top of page

WELCOME
TO OUR BLOG

Welcome to the blog ministry of Touching Hearts! Each week we will release a new blog written by one of our team of authors. We pray each blog will encourage you to go deeper into a relationship with Jesus. 

Our Recent Posts



 

Posted by Karen Kinnaird, June 5, 2024


The tunnel was pitch black. The water rushing over my legs was ice cold. Our team of four crouched through the narrow space while holding the flashlights of our cell phones above our heads to give some light in the darkness. The water tunnel, two feet wide and 5-6 feet high, showed ancient pick marks surrounded by green algae. I was grateful for my water shoes since the surface of the passageway was smooth, but quite uneven. The echo of the rushing water and people’s voices reverberated off the stone walls. I was overwhelmed thinking of the 2700 years of history in this remarkable 1,750-foot carved, snaking bedrock channel. The tunnel was originally excavated by two teams, one starting at each end of the tunnel and then meeting in the middle. Where are we?




The Siloam Tunnel in eastern Jerusalem in the ancient City of David. It was dug during the reign of King Hezekiah of Judah so he could fortify the city against the invading Assyrian armies without compromising its main water source. Today, it is considered an extraordinary feat of engineering. A miracle!


I’ve always admired Hezekiah. The book of 2 Kings describes him as a very good king; a reformer. He destroyed idols and pagan temples. He trusted and obeyed God and was very prosperous. The Bible says there was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, both before and after him. But...he wasn’t perfect.   


At one point in Hezekiah’s reign, he became deathly sick, and the prophet Isaiah warned him to put his affairs in order. Hezekiah begged for healing and God gave him 15 more years to live and a miraculous sign to prove it. Meanwhile, the son of the King of the idolatrous Babylon, heard about this and sent messengers with a get-well card and a gift, inquiring about the miracle. Pridefully, Hezekiah gave these messengers a private behind-the-scenes tour of his palace, armory, treasury, and storehouses showing them everything in his palace and Kingdom. What was he thinking?

 

When the prophet Isaiah learned about this, he in essence, said to Hezekiah, “You've been tricked, and the condition of your heart revealed. A day will come when everything in your palace will be carried off to Babylon. Worse yet, some of your own descendants will be taken away and will be servants in the palace of the king of Babylon.” Hezekiah responds with relief that the consequences of his actions would not happen until after this death.


Hezekiah’s pride, selfishness, and lack of foresight in his present affected future generations to come.

How often do we make hasty decisions without considering the long-term effects on us, those around us and those to come? 

It could be a job or schedule change, an out-of-town move, a marriage, a change in church membership, a decision impacting health and illness, the choice to share our faith, and the list goes on and on. 


I recently learned about the Iroquois Indians’ seventh-generation principle. This dictates that decisions that are made today should be fair and meet the needs of seven generations into the future. How wise!


The Life Application Bible states: “The past affects our decisions and actions today, and these, in turn, affect the future. There are lessons to learn and errors to avoid repeating. Part of the success of your past will be measured by what you do with it now and how well you use it to prepare for the future.”


We don’t have to walk blindly through dark, narrow tunnels. Neither should we make hasty, short-sighted decisions. If we slow down, seek God through His word and prayer, and live humbly, He will light the way. He gives sure-footed wisdom, and the foresight needed so our actions and decisions today leave a positive and godly legacy for generations to come.



Karen Kinnaird brings the vast experience of having served as a ministry wife for nearly 38 years. Her husband has served as a church planter, senior pastor, state denominational leader, agency specialist at NAMB, and Associational Missionary Strategist. Karen currently serves as the Executive Assistant for Forgiving Forward, a ministry dedicated to helping people experience the freedom of the Gospel through the power of forgiveness. Karen and Jimmy, also known as Gigi and Poppy, have 3 children and 3 grandchildren.



 

Posted by Pat Elsberry, May 29, 2024


Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11, NLT)


A few weeks ago, as I picked up my phone, memories from that day popped up on the screen. As I began to scroll through them, it took me back to that day a few years ago when I received a lesson in how powerful the name of Jesus truly is. 

 

While working remotely from home, I was on a conference call when I felt prompted to get up and walk to the front of our house. When I looked out the window, I noticed that one of our neighbors, who lived about four houses away, had a small grass fire burning by the front of his mailbox. Although I thought this was unusual, he had done some burning a few days before, and I assumed he was starting again. I walked back to the other side of the house and continued with my conference call, but moments later, I felt compelled to get back up again and look out front. When I did, I saw the fire engulfed our neighbor's front yard. After calling 911, I stood and watched the fire jump over the driveway to the next person's front yard. I remember praying a straightforward, short prayer as I paced in front of our home, "Father, please place a hedge of protection over our homes in Jesus' mighty name." 

 

It wasn't like I stood there pondering what I should pray for at this time. I just know that this scripture came from within, and as I later realized, this simple prayer was from Job 1:10 when Satan, talking about Job, tells God, "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? I especially love the Living Bible version: "You have always protected him and his home and his property from all harm." 

 

It's so important to hide the word of God in our hearts so we may call upon it when needed.

The word of God and the name of Jesus, the name above all names, are mighty and powerful tools.

 

When all was said and done, the fire had jumped over four driveways and stopped at our next-door neighbor's home. Upon surveying the damage that evening, I immediately noticed that the fire had literally burned up to the walkway but had stopped at the hedges surrounding the circumference of each home. There, indeed, was a hedge of protection around our neighborhood that day. 

 

For, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Romans 10:13



Pat Elsberry is an author, speaker, blogger, and a passionate advocate for parents dealing with grief after the loss of a child. Pat created multiple social media groups focused on providing hope to others who are walking the same path, including her blog, Hope During Loss. Pat facilitates an in-person grief share for women who have experienced child loss, and is also a moderator for Team Sharing, a nationwide peer-led support group for parents who have lost children to substance use disorder. Pat is the author of Beautifully Broken: Finding Hope During Loss, and will soon release her first devotional, Comforted by God. Pat and her husband, Fred live outside Atlanta and have a blended family of 7 children and 5 grandchildren. Her favorite things include traveling, cooking, gardening, dark chocolate, and worship music. You can find Pat on her blog, www.hopeduringloss.com, and on Facebook and Instagram @HopeDuringLoss.

Writer's picturePriscilla Carr


 

Posted by Priscilla Carr, May 22, 2024


My Sunday group recently completed a Bible Study on the ‘I Am’ Statements of Jesus by Courtney Doctor & Joanna Kimbrel. It’s a great, in-depth study that I highly recommend. The last Jesus statement we studied was, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 ESV). What stands out to you in that verse?  For me, it’s “bears much fruit” and “apart from Me you can do nothing”.


John 15:5 is one of my memory verses from many, many years ago and a verse that I’ve been reminded of a lot. But studying it in this season of life, I felt the Holy Spirit impressing upon me that bearing fruit is a natural part of the believer’s walk with Jesus. If I remain in His Word and enjoy fellowship with Him through His Word, as well as worship and prayer (speaking with Him often and relying upon Him to direct me), the natural result will be fruit. 


 What is the fruit Jesus produces? According to Galatians 5:22: 


“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”


Jesus desires this fruit in our lives to be abundant. 

He wants to produce “much” fruit. The production of the fruit He desires is the difference between just a few figs on a tree vs a tree laden with figs. Can you picture the difference? Jesus desires our lives to flourish and not just exist with a few paltry fruits. Why?


Another part of John 15:5 that captures my attention is “Apart from Me, you can do nothing.” There are many things that those who don’t profess and follow Jesus can do, correct? But not one of those things has kingdom value. Those things don’t matter to God. Only what He produces through us is useable now and are also treasures stored up for eternity. Anything we do in our own strength has no value to God. Our righteousness and self-effort result in eternal loss and are abhorrent to God (see Isaiah 64:6).  So, although the unregenerated can do “good, " it is rotten fruit and inedible in God’s view.


So, Jesus desires that we abide in Him so He can produce much fruit through us. But who is the fruit for? I continued reading John 15 and noticed that Jesus seemed to change topics. Most of the chapter is about abiding in Jesus, the love relationship that believers have with Him and the Father, and the fruit that He produces as we abide. Throughout verses 1-11, Jesus discusses how our relationship with Him becomes so symbiotic that we are in Him, Who is in God, and we flourish by the Holy Spirit as we abide. Jesus discusses abiding at length but then says in John 15:12, “This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you.” And then again, in John 15:17, “This is what I command you: Love one another.” I didn’t understand why Jesus, out of the blue, commanded love for others and what that had to do with abiding and producing fruit. So, I asked Him, and He answered, “The fruit is for others.”  The fruit that He produces in me is for the “one another” He mentions in vs. 12 and 17. “Love one another” isn’t a new topic, but it’s actually what abiding and producing fruit is all about. 


Think of the most fruit-laden tree you can imagine. I am picturing my mother’s pear tree in her backyard full of small pears. Sometimes, her tree is so full of pears that they weigh down the branches almost to the ground. That’s much fruit. But those pears aren’t for the pear tree. The pear tree can’t grab one of its fruits, bite into it, savor it, and eat it. No, the fruit is for my mother (and the squirrels, apparently). She eats them, cans them, and shares them. They are delicious nourishment for others. 


That’s the love that Jesus expressed in those two verses. The “much” fruit that He desires to produce in us is for the “one another” that He brings into our lives. He desires that they eat the supernatural fruit that He produces, the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, and want Him. Our bearing much fruit is our witness of our faithful God using us to lovingly draw others to Himself. And whether the fruit is for fellow brothers and sisters or those who don’t know Jesus as Savior, the fruit is an invitation to taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8). 


“Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me.” (John 15:4,5 CSB)


Priscilla Carr was born in NYC, but has lived in metro Atlanta since 1979. She is a Navy veteran trained in electronics which God used for a 30-year career at the FAA. She uses her training to provide audio support to Touching Hearts Ministries, and is the Editor and Producer of “A Burst of Hope” podcast. She began her adult new life in Jesus in 1990 right before leaving the Navy, and today she exudes her love for Jesus. She is the proud mama to two rambunctious fur kids, Gracie (Lab) and Faith (Pit-mix). Priscilla was encouraged by elementary teachers to write. She took creative writing courses in High School and college, but in the mid-eighties, she stopped writing. The desire to write has been recently reawakened, and she is thriving in her new writing adventure.

bottom of page