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I’m not gonna lie and say giants don’t exist.

I’m not gonna lie and say giants don’t exist. They do. I’m not gonna tell you your giant is insignificant, because it might be the scariest thing you’ve ever faced.

Giants don’t back down, you know?

When the Israelites were at war with the Philistines, the Philistines sent Goliath, a 9’9” behemoth of a man to taunt them. There was a lot at stake - if the Israelites could kill him, they’d win the war and the Philistines would become their servants. If they didn’t win? Well, they’d become servants themselves.

Goliath didn’t just challenge them once. He did every day, for forty days, and the Israelites were scared. Not just, “Ooooo, the big scary man said mean words.” Scared to the point their entire ARMY was immobilized. 1 Samuel 17:24 says, “whenever the Israelites saw him they fled in great fear.”

But David, a young man who wasn’t even IN the army, stepped up to the plate. He said to Goliath, “This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head... the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s.”

The giant that’s in your way today? How long has he been taunting you? Forty hours? Forty days? Forty YEARS? See the thing is, the Israelites were never going to win as long as they fought Goliath with their own might. But as soon as David stepped in and said, “You come against me with big weapons, but I come against YOU in the name of the LordAlmighty” the battle was already done. He slayed that giant, with only a single rock. it didn’t matter what weapon his enemy was holding, because the battle belonged to the Lord.

So whatever you’re facing today remember that big weapons mean nothing against a mighty God.

You can do it. He’s got you. Pick your rock and let’s go.

Cheering for you,
Karen

A few months ago, I discovered an impromptu overni

A few months ago, I discovered an impromptu overnight freeze left my birdbath shattered. Picking up the broken glass from the birdbath has been on my list of things to do, just not number one - until this morning.

I walked over to that part of the garden in and discovered the climbing mini roses we’d planted last year were finally in bloom! They are so adorable. The only problem is, they aren’t climbing up the trellis! They’d leeched over the leaves of the bush next door!

The Bible reminds us over and over to beware of the company we keep. In the book of Numbers, Moses’ cousin Korah rallied Dathan and Abiram along with 250 other prominent Israelite leaders to revolt again Moses and Aaron. Korah led other Levites (priests) to disagree with having Moses and Aaron as their leader. Rather than trust that God knew what He was doing when He chose Moses, they sided with Korah.

Numbers 16:5-7 tells us that Moses said, “You know what? Maybe you’re right. Let God decide.”

“Then he said to Korah and all his followers, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will reveal who belongs to him, who is set apart, and the one he will let come near him. He will let the one he chooses come near him. Korah, you and all your followers are to do this: take firepans, and tomorrow place fire in them and put incense on them before the Lord. Then the man the Lordchooses will be the one who is set apart.”

But rather than ask forgiveness these men - Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, the 250 prominent leaders AND their families stayed firm in their rebellion and suffered the consequences. The chapter ends with their demise, as “the ground beneath them split open. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, all Korah’s people,and all their possessions. They went down alive into Sheol with all that belonged to them. The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the assembly. “

Each of us has influence. The question is are we using it to lead others to Christ, like Moses, or to lead them astray like Korah?

Cheering for you,
Karen
#hopewriters #devotional #microblogger #womenoftheword

Do you ever have the most seemingly random thought

Do you ever have the most seemingly random thoughts going on in your head?

This past week I had a birthday, and last night as I got into bed I thanked the Lord for allowing me another year... then I got to asking myself, did I spend my year wisely? Is the Lord glad He gave me another year on the Earth, or is He up there shaking his head? I don’t know the plans He has for the next year but He does.

And my next thought? Thank you, Lord for all the times you didn’t turn me into salt.

You know Lot’s wife, right? In Genesis 19, we’re told the story of Abraham’s nephew, Lot. Back in Genesis 13, Lot and Abraham had fled Egypt together and traveled together toward Bethel until they split up for the good of their households. One went east, one went west. Lot chose to go east, toward Sodom and Gomorrah. But in chapter 19, Sodom and Gomorrah had become such a wicked place that the Lord set to destroy the entire place. Two angels were with Lot and told him to take his wife, daughters, and their husband and flee, immediately.

Run, don’t walk, and don’t look back.

Well they ran... all except Lot’s wife. She stopped for a minute to look back. That brief period was long enough to turn her into a pillar of salt.

If I had to flee in a moment’s notice I can guarantee my first thoughts would be, “Oh wait, let me go back, I forgot to get my...”

Y’all, I don’t know about you, but I can think of dozens of times I’ve “looked back” at my personal Sodom and Gomorrahs. Sometimes wishing I could go back. Sometimes just too slow in doing what God asks of me. Sometimes because I’m not sure I’ve heard my next task right. Sometimes to remind myself that the way ahead is better. But I HAVE looked back.

And that led to the last thought I can remember for the night: Thank you, Lord for all the times you COULD have turned me into a pillar of salt and DIDN’T

May we remember to keep our eyes on Him, and not on the Sodom and Gomorrahs.

Cheering for you,
Karen

#hopewriters #womenoftheword #devotional #dontlookback #youdontlivethereanymore #lotswife

New on the playlist this week, Found by Chris Renz

New on the playlist this week, Found by Chris Renzema. Even my teenager added it to her list. 🤣😂 (That’s how you know it’s good!) Click the link on my story - right under my name - to listen to the entire list, or search my name in Spotify!
#NewMusicMonday #worshipmusic #takemetochurch

Do you ever have those days when you fully expect

Do you ever have those days when you fully expect things to run like a finely oiled machine... except they don’t? Of course you do. Like when you get the bright idea to wash the placemats, and put them in the dryer with the clothes you need to wear THIS MORNING. And then you open the dryer door and find the placemats have broken down into the human equivalent of an ugly cry, and the clothes you need to put on and wear out the door never... actually... got... DRY.

Hey guess what? It’s gonna be ok. You’re gonna lose a few placemats in the game of life and even have to untangle the hot mess they created. You might have to put on the semi-dry pants and get out the door, but you’ll be just fine.

Remember, NOTHING can stop God’s plan for your life (Isaiah 14:27). Just pick up and keep going. He’s got you.

Cheering for you,
Karen

“For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?” ~ From Isaiah 14:27, a chapter on the future destruction of Babylon and how God intended to redeem Israel.

#hopewriters #devotional #encouragement #womenoftheword #bible #oops #laundryday

My Bible reading this week had me in Matthew 28. T

My Bible reading this week had me in Matthew 28. The resurrection of Jesus. Mary Magdalene and Jesus’ mother Mary had come to visit His tomb.

The angel of the Lord said to them, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

Why would Jesus reveal Himself to the women first? Why didn’t he go straight to the disciples’ house?

According to the Mishnah (m. Ned 11) - the first major written collection of Jewish oral tradition dating back to at least the 3rd century AD - a woman’s testimony in court was considered suspect or questionable. It was of less value than a man’s testimony. Why would the angel of the Lord choose to reveal the news of Jesus’ resurrection to women, and subsequently Jesus himself meeting them on the road, knowing people may not believe them?

Here’s what I know: He meets those who are looking for Him. I think these broken-hearted women longed to be closer to Jesus, even in His death, so they sought Him with their whole (but broken) hearts.

Even today the promise given in Jeremiah 29:13 still stands. “You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.”

The beauty of the cross is that we don’t have to visit a tomb to be near Jesus. Pastor Mark Altrogge explains it like this, “To seek the Lord means to turn to God, to desire to be in a relationship with him, and to come into his presence for fulfillment, strength and help.” Because of the cross, we can seek the Lord and meet with Him wherever we are. Living room. Closet. Bed. Car. Wherever and *however* you are, He is waiting for you.

During the “Great Big Southern Snowstorm of 2021

During the “Great Big Southern Snowstorm of 2021,” my daughter and I were driving home from a sporting event. We ended up driving straight into the storm, and had to turn back the way we came because the roads were impassable. The safest choice for us was to wait the remainder of the storm out in a hotel.

From our room we watched as this truck driver tried to navigate the snow and ice, slipping and sliding until the trailer eventually crashed down onto the edge of the building. It stayed in this same spot for several days while various tow trucks tried to get it standing upright.

I’m sure the truck driver, had he known the outcome, would have chosen a different route.

We can’t always see what’s up ahead past the curve though, can we? We often don’t recognize we’ve crashed into a building until we feel the grinding of metal on metal.

My sweet friend, take heart. There is one who sees when you take the wrong turn or make the treacherous move, and wants to set you back up on solid ground. The Psalmist says this of God in Psalm 40:2, “He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.”

Getting ourselves into awful situations is never fun, but how encouraging is it to know that God sees the pickle you’re in, and is the steady hand you need to set you back upright again? He never falters, never slips on the ice, never loses His footing... or, His grasp on us.

Cheering for you,
Karen

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