Author: Dianne Barker

  • Two Things that Trip Me in My Christian Walk

    Only two things trip me in my Christian walk—really, being totally honest here. I’ve been walking with the Lord for a long time, and I don’t want to brag, but only two things trip me: people and circumstances. You know what I’m talkin’ about. Have you noticed that people usually cause the circumstances? My sole…

  • Abraham—Man of Faith, Friend of God

    Get out! God told Abraham to leave his home and go to a new place that he would show him. He put faith into action and went. Would you begin a journey having so few details? Let’s look at the story in Genesis 12. The command… “Now the Lord had said to Abram, Get out…

  • Between a Rock and a Hard Place

    Have you ever been between a rock and a hard place? Apostle Paul spent time there, and his experience helps me see my circumstances in perspective. “I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews…

  • Promises of God Are Reliable…Always and Forever

    Promises. We make them casually. But our good intentions often succumb to unexpected life turns. We meant to keep our promises but circumstances hindered us. God’s promises are reliable. This time of year, while looking forward to what the coming year may bring, we also reflect on the past. With a flood of gratitude we…

  • Challenge: Change Your Life in 2019

    I’ve narrowed my problem-zones to these three—the past, the present, and the future. Aren’t those the areas that cause you the most trouble, too?

  • God Favors the Pure in Heart

    God, in his vast wisdom, has a way of doing the unexpected…choosing something common to use in a spectacular way.

  • Discard the Useless, Embrace the Joy

    Gathering a basket of things to discard before entering the new year

  • Consistency in the Everyday

    Consistency is my goal. My walk and my talk should declare the same thing—that I have been with Jesus. An event recorded in Acts 3-4 captured my attention. As two of Jesus’ disciples, Peter and John, entered the temple, a man who had been lame since birth asked for alms. Peter said, “Silver and gold…

  • Commercial for Spending Time with God

    Journal note: “Feeling thirsty for God…like the deer panting for streams of water. ‘My soul thirsts for God, for the living God’” (see Psalm 42:1-2). This thirst only God can quench. And that can only happen by spending time with him. The Lord instructed Moses to have the Israelites “make Me a sanctuary, that I…

  • When You Need a Reason to Praise

    Praise the Lord! That’s what we say when he answers a prayer or gives an unexpected blessing. But how do we respond in hard places when we see no reason to praise? In such a place I began making a list of reasons to praise. Immediately I found six in the first six verses of…