Author: Kathy Tucker

“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:14 When struggles and battles come into our lives the first thing most of us want to do is “fix” the problem. It is just our human nature taking over. We want to feel in control and we want to handle things on our own. We should always go to God first for guidance, but He does give us intelligence and understanding so we can solve problems.  But what happens when we cannot handle it by ourselves. Sometimes situations are out of our control and we are helpless to do anything about it.  Sometimes, despite our best efforts, the struggle just seems to continue. Sometimes we face big, tough, difficult problems. The Israelites had a big problem…

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.” John 10:11 The shepherd is a very, very important person to a flock of sheep. The shepherd protects the sheep, he makes sure they have food and water, he keeps them all together, he knows each one individually and he is willing to die to keep them safe. If not for the shepherd, sheep would wander aimlessly at the mercy of their environment. Jesus called Himself the “good shepherd”. What a beautiful analogy the verses in John 10:1-14 give us!  By describing Himself like this Jesus is saying that He does the same for His children. He protects us, He supplies our needs, He holds us close to Him, and He knows us each by…

… if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9 If you want to change your life and receive the salvation and eternal life that only Jesus can give, this verse gives  the directions simply and easily. It is not difficult nor time consuming and it is FREE! There are two simple steps. First we must confess (say, acknowledge or admit)) that Jesus is Lord — the Almighty Son Of God, the Savior of the world! Then we must believe  with all our heart that He took all our sins on Himself and died on the cross for them. Then, He came back to life to give us a path to heaven.…

“Who is this? Even the winds and waves obey him!” Mark 4:41 An event in the life of Jesus is recorded in Mark 4:35-41. Jesus and His disciples were traveling by boat across a lake. A “furious squall” (bad storm) came up and the winds were tossing the boat around and the waves of water were splashing over the sides of the boat. The disciples were scared, and thought that they might drown. Jesus, however, was resting; sleeping peacefully, undisturbed by the storm and the commotion that the disciples were bound to be making. They finally woke Jesus and asked, “don’t you care that we are about die?” Jesus calmly got up and simply rebuked the winds and told the waves to “be still”. Suddenly everything was calm again. The…

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with lovingkindness.” Jeremiah 31:3 Not many things in this world last forever. We marvel at antiques that are hundreds of years old. We are in awe of couples that stay married for  fifty, sixty, even seventy years. We admire people that live past 100. But all of that is but a minute drop in the bucket compared to God’s love for us.He promises that His love for us will be “everlasting”. This is a love that surrounds us everyday,(Song of Songs 2:4); a love that holds us up when were weak (Isaiah 41:14);  a love that gives us guidance when we need direction (Jeremiah 29:11-12) and a love that forgives us when we do wrong (Psalm 103:11-12). This…

“In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”  Proverbs 16:9 A new year is on the way! 2025 will arrive in just a few days! Maybe you are looking for a new beginning with 2025. You may be making changes for a new lifestyle, a new home, or a new job. Some are making New Year’s resolutions about things they want to do differently.  Most of us strive to improve ourselves and become better people. There is nothing wrong with this, but as Proverbs 16:9 reminds us, we must remember to always let God lead us. After all, He tells us in Jeremiah 29:11 that He has plans for us. Plans  for a good future, plans to help us.  So before we go making…

“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people… a Savior has been born to you; he is  Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:10-11 This wonderful message that the angels announced to the shepherds on the night that Jesus was born thrilled their hearts! They anxiously left their flocks and went to Bethlehem to see this Baby, this Messiah, their Savior —Emmanuel!! My, how their hearts must have overflowed with joy and excitement!  The “good tidings of great joy” were not only for a few shepherds, that night,  but for “all people” — generation after generation! The Savior for the world had come! His name Emmanuel meant “God with us” and He still abides with each…

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13  1 Corinthians 13 is often referred to as the “love” chapter because in it we find examples of what love is and what it is not. Chapter 13 ends with the summation that faith, hope and love are important to have, but the greatest or most important one is love. God showed us this great love when He sent Jesus into the world and Jesus showed His love for us by taking on our sins (John 3:16). As we prepare to celebrate our Savior’s birth may we have faith and hope in our Lord, but most of all may we radiant His great love to others.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 Two words in this verse from Hebrews stand out,— substance and evidence. Substance by definition is the makeup of something. In this case faith is what makes up our hope.  The other word, evidence, is the proof. Faith is also the proof of the things we cannot see, but yet we believe. Faith is the foundation of our Christian beliefs. We must trust that the promises of God are true and that the salvation Jesus offers is real. By faith we believe that Jesus came to bring humankind into a right relationship with God.  Also by faith we live each day with the assurance that He holds our future We cannot explain this…

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.” Isaiah 60:1 The season of Advent has begun. Advent is a time of anticipation and preparation for the coming Savior. During Advent we remember all the events leading up to the birth of Jesus and on Christmas Day we celebrate that holy birth. When Jesus came to earth everything changed. He brought light in the darkness. He brought hope that people had never had before. He brought healing for those destined to a life of misery and most of all He brought salvation for all that would accept it. Jesus truly was and is the “light of the world”. As we prepare to once again celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, let us remember…