Elevate Your Day with Andi and Brian Hale

Andi & Brian Hale
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Andi and Brian bring you daily devotionals to help elevate your day!

  1. 5d ago

    Don't Fear Be Certain (Certainty in Times of Uncertainty) Day 5

    From Certainty In Times of Uncertainty by Dave Villa There is a fire within all of us that is waiting to be ignited. A fire that grows and can spread to those around you if you continue to feed it’s flames. This fire is stronger than the uncertainty that you may be feeling. It has the power to overcome the negativity that may be surrounding you right now. That fire, that passion, that inner strength was instilled in you by God himself. A passion to do what you were made to do, whatever that may be. An inner strength to persevere and come out on top regardless of your opposition. “fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 ESV I might be uncertain about what tomorrow will bring, but I’m certain that I need to make things happen today. I may be uncertain about how I’m going to reach my goals, but I’m certain on what my goals are. I’m uncertain on HOW I will be successful, but I am CERTAIN that I will be successful. I’m sure of it. My mind has been made up. My God has provided me with the tools necessary to see my dreams come to fruition. He has watched over me since my creation and His will prevails every time. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 ESV I’m not sure how I will make it out. But I’m sure. I don’t know when I will accomplish my goals, but I know that they will be accomplished. I am certain of it. Whatever you’re going through is no match for the Lord. Whatever pain, fear, frustration, stress, anxiety, or uncertainty is made CERTAIN through Jesus Christ. In times of uncertainty, don’t be afraid. Be certain.

  2. 6d ago

    Failure is Not Final (Certainty in Times of Uncertainty) Day 4

    From Certainty In Times of Uncertainty by Dave Villa Things don’t always go according to our plans, but they will always adhere to the plans of the Lord. Life, however, is not lived without any bumps in the road. Failure is not found within these bumps, it is found when we allow these bumps to stop us in our tracks. Don’t become so discouraged in the delays that you give up on the pursuit of your purpose. We cannot control what happens to us, we can only control our response to it. Pastor Charles R. Swindoll once said that life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you react to it. Your mindset is a powerful thing. I believe that people who are successful aren’t successful because they are more talented or even more skilled. Successful people are successful because they have a mindset for success even during failure. “This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.” Psalm 18:30 ESV We must trust the process, even when the journey gets rocky. God is developing you for the plan that He has created for you to live out. God puts us through what I call “stretching seasons” to prepare us mentally for the destination that we are heading towards. “ Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.”” Hosea 6:3 ESV Having certainty in times of uncertainty does not mean turning a blind eye to what’s going on around you. It doesn’t mean that you won’t have feelings of fear, we’re only human. It means that we, as followers of Christ, choose to have faith among the fear and negativity that may surround us. It means that even with fear in our minds, we know that the Lord will provide us with whatever we need to carry on. In times of uncertainty, your Bible is certain. God is sure. Jesus has made his mind up. You see, we may live in a limited world but we serve a limitless God.

  3. Oct 28

    Fear of the Future (Certainty in Times of Uncertainty) Day 3

    From Certainty In Times of Uncertainty by Dave Villa We cannot always be certain of what is going to happen. There is no telling what the future will bring to anyone. We can make educated guesses. We can make assumptions. We can try to notice patterns and figure it out, but no one knows what tomorrow will bring. All we have is today. And today is enough. “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. ” 1 Peter 5:7 ESV You have survived every bad day so far. Every circumstance and setback. You are undefeated. You’ve seen seemingly insurmountable situations before, and you have faced terrifying opponents who seemed to have the advantage, and yet you have come out the victor. In times of uncertainty, we choose to be certain. We have certainty not in our circumstances and situations but in our God, who provides for and protects us. Certainty – Firm conviction that something is the case. The quality of being reliably true. A fact that is definitely true or an event that is definitely going to take place. Uncertainty – The state of being uncertain. Something that is uncertain or that causes one to feel uncertain. Uncertainty says, “I don’t know what my future holds.” Certainty says, “I know who holds my future!” To be without Christ is to be without peace. To be uncertain. Every person has a conscience within them, which must be satisfied before they can truly be happy. There is only one thing that can give peace to the conscience, and that is being in the right relationship with God. Fight for what matters most to you. Fight for your faith. Fight for your family. Fight for your life. Don’t allow negativity and uncertainty to take up room in your mind. God is STILL in the blessing business. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1 ESV It’s time that we evict uncertainty and make way for certainty. Negativity has overstayed it’s welcome and positivity is moving back in! We need to introduce an uncertain world to a certain Jesus.

  4. Oct 28

    Fact or Fiction (Certainty in Times of Uncertainty) Day 2

    From Certainty In Times of Uncertainty by Dave Villa In the digital age, information is provided to us faster than ever. You can Google anything you’d like, and you could read about that topic for weeks. With the click of your mouse, or the tap of your finger, you can learn all that you need to know about anything. While this should be a positive aspect of the time we live in, it isn’t always. With an abundance of information comes an abundance of misinformation. News that has been so sensationalized that we can no longer tell what’s real and what isn’t. The line between fact and opinion has been blurred by journalists and news stations who aren’t seeking the truth like you and I. They’re seeking ratings. When people are fearful, they will turn on the news. They want to either be comforted or informed on that which they are afraid of. Yet, too often do we take the word of man for fact. We read and listen and assume that whatever has been written or told to us is real, never thinking that the sources we are checking may also be misinformed. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. ” John 14:27 ESV The only TRUTH that we know is that Jesus Christ died for our sins. The only truth that we know has been fact-checked, cited, and sourced, is that God will be there for the start and the finish. For the open and the close. He is the author and the editor, and his word is final. There is nothing to sensationalize. There is no truth which God has not yet uncovered. I’m not telling you to stop reading the news. To stop trusting those around you. What I am telling you is that regardless of what has been written, regardless of what has been reported, God already knows. God’s plans for you do not change because of the actions of men. God’s plans are unwavering, and not contingent on what is going on around us. “When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.” Psalm 94:19 ESV In times of uncertainty, God is certain. While our plans may fall through and change, the plan that the Lord has in store for us will be carried out.

  5. Oct 28

    The Plague of Negativity (Certainty in Times of Uncertainty) Day 1

    From Certainly in Times of Uncertainty by Dave Villa Every day, people all over the world turn their tv on and watch the news. Global events are discussed on nearly every channel. Negativity is all over the internet. Magazines and Newspapers, while not as popular as they once were, are still found in abundance. And the fear and negativity is still found in abundance, as well. You can’t avoid it. It’s in our faces 24/7. Negativity is a plague. But what do we do? We turn up the volume. We click on the link. We flip to the next page. And we allow this negativity to permeate our minds. We worry about whatever ongoing war there is, whatever new disease is being spread, whatever the stock markets are doing. Why do we do this? What is our fascination with this type of information? We are fearful. It is no secret that there is a large amount of darkness in this world, ready to pull those willing to listen under its grasp. But there is also a lot of light. And, where there is light, darkness cannot prevail. “fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 ESV The light that has always shined on me in my darkest times has been the word of God. Because regardless of what situation you find yourself in, the Bible will walk you through the steps in order to get through it. Financial crisis, issues in your marriage or relationship, problems at work, at school, global catastrophes, they pale in comparison to the Lord, and to eternity. Your Bible is your source of never-ending light. Even in the darkest of rooms, when a lamp is turned on, the light drives that darkness away. Even in the face of adversity, amidst tragedies and uncertainties, the light that the Lord shines on us still triumphs. There is nothing greater. There is nothing brighter. “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” Psalm 56:3 ESV Amidst darkness, I choose to reach out towards the light. To allow it to shine on my spirit and to lead the way to better days.

  6. Oct 21

    Changed By The Unchanging One (Making Change) Day 5 of 5

    From Making Change by Michelle Van Loon Like many kids, I used to imagine that adulthood was a goal and maturity was a given. But now that I’ve been an adult for a while (a long while!), I’ve learned that maturity is not automatic, but must be cultivated. The word used in the New Testament for maturity is teleios, a common word that means finished, complete, or fully grown. It describes the purpose and shape of a Jesus follower’s journey with Him. It is not the name of its destination. “ Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” Colossians 2:6-7 ESV Paul’s words to his friends in the church in Colossae emphasize the importance of growing through challenges and trials. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the resurrected Jesus had brought radical change to those who were a part of this early church community. In addition to the stunning reality of radically changed lives, the church in Colossae was also dealing with the temptations to follow false teachers and the trials brought on by waves of persecution. Paul’s deepest desire for them – and us –was that we would plunge our roots deeply into Christ so we would not be swayed by our changing circumstances. He prayed our lives would be marked by gratitude – not as a performance, but as the overflow of our journey toward maturity in his company. Even when our circumstances turn our expectations upside down and inside out, the God who loves us perfectly is at work cultivating maturity in our lives. Prayer: When change threatens to uproot me, Lord, I ask that you help me to stay rooted and growing in maturity. Help me to trust you today. I thank you that in this always changing world, you never change. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, amen.

  7. Oct 21

    Radical Pruning (Making Change) Day 4 of 5

    From Making Change by Michelle Van Loon When I learned that my hairdresser was a hobbyist hibiscus breeder, I told him about the three neglected old hibiscus bushes that were on the property of our new home. The skeletal plants were nearly leafless, and I figured I’d need to dig them up and replace them. He urged me instead to lop off about two-thirds of their branches. “It might look like you killed them. Fertilize them well and watch what happens.” He was right. It did look like I killed them after I first gave them a serious haircut with the hedge clippers. Sprinkling fertilizer around the base of the woody, shorn stumps seemed an exercise in futility. But within a few months, the trio of bushes were covered in green leaves and saucer-sized blooms. When it seems as though our lives are undergoing radical pruning, all we can see are the places where good and promising things once existed. Pastor Warren Wiersbe said, “Your heavenly Father is never nearer to you than when He is pruning you.” Pruning is rarely pleasant, nor is it instantly beautiful or fruitful. It hurts. “ I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. ” John 15:1-2 ESV We can trust that our Master Gardener is near, cultivating his goodness from the places in our lives that he’s currently pruning. But if your trust seems as sparse and barren as the branches on a blunt stub of a hibiscus bush after its been pruned, say so. Crying out for God’s help itself is an expression of trust, and is the place where new life and fresh growth begins. Prayer: Father, the pruning that accompanies changes in my life is painful and confusing. I thought those areas were fruitful, and I’ll confess that I don’t understand why you’re doing what you’re doing right now. Please help me to discover you are near. I pray these things in the name of the one who is God-with-us, your Son Jesus.

  8. Oct 15

    Lost in New Territory (Making Change) Day 3 of 5

    From Making Change by Michelle Van Loon In the days before readily available GPS navigation on our cell phones, I told my kids we’d be taking a quick run to the post office in our new town. A glance at the map told me the address was directly at the center of a spaghetti-bowl of hilly one-way streets. I was a veteran big city driver and figured the small suburban downtown area wouldn’t be a major challenge. After more than a half hour of driving in circles around that up-and-down tangle of streets, stopping to ask for directions twice, I gave up and returned home. I never found the post office that day, though later I discovered I’d driven by it several times. I relied on my earlier experience as a city driver to help me navigate my strange new location. That experience actually got in the way of me being able to make sense of what my eyes were seeing that day. I was so disoriented that after a while, I forgot what I was searching for. Understandably, we’re prone to rely on our previous experience to navigate change in our lives. While that previous experience may be of value, it can also hinder us from being able to assess and respond to what is happening right now. We need a guide who knows the terrain, especially when it is uncharted territory for us. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. ” John 10:27 ESV In John 10, Jesus told his followers that there would be unhelpful or destructive people presenting themselves as caring guides who would lead them astray. He urged his followers to learn to listen to his voice. We can do that by engaging in regular Bible reading so we can learn to discern who God is and what he says, and by simple, conversational prayer. He will guide us step by step, even when it seems as though we are traveling without a map. Prayer: Good Shepherd Jesus, I am disoriented by this strange new place in which I find myself. Please protect me from the other voices who are not guiding me in the way I should travel.  Please help me hear your voice clearly and follow you faithfully.

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Andi and Brian bring you daily devotionals to help elevate your day!

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