Psalms 19:12 NIV[12] But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults.

March 6, 2026 carriedinthecrossLeave a comment

Psalms 19:12 NIV
[12] But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults.
We all have hidden faults and errors. Pride, arrogance, anger, complaining, it goes on and on. Sometimes we even have faults and sins we do without thinking of it. Not a willful sin, but a sin that has crept into our lives and personalities in some cases. There are many great things about God, but one of them is that He does not just search the depth of our hearts to judge what’s there, He also brings to our attention what’s going on inside that might be wrong. Best of all, He forgives us. We do not even have to be specific, look at the simplicity of David’s prayer; God hears that, knows what you are talking about and forgives. He’s amazing!

Take away:

God searches our hearts and knows the depth, but He doesn’t just sit back and be judge of our mess, He comes to us and helps us see it and clean it up!

Christianity · Devotional · encouragement · found · free · guidance · holy spirit · Jesus · lent · Love · no longer lost · power of God · Prayer · psalms

Psalms 17:8 NIV[8] Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings

March 4, 2026 carriedinthecrossLeave a comment

Psalms 17:8 NIV
[8] Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings
Soak that in. We are the apple of God’s eye and He hides us in the shadow of His wings.
Who in your life is the apple of your eye? Who means more to you than anything on this earth? What would you do to protect them? What would you give up?
Jesus gave up Himself. Nothing could satisfy the need for sacrifice for the amount of sins we people held, so Jesus gave up Himself. That’s how much we mean to Him.
In the world we live in, seeing all this darkness spread and grow around us it is easy to feel frightened, angry, and sad. Yet Jesus covers us with His presence. When we remember how much we mean to Him it helps us to feel safe because we know we are loved.

Take away:

We are so important to God that He gave up His son for us.
We are so important to Jesus that He have up Himself for us.
How important to us Is God? Are we willing to give up our lives for Him?

Christianity · Devotional · encouragement · found · free · guidance · Jesus · no longer lost · power of God · Prayer · psalms · searching · still fighting · The Bible · True Joy

Psalms 16:6 NIV[6] The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.

March 3, 2026 carriedinthecrossLeave a comment

Psalms 16:6 NIV
[6] The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.
This poem of David is known as a Miktam, which most likely means precious. David made God his precious hiding place and rejoiced in His protection. God surrounds us with His presence and in Him we are safe. Nothing can cross the boundary line that God sets and this is such a precious thing to know. I know that here David is most likely referring to the boundaries that dictate a person’s property due to the mention of a delightful inheritance from the Lord; however I wish to think of the type of boundaries I mentioned earlier.
This past year we built a fence for my dog on our farm. It’s a nice large area right out the front door of our house. It holds a boundary. Due to the fence, I can let him go and run and play and am not worried about the foxes and coyotes because they cannot cross the boundary line.
God sets a boundary line for us. He promises to protect us from more than we can handle, which means despite all we go through in our lives there are things far worse that have been stopped at that boundary line. I can imagine a shining fence surging with power all around me as I rest, many thing prowl outside it but do not dare even coming close, and I am safe. It’s a pleasant thought.

Take away:

The boundary lines of our inheritance from God are wide and vast! Truly a blessing to be joyful in thinking on. His boundary lines of protection for us are also something to take joy in. They are strong and unending, nothing can reach over or under and we are safe in Him.

Christianity · Devotional · encouragement · guidance · Jesus · lent · Love · no longer lost · power of God · psalms · searching · still fighting · The Bible

Psalms 15:2 NIV[2] The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart;

March 2, 2026 carriedinthecrossLeave a comment

Psalms 15:2 NIV
[2] The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart;
David speaks here about who can enter God’s holy mountain. One whose walk is blameless, a person who does not sin, does not slander, hates all that is vile.
I would like to take a moment just to think on that. I have slurred people’s names several times today. It was a rough day for it, it seemed like everywhere I looked people were being a problem. I don’t like to use the word slander for this because slander includes the words you use being a lie. But what if all the terrible things you say about people are completely true, should we say them?
Before we say ‘no’ and walk away feeling good about ourselves let us remember something, we are all guilty of talking behind people’s backs and embellishing events to improve our story. As far as I have met, there is only one person I know who I would say most likely never did this, and even then I am not positive.
When it comes to most sin it is generally fairly straightforward when comes to avoiding it. But pride and slander come circling around with ease. Some are more prone to it than others, but none are immune.
Yet here David reminds us that those who are this way cannot abide upon God’s holy mountain. He says only the blameless can stand before God. And he’s right. Which means that absolutely no one can stand before God, except one.
Jesus is blameless of all sin and He alone stands freely before the Father.
The amazing thing is that Jesus then looks at us. We struggling little beings living on His earth. And He invites us to join Him, all we have to do is ask. If that isn’t amazing I don’t know what is.

Take away:

Even the most righteous of us fall to certain sins. None of us are holy enough to stand before God. But because Jesus died for us we can repent and be given the same blameless purity He has. That is an amazing gift! How can anyone say Jesus does not love them, when His whole book is about how much He loves us!
All we have to do is repent and try and change and do better, that’s all He asks, is for us to keep trying. He knew we would mess up and need forgiveness every moment of every day, so opened the tapestry and said ‘come in and ask.’
Nothing we can do deserves such love as to be able to be forgiven each time we mess up because the only one who was pure died in our pl

Christianity · Devotional · encouragement · found · free · guidance · holy spirit · Jesus · lent · no longer lost · power of God · Prayer · psalms · still fighting · The Bible · True Joy

Psalms 13:5 NIV[5] But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.

February 28, 2026 carriedinthecrossLeave a comment

Psalms 13:5 NIV
[5] But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.
Trust is so hard. How many people do we really trust? We as humans have been hurt by people so often that we live with a tinge of concern and lack of trust. We often turn that fear over to God. We don’t believe that Jesus will truly come through because we put Him on the same level as people. But His love is unfailing. He will never leave us abandoned. He reaches down and pulls us out of darkness and hurt.
In this passage, David is pleading with God to save him from his enemies. How long will you make me wait before you save me? Is basically what he says over and over again. Then he ends by rejoicing in God and praising Him, because David understood that God would always come through for him no matter how dark everything around him seemed.

Take away:
In the middle of trials we may stumble and feel like we are losing faith, but God will always be there with us. We cannot understand the waiting or the time it takes before our troubles end, but we always know that God has not left us and that He is doing something for us.

Christianity · Devotional · dreams do come true · encouragement · found · free · guidance · holy spirit · Jesus · Love · no longer lost · power of God · Prayer · searching · still fighting · The Bible · True Joy

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!

Christianity · CS Lewis · Devotional · encouragement · found · free · guidance · holy spirit · Jesus · Love · no longer lost · power of God · Prayer · searching · still fighting · The Bible · True Joy

But you said no anyway

Featured carriedinthecrossLeave a comment

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.

Christianity · dreams do come true · encouragement · found · free · guidance · holy spirit · Jesus · no longer lost · power of God · searching · still fighting · The Bible · True Joy

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 🧡

Christianity · Devotional · encouragement · guidance · Jesus · Love · no longer lost · power of God · Prayer · searching · still fighting · True Joy

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.

encouragement · found · guidance · Jesus · no longer lost · power of God

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.