Walk With Darrell

There is a need and ache in each one of us to be loved. God created that desire in each one of us to feel real love. Man has tried many ways to fill that void in our hearts with things of the world. They have tried filling that void with created things. The ancients tried to fill that hole with golden idols. Today man have tried cars, wealth, success, and drugs to try and fill a void that God intended for Him to fill. Jesus speaks of this void in John 7:37. What Jesus gives i

Every relationship has its risks and rewards. In a relationship we make ourselves vulnerable, but the rewards offer great fulfillment in our lives. To have a relationship with Christ we also have a risk and reward. For example, to be a witness and testimony for God, you put yourself out for possible criticism. But like everything, when you compare the risk up against the reward of being a testimony for God it is worth it. Rick Warren says that criticism is the cost of influen

Light versus Darkness When I was a young man, I was in the US Navy. Part of my Navy career I was assigned to an aircraft carrier that patrolled in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. There were times when we would perform operations at night without the ship’s running lights. The purpose we practiced these drills were to familiarize the crew so they could perform their duties in low light conditions. The reason the Navy operated in low light conditions is that they are trying to

Psalm 139:23 - (NIV) Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. We all have things that we treasure and hold close to our heart. We need to keep watch over our hearts. In Jeremiah, it tells us that the heart is full of deceitfulness. Jeremiah 17:9 (NIV) 9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? So, with the heart so deceitful how do we remove the impurities that plague the secret areas of our heart? The ans

I grew up in Amo, Indiana until I went into the seventh grade and my family moved. Amo is a small town in central Indiana where both sets of grandparents lived along with aunts and uncles. Being a small town, I had cousins all over the place. I grew up going to Sunday School where I would have a relative usually be one of my Sunday School teachers. I had my grandmother, aunts, and mom take turn teaching my Sunday School classes. Each summer our little church would have vacati

I have prayed to God over the years on a daily basis and the bible tells us that God hears our prayers. 1 John 5:14 “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. OK, so it says that God hears my prayer, but it doesn’t say how God will answer our prayers. I have had some prayers that God’s answer was “NO”. It happens. So, when God answers our prayer with a “NO” how should we handle it. Do we get mad that our pr

As believers we have a treasure that can change lives. That treasure is the good news of what Jesus did for mankind by dying on the cross. That makes us “Stewards of Hope”. We steward the only message that can give people what their hearts need most, which is hope. Hope that our sins can be forgiven. Hope that our prayers can be answered. Hope that the doors of opportunity will be unlocked. Hope that broken relationships will be reconciled. Hope that our bodies will be healed

David was described as a man after God’s own heart. David wasn’t perfect by any means, but he did strive to walk close to God. Even with David’s ups and down he wanted to always restore his relationship with God. Sometimes we can fool ourselves into thinking I am doing OK; everything is right with God when actually it might not be. David courageously asked God to conduct an internal evaluation This was a brave request considering God knows all things, even that which we hide

Hebrews 10:23 (NLT) 23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Despite God’s promises, despite Christ’s love, and despite our countless blessings we sometimes can still lose hope from time to time. If we are all honest, we have all been there. When we do we need the encouragement of Christian friends, the life-changing power of prayer, and the truth that comes from God’s Word. When you find yourself falling into

Do we see problems from God’s perspective? When things happen in our life do we ever question God, “what does this mean, God?’ and “How does it affect me?” Most of time when problems come into life, we have a tendency to say, “woe is me” and wonder how this problem is going to affect us. Will it cause me pain? Will it cost me money? We tend to look at it from an earthly perspective. Have we ever looked at the problem from the perspective, what is God trying to teach me? How

Proverbs 3:13 (NIV) “13 Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding” Today we are flooded with information everything from television, internet, radio, books, and expert commentaries. Many of these sources give us an array of instructions on how to live our lives in today’s hectic lifestyle. One of the problems of the world’s wisdom is that it is always changing as public opinion changes. Instead, look to God for Wisdom. Psalm 111:10 (NIV) 10 The fear of t

As Christians we live by faith, there is so much about living the Christian life that is based on faith. And yet there are many people who have a real struggle with faith. Jesus disciples also struggled with faith, on several occasions Jesus ask them, why do you doubt? O, ye of little faith. These were men who walked with Jesus, and they still struggled with doubt. We at times have the same problem of doubting Him, and we doubt on the things we pray for. The most exciting th

How can we show empathy for someone in need? Every week we hear heartbreaking stories of people that are going through a terrible hardship. Some might be family, friends or maybe a stranger that we hear of their situation. Are we sensitive to their situation or is it easy to be callous? Is it too easy to say I am sorry, but not my problem? God makes it possible for us to empathize with others who might be enduring hardships. We don’t necessarily have to be going through the s

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

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

Do we ever feel like we fall short of what God expects from us? Well, I imagine if we are honest there are times, we all have experienced that feeling (my hand is up). Don’t lose heart because, Paul dealt with this same feeling. As we see in Romans 7:15 (NIV). 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. This revealed that Paul was dealing with internal struggles of living the Christian life. We deal with the same thing at times.

Does the Lord discipline His children? You bet He does. The Lord uses trials to discipline His children for the purpose of testing and strengthening their faith in order to bring praise, honor, and glory to Jesus Christ. So, what is a trial? According to James Macdonald’s study on trials, “When Life is Hard”, a trial is a painful experience allowed by God to change our conduct and our character. It might sound strange to some, but God does this because He loves us. Hebrews 1

2 Chronicles 20:20 (NIV) Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” Are you a dreamer? I have always been a dreamer for things in my life. I am still a dreamer. Some of my dreams have become goals for my life. I have talked to some people who put no value in dreaming, and I guess we are all different. However, I am dreamer and I believe God promises we can do all things through Him. Anne Frank wrote, “The g

Matthew 8:26 (NIV) 26 He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. A storm rose quickly on the Sea of Galilee and the disciples were frightened of the storm due to their limited faith. They turned to Jesus and He calmed the waves and rebuked the disciples for their lack of faith. On occasion we like the disciples are frightened by the storms we face in life. Why do we ever fear the st

Jesus warned us that what goes into our heart is what really matters. The eyes are the gatekeepers to our heart. So, it really matters what we look at. We need to guard our heart from the things of this world and many times that fire is ignited by our eyes. We see it on TV every day. The world is trying to entice us with things that enter our heart via our eyes. We all have seen the bling, If I only had this car or truck, I would be happy. ….. I need that new fishing boat…. I