Walk With Darrell

This has been another great year for Terri and me. As we entered another year of retirement. We continued with our plan to travel. Terri and I have traveled close to 24,000 miles while visiting National Parks and 35 states. We have traveled from Texas to Maine to the Great Lakes and out west to the Rocky Mountains, Southwestern Deserts, and then to the Florida Keys. The three of us got along great and travel well together. You might ask, “what do you mean three of you”? We ha

We can have peace no matter what we are facing in life. God says we can bring our worries to Him in prayer. There are a lot of things in life that causes us to worry. Many people are in between jobs and the future has uncertainty, health issues don’t go away as the years go by, friends and family members pass on. Children or grandchildren are facing their own battles that can cause worry in our lives. All these things add up and can steal our peace and joy in our life. God

When we look at our battles in life, do we look at the battle with our physical eyes or our spiritual eyes? You might ask, what are you talking about? We all have battles in life we are fighting and if we look at them through our physical eyes they can seem daunting. What we need to do is to fight our battles through our spiritual eyes. In work there were always battles, and if you look at them through your physical eyes you can get very frustrated with work and at times it c

Would it be nice if we could control everything in our lives? Well, we don’t, it seems like our trials never seem to end. We all go through trials; I have my trials, and I have friends and family going through trials. Our trials vary in length, some trials are for a short period, and others seem to never go away. God is allowing adversity in our lives for a purpose. When we look at the heroes of faith in the bible, they all went through seasons of trials. Abraham and Sarah w

As a Christian our walk with God is a journey of faith, and there will be times when our trust in God will be tested. There will be those days when your life will seem like you are in a storm and water, and winds of adversity are sweeping you away. Doubt threatens to crash down on you. It is at these times it is important to have a good foundation when everything around you is sinking. That foundation can be found in God’s Word during times of storms. God’s Word has all kind

Before He was arrested, tried, and crucified, Jesus used some of His final moments to encourage His followers to reaffirm and strengthen them. Jesus knew His mission on earth was to pay the price of our sins on the cross. As His time was coming to an end, He wanted to give words to encourage His followers. John 14:26 (NKJV) 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I sa

In life we have opportunities to be ambassadors in which we represent someone of higher authority. There are many of us that have professions, where we represent the interest of the owners of the company we work for. As an ambassador we should act in the best interest of the company. We are also an ambassador for Christ and represent Christ in how we live our life. We are out in the world, some of us have jobs, some of us have families, friends, and people we meet daily. Do w

It seems like I have a lot of friends, and family that have been through some tough situations this year. Don’t lose hope. However hard the situation we are facing or how desperate your situation might seem there is always hope. Hope transitions everything, every pain, sorrow, fear, and loss. Hope is what sets us apart as children of God. Hope is what gives light in darkness and comfort in pain. You might ask where do we get our hope? Hope comes from knowing God’s love for us

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. 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 thi

1 John 1:8 (NIV) 8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. My very first Sunday School lesson I taught was on living in a constant state of repentance. As a Christian our sins are forgiven by what Jesus did on the cross. However, we still must deal with our sins daily in order to remain in fellowship with God. 1 John 1:8-9 was written by John for Christians. 1 John 1:9 (NIV) 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will for

Doubting Thomas had to see evidence of Christ before he would believe in Jesus’ resurrection. There is an invisible presence living within each person that has put their faith and trust in the saving blood of Jesus. Even though we can’t see God or see the Holy Spirit living within each believer it doesn’t mean He doesn’t exist. However, we see the effects of God on human lives. God has the power to change men from the inside out. Changing men’s hearts has an outward effect on

John 8:47 (NIV) 47 Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” Sometimes God speaks loudly and clearly. Most of the time God speaks with a quiet voice. This is why it is important to carve out some quiet time each day to study His Word and sense His direction. This same method worked for Jesus when He was with His disciples. Jesus would make time to get away from the crowd and spend some time with The Father. This

Have you ever drifted from God? If we are honest with ourselves there has been a time in probably each of our lives that we drifted from God (I have). Sometimes there has been times when we might have felt like we lost our way. Luckily God doesn’t give up on us. He is always there waiting and calling for us to come back home. Sometimes it is a small whisper to our hearts that lead us home. Jesus says He is the way back and He brings us right into the presence of God. Hebrews

John 14:21 (NIV) 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them. Who do we try to please in our life? Your friends……Society……..God. It can be a trap to try and please people instead of God. We invest a lot of energy trying to please society and probably not enough energy trying to please God. God says if we love Him, we will be obedient to His commands. This w

Loyalty is a precious quality that is underrated in our world we live in. Yet it is something we all need in our world today. Without it the fabric of our society would start to crumble. Without loyalty our families, businesses, communities, politics, and our nation weakens if not falls apart. Loyalty is simple… it means; I am going to stick with you and have your back through good times and bad times. We need that relationship that will never leave us during any storm. In Pr

1 John 2:5-6 (HCSB) 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly in him the love of God is perfected. This is how we know we are in Him: 6 The one who says he remains in Him should walk just as He walked. Each day we have a choice to make. Are we going to follow Christ today? We will be confronted with many opportunities to serve God and follow in the footsteps of Christ. When we do, our Heavenly Father guides our steps and blesses us in the process. Every day we live in a world that

Ephesians 6:14 (NIV) 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, You might not realize it, but we are in a spiritual battle every day. Paul tells us in Ephesians we do not fight against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces of evil. In the bible, Paul tells us how to fight this battle in Ephesians. We must put on the armor of God. Ephesians 6:12 (NIV) 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and

It is so easy for us to be critical of people who look at the world differently than we do. That is one of the things I ask God to help me with daily in my prayers “to not have a critical attitude”. God tells us not to judge others. We have to guard ourselves against judging others by what seems right in our eyes. You think about it we all come from different places and we all value different things in life. Paul talks about how fellow believers will see things different than

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

Luke 6:36 (NIV) 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Forgiving others isn’t always that easy for us. If you could just forgive once and be done with it. The decision to forgive is easy, but the process of forgiving is more difficult. Forgiveness is a journey that requires effort, time, perseverance, and prayer. God instructs us to treat others as we would like to be treated. When we look at what Christ did for us by not only forgiving us our sins but dying on the