Bethany McIlrath

First and Second: Perspective On What Matters Most (Matthew 22:36-40)

Tag: god

  • Facing the Big “What If”

    Facing the Big “What If”

    I recently had the privilege of sharing a brief devotion with a bunch of teenage girls. Weeks in advance, when I asked the Lord what He might have me say, His answer was clear: “tell them they can pour it all out to me, they can always come to me.” The Lord never gives you…

  • God’s Reliability: Updating to 5.0

    God’s Reliability: Updating to 5.0

    {This post originally appeared on My Faith Radio} We know all too well the adrenaline rush of a beloved phone fizzling out or breaking. Updates to social media page layouts and software give us pause. We get used to doing things a certain way and using particular tools. It’s normal to feel vulnerable, tired, lost,…

  • Just For Me

    Just For Me

    As the speaker in the video wraps up her lesson, she prays. All of us in the room grow quiet, listening in. The screen grows dark and before anyone launches the discussion questions, a friend speaks up. “Sorry you all had to sit through that,” she grins, “because that was just for me.” I know…

  • Holding and Held

    Holding and Held

    Thinking of Christ as our anchor, we often picture storms raging. Tossed about in the chaos, we think of clinging to Him. Our hands burn, grasping, struggling, to hold on. But the wonderful truth: as we’re holding, we’re also held. Our anchor is bound inseparably to our soul. Even when we let go, the anchor’s…

  • Blame First, Forgive Next

    Blame First, Forgive Next

    This post is one piece of a great collaborative effort. Head over to Kelly Balarie’s post for encouraging excerpts and links to tons of bloggers’ fantastic testimonies on the Lord’s work in their lives. When I tell my husband about an incident and the way it hurt my heart, he listens. Patient as usual. My…

  • What God Has For You Today

    What God Has For You Today

    It’s a new day. What if it’s a good one? God has a few things for his followers today (and everyday.) They’ll make whatever your schedule holds better. You don’t have to take them or appreciate them, but you can if you’d like. His offer is free and wide open. What’s His offer? Read the…

  • Word of the Week: Peace

    Word of the Week: Peace

    Ironically, “peace” is a confusing concept Biblically. Without any word study at all we observe that Christ at once claims He did not come to bring peace (Matthew 10:34) and at the same time Christ claims He is our peace (Eph 2:14.) The definition of peace clarifies, citing that peace is: A sense of welfare…

  • Word of the Week: Still

    Word of the Week: Still

    “He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God’” –Psalm 46:10 Busy, busy. Becky just wrote about our false trust in “doing” through busyness. It’s a tough one to accept because our busyness is a habitual coping mechanism. No more. Be still. This word the Lord uses can also be translated “sink” or “relax.”…

  • In Busy We Trust

    In Busy We Trust

    {The eleventh installment in the In ____We Trust Series} Glad to have Becky here today- she believes in embracing grace in the messy real of life. At My Ink Dance, she captures hard, uncomfortable, often unspoken feelings and brings light, honesty and God’s truth to them in a relatable way. Becky is a wife and mother of…

  • Word of the Week: Direct

    Word of the Week: Direct

    Earlier this week, Carly shared about trusting in plans. She realized her “planning was not enough” and that she “needed God to…make it come together.” The verse she wrote about is a challenging one: “Trust in the Lord and lean not on your own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy…