a witness about her last year also. She had a ringing in her ears, and she said it had gotten pretty bad. I reminded her that we were at Encounter School of Ministry, where they teach us and encourage us to pray over people for healing, and where we see a lot of healing. I prayed over her for healing that night, and then later in the night, two other people prayed over her, and there was no change. However, when she woke up the next morning, the ringing was 90% gone. Praise God! She said it was the quietest her mind had been in a long time. My friend also found out that she has a tumor in her ear. They said they are going to need to operate. The operation will leave her with permanent hearing loss. The last time she had her hearing tested, the intelligibility in that one ear was 39% when someone was yelling. That means that even when someone was yelling or speaking loudly into her ear, she could only understand 39% of what they were saying. We have been praying over her ear for over a year now. Besides the ringing that stopped, she had not seen much change. When she was on the way home from an Encounter School of Ministries event the other day, she felt something weird going on with her ear. It felt strange, and I don’t remember if she said she heard a noise in it or what. I do remember she said she felt like her hearing was suddenly improving. When she got home, she decided to test it out. We have learned in Encounter School of Ministry that often, the healing doesn’t come when the person is praying, but it comes when the person takes that leap of faith and tests it out to see if a healing has occurred. In order to test it, you would try to do something you couldn’t do before, or you would stop and evaluate the pain and see if it's less than it was before the prayer started. For my friend, she decided to put YouTube on her phone to a song that she didn't know the words to. She turned her volume all the way down until it was just one bar away from being on silent. She put the phone up to her ear and hit play. She could understand all of the words. Even the words in the commercial at the beginning. When she called me to tell me, she had the phone up to that ear that previously wasn't able to hear very much at all. In the past, when talking on the phone, she would have to have the phone to the other ear in order to hear the person on the other line. Praise God! He is so good! My friend's hearing is not perfect. It's not back to normal. And that's OK, she's happy with the healing that God has done so far, and she knows and has faith that God's not done yet! Thank you, Jesus! The next one I heard was at the prayer group last week. Recently, there was a Men’s March for Life in Boston. It was peaceful; they were just walking the streets with signs in support of saving babies from abortion. Here is what the woman said. Well, a dear friend of mine went on the walk and took her 11-year-old son. He was wearing a black suit and carrying a sign the whole way saying, Why should we kill our babies? They encountered resistance. There were hate-filled faces all around them. There were knives. There were guns. There were people being thrown to the ground. There were people throwing urine-filled balloons. It was awful. There were police around, but the police couldn’t keep up with the number of people who were against the march. The people who were marching were scared for their safety. My friend's son got hit with one of these urine-filled balloons. So my friend turned to her little son, who is, like her, very anointed, and said, What do we do? He said, We call on Michael. He was, of course, talking about Saint Michael the Archangel. He started yelling, Michael! And people all around started chanting, Michael! And they were already doing the rosary. Some people kept on saying, Mother Mary, you're going to help us. As many were calling out to Michael, there was a flash overhead. There was a flash. And then there were sparks of light; people were getting out their cameras to document the flash of light and the sparks. They knew St. Michael had heard their calls and came to answer them. The next thing they knew, they were completely surrounded by a blockade of military-looking police. The police were standing shoulder to shoulder, and there were enough of them to surround everyone marching in the parade. The march was able to continue because everyone now felt safe, and there were suddenly enough people to protect them. Thank you, St.Michael. I'm not saying these were angel warriors because the report online said that the police did call for reinforcements. But it was a miracle that they were immediately after the flash in the sky and the sparks. Thank you to both of my friends for sharing their miracles with me so I could share them with you! I am so grateful, especially with this being Thanksgiving week, for all the healing that God is doing in our world. I am grateful for all the miraculous ways He provides and protects His children. Thank you, Lord! I am also grateful for each and every one of you who gives your time to listen to this podcast. It truly means the world to me that I get to spend each morning with you. I pray for those of you in America that you have an amazing Thanksgiving weekend. For those of you not in America, I pray you have an amazing weekend, too! I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace

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Still Waters Psalm 23 (Part 2) Replay

Feb 2400:09:54Tap to summarize

Still Waters Psalm 23 (Part 2) The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.” I only really talked about the first few lines of this Psalm in my last episode and there are some other powerful parts to this Psalm. I want to make sure I go through the whole thing so when you are using it against your anxiety you can understand all the various aspects of it. Today I want to look at the very next line. “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” I was attending a conference once, and the speaker mentioned this verse. It was not a spiritual conference, so when I heard it, I figured it was a sign that I should talk about it. The verse says though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. This is hard. It seems like there is so much to fear these days. There is fear surrounding these elections. There is fear surrounding the future of our country. There is fear surrounding so many things. When we read this scripture we wonder how it is possible to fear no evil. How is it possible to fear no evil when you are surrounded by death, or the possibility of death? If you read on it says “for thou are with me; they rod and thy staff they comfort me.” God is with us, we all know this, we repeat this and tell others this, but do we really believe this? Do you believe that God is right there with you when you are in the valleys? We all know how all-powerful God is, so if we believe that He is there with us, it makes sense that we wouldn’t be afraid. How could we be afraid when He is there? He is the Almighty One. So, why do we have so much fear? Are we afraid that He won’t help us? Are we afraid He won’t show up? Are we afraid to die? What is it that we have been so afraid of? Maybe you find yourself worried about a lot of things. Maybe you worry every time there is a storm coming. Maybe you worry about your finances. Maybe you worry about your children, parents, siblings, or spouse. Worry may be a part of your everyday life. I am hoping to change that. It probably won’t change overnight, and it may not be easy, but it is possible. The bible mentions “fear not” 365 times. This is definitely something that God wants us to get. I will be honest, I didn’t get the last part of this verse. “Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” I looked up the meaning of this because I wondered if there was something that I was missing. I am glad I did because there is a great article called “Understanding Psalm 23: What Does the Staff and Rod Actually Mean? I put a link in the show notes so you can read the whole article. I highly suggest it as it is good. I will not retell the article; I will just touch upon the few descriptions of the rod and the staff. First, the author says that the staff symbolizes rest, as shepherds used to lean on their staff for rest. Next, the staff can symbolize rescue because shepherds used to use their staff to rescue sheep from the thick brush. Third, the staff can symbolize a guide as the shepherd used it to guide sheep across open fields. This all seems to make a lot of sense to me. It seems like we are much happier and less afraid when we are able to just rest in the Lord. To just sit with Him and turn over all of our worries and fears to Him. Also, God rescues us from difficult situations when we need Him. He doesn’t abandon us. He is always there for us in good times and in bad. Lastly, He is definitely our Guide. How many times have we needed God to guide us through the rough parts of our lives? We need Him as a guide for the easy parts as well. The article goes on to say that Rod is Our Protection. When shepherds were herding sheep they used their rods to defend against anything that wanted to attack the sheep. This is what God does for us. He protects us from our enemies. The Rod is also a symbol of Love. The shepherds used to use their rods to count the sheep. You might be wondering how this is a symbol of Love. This is an act of love because the shepherd is making sure that all of his sheep are present and accounted for. God is doing the same thing for us. He does not want a single one of His sheep to get lost. He loves us too much. Now that I understand what the words rod and staff mean in the context of this verse and in the time that it was written, I feel as though I understand the verse as a whole better now. I can’t believe how much the Lord is saying to us with just a short sentence or two. I am also in awe, sometimes thinking about how much God loves us. It amazes me how He can be all these things for us, for each and every one of us. Understanding that His staff is our guide, rescue, and rest, and that his rod is our protection and love helps me understand why we should have no fear. We don’t need fear when we realize all that He has already done for us. We don’t need to fear when he is there to protect us, guide us, and rescue us. He has got us. We can rest in the knowledge that His staff and His rod are enough for us. They are more than enough for us. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” Is it any different hearing that verse again after hearing the description of the rod and the staff? Does it make you want to trust in the Lord more? Does it help you fear a little less? I hope that it has helped. I hope that we can all get to a place where we don’t have so much fear. It is so freeing when you can let go of your fears and learn to lean into and trust God. You won’t regret it. I will leave you with Matthew 6:27 to think about. “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” Dear Heavenly Father, I ask that you bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, we ask that you help us to have no fear in times of trouble. We ask that you help us to feel loved. Lord, I ask that you help all those who are feeling anxious or worried today and every day. Help them to hand their worry over to you and not take it back again. We thank you, Lord, for guiding us through our lives. We thank you for protecting us and for being our place of rest. Lord, we thank you for rescuing us every single time we need you to. You are the best! We love you, Lord, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen. Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day, and may the grace and favor of our Lord Jesus Christ be upon you! Today’s Word from the Lord was received in April 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “Trust me. I am worthy of your trust. I gave all for you because I loved you. I do not abandon my children. Whatever comes your way, remember I'm there.” www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace

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All episodes

“He Is” Series Day #1 Elohim (God as Creator)

Be Wise With Your Words

Stand in the Breach

Witness Wednesday #199 Catherine D.

We Have Been Set Free (replay)

Jesus Leaves the 99 for the 1

Don’t Worry, I Will Explain It (Replay)

Still Waters Psalm 23 (Part 3) Replay

Witness Wednesday #198 Healing & Men's March for Life

Still Waters Psalm 23 (Part 2) Replay

Walk Boldly With Jesus

All episodes

“He Is” Series Day #1 Elohim (God as Creator)

Be Wise With Your Words

Stand in the Breach

Witness Wednesday #199 Catherine D.

We Have Been Set Free (replay)

Jesus Leaves the 99 for the 1

Don’t Worry, I Will Explain It (Replay)

Still Waters Psalm 23 (Part 3) Replay

Witness Wednesday #198 Healing & Men's March for Life

Still Waters Psalm 23 (Part 2) Replay