Lisa Bevere

Have you ever stopped to think about the power you give to whatever you believe? It’s true. Once believed, a lie’s power in your life will grow and grow until it becomes a tyranny. Tyranny is a very strong word that describes an actual stronghold. It describes a process of thinking so oppressive and hopeless

Do you know that how you see is far more important than how you look? I do, and yet for me, walking this out is a dance of daily recalibration. You see, rearranging the furniture of my life or altering my physical appearance is so much easier than daily lifting my sight. Appearance is how

Today I invite you to pause for a moment and picture Jesus. As you do, note that envisioning Him as He was when He walked along the Sea of Galilee is not vast enough to capture who He is now. The Son of God visited this earth as a man, stripped of His divine privileges.

“God! God! I am running to you for dear life; the chase is wild” (Ps. 7:1, MSG). We’ve now spent several weeks examining the example of the lioness. One of her best-known traits is that of huntress, so today I want to explore this idea and expand your concept of the hunt. To hunt is

“Energy and insights of justice to those who guide and decide, strength and prowess to those who guard and protect” (Is. 28:6, MSG, emphasis added). A few years ago, a study of the lioness led me to the concept of prowess. Lionesses are the only large cats who hunt as one. They are highly skilled huntresses, and their

“Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you” (2 Cor. 13:12-13). Paul, the author of this instruction, masterfully wove greetings throughout his letters to the churches in his care. If it was important enough for Paul to put his greeting in writing, then it is certainly important enough for us to

“Strength is for service, not status” (Rom. 15:2, MSG). Those of us who are strong and able have been charged to step in and assist those who falter—to lend a hand to those who pause, hesitate, waver, or weaken in their resolve. It is my hope and prayer that all of God’s children will rise

“I will praise you, for You made me with fear and wonder; marvelous are Your works, and You know me completely” (Ps. 139:14). I dare you to say this out loud. Go ahead—do it now! You are a marvelous work of God, and so are the people around you. However, it is easy for us to be

The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! (Romans 13:12, The Message) A few years ago, in my quest to study the lioness, I read books and articles and watched DVDs, documentaries, and even YouTube clips in order to observe lionesses in different settings,

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give permission to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God” (Rev. 2:7). The Holy Spirit is likened to a wind, or stream of air, carrying

“For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and revealed” (Luke 8:17). Regret is an emotion with an incredible capacity for causing untold pain. Too often we find ourselves where we did not wish to go, having arrived by a mode of transportation we did not

“A people rises up as a great lion, and lifts itself up like a lion; it shall not lie down until it eats the prey and drinks the blood of the slain” (Num. 23:24). When I think of a lioness, a smile plays along my mouth. I throw back my shoulders and stand a bit straighter. More than

“… Be an example to the believers … in purity … ” (1 Tim. 4:12). At first glance, purity may seem the same as holiness, which we discussed last week. But they are not the same. Holiness means to be set apart, whereas purity is how you conduct yourself because you’re consecrated. Purity is the by-product

“I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service of worship” (Rom. 12:1). As Christians, we accept that our lives are no longer our own, for we have been purchased at a high price. This

“Therefore submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Once fears or desires have been aroused, they are hard to quiet. And there is a reason for this: Our desires were never meant to be awakened and then neglected. So if we awaken the wrong desires, what can