by Linda Evans Shepherd @lindashepherd in Leading Hearts Magazine
Got a purpose?
Ask God to show you something you could do if fear stepped out of your way.
Queen Esther found herself facing such a challenge. She’d risen above her difficult childhood and won a kingdom-wide beauty pageant to accept the role of a lifetime, a royal marriage to King Xerxes himself. The marriage had been a happy one until her husband fell under the spell of Haman, a nobleman with evil intent.
Haman convinced Xerxes to make a degree that on a certain day, the people of King Xerxes’ kingdom could exterminate and enslave the Jews, Esther’s people.
Esther was heartbroken, but what could she do to stop the slaughter? If Esther tried to speak up, she’d have to waltz uninvited into the king’s court. That was a crime for which she could be executed. But why bother? The King’s decree was irreversible. (more…)
By Linda Evans Shepherd in Leading Hearts Magazine
IT’S A NEW DAY, A FRESH SEASON. THE AIR HERE IN COLORADO IS SWEET AFTER DAYS OF RAIN. The grass is green and the crabapple tree in my backyard is filled with fluffy, pink blossoms.
After a deep season of sorrow upon losing my precious daughter Laura, I am feeling a new sweetness in my spirit. I’m letting go of grudges and pain, and joy is overtaking my fog of grief.
Can the human spirit really find this kind of refreshing? Yes, but only when we refuel by the power of God.
Dear Lord. I praise you that I can enter your gates with thanksgiving and your courts with praise. How I love and worship you. Thank you too that I can…
by Linda Evans Shepherd @lindashep in Leading Hearts magazine
ONE MORNING, I’D SPENT TIME PRAYING FOR SEVERAL HURTING PEOPLE AT CHURCH. As I prayed for my new friends, the Lord revealed their deeper wounds and secrets. I shared the insights God had given me as I prayed for them. I told them they could really trust God and his great love for them. Their tears turned to peace and their peace turned to joy. How wonderful it was to witness the Lord move so mightily in their lives.
So on this day, knowing I’d heard from the Lord, I headed home. As I clutched the steering wheel, I prayed a silly prayer,
“Lord, if you can speak to me, would you tell me the winning numbers for the upcoming lottery?”
Do you need to breakthrough the noise of the season filled with parties and packages to receive fresh insight for your life or ministry? Are you struggling for your prayers…