Walk With Darrell

Isn’t it amazing how God can take an ordinary person with faults and empower them into a person whom He can use. I think of Jesus’ Disciple, Peter. Peter was a simple fisherman who had few other skills. The thing that set Peter apart from others. He was willing to hang up his fishing nets and follow Jesus. Was Peter perfect? No, he wasn’t, just like us, we are not perfect. Peter made some mistakes in his following of Jesus. He almost drowned when he took his eyes off Jesus. H

Have you ever thought about the trials we will face this upcoming week? It isn’t about if we face trials, it was about when we face trials. As Christians we will face trials in our life. James the half-brother of Jesus, tells us to count it all joy. He goes on to tell us that there is a benefit in our Christian walk to face trials. The scripture in James tells us that the testing of our faith will strengthen our faith and make us mature in our faith. James 1:2-4 2 Consider it

Romans 12:11-13 (NIV) 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Has the busy pace of life robbed you of the peace that should be yours through Jesus Christ? If so, then you are too busy for your own good. The bible tells us in Philippians that we can have peace, which transcends all understanding. Philippi

Terri and I were asked how we handle worry. Worry is a form of fear. First question for us was do we ever worry, and the second question was should we worry? The bible teaches us not to worry and Jesus talked about fear and worry a lot. To answer the first question, of course we worry; we raised two boys; had a grandchild that faced an illness; parents that faced life-ending illnesses; I have faced serious illness in the past; both of us have faced challenges in our careers;

How to Have a Relationship with Christ What is the way for us to have a relationship with God? Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me”. John 14:6 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. “For unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins” John 8:24 24 I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will

John 3:16 “16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Does it seem like life always throws you a curve ball? It always seems like things are going along just fine and then we get hit with a trial. Life is full of trials and once we get comfortable… “Look out”. God uses trials to teach us. Once the trial hits it seems like we always need to be reminded of God’s love. If yo

Does life ever feel like it is spiraling out of control? I am sure we all have had times in our lives where we felt like things were spiraling out of control. I know I have had those times. Thinking about those times. Maybe it is a child that is struggling in life. Costs of things keep going up and your income is not keeping up. Maybe your marriage has conflict, you both love each other, but there is conflict in many areas of your marriage. The job can be going along great an

Psalm 16:11 (NIV) “11 You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” I have always been a planner in my life. I planned for a profession, I planned for my retirement, I try to plan for as many things as I can. However, I discovered I can plan all I want, but God has an over-arching plan for my life. In Jeremiah it says God has plans for our life. Jeremiah 29:11(NIV) “11 For I know the plans I have

Psalm 97:1 (NKJV) “The Lord reigns; Let the earth rejoice;” As believers, God promises that we can experience abundance and joy. Okay, you might ask, Darrell, I am a believer, so how do we claim this abundance and joy? Answer: by trusting God and being obedient to His instructions and following the footsteps of His Son. When we do this, He fills our hearts with His power and with His love. When this happens, we experience peace in our life that surpasses human understanding.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV) “3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” We live in a world that is at times a frightening place. It can also be a discouraging place. We have family and friends fighting health issues. Then around the world there are terrible events that are very d

Philippians 3:13-14 “13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Whenever life takes an unexpected turn, it can be a slippery slope into traps of worry, self-pity, and bitterness. God intends for us to do otherwise. There is an old saying,” Forgive and Forget”, there

Psalm 27:1b (KJV) the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Is God the cornerstone of your life, or is He delegated for just a few minutes on Sunday morning or maybe just a couple of times a year? Does God reign over your whole life or do you say, I won’t give up this area of my life. God loves us very much. He is there in times of trouble. He will comfort you in times of sorrow. God holds our breath in the palm of His hands. When we are weak, we can de

Out West you see rivers that have over time slice through rock, leaving canyons that are hundreds of feet deep. It isn’t necessarily because the river is powerful but because the river is persistent. It is the same way with the Bible. It takes time to read and reflect on God’s Word, and it will take time to impact our lives without us knowing it. In Psalm 19, David writes about some of the life changing effects of God’s Word. Psalm 19:7-8 (NIV) 7 The law of the Lord is perfec

When we celebrate a birthday, we have another year to reflect on the life we have led. Life is a journey that we travel with ups and downs and many turns that lead us to multiple destinations. The journey we take in our faith is different. The destination is far off, and we won’t reach it in this lifetime. It has many challenges that will last until we take that final breath. Our goal on the journey of faith is to get to know God. God is our destination and our guide. He has

Where do we find God? Good question. If we only find God on Sunday mornings and we leave Him at church, we are missing out. Don’t leave God inside the four walls of your Sunday School class. Attending church is great, but God wants to be part of our life every day. Life with Jesus isn’t a matter of dressing a certain way, singing a certain song, or telling people to behave a certain way. Being a Christian is about the way we live. 1 John 2:6 (NIV) 6 Whoever claims to live in

2 Samuel 22:2-3 (NIV) 2 And he said: “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; 3 The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn[ of my salvation, My stronghold and my refuge; My Savior, You save me from violence. Life has had its share of ups and down. We all have lost loved ones; we have come home from work with the frustrations of the day weighing us down. We have had days where the money jar has been empty. Days where it seems there is c

2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV) 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” I grew up learning to be self-sufficient and I grew up in a culture that practiced that. The military taught being independent. I knew when my son went into the Coast Guard that our relationship would be changed, and it has. You become self-reliant as you mature in life. It is all part of growing up and getting older. It happens to people at different ages

Lamentations 3:25-26 (NLT) 25 The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him. 26 So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord. Life has its own timetable, and it doesn’t always follow our timetable. Therefore, life requires patience and a lot of it. I am sure we all can remember when this has happened. You might even be dealing with this right now. It can be very frustrating if we allow it and lose our patience. As Lamentations reminds u

Psalm 143:10 (NKJV) 10 Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness. Our days are full of many small choices that make up the fabric of our daily life. When we align our choices in harmony with God’s commandments, and when we align our lives with God’s will, we will receive His abundance, His peace, and His joy. However, if it was that simple. Many times, we struggle with wanting to do things “our way” and often that i

This is a lesson I have had to learn a few times in my life. Being a planner, I have often had my own game plan and a timetable for things to happen instead of waiting on God’s timing. 1st Peter says it well as I needed to humble myself before the mighty hand of God. 1 Peter 5:6 “6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” We must learn to trust God’s timing. That is ea