Psalms 7:17 NIV[17] I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness; I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High.

February 20, 2026 carriedinthecrossLeave a comment

Psalms 7:17 NIV
[17] I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness; I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High.
Here we have David again praising God; honoring his savior because of His righteousness. It seems from this verse that David is in a moment of great joy. But look at the verses above this one and you will see that David is not only in anguish but is being pursued. Despite the danger and all David was going through he not only honors God as sovereign, but he also declares that if he has done anything to wrong the person who is after him that God should permit him to be overtaken.
We like to focus on David’s big failures. His mistake with Bathsheba. His terrible parenting. Yet he was always a man who sought God with his whole heart, throwing himself at the mercy of God even if it brought him pain. God does not overlook our sins, but He does forgive. This same verse where David declares he will sing praises to God, he also acknowledges and accepts that the same weapons God uses to punish his enemies, He will use to punish his followers if they are unrepentant. Can we praise God when are confused and afraid? Can we give Him glory and at the same time know that if we sin without remorse we will be punished?

Take away:

God is always good. He is also always pure. He will not permit sin to run unchecked. Yet when He punishes our enemies He is avenging us, but when He punishes us He is loving us. Just like a parent who protects and disciplines his or her child everyday. Yet God does not hold to His anger. He forgives when you call on Him.

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Psalms 4:7 NIV[7] Fill my heart with joy when their grain and new wine abound.

February 18, 2026 carriedinthecrossLeave a comment

Psalms 4:7 NIV
[7] Fill my heart with joy when their grain and new wine abound.

Welcome to lent 2026! This lent we will mostly be spending time in Psalms and learning from the various authors and artists.
Today we look at Psalm 4:7 where David is lamenting about his people. He asks how long they will ignore God and chase idols. The big thing to always learn from David is this: Feel your feels and then let them go.
Feel your emotions- acknowledge them- turn them over to Jesus.
David begins by feeling disheartened and ends in praising God and saying to Him, “let me see you do something wonderful.”
The very end of this chapter has the beloved verse about lying down and sleeping in safety because of God watching over us.

Take away:
Acknowledge problems and things that upset you. Then take a deep breath and hand them to Jesus. After you do this you can open your eyes to His goodness and look forward to the way Jesus cares for you.

You may wonder what the Psalms have to do with lent. Lent is a time of opening your mind to Jesus and all He has done for us. That means taking extra time everyday to be with Him. The Psalms are a great place to look at God’s wonder and how He cares for His people. Making time for a little more Jesus and a little less me is what lent is for as we prepare to remember the sacrifice of Easter.

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Refuge

February 9, 2026 carriedinthecrossLeave a comment

Psalms 121:1-2 NIV
[1] I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? [2] My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
David found his hiding place within the mountains when he hid from Saul. He knew perfectly well how safe a cave could feel. Yet he reminds us here that his rescue did not come from the mountains. His safety and hiding place was in God.
Too often we find comfort in things of this world. In our jobs, in our studies, in health care, in our homes, so on. All these things are very good but they do not replace God. How often throughout the book of Isaiah did God warn the people about setting up thing as idols, about relying on earthly strength instead of on Him? Just like the Israelites then we seek strength for anything we can touch and see because we fear relying on God.
Yet David saw it. My safety is not from these mountains around me, my safety is from the God who made these mountains.
Our safety and strength and success does not come from anything we can touch or see, sure we will have put out effort on our part, but our salvation from all around us no matter what we face, is in God Himself.
These strongholds cannot save me, but God can!

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But you said no anyway

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But you said no anyway

I was listening to soft piano music and this title came up. It reminded me of times with God where we have done all the right things. We have been kind to people who would be easier to be mean to. We have given even when we were poor ourselves. We have gone to church each Sunday when all we want to do is sleep in. Yet God said no to our desire anyway.
Times like those are so hard, and many walk away from their Faith during such days because it hurts too much to keep holding on.
But God’s answers to our prayers aren’t based on how good, kind, and giving we’ve been, they are based on His will and timing.
C.S. Lewis said something once along the lines of:
“It is not that we doubt that God has a plan, it’s that we fear how painful His plan will be.”
The days when God says ‘yes’ it is easy to trust in Him. It’s those days when He says ‘no’ that we stumble.
God never promised sunshine, never once did He say we would never walk in storms, but He always promises that He loves us and that His plans are for our good.
Sometimes He says no and it makes no sense. It may never make sense. That’s why we need faith. Because Faith says to keep holding on, when everything else says to fear and despair.
Jesus has never once dropped you or left you alone to suffer, and He isn’t about to start now.

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Before the beginning it began

December 7, 2025 carriedinthecrossLeave a comment

The whole event began centuries before the manger and the star. It began with God speaking the world into motion. With the world falling into sin. With God’s great love for His people. With our transformation from sinners to children of the King of Kings.
Mary and Joseph would have had a long journey on foot. The distance is roughly 90 miles and they would have chanced facing dangers from snakes, wild cats, wild dogs, bandits and even Samaritans. They would also most likely have been required to rest of the Sabbath, making the journey even longer.
The dangers were amidst them, but so was the power of God, and where God’s power is, so is peace and safety. Until it was His time, nothing could harm Jesus. But it is not likely that Mary knew that. She would have had many reasons to fear, and yet she still traveled. Because she was confident that the same God who sent angels to her to deliver an ancient promise, would also guide her and her baby to safety.
Bethlehem was known for it’s perfect, spotless lambs for sacrifice. One night, over two thousand years ago, a baby came to the small city of David to be born the last and greatest sacrifice for all of our sins. Whenever we go through our days, let us remember that we are free, saved and forgiven, only because Jesus came to be born in a stable, hated by so many, killed for the sake of us, forsaken by God until He rose blameless from the grave. All because of us.
What can we give Him in return? Nothing. Nothing is worthy. Yet all He asks for is our hearts.

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The answer was with me, I just forgot to look

December 4, 2025 carriedinthecrossLeave a comment

Remember when Mary Magdalene in the Chosen saw the Roman soldier ride past and is terrified and hides from him? Then later is so ashamed of her fear and says that she completely ignored the scriptures in her hands and hid.
I have suddenly had a moment like that.
After school ends we all feel we will get jobs right away and life will be the bees, or however that saying goes. Then when it doesn’t, you panic. Will I ever get a job? Will I end up being one more collge graduate who can’t use her diploma for anything outside of space on her wall?
Then you start to really go down hill. Wondering why people less qualified have positions you feel you should have. It’s a mess.
Then I opened my cell phone and my lock screen said Isaiah 46:4

Isaiah 46:4 NIV
[4] Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

The right verse to remind me of God’s power was right there in my hands the whole time. I had just missed it because of my stress.

How about you? How often has stress taken over your mind and made you ignore the truth of God? Too often I would guess, because it has happened too often for me.
The Bible holds all of the answers, we just have to stop and listen.
He’s got us. We just forget sometimes that:
He STILL has the whole world in His hands tonight. -Petra

Goodnight friends 🧡

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A little dinosaur reminding us of Christ’s love

December 1, 2025 carriedinthecrossLeave a comment

Does anyone remember Land before time? I mean the real one, not the new one?
Have you ever thought of how that movie is a great representation of our relationship with Christ?
Don’t give up on me just yet. Let me show what I mean. Littlefoot, the cutest Dino ever, ends up having to walk across the wasteland due to what I would guess to be Pangea splitting in the continental drift.
On his journey, he runs into Sarah. The 3 horn in their world, the Triceratops in ours, and she tells him that they can’t journey together, because he’s not of her kind, so he goes and journeys on his own. Having lost his mother and being totally broken at heart he feels like he will always be alone. Yet as he journeys, he meets several others who are not his kind, who are also journeying alone, and who are frightened and need somebody to care for them. So he puts the differences aside, and allows them all to come with him. And he cares for them and protects them. And then when we have Sarah join back up with the group, she decides to take charge, and she argues with him at every step and tries to show that she is smarter. And eventually, her wrong opinions (which claim to know an easier path) lead all of the friends except Littlefoot, who knows to go the right direction, astray. Isn’t that exactly like our relationship with Jesus, right down to the wandering the wastand and finding friends to wander with him? More than that though, His knowing the answers, His finding lost and broken people in this world and putting aside the fact whether we’re black of skin or white, or we’re Chinese or we have a limp, or we have freckles, none of that matters to Him as long as we are willing to love Him and serve Him, and then He guides us and lets us follow Him. He protects us and then out of nowhere comes the devil whispering in our ear (or shouting) saying Jesus is wrong and that he knows an easier way. Taunting us with “Why are you taking the hard way?” And because we’re human and dumb, we go and we follow the devil’s voice. Even though Jesus has led us the right way up until now. Do we all remember what happens when things get hard? After the other children choose to follow Sarah, instead of Littlefoot?
She ends up leaving them all behind and not even noticing when they fall into turmoil. Yet as soon as they cry for help, little foot comes running. Shouting, “hang on guys, I’m coming.” Isn’t that just like Jesus as soon as we run into trouble? Even though we chose to follow the devil instead of Him, when we call for help He comes running saying, “hang on guys. I’m coming.” Why? Because He loves us and He is the eternal perfect leader. Let us give our lives to Him and trust in Him. Now we all remember that Sarah does get her redemption because Littlefoot allows her to continue to join them. In fact, he even saves her on several occasions throughout several different movies.
Now the devil doesn’t have that chance to be rescued, but the vialist of sinner does, and Jesus will reach out to even those who have hurt Him the most because He is our God and we love Him. More than that, He loves us.

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So tired

November 2, 2025 carriedinthecrossLeave a comment

Why is it when you feel like you have absolutely nothing left, that is the moment something goes wrong. We shoulder so many things in a day, let alone in a week. You get to a place where you feel like a dam is building inside of you to hold back the flood. Then one little extra thing makes the dam Crack. Then another, and another. Suddenly it bursts and you are hurt and angry. Why God? Why again? Why another? Why this? Life happens and is hard sometimes, but no one is truly to blame for that. These aren’t the times of saying, why? These are the times of saying, I seek you Jesus. Hold me and guide me through this season. That’s the thing about seasons. They change. Hes got you. Keep going.

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Get back up, He’s got you

October 26, 2025 carriedinthecrossLeave a comment

Sometimes it’s hard. You know. Getting up. Getting up when you’ve been knocked down. Getting up when have spent everything you’ve got. Getting up to do it again. Somedays the bravest thing you will do is get out of bed and try again. It’s a dangerous thing going out your front door every morning. You never know what will come. You feel you can slow down and take a break, and then suddenly realize that you can’t and that feeling almost breaks you. Keep going. You don’t want to hear that, but you must keep going.
When Jesus fell on the road to Golgatha He did not keep laying there. He got up, and God sent Him a man named Simon to help Him carry the cross.
God will sent us someone to help us carry the cross as well. His name is Jesus.
Keep going. You CAN do this!

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Too far away from the fire

October 5, 2025 carriedinthecrossLeave a comment

When you don’t spend enough time with God, you begin to lose something. You lose the warmth. There is a warmth in the connection between you and God, a steady feeling of health for your soul. You may have days on end where your day was lousy, but you felt okay once you sat down and spent time with Him. Then things change. You get busy. Distracted. Sick. Tired. Something happens, and you are suddenly not spending the time with God that you used to. Then the cold slips in. Like a frost slipping its fingers under the door in December. A chill enters your bones, and you don’t know why or where it has come from. You wrap up in a blanket of comfort, TV, social media, a good book, but it’s never enough. Then, one day, you open your Bible, and suddenly, a wave of warmth floods back into your soul. You stop and pray for a bit, and more warmth comes. Soon, you are praying and worshiping and feel like you are sitting on a warm beach in the sun because your soul has its fire back.

Isaiah 53:6-12 NIV
[6] 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. [7] 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. [8] 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. [9] 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. [10] 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. [11] 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. [12] 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.

https://bible.com/bible/111/isa.53.6-12.NIV