Melissa Lapensee

"Neglecting daily time with the Lord causes Division." During my morning prayer time today, the Lord suddenly showed me an image of flossing my teeth and how doing that daily equated to spending time in His presence. He was showing me that spending time daily in His presence was needed to get the junk out before it sank deep into places in my life and spirit. Neglecting this daily routine would allow the enemy's lies and mistakes I had made to sink into my soul and cause deep dark pits to grow. I didn't go[...]

The Lord recently showed me a seed of joy during one of my morning devotional times. A seed deposited inside of us springs up and causes joy to grow in our hearts. He showed me that this seed of joy begins to grow when we understand who He is and accept that we are indeed His children, His creation. Our Creator/Father is the embodiment of love. He doesn't only teach us about love; He is love. When we can fully embrace that we belong to such a loving creator who cherishes us, it causes joy to bloom in our hear[...]

While in prayer, asking the Lord what He would have me write about for this month’s Heartstrong Blog Post, I immediately saw a picture of a rock being thrown into water and ripples being generated out from the place of the rock's impact. This image came along with the thought that what we say matters. Even a smile or one word can be the lift someone needs. When we stay connected to our God of hope, we give others hope; it overflows from us. It often isn't even a conscious decision on our part. It just flo[...]

"Writhe and groan like a woman in labour, you people of Jerusalem, for now, you must leave this city to live in the open country. You will soon be sent in exile to distant Babylon. But the Lord will rescue you there; he will redeem you from the grip of your enemies." Micah 4:10 (NLT). While reading this passage from the prophet Micah, my mind had a picture of all the people living on earth and outside Heaven's protection. I saw a parallel between our home in Heaven for us and the walls of Jerusalem for the p[...]

"For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings." Hosea 6:6 (NIV). "I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings." Hosea 6:6 (NLT). "I'm after love that lasts, not more religion. I want you to know God, not go to more prayer meetings." Hosea 6:6 (MSG). For my blog this month, the Lord impressed upon me to write about Hosea 6:6. This verse first came alive for me in early 2016. I had focused on it as my guid[...]

"This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you. God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all." 1 John 1:5 As I write this blog entry, it is the last week of January 2022, and it is very dark. This time of year always feels so dark and cold. The twinkling lights that shone during the Christmas season are gone, and the brighter days of Spring have yet to arrive. What is darkness anyway? There is really no definition for darkness on its own. If you search for the meaning, many sources, i[...]

“Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, there was the sound of a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it,[...]

I don’t know about you, but I’m the kind of person who is always trying to find meaning in everything. I don’t like to waste anything. That’s actually one of the reasons I follow Jesus; I don’t want to waste my life! Now and then, I have dreams that really make an impression on me. Usually, when I wake up, I try to remember to ask God if He sent these dreams to teach me something. I don’t even want to waste my dreams! I also ask Him to reveal what He wants me to learn from these dreams. I don’t[...]

Last spring, as the snow started to melt during a few warm March days, I decided to go for a walk with my dog in the woods behind my house. It is a beautiful walk beside a creek and then up steps that are built into the hillside. The loop takes about twenty minutes to walk, a bit longer sometimes with my old dog, who stops at every tree. I know this route well as I have lived here for almost 30 years and have walked it many times. On this particular day, I noticed a couple of moms with kids in tow who seeme[...]

In Isaiah, chapters 36 and 37, we read the story of the Assyrian King, Sennacherib, sending his Chief of Staff, and a huge army, to confront King Hezekiah in Jerusalem. They brag about all the nations they have conquered and how the Hebrew God is no match for them. This messenger even uses Hezekiah's own Hebrew language to say that Hezekiah has been unfaithful to God, so God won't protect him. Further, he says that Hezekiah's God has sent him to defeat Hezekiah. The enemy speaks in the Hebrew language as he w[...]