enLIVEn Devotionals

Abiding in Jesus - Overflowing His Spirit

He Stripped Me of Sin

I approached the prayer room at church before service started on Sunday to cleanse myself of iniquity; I was berating myself for a sin I’d committed just minutes before. Dropping my Bible and purse into a chair, I raised my hands up palms open to God and closed my eyes to receive His forgiveness. I started to speak, but as I spoke my words sounded hollow and empty, as if I was just confessing to sound and act contrite. This realization caused me to stutter and I stopped speaking. My stomach began to roil, and a desperate awareness washed over me of just how wicked I was. Was I there to ... Read the Post

Immediate Praise

Why is it so hard to praise God while angry, or frustrated, or scared? To be able to take a step out- of- the moment to just praise our savior should be our go-to move; but when situations and circumstances consume us, we default to our raw emotions. It is something I struggle with daily. Recently, my one-year-old son and I took a trip to the grocery store to pick up a few things for the week. I had spent time budgeting, sorting coupons, and even created a list to make our trip more efficient. It should have been a fast and easy haul. I was burning through the aisles, grabbing items and ... Read the Post

Climbing Mountains

In the Bible the disciples had to climb the mountain to sit with Him. I know the “disciples” represent us: the Body of Christ. I understand that a Christian life is not a solo life. It’s a community. As we fellowship, we worship, pray and encourage each other. I had to climb my mountain by leaving America. I got on a plane to Guatemala, so I could find Jesus and sit with Him and the other disciples. Jesus began to teach us throughout our week long mission trip. Each one of us had different experiences. My experience occurred on the second day of our mission trip. We were visiting the ... Read the Post

Walk with God Now

“Walk with God now, and then for eternity….” these are the words my mom inscribed in a Bible for me as a child. I don’t know where she heard it spoken that way, or if she came up with it on her own. However, the beautiful simplicity and seamless walk of the Believer moving from this life into the next sums up her life beautifully. Since her childhood, and until her passing, her greatest love was always Jesus Christ. I can confidently say she was crazy in love with dad, head-over-heals for her children, and adored her grandchildren beyond belief. In fact, my mom was my best friend, and I ... Read the Post

Working it Out

When I had to buy a new step for the step aerobics I do at home, I noticed there was a new product at the sport’s store: a slanted step. I wondered how the slanted step differed from the flat one, so I figured I would buy it and see. I had a difficult time getting used to the slant. I constantly looked down at my feet to ensure I wasn’t about to fall off. And I was more careful doing the aerobic moves that used to be so easy for me. I felt like I was balancing more, and the full length of my foot never seemed to touch the step. I was always on the balls of my feet! Afterwards, I was ... Read the Post