Hello and Welcome
Compared to many followers of Christ my age, I may be considered a teenager. I invited Jesus into my life in 2004. I was 34 then. It took me a lot of wrestling to give in and say, “OK. Prove to me if you are real!” He has not let me down since. The more I have gotten to know my Lord and Savior, the more I have fallen in love with Him, my “Knight in Shining Armor.”
Although I may only know a minute amount about His Heart towards His creation, what I know is incomparable in value to anything I have experienced in my life; so much so that I cannot contain it in my heart and mind any more. My heart overflows with awe of Him. I need to get it out there, so others may be blessed as I have been.
So, welcome and thank you for checking out my devotionals. I pray that you will find what you are looking for through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Devotionals
Luke 12: 27-28 says, “Look how the wildflowers grow: they don't work or make clothes for themselves. But I tell you that not even King Solomon with all his wealth had clothes as beautiful as one of these flowers. It is God who clothes the wild grass — grass that is...
"Submission" is a word we use to define our relationship with Jesus as Christians. We are asked to surrender our lives to Him. All of it! This sounds scary. What if we open our hearts to Him, give our all, but He makes a fool of us? Knowing and loving Christ spurs us...
“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20). I was a Turkish citizen for the first 37 years of my life. Then I chose to become an American citizen. Since I was a kid, I have always had an...
When I arrived at the jail one morning, I was told to wait because there was something called “range of motion” going on. I asked what it meant and was shocked at the answer given: when an inmate is a threat to him or herself, he or she would be tied up to the wall by...
“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). Believe it or not, I do not feel comfortable in big gatherings. I try to fit somewhere chatting here and there. Then I find myself drawn to helping out with food,...
Imagine a piece of paper all crumpled up, torn, and stained. Even when we uncrumple it, it still has traces of what has been done to it. If we try to iron out the wrinkles or clean the stain, the paper will probably disintegrate. There is nothing we can do to make...
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us” (2 Corinthians 4:7). People keep their treasures in vaults, in banks, or in safe boxes at their homes. No one would think of keeping their valuables in a...
During the Holocaust, millions of Jews, many of whom were women and children, were murdered, in addition to POWs, communists, gypsies, and the disabled. People perished at the hands of others because of their origin, conviction, lifestyle, or mental disposition. While...
When tragedy hits, the first question we ask is “Why?” We feel we are getting something we do not deserve and have not asked for, thank you very much! And we all know that this question rarely receives an answer. We find God to be silent. We are puzzled and hurt....
When the blind man sitting on the roadside heard it was Jesus passing by, he cried out, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” The crowd wanted to hush him up. If he had not been persistent and loud, he would have missed the opportunity of being healed. Jesus knows all...
“‘I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing'” (John 15:5). Whenever I buy grapes, I think of this verse. The grapes that are still on the vine last longer than the ones that have...
“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me'” (John 14:6). Many people find this statement hard to accept. I was one of them once. I felt furious that Jesus would be so exclusive. Why could I not have access...
“Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed’”(John 20:29 NIV). Even though I met Jesus approximately 2000 years after His earthly ministry, He still blesses me. I did not see the marks...
Mark 13:36 says, “If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping." “He” refers to the owner of the house, Jesus. We are his servants. He's coming to his creation. What a glorious thought! I am so looking forward to it. The first six months of Grace's life was...
Most people know me as an ESL teacher, which is English as a Second Language. I am also a linguist who understands the process of learning a foreign language and one who has acquired English as a second language, so every time I read the verse in Acts about apostles...
In the New Testament, there is a story of a woman who comes and pours expensive perfume over Jesus’ feet and wipes it with her hair. In John, it is Mary, Lazarus’ sister. In the others, she is anonymous. There is a reaction among the disciples: What a waste! We could...
Do you think God is beautiful? Just a look at the creation, from birds to flowers to the brush stroke clouds, will convince us that He is. Even when the world is falling apart, there is beauty in every corner. How come is it easy for me to sincerely admire a beautiful...
“Greater love has no-one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13 NIV). From what the Bible says about Jesus’ sacrifice, I see that Jesus died for us even when we were his enemies. Let me expound on my inadequate understanding of this: Christ...
There is a song called "Only Jesus" by Casting Crowns that has been playing on the radio these days. It declares, “I don't want to leave a legacy. I don't care if they remember me. Only Jesus." My father, a brilliant surgeon for 40 years, has been diagnosed with...
On my own, I'm not able to face the day. Several months ago, my sister sent a picture of my father which bore no resemblance to him. That photograph shook me at my core. Alzheimer's has been taking him away little by little. What a horrible disease! It eats away at...
The Bible tells us that Christ has been holding us in His loving hands, and nothing whatsoever will make Him let us go… and nothing is strong enough to grab us from His hands. I love this imagery. When I think about it, I feel safe. I am enveloped by the Hands that...
“‘My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,’” states Jesus in John 17:20. For those of us who feel left out of the blessing of seeing Jesus while He was on earth, this verse is a soothing balm. Just because we...
You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness” (1 Thessalonians 5:5 NIV). My husband, Dave, is a musician, and God blessed him with a musically talented daughter. For Christmas, he wrote a song for Grace....
1 Corinthians 1:18 states, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” I was one of those who thought it ridiculous that the Creator of the Universe could or would die for the people...
I heard the sentence “Every story has three sides” recently in a movie. It took me a couple of seconds to get what it meant; there is always my version, yours, and God’s. I have never thought about it that way. It is comforting. It is no longer my word against yours....
In the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 9, a father asks Jesus to heal his demon-possessed son, tagging the request with the condition "if you can." Don't you think it is naive to question Jesus if he can kick out a spirit? Think about it. The man must have heard about Jesus'...
I love the yearly tradition of the father-daughter dance at Grace’s school. It is such a great idea: Dads are the first to acknowledge the value and beauty of our precious girls before they leave the nest. They receive the acceptance of their dads and feel confident...
When I was young, our family enjoyed picnics on the weekends. On one of those occasions, I remember promising the little girl I had been playing with that we would meet again in the same spot and at the same time the following week. Now looking back, I realize how...
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid”(John 14:27). We all face those days when we cannot make sense out of anything life throws our way. We do not even know what...
I would like to believe that when the time comes, I will be able to defend my faith and stand up for Christ, just like Peter believed that he would in John 13:38: “Then Jesus answered, ‘Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the cock...
Forgive as you have been forgiven is the command in the Bible. We have been forgiven much. Our past, present, and future sins all wiped away in the most unpredictable way. The cross and the Son of God. Heavenly Father as the judge condemns us of sin and sentences us...
““Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a...
Zacchaeus, a really short tax collector, wants to see Jesus, but he can't. He climbs a tree. [I wonder what he is thinking to himself. “I wish I were taller so I would not have to embarrass myself roosting on a tree.”] People around waiting for Jesus do not even...
God is good all the time. All the time, God is good. The first time I heard this sentence was in the movie, “God’s NOT Dead.” Since then I repeat it whenever I need to hear it. It gives me a sense of peace. If God orchestrates all the events in my life, I will be OK...
Many times during worship on Sundays, I like to close my eyes and imagine being in the presence of our King. Those times are when something is bothering me or bringing me down. It is hard to pray when we are overwhelmed by what we are going through. Knowing Jesus will...
We humans are so fragile. We have a limited span of life. Like the Bible says we are like grass or flowers that wither and die after a short period time on earth (James 1:11). These bodies cannot last for eternity because of the fall. Sin entered the world after Adam...
A father asks Jesus to heal his demon-possessed son, tagging the request with the condition, "if you can." Don't you think questioning Jesus if He can kick a spirit out is pretty naive because he has already gone to Jesus's disciples with the hope that his son would...
“‘Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak’” (Matt. 26:41 NIV). This verse reminds me of the struggle with sin Paul describes so well in Romans. We do what we do not want to do and do not do what we want to...
When I gave this as a challenge to my high school students, they struggled to understand what it even meant. Seriously, what does God really want from us with this command? I don't think this means to consider ourselves less or worse than others. I see it more like a...
