"We all have a place in the Kingdom.  We are all a part of God's plan in some way and each one of us is called to personal holiness, which means we are called to be the person God wants us to be. We are called to follow the path God has laid out for us, a path that will accomplish His Will and lead us to Him.  We are called to be our own unique branch and remain attached to our source, who supports us and gives us everything we need to grow and thrive.

 We find the strength we need when we stop fighting God and gracefully accept His will for us.  When we trust that He knows better.  When we stop looking at others and the different gifts God has given them, and start developing and being grateful for the ones He has given us.

It doesn't matter how big our glass is, it only matters that it is full.  We have a purpose, one that is tied directly to Christ Jesus, The Vine, and as long as we stay connected to Him, we will not wither away.

God blesses the weary.  It may not be a visible blessing for all to see but within us God grants very special graces that have the power to refresh and transform.  Over time, these graces will show in every area of our lives.  It is in these unseen blessings that we become strong. 

The above is a sample from our book, “Strength For The Weary, Finding Grace in Times of Trial.”  

"I ask God from the wealth of His glory to give you power through His Spirit to be strong in your inner selves, and I pray that Christ will make His home in your hearts through faith" (Eph 3:16-17) 

Visit our Amazon page for more information on this and other New Way Today books that will make a big difference in your personal and spiritual life. 

May God Bless you and everyone near and dear to you.

Here are the chapter titles to our new book, “Strength For The Weary, Finding Grace in Times of Trial.” 

Our Lord knows how heavy our burdens can be and He doesn’t expect us to carry them alone.  This book will encourage us to open our hearts to God’s grace and keep moving forward, refreshed and restored.

Chapter 1:           On Eagle’s Wings

Chapter 2:           I Am The Vine

Chapter 3:           Wait For The Lord

Chapter 4:           My Strength and My Shield

Chapter 5:           He Cares for You

Chapter 6:           All Things 

Chapter 7:           Reap Rejoicing

Chapter 8:           Wherever You Go

Chapter 9:           Take Heart

Chapter 10:         Build Up

Visit our Amazon page for more information on this and other New Way Today books that will make a big difference in your personal and spiritual life. 

May God Bless you and everyone near and dear to you.

Our Lord’s passion and death was prophesied in Isaiah 53, "God’s Suffering Servant."  Today, on Good Friday, our Lord walks this walk.  Let’s walk it with Him, as we read the scripture passage in its entirety ...

“Who has believed our message, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?  He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him.  He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces, He was despised, and we held Him in low esteem. 

Surely He took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered Him punished by God, stricken by Him, and afflicted.  But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way, and The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. 

He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open his mouth.  He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away. Yet who of His generation protested?

For He was cut off from the land of the living, for the transgression of my people He was punished. 

He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with the rich in His death, though He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth. 

Yet it was The Lord’s Will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer, and though The Lord makes His life an offering for sin, He will see his offspring and prolong his days, and The Will of the Lord will prosper in His hand.  After He has suffered, He will see the light of life and be satisfied.

By His knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give Him a portion among the great, and He will divide the spoils with the strong, because He poured out His life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors.

For He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors"  (Isaiah 53).

This Scripture predicts the manner by which we shall all be saved, through the suffering of The Son of God.  This is not the way we would expect God to come to us, as one of us, born into this world, taking His Divine nature and uniting it fully to our human nature, and dying on a Cross.  But He did. 

God became man in the person of Jesus Christ, who took upon Himself the sins of the world.  Because of the actions of Adam and Eve, who disobeyed God's command, sin and death entered the world. Mankind rejected the paradise God created for us, and now lives in a sinful nature, in a sinful world.  With sin comes suffering.  We were unable to right this wrong.  So God sent His Son to make up for our sinfulness.  Jesus came to conquer sin and death by taking our sins upon Himself.  He bore the punishment that really belongs to each one of us.  He made up for what humanity lacked, and through Christ, all who believe in Him can receive the grace He won for us on The Cross, the gift of eternal life.  Why did He do this?  Because He Loves us.  God is Love, and God Loves what He has created.  He loves each one of us - to death.  And if you were the only person on earth, He would have done it all the same .. just for you. 

Jesus died so that we may live, forever in Heaven. We need a Savior.  We needed a Savior then, and we need a Savior now.  Sin is still a choice to us, in fact it's everywhere, but through Christ we can reject that choice, reject sin and choose Heaven through the Cross of Christ, by receiving Jesus into our lives.  

Today our personal relationship with God can grow significantly if we open our hearts and reflect on what He did for each of us.  Let's pray and ask God for the grace to understand this better, and to become more loving, even in our own sufferings. 

With gratitude for the life of Christ, as we meditate on His suffering and death, lets remind ourselves that He did it "for me."  He didn't just do this for someone else.  He did it for you. We can truthfully say "He bore my sins, my weaknesses, my guilt, my punishment .. so that I don't have too."  We receive the benefit of His death when we accept Him as the center of our life. Let's finally let go of our old way of living, and start living for Christ, in a New Way, Today.  

"Even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to The Lord, your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and relenting in punishment" (Joel 2:12-13).

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, and God invites us to come back to Him.  By His grace, and through prayer and sacrifice, we have an opportunity to gain a whole new life.  It’s a time to make some changes, to admit our sinfulness but also to trust in the saving power of Christ.

It's a time to listen to the voice of God within us and hear the longing of our soul for His unconditional love ... something that can only be found in union with Jesus Christ - the reason for this day, the reason for every day.

God doesn’t want the past to hold us back from a relationship with Him any longer.  Jesus has opened the door for us, and it’s time we walk through it.

In preparation for Easter, Lent is a time to re-evaluate our lives. What are our priorities?  Where are we spiritually? What sort of person do we want to be?  Has our past decisions really brought us the happiness we seek?  Is there something more?  How can I grow closer to God?

There are a few things we can do to make this Lent more meaningful. We can increase our prayer time, make small daily sacrifices, go to confession, perform acts of charity, and simply open our hearts a little wider and allow Jesus Christ to enter.  But let’s not allow this special time of grace to pass us by.  Let’s make a commitment to grow in our faith this Lent, to "let go of the old self and put on the new self”, and to make things right with God, with ourselves, and with others. 

So today, let’s approach God in humility, knowing we are nothing without Him, yet having absolute confidence in His infinite Love and Mercy toward us. God is just a prayer away, and today His arms are reaching out to you saying “I Love you. I created you. I know you. I’ve never left you - And I never will. I’m still here … Come back to Me.”

"Even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart."

May He Bless you, and everyone near and dear to you, this Lenten season, and always.

Here is a beautiful compilation of scriptures in which God The Father is revealed to us.  Please take a moment to read this.  I did not write it and I'm not sure who put it together but I think it's wonderful.  I love how each scripture is presented as one message.  God Our Father speaks to us through His Word.  Let's listen to what He has to say ...

THE FATHER’S LOVE LETTER

You may not know me, but I know everything about you.  Psalm 139:1
I know when you sit down and when you rise up.  Psalm 139:2
I am familiar with all your ways.  Psalm 139:3
Even the very hairs on your head are numbered.  Matthew 10:29-31
For you were made in my image.  Genesis 1:27
In me you live and move and have your being.  Acts 17:28
For you are my offspring.  Acts 17:28
I knew you even before you were conceived.  Jeremiah 1:4-5
I chose you when I planned creation.  Ephesians 1:11-12
You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book.  Psalm 139:15-16
I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live.  Acts 17:26
You are fearfully and wonderfully made.  Psalm 139:14
I knit you together in your mother's womb.  Psalm 139:13
And brought you forth on the day you were born.  Psalm 71:6
I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me.  John 8:41-44
I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love.  1 John 4:16
And it is my desire to lavish my love on you.  1 John 3:1
Simply because you are my child and I am your Father.  1 John 3:1
I offer you more than your earthly father ever could.  Matthew 7:11
For I am the perfect father.  Matthew 5:48
Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand.  James 1:17
For I am your provider and I meet all your needs. Matthew 6:31-33
My plan for your future has always been filled with hope.  Jeremiah 29:11
Because I love you with an everlasting love.  Jeremiah 31:3
My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore.  Psalms 139:17-18
And I rejoice over you with singing.  Zephaniah 3:17
I will never stop doing good to you.  Jeremiah 32:40
For you are my treasured possession.  Exodus 19:5
I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul.  Jeremiah 32:41
And I want to show you great and marvelous things.  Jeremiah 33:3
If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me.  Deuteronomy 4:29
Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart.  Psalm 37:4
For it is I who gave you those desires.  Philippians 2:13
I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine.  Ephesians 3:20
For I am your greatest encourager.  2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles.  2 Corinthians 1:3-4
When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you.  Psalm 34:18
As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart.  Isaiah 40:11
One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes.  Revelation 21:3-4
And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth.  Revelation 21:3-4
I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus.  John 17:23
For in Jesus, My love for you is revealed.  John 17:26
He is the exact representation of my being.  Hebrews 1:3
He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you.  Romans 8:31
And to tell you that I am not counting your sins.  2 Corinthians 5:18-19
Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled.  2 Corinthians 5:18-19
His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you.  1 John 4:10
I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love.  Romans 8:31-32
If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me.  1 John 2:23
And nothing will ever separate you from my love again. Romans 8:38-39
Come home and I'll throw the biggest party Heaven has ever seen.  Luke 15:7
I have always been Father, and will always be Father.  Ephesians 3:14-15
My question is…Will you be my child?  John 1:12-13
I am waiting for you.   Luke 15:11-32