“We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭8:1‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“You KNOW I’m right about this,” sneered Josie to Ellen during another less than polite diatribe about [you fill in the blank]. Over the years her condescending tone had become Josie’s hallmark trait, wearing down their once strong friendship. After pausing to lift a quick prayer, Ellen gently responded, “Yes, you might be right. Josie, you truly are one of the most intelligent people I know. By the way, I’ve been thinking about our last conversation, and I want you to know I’ve been praying for your whole family. I know this has been a difficult last few years, but I love you and am here for you.”

Often that brief plea to the Father for wisdom means the difference between tearing down and building up a treasured relationship.

“A word spoken at the right time is like gold apples on a silver tray.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭25:11‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

🚦Stoplight Devotionals

#WordsCanHurtWordsCanHeal #That’sThePowerOfLove #YouDon’tAlwaysHave toBeRight #PrayInTheSpirit #Wisdom #ThinkBeforeYouSpeak #DevotionalsForWomen #ChristianWomen #Devotionals #StoplightDevotionals

“For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling,”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭5:1-2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Growing up our family did a lot of camping. We had a giant green and white tent to shelter our family of seven.

Eventually, like all things, it wore out. Our next “tent” was a small motor home which lasted much longer and provided more amenities.

The failings of the tents that are our lives on this earth can cause grief and despair. Do you find yourself lamenting the emptiness of a creation in which the created love themselves more than their Creator? Living “in the world but not of it” causes me to long all the more for my eternal home. Aren’t you glad He has prepared a permanent house for us that is perfect and cannot be destroyed?

“Hear my prayer, Lord, and listen to my cry for help; do not be silent at my tears. For I am a foreigner residing with You, a temporary resident like all my fathers.”

Psalm 39:12 HCSB

🚦Stoplight Devotionals

#Tent #EarthlyTent #EternalHome #DevotionalsForWomen #ChristianWomen #Devotionals #StoplightDevotionals

“Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭43:19‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

It seems so desperate right now. Your marriage is on the rocks. Your child is willfully walking in darkness. Your job prospects are looking bleak.

Faith detects the hand of God moving even when the outward evidence is scant to nil. Courage wears a different set of glasses that can recognize the work of the Spirit in the midst of chaos and despair. Hope refuses to give up because God is always does what He says He will do. The Father has already provided for the needs, and we must seek Him to find the solution He has for us. Walk in Spirit with Him to navigate to the straight paths instead of the circuitous and bumpy routes.

🚦Stoplight Devotionals

“Why am I so depressed? Why this turmoil within me? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise Him, my Savior and my God. I am certain that I will see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and courageous. Wait for the Lord.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭ 42:5‬, 27:13-14‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

What first comes to your mind when you hear the word “courage”? Is it a soldier fighting in battle, or a first responder stepping into harm’s way to help a person in trouble?

While certainly both of these are great examples of courage to confront danger, but God’s Word tells us of another type of courage—enduring with faith through a difficult season not of your own choosing. It’s the woman battling breast cancer. It’s the unemployed father who hits the street every day looking for a new job, and the under-employed husband who sticks it out in a dead-end job so that his family can have a roof overhead and health insurance. It’s the mother visiting her son in prison, not knowing when or if he will ever get out. It’s the devoted sister caring for her handicapped brother.

Continuing in this fight is exhausting at best and just about impossible when we try to go it alone and stop praising God. Praise Him? Yes, our real hope is found not in our health, our kids, or our jobs but in Him who suffered courageously to give us Life when we were dead in our sin. 🚦

Stoplight Devotionals

#PortraitsOfCourage #Courage #Courageous #Endurance #Perseverance #CourageUnderFire #DevotionalsForWomen #ChristianWomen #Devotionals #StoplightDevotionals

“She will pursue her lovers but not catch them; she will seek them but not find them.”

‭‭Hosea‬ ‭2:7‬ a HCSB‬‬

“But from there, you will search for the Lord your God, and you will find Him when you seek Him with all your heart and all your soul.”

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭4:29‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

When you and I, like Israel, are chasing after worldly things for our fulfillment, lusting after the greener grass on the other side of the fence, even when we attain the “stuff” after which we are chasing, we will not find satisfaction. We will always be left wanting more, always trying to one-up the last conquest.

It is only when we pursue knowing God that we will find the deep satisfaction and peace passing all understanding our souls long for. We will find HIM. 🚦

Stoplight Devotionals

#SeekGod #Satisfaction #Peace #PeaceThatPassesAllUnderstanding #TheGrassIsAlwaysGreener #TheOtherSideOfTheFence #DevotionalsForWomen #ChristianWomen #Devotionals #StoplightDevotionals

“For I desire loyalty and not sacrifice,

the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”

Hosea 6:6 HCSB

Many years ago I re-evaluated what was important to me in a friend. At the top of the list was loyalty. Who needs fair-weather friends, the ones who stick by your side when the sailing is smooth but take off when storms come?

Our Lord desires loyalty, too. Not blind loyalty; God wants us to know Him and be in relationship with Him. Whatever you are dropping in the offering plate on Sunday is meaningless if your are not in communion with Him.

What would your relationship with God look like if you looked forward to spending time with Him the way your dog looks forward to being with you?

Are you seeking to know God? If you need some help with this, let’s talk.🚦

Stoplight Devotionals

#Loyalty #NoGod #Relationship #Communion #AbideWithHim #DevotionalsForWomen #ChristianWomen #Devotionals #StoplightDevotionals

“I wish that all people were just like me. But each has his own gift from God, one person in this way and another in that way.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭7:7‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

My husband and I often joke about other people’s taste or opinions, whether it be landscaping or politics, and how “obviously, they didn’t ask MY opinion” since certainly the decision would have been different. Have you ever thought this? If so, it looks like we are in good company since even the apostle Paul admitted wishing everyone were like him re their spiritual gifts.

When we see someone so different from ourselves and are tempted to criticize, it’s wise to take a step back and realize that person fills a specific need within the body of Christ that you and I cannot fill. We each have a unique gifting, and it behooves us to seek out the uncommon or less obvious proclivities of individuals to better appreciate our differences and learn from each other. 🚦

Stoplight Devotionals

#SpiritualGifts #Unique #BodyOfChrist #Differences #DevotionalsForWomen #ChristianWomen #Devotionals #StoplightDevotionals

“See how happy the man is God correct; so do not reject the discipline of the Almighty.”

Job 5:17 HCSB

These sharp words of rebuke are from Eliphaz’s first speech to Job after Job had lost his family, his home, his livelihood, his wealth, and his health overnight. Eliphaz assumed Job’s sin was the cause of his calamity.

May you and I never assume another person’s hardships are the result of their irresponsible behavior or sin when we don’t know the whole account. Often, even when we think we know the big picture, we see only a snapshot. As followers of Christ, our first and foremost job in this situation is to show compassion. Who needs your gracious kindness today?🚦

Theological sidebar: If one simply reads a verse from the Bible without knowing the context in which it was spoken, one can be tempted to twist words to mean something very different from intent. An important statement from the Apologetics Study Bible says this: “Inerrancy guarantees only the accuracy of what the three friends said.” Inerrancy does not mean that Eliphaz a statement reflects God’s position toward Job.

Stoplight Devotionals

#Rebuke #ShowCompassion #Compassion1 #Graciousness #KindnessMatters #DevotionalsForWomen #ChristianWomen #Devotionals #StoplightDevotionals

“And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,”

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭34:6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Why do Christians sin? Aren’t they/we born again into a new life with the old things passed away?

In the passage above we see God describe himself to a distraught Moses who had broken the two stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments out of anger and frustration at the Israelites. Instead of slamming Moses for his angry outburst, God comforted the already remorseful Moses by explaining His own character as compassionate, gracious and slow to anger.

Dear friend, we live in a fallen world, and this side of heaven we simply will not get it right all the time. Aren’t you thankful to know that whatever your spiritual battle God is gracious and quick to forgive when you confess your wrongdoing?

Stoplight Devotionals🚦

#WhatSin? #TheLordTheLordTheCompassionateAndGraciousGod #SlowToAnger #AboundingInLove #DevotionalsForWomen #ChristianWomen #Devotionals #StoplightDevotionals

“What a person desires is unfailing love; better to be poor than a liar.”

Proverbs 19:22 NIV

The year was 1967, and the Jefferson Starship tune, “Don’t You Want Somebody to Love” was wildly popular, even making The Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest song’s of all times. Who DOESN’T want to be loved unconditionally? Sadly, many of us waste our time, “looking for love in all the wrong places,” desperate to find THE ONE. Recording artists have made millions of dollars singing about this quest when, in fact, the only place to find unfailing love is at the foot of the cross of Christ. What is holding you back from giving your life back to THE ONE who gave his life up for you?🚦

#ForGodSoLovedTheWorld #UnfailingLove# #UnconditionalLove #TheFootOfTheCross #DevotionalsForWomen #ChristianWomen #Devotionals #StoplightDevotionals