Whatever happened to writing letters to each other? They call it ‘snail mail’ these days. Why? Because it’s a slow form of communication? In this instant society we live in these days, we want to speak, make a statement, and immediately want a response back.

I’m sure if you asked most people of the current generation if they knew what a ‘pen pal’ was, they would look at you like you had a third eyeball. After the invention of ink for a quill pen and led for pencils, people wrote letters and the mail man delivered them. This was their social media, lol…

I can remember writing letters to my mom when I moved away and started a family. Yes, we could call each other and talk on the phone, but with the cost of a long distance phone call, that could become expensive. I can also remember the anticipation when I opened the mailbox and there was a letter from her. I would find a quiet place and read every word, slowly, meditating on her face and watching her in my mind write the letter.

What if we could get the same passion in anticipation of reading the Bible? After all, the Bible is God’s love letter to us.

The Bible is full of nourishment, spiritual food to keep us healthy. Take time to read it today.

What one change can you make to your normal morning or evening routine that will create time to read and meditate on God’s word?

Psalm 119:103 - “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”

Panic is a sudden uncontrollable fear or anxiety, often causing wildly unthinking behavior.

Have you ever been at home or in a building, when all of a sudden, the fire alarm went off unexpectantly?  Did it make you jump in fear?  Could you feel every beat of your heart at that very minute?

There are many factors that could induce a panic attack, but the underlying issue is fear.  Panic is fear gone wild.  The Bible doesn’t specifically call these situations panic attacks, but it does describe what a panic attack feels like in Psalm 44:4-6 – “My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen upon me.  Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me.”

A key component in overcoming panic attacks is to normalize them.  Recognize that they are not life-threatening and that God is bigger than the fear.  If we let fear consume us and allow worry to set in, it’s inevitable that an attack will come.

Jesus also says in Matthew 10:28, “do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.”

If you’re a Christian, been saved by God’s Son, then you know to trust in God when difficult things happen in life.  I can’t explain sometimes when I’m going through a challenging situation why I have a calmness within me. What I can explain is that I first go to God in prayer.  Give Him my burdens.  Allow Him to take away the fear.  And I don’t forget those times when they have passed.  I brag on God to others about how He got me through it. 

Remember everything ends.  This is a season of life.  God is good and His mercy and love endures forever.  He promises that!

How’s your faith today?  Is it grounded in God’s truth?  Is it stronger today than yesterday?  Are you using the spiritual muscles you have and working them daily?

Faith in God is listed as one of the fundamental teachings of Scripture.  Without faith, it is impossible to please God.

Faith has many definitions if you start looking in dictionaries. Faith in God means to trust and believe that what God says is true, is true.  It also means that this faith is present, even when we don’t see the proof of the promise yet.

If you’re a child of God, it’s this same faith that saved you.  As you grow with God, read His word and develop a relationship with Him, your faith will grow.

I hope all of the above is true of you.  There are also faith breakers out there.  People who say they believe in God, but there’s no proof of it.  They have temporal faith at best.

Don’t be a faith breaker.  Be a faith builder.  Build your foundation on God and watch your life flourish. 

Ask God for more faith, really, ask Him.  Study what the Bible reveals about faith and live by faith.  Put into practice what you read in the Bible.

Hebrews 11:6 – “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.”

Have you ever been on a guided tour?  Whether it’s a tour of a museum or a guided hike, the concepts are the same.  The guide is the expert in whichever the case may be.  He/she knows the landscape.  They know the trails by heart.  They know the history of the area and can answer any questions on anything.

We, who are Christians, also have a personal guide, every day.  This guide is the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is our compass that guides us each day, starting out on the right trail.  We will have starts and stops along the journey in life, but without the Holy Spirit, we would get lost.  We would lose direction.  We would find ourselves on a path we hadn’t intended to walk on.

This Holy Spirit is a gift to all of those who believe in Jesus and have repented.  It’s our teacher, releasing knowledge to those of us who want to get somewhere in life. 

Quit wandering around under your own cognition.  You’ll only end up on a detour that couldn’t be avoided or on the wrong trail, leading to destruction.

You must seek out the Holy Spirit.  It doesn’t just come to you suddenly, like requesting a personal guide on your hiking trip. 

The other amazing and wonderful thing about the Holy Spirit is once you have it, you’ll never lose it.  It will always be there when you need it.

Get your personal guide to life today.  The Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:38 – “And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

As described by someone in church Sunday, there are 3 major sins of wealth. They are greed, hoarding and covetousness.

Greed is a strong and selfish desire to have more of something. Usually this is in the form of money or power. As a Christian, we are warned about storing up riches in this world. We also know that everything temporary, including money, will be destroyed some day. Greed traps people and brings ruin and destruction. They feel they can never have enough money.

Hoarding seems to be linked with anxiety or with some type of loss. People have a chronic desire to acquire large amounts of things and have an inability to discard them.

Covetousness is described as when you want something that belongs or belonged to someone else.

All three of the sins above are forbidden if you want to enter the kingdom of heaven. That’s not something I made up, it’s in the Bible.

So why do people do it? Possibly selfish reasons. You can’t be a selfish person and a Christian. It’s not in the rule book (Bible).

“Give to the needy and the poor,” Jesus said.

Rich or poor, we all have the same responsibility. We must keep our priorities straight. We must commit our work to the Lord. We must be good and faithful servants.

It also says in Matthew 19:24, “that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

Understand that whatever you have belongs to God.

1 Timothy 6:10 - “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

Have you ever read the front of a “Miracle Grow” box? First of all, it’s plant food. Nourishment for plants. It instantly feeds to grow bigger, more beautiful plants. Get beautiful results in just weeks!

In a Christian world, ‘miracle grow’ is a combination of many things. The first and most important nutrient we need is Jesus. Our nourishment boost in growing is the Bible. But one of the fundamental components for us to grow in our faith is our continuing consistent relationship with Christ. If we intend on getting to be the best ‘child of God’ we can, we must maintain this ‘miracle grow’ of ingredients.

What’s your “Miracle Grow?” Do you have a relationship with God? Do you surround yourself with other believers? Do you encourage others growing with you? Are you following Christ and believing that He has a place for you in Heaven? That’s your Miracle Grow!

Get grounded in Christ today. Consume the word of God. Grow more beautiful as a person as you let God fight your battles, removing the weeds in your life and fulfilling your life into what He’s designed you to be. A beautiful child of God.

Luke 16:31 - “He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”

There was a guy (let’s call him John) who just moved to a new house with his family and as he was inspecting the landscaping, he noticed a tree in the corner of the yard. Even though it was one of the more matured trees in the yard, it was brown, and to him, looked dead.

So, since he knew very little about trees and how to take care of them, he called the local landscaper. The landscaper came and as they were viewing the lawn, John pointed out the ‘dead’ tree. As the landscaper surveyed the tree, he kind of chuckled to himself. He said, “this tree’s not dead, it’s just not in season.”

Isn’t this like some Christians? Maybe they are a new Christian or maybe they’ve been a Christian for a very long time, and have turned away from their faith. Does this mean that if you’re not practicing what you preach that you’re not a Christian? Not necessarily.

Persevering faith is the type of faith required for salvation. Some, including me, find ourselves having false trust in God when things are going well. Authentic faith is a faith that endures, no matter what you’re going through; no matter what season you’re in.

This trust or confidence that we have in God is built up over time as He proves Himself faithful time and time again.

How’s your outward appearance as a Christian? Do people look at you and see someone who has little life left in them? Do they look at you and wonder if you are a Christian?

Stand tall, grounded in God’s word, no matter what season of life you’re in.

If you believe in Jesus, the One who died for you, you will always be alive!

John 11:25 - “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live.”

There is a difference between listening and hearing.  You may be listening to what someone is saying, but are you really tuned in at what they’re trying to tell you?

Listening, by definition, is the ability to accurately receive and interpret messages in the communication process.  It’s key to effective communication between people.

Listening means you hear what the person isn’t saying.  This is called empathy.

When you have empathy for someone, you’re listening without interruption.  You’re listening for fears and feelings.

Biblically speaking, true empathy is the feeling of fully participating in the suffering of another.  It also speaks in the bible about how we should cast all our cares upon God.  Because He cares for us.  God is the leader in the empathy department.

Take time to truly listen to someone’s story today.  Show them you care.  Listen for what they’re not telling you.

Empathy is understanding the emotions, situations or attitudes of another person.  Start this process by loving them.

Take time to listen today.

Romans 15:2 – “Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.”