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A Detailed Plan by Lisa Burkhardt Worley, D.Min.
Need direction? Over the years, I have found that God will provide specific direction on how to proceed in life if we ask Him. The past two weeks have been busier than I would like. I have had eight speaking engagements, plus church and Pearls ministry work to do. When I finish writing one message, I move to the next without a break. How is this possible? I lay it all at God’s feet and ask for His wisdom and words. He always provides a blueprint for the messages. From the beginning of time, God has been all about the…
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Happy or Joyful? by Lane Jordan Burday
Surely you have granted him eternal blessings and made him glad with the joy of your presence. (Psalm 21:6) When someone asks about your child or grandchildren, we usually say, “He’s fine! I just want him to be happy!” And who doesn’t want our loved ones as well as ourselves to be happy? But the problem with happiness is that it is so fleeting. You may want that new dress in the window, a new car, or new furniture. And these things are all right to have. But have you noticed that after you get them, your happiness doesn’t last?…
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“Hiding” by Emily House
Why do I hide from God when I sin? It’s a tale as old as time—literally. In Genesis 1, we see God create time, and barely two chapters later, we see Adam and Eve sin against Him. And what’s their firstinstinct? Hide! Thousands of years later, here we are repeating their behavior. Why do we do this? Why do we run and hide from God when we sin—when He is the only one with the power to redeem? One of my favorite quotes is from pastor Matt Chandler: “If we truly understood God’s love, we would run to Him when…
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Getting Old is Hard! by Lane Jordan Burday
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16). I had a birthday last month and the years it held and the way I think and feel don’t match! It makes me wonder, why is getting old so hard? I believe it’s much harder for women because we are trying to stay and look young because that’s what the magazines, movies, and TV show us. But praise our God who sees us differently! He looks at our hearts and wants us to grow into the…
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Divine Breath by Lisa Burkhardt Worley, D.Min.
This week, we interviewed Author and Podcast Host Daniah Greenberg on POP Talk. Daniah is also the creator of the TLV Bible, my go-to when I am studying the Word. One of the subjects we addressed is the Tetragrammaton, or the divine name of God, YHVH. The name means “He is present,” but when spoken, the letters sound like breathing. Greenberg contended that every time we breathe, we inhale and exhale the name of God. This made sense to me. It is the LORD who gave the first created being the breath of life. “Then the Lord God formed the man of…
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Resurrecting What’s Dead by Lisa Burkhardt Worley, D.Min.
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true” (Revelation 21:5, NIV). I am teaching a Bible study that I wrote back in 2019 called Knowing the Father. It’s a sequel to the book I wrote in 2018 called The Only Father I Ever Knew. After that book was completed, I felt like the LORD said, “Now write a study to teach people about my Fatherly attributes in the Bible.” So I did. However, after teaching it a couple of times, the 2020…
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What Do We Do When Old Insecurities Surface? By Lisa Burkhardt Worley, D.Min.
Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father (John 14:12). Sometimes, even as mature adults, the insecurities of the past can creep in. Last weekend, I attended my high school reunion in San Antonio, Texas. Due to my father’s death before I was born and my mother’s emotional health issues, I had little parental support in high school, and I was one of the poorest teenagers in a very wealthy school. I lacked confidence. While…
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Who is Our Helper? By Lane Jordan Burday
And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever – the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you (John 14:16-17). There are thousands of religions in the world, with estimates ranging from over 4,000 to as many as 10,000 distinct religions, though there is no precise consensus on the exact number. Most people adhere to one of the world’s major religions, such as Christianity, Islam, Hinduism,…
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Who’s in the Fire with You? By Lisa Burkhardt Worley, D.Min.
I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33, NIV). Wouldn’t it be nice to have a trouble-free life without trials, spiritual attacks, jealousy, or division? As much as we might try to create a consistently peaceful environment, the perfect, problemless existence will not happen this side of Heaven. Jesus gave us a heads up that we are to expect trouble in this world, but we are not to worry because He has overcome the world. Jesus is with us amid…
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How’s Your Tongue? By Lane Jordan Burday
The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. (Proverbs 18:21) Did you know that the words we speak to ourselves can have a profound impact on our lives? As the verse above says, the words we say have the power to encourage or discourage, to motivate or deflate, to generate joy or stop it. Here are some examples of phrases that you and I may have said: When we think or say words like those above, we are aiming at a life of despair and one lacking in joy. So,…
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Symphony of Chaos by Lisa Burkhardt Worley, D.Min.
It all seemed to go too perfectly. I left my hotel on time for the airport and made it to my gate at Portland International with plenty of time to spare. Good news! The plane was on time—until it was not. There was a problem with “bad oil,” so the boarding process for my return flight to DFW would be delayed. No problem. It was a short delay, and we boarded fifteen minutes late. However, once on the plane, there was another maintenance issue with the plane’s computer. Fifteen minutes became thirty, then an hour. All totaled, we sat on…
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Finding God’s Comfort by Rosemary Legrand
Are you afraid and need to be comforted? The Lord promises in Isaiah 41:13: I am the Lord your God, I am holding your right hand, and I say to you. Do not fear, for I will HELP you. At some point we all want or even need to hear these words. They speak directly to some of our greatest fears and challenges, as well as isolation, loneliness, vulnerability. They remind us that we are not destined to walk this earth without direction or help. We do not stand alone. God is always with us. God promises that He will never…
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How Do You Get Peace? By Lane Jordan Burday
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid (John 14:27). As you well know, Charlie Kirk was murdered last week while sharing his views and thoughts at a college campus in Utah. One would think that in America, we would have freedom of speech. But hatred abounds, and he lost his life. A life that sought to show the world, especially young minds at college, the truth of God’s word and the moral compass that would…
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Let’s Ramp it Up! By Lisa Burkhardt Worley, D.Min.
We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. (2 Corinthians 5:20) Over four weeks ago, I became an Executive Pastor within a church, and the same week this happened, I received an email addressing me as “pastor” and inviting me to a Messianic pastor’s prayer retreat in Woodland, Washington. I thought, How did they know I am a Messianic pastor now? I believed this invitation was significant, and after receiving a green light from my husband and the senior pastor of our new church to attend, I made plans to travel to Washington State…
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Limit Your Limits by Onyx Conklin
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. (Hebrews 12:1) I’m about to remove your excuse factor. I’m sorry to do this to you but you have been holding on to your limits long enough. So here goes….Kokichi Akuzawa, a citizen of Japan, just made it into the Guinness Book of World Records for climbing Mount Fuji. His age? 102! I should mention that when he was a “young” man…
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Shake it Up! By Lisa Burkhardt Worley, D.Min.
God often likes to shake things up. When we are sold-out believers, regardless of our age, He will challenge us to move into realms of servitude that we never dreamed we’d tackle. Like pastoring. I was once inside the church as a women’s ministry leader, then was outside the church for eleven years leading our Pearls of Promise ministry. Now I am back inside the church as a pastor and also outside with Pearls. People call me pastor, and God has given me a heart for our new congregation. I know it is a new calling. On Tuesday, the LORD…
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When Is Your Day 41? by Lane Jordan Burday*
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1) Faith is a hard concept in today’s world, where chaos and confusion reign. There is a tremendous amount of conflict, wars, murders, and hatred, where the thought of peace is an intangible item to have. So, what do we do? We turn to God’s Word and read the stories of those who had faith. Those before us who looked to God rather than their circumstances or the world. Here are some of those who lived by their faith in God, and…
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How to Be Wise by Dr. Lisa Burkhardt Worley
What do you do when you don’t know what to do? Often, we are thrust into a scenario where we don’t have the answer or the frame of reference to make an educated decision. We might spend sleepless nights thinking about a scenario. We probaby know it is essential to do the right thing. Seeking God’s wisdom is the answer to this dilemma. 1 Corinthians 2:10 says, “For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him?” As an…
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Entertaining Visitors by Dr. Lisa Burkhardt Worley
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these. (Matthew 12:30-31). This week, we have three different sets of people staying at our house. That means washing the sheets and cleaning the bathroom three times in one week. So why do it? Because my husband and I believe our house belongs to God, not ourselves, and we often open it up to others in ministry. Hebrews 13:2 says, Do…
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Embrace the New by Dr. Lisa Burkhardt Worley
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you (Psalm 32:8, NIV). Like an unbroken horse, I don’t go easily. I am fiercely loyal and do not like change, but when we are fully committed to the LORD, sometimes God shakes up the routine. He makes us move. He provides a new assignment. How do you respond when the comfortable world you know turns upside down and you have to say adiós to your comfort zone? Do you trust God, or do you fight the change? Generally, if we…