Walk With Darrell

Ephesians 2:8 (NIV) “8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” God’s grace is unmerited favor and is not because of anything we have done to earn it. We experience God’s grace in our salvation as we did nothing to earn it. We experience God’s grace in living the Christian life. Today, we live in an environment where cancel culture is making the news every day. Thankfully, we have a Savior that did not cance

Terri and I participated in a great study a few years ago. Rick Warrens “40 Days of Purpose”, what a great study. The church we were attending had a church-wide study with small groups. Rick’s study guided us in a study of why God created us and what is our purpose in living. Exodus 9:16 16 But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. Have you ever wondered what God’s purpose is for you i

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

Who do you work for? Sure, we can say I work for this company or that company. You might even work for yourself. Heck, I am retired, and my wife thinks I work for her😊. But have you really thought about who you work for? I always believed I worked for the Lord. I had a regular job, but I always believed the Lord provided me my job, so I tried to take that mindset to work. If you truly believe that the Lord is your provider, and He opened the doors for you to have your j

2 Peter 3:18 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen. To grow as a Christian and as working citizens we need both knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge is found in studying textbooks. Wisdom is found in God’s Holy Word, in sermons, in loving words from family and friends. In a career you are constantly having to learn new things and practices to be an asset for the companies you work for. Knowledge pays

“Is your relationship Intellectual?” Over the years I have met numerous people who used the title of “Christian”. In further conversation you realize their mother attends church, but they haven’t opened a bible since going to Vacation Bible School as a kid and never put their faith and trust in Jesus. We need to make sure our relationship with God is as Lord and Savior and not just intellectual knowledge of God. In our country there are many people that know the story of Jesu

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” I am not sure who first came up with this in history, or what world event was taking place that caused them to say it. It sure sounds like it could be used in today’s times with the evil that is showing its face in the world. As a Christian it is important to take a stand against evil. I am not saying stand there and shake our fist, although that might feel good. However, we can respond rather t

As Christians we look forward to the Lord’s return. Perhaps today will be the day. The question we all need to answer, “Are we ready?” If the Lord returned today, could I say Lord, I lived today in such a way that the Lord would be proud of. If I knew the Lord was returning at 5:00 PM today, how would that affect what I did with my day. Would I just take it easy, or would I have a sense of urgency to make sure the people I knew, knew about Christ’s Good News of Salvation. In

I have been doing a lot of camping lately and one of things I enjoy is a campfire. Towards the end of the evening it is time to separate the remaining coals. The coals burn for a while then they start to lose their flame and if you wait long enough the coals will go out. Our Christian life is similar if we don’t keep the fire going the flame can go out. So, what makes the fire go out in the Christian life? Not spending time with God. If we only speak to God every now and th

Ephesians 6:14 (NIV) 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, In the Spiritual Warfare that we are going through it is critical that we put on God’s armor. One of the critical pieces is the breastplate of righteousness. Paul referred to the Roman soldier of his day when he spoke of the armor the soldiers wore. The Christian must put on God’s armor to prepare for battle. In verse 14 it talks of the be

The loss of a loved one. This is always a tough time for anyone to deal with. It brought back memories of the times I said goodbye to both of my parents. It is never an easy time. I want to thank the Lord who gave me peace and comfort during this time. My last parent to pass away was my dad, Robert “Bob”. The thing that gave me the greatest comfort is that I knew my dad was a Christian. I was with my dad when he took his last breath. I know that the moment he took his las

Part of my youth I lived on a farm in Indiana. Springtime was the time you planted your crops. My dad would rotate his crops in his fields, between corn, soybean, a field of alfalfa (hay), and every now and then he would do oats to mix with grain for feed for our cattle during the winter months. In the spring you would prepare your fields and sow your seed, this is not a quick process as the crops are not ready for harvest until the fall. Sowing time was so important for my d

In thinking about fear, it seems like the future can be fearful. I can’t recall being afraid of the past and not really of the present, but the future can be terrifying. It is the unknown or the “what-ifs”. I have one of those personalities that I need to feel like I am in control of my future, and it gives me that comfortable (warm-fuzzy) feeling that everything is under control. However, when the times come when I am not in control and don’t know what the future will br

Recently, two of my friends had burial services for their mothers. There are many of us that have had to walk in those shoes. Even when we know our mother is a believer in Jesus it can be an emotional time. It brought back memories of when we said goodbye to my mother. It hurts to say goodbye because we will miss them. At the same time, it is a celebration of our mother’s life here on earth and is now in heaven with Jesus and loved ones that have previously died. We also have

Matthew 7: 7 – 8 7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What are you dealing with in your life right now? Do you need strength to make it through the day? Are you in trouble? Are you discouraged? Are you lonely? Do you have an illness? Do you feel trapped in an unhappy life? You get the drift; we all have

A coworker once asked me, why I didn’t seem to worry about issues at work. I told him that God was in control of whatever I was dealing with. That is difficult for many people to grasp. All believers can have that same feeling of peace when you realize God is in control of the situation. Once we become a Christian it doesn’t mean we won’t face trials. Just the opposite, the bible clearly says we can expect trials and tribulations in our lives. I am in 100% agreement over the

This upcoming week is going to have its ups and downs. You will have some moments that are going to challenge your faith. However, with God these challenges that you will face will be opportunities to exercise your faith. As a Christian, it’s important to not let your obstacles in life tear you away from your faith. Instead, these are the moments where you need faith the most. With God, you can move from being a victim to being a victor. David was one of my favorite people in

I have heard some people say that they can’t live the Christian life. You know, they are correct. This may surprise you, but it is impossible for us to live the Christian life in our own power. We can’t do it on our own. The Christian life isn’t something we can do. The Christian life is “Christ in us, the hope of glory” (Col 1:27) If the Christian life for you is acting like Jesus that is just religion. Performing and trying to be a Christian gets stale, ritualistic, and

In our Christian life, do we gauge Christian walk by what we do or by our attitudes? One of the things we have to ask ourselves as Christians is why do we do the things we do. What do I mean by that? We can go to church, can teach Sunday school, sing in the choir, give money to the church, be a Deacon and we might be doing them for the wrong reason. We can do many good ministry deeds and our hearts might not be right spiritually. These acts of service in themselves are good

2 Corinthians 13:11 11 Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. We all have days where is it tough to be happy with a joyful heart. Have you ever had the day when you feel like a grumpy Christian? When we are like this, it is a struggle to be a witness for the Lord. It affects our whole day. The question is, how do we get out of this funk we are in