All posts filed under: Faith

Sharing the Greatest Gift

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“Jesus Christ is the Light that dispels fear, provides assurance & direction, & engenders enduring joy & peace.” ~DAVID A. BEDNAR I believe that David A. Bednar was completely correct in his assessment in our Savior, Jesus Christ, the Light of the World. There is such beauty in his words especially during this season of lights and dedication and the celebration of the Greatest Gift this world has ever received. But for many, this season brings confusion, loneliness, and pain. Let us, the Children of God, saved by the grace of God, and made to be lights in the darkness, shine brightly for our Lord drawing others unto Him, out of fear, out of confusion, into direction, joy, life, and peace. How do we shine this light? We shine it through loving those around us, not just during this holiday season but every day, with sincerity, truth, and the same grace that saved us! How else do we behave when we have been given something special? We respond with joy and excitement, such that we …

Advent Communion Prayer by Bri Lassiter

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Every Advent celebration looks a little different for me, and I don’t usually follow a set devotional or Advent guide. What I like to do instead is turn over the whole celebration plans to Jesus and ask Him to tell me what we should focus on. So in sharing one of my resources, I want to show that Advent doesn’t need to fit in any box, and if you want a starting place to find lasting and meaningful aspects of celebration between you and Jesus, be encouraged to let Him lead. Mine is very different than a traditional celebration, yours may not be, so just ask Him to show you whatever songs, devotions, scripture passages, communion prayers etc work best for you, and see where He takes you! The following Communion prayer is an adaptation of the prayer by Paul Keith Davis founder of White Dove Ministries, as found in this YouTube video.  Any and all prayers I use as a jumping off place as guided by the Holy Spirit and you may find yourself …

Encouraged in the Wait: Trusting in God in the Trial

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Revised from November 29, 2016 “He [God] gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.” ~ISAIAH 40:29-31 This passage from Isaiah is one that I’ve quoted many of times in my walk with the Lord Jesus. Often times I’ve felt it come up from within my soul during times of, you’ve guessed it, waiting! And although this scripture does indeed tell us, like many others found in the Bible, that the Lord is faithful to those who wait, the power of waiting in the circumstances that the Prophet Isaiah is writing on is what really moved my heart recently and I am certain it will do the same for yours. When the Lord spoke to Isaiah, giving him these verses it was in response to what was going on …

The Season of Light: The Glory of Hanukkah and the Beauty of Christmas

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December marks the season of Light. It is the when the days grow shorter and the sky is wrapped in a tapestry of deep indigo blue. Night comes and for many, the thought of darkness is the first to cross our minds. But consider the evenings in the winter, when the snow has blanketed the ground in deep, glistening crystals of soft white. And that soft white upon the backdrop of deep blue only glows. Then add the clearness of the cloudless sky with the sharp glow of the moon’s light and the brilliant twinkle of the stars. What was meant to be deep darkness has become the stage for the majesty of light. The imagery alone brings a smile to my face. The Word tells us in that at the fullness of time our Savior, Christ Jesus, the Light of the world, was born into the world to save it (GALATIANS 4:4-7). Just when it seemed that humanity had reached its lowest, most depraved point in creation, with darkness claiming to reign, the Light …

Mounting Up in the Wait: Faith for Creatives

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“But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.” ~ISAIAH 40:31 Turbulence and storms, symptoms and circumstances…darkness. None of these negate the truth of God’s Word and His Light that overcomes the darkness and all that it brings. Our job as born-again children of the Most High God is not to try and make His word come to pass but to trust and have faith in hope that it will come to pass as He declares in Isaiah 55:10-11. This often requires waiting on our part. And let’s be honest, waiting gets difficult. But be encouraged in the wait. There is glory in the wait. Isaiah 40:31 assures us that they that wait on the Lord shall: Renew their strength: The Word says that when we wait on Him and in Him, our strength is renewed. What is it to renew? Think about when you borrow a book from the library, return date comes before you are finished but …

Your Inheritance is Secure

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“The Lord assigned my portion and my cup. You maintain my lot secure.” ~PSALM 16:5 WMB In our journeys in our creativity, the pursuits of our dreams and just in life in general, I can’t think of a Word that brings more peace than Psalm 16:5. Stepping out in faith to take hold of what Christ Jesus has purposed in our hearts is an adventure, but it can also be a point of stress if we aren’t secure in the promises of His Word. First, let’s be reminded that the Word is Christ (JOHN 1: 1,14), that He is the Truth (JOHN 14:6) and there is no falsehood in Him (I PETER 2:22). So when we read a promise, all of which are yes and amen in Him (II COR. 1:20) and in the Word, we are reading or seeing into the Perfect Person of Who He is. We can count it as ours for He is ours just as we are His (SONG OF SONGS 6:3)! Another translation of Psalm 16:5 says, “O Lord, You are the …

Dressed for the Appointment: Hope for the Promises to Come

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*Revised from December 26th, 2012 Six years ago I was led to write a short message reminding many of my friends on Facebook to keep holding on to the Word of Faith and promise that Christ Jesus had given unto them. Now, six years later, I am urged to do it again. The Lord laid this question upon my heart that only you can answer for yourself, really, and here it is. “Are you dressed and are you ready for the open door?” It is easy to be given a dream and a prophetic vision for your future/destiny/purpose, but it is a whole other thing to not only hold on to it but to be prepared for it at all times. With many of the trails that we face within the monotony of life, it is easy to lose hope in the dream, allowing it to be transformed into the elusive ‘carrot on a stick’ dangling just out of your reach. “Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him quickly out of the dungeon; and …

Thanksgiving in Every Step: Faith for Creatives

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“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord And He delights in his way.” ~PSALM 37:23 The beauty of living our lives to the glory of Christ is that we can rest in the full assurance that no matter where our foot may fall, whether circumstances seem good, bad, or neutral, that our steps are ordered by God our Father. Now don’t misunderstand. This doesn’t mean that we, in our ‘good intentions’ can’t get ourselves off track and go places God never ordained or intended, because the truth is that we all have. What it means is that, if we find that we have made a bad step, the Lord is not only able but faithful to work that step to our good (ROMANS 8:28). He is able to turn what our own misguided direction wrought into something good. Let us give thanks for that! Let us give thanks that because we are now His righteousness through faith (II COR. 5:21, we are assured of always gaining victory. Let us give thanks that our repentance, turning …

To Walk on the Wind: Faith for Creatives

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Uitwaaien (out-vwy-ehn) “To take a break to clear one’s head; lit. “To walk on the wind.” ~The Dictionary Uitwaaien is such an amazing word, not just for the beautiful meaning, but also for its incredibly difficult but fun pronunciation! To take a break in order to clear one’s mind is a foreign concept for many of us. It actually seems counterintuitive to being successful in our creative pursuits. But when we look at scripture, we see the God of Creation not only taking a break from His work during the dawn of time but also during His three years of ministry here on earth as God with Us-Emmanuel. “And when He (Jesus) had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray.” ~ MARK 6:46 NKJV With each moment of creation, the Lord paused to call His work good. With each moment of ministry that He completed in the form of man, He took the time to draw away and to breathe in the refreshing breath of God the Father. In Matthew 14:22-33, Christ Jesus …

Victory Before the Battle: Being Undevourable

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Colossians 2:13-15, “And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.” Yours is the victory! Christ Jesus has set you free from every enemy and every issue that could and would rise against you (ISAIAH 53). Your job is to believe it! Satan, the enemy of our souls–our souls i.e our minds, because if he can get us to believe lies then he can shift the trajectory of our lives to live lies, far outside of the redemptive promises of God and Christ even though we are saved–is fighting a battle he has already lost. But if you don’t realize he is defeated, you become devourable (I PETER 5:8.) Our enemy is fighting with broken …