This Week With Jesus

  “The Lord trieth the righteous.” — Psalm 11:5 (KJV) Have you ever been down into the depths of loss or heartbreak, suffering or complete disaster? When the only question in your head is "why me" ? When you feel like you are being threshed literally with no escape? It can be a heartbreaking thought - "I never hurt anyone, I tried to follow our Lord, I tried to do all the right things and I never hurt anyone knowingly. Then why? Why did it have to be me?" Well, it had to be you for the very reasons you feel it should not have been: Your belief, faith & trust in the Lord. This is not a dichotomy. This is the reality of our faith. We are entrusted with a mission because God sees our strength and faith in Him & knows we can see it through with His help. Here is a lesson we can learn from wheat! Wheat, while nestled safely in its husk, is of no use to the one who planted it. Only through threshing—through the shaking, beating, and separating—does its true value...

"Worry is a conversation with self about things we cannot change. Prayer is a conversation with God about things He can change." ​Have you ever found yourself replaying a difficult conversation in your mind, agonizing over a decision you can't undo, or losing sleep over a future event that's completely out of your control? That's worry. It's a relentless loop of mental chatter, a conversation we have with ourselves about all the things we can't fix, control, or change. And it's exhausting. ​Worry drains our energy, steals our peace, and can even take a toll on our physical health. It's the enemy of rest, the opposite of trust. When we worry, we're essentially telling God, "I've got this. I'll handle it myself." We're trying to carry a weight that we were never meant to carry. We become so focused on the "what ifs" that we forget the "what is" and, more importantly, the "Who is." ​ Now, consi...

  And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren . Genesis 29:31 (KJV) Leah was the woman no one chose.  Her father used deception to marry her off. Her husband, Jacob, loved her sister more. And in a world that prized beauty and favor, Leah felt invisible. But God saw her . Look at her history - In Genesis 29, Leah names her sons with aching hope—“Now my husband will love me,” she says. Yet it’s not until her fourth son, Judah, that her focus shifts: “This time I will praise the Lord.” In her pain, Leah found purpose. In rejection, she discovered worship. And God saw her . Leah kept trying to earn love by seeking “more.” More children, more effort, more hope that maybe this time, someone would truly choose her. She was caught in a cycle many perfectionists know—chasing worth through what we can do. But God saw her, not for her role but for her heart . And He honored her. From Leah came the priestly tribe of Levi and the royal line of Juda...

  The two major villains of Christianity are Lucifer and Judas. We imagine their sin and shudder, never imagining we could act like them.  But, within each of us, a complex and often contradictory landscape of loyalties and betrayals does exist. This internal conflict is what we might call "the Judas in you." This isn't about committing a grand, historical betrayal, but rather about the subtle, everyday moments where we turn against our own values, our truest selves, or those we claim to love. It's the part of us that whispers for the easy way out, even if it means compromising our integrity. A part that indulges in hate, criticism, gossip, slander, lies, compromising integrity at work or at home, backbiting, and the list goes on. The Judas in us manifests in various ways. It's the voice that convinces us to stay silent when we should speak up for what is right, prioritizing our comfort over justice. It's the impulse to gossip about a friend to feel more inc...

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV) ​Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. "I am not what happened to me. I am what I choose to become." ​These words are a powerful reminder that our past does not define our future. Life throws curveballs—illness, injury, and misfortune—that can make us stray from the path we know we should be on. Our memories of the straight and narrow can become blurred, and the voices we listen to may lead us in directions we never intended to go. In these moments, we can begin to forget who we are in Christ. ​But God never forgets us. Even when our own memories fail or our sense of self is stolen by hardship, God's love remains. We may feel lost and disconnected, but we are always seen and known by our Creator. We may feel He has let us down, but He is still with us, working for our good.  ​Often, our own desire for control and our limited imagination hold u...

Psalm 125 ver 1 "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." – Hebrews 11:1 (NIV) Man by nature is associated with careful consideration, prudent planning, and a sensible approach. Recklessness is irresponsible. But when it comes to trusting God, we'll, a reckless faith is what God wants! Complete and total dependence on Him alone. That does not mean a person needing medicines should not take them. But what about "reckless faith"? It sounds almost irresponsible, doesn't it? Yet, when we look at the lives of many biblical heroes, we see a striking pattern of audacious, seemingly reckless trust in God. Consider Abraham, who left everything familiar to go to a land he'd never seen, simply because God told him to. Or Moses, confronting the most powerful ruler of his time with nothing but a staff and God's promise. Think of David, a young shepherd boy, facing a giant with just a sling and five smooth stones. These ...