BIG Life Devotional | Daily Devotional for Women

There are 3 pieces of God’s armor we are to “put on”. 1. The belt of truth. 2. The breastplate of righteousness. 3. The shoes of peace. In getting dressed for the unseen spiritual battle, the final thing we put on are our shoes. And think about it, you’re not ready to leave if you don’t have your shoes on. My husband knows I’m not really walking out the door if my shoes aren’t on. My shoes are the sign I’m really ready and we’re going … until then, I’m not really going anywhere. God has places for you to go. A stand you are to take. Purposes you are to fulfill. Good plans you are to walk in. But, without your shoes, you’re not really ready to go with him. The soldier’s shoes were a valuable piece of their armor. Remember in these days, they were foot soldiers. They weren’t riding around in tanks and helicopters. They were marching in, climbing up, standing ground. In military battles of these days, the army who had the best battle shoes was set apart. There’s a story of an army who won countless victories because they put nails in their shoes, creating the first cleats. They could climb what no other army could climb. As women, we know shoes make or break the outfit – but in battle, shoes can make or break the victory. So Paul says in Ephesians 6:15, “For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.” Without your shoes, you’re not ready. With the wrong shoes, you’re not winning. Barefoot, you’re injured. The shoes in the Armor of God are specifically the PEACE that comes from the Good News. Sounds a little fruity doesn’t it? That’s sweet – but does it really mean anything to you? I’ll be honest – that just never meant anything to me at all – until today. Until I really studied what Paul is saying. Now I get it, and I’m so excited to share it with you. Peace – what’s your image of God’s peace? Someone once asked 2 very famous painters to each paint a picture of God’s peace. One painted the image of a beautiful, calm, serene lake in the most peaceful setting you could imagine. It’s basically where I am right now – North Italy’s Dolomite mountains. The lakes here are the deepest, calmest blue, fully protected by stunning mountains that reach straight up in the sky. Such calm. Such peace. That was one artist’s painting. But the other artist paints the ocean. Not calm water, but the ocean in a violent storm. Massive waves crashing in the fierce winds. Lightening flashing in the sky. And in the very bottom corner of the painting was a small bird, totally protected from the storm, standing on a rock with a solitary beam of light shining on it. If there was a soundtrack to the painting it was the bird singing his completely unbothered song of perfect peace in the midst of that raging storm. Both are pictures of peace. One is a picture of peaceful circumstances – the other is a picture of the power of God’s peace. God doesn’t pr

Part of your armor against the ploys of the enemy is a bulletproof vest for your heart. If Satan can twist your heart, if he can harden your heart, if he can damage your heart, then he renders you ineffective. Nobody looks at a cynical, irritable, negative, grouchy Christian and says, ‘wow, I gotta have what she has.’ Yip – ineffective! Zero impact for Jesus. Saved but not set apart for good works. For these reasons you are given the breastplate of righteousness, the bulletproof vest for your heart. If you feel righteous, there’s a problem. You’re not. There’s nothing you could ever do to make yourself clean enough, good enough, or holy enough to be considered righteous in our perfect God’s sight. And this is exactly why Jesus was required. Only he could make you righteous. His righteousness is imparted to you. His name is stamped on your account of debts and you’re forever marked as “GOOD ENOUGH”. Not because of what you’ve done, but because of what Jesus did for you. Righteous – this means to be free from guilt or sin. Not without guilt or sin, but free from it. No longer bound by it. No longer in debt to it. No longer victim to it, but FREE from it. And the righteousness of Jesus has now empowered you to live better. Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:14, “Put on the breastplate of righteousness.” Other translations call it the “body armor of God’s righteousness” or “God’s approval as your breastplate.” TPT says, “Put on holiness as the protective armor that covers your heart.” Here’s what we know – without this right standing, without God’s approval, our most vital organs are completely vulnerable. The chest shot is the easiest shot and without God’s covering, we will go down in the battle against our enemy. God did for us what we could never do for ourselves. No amount of good works, no amount of changed habits, no amount of perfectly met goals, nothing we could possibly do would make us righteous. “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”, Romans 3:23. That includes you on your worst days and you on your best days. So here’s what God did – he stepped in and bridged the gap where we fell short of his glory. He bridged that gap with a cross. A literal cross where Jesus hung – and that cross allows us to cross over from forever not good enough no matter what we do, to forever good enough because of what was done for us. When you wear that as your bulletproof vest, the flaming arrows of the enemy just bounce right off. Oh, he’ll still shoot them out you, but ping ping ping, they just bounce. Your heart is untouched when you fully know the stamp of Christ’s full approval on you. But … there’s one little problem. The devil and his demons know full well how unworthy of this bulletproof vest of righteousness you feel when you aren’t living right. It’s hard to put on our divinely given righteousness when deep down we know darn good and well we’re not living right. When we engage in si

When you really know about the unseen spiritual battle happening, you then have a choice … stand with God in the battle, or sit down and dismiss yourself from it. Sadly, most of us either refuse to acknowledge the battle happening at all – or – we refuse to allow our self-centered little lives to be bothered with it. But the truth is, we are bothered by it, continually. Every single family has wounds from a spiritual battle. God’s word calls us to know about it and then do something about it. Ephesians 6:13, “Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.” What is this time of evil? You can assume it’s a future time that may not even impact your life, but I encourage you to consider the time of evil is anytime the enemy zeroes in on you. Remember, the devil is like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. His plan is sure: Kill, steal and destroy. If you are without the supernatural infusion of God’s strength that comes through a connection with Jesus, and if you are without the full armor of God, you won’t be able to stand up against the enemy’s attack. There is a battle. It’s real. And my friends, it’s personal. Have you ever felt like the devil just had your number? Like his attacks were so personal and so direct? Yeah – well they are! As real as God’s good plans are for you, the devil’s bad plans for you are real too. Yes, God sends his angels to protect you, but Satan sends his demons to attack you. No, I don’t like it, but that doesn’t change the battle. What changes the battle is believing what God’s word tells me and receiving everything he offers me. He offers me supernatural strength for his power to flow in me and through me. How? Through connection and relationship with Jesus. Then, he offers me detailed pieces of armor for the battle against evil. But it’s always up to me whether or not I put on the armor. It’s up to you to either put on the armor, or not. And if you don’t, you are vulnerable. When the time of evil comes and the enemy zeros in on you, he’ll know you’re like a sitting duck. If your family is unprotected, it’s time you realize it and change that! God has armor for you, and the armor is guaranteed to protect you from the spiritual battle happening in the unseen … but it’s up to you to put it on! Some of us have all our armor piled up in a corner collecting dust, while we wonder why life is so darn hard. Why does this stuff just keep happening? Maybe, you’ve been sitting when you should have been standing with God. Maybe you’ve been fighting with your own power and you’re 100% outmatched by powers greater than you. Maybe you’ve picked up a couple pieces or armor here and there, but you don’t know how to use it so you’re a dangerous disaster with weapons you’re throwing around. The enemy is after you and you have to be able to resist him. If you can’t r

Yesterday we studied the importance of becoming strong in the Lord before we try to armor up for battle against our enemy, the devil. Again, what good is the best armor in the world if the soldier has no strength to stand? God is strong and he wants his girl strong. God is strong and he’s not raising weak daughters. Remember, how do you gain this strength? By supernatural infusion! It’s our CONNECTION with Jesus that allows God’s strength and power to flow in and through us. Now, the next 2 verses in Ephesians 6. Verses 11 & 12, “Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” Spending time with Jesus and growing in your relationship with him through connection then makes us ready for God’s armor. Piece by piece, we will put it all on. But don’t miss this – you are in a battle you cannot see, but you absolutely feel. Some of the pain you’re carrying didn’t start with a person – it started with a battle you couldn’t see. All those wounds you carry in this life of struggles, hardships, broken relationships … that’s proof of the unseen battle. Hurt people hurt people – but behind a lot of hurt people is a deeper enemy who has been wounding them for a long time. The devil and his demons have created a whole lot of hurt people who are now making real messes in real life. You see that mess, but you haven’t see the real battle happening creating those messes. Colossians 1:16 tells us, “God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see.” It’s foolish for us to deny the reality of all things just because we can’t see them. I’m a strong 7 on the enneagram. I avoid all things negative, all darkness and all threats. I have a tendency to stick my head in the sand and pretend everything is okay. That makes me an incredibly fun person to be around … and potentially oblivious to the true threats happening on the daily. But God has made me aware of these things through personal encounters with the miraculous as well as the darkness. I’ve witnessed the hand of God and I’ve experienced the presence of evil. I’ve spent over 2000 episodes of this podcast generally avoiding the topic of evil, but what good does that do you when you’re in a real spiritual battle with the unseen? I’ve avoided talking about evil for a long time – but avoidance doesn’t make it less real. Scripture doesn’t just acknowledge a spiritual world – it shows us active engagement on all sides. With God and with the devil. With angels and with demons. The Bible makes it clear that there is a real interaction between us and God. God promises when we draw near to him, he will draw near to us. (James 4:8). God says, “

Ephesians 6:10, “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” This comes BEFORE you put on the armor in verses 11-17. Putting even the best armor on a weak soldier does no good in the battle. The soldier must be strong to use the armor. Maybe you’re weak right now – girl you don’t need heavy armor – first you need to be strengthened. How do we gain this strength? “Be strong IN the Lord and in his mighty power.” IN THE LORD. Strength comes IN union with God. The original greek used a passive verb literally meaning “be strengthen by someone else”. We are strengthened by God, not by ourselves. If we run into battle without HIS strength, we will lose. If we are strong but without God’s armor, we will be defeated. We must have his strength AND his armor. But his strength comes FIRST. Before we are given weapons to fight, we must gain strength and learn how to use our weapons. (Soldiers in basic training). We are called on to actively stand against the enemy, but we are never expected to do so in our own strength—that would be suicidal. “Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.” This is a divine-human partnership. Not for a moment are we to fight the devil with our own ideas, our money, our strong will, or our own talents. Let’s look at this scripture in different translations (Ephesians 6:10) • MSG – God is strong and he wants YOU strong. • TPT – Be supernaturally infused with strength through your life-union with the Lord Jesus. Stand victorious with the force of his explosive power flowing in and through you. Think about an infusion. An infusion is the delivery of fluids, medications or blood from an OUTSIDE source, flowing directly into a person’s bloodstream through an IV. The IV is the connection allowing the flow. Without the IV, there is no connection and there is no flow. No flow, no infusion of what is needed. God’s word is telling us WE MUST HAVE A CONNECTION TO BE INFUSED BY HIS STRENGTH. That connection is our relationship with Jesus Christ. As we connect with Jesus, we are infused with God’s supernatural strength flowing in us and through us. We don’t generate that strength, it is divinely infused strength. Spiritual power through connection. Now, with that image, read Ephesian 6:10 TPT again, “Be supernaturally infused with strength through your life-union with the Lord Jesus. Stand victorious with the force of his explosive power flowing in and through you.” (See yourself hooked up to an IV receiving everything you need just flowing into you from an outside source. Strength, healing, power. Receive that!) Jeusus assures us in John 16:33 that, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. BUT TAKE HEART, BECUASE I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD.” That’s the power of Jesus and that’s the power that flows through you when you are connected to him and infused by God’s strength! Will there still be problems? Yes – and here’s why – bec

Remember how yesterday we talked about Jesus and Peter needing to pay their taxes, and Jesus tells Peter to do what he’s always done – go fishing. But this would be a completely different fishing experience because this time, Peter was fishing with Jesus – and Jesus is the difference maker. God had perfectly aligned just the right fish with a valuable coin in its mouth to bite Peter’s hook. That coin was the extraordinary way Jesus would provide that day. Right place at the right time. Not an accident – absolutely miraculously divine. Well let me tell you what happened yesterday at retreat. We had taken a train from Venice to Lake Garda. Not the original train we had planned – a different train, so our arrival had been a little delayed. Once at the lake, we hopped on our private chartered boat for the most gorgeous adventure. About 1 hour into our adventure on the water, our captain drove the boat under the drawbridge of a castle where we docked for lunch. At the precise moment all 11 of us are stepping off our boat, a frantic mother comes running up screaming, “Have you seen my son?” She can barely put together a cohesive sentence. “My son, my son, he’s missing. 5 years old. My son.” All the BIG Life girls spring into action. We scatter in all directions, yelling, “5 year old boy. White shirt. Missing.” Most everyone we encounter responds with, “Haven’t seen him” then continues on with their day. But not my girls – we’re searching for this missing boy. It’s one thing to be missing your child in a crowd. It’s another thing to be missing your child in a crowd on the edge of deep water. We all felt the desperation. Eventually, far from where we had started, someone heard us and shouted back, “He’s here!” We found him. And he was in the complete opposite direction of where the mother had run. There was no way the boy would have heard his mom. There was no way she was going to find him with such a distance between them. BUT GOD. God perfectly placed a boat full of 11 BIG Life Girls from all the way around the world at precisely the right moment to step onto that dock, hear her desperate cry and spread out on a mission to find her boy. Watching that reunion left every one of us in tears. Right place, right time. We got to be part of Jesus’ extraordinary plans. We were the fish with the coin. Ordinary girls with a changed travel plan, stepping on shore later than scheduled, equipped with precisely what was needed. That, my friends, is how God works! Now, let’s go even further. Here in Venice we seem to be having encounters with hurting souls in need of the Jesus we carry. I bet it’s not just Venice – I bet it’s in your town too. Hurting souls – they’re absolutely everywhere. In need of what we have. But have you ever just gotten in your own way? Have you ever talked yourself right out of doing precisely what the Holy Spirit has prompted you to do? Have you ever felt way too ordinar

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to miss God when life feels ordinary? We pray for miracles, yet overlook the countless ways Heaven is already moving around us. We beg God for provision while standing in the middle of prayers he’s already answering. We ask him to open doors, never realizing the door in front of us was opened by his hand all along. Girl, God is working in your life right now. Not someday. Not when things finally change. Not only in dramatic, jaw-dropping moments. Right now. In the ordinary conversation. In the unexpected timing. In the strength you somehow found to keep going. In the opportunity that “just happened” to appear. In the little things you almost brushed past without noticing. Because our God specializes in taking ordinary things and adding his extra. And when God adds his extra to your ordinary … it becomes extraordinary. Our God is not limited to meet needs in ordinary ways, practical ways, or expected ways. Although often times his power meets us in disguise, so we are unaware of how miraculous it truly is. We experience split second perfect timing that was orchestrated in heaven just for us, but it seems ordinary so we don’t recognize it as miraculous. We walk into divinely opened doors which only God could open for us, but because it was open when we got there and required no extra effort on our part, we failed to notice God did that. But all around you, God has been working. Every day of your life, God’s power has been on miraculous display in everything that seems ordinary. You likely never even notice … until God shows up and does something extraordinary. God is our extra. He can take our ordinary lives that seem unimpressive and normal, and he can make them radically extraordinary. You bring your ordinary, and he brings his extra. Let that be your prayer today. God, take my ordinary and make it extraordinary. I need the extra only you can offer! One of Jesus’ extraordinary miracles on earth is recorded by Matthew in a single verse. None of the other gospels mention the miracle, so it seems to be less impressive than his other miracles. But I believe this miracle is precisely what you and I need today. We need to see Jesus’ extra meeting the ordinary. Peter has just confessed that Jesus is the son of God. He has placed his faith in Jesus, committed his life to him. Then Peter is approached by tax collectors asking about Jesus’ payment of taxes. Funny, even Jesus was pestered by tax collectors. And this is what Jesus tells Peter to do in Matthew 17:27, “Go to the sea, cast in a fishhook, and take the first fish that you catch. When you open its mouth you’ll find a coin. Take it and give it to them for me and you.” This is what you call extraordinary. This miracle hidden in a single verse in our bible shows us so much about our Jesus! 1. God works through the ordinary. <

Have you ever listened to someone tell a story and thought, “Please get to the point.” Some people include every detail, every side story, every random moment. And when they say, ‘To make a long story short,’ you know the story is about to get longer. Now, when it comes to your Bible, long stories are kept short. One encounter with Jesus would be an entire best selling book, and instead we read about it in a single paragraph. Many details are left out for the sake of not losing our attention. How sweet of God to get to the point and keep it short. However, when studying our Bible, it’s important to remember, there’s always more to the story than you read. You have to read between the lines and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the details and feelings that apply to you today. Don’t just speed read the story, slow down and imagine it fully. What you will find is a lesson that applies to you today. Let’s practice together today. Take a few minutes and read Acts 3. In my Bible, this story is titled, “Peter Heals a Crippled Beggar.” Acts 3: 1-10, “Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money.” “Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, ‘Look at us!’ The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. But Peter said ‘I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!’” “Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping and praising God, he went into to the Temple with them.”   Now, let’s dig deeper. Let’s read between the lines and find more in this story. First, get the visual. This gate outside the temple is not just an ordinary gate. It is the Beautiful Gate, literally. It is 75 feet tall, made of solid bronze. It is the massive entrance to the temple where people would gather to pray. And here this man sat at a beautiful gate while living a broken life. Isn’t it interesting that a broken man was laid daily at a gate called Beautiful? You can be surrounded by beauty and still feel broken inside. You can sit at the entrance of worship while silently carrying disappointment, pain and unanswered prayers. It was customary to give to those in need on the way to the temple, so the gate was the gathering place for anyone seeking spare change. But don’t you know, God is interested in more than spare change, he is interested in soul change! He wants to create a change in you that

Today in Venice, I will take my retreat girls to a church most tourists will never enter. Not because they can’t—but because they pass right by it. There’s no line wrapping around the building. No admission ticket. No crowds shuffling through with cameras. It’s not treated like a museum or a famous attraction. Years ago, when I was completely lost wandering the winding canals of Venice, I stumbled into this church by accident. And somehow… it captured my soul. It wasn’t the magnificent architecture. It wasn’t the intricate stonework or priceless paintings. But there is one thing inside this church I have never forgotten. One image that still grips my soul years later. It was one statue. A statue of the Archangel Michael. Michael stands there with a sword raised high, his foot crushing Satan beneath him. The imagery is unforgettable. Evil beneath his feet. Darkness defeated. Heaven victorious. Not fighting for victory – but FROM victory. Evil beneath him. Defeated Crushed. Satan rendered powerless. And every time I see it, I’m reminded: There is far more happening around us than what we can see. Thousands walk right past this church every day unaware of what’s inside. And I think we often live that way spiritually too—unaware of the unseen reality surrounding us. Heaven may be fighting while you think nothing is happening. Most people live only aware of the physical world—the meetings, the schedules, the disappointments, the conversations, the bills, the diagnoses, the delays. But Scripture pulls back the curtain and reveals another reality entirely: A spiritual battle raging in the unseen realms. This statue always brings me back to one story in Scripture about Daniel. In Daniel chapter 10, we find Daniel praying with no answer. Now remember, Daniel is a man who knew God. He’s the one who was in the den with lions all night and walked out without a scratch. But now we find Daniel praying and praying and nothing. He’s been praying for 3 weeks and Heaven has been silent. But heaven was not silent. Remember, heaven may be fighting while you think nothing is happening. In Daniel 10: 12-14, an angel finally appeared to Daniel and said: “Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the archangels, came to help me.” Daniel thought nothing was happening. But heaven had been responding SINCE DAY ONE. The answer was sent the FIRST day Daniel prayed. But for 21 days there was warfare in the heavenly realms over the delivery of that answer. While Daniel kept praying on earth, angels kept fighting in heaven. While Daniel prayed on earth, heaven fought on his behalf. I wonder how many times we quit praying because we assume nothing is happening. W

Basilica of Santa Margherita — the big church perched high above Cortona. From down in the valley, it almost seems to float above the town. This church is dedicated to Margaret of Cortona. Margaret is unlike any other saint you will likely ever hear about. Her story is fascinating and dramatic. If you were choosing the story of a woman to become a saint known for her faith in Jesus, this would not be the chosen one. But, thankfully God doesn’t choose as we would choose. He never dismisses us because of our past. Our shame or guilt is never beyond his touch of redemption. His good plans for us still stand even when we have done our best to mess them up. Margaret of Cortona’s body rests in a sealed tomb behind glass within the church high on the hill above the Tuscan town of Cortona. Yes, a corpse now 729 years old on display. I’ve never seen anything like it. But it wasn’t her preserved body that has left me in awe – it’s her story. Margaret was born in 1247 in rural Tuscany, in a tiny village near Cortona. Her mother died when she was young, and much like a Cinderella story she was then under the rule of a mean stepmother. As a teenager, she ran away with a wealthy nobleman named Arsenio. They lived together for years and had a son, but they were never married — quite scandalous by the standards of the time. They never married and Margaret had decided she would be okay with that since being Arsenio’s mistress afforded her a life of luxury and wealth. She was attached to her new lifestyle and she build her identity around a relationship with a man that wasn’t honorable. Hmmmm … not so saintly, huh? Then came the event that changed everything. One day Arsenio never returned home. Margaret followed his dog into the woods, which led her to his murdered body. The shock shattered her old life. Yes, her old life of luxury. Her old life of wealth. And her old life of being the mistress that had settled for a life that fell so short of God’s standards. After the death of Arsenio, Margaret left everything behind and went back to Cortona in deep grief and repentance. She knew the life she had been living was wrong and she wanted to make it right. At first she was rejected — even by family — but eventually the Franciscans took her in as someone who wanted to repent and do better. She became deeply spiritual, seeking God’s way instead of her own. But what made her beloved wasn’t just repentance; it was what she did afterward. Margaret devoted herself to the poor, the sick, and the outcast. She founded a hospital in Cortona and became known for fierce compassion and being in the presence miraculous acts of God. Margaret’s story reminds us you can have grief, you can carry shame, and God can still use you in powerful ways. In the hands of God, that’s a life that can reach other lost souls who feel distant. Her troubled past is still being used today, 729 years after he

Ephesians 5: 15-17, “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools (asophoi), but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.” Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

Just as God has a work he wants to do in your life, so does the enemy. The devil wants to do a work in your mind. He wants to do his nasty work in your heart. And he wants to bring absolute destruction to your relationships. And here’s the really dangerous thing … you may just be doing the devil’s work for him. That’s right – you might be causing the destruction yourself. Most of us have partnered with the enemy and without even knowing it, we’ve been doing his nasty work for him. We’ve made his job easy. Paul warns us of this in Ephesians 4: 26-27, “Don’t sin by letting anger control you. Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.” Here’s what this DOES NOT MEAN – this does not mean you can never be angry. This doesn’t mean you have to smile and always be happy. There is righteous anger. There are times when it is right to be angry. Jesus flipped a few tables in his day. You don’t have to be a pushover. In fact, God’s word even warns us that it’s not good to just go along with the crowd. We are to stand up for what is right. We are to be the light in the darkness. We are to cast out demons and evict evil. But, here’s what we cannot do – we cannot let anger control us. You can have anger – but don’t let anger have you. There’s a difference. When anger has you, it takes control of your mind and your mouth. When anger has you, you lash out and you act in a way that is not honoring of God. When anger has you, you sin. Don’t sin by letting anger control you. Where has anger taken control of you and left you thinking, saying and doing things you don’t even want to? Do you see this anywhere in your life? Do you know how that happened? Plain and simple, you didn’t put a time limit on that anger. You can feel what you need to feel, but you can’t allow yourself an open ended space to feel those negative feelings because then they take root and they begin growing in you. Whatever grows in you begins to take over you. This week I was sitting in a small village in southern Italy just looking at the old stone buildings and architecture. I noticed a grapevine that had grown up the side of the building. But then the grapevine had began to grow into the building. Attaching itself to the stone, wrapping itself around the railings, and literally growing to become part of the building. The grapevine was creating damage to the stone walls and taking over the walkway. This is the perfect picture of what happens within us with anything we allow to grow. We are taken over. Some of us have angry grapevines growing on every surface, creating damage and destruction. It didn’t happen instantly, it happened over time. Time. God works with time, but so does the enemy of your soul. If you give God time, he will radically change your life and set you free. If you give the devil time, he will wreck your heart, corrupt your mind, and destroy your life.

When you realize how truly loved you are by God, you are made complete with two things: the fullness of life and the power that comes from God. Knowing you are loved frees you to live like never before. Not in fear and not in shame, but in bold courage to show up in this life you have been given and live like the girl you were truly created to be. Oh how I pray you are living in that freedom, my sister. You don’t have to play little. You don’t have to shrink back. You don’t have to sit it out. You can show up as the unique masterpiece you were created to be and live as only you can live. Now, today let’s talk about the second thing that makes you complete in God’s love … POWER that comes from God himself. What a trick of the enemy to make you think you are helpless and hopeless. What a lie from the pits of hell that tells you you’re just a victim to life’s circumstances and bad luck is all you ever have. No, my sister, you have power. And what can the power at work within you do … well, you have absolutely no idea! Like truly, your mind can’t even comprehend the power working in you as the recipient of God’s love. Ephesians 3:20, “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” You literally have no idea what God’s power within you can do. You have never even dreamed up a dream comparable to what is truly possible with this power of God’s you have within you. BUT DON’T YOU WANT TO? Don’t you want to start living with a better awareness of this power? Don’t you want to wake up with the knowledge of what can happen with God? When you begin to know about God’s mighty power that is working inside of you, you start living different. You stop backing down in fear. You stop dismissing yourself. You stop allowing fear and anxiety to take root in your mind and rob you of your joy and peace. This is not God’s promise to give you bigger stuff than you ever dreamed of … this is God’s promise of his power to do greater work IN YOU than you can currently imagine. Read it again – Ephesians 3:20, “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” He can change you. He can supernaturally strengthen you. He can make you in tune with his voice and sensitive to his promptings. He can give you holy courage to do what you’ve always been to afraid to do. He can guide you to be in the right place at the right time for his perfectly right plans to unfold. Sounds great, doesn’t it? We all want that. But don’t pluck this single scripture out and miss the full picture of God’s word. The revelation of this power at work within us comes AFTER experiencing the true measure of God’s love for us. This power doesn’t come without relationship. God is not a genie in a bottle with 3 wishes. He’s your loving creator who designed you to need him and thrive in

Something happens in your life when you have a personal encounter with God’s love.  Something that changes you. I’m sure you know that God loves you.  But do you only know that on a surface level? For some, it’s a mere blanket statement of faith – nothing more than a thing you say because it’s what everyone else says.  “Jesus loves me this I know – for the Bible tells me so.”  But God wants his love to reach you in a deep, personal way to the core of your identity.  More than just because the Bible tells you so, but because you’ve personally experienced his love.  What God has for you is this, “Jesus loves me this I know – for he met me in my soul.” Before you are anything else, you are loved by God.  Before you are pretty enough, smart enough, or good enough in any way, you are LOVED BY GOD.  Before the first thing you did right or after the last thing you got wrong, you are loved by God.  Your mere existence proves the fact of his love for you. But because you’ve had his love every day of your life whether you acknowledged it or not, maybe it’s just become ordinary and unimpressive to you.  Sure, I’m loved by God – but what about these bills?  Yeah, I have God’s love, but what about all the things I don’t seem to have right now?  What about this mess?  What about this problem?  What about next month?  God’s love seems irrelevant in my real life of real struggles. Really, what does God’s love do for you?  Well, besides the fact that his love for you created you, gives you breath, saves your soul, and gives you a promised eternity in paradise … there’s more.  More for your real life right here today. Satan can’t take away the fact that God’s love gives you life.  He can’t cancel your promised destiny in heaven.  But what Satan can actively do is make your world so busy, so loud, and so fussy with absolute nonsense that you forfeit the power of God’s love here and now.  And then here you are walking around so totally loved by a God who holds all the power in the world, and totally unaware of how his love can radically change your life TODAY. Yes, today.  God’s love can change your experience in this day of life.  God’s love can open your eyes to what you’ve never seen before.  God’s love can change your thoughts and fill your entire existence with peace and joy.  God’s love can supernaturally strengthen you to do things you’ve never ever been able to do before. That’s what the enemy doesn’t want you to know.  Satan wants to keep you stuck in your pit of darkness, your overwhelm of sadness, your little hell of stress and worry.  Why?  Because there you are ineffective to share the light of Jesus.  There you are just another soul trudging through the existence of life waiting for it all to be over. Wait – has the enemy of your soul tricked y

You were specifically designed with love for love. At your very core is the need for love. As humans, we are in constant pursuit of love. And ultimately, every behavioral issue we ever experience is in some way trying to earn love, experience love, experience love or force love. What messes we create when we fear love is uncertain, conditional, or unavailable to us. This is why as women we seek attention, and often act in ways we’re later ashamed of. It’s why we are so quick to settle for the scraps of love because some type of love is better than the thought of no love. And this is truly why the enemy attacks so hard in making us feel unloved. Have you ever felt unloved? What did you do in that space of feeling unloved? It wasn’t healthy, was it? It was far short of God’s best for you, wasn’t it. And now you know that was a scheme of the enemy to attack the very thing you are designed in and for … love. You will never not need love. You will never love yourself enough to fill that hole. There’s no surgery, no hair extensions, no diet, no new shoes, purse or outfit that will ever make you love you enough to fill your core craving for love. And there’s no human who can fill that hole. Oh how they will fall short. Why? Simply because that was never within their design. That man will fall short. Those children will grow up and move on. That best friend will get busy. BUT GOD. This is your BUT GOD moment. But God’s love will perfectly fill the hole within you. Why? Because your creator lovingly designed you to need his love, and only his love will ever do. God’s love is like the key to the lock that opens the door to the fullness of life you most desire. But if you don’t know the measure of God’s love for you personally, then you will always feel lacking and unfulfilled. Right here, today, it’s time to learn the MEASURE OF GOD’S LOVE. Do you realize that God’s love isn’t a feeling, it isn’t a thought, it isn’t a magical state or some future destination. God’s love is real and it’s measurable. This is why Paul writes in Ephesians 3:18, “May you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.” Literal measurement’s of God’s love. And Paul says you “May you have the power to understand it!” You see my friends, if you understand the measurement of God’s immense love for you, all that striving, all that twisting, all that forcing can end. Every ounce of loneliness, every desire for something more or something different can be quenched in understanding the true measure of God’s love for you. How can we understand how wide God’s love is? How long God’s love is? How high God’s love is? How deep God’s love is? We look at the cross. The cross where Jesus hung and died, thinking of you and I individually and personally, is the measurement of God’s love. May you never ever see the symbol

Your thoughts have a massive effect on your life. Every single day, your thoughts are either running the moment or allowing you to enjoy the moment. The truth is, you simply can’t have a positive life with a negative mind. God created your mind for life and peace, but the enemy fights hard to distort our thinking. Understand, today there’s still a battle going on in your mind, and it’s creating either defeat or victory in your life. Ephesians 6:17 tells us to “Put on the helmet of salvation.” What does a helmet do? It protects your head. Do you see what the helmet of salvation is? This is Jesus’ protection for your mind! The enemy is after your thoughts. He’s after your mindset. Your mind is the full on battlefield. And Jesus says, “Let me protect your mind!” The enemy cannot steal your salvation, so he attacks your thoughts instead. Romans 1:28 warns of what happens when God’s creation no longer seeks Jesus for protection over their thoughts. It says, “And because they did not think it worthwhile to acknowledge God, God delivered them over to a corrupt mind so that they do what is not right.” Their thoughts were wrong so their actions were wrong. Why were their thoughts wrong? Because they no longer gave any effort to seeking God and God gave them over to their worthless mindset. So the battlefield of their mind was lost to the enemy. You eventually move in the direction of your strongest or repetitive thoughts. The Message translation says it like this, “Since they didn’t bother to acknowledge God, God quit bothering them and let them run loose. And then all hell broke loose. They made life hell on earth.” Who made life hell on earth? The people did. What caused it? Their unprotected mind and thoughts that ran wild. Whew, I don’t know about you, but I don’t want God to quit bothering me. I don’t want him to quit waking me up. I don’t want him to quit convicting me. I don’t want him to quit giving me that icky feeling in my spirit when I’m out of alignment. Lord, don’t quit bothering me! Bother the heck out of me. Don’t let me sleep if I am wrong! Have you seen a life where all hell broke loose? We all have seen that example. We’ve seen a life ruined because of a worthless mindset. We’ve witnessed the battlefield of the mind defeated by the enemy. A life filled with potential that falls so short. But understand, Jesus always wanted to protect that mind! Jesus always wanted to fight that battle. Jesus always had victory for them. But when we don’t choose Him, our minds go unprotected. Girl, put on the helmet of salvation! Make time for God so he can protect you from the battle over your mind. Your mind was never meant to lead you – it was meant to be lead by the Spirit. Our minds are wild little beasts. The moment you tell yourself not to think of something, what do you do … you start thinking of the exact thing you just said NOT to think about. I often teach how to harness

How many of you would admit you over-complicate things sometimes? You overthink things and make things harder than they really need to be. Today, let’s let God drastically simplify a few things for us so we really get it. Yesterday we looked at that well known scripture, Romans 8:28, “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” Other translations put it in terms we can really understand. “We are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together for good. We have been called to fulfill his designed purpose.” Now today, let’s go deeper! My sister, EVERY DETAIL of your life becomes part of something good when given to God. He wastes nothing and uses everything. God doesn’t merely work around your story – he weaves through it. You can’t lose what you surrender. But, it doesn’t stop there. I usually stop there. I read verse 28 and I’m off searching for my purpose. I’m digging through the bad things in my life and reminding God they’re not good yet. But today, let’s keep reading beyond the popular verse 28. Romans 8: 29 & 30, “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his own glory.” Woah, that’s a lot. We have an entire waterfall of promises here. Don’t choke on the overflow, let’s get in the flow. Stop trying to control the river and learn to move with it. One leads to the next, then the next, flowing over our lives and flooding us with hope and assurance. Today, let’s get in the flow and receive everything God is offering us! This flow begins with those God knew in advance. And honey, God knew you before! Nothing about you has ever surprised God. He knew you before you achieved any level of success and before you screwed up. He knew you before you got it wrong and before you got it right. He knew you before. Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.” Oh yes, he definitely knew you BEFORE. He knew you before because he CREATED you with a great purpose in mind. You have been known in advance. And with that, the flow over your life begins. For those he he knew in advance, he chose them. YOU. ARE. CHOSEN. God Almighty, the creator of the universe, chose YOU. He wanted you. He knew everything about you and said, “She’s the one I want.” Girl, stop dismissing yourself! You have not been dismissed. God doesn’t regret his choice. What has he chosen you for? He has chosen you to become like his Son, Jesus. Woah – big pressure, right? Actually, no. You naturally become more like Jesus with each surrender of your own way. Every surrender makes more room for Jesus in you. When you’re living in the flow, it just flows. Ultimately, this means we’re just returning to what we were always m

Nobody loves having their plans ruined. Nobody loves seeing all they’ve been working on completely fall apart. It feels discouraging. It feels overwhelming. But what if we’re just looking at it wrong? What if all that’s happening here with your ruined plans and failed attempts is heavenly things interrupting earthly things? Think about that! You’re dealing with earthly things. You’re planning earthly things. You’re in the mix of earthly details. But God is high above it all in heavenly things. From his vantage point, he sees it all. But remember this, he not only sees it all, he can control it all. And if God steps in and rearranges a few things, don’t you think it’s because he sees what you cannot? MAY HEAVENLY THINGS CONSTANTLY INTERRUPT YOUR EARTHLY THINGS. Maybe this isn’t an inconvenience, this is a divine intervention! Many years ago I simply decided to change my personal philosophy from the victim mentality of why were things always happening to me, to believing things weren’t happening to me, they were happening for me. This isn’t naive. This isn’t clueless. This is faith. This is trusting God is in every detail, and if the details change, then either he is already at work, or he CAN work it out for my benefit. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” You either believe it, or you don’t. If you believe it, then you can trust this isn’t happening to you, it’s happening FOR you, because God is working all things together for good concerning you. Why? Simply because he loves you and you have chosen to love him. Sometimes life just happens – but nothing can happen that hasn’t passed through the mighty hands of God first. The truth is, we live in a broken world, but we serve a redeeming God with unlimited power. Some things happen that God didn’t orchestrate, but he allowed because he knows he can work with it in good ways that grow your faith and trust in him, lead you to deeper purpose, and ultimately bring him glory. 1 Corinthians 2:9, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” And because God loves us, he will interrupt us. He will intervene on our behalf. He will rearrange, delay, cancel, and create a total upheaval. All to bring us into alignment with these good plans he has prepared for us that are promised to be better than our own. Do you remember the story of Joseph in your Bible? This guy had seemingly unfortunate things happen to him his entire life. As a teenager, he was thrown in a pit and sold by his jealous brothers into slavery. As a young adult, he’s thrown into prison for a crime he didn’t commit. As the continually good guy, he’s used, he’s forgotten, and he’s blamed. Where was God in all of that? VERY PRESENT! Joseph’s betray looked like destruction, but it was divine positioning. The p

Ephesians 2: 1-5, “It wasn’t so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn’t know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It’s a wonder God didn’t lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! “ Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

The Lord is My Banner Exodus 17:15 Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

Life isn’t always going to get easier, but God can always offer you peace. Solutions may not come today, but peace can. Oh what a place to find yourself in life when you realize peace can be yours precisely where you are with things exactly as they are. You don’t have to live so upset, so stressed, so unsettled and so unsure. The name you need to call on is Yahweh Shalom. Yahweh, as we know from the beginning of our study of the names of God, is the covenant, relationship, promise up-holding name God reveals of himself. It is the name we speak with our breath. The name we have called on every moment of our lives by simply inhaling and exhaling. YHWH. Shalom, a word we often translate as peace – but in reality, it’s so much deeper than just peace. Shalom is a state of wholeness, completion and restoration. It’s a state where things are exactly as they are meant to be. Yahweh Shalom, a mighty and holy God who assures us with him things are exactly as they are meant to be. Now that is peace. I may not understand it. I am not in control of it. I don’t see how it’s all going to work out. But Yahweh Shalom understands completely. Yahweh Shalom is in total control. And Yahweh Shalom sees precisely how it’s all going to work out, and he’s predetermined that it will work out for good according to his eternally good plan. Yahweh Shalom, the God of Peace, invites his beloved girls to trust him knowing he’s got you and he’s got this. Your stress is unnecessary. Your worry is unwarranted. Your ‘freak-out’ is unfounded. Plain and simple, when you have a God like Yahweh Shalom, you would be foolish to not accept his peace in every situation. He will create the path for your feet. He will carry the burden for you. He will ensure the battle is won. You can trust the God of Peace. This name is introduced in scripture in the book of Judges, chapter 6. The previous chapters are a series of God’s people, the Israelites, being rescued by God, then forgetting God and going astray. They would fall into slavery to evil Kings and live miserable lives. Each time their lives would get worse and worse until finally they cried out to God again for help. Then God would rescue them, restore them, and bring them peace again. But over time, they would fall back into old ways and wander away from God in a life of self and sin. Chapter after chapter, generation after generation, it continues. They’re in trouble and they suffer – until they just can’t suffer any longer and they call out to God – God rescues and restores – life gets better – then they wander again, forgetting God – Life gets worse, and then they’re right back to trouble and suffering again. Through these chapters in Judges, sometimes we see God’s people waiting a few years before calling out to God – other times we see them waiting for 20 years. Each time, as long as they waited to call on God for help, the suffering continued and life got worse. But each time they

In Genesis 22, Abraham has a personal encounter with God and he walks away with a personal name for him – Jehovah Jireh. If you have a pressing need and you don’t know how it will happen for you, Jehovah Jireh is the name of God you can call on. If you’re walking in the middle of a situation where you don’t have what is required and you don’t know how you ever will, Jehovah Jireh is the name of God you can call on. If you don’t know how to give what is being asked of you, Jehovah Jireh is the name of God you can call on. Jehovah + Jireh. Two names together that radically change everything. Jehovah is a translation of the name of God in our breath. This is YHWH, the LORD who has made a personal covenant with his people. Jehovah is the one who has made promises and will be faithful to his promises. When Abraham uses the name Jehovah, he’s not just talking about “a god” – he’s referring to the personal, covenant-keeping God he knew he could trust in. Jireh comes from the Hebrew word “ra’ah” which means to see, to perceive, and to provide. It’s a word that means seeing a need is connected to acting on that need. When you put Jehovah and Jireh together, it means, “The Lord will see to it” or “The LORD will provide.” If God sees a need, he doesn’t just ignore it. He doesn’t turn his back on a need. He doesn’t just walk on by. When God sees a need, his holy power is moved with love and compassion and he takes action to provide for that need. God’s seeing always leads to action. Yesterday we learned from the story of Hagar how El Ro’i is the name of God who always sees you. He saw even Hagar, the one no one else saw. And now we learn another name given to God, Jehovah Jireh which assures us if God sees it, he will SEE TO IT. This is more than just seeing and observing. This is moving in response, this is meeting the need, this is divine provision, this is love in action showing up on the scene. You can be assured that God sees you, he sees where you are, he sees what you need, and his seeing always leads to his action on your behalf. God’s provision is never random, it is always intentional and it is personal for you. So why did Abraham call God Jehovah Jireh? It’s important to understand the setting so you can understand how Jehovah Jireh will show up for you too. This moment of naming God comes right after one of the most intense tests in all of scripture. Abraham has waited for 99 years for his promised and beloved son Issac. God’s promise for the future rested on the life of Abraham’s son Issac. Knowing this, God speaks to Abraham and says, “Take your son, your only son – yes, Isaac, whom you love so much – and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” Scripture says, “The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chop

Through studying the names of God, we understand our God is a personal God. In the past 9 devotionals, we’ve seen 10 names and we now know so much more about our God. As YHWH, God has revealed himself to be so near that he’s our very breath. As Adonai, God reveals that he is our Master, and therefore responsible for our care and our protection. As Elohim, God reveals he is our Creator who continues to create and make us a new creation even today. As El Shaddai, God reveals he is the Almighty one whose hand is in everything. As Yahweh Rapha, he tells us we can count on him to be the LORD who meets us in the bitterest of places in life and heal us. As Yahweh Mekaddishkem, God makes us forever good enough by calling us his own, making us holy and then teaching us to rest in him. God has revealed himself as a Shepherd, caring for his sheep. Through Jesus, God is revealed as Abba, Papa. Then Jesus goes on to call him Holy Father and Righteous Father. We now have 10 names for God, each that reveal his character, his power and his heart towards us. Have you been using these names in your conversations with him? Have you been calling on him by specific name according to how you need him to show up for you? He promises to respond. Now, we go even deeper. Beyond these 10 names, we read of dozens of other names given to God by people in the Bible who have had a personal encounter with him. The names they give God define how they’ve met him and what he has done for them. And my friend, if God did something for them, he can do something for you. What he did then, he can do today. We’re in relationship with the same God of the Bible. In Malachi 3:6, God says, “I am the LORD, and I do not change.” God showed up for people personally in the stories in your Bible, and he can and will show up for you personally now. Remember that as we study the names of God given by other people in scripture – he’s revealing what he did for them personally and what he can do for even YOU personally. He is the same God and he hasn’t changed. He has a personal encounter waiting for you too. One person in scripture who had a very personal encounter with God is Hagar. Yes, a woman. In these times, a woman was a second-class citizen. She didn’t have rights. She didn’t have her own life. She was completely dependent on the man of the family to care for her. And for a woman, if there was no man to care for her, she was in a truly desperate situation. Hagar didn’t have a man, she was only used by a man. (Perhaps you can relate.) But Hagar wasn’t only used by a man, she was used by everyone in her entire life to get what they wanted. She was a totally unimportant character in everyone else’s story. Have you ever felt that way? Like you’re not important enough for your own dreams, your own desires, or your own story. Like you’re stuck in the story of someone else and you’re always jus

Jesus not only tells us to call God our Father, Abba, Papa and we see Jesus personally calling God by this name.  God is his Father.  Jesus is deeply connected with God – they are one and they always have been – while at the same time he is the Son and God is the Father.  They’re as close as they can possibly be.  They have the same mind, the same will, the same love, the same power.  Jesus is 100% familiar with God in every way … however, he doesn’t lose his awe of God just because he has this closeness. Yes, Jesus teaches us to be close to God. Yes, he teaches us to trust him as our Papa God and we as his beloved children … but Jesus also teaches us how to be in absolute AWE of God still.  He shows us his awe of the Father in two specific descriptive names:  Holy Father and Righteous Father. Jesus calls God ‘Holy Father’ in John 17:11, “Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you.  Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are.”  Jesus is praying these words right before he is betrayed, arrested and led to the cross.  And understand, he is praying these words for you and I.  He’s calling on the name of Holy Father, that we would be protected by the power of his name – that is HOLY FATHER. Do you know the power of this name?  Holy Father. This is actually the only place in scripture where Jesus directly combines these two words when addressing God. • Holy = completely set apart, pure, transcendent • Father = relational, close, personal We tend to lean towards one of these – either God is completely set apart, distant and intimidating to us, or he is so personally close that he’s become familiar and expected.  Jesus shows us how to hold both in awe, reverence and confidence.  God is both perfectly holy and perfectly relational at the same time. Last night I watched a documentary on Hulk Hogan.  I’m a bit of a documentary junkie.  I love the behind the scenes look at real lives that we often miss.  Hulk was this larger than life character with a handle bar mustache and bleach blonde hair known for ripping his shirt off.  But at home, he didn’t rip his shirt off.  At home, he was a husband and dad named Terry and he played in the floor with his children.  He was both, but the true man was only seen behind closed doors.  The rest of the world only knew the character making a scene in the ring.  He was one or the other, but he couldn’t be both at the same time.  So, it caused a split in his life and a loss of his true self. But the Holy Father is not split.  He is the same behind the scenes and on the scene.  He is forever both completely set apart and completely up close and personal.  He is beyond understanding and personally understandin

Jesus gives us a name to use for God. Matthew 6:9: “This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father…” Right there. The first two words of the prayer. Our Father. Before anything else… before the structure, before the requests, before the “give us” and “forgive us”… Jesus starts with identity and relationship. Our Father. That’s how He teaches us to approach God. He is our Father and we are his beloved daughter. Now here’s something really beautiful – It is believed Jesus originally spoke this in Aramaic, the everyday language of the people he was speaking to. The word would have been “Abun.” Later, when written in Greek, we see the word “Abba.” And these words “Abba” and “Abun” weren’t formal, distant titles. These were words a child would use for their father. Daddy. Papa. A word of closeness. A word of trust. A word of belonging. So when Jesus says, “This is how you should pray,” He is saying… come to God like this. Come as a child comes to a loving Father. Not distant. Not afraid. Not trying to impress. But close. Known. Loved. Now let me ask you…. Who is this God we pray to? Are we bothering Him with our requests? Are we even doing it right? Does the Creator of the universe really hear us… and if He does, does He really want to? Scripture tells us to talk to God about everything—all the time. Not with fancy or showy words, but with our real, everyday language. Philippians 4: 6-7, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” And this conversation with our Father, our Abba, our Papa hold tremendous power! James 5:16 says, “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” That’s you. Righteous not because of what you’ve done, but because of your faith in Jesus. And your earnest prayer—the sincere one, the one that comes from relationship and not obligation—that prayer has power. Power to move mountains. Power to break chains. Power to make the impossible possible. But so many of us miss out on that power because we don’t really understand who we’re talking to. I missed out for years, and maybe you are too. All too often we approach God like we’re interrupting Him… like we should keep it short, wrap it up, or say it just right. But Jesus tells us there’s a different way and a better way to approach God … “Our Father.” That’s our Abba. Our Papa. Not a distant God. Not an annoyed ruler. Not an angry man with a stick. Our Father. I sometimes listen to the teaching of a man named Bill Lokey. At the time of his latest recording, he had been battling cancer for several years, continually given only weeks to live. And this man decided, if he was only going to live a very short time, he would actually LIVE! His final recording was just 2 weeks before what he referred to as “a step from the boat to the dock”. Yes, his final breath and step into eternity. I’m lite

Yesterday I gave you a new name you couldn’t pronounce, but a powerful promise from our God through a name he reveals. Remember, Yahweh M – God’s promise of actively sanctifying you to make you holy simply by relationship with him. Not through your perfection, but through his. Not by your works, but the works already done for you. And because of this, you can surrender and find sweet rest. Now today, we will study a name you really know. A name you can pronounce. A name you can understand. And we will see God’s perfect fulfillment of this name in the work of Jesus. Psalm 23:1 (You complete the sentence) – “The LORD is my …. SHEPHERD” Yes, God is our shepherd, meaning he is our guide, our provider, and our protector. He is present, and he is personally aware of YOU. This is your game changer! Recognize, you are the sheep. The one created and designed to need help. You were never intended to know the way. You were never expected to get there on your own. You simply can’t – you’re the sheep. You were designed to need a shepherd. Ezekiel 34:11-12, This is what the Sovereign LORD says, “I myself will search and find my sheep. I will be like a shepherd looking for his scattered flock. I will find my sheep and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day.” Have you ever had one of those dark, cloudy days? One of those days that rocked your world and caused you to get lost in the darkness? One of those days that made you question everything you thought you knew. Yes, those are the days when sheep tend to get scattered. We run and hide in our thoughts and try to isolate from the pain. And my friend, don’t you know that’s when you are in the most danger? Running and hiding is never your answer. If you watch a few nature shows on Africa, you will quickly see the lesson play out. If there’s a group of zebra (which by the way are called a dazzle), and those zebra are being chased by a lion, they are safe as long as they stay together. But inevitably, do you know what happens – there’s one who strays from the dazzle and runs to hide by itself. THAT’S THE ONE THAT GETS EAT EVERY TIME. What’s the moral of the story? Don’t run and hide. Stay with your people. I’ve intentionally created my own small zebra herd to go through life with. We are accountability sisters. We don’t let each other hide. If one is suffering, we all gather around. If one is struggling, we pick them up. We continually call on the God for each other. Because here’s the truth, our enemy is like a lion! 1 Peter 5:8, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” God tells us he is the shepherd finding his sheep that have scattered. He is rescuing them from the places where they run on their dark, hard days of life. Girl, if you’ve been hiding, he’s looking for you! Ezekiel 34 goes on to say in verses 15-16

There is power when a specific name is called on. Hypothetically, let’s say we’re on a boat in Bali, charting to the island of Nusa Pineda. If you hear me say, “Girls, come over here”, you would think, “hmmm, am I a girl? Yes – she wants to show me something and maybe it’s something great I don’t want to miss. But let’s say we’re on that boat in Bali, chartering to the island of Nusa Pineda for great adventures and you hear me say, “NURSE!”, you know that means something totally different. That means if you’re not a nurse, this doesn’t apply to you. But that means if you are a nurse, I need you to come quickly and help with a medical situation. That’s all in the calling of a name. The name defines who is needed. You have many names perhaps. Friend, daughter, honey, mom, nurse, teacher … and each calls to you in a different way. For a mother, the sound of “Mom” turns every head in the grocery store. I’m Mom – what do you need? How can I take care of you? Now think about God. He reveals his different names to us for a reason – he wants us to call on him for who we need. The more you know his names, the better you can call on him and the more you can trust him. Remember, this study of the names of God comes from Psalm 9:10, “Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O LORD, do not abandon those who search for you.” So far, we’ve studied 5 of the names of God. Let’s do a review. Episode #2100: YHWH – The name you’ve always known since your first breath. A name not spoken, but rather breathed. LORD Episode #2101: Adonai – Lord, Master. The one responsible for you. Episode #2102: Elohim – Creator. The one who makes a new way when there is no way. The one who is making you new. Episode #2103: El Shaddai – God Almighty. The one whose hand is in everything and pours out his blessings on you. Episode #2104: Yahweh Rapha – The Lord who heals you – but not just your body, your mind, your heart, your relationships. Your entire life finds healing in him. Now, today, the 6th name of God revealed by God himself in scripture. A name he wants you to know so you can call on him in a very specific. A name he gives you so you can trust him more. Today’s name is likely one you’ve never even heard of. A name that is very hard to pronounce, so together we’re going to learn something new. Repeat after me – Mehhh Ka Desh Kem Together, Mehhh-ka-desh-kem. A name that tells you that you belong to him and he is actively shaping you. A name that gives you identity, value, worth, confidence and rest. A name that tells you to stop performing, stop trying to achieve so hard, stop trying to bend and contort yourself into perfection, and trust Yahweh Mekaddishkem to do his work in you. Is that what you need today? Girl, you don’t have to figure this all out – you don’t have to force anything – and you don’t have to perform to please the Fathe

If I told you I’m a nurse, you know you could come to me for health advice.  If I told you I’m a dentist, you know you could come to me for your teeth.  If I told you I’m an accountant, you know you could come to me for your taxes.  If I told you I’m a banker, you know you could come to me for a loan.  If I told you I’m a travel agent, you know you could come to me for your vacation plans.  Who I tell you that I am directly tells you what could expect of me. So, when God tells us he is something specific, we know specifically what we can come to him for.  This is what we’re learning in the names of God. How sweet for God to tell us he is our HEALER.  What do you come to a healer for?  HEALING, my friend.  Yes, healing of your body – but more – healing of your entire being. Restoration of what has been broken. A healed mind that is damaged. Renewed peace where anxiety has taken root. Mending of strained relationships. Softening of a hardened heart. Comfort for a hurting heart. This is what God can heal – Your body, your heart, your mind, your family, your relationships, your circumstances.  God is the great healer, you can call him Yahweh Rapha. Exodus 15:26, God announces to his people, “For I am the LORD who heals you.”  LORD is in all caps so we know the original spoken word of God was his name YHWH, and heals is Rapha.  In Hebrew, I am Yahweh Rapha. Rapha means to heal, restore, make whole and repair.  If our God is Yahweh Rapha, we know we can come to him for healing, restoration, wholeness and repair in every way. Notice precisely where God speaks these words, because it’s only spoken one time in scripture, then displayed hundreds of times in action. Exodus 15 comes at a critical time for God’s people, the Israelites.  They have been rescued from captivity in Egypt and set free.  They have been supernaturally protected and guided right through the parting of the Red Sea, then turned around and watched their enemies be swallowed by the sea.  And now they’re walking through an unknown wilderness and dying of thirst.  They have gone 3 days without water.  This is the limit of a human body in these harsh, hot conditions. They finally find a small body of water, in this desert, but can you believe the water is bitter and undrinkable.  Moses seeks God for help and God gives Moses a solution that turns the bitter water sweet, and the people are saved by having water to drink in their wilderness.  And THIS is exactly where God introduces himself as Yahweh Rapha, the Lord who heals you.  Here where God turned what was unbearably bitter into sweetness to not only satisfy but to save.  God restored what had been corrupted.  The water was corrupted with bitterness, but he restored it to swee

There is a name God reveals of himself for when things look absolutely over.  When the world says it’s officially impossible.  When you’re at your end, without further possibility or hope and in need of a true miracle.  This is where God says he is “El Shaddai”. El Shaddai.  El means God and Shaddai means many things in many ways.  It’s not just one thing … just as God is not one thing. • Shaddai comes from the root word shadah which means to shed or to pour out.  In this way, God is the one who pours out blessings, abundantly and continually. • The Hebrew word shad means chest or breast.  God is both the strength of a man’s chest and the all-sufficient nourishment of a woman’s breast. • Shaddai also comes from the root word shadad, which means to display great power. • And when Shaddai was translated into Greek, the word pantokrator was used – which in English is Almighty.  Specifically, one who has His hand on everything. Layers upon layers of deep meaning are in this name God reveals of himself.  El Shaddai.  He pours out blessings, he is strong with great power, he is more than enough, and his almighty hand is in everything, always.  Girls, THAT IS OUR GOD! We see God use this name in Genesis 17:1.  Speaking to Abraham, he says, “I am El-Shaddai – ‘God Almighty.’  Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life.  I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.” The truth of this situation is Abraham is 99 years old and what God is saying is officially impossible.  But God had made a promise to Abraham when he was 75 years old, a promise for descendants of his own.  A man who had waited his whole life for children and he finally gets a promise from God in his old age, and then he’s left waiting again.  Waiting and waiting and waiting.  And while he’s waiting, God stops speaking.  At this point, he’s been waiting on the promise for nearly 25 years and even worse, it’s been 13 years since the last recorded word from God to him.  It was if God had gone silent and forgotten his promise.  Abraham is 99, ain’t no way it’s happening now! Have you ever felt like God has gone silent on you?  Like he used to be so near and so clear, but you somehow lost that connection.  And with this disconnect, you are left wondering if his promises still stand for you and your future.  That’s a real feeling – one I have felt before and I bet you have too.  My sister, God can handle those feelings.  You don’t have to hide them from him, you can be honest. This is where God meets Abraham – in the long waiting and wondering after years of silence and messy self-created problems.  This is where God reveals that he is El Shaddai.  Here, where the promise still hadn’t happened, Abraham’s body was incapable and Sarah’s womb had cobwebs

The third stop in our names of God study brings us to Elohim, and it’s actually where it all begins. Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The Hebrew word used here for God is “Elohim”. This is how we meet God, and before he asks absolutely anything of us, he reveals who he is. Who is he? He is Elohim, meaning he is the Supreme One, the Mighty One, the Creator. The name Elohim tells us our God is all power and absolutely zero limitation. Nothing and no one is above him and everything begins with him. Nothing exists without the Creator. To understand our Elohim, look at his creation. Look at the magnificent universe and its perfect balance to sustain life. Look at the intricate details of life. Nothing is by accident, everything is the intentional thought and spoken word of Elohim, the Creator. But you know that, right? You know he created all of this and holds all of this, but do you realize, Elohim doesn’t stop there. A creator doesn’t create once and never create again. He continues to create. He continues to make things new … for you! Not only for you, but IN YOU. 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a NEW person. The old life is gone; a NEW LIFE has begun!” This is the work of Elohim, the Creator who is still creating new things in you. As long as you’re alive, he’s still creating in you. New things are growing and developing because of his continued work of creation in you. Question – Where do you need Elohim to create something new in you? God is working in you, and he’s working all around you. Elohim can work in anything and everything because it was all his original work anyway. The one who created it can change it or redesign it in any way he wishes. He alone holds that power. Maybe what you need doesn’t even exist right now. Do you honestly think that’s a problem for Elohim, the Supreme One, the Mighty One, the Creator? Girl, he can create the solution for your problem. He can design the pathway through your impossible. He can make a brand new, never been seen before creation to meet your need. He is not limited to what has been before. He is not limited to what makes sense. He’s not limited to what you know or what you understand. He can make a new cure. He can make a new way. He can make a new solution. Our God is a CREATOR. He creates things that have never existed before. Did you know you can call on him to create for you now? Think about this – when Moses and the Israelites stood before an impassable Red Sea with their enemies closing in from behind, there was no way. There were no solutions. This was hopeless. So Elohim, our God the Creator, created a new way that had never been seen or imagined before. He created a dry path through the Red Sea by splitting the waters and making them stand on their ends. And let me tell you something you need to know – If God can do that then for them, God can do something rad

Yesterday we learned anytime LORD (all caps) appears in your bible, the original Hebrew text was referring to YHWH, the name God revealed of himself to Moses. The name that wasn’t spoken, but rather breathed. The breath sound of Yah (inhale), weh (exhale). So, what about the times in scripture Lord is not in all caps? Was this a translation of something different? Yes. Let’s find out what it meant then and what it means to us today. Remember, we are studying the names of God to better understand his character, his ways, his nature, and who he is for us personally so we can confidently stand on his promises for us. Psalm 9:10 says, “Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O LORD, do not abandon those who search for you.” This is simply a study in getting to know God’s names so we grow in trust of him as he has promised to never leave us. Lord (when NOT in all caps), is the English translation of another name for God in Hebrew, Adonai. We first see the introduction of the name Adonai in Abraham’s conversation with God about the promise of countless future descendants. And Abraham replies to God in Genesis 15:2 by calling him , “Adonai YHWH”. The English translation is often LORD God. Here, Abraham is recognizing God as not only his source of life by breathing his holy name YHWY, but also recognizing God as his Master by calling him Adonai. Moses refers to God in this same way in prayer. So does King David, Ezekiel and Daniel. Look for it in your Bible. LORD God means Adonai + YHWH. We know YHWH, so let’s get to know Adonai. The Hebrew root word here is “Adan” which means lord and master. When referring to a human master, they were called “adoni” (Ah-doh-NEE – rhyming with knee). But when referring to God as the supreme Master, he is called “Adonai” (Ah-doh-NAI – rhyming with eye). In Biblical times, it was common for a household leader to be master over their servants or for a king to be master over his subjects, even a teacher to be a master over his students. As the master, they were not only in charge, but they were to be the provider, the protector and the decision-maker. The complete care fell as the responsibility of the lord and master. Yes, the master has authority, but the master also assumes responsbility. Now, consider this – Abraham is standing before God as a fatherless old man with a barren old wife, receiving a promise of descendants that number as many as the stars, and Abraham calls him Adonai, Master. God, you have all authority and you are fully responsible for me. I am in your hands. You are in charge here, you are my provider, you are my protector, and you are the ultimate decision maker. Adonai, my Lord, my Master. Every time you see Lord (not in all caps) in your Bible, God is being referred to as Adonai, Lord and Master. Can you call him Lord? Will you call him Master? Is he your Adonai? The world tries to lord over us to control us, so naturally we re

The names of God reveal his character, his ways and who he is for you personally. God has invited you into a relationship journey with him, and knowing all of his names mentioned in scripture will build your relationship with him. After all, he knows everything about you – don’t you think it’s important we learn all we can about him too? Name are important in the bible. When a family named their child, it was with great thought and intention. That name would become their identity. God has an identity to share with us in his names. An identity that gives us promises. Psalm 9:10, “Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O LORD, do not abandon those who search for you.” Now, let’s get to know his names so we can trust him even deeper. First, the name God gives himself, YHWH. The name YHWH appears over 6,000 times in Scripture, but in English we see it translated in a unique way – LORD (all caps). Every time you see LORD (all caps) in your bible, what you’re actually seeing is the ancient Hebrew, YHWH. Look at Psalm 23:1, “The LORD is my Shepherd” it’s actually saying “YHWH is my Shepherd.” Ancient Hebrew did not include vowels. It was hard to read and very few people knew how to read. So instead God’s word was heard and then memorized. While those original transcripts of Hebrew bible include the written name of God as YHWH, it wasn’t spoken and therefore lost. Why wasn’t the name of God spoken? Jewish tradition was to never speak the name of God aloud out of reverence. (Exodus 20:7, “You must not misuse the name of the LORD your God. The LORD will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.” What they wouldn’t even speak, we use so casually. Where is our awe? Where is our reverence? Most scholars believe “Yahweh” is the closest reconstruction of how YHWH was originally pronounced, This name, YHWH, the name of God ,sounds like breathing. God gives himself a name we cannot speak, but instead we BREATHE. YHWH. This name, YHWH, is made of breathy consonants with no vowels. It couldn’t be pronounced, but rather breathed in and breathed out. Inhale YH Exhale WH In awe, in reverence. YHWH. Later, we added vowels to make it a name we could pronounce, Yahweh, the name of our God. This is a name introduced in Genesis 2 now appearing as LORD in all caps, but explained in Exodus 3: 15 when Moses asked God for his name and God answers with, “Yahweh, the God of your ancestors – the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” YHWH – Root word “to be” – the self-existing one, the ever-present one (the ONLY one who can say this) Inhale YH Exhale WH The name of our God through breath. Your breath is a God-given rhythm of dependence. Genesis 2:7, “God breathed life into us.” Without God, you don’t breathe. Without God, your lungs have no air. Without God, you simply do not exist.

God has a promise, and we possess the promise through HIS process Exodus 23: 27-30 Exodus 23: 31-32 Ephesians 1:3 Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

Exodus 19: 4-8 Exodus 20: 1-5 Exodus 20: 22-23 Exodus 24: 3 Exodus 32: 1-8 Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

Exodus 17: 8-16 Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

Exodus 17: 1-7 Psalm 95: 8-9 Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

Luke 23:44 Luke 24:49 Acts 2 Exodus 33:3 Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

Luke 23:34, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” Jesus didn’t wait for them to get it right – he loved them while they were getting it wrong. He shows supreme mercy. Forgiveness disarmed the enemy’s strategy. Now, he asks us to do the same. Matthew 5:44, “Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!” Disarm the enemy of his strategy against you with FORGIVENESS! Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

What actually happened between the cross on Friday and Jesus’ resurrection on Sunday? 1. Jesus’ body rested in the tomb All four Gospels agree that Jesus was buried and remained in the tomb: Matthew 27:59–60 – Jesus was taken down from the cross and his body was wrapped in linen and placed in a tomb. A great stone was set in front of the tomb, sealing Jesus’ body inside. Pilate assigned soldiers to guard the tomb to ensure Jesus’ body stayed inside. He was for sure dead and his body was for sure in the tomb. This fulfills prophecy and shows that His death was real—not symbolic. Jesus fully defeated death—from the inside. He didn’t avoid death—He entered it and overcame it. This means death is no longer the final authority. No place is beyond Christ’s reach – no person is too far gone for Jesus. Even death, Jesus reaches beyond death. Redemption reaches everywhere – No failure, darkness, or distance puts someone beyond redemption. Here’s what else we know about these 3 days between crucifixion and resurrection: 2. His body was in the tomb, but His spirit was active. Jesus was actively proclaiming victory. — “Christ suffered for our sins one for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit. SO HE WENT AND PREACHED TO THE SPIRITS IN PRISON – those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat.” Prison = Hades/Hell. Genesis tells us about a time when fallen angels (demons) mingled with humans bringing evil to the entire earth – that’s why God brought the flood to start over. Those demonic spirits are in the prison of Hell and Jesus went to preach to them – not to evangelize and bring them to salvation, but to proclaim victory over them. God won – they LOST! FOREVER! This was a completion of Jesus’ triumph over evil. THAT’S WHAT JESUS WAS DOING – CONQUERING EVIL. DEFEATING SATAN AND HIS DEMONS. Christ is declaring victory over sin, death, and evil. This allow us to live in victory today! Satan and his demons are defeated, and they know it! Jesus personally went to their Hell and proclaimed it! This period represents a real, sacred pause. Between promise and fulfillment – Jesus had promised his followers that he would be die and be raised again in 3 days – but in between they waited and wondered. They had the promise but no fulfillment yet. Between suffering (cross) and victory (life). These 3 days when we don’t see where Jesus is shows that God is still working—even when nothing seems to be happening. His followers were in grief and confusion. The disciples were hiding and afraid. Hope seemed lost. Here we see this silence and uncertainty is part of the story. What it means for us today: When life feels silent or uncertain – God feels absent – prayers seem unanswered – hope feels buried –

There is a hill outside the city of Jerusalem called Golgotha or also called Calvary. Both words for this hill mean the same thing – “Place of the Skull”. This hill was given its name because of it s shape of a skull. Do you think that was an accident? It was here on top of this skull shaped hill that Jesus was crucified on the cross. Have you ever thought about the meaning behind this? Why there? Nothing was by accident. God was in every detail as he sacrificed his one and only son so that whoever would believe in him would have eternal life. I believe this place was strategic. The cross was on top of the skull because Jesus wants to give you victory over your mind! Did you know it’s not only your soul that has been saved, but your MIND has been saved as well. The victory was won over your mind by Jesus on the skull! How absolutely strategic. The evil one fights to take back what Jesus has claimed and most often what he gets is our mind. How successful has he been in your life lately? Have your thoughts been victorious or have they been fear filled, anxious, negative, defeated thoughts? Jesus paid a high price for your victory, why would you ever allow the defeated one to defeat you in your head? Your greatest asset is your mind. Your mind paints a vivid picture and your body responds with every emotion and energy to create the picture. Every choice you make, good or bad, was first a thought in your mind. So, of course your mind is under attack. A relentless, violent, brutal attack, and it’s happening every minute of the day. Whatever gets your mind, gets you. Your thoughts are the guide, so the important question is, who is the author of your thoughts? Scripture warns us of strongholds on our mind. 2 Corinthians 10: 4-5, “We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” The word “stronghold” comes from the Greek word ochuroma. This is a Greek word used to describe a prison. The “strongholds” scripture refers to are lies that the devil has ingrained so deeply in your mind and in your belief system that they now hold power over certain areas of your life. These lies create a spiritual fortress of wrong thoughts which becomes your prison. As a prisoner to these thoughts, you begin to view life through the illusion of bondage Satan has put on your mind. Thoughts of worry. Thoughts of fear. Thoughts of anxiety. Thoughts of lack. And eventually, these tangled and twisted thoughts begin to take control of your life. Now, you can’t seem to dismiss those thoughts. You can’t just shake it off. This stronghold on your mind has overwhelmed you. And if we allow this stronghold to continue, dismissing it as who we are and what we naturally struggle with, it becomes a trap where Satan mentally seduces you and imprisons you with your own thinking.

Have you been hurt by Church? Me too. Is it a reason to pull away from God? It could be, but it shouldn’t be. You know what Church is? Church is a gathering of totally imperfect people who claim to know they need Jesus. They’re not always going to get it right. They’re not always going to teach it right. And maybe they didn’t treat you right. I grew up not knowing Jesus because as a little girl, the country church where my family went didn’t quite do things right. My parents were hurt, so they stopped going. When they stopped going, my access to the Bible was cut off. From the time I was 5 to the time I was 15, I heard nothing of God. Church isn’t always going to be right. One denomination says it has to be this way, while another denomination says it has to be their way. We create division and differences and make our own rules on the path to Jesus. People are hurt in the process. Families walk away. Little girls grow up not knowing about God. So, what if instead of getting our doctrine from a gathering of imperfect people who need Jesus, or a person who has been hurt by people who need Jesus, or the Google or ChatGPT, or any other source of any kind … what if instead we look directly at God’s word for truth today. What does it take to be saved? What is required to gain salvation? What can we do to gain access to eternity in Heaven with God? What are the steps? What is the right way? How can we be sure? And have you screwed up so much for so long, you’re now out? We find our answer at the cross. Yes, the cross we just remembered on Easter. And it’s so simple, so pure, so powerful. For some reason, we’ve spent lifetimes twisting and contorting simple truths into rituals, rules and guidelines which Jesus came to fulfill and lift from us. Before Jesus, the way to God was complicated. There were rituals. There were rules. There were people who could talk to God and people who could not. There were certain clothes that had to be worn, sacrifices that had to be made, words that had to be spoken. A temple was built to house the Spirit of God. Within the temple, there was thick curtain that kept ordinary people out of the holy space where God’s Spirit dwelt. Only the high priest could access this space of God’s spirit, and only once per year. A blood sacrifice was required for that yearly entry. So many ceremonial rules and regulations. Back then, following God was scary. If you did it wrong, you would be struck dead. So of course we’re confused on how we could ever be made worthy of access to God. Of course we’re uncertain of our right to approach God with our brokenness. Of course we question if we could ever be good enough to be guaranteed God’s spirit to guide us and God’s forgiveness to cover us for eternity. But Jesus made everything so simple. We don’t have to complicate this. When Jesus was hanging on the cross, in his final breath, something happened. We often read

We know on this day that Jesus died for us – but it was so much more than that. He was beaten. He was whipped. He had a crown of thorns forced into his head. He had nails hammered through his hands. And he hung there on the cross until his final breath. But it was so much more than just that. I think that’s what I’ve missed for all these years – the depth of what Jesus REALLY did for me. It was more than the cross. 35 years ago on Easter Sunday, I knelt at an alter in a little country church in Ava, Missouri and I accepted what Jesus did for me on the cross. But now, 35 years later leading up to this Easter Sunday, I believe I’m truly beginning to understand and receive ALL that Jesus did for me beyond just the cross. There’s just so much more! Countless others in these days died on crosses as capital punishment. It wasn’t death on a cross that changed the world. In fact, on this very day, criminals hung on their own crosses on each side of Jesus. They died that day just like Jesus. It was more than the cross, more than the nails, more than the crown – so much more. Before the cross was the garden. The garden where Jesus made his decision to be our substitute. This is where the battle took place and where Jesus surrendered to his unimaginable punishment for his perfect life. On the final night of Jesus’ life, he took his friends to a garden with him. He said, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death.” They’re in a garden, surrounded by beauty, all alone, and yet Jesus is saying his soul is crushed with grief. Why? Because he knew what was coming next. While his friends continually fell asleep on him, he prayed in that garden and he said, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” The cup of suffering was so much more than death on a cross – it was the absolute weight of every sin in the world. This was what was being put on Jesus, crushing him with grief in the garden. Isaiah 53:6, “The Lord laid on him the sins of us all.” The spiritual weight of every sin, every shame, every rebellion of humanity, placed on Jesus, crushing his soul. This is where the real battle was happening – before the cross, it was the garden. Remember the garden is where humanity failed, where Adam and Eve were deceived by Satan and sin entered the world. Now, in this garden, full circle, Jesus was willing to make it right again. But not just Adam and Eve’s sin, mine and yours too. Every lie I’ve ever told, every secret shame I’ve carried, every rebellious act, every hurtful thing I’ve said, every hateful, corrupted, twisted, wrong thing I’ve ever done – that was laid on Jesus in the garden on that final night. My cup of deserved punishment was taken for me. With sin comes guilt and shame. Have you ever been weighed down by guilt? Knowing you were wrong is heavy. Shame can create an unbearable darkness. Imagine for a

John 13: 1-17 “Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father.” Jesus knew when it wasn’t yet his time – and now he was very clear, this was his time. His final night. This was the beginning of the end, knowing in just a few hours, he would be on the cross. He was fully aware of what was next, and he was fully aware of what was important now. What was most important now was to show us how to how to lead, and how to follow. How to be important and be unimportant. How to truly love and serve. “He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end.” Better translation is “Having loved his own, he had loved to the utmost” There is a love Jesus has for all people, and then there is a love for HIS OWN. His own people were the people who loved him back. You can and should love everyone, but the few who truly love you back get so much more from you. I may not know you at all, but I assure you, I love you. But some of you I have met – I have shared life with – we have memories together – you have loved me back. That love is naturally deeper. And this is what John is writing about. Jesus has a love for all people, but for the people who love him back, they are HIS OWN and that love is different. It is a love to the utmost, meaning to the extreme and maximum limit. My friends, Jesus loves you. No matter what, he loves you. If you never love him back, never acknowledge his sacrifice for you, never speak his name, he still loves you. But if you love him back, then you become his own and you experience a love to the very end like his disciples. Now, Jesus is going to show us how he loves HIS OWN – the ones who love him back. “It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciple’s feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.” Jesus was not detoured from the evil he was fully aware of. He was not distracted, in fact he didn’t even allow it to steal the preciousness of this moment. That’s how you respond when someone is being a jack wagon. That’s how you treat family vacation when one is trying to ruin it. That’s how you handle a day at work when a coworker is on a mission to kill the mood. This is how you move forward when the devil is attacking. You refuse to be distracted. You don’t give it breath. You focus on what you’re there to do. You are there to love. You are there to serve. You are there to be different. Jesus didn’t stop everything and address the one who Satan was using to betray him. Jesus didn’t let it spoil the meal. Jesus didn’t even dismiss Judas from the foot wa

Here we are, the week of Jesus’ crucifixion. The week he very well knew was his last here on this earth. A week he knew would include more suffering than our human minds can comprehend. And guess what – he walked right into this week, facing it head on with intention, knowing what he was doing he was doing for me and you. Over and over again, Jesus shows us how to live in a way that makes it about others more than it is about ourselves. How can we take this example of Jesus in the final week of his life and live more like him? Let’s see how Jesus did it! All 4 gospel accounts of this final week begin in the same way, “Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem”. Now if you were making a triumphant entry, what would that look like? Oh girl, what would you wear? You have to be triumphant in your appearance. Make a grand entrance. Que the walk-up music, this has to be dynamic! Smoke and lights! Energy! All the hoopla for a triumphant entry – right? We really have a special way of making things about us, don’t we? We try so hard to be impressive. We have a hard time choosing what to wear for the flight home from vacation, let alone a triumphant entry for the most important and final week of your life. We overthink … you know why – because we’re thinking about ourselves. Really we are – even when we think of others, we’re typically thinking of how they receive us, how they treat us, and how they make us feel. It’s all about us. But Jesus shows us how to make a triumphant entry that’s all about HIM, without making it all about him. Now, let’s be clear. This really is all about Jesus. Everything in our Bible is ultimately about Jesus. It’s about how Jesus saved us from what we couldn’t save ourselves from. It’s about how Jesus changed absolutely everything for us. So, how do you show up and make an entrance when in fact, it really is about you? Answer: With humility! It was time for Jesus to willfully walk toward Jerusalem, knowing this was the place he would sacrifice his life. Knowing this was the place he would be betrayed. Knowing this was the place he would suffer. Knowing this was the place absolutely nothing would be fair for him, and he would endure it to make it right for us. And do you know how he makes his triumphant entry? Does he show up with chariots? No. Does he call out the band to play his walk-up song? No. Does he even ride in on a horse? No. Jesus chooses the most humble entry – riding on a donkey. A donkey was not a sign of power. A donkey was a sign of humble work. Jesus was making his entry to Jerusalem for his humble work of saving both me and you! Matthew 21: 1-6, “As Jesus and the disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the town of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead. ‘Go into the village over there,’ he said. ‘As soon as you enter it, you will see a donkey tied there, with its colt beside it. Untie them and bring t

The final week of Jesus’ life shows us how he prepared for the end by living now. His final week shows us how to live, knowing our time is limited, this life is temporary, and we have a mission to fulfill. Matthew 11-15 Mark 11-15 Luke 19-23 John 12-19 Scripture: Philippians 2:5 “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.” We know how the final week for Jesus ends – and so did he. He knew the cross was coming, and he knew his death was not defeat, it was victory. It was mission complete. With the example of Jesus, knowing he was about to die, knowing every detail of what was to come in his final week, what if we stopped fearing death and truly lived in the time we have? What if we truly treated each day as purposeful and valuable, knowing it takes us one day closer to our reward – an eternity in Heaven. What if we could treat our time here as important, but remember this is just the beginning. When our time is up on this earth, it’s not over, it’s just the beginning of what we were truly created for. You were created for eternity. Your soul was designed for forever connecting with your Creator. Your existence on this earth is a tiny pre-show where you grow to know your Creator and choose his path of salvation so you can dwell in your forever with him. The Garden of Eden is restored. We’re back where we belong. A perpetual paradise with God. The only way we get there is with Jesus. And what Jesus did in his final week not only makes it all possible, but his final week gives us a blueprint for living well. The final week of Jesus’ life wasn’t just about what he endured – it’s about what he demonstrated. He shows us how to live with purpose. He shows us how to love under pressure. He shows us how to surrender through struggle. He shows us how to trust God completely, even when it’s hard. Jesus Didn’t Just Die for Us—He Modeled Life for Us In His final days, Jesus compresses a lifetime of teaching into lived example. Under pressure, facing betrayal, injustice, and unimaginable suffering, He reveals what a God-centered life actually looks like. We often ask, “How should I live?” Jesus answers that question most clearly in the week leading to the cross. The cross is where He paid for our salvation. But the path to the cross is where He showed us how to live. In 1 week, Jesus would finally hang on the cross and speak the words, “It is finished” … but before he said ‘it is finished’, he showed us how to begin. To begin our journey to our final destination. Final destination is where Jesus was going to prepare things for us. That’s where God’s children are destined. That’s our promised land. And this entire life here on earth is the beginning of our journey there. You’re in the beginning – already on your way to Heaven. Now, live well, my friend. This will all be over soon. This week, study the path to the cross Jesus walked w

Have you ever asked God for one thing and you feel like you got something totally different? Jesus tells us, “ask and you will receive”, but maybe you’re not so sure that applies to you because you haven’t gotten what you’ve asked for. Yes, girl, ask. He wants you to ask. He answers every time you ask – it just might not look like what you thought it would. The Israelites were hungry in the desert and they asked God to supply their needs and give them food to eat. AND GET THIS – The next day they woke up to manna!!!! We know manna as this miraculous bread directly from God which sustained the Israelites where there was nothing else to eat. But let me tell you, THIS WAS NOT WHAT THEY WERE EXPECTING. Exodus 16: 13-15 “The next morning the area around the camp was wet with dew. When the dew evaporated, a flaky substance as fine as frost blanketed the ground. The Israelites were puzzled when they saw it. ‘What is it?’ They asked each other. They had no idea what it was. And Moses told them, ‘It is the food the Lord has given you to eat.” I propose they woke up that morning and saw this white dewy, sticky substance all over the desert ground and they really said “What in the world is THIS?” I don’t know, maybe they were expecting Sarah Lee herself to appear at sunrise baking her fresh loaves of bread, but this … this is not what they were expecting. What is this and what am I supposed to do with it? Understand, nothing like this dewy, flaky substance had ever been seen before. This was totally new to them. And quite honestly, it didn’t look like the miracle they were expecting of the God they were counting on for survival. And this is why they called it manna. Manna literally means “What is it?” For real, that’s the defintion of manna – what is it? And if you don’t know what it is, you certainly don’t know what to do with it. The Israelites expected food they recognized. God gave them something they had to learn HOW to use. Sometimes the reason we miss God’s provision is because it doesn’t match our expectations. We expect things to look a certain way, but God works in the unexpected. You can’t figure him out. You can’t predict him. Your God is continually going to show up in ways that surprise you. And honestly, sometimes it’s initially a disappointing surprise. A question of, really, what is this? What do I do with this now? Can you see how what God has given you is provision, even if it doesn’t look like the “bread” you were expecting? The confusion you currently feel is the first stage of revelation to God’s answer. In the beginning, you’re asking, “Why did this relationship end?” – later you see God’s protection in it. In the beginning you’re asking, “Why did I lose that job?” – later you see God’s great redirection. In the beginning you’re asking, “Why did this happen to me?” – later you see God’s preparation for something better he had for you next. Just beca

Sometimes it feels like we don’t have enough. There’s not enough time. Not enough money. Not enough help. Not enough energy. Sometimes we feel like we’re not enough. We’re not good enough. Not smart enough. Not pretty enough. Not anything enough. So, we walk around looking at our life as if nothing is enough. We’re always lacking. Always in need. Always coming up short. Always feeling if we had more of this or more of that we would be better and do better, but we don’t. So we don’t. We don’t live better because we’ve blindly assumed we always need more in order to do so. All while the one thing we truly need, and already have, is God. If you have God, then you will always have what you need. He’s a good father and he takes care of his girls. So here’s what’s really happening – God designed your entire life around a relationship with him. If you have an abundance of everything, guess what … you no longer need the Almighty. When life is good and easy, you fail to recognize your total dependence on the One who has made every single detail even possible. Hey girl – you didn’t wake up today without God. God allows a need to bring you back to him. Your daily need actually creates a daily relationship with your Creator. Your need and his faithful provision forms a level of trust you wouldn’t know otherwise. In our study of the Israelites in the wilderness, they’re now free from slavery in Egypt, but wandering through a desert without provisions. Nothing grows or flows in a desert. They have a daily need and that daily need was designed by God to bring his people to him. Here, God shows up in really out of the norm ways to provide precisely what is needed. Exodus 16: 4-5, God says, “Look, I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that day. I will test them in this to see whether or not they will follow my instructions. On the sixth day they will gather food, and when they prepare it, there will be twice as much as usual.” Yes, God gave them enough for the day only. Enough. Just for one day. Why? To build their trust and test their faith. Maybe that’s where you are today. You have enough, but it’s only enough for today. You have no idea how you’re going to make it through tomorrow. You don’t see tomorrow’s provisions here today. And what are you going to do next month? How the heck is this going to work next year? What you have certainly doesn’t look like enough and the truth is you’re freaking out a little. How will you make this work? How will you find the strength? Where will you go for what is needed later? But maybe, just maybe, in this season God is building your trust and testing your faith. Will you trust his provision is here for today and see that it is enough? Will you have faith he will do the same for you tomorrow too? See what God has done for you today and trust he will do wha

Whatever your problem is, your solution is nearby. God does not promise a problem free journey, he promises provision for every problem along the way. Look around, your solution is likely less miraculous in appearance than you imagined and actually more practical in nature. It’s the offering of the little you have which somehow becomes enough to feed thousands. It’s the marching in circles that brings walls down. It’s the singing of praise that makes chains fall off. God works miraculously through the practical. Don’t miss the solution he is offering you today as you wait for something that appears more miraculous. Yesterday we read about Moses leading the Israelites in the worship of God after he saved them from their enemies. Real worship for an audience of one broke out in the desert! Women dancing with their tambourines, praising God! Awesome – let’s see what happens next. Now the Israelites are in the desert and what’s lacking in a desert? Water. That’s a problem. Exodus 15:22-24 “Then Moses led the people of Israel away from the Red Sea, and they moved out into the desert of Shur. They traveled in this desert for 3 days without finding any water. When they came to the oasis of Marah, the water was too bitter to drink.” Here we have a real problem. No drinkable water in the middle of a desert. Imagine walking from Yuma Arizona to Tuscon with no water. That’s a problem. So, God offered a solution. A solution that looked more ordinary than miraculous. A solution that required obedience and trust. The solution could not be found in complaining. As the people complained, dying of thirst and facing the disappointment of finding water that was undrinkable, the water remained as it was. God did not respond to their complaining. As God’s people complain, their problems remain. Whatever you complain about will remain about. How much are we complaining right now, and how much is it helping anything? God isn’t drawn in to our complaints, instead I believe our complainging proves we’re not ready for what he is offering. Our complaining proves the lesson hasn’t been learned and the bitterness is still within us. The bitter water represented the bitterness of the Israelites. Even after witnessing the miraculous work of God as they crossed the Red Sea and were saved from the Egyptian Army, they fall back into complaining and wanting to return to Egypt as soon as they faced the next problem. Isn’t that us … we go from praise to complaint in the same day. Whew God you are so good … to …. Oh my gosh this sucks and I hate it. From shaking our tambourine to shaking our head. God did not respond to their complaining. Mamas, how do you respond to your kid’s complaining? Are you eager to jump in and help when they’re whiny? No! That’s what time out is for. Little girl, sit yo’self over here for a hot minute and work on your attitude. After a little time out an

Together, we’ve been studying the book of Exodus, telling us of the great exodus by the Israelites from their 430 years of slavery under the rule of Egypt. After plagues troubled Egypt, the Egyptian ruler Pharaoh demanded the enslaved Israelites leave immediately. They left in a hurry. And wouldn’t you after spending your entire life in slavery? Freedom was finally offered that night, and they ran. What follows is God’s people witnessing his mighty hand in personal and powerful ways. God guides them on the correct path through an unknown wilderness with a pillar of cloud in the day and a pillar of fire at night. God literally parts the water for them, making a path of dry land through the middle of the Red Sea, then swallows up all their enemies in the water after them. For the first time in 430 years, God’s people were truly free. The bodies of their enemies washed up on the shore, proving this was really it for them. What do you do when the battle is finally over? What do you do when you look back and see all God has done? You praise God! Exodus 15:1-2, “Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord: ‘I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; he has hurled both horse and rider into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory. This is my God, and I will praise him – my Father’s God, and I will exalt him!’” The people stopped everything and they sang. But who were they singing to? THE LORD. This song is for an audience of one. My friends, that’s what our worship is supposed to be. All for God and only for God. It’s not a show. It’s not a performance. It’s not a check box. It’s not a ritual. It’s praise for an audience of one. Let me ask you, is that what your worship is? May I be vulnerable with you here? Sadly, my worship changes depending on who I’m with. I often think more about what others might feel than I think about the one it’s really all about. I will dumb down my worship if I know those around me might be uncomfortable. I’ll hold back my praise if I think I might be considered weird. While I know that’s not right, it’s something I often struggle with. What does praise for an audience of one really look like? What does worship with a wholehearted focus on God look like? Well, it looks a whole lot like Exodus 15. For 18 verses, the Israelites sang their praise for their audience of one. And it’s recorded word for word here for us to understand what worship looks like. I’ve gone through their recorded song of praise and here’s what I’ve found – it’s a FOCUS ON GOD. Not a focus on self. Not a focus on others. A focus on God. That is worship. 7 times the words “he, him and his” are used. 26 times the words “you and yours” are used. What are they saying? Ain’t nobody but God did it! Their worship was all about God. They recognized God didn’t just give them strength, GOD IS THEIR STRENGTH. (Verse 2) There’s

I trust God, but sometimes I like to give God suggestions. You know just in case he was 50/50 on what to do, I like to interject by bright ideas and tell him how he could make things work out really good. I occasionally even tell God how he could do “cool things”, as if he was sitting on his throne in heaven stumped over how he could pull off something cool today and he was waiting on me to help him. Do you do that too? I wonder what God thinks of our ideas of taking the path of least resistance. I wonder how God views our tendency to desire what is fastest and easiest. I wonder how God feels about our complete avoidance of hardship, struggle, and suffering. Well, there just so happens to be a story in the bible about this exact thing. Let’s read it together. Matthew 16, Jesus is walking along with his disciples. They’re doing awesome miracles together and making a huge impact every where they go. In fact, they had just finished feeding the crowd of thousands with a small amount of bread and fish. Now they know his power. The disciples know Jesus is the One. They’re all in. Verse 21-23 “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” Understand, Peter was just trying to save Jesus from suffering. He was trying to find an easier way. He was trying to fix this. And Jesus said, THIS SUFFERING DOESN’T NEED TO BE FIXED. THIS HARDSHIP DOESN’T NEED TO BE AVOIDED. That’s a hard pill to swallow. I want my suffering and your suffering to be fixed. Like immediately. I don’t want times to be hard for anyone. If there was something I could do to ease my friend’s pain after her loss, gosh I would do it. If I could lift the suffering of my friend whose world has fallen apart, I would do it. If I could make your marriage problems go away, I would in a heartbeat. If I could solve your financial problems, boom, it would be fixed in an instant. If I could lift your burdens… If I could clear the way… If I could bring you healing … If I could restore what has been broken… I would be like Oprah. You get a new car. You get a good marriage. You get health. You get a whole family. You get a bonus. You get a baby. You get your answers. You all get EVERYTHING! No suffering. No struggle. No waiting. All your problems are fixed and there’s nothing but sunshine and glitter ahead, my friend. I really would fix it all for you … If I could. And to that, Jesus would say to me, “Satan, get behind me!” Why? Because just like Peter, I’m fo