Devotionals for the Heart: Be prepared to fight against our mortal enemy

Know Your Enemy: Be Prepared!
A devotional by Leslie Bake

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”—1 Peter 5:8-9 (NIV)

I walk my year and half-year-old Cocker Spaniel weekly on a lovely, wooded path near my neighborhood. It’s almost always busy with plenty of other dog walkers, stray cats, deer and occasionally a vulture or two.

With repeated exposure, I’m hoping my young dog will grow accustomed to the stimulation and simmer down. He is always on the leash and he’s still learning. There have been moments when we encounter a German Shepherd, and the owner and the calmer canine graciously step aside as I gather my fussy 30 pounder in my arms and continue on the path. I keep my dog close, reprimand him, and yank him into submission when we pass the equally terrified cats staring us down. I do my best to keep my dog safe and train him.

That’s a lot like what God’s Word (The Holy Bible) does for me when I am navigating a world of frightening rulers, the authorities, the powers of darkness in this world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly realms. I’m still learning to stay focused on the Lord, and there are days when I’m still frightened. However, as long as I’m on my “leash”, I know God is leading and guiding me. Otherwise, I am all over the place, distracted, and fighting the wrong battles.

Yes, we are in a battle. Our enemy deceives, kills, lies, steals and destroys (John 10:10). He studies us to identify our weaknesses and prowls around like a roaring lion, patiently waiting for the perfect time to devour us. That’s not melodrama. That’s the Truth. See our anchor text above for proof. The entertainment industry is one of many ways in which Satan gains a foothold in our minds.

I remind you of this reality not to scare you, but to prepare you.

Satan (the devil, our enemy) works hard to keep families broken, marriages in ruin, all of us anxious and distracted from God. He wants us bickering, divided, and full of self-righteous pride. I recommend you read The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis and any book by Neil T. Anderson (especially The Bondage Breaker) if you remain skeptical about the reality of demons and how they work.

How do we overcome the enemy and his demons?

Jesus Christ did the first part with the crucifixion and resurrection (John 3:16-17), which crippled the fallen angel (Lucifer/Satan), but didn’t kill him. Why didn’t Jesus annihilate him? It was not the right time. We know this because in Luke 8:26-39, Jesus commanded a legion of demons out of a man, but the demons begged not be sent to the Abyss, which is referenced in Revelation. Jesus sends the demons into the pigs instead. The book of Revelation portrays the future victory Jesus has over Satan, his demons and all evil.

The good news is that Jesus has defeated Satan, so he remains under God’s authority with limited power. When Jesus returns, evil will be permanently annihilated. But until then, we believers are under God’s protection and must do our part. How can we do our part? Glad you asked! Read on…

We must saturate our minds with the truth of The Holy Bible, and at times, speak them out loud. I have found that speaking Scripture is helpful when I feel under attack from the enemy because I know the devil can’t read my mind but he can hear my spoken words. We must pray daily for protection. We must apply God’s Truth to our lives every day because the enemy watches us closely. The Bible says in James 4:7 (NIV), “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

The Bible also says in Ephesians 6:13 (NIV) that we are to “put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” When we continue reading this passage in the Bible found in Ephesians 6:14-18, we discover that we are called to, “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

Our offensive mode is knowing Scripture so well that we can fight the deceiver’s lies by proclaiming Truth. The sword of the spirit blocks those flaming arrows of accusations, lies and schemes. Our defensive mode is staying on our leash, close to Jesus and living righteously. These battle plan directions are clear, but not easy to follow. Righteous living is our best protection, but that’s hard work. Are you willing to live righteously? This means living obediently according to the teachings of God’s Word.

Satan is determined to destroy the church and the individuals within. One could argue that he already has. Wake up, Church! Spiritual warfare is mandatory as a collective body within the church and for individual believers in God. Our adversary aims his fiery arrows at those devoted to the Lord because they are sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with whomever and wherever they can.

This is not a game. There are no spectator seats. You must decide to either take up your cross and follow Jesus (Matthew 16:24-26) or fall prey to Satan. Following Jesus is not a lukewarm decision. The choice is easy if you truly love the Lord and do the work of maintaining a relationship with Him.

Satan, the god of this world, delights in our complacency before the Lord, our half-hearted attempts at prayer and our refusal to repentant. Maybe you need to take the Bible seriously. Maybe you need to renew your commitment to the Lord. Maybe you need to confess sin. Remember: You cannot choose sin and then beg a Holy God for protection from the evil one. Only when we confess our sin, repent, experience forgiveness and submit to Him as our Lord and Savior are we covered.

Stay on the leash and close to God with righteous living. Stay near to the Good Shepherd (Jesus Christ, as stated in John 10:11-18) and keep your ears tuned for His voice. Don’t allow evil to frighten or distract you. Stay the course.

Let’s Pray:

Dear God,

We are so very grateful for your redemptive work at the cross and for your victory. Thank You for your loving protection under the shadow of your wings. Forgive us for not living righteously. Forgive our sins. Forgive us when we fail to remain alert to Satan’s cunning lies. You have given us all the tools we need for victory in this battle. Help us use them effectively.

In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

~*~
Song of Reflection #1: “Mercy Tree” by Lacey Sturm. Listen to it here.

Song of Reflection #2: “God So Loved” by Jaci Velasquez. Listen to it here.

Song of Reflection #3: “Thank You Jesus for the Blood (Live)” by Charity Gayle. Listen to it here.

Song of Reflection #4: “I Will Wait for You” by Dr. Juanita Bynum. Listen to it here.

~*~
Author Bio:

Leslie Bake grew up Lutheran in Des Moines, graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with an undergraduate degree in English, and with a new understanding of what a relationship with the Lord could look like. 

She spent a few years reporting and editing in small town journalism and then began pursuing a master’s degree at Iowa State University in teaching English to speakers of other languages. Then she got married and later went through a divorce, which deepened her relationship with God and transformed her life.

Leslie taught English as a second language for three years at Kansas State University, then returned to writing and earned a master’s degree in creative non-fiction in Pittsburgh. Her memoir will eventually be published. It details the process of how the Lord created beauty from the ashes of divorce.

Pittsburgh is also where she met and married her second husband. They are now the parents of two wonderful children—one in fifth grade and one in first grade.

Leslie and her husband make their home in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Leslie has been a stay-at-home mom for the past 11 years and actively growing her writing career alongside her two growing children.

She now maintains a monthly blog of her own and is working toward expanding her writing ministry on Substack. Her heart’s deepest desire is to help others connect with God through writing.

~*~
Connect with Leslie:
Substack: lesliebake.substack.com
E-mail address: Leslie.bake@yahoo.com

Devotionals for the Heart: God can heal, deliver and restore you

God Sees You and He Hears You
A devotional by Essie Faye Taylor

“Go back and tell Hezekiah, the ruler of my people, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you.”

—2 Kings 20:5 (NIV)

Life is an adventure—to be honest, most days it can feel like an emotional rollercoaster. We can have extreme highs and extreme lows in the same year, month, week, or even the same day. God never promised that life would be easy.

He did, however, promise that He would be with us as we walk our life path. This looks like God walking with us through our personal trauma, such as a toxic relationship, abuse, divorce, a fractured relationship with our parents or addiction. God is there with us in the darkness, in the shadows, in the face of the pain and sorrow—He’s with us through it all! His presence is constant and calming. His promise to us found in Psalm 23:4 (NKJV) is, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”

2 Kings chapter 20 opens by saying King Hezekiah was “sick and near death” (2 Kings 20:1 NKJV). Hezekiah was known as a good king who walked uprightly before God. Yet this righteous man is stricken with a terminal illness. Anyone reading this story in our current time era may question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?”

Trials and triumphs are part of the human experience. As believers in God, we are not exempt from the storms of life. However, we have hope in this life because God is always with us, and we have hope of eternal life because of Jesus Christ (John 3:16). But let’s get back to the Bible story. The prophet Isaiah was sent by God to King Hezekiah to tell him to set his house in order because he would die. After receiving such grave news, Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to God. He begged God to remember how He walked in truth and stayed loyal to God all his life. He wept before the Lord.

God was moved by Hezekiah’s prayer and the righteous life he lived. This led God to change His mind. He healed Hezekiah and extended the years of his life. The healing encounter in this Scripture assures us of God’s care for us today too.

God sees our situation and lifestyle. Nothing is hidden from our Sovereign and Omnipotent God. Scripture declares, “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him" (2 Chronicles 16:9 NKJV). God had the record of Hezekiah’s life choices and uprightness before Him. His simple prayer of remembrance spoke volumes because of the life that he practiced before God. Our life speaks for us. Our choices steeped in biblical principles testify of God’s grace and goodness to the world. God honors His children. He is eager to show Himself strong and move on behalf of those who are loyal to Him. We see God changing His mind about Hezekiah’s death date because of his commitment to Him.

Our prayers, our tears, and our emotions matter to God–so much so that He is eager to answer and deliver us. Although your heart seems to be shattered into a thousand pieces, God is ready to heal your heart. Although you’re afraid of that recent diagnosis, our God is a Healer and He can restore your health. Maybe you’ve lost a loved one and the grief seems unsurmountable or unbearable. Put it in the Master’s Hand because He is the God of all comfort. Perhaps you’re overwhelmed by anxiety or depression or struggling with suicidal ideation. Nothing is too hard for our God to heal. Sometimes He doesn’t heal us while we are living on this Earth, but He will heal us completely in Heaven.

Nearly ten years ago, my youngest brother had a stroke while at his job. He was rushed to the hospital. My large family of believers gathered at the hospital and prayed for healing. In the next few days, my brother improved. Then suddenly he had an aneurysm and passed away. This saddened our hearts because we had prayed for his healing. But we need to remember that our God is Sovereign and He knows best. We rest in knowing that we will see him again in Heaven.

Call to Action:

1. Embrace the Sovereignty of God as you heal.

2. Trust God with your next knowing that He sees your situation, He hears your cries, and He can heal you in His perfect time.

3. Accept that healing from God comes in many forms. Healing can be immediate or gradual. It may look different for everyone.

4. Rest in God’s Sovereignty and know that you are safe with Him.

Let’s Pray:
Heavenly Father, You are sovereign. You know everything that is said and done in the dark and when no one else is around. You know the hidden and secret things. Nothing is hidden from You. Father God, You hear our prayers. You tell us to call You and You will answer us. You said that your ears are open to the cry of the righteous. Whatever we ask in prayer, if we believe it, we shall have it. We are asking for healing, Lord. We rest in Your sovereignty and Your promise to be with us at all times—good and bad. Help us to have faith that You will hear and answer our prayers. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

Song of Reflection: “Sovereign (Live)” by Chris Tomlin. Listen to it here.

~*~
Author Bio:

Essie Faye Taylor is a woman of faith. She’s a bilingual author, educator, speaker, psalmist, and interpreter. 

Essie is the author of the “Finding the Love You Deserve” series for women and teens. She is deeply committed to motivating minorities, women, and youth to heal themselves, love and accept themselves, and pursue God while chasing their dreams and carving out their life’s path.

Essie is a Chicago native where she lives with her husband Donald Taylor II.

~*~
Connect with Essie:
Website: www.essiefayetaylor.com
Amazon Author Page:
https://www.amazon.com/stores/Essie%20Faye%20Taylor/author/B09XF3TC22
Listen to Essie’s music at https://on.soundcloud.com/X6DeoRXra7YoKcC2A.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_essie_faye/ 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/esther.tate.39
Read Essie’s YouVersion Devotion Plan here: http://bible.us/r/Abn

Devotionals for the Heart: A life lesson about not acting hastily

What God Taught Me About Not Acting Hastily
A devotional by Aubrey Taylor

“Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation,

A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;

Whoever believes will not act hastily.”— Isaiah 28:16 (NKJV)

As a lifelong sufferer of anxiety, Isaiah 28:16 (NKJV) has brought me great comfort.

There have been many times in my life when I felt I had to do something. Spurred on by the belief that delayed obedience was disobedience (which can be true under other circumstances), I was always afraid that my slowness to respond or reluctance to act meant that I was in disobedience to God. Furthermore, I was taught to fear the consequences.

What grace one finds in the verses above. Yes, God does want us to obey, but He is also wants us to rest in Him and trust His Sovereignty—and His love for us! The Bible says elsewhere that He knows we are only dust (Psalm 103:14). He understands our weaknesses (Hebrews 4:15) and will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle (Isaiah 43:17).

Further, the Holy Spirit is gentle. Anxiety, as I have experienced, is not gentle. It causes us to act hastily and recklessly. It can cause harm rather than furthering God’s purposes. That is not to say that His purposes can be thwarted by our mistakes, but simply that we may cause ourselves and others greater difficulty by not waiting on Him!

When I was in a season of severe anxiety, I remember feeling that I had to tell an employee at the grocery store that I had just published my first book. I didn’t just approach the employee once—but two different times! This example may sound silly to many readers, but I know there are those out there who can relate. I heard so many stories of people feeling that God was leading them to do something as random as go up to someone in the store and talk to them, coupled with a fear of disappointing God, I felt I simply had to do it…or else! Ultimately, though, I only frustrated myself and the employee. Further, stores usually have a policy that customers are not supposed to solicit employees.

Those who act hastily flit around as if they do not have a clear understanding of what they’re doing. They are like children who are distracted by a shiny thing, or who dash out into oncoming traffic because they are chasing a ball without looking both ways and thinking of safety before crossing the road. We can be sure that this is not God’s will for us. We are harder on ourselves than He is on us, and often, we are harder on each other as well. This verse is proof that He is not in as much of a hurry as we believe Him to. Though God does not want us to delay if we know His will clearly, He does not want us to act hastily either. In my earlier example, I acted hastily, on impulse to talk to this employee, because I feared the consequences if I did not.

Are we willing to trust in Jesus Christ to protect us from shame when we are called to do difficult things? Are we also willing to trust Him to cover us if we choose not to do something? Especially if we are prone to impulse, anxiety, or believing we have to imitate someone else, it may be wise to take some time to think and pray before acting. He will not shame us for doing so.

Let’s Pray: Dear Jesus, thank You that You are sovereign above all, and that You hold the whole universe in Your hands. Help us to see that our fears and anxieties should not be the impetus for us to act, but rather, our actions should come from peace and confidence in You. You will be patient with us as we seek to determine Your course rather than stepping out into something simply because we feel we have to do it at that moment. Calm our anxieties, and give us a strong focus on who You are, who we are in You, and what Your purpose is for our lives. In Jesus’s Name I pray. Amen.

Song of Reflection: “Be Alright” by Evan Craft, Danny Gokey, Redimi2. Listen to it here.

~*~
Author Bio:

The only child of a single parent, Aubrey Taylor filled her younger years by creating characters and writing stories. This ended around age sixteen when music, friends and part-time jobs began to fill her time. After that came college, work, marriage, and children. 

It wasn’t until the world was beginning to come out of the COVID pandemic that God led her back to her love for writing, coupled with a passion she’d always had for history. It was time to start a new adventure! Her current long-term project is Gott Mit Uns, a German-perspective 20th century historical fiction series.

Aubrey lives in Upstate New York with her husband and three children. She’s busy keeping the home, caring for her family, doing research for and writing her books.

Aubrey enjoys music and is involved with the worship ministry at her church as well as a German choral group. She also plays gigs occasionally with friends as a singer and acoustic guitarist. After all that, she finds time to sketch, craft, and hike.

She is a lover of Jesus Christ, The Holy Bible, history, German culture, tea, and cats.

Aubrey has a special heart for those who struggle with severe anxiety, depression and PTSD.

~*~
Connect with Aubrey:
Website: https://www.aubreytaylorbooks.com
Blog: https://www.aubreytaylorbooks.com/blog
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aubreytaylorbooks/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/aubtaybooks
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aubreytaylorbooks/

Devotionals for the Heart: Our Superhero is the Savior of the World

Our Ultimate Superhero
A devotional by Tema Banner

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” –John 3:16 (KJV)

You ever wonder why we humans are so enamored with superheroes?

Growing up, Superman was one of my favorites, although I also watched a fair amount of Batman. We always want to see them win! We might think it is the end, and when we fear that they are never going to come back, somehow, they survive.

There is something in us that makes us want a superhero, a savior. Not just someone who can overcome the simple ills we suffer, but one who can overcome insurmountable odds. When it looks like all hope is lost, the end has come, and the world is doomed, when there is no way the world may be rescued, the superhero will come along and make everything right.

It is in our DNA. God has put that desire in us for a superhero, a savior. Someone who can never be killed, never lose, even when it looks like the end has come, and the bad guy has won, our superhero overcomes! He delivers the world from certain destruction. He restores order to our lives and gives us hope.

That is what Jesus Christ did and continues to do for us every day in REAL life! God sent His Son Jesus to be the Ultimate Savior, our hero, overcomer, provider ... and He is unbeatable!

When Jesus came to live and minister on this Earth, He showed us the love of the Father. He healed the sick, the lame, the blind. He taught us to seek the Kingdom of Heaven, and to love others. He fulfilled the Old Testament in living color. Then he died on the cross, and like the true Superhero He is, He rose from the dead.

Can you image how His disciples felt? They had been with Him for three years. Seeing Him on The Cross of Calvary, they must have thought, “This is it; this is the end.” They had wonderful ideas and aspirations that Jesus was going to be a military ruler and king. The one who would set the Jews free from oppression (at that time, the Roman Empire was the oppressor). Then He was hung on a cross and He died. How disappointed they must have been to watch him die. They thought all their hope was gone!

But that was only the beginning of the story. God has a bigger plan than what we have imagined.

The Scriptures tell us that everything that we can see is temporary and it is what we cannot see that is permanent. There is a lot that we do not see. When the disciples saw that Jesus was no longer in the tomb where His dead body had been laid, they were puzzled. It was when they saw Him alive afterwards, that they realized He had been raised from the dead and that all that Jesus had been telling them about was spiritual. He had been speaking to them of permeance, far beyond the simple things they could see. It was not only for their day and time, it was for eternity.

That is what Jesus did for us when He came back. He saved us! He is a permanent Savior. He did overcome death, and all obstacles of sin that separate us from God. Be careful not to let the temporary things of this world blind you to the permanence of the next.

It is simple: When sin separated us from God, God made a way to eliminate the separation. He did that by sending Jesus as the ultimate sacrifice.

When we realize that we are separated by our sin and that we need a bridge to get to God, Jesus becomes that bridge. We are saved by the Grace of God by the death of Jesus and His resurrection and our acceptance of Him as our Savior (John 3:16-17).

Jesus is our Ultimate Superhero! He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, all forgiving and all compassionate. Jesus is, a REAL superhero in a world where all others are imaginary creations made from our longing for a true superhero who will restore us to fellowship with God. Jesus fulfills our true needs and restores hope.

The good news is that Jesus fulfills our true needs and restores hope! Thank God for Him!

Let’s Pray: Thank you God for showing us Your great love for us by sending Jesus to save us. Thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit to comfort, guide and teach us. May we be filled with Your Holy Spirit and reflect Your love to this fallen world. In Jesus’s Name we pray, Amen.

~*~
Author Bio:

Writing stories that take the reader on a journey to parts unknown has been a lifelong love for Tema. She enjoys all history and continues daily to hone both her knowledge of history and her writing skills.  

God is her guiding light and the reason for every endeavor in her life. She is a member of the South Carolina ACFW chapter as well as an active member of her local RWA chapter, Carolina Romance Writers. 

Tema has served as past President and Secretary as well as holding various chair positions. She is the honored recipient of the Harold Lowery Service Award, presented by the Carolina Romance Writers.

God has gifted her with a loving husband, two children and three grandchildren who are the delight of her life. In her spare time, she gardens and digs into genealogy for nuggets to use in her stories.

~*~
Connect with Tema:
Website: https://temabannerauthor.com
Blog: www.temabannerauthor.com/blog
Instagram: Instagram.com/temabanner

Devotionals for the Heart: Grounded in God's Love, a lesson about lightning

Grounded
A devotional by Victoria Bylin

One morning, I woke up to a lightning flash—a literal one. The bedroom lit up for a single blink. Two seconds later, lightning flashed again in a staccato pattern. Like I did as a child, I counted until the thunder rumbled and shook. The counting tells us how far away the lightning is. Five seconds equals roughly one mile, and this storm was about a mile away.

I couldn’t help but wonder: Where does all that electricity go? The power of it is daunting, even deadly—until it hits the ground.

Grounded. Thanks to that lightning storm, I found myself pondering what it means for a Christian to be grounded. Is it a word that should describe the Christian life? How do we become grounded so that all the passion and commitment of loving and serving God is put to good use and well directed?

One meaning of “to ground” is to give something a firm foundation. As a Christian, I want and need to be firmly grounded in the Word. My husband and I consider it a privilege to have belonged to a strong teaching church very early in our Christian walk. To this day (and it’s been 39 years) we refer back to what the pastor called “spiritual bootcamp.”

The teaching focused on the basics: We are sinners saved by grace. Jesus paid the price for our sin. As fleshly human beings, we can’t live up to the standards of perfection set by the law, but Christ did it for us. He loves and died for our sins. In moments of struggle and spiritual seeking, I look at a trio of verses that keep me grounded in that knowledge.

At the top of the list is Hebrews 11:1 (NIV): “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”

Are you in the middle of a hard time? A muddle? Perhaps it is something far-reaching and even disastrous, like a serious illness or bankruptcy? This verse reminds us to keep our eyes on God and not on the circumstances. Our prayers may not be answered the way we want, but the Lord sees us through the storms.

I’m back to that lightning but from a different angle. Storms pass through our lives. Suffering sends bolts of fear and worry through our bodies and minds. But when those emotions hit the spiritual ground of faith in Christ, fear and worry lose their power over us. Being human, we might feel the emotions, but our knowledge of God and His ways prevails.

Genesis 13:14-15 (NIV) is another one of my “grounding” verses. It reads, “The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.”

This is a promise to Abram (later to become Abraham, the father of our faith) and it’s specific to his circumstances. But it’s also a reminder to Christians that God knows exactly where we are in life and what fears we are facing. He knows what we need and promises to provide—maybe not in a way we would choose, but in the way that’s best. When we keep our eyes on Him, we’re grounded in his love.

Being a Christian is both a joy and a challenge. There are times when we have to stand our ground—both against Satan’s wiles and for our principles. Ephesians 6:13 (NIV) tells us how to do it: “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”

That lightning strike was full of power and beauty. So is our God. Here’s to living each day in His strength and for his glory!

~*~
Author Bio:

Victoria Bylin is the author of 18 traditionally published romances. Known for tackling difficult subjects with great compassion, she delights in stories that shine the spotlight of God’s love on ordinary men and women facing realistic challenges.

Writing has always been a part of Victoria’s life. As a child, she wrote hundreds of letters and scribbled in journals. As an adult, she worked as a freelance journalist and editor before taking on the challenge of fiction.

She had one goal when she started her first novel: to finish a book-length manuscript, good or bad. That first effort will never see the light of day, but it led to a second manuscript and a sale to Harlequin Historical. Since then, she has written westerns and contemporary romances for both mainstream and Christian publishers, with Together With You winning the 2016 Inspirational Readers Choice Award for Best Contemporary.

Writing is a joy and a challenge for Victoria, but faith, friends and family matter to her far more. She’s a wife, mom, proud grandmother, and a dog-mom to a wacky Jack Russell Terrier. Originally from California, she and her husband currently make their home in Lexington, Kentucky. 

When she’s not writing, Victoria enjoys long walks, travel, and dark chocolate.

~*~
Connect with Victoria:
Website: https://www.victoriabylin.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Victoria.Bylin.Author
Twitter: https://twitter.com/VictoriaBylin
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/victoria-bylin
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/568102.Victoria_Bylin

Thankful Thursday: God is With Us

It's Thursday and I'm thankful for the fact that God is with us.

He is with us in the calm.

He is with us in the storm.

He is with us even when we cannot feel His Presence.

Why? Because He created us and He loves us with ALL of His divine heart.

We are living in troubled times with terror and uncertainty in every corner of the world. But I'm here to tell you that the Maker of humankind, the Creator of the entire Universe, is still on His Throne. Nothing goes unnoticed and at the right time, He will intervene. Until the day of His judgment, you can trust Him to be there for you as an inexhaustible resource.

So go to Him. Tell him what you want. Tell Him what you need. Express your deepest desires and most heartfelt emotions to Him and then have the faith to believe that not only did He hear you but He will answer. Read Isaiah 65:24.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you (James 4:8).

He loves you too much to leave you to figure out life on your own. Ask Him for wisdom. He's always willing to give you a healthy dose of it, freely (James 1:5)!

God is Good even when life isn't and one day, it will all make sense. But until that happens, hang on to His Word (The Holy Bible), read His Letter (The Holy Bible) and keep holding His Hand.

Here's a song for reflection, followed by a Bible passage (Psalm 46) that reminds me of God's unshakable Sovereignty and gives me hope during troubled times.

Psalm 46 ~ King James Version (KJV) ~ Source: BibleGateway.com

1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.

4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.

5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.

6 The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted.

7 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

8 Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth.

9 He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.

10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

11 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.