All posts filed under: Faith

The Blessing in the Fog: Faith for Creatives

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“The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them…The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore.” ~PSALM 34:7, 121:8 There are many occasions where I see an image and I am inspired to write something. In this instance, I was perusing through some images and landed on the one featured and then I was reminded on the part in “The Horse & His Boy,” by C.S. Lewis, where the Horse and the Boy are on a cliff in the fog and they see Aslan. The thing is they don’t know Who Aslan is. All they see is a fierce and dangerous lion walking in the thickness of the fog not necessarily close to them, but close enough to evoke fear in their hearts as they try to make their way down the mountain and the cliff through the fog. So the Horse and his Boy press into the cliff to keep as far away from Him, Aslan, the unknown lion, as possible, still pressing through the …

The Heart of Hospitality: Faith for Creatives

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“Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.”              ~ROMANS 12:10-13 (See vs 9-21) Hospitality, whenever many of us hear the word the first image that comes to mind is that of homecooked meals, friends and loved ones gathered around a table, smiling and sharing in one another’s company. I know that I have often considered hospitality meant that I had to open my home, serve a meal and all that comes with it. And although that is indeed true to the definition, there is so much more to it and yet so much more glorious simplicity than what we typically assign to the word. Hospitality isn’t about a location per se but more about meeting others in their need wherever they are. It’s about being present and available in the moment, with undivided attention, no matter the location, but with sincerity …

Son of God Came Down: A Poem by Briana Lassiter

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Son of God came down Son of Man they found triumphant over the grave Triumphant in victory God could not be bound His love He freely gave He opened up the grave He split the earth, for me to save Love of God come down Touch us with Your sound The sound of truth, the sound of grace Let us glimpse Your precious face Lead us in all truth Let us walk with You Triumphant warriors Kingdom carriers Break all barriers Light of the world; that’s You. ~Poiema, Poetry in Motion By Briana Lassiter I’m married to my dearest friend of 8 years and mom to an energetic 6-year-old. My greatest joys come from traveling with my little family, cooking for appreciative recipients, learning herbalism and natural medicine, and every experience I get to have in prayer ministry. I’m an avid tea and book lover and can’t get enough of either. I love Jesus and the daily adventure that comes from walking in friendship with him as he arranges and rearranges my story.

Take Your Promise, A Prophetic Word for Passover: Season of Salvation pt 2

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“My covenant I will not break, Nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.” ~PSLAM 89:34 In Psalm 89:34 the word of the Lord says, “My Covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that is gone out of my lips.” Several nights ago the Lord gave me a dream and in that dream, I was on vacation with a group of people. I looked out the window at the night sky and the sky was black but out of nowhere a cloud that looked like smoke upon the dark sky started to turn to the colors of the rainbow. The actual colors were red, yellow, purple, green, and blue. Suddenly the cloud began to move and as it moved it turned into a ring in the heavens. It was like an opening in the firmament and had Hebrew words going through it. But then the cloud-ring froze over and out of it poured snow. I watched people going out and standing with the light under this rainbow-ring that was now frozen with …

Praying with Accuracy, not Accusation: Turbulence in Transition

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Change can be such a beautiful thing. Moving from one season of life into another, leaving one position at the workplace in order to lay claim to a more rewarding position, stepping out of the realm of singlehood to embrace that of a family, is glorious change. And the list goes on. Unfortunately, many times when we are offered the chance to embrace life redefining change brought on by accepting transition through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we inevitably run into the turbulence that shakes our current relationships to their very core. The truth is with the turbulence of transition and change comes the bitterness of pain in some of our existing relationships, be they familial, friendship, or romantic. Sometimes these are growing pains that draw us closer to our loved ones. Other times they are pains that push us away with the sharp barbs of rejection and disapproval. What do we do when we face such shaking when the wounds caused by a loved one’s rejection cut us deeper than our marrow? What …

Knowing God or Knowing About God by Bri Lassiter

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I feel like I’ve spent a lot of my life knowing about God but not actually knowing Him. It’s as if I’ve somehow thought I could have a relationship with God by knowing as many facts as I can about Him, and then “living right” in accordance with the facts I knew. It’s laughable how unrealistic that thinking is! Imagine approaching ANY other relationship in your life the same way, or imagine trying to apply any Christian catchphrase that we try so hard to live by, to an actual relationship like a husband, wife or friend. What if you tried to function in your human relationships by attempting to just work hard, sacrifice, conform, or serve and please them? What if you just came to them and begged to be used a lot? Or if you just came to them begging for them to fix you and make you clean? Those would sound like red flag signals of a dysfunctional or abusive relationship, void of feelings and necessary love. Yet these are the exact phrases …

When the Oil flows: Faith for Creatives

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Revised from January 24, 2014 “Is there no balm in Gilead, is there no healer there? Why has the healing of the daughter of my people not come?” ~JEREMIAH 8:22  The answer to Jeremiah is, Yes there is a Balm and a Healer, and He has indeed come! Sometimes, the ups and downs of life have the ability to cause our hearts to grow hard as stone, even for those of us who belong to Messiah Yeshua, Christ Jesus. The encouraging thing is that even stones can’t help but soak up oil. When Yeshua Jesus, our Christ, pours His oil upon us, the oil will be soaked up and our wee little hearts will be healed and hard no more! There is relief in Him! I am learning that the soaking is not always instantaneous. Maybe I already knew that but I did not really give this truth much heed. But I believe we all need to. Consider the work of a massage therapist. You have trigger points in your muscles that are preventing you …

Palms of Victory: Season of Salvation pt 1

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“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.” ~ZECHARIAH 9:9 Before the very foundations of the world, before the Creator spoke and set out His Words to cause light to shine in the darkness, the Precious Lamb of God, the King of Kings and Savior of all was slain, shedding His blood in a covenant that would shape eternity. Before Adam and Eve inhaled the very breath and Spirit of God, the Ruah that gave them purpose by His design, before their feet could know the touch of grass or their ears hear the ring of pleasure in laughter, before they could fall prey to the lie of the evil one and cause all creation to fall, victory over death, hell, and the grave had already been won. They had, we had, every one of us who would believe and receive His free gift and unmerited favor and grace, based off His finished work was …

When the Going Gets Tough, You Have a Helper

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“Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is with those who uphold my life.” ~PSALM 54:4 The Lord Who called you with purpose, dream, and vision, will help and sustain you especially when the going and growing gets tough (PSALM 23). Remember when He told the disciples He required or had a need to go to the other side of the sea of Galilea (MARK 4:35-41)? He let it be known to them that He had business there, instructed them to row in that direction, and then with Him, on the boat with them fast asleep…an ugly storm came. STORMS DON’T CANCEL HIS WORD The storm that hit in the midst of transition did not cancel the word, desire, or direction that Christ had spoken and put in motion. The best part about it was that not only was His plan and purpose not hindered by the storm but He was also in the midst of the storm during the transition with those He had commissioned to go forward. And as He was with the disciples during their storm, so too …

A Heart You Can Trust: Faith for Creatives

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“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” ~EZEKIEL 36:26 The Lord, through the New Covenant of Grace, enacted by Christ’s finished work on the cross and subsequent resurrection, has given each of us who believe in Him a new heart! And this is not just any heart, but a heart shaped like His and filled with His desires. That old stony, deceptive heart, that often was guided by the draw of our sin nature (JEREMIAH 17:9), He has removed. If there is a desire burning in your heart and your heart is indeed Christ’s, trust it. Trust the purpose and plan that He is stirring up within you. And if you are still uncertain, take it to Him and lay it at His precious feet, knowing that He will settle matters within you. Trust how He moves your heart with confidence in His love and shedding of all fear because of …