“The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You.”—Isaiah 26:3

In a way, today’s verse doesn’t really make sense. Wouldn’t a person with a steadfast mind already have peace? It’s the next line that gives us insight: “because he trusts in You.” In other words, one thing undergirds both the steadfast mind and the peace that Isaiah speaks of— trust. We will enjoy both these pillars when we truly trust HaShem.

But what does it mean to trust God? One thing it involves is clinging to Him. Many of us say we trust God, but the truth is that we’re not really clinging to Him. We don’t walk through life talking to Him on a daily basis. We don’t communicate with Him constantly. We don’t lift up all the things we’re going through to Him. In short, we are not practically depending on Messiah.

We say we trust in Him, but we’re compartmentalizing Him. We worry about our problems while claiming to believe He is all-powerful and can take care of all the things that concern us. In many ways, we are often like Martha in Luke 10. She was anxious about preparing food and being a good hostess when Jesus was literally sitting in her living room. She missed the main thing.

Her preoccupation with all of her tasks and concerns kept her from sitting at Yeshua’s feet. Jesus told her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary” (Luke 10:41–42). That one thing is to cling to Him—to sit at His feet, worship, and bring our concerns constantly before Him.

Beloved, if we will walk in such a way that we’re always cultivating a sense of His presence and lordship, sharing everything with Him and clinging to Him, we’re going to become more steadfast and our souls will sink into a deeper peace.

Father God, I believe You are all-powerful and are able to address everything that concerns me and meet my every need. Help me to turn to You with my cares and concerns. I know I need to cling to You instead of relying on my own strength and manipulations. Father, bring me into a deeper reality of the experience of Your peace as I focus my mind and heart on You. Through Your grace, in my Messiah Yeshua’s name.

What did you do with the life I gave you

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What Did You Do With the Life I Gave

Lord, I thank You for another day,

For the breath inside my chest, for the mercy on display.

But I hear Your voice calling out to me,

Asking what I’ve done with the life You’ve given me.

Every word I spoke, every choice I made,

Every heart I touched, every time I strayed…

On that day I stand before Your throne,

You’ll ask me what I’ve done with this life I call my own.

What did you do with the life I gave you?

Did you lead your wife, did you lead your sons?

Did you teach your daughters to seek My kingdom?

Did you tell the world that I’m the Holy One?

Oh, what did you do, with the life I gave you?

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Did you tell them I saved you from the pit of hell?

That My Son bore the lashes, took the nails as well?

Did you serve as the priest of your home each day,

Or let My name slowly fade away?

Did you guide their steps, did you teach them truth?

Or let the darkness steal the hearts of youth?

On that day, there’ll be nowhere to hide,

Your life will speak — standing side by side.

What did you do with the life I gave you?

Did you fight the good fight, did you hear My call?

Did you raise your children to stand up tall?

Did you plant the seeds that your fathers missed?

Or did you waste the time I placed in your midst?

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Did you share My Word, did you teach My ways?

Did you bow your knees, did you give Me praise?

Did you pass the torch so My name won’t die,

Or did you hold it back and let the moment pass by?

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The day is coming — every knee will bow,

Every tongue confess, every head bowed down.

The day is coming — and the books will be read,

Every thought, every word, every tear you shed.

Did you lead them home when the night was long?

Did you stand for truth when the world was wrong?

Did you hold My name like a holy fire,

Or did you hide it low when the storm grew higher?

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What did you do with the life I gave you?

Did you fight the good fight, did you hear My call?

Did you lead your home, did you stand up tall?

Did you pass My name to the next in line —

Or let My Word die in a silent time?

Oh, what did you do, with the life I gave you?

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Here I am Lord — I still have breath.

I won’t wait for judgment, I won’t wait for death.

Today I choose to lead, today I choose to speak,

Today I choose to make sure Your name never dies with me.

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I’ll use this life that You’ve given me!

I will lead my home, I will bend my knee!

I will teach my sons, I will guide my girls,

I will shout Your name to a dying world!

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So when I stand before Your face,

I’ll hear, “Well done, you’ve run the race.”

I gave my life, I gave my all,

Lord, I answered when You called

Happy Bday

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Happy Birthday, my son.

There are no words strong enough to truly explain what I feel when I look at you. You are my firstborn… my blessing from God… the greatest part of me. From the day you came into this world, you gave me purpose. You gave me strength. You gave me a reason to live and to fight through everything life threw at me.

And now, here I stand, a father looking at his son—no… looking at a man. A man I could only dream of being. You’ve become more than I ever was, more than I ever could be, and I am proud beyond anything words can hold.

At only 18, you did what most people could never imagine—you gave your life to serve this country, to protect others, to stand for something bigger than yourself. That is courage. That is honor. That is the heart of a warrior. You carry in you the blood of our ancestors, and I know without a doubt they are watching you with pride. And I—your father—couldn’t be more honored to call you my son.

I’ve seen you fight on the field, fight in life, fight through struggles and storms that would have broken others… but not you. You’ve never quit. You’ve built a family with a beautiful wife and a precious daughter, and in them I see your strength, your love, and your legacy. You’ve given me something I never imagined I would get to see—you being not only a son, but a father yourself. That alone fills my heart with a joy I cannot contain.

Son, listen to me when I say this—you are more of a man than I ever was. You’ve surpassed me. You’ve taken everything that I tried to give you and you’ve built it into something greater. And I thank God every day that He has kept me alive just so I could witness the man you’ve become. You are proof that God is faithful.

My prayer for you is simple, but it’s everything—I pray that God’s blessing covers you every single day of your life. That His hand stays on you. That His voice guides you. That His favor surrounds you, and that His love reminds you—always—that you are never alone.

Son… I love you. I love you more than my own breath, more than my own life. I’ll love you today, I’ll love you tomorrow, and I’ll love you until my last heartbeat. You are my son. My pride. My joy. My greatest blessing.

Happy Birthday, Saul Daniel

What are you doing here.

“So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’” 1 Kings 19:12-13, NKJV.

God asked Prophet Elijah this question 40 days after he fled from Jezebel, who was plotting to kill him. This is the same Elijah that just called down fire from heaven as proof of who serves the true and living God. He had become afraid and comfortable where he now was.

For many men, what we have been through is brutal. The losses have been sorrowful. A lack of money in the past has caused us to hold tight to our great jobs and careers, more than we hold tight to God. Next thing we know, God nor the things of God is not first in our lives any longer. You dare not move, but rather remain fearfully comfortable and complacent.

In the midst of your comfort and pleasures, in the midst of the struggles our women and mothers, in the midst of young men being loss to craziness, drugs and violence, do you hear the still, small voice of God asking you, “What are you doing here?”

Now He is asking men, “What are you doing here?” It is time to really set God and His kingdom first in your life. It is time to move forward into His perfect will for your life. It is time to obtain the prize of the high calling of God. The one that backs that small voice is more important than your career. He is more powerful than the pain you’ve been through. He is more powerful than yours fears. He is more good, merciful and restoring than you can figure out. You can’t stay there. It is time be God’s man and serve Him.

Prayer: Father, thank You for Your truth. I hear You. Forgive me if I have put my career, worldly pleasures or anything else as my pursuit in life. I choose to serve You! Use me Lord to advance Your kingdom! Use me to make a difference in the lives of others! Help every man step up and be Who You have called us to be. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Study: 1 Kings 19, Matthew 6:33, Philippians 3:14

God Is Our Defense

“Do not deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen against me, and such as breathe out violence.”
—Psalm 27:12

David prayed to Father God, asking for protection from his adversaries. You and I live in a different generation, and the details of our circumstances are somewhat different than David’s, but fundamentally we are in the same boat as David. All around us are powers of darkness that want to destroy us, and sometimes these powers of darkness try to work through people.

That’s why we need to depend on God for protection. God guards His children through His angels and by His Spirit, and we need to be cognizant of the fact that we need Him to be our defense. There are forces surrounding our lives that want to swallow us up. The devil wants to destroy God’s children. He is an accuser. He steals, kills, and destroys, and many times he uses people to do so.

The Bible tells us in the Book of Revelation that when Yeshua was born into the world, the dragon went after Him. But then God raised Him up to the right hand of the throne, and the Scriptures say that when the devil saw that Jesus was raised, he went after Jesus’ offspring. That’s Israel, and that’s you and me. (See Revelation 12.)

So we can have confidence, beloved, that we’re protected from the desire of the adversary. But we should also be cognizant of the fact that God’s covering is the only thing keeping us protected. Let us, therefore, walk before Him with a spirit of love, honor, dependency, and holy reverence.

Father God, thank You for being my covering and delivering me from the desires of my enemy. I don’t take Your protection for granted. You are my strength, and You uphold me with Your right hand. You are mighty, Lord. Your Word says, “Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). So I stand confident and courageous as I go through this day because I know You go with me.

He will make away

“Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert” Isaiah 43:18-19, NKJV.

The Lord promises His people that He will always make a way. Just because you don’t see how it will be done, doesn’t mean He can’t and won’t do it for you. You may feel like you’re in the last hour, running out of time, and you’re wondering when God will come through like He said He would. Sometimes, it can be tough waiting on the Lord. But He always comes through.

He will always come through for you.

The trying of our faith produces patience (see James 1:3). Maybe your faith in God is being tried, and you are having to trust and depend on Him in a deeper way, but wait on the Lord. You will see Him do the impossible for you. You will see His favor shine upon you. Stay in faith, listening to be led, and receive the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. He will make a way.

Prayer: Father, You are faithful, and there’s none like You. You will make a way. Even when we find ourselves in troubling situations, Your goodness and mercy are always there. Thank You! Help my faith in You to deepen right now. By faith, I praise You for it in advance. Be glorified in my life. You will make a way. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

God of My Struggle”

(By Saul Zuniga)

I was drowning…

Not in water,

But in shame.

In silence.

In sin.

Trying to breathe in a world

that never cared if I made it out alive.

I wore pain like a hoodie…

Pulled over my eyes,

Hiding the tears,

Hiding the fear,

Telling myself:

“Don’t feel. Don’t fold. Just fight.”

But I broke.

I broke in the place no one could see.

Behind smiles,

Behind pride,

Behind, “I’m good, bro.”

But I wasn’t.

Then came that moment…

A whisper in the dark.

Didn’t sound like church.

Didn’t sound like religion.

It sounded like truth.

Like love that knew me…

And still stayed.

A voice that said:

“I see you, son.

I was there.

And I never left.”

God of my struggle.

Not just my Sundays.

Not just my hallelujahs.

But the nights I cried on the floor,

Thinking life wasn’t worth another breath.

You met me in the mess.

Not when I was clean —

But when I was filthy,

Ashamed,

Chained,

Blamed.

And You called me… chosen.

You called me loved.

You called me mine.

I used to run from mirrors,

Now I see purpose in the reflection.

I used to chase things that faded,

Now I walk with the Eternal.

I used to feel forgotten,

Now I feel found.

Not because I got stronger…

But because You held me down

when I was weakest.

So this is for the broken,

The bitter,

The burned.

The ones who don’t fit in pews,

But still seek the Truth.

The ones with scars that scream louder than words —

Let me remind you:

You are not too far.

You are not too lost.

And God…

He’s still writing your story.

God of my struggle.

God of my breakthrough.

God of my now… and not yet.

I don’t need perfect words —

I just need a real heart.

And that’s what I’m giving You, Lord.

Today.

Tomorrow.

Forever.

Because when they walked away…

You stayed.

When I gave up…

You lifted me.

When I cursed the pain…

You made it holy.

So I speak this not as a poet,

Not as a preacher,

But as a man who lived it…

And survived.

Because You are God of my struggle.

And in You —

I finally found peace

Not true

🎵 Title: “Not True” 🎵

(Verse 1)

Why you lie, change up every time

Different face, new vibe, can’t even align

Tryna talk, but you just attack

Makein’ up stories, stab me in the back

Are you seein’ someone now? I ain’t even ask

You fightin’ yourself like you wearin’ a mask

I stay silent, but you keep the drama

Blamin’ me for your pain, your stress, your trauma

Always depressed, ain’t never enough

God ain’t good to you? Girl, what’s up?

You got joy on hold, peace on delay

Lookin’ for a war, every single day

Safe place turn to a cold cell

Where you vent lies, throw me in hell

You get calls, but not from me

Still I get the heat, no apology

(Hook)

Am I a fool? Yeah, I guess so

Rather go rounds than just let go

You fightin’ ghosts, you chasin’ shade

Now I’m the villain in the tale you made

You isolate, hide in your room

Talk to yourself like I’m bringin’ doom

Tell the world that I’m evil too

But all these lies? Girl, they not true

(Verse 2)

Now I’m talkin’ to people? You made that up

Spendin’ time with God? Ain’t say nothin’, bruh

But now I’m complainin’? That’s in your head

I been chillin’, you bringin’ the dread

You in your room, closed off from life

Speakin’ curses, startin’ fights

Every night, same routine

Story tellin’ like it’s a crime scene

Say I’m talkin’, but I ain’t said a word

You in deep thoughts, but the truth’s unheard

You paint me dark, but I ain’t that man

I’ve been standin’ strong, doin’ what I can

You wrestle with shadows, blame it on me

But your mirror reflects what you don’t wanna see

(Hook)

Am I a fool? Yeah, I guess so

Rather go rounds than just let go

You fightin’ ghosts, you chasin’ shade

Now I’m the villain in the tale you made

You isolate, hide in your room

Talk to yourself like I’m bringin’ doom

Tell the world that I’m evil too

But all these lies? Girl, they not true

Mama

🎙️ “I Really Miss My Mama”

(by Saul Zuniga)

Yeah…

This one’s for my mama

For every tear I didn’t cry, and every hug I didn’t give

I love you… forever

[Verse 1]

I really miss my mama on these days ,

The love she gave, the prayers she prayed in so many ways.

I took for granted all the little things she used to do,

Didn’t see the gold she was—till life showed me the truth.

Now I’m searching through my memories, looking for her face,

All the warmth, all the strength, wrapped in her embrace.

She was my shelter in the storm, my guiding light,

Now I’m left wishing I had just held her tight.

Mama was sick, but I couldn’t face the pain,

Didn’t wanna see her hurting, didn’t want that on my brain.

I blocked it out, told myself she’d be alright,

Now I’m crying in the dark, talkin’ to her every night.

I really miss my mama, every single day,

But these days … they hit a different way.

I wish I could turn back time, go back and stay,

But I know she’s up in heaven, watching while I pray.

I miss you, mama…

I miss you, mama…

[Verse 2]

She held the family close, kept the bond strong,

Now it feels like we driftin’, like something’s gone wrong.

These days I’m feelin’ lonely, like I’m outta place,

Cause mama was the heart that held this whole space.

My heart aches for the time I could’ve spent,

Instead of denial, I should’ve seen what it meant.

I’m sorry I didn’t believe you were that sick,

I should’ve dropped everything, came running real quick.

You, my sister, my stepdad—all gone too soon,

Now I’m talkin’ to the sky, starin’ at the moon.

I just wanna hear your voice, feel your touch,

Days ain’t the same—I miss y’all so much.

I really miss my mama, every single day,

But these days … they hit a different way.

I wish I could turn back time, go back and stay,

But I know she’s up in heaven, watching while I pray.

I miss you, mama…

I know you’re with the angels now,

No more pain, no more tears…

But down here, mama, it hurts.

It hurts so bad.

I love you.

I’m sorry I didn’t see it sooner.

But I promise—I’ll never forget.

Every meal, every laugh, every lesson you gave,

Is a treasure in my soul I will take to the grave.

No goodbye was enough, no hug ever too long,

But your love made me strong—your memory lives on.

So on these days while the world feels cold,

I wrap myself in your love like a blanket of gold.

I really miss my mama…

Forever and always.

Dear Friends

Dear friends,

I truly appreciate the encouragement and support you’ve shown me. I didn’t realize how many of you were connecting with my thoughts and reflections. I owe you an apology for my absence—I had the impression that no one was really following along.

Moving forward, I’ll be much more present, sharing consistently, and engaging with your comments. Thank you for your patience, and please accept my apology for the silence. I’m honored to share this space with you.