At some point in everyone’s life there is doubt that creeps in. Whether it be a test, paying a bill, relationships, and even doubting god. 

In John 20 we hear the story of doubting Thomas. Jesus’ disciples saw Jesus for the first time since He had been crucified and they were telling Thomas that they saw him. John 20:25 says, “So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” 

When Thomas finally saw Jesus he shouted, “My Lord and my God!” In John 20:29 Jesus says, “Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Everyone told Thomas that Jesus was back and he didn’t believe them until he saw him with his own eyes. 

 In April of 2024 the day had finally come where I was going to ask Mr. Billy to marry Kelanie. My parents both told me I was going to be nervous, and I didn’t believe them one bit. All my friends and family told me the same thing, but still I didn’t believe them. 

As I pulled into their driveway I was still perfectly fine until I stepped inside their house. My heart started beating so fast to the point where I thought I was going to pass out! Mr. Billy and Mrs. Tera were in the living room, and they said hi to me as soon as I walked through the door. All I could do is wave at them without saying a word, and I walked straight to the hallway where my sister in law was and she saw just how nervous I was. 

I went into their bathroom and washed my face and once I gathered myself together I walked back into the living room and asked Mr. Billy if he could come help me with my truck outside. When we were outside my 3 year old nephew was out there rolling in the mud and throwing rocks at the road, which calmed my nerves and I finally asked him for his blessing. 

 All day everyone told me I was going to be nervous, and I didn’t believe them one bit until the moment finally came. More times than we want to admit we doubt God and his plan that he has on our lives. 

Jeremiah 29:11 says: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” 

Jesus please help us to not doubt you and to trust your plan that you have for us.

I’ve spent a lot of time reading the old testament in my quiet time recently, and my take away from everything I’ve read is to have faith like those before me. 

David was thrown in a lions den.

Joseph was sold into slavery and thrown in prison.

Moses was called to lead a nation out of slavery.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into a furnace.

These men faced unfathomable circumstances and used it to proclaim God is faithful. They walked the walk and talked the talk. These stories are not only about God delivering them, but about how having faith when it makes no sense has an impact on those around us. 

Hope is the most impactful when it shouldn’t be there. Let’s use our fiery furnace, our lions den, to show people how good our God is.

Paul writes in acts 27:15 “so take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told.”

Use your trails to show Jesus!

Corrie ten Boom once said, “There is no pit so deep, that God’s love is not deeper still.” She didn’t say this lightly. She lived through the horror of a concentration camp, watched her sister die, and faced evil up close. But even in that place of darkness, she found that the love of God was deeper still. That truth remains for us today.

Maybe you’ve been a believer a long time, but somewhere along the way, your love for God has grown cold. You still go through the motions, still show up at church, but something inside feels numb. I want you to know that He hasn’t moved. He’s still pursuing you. There’s no distance or silence or dryness that His love can’t break through.

Or maybe you’ve become a Sunday-only kind of Christian. Life’s gotten busy, routine has taken over, and faith has slipped into the background. It can happen. But God didn’t save you so you could check a box once a week. He wants to walk with you daily, not just visit on Sundays. And He’s still inviting you back into that kind of relationship where you feel His love being poured out on you and then through you every single day.  

And maybe you’ve never really known the love and forgiveness of Jesus. You might feel like your past disqualifies you, like the things you’ve done or the pain you’ve carried put you in too deep of a pit. But the truth is, there’s not a single place His love can’t reach. No mess too messy. No heart too hard. No life too far gone.

His love is deeper still! 

So wherever you find yourself today, distant, distracted, or discovering, know this: He’s not done with you! His love goes further than your failure, your apathy, or your brokenness. All you have to do is turn toward Him. His great love is already reaching for you! 

Yesterday was a good, good day with a huge reminder that we serve a good, good God. 

One of my dearest friends, my prayer warrior, received amazing news. News that reminded us all that God is still working miracles. A reminder that God is still the same yesterday, today, and forever. 

I’m thankful. 

Don’t give up on praying for God’s miracle for your life. 

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8

“With a mighty voice he shouted: “ ‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’ She has become a dwelling for demons and a haunt for every impure spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal. For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.” Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “ ‘Come out of her, my people,’ so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. 

Give back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done. Pour her a double portion from her own cup. Give her as much torment and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself.

In her heart she boasts, ‘I sit enthroned as queen. I am not a widow; I will never mourn.’ Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her. 

“They will say, ‘The fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your luxury and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered.’ The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand far off, terrified at her torment. They will weep and mourn and cry out: “ ‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls! 

In ONE HOUR,such great wealth has been brought to ruin!’

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭18‬:‭2‬-‭8‬, ‭14‬-‭17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Those are some serious words. How often do we get caught up in Babylon? How we perform, what we look like, what we wear, what we post, the pictures we take, the things we have, the house we live in, the success we accomplish, the success of our children, the car we drive, the list goes on and on and what an exhausting list it is. If God gave us back a double portion of what we’ve done, of how much glory and luxury we’ve given ourselves in torment, what would your portion look like? 

Today I want you to be reminded that at the end of the day all the mess we worry about, all the excess we strive for, all the riches we slave after, it will, in the end be destroyed with nothing to show for it.  God has placed us in a place of influence for such a time as this. Don’t be discouraged about all the junk in your life, be encouraged that with God you are victorious and today is your day to make an impact for the Kingdom!

The thing I love most about the Bible is that every single time you read it you gain new perspective. 

And that perspective – that’s Jesus communicating with you. 

This past Sunday as I listened to the 4th and 5th Grade Sunday School teacher read the Easter story (I’m the assistant in that room), my mind went to a place it had never gone to before. 

I started thinking about the fact that Jesus was in the absolute worst state He could possibly be in – enduring a horrific, slow death – but He was more worried about the two people on either side of Him. 

That’s my Jesus. 

This “Do You” mentality that our social media driven world is trying to indoctrinate us in isn’t it, y’all. 

It’s not it at all. 

If you find yourself stuck in an awful place. A place so dreadful that you don’t know what to do or where to go – turn to your neighbor and see how you can help them instead. 

Let’s start being like Jesus. 

Acting like Jesus. 

Serving like Jesus. 

Let’s start loving like Jesus. 

That’s why God put us here. 

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.””

‭‭Mark‬ ‭10‬:‭45‬ ‭ESV‬‬