Walk With Darrell

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

There have been a couple of storms so far this Hurricane season. Have you ever been out on the ocean when the seas were rough? As I have shared before, I served on a Navy Aircraft Carrier and even though it is a large ship I have witnessed waves splashing on the flight deck. The seas were too rough for us to go into port, and we had to head out to sea. In Mark 4:35-41 it tells of Jesus and His disciples in-the-midst of a storm. Part of the story reads. 38 Jesus was in the s

Thursday of Holy week referred to as Maundy Thursday. As I write this the sun is sinking in the west. I was wondering what Jesus and His Disciples were doing at this time. Had they made it to the Upper Room yet? We know that after sunset, Jesus washed the feet of His disciples as they prepared to share the Passover. I am sure we all have seen the picture of the Passover. My first bible I received as a child had the famous picture of the Passover. The disciples did not realize

John 4:9 (NIV) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” The Samaritan women at the well was asked by Jesus to draw Him some water from Jacob’s well to drink. She questioned Jesus why He would ask a Samaritan woman to give Him water. The Samaritans and Jews did not associate with each other. Jesus answered the Samaritan woman that He had water and that His water was living water. John 4:10 (NIV) 10 Jesus an

It is easy to get caught in the trap that if we act the right way or look the right way, then we will be more acceptable to God. Likewise, many people in the Old Testament and even today think that being religious is a way of winning favor with God. Jesus spoke against this. Religion and good deeds can’t earn our way to heaven. We read this in Isaiah 64 verse 6. Isaiah 64:6 All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all

As a follower of Jesus Christ, we should have a goal of making a difference in people’s lives. When Jesus was on earth, He was not a member of a church, not in a Sunday School class, not in a church choir, but He made a difference in people’s lives. Jesus met people where they were at and showed them love. One of the things I use to say when teaching a Sunday School class is that we need to take Christ’s love outside of our Sunday School class. Do you want to make a impact on

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

One of the promises God gives us is to help carry our burdens. Whether emotional, financial, or relational, our burdens can weigh us down. When burdens come into our life, how do we handle them? Do we deal with them according to God's Word? Or do we find ourselves fretting over them and trying to run from them? God knows what we are capable of handling, and God would not give us a burden without also supporting us with His strength and wisdom. God is more than capable of car

Our trials can come in many forms such as sickness and disease. Sickness and disease are a part of our imperfect world and affect both righteous and unrighteous people. However, God wants to use suffering of all kinds, including sickness, to mature us spiritually and draw us closer to Him. And He can use sickness in our lives to refine us and strengthen our relationship with Him. We must remember that while the Father cares about our physical bodies, His primary concern is ou

Jesus is not only our Lord and Savior, but our friend. Friendship is something that should be valued. When you pray to Jesus you are praying to a friend who gave his life on the cross for us. John 15: 13-15 3 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I

Yahweh Rophe (YAH-weh RO-fee) “The Lord who heals”. I am sure we all are praying for someone that needs healing. It might be a family member, a close friend, an associate, or someone we have never met. We live in a fallen world where our bodies get weak and sick with disease, illness, and age. It is especially hard to watch a loved one slowly lose their health. My mother use to tell me getting older isn’t all it is cracked up to be. Life is precious and God has put a desi

Christianity earliest profession of faith consisted of three short powerful words: “Jesus is Lord”. Paul shares that there is no power or person in the universe that can separate us from the love that Jesus Christ our Lord has for us. Romans 8:38 - 39 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from

Today we are talking about peace, so we are back in Galatians 5:22-23 talking about the fruit of the Spirit. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Peace in the bible means we experience a life that is the harmony and calmness of body, mind, and spirit trusting in the power and grace of God. We can have peace in our life no matter what the circumstance

I am currently watching the Series “The Chosen”. I think one of the things that is the most enlightening thing for me watching this is the humanity that they display in Jesus. I realized that when I think of Jesus, I think of him as our Lord and Savior, which He is. I know He came down to Earth as a man, but I never gave much thought of Jesus having fun with His friends. This series for example, shows Jesus at the wedding where He turned water into wine having fun laughing a

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

Men have tried to suppress the truth about God. Men have used alternate theories to try to explain God and His creation. Paul in Romans 1:20 indicates that God has plainly shown things about Him to everyone. Paul asserts that humans can know some things about God by looking at nature and what God has created. Romans 1:20 (NIV) 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from wha

Paul the author of much of the New Testament suffered greatly. He endured beatings, nearly drowned, faced starvation, rejection, imprisonment, and so many other hardships. But he said that these sufferings cannot come close to comparing the glory we will see someday. Romans 8:18 (NIV) 18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. Paul’s faith was tested through fire and pain in his life. Through it all Paul knew

Do you have patience? We are back in the “fruit of the Spirit”, we have talked about joy, peace, and now let's talk about patience. Some translations of Galatians 5:22-23 on the “fruit of the Spirit” use the words forbearance, or longsuffering instead of patience, but I prefer patience, as it is what I use in my speech on a regular basis. I am not sure I have ever used longsuffering or forbearance. 😊 Galatians 5:22-23 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patie

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

Is prayer important to you? If not, it should be the most important part of your Christian daily life. Most of us if not all of us have read the story of Jesus overturning the money changers in the temple courts. The most important words written in Matthew 21:12 is where Jesus, “says my house will be called a house of prayer”. Prayer is the conduit that we communicate with God. Jesus knew that and He found time each day to pray to His Father in heaven. Matthew 21:12 - 13 12