God is the one we can always count on. We don’t have to do or be anything to come to him.
We can be in our worst state and he is there for us. No matter how tired or exhausted we are, he is not looking for deeds to earn his love and attention, just our hearts surrendered o Him.
Don’t worry about accomplishments. Just go to Him, He’s happy just to spend time with you.
The love of God transform us. It gives us boldness, strength and confidence in the toughest moments. God’s love not only cancels fear, it removes it. God’s love is all encompassing.
It gave David the strength to face Goliath, Daniel the stamina to face the lion den and Shadrach, Mesach and Abednigo the confidence to face the fire.
God’s love gives us all we need to face or overcome the trials we face in life. He gives us peace in the storm when we fix our eyes on Him. Like Peter walking on the water. When he had his gaze fixed on Jesus he was able to do what defied logic and understanding. But when Peter took his gaze off of Jesus and focused on the storm around him (his circumstances) he began to sink. So no matter what your surrounded by fix your gaze on Jesus and He’ll teach you to walk on the water and find peace that surpasses understanding.
God’s peace is not something you earn, but a gift he freely gives, if we will let Him provide it by trusting Him.
Jesus is always looking to bless us, to shower His love on us. We are the ones who hold Him back, by trying to keep control of our lives.
His blessings are peace of mind, peace in our heart and peace in our soul. By finding our confidence and identity in Him. He teaches us to be without fear or worry.
When you know who you are in Jesus, nothing can shake that and no one can take it.
If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
When we die to our selfish nature it’s to stop trying to achieve salvation on our own. We humble ourselves by acknowledging that we cannot achieve it by our own self abasement. So why after receiving God’s gift of forgiveness would we one again try to earn it.
The choices we make to abstain from things in our lives are to help us develop a deeper relationship with Jesus; building more dependence on Him and less on our selves. Things like fasting are to show us that God can sustain us, not to show others how devout we can be.
Our choices to abstain from things are for our focus to be undivided. If we focus on trying to redeem our past we will miss what God is doing in our lives now. If we look to darkness for light we are missing the point that He delivered us from darkness.
Stop trying to earn salvation and accept the free gift that it is and enjoy the freedom from darkness that Jesus salvation gives.
So often we focus on the problem instead of the solution. Jesus is always the solution.
We all always just need more Jesus.
When were having ‘bad day’ and cant get out of our own funky mood, we need more Jesus.
When someone is getting on our nerves and we don’t know why, we need more Jesus.
When were in a circumstance and don’t know what to do we need more Jesus.
Jesus is the solution.
He can bring us joy and peace on the ‘bad days’, he can show us what is really bothering us and helps us find he root cause, and he can change circumstances.
We all always just need more Jesus.
He’s our attitude adjustment, our perspective changer and he can move mountains.
Because we all just need more JESUS!
God knows us. He knows every single thing about us down to the number of hairs on our head.
And he loves us, knowing all our faults.
But that’s not how he sees us, he sees all that we could be, he sees what he intended us to be. He sees our full potential.
There is no reason to fear God knowing you because that is what makes him love you. He sees each of us a unique and special to him and we are all valuable.
So if you want to feel loved, valued, desired, cared for and known then seek God and let him show you all that he made you to be.
Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.
Love is what bind us together, love heals us, love fulfills us.
We can have all we ever wanted in life but if we don’t have love, we will still be lacking.
We can try to do and be the humblest, most compassionate, kindest, gentlest, most patient and forgiving person. But if we don’t have love we will only be striving instead of thriving.
Love shows us others as God sees them, love gives us the drive to put others first, love fulfills us so that we don’t need the approval of others.
Love is all we need.
We all need a place where we can go to refresh, a safe place to let go of all our worries and concerns and just feel restored.
The presence of the Holy Spirit is that place.
In God’s presence we can let go of everything (because he already knows everything) just let his presence refresh and restore us, energize us and renew our passion.
No matter what’s going on, how, stressed or busy we are, we need to make the time for his presence.
Because the presence of the Holy Spirit is that place of vulnerability where we can be real and raw, we don’t have to hide anything because he knows everything and we can pour out our souls and be made whole in him.
The best part about Jesus is that he is what we are not. So when we say we do it feel like, that’s ok, we don’t have to, because he is what we are not. He is our strength, our peace and our joy.
We have to stop trying to be what we think God wants us to be and let him be in us what he is.
When we surrender our lives over to him we need to fill that up with something but we often make the mistake of filling up on the things that got us to where we were in the first place before Jesus.
We need to fill up on him, to fix our eyes on what draws us closer to him not further from him. We have this problem of trying to imitate God instead of letting him be God in us.
We need to get out of the way.
If his intentions was to have us fix ourselves, then why did he sacrifice his life for us.
Don’t say we’ll that just the way I am. Because when you gave your life over to God you gave up that person, to be the person he created you to be.
That person is loving and peaceful and fearless and joyful.
So stop saying less of me and more of him and say none of me and all of him.
I love watching movies and having God teach me something through them. The Lion King has so many moments that are teachable. Simbas overall life lesson is what caught my attention this time.
He tried to run from his problems, only to find out later that he didn’t even do what caused him to run. Many of us do this especially when we are kids, we run and hide thinking the consequences will be worse then they actually are or that our parents couldn’t possible forgive us. But things always go so much better when we own up to our actions and deal with the consequences.
We often do this with God, we run and hide from Him. Thinking that He could never forgive us or that He doesn’t love us or want us, because we messed up.
But nothing could be further from the truth. He loves us no matter what, He knows that we will make mistakes and He has already forgiven us.
Once we realize this, we can find freedom and become who He made us to be and come in our inheritance like Simba because we are God’s kids and He has so much He wants to bless us with.
God can speak to us in ways we may not expect, if we look for him.
While watching a popular sci-fi TV show he brought this quote to my attention. “To resist the influence of others, knowledge of ones self is important.”~Tealc
It’s easy to be influenced by whatever is around us, if we don’t know who you are. But how do you know who you are?
First we are all God’s children. Each one of us is important, valued and loved by him. We are his kids and heirs to his throne. Once we know who we are to him, he can begin to show us each how unique and special he has made each one of us.
That knowledge of who he made us to be, is what we can stand on when our identity is attacked.
Sounds exhausting right, and it is, if your try to do and be these things on our own. But that’s not what God intends.
He wants to be these thing in us and through us.
When we give our lives to him he lives in us, that’s why we die to ourselves (not literally, spiritually) We let Jesus live through us.
But we have to nurture that relationship and feed it. By reading his word, talking with him and surrounding ourselves with what draw us closer to God not further away.
The more time we spend with God, the more we know him the more he pours out of us.
It breaks my heart when I hear people say that God can’t use them, because they are too old, too young, too poor, too shy, too broken, too busy.
As long as there are people who don’t know Jesus, God can use you.
We all have something to share, God changed our lives some way some how and we can share that.
The old have years of experience to share, decades of how Jesus has impacted their lives, the young have faith that can move mountains, the broken can share how God healed them, the busy can invest in those that keep them busy and anyone can give.
We can all be used by God.
God gives us our identity before we are even born, we are sons and daughter of him, because of Jesus sacrifice he made us co-heirs with him.
But when we face problems in life, it’s often easier to run away from our problems and believe what others says about us, instead of staying and fighting for what is ours.
Like in The Lion King, when Simba lets Scar take his birth right of ruling Pride Rock because he believe the lies of who Scar says he is and goes and lives with Timon and Pumba while it is fun for a while, he isn’t fulfilling his true purpose.
We are the same we can try to find our identity in our work, our friends, our family. But we will never really feel truly fulfilled until we find our identity in Jesus because he designed us to only be fulfilled by him.
Have you ever meet someone truly fearless? Those that never back down from a challenge, nothing seems to worry them or catch them off guard.
Imagine if you had the grandest, most cunning, most skilled, undefeated warrior backing you up. What would you ever be afraid of?
That’s what we have when Jesus lives in us. He is our defender and our strength. He gives us the confidence to face giants and the fearlessness to concur mountains.
Knowing who we are in Jesus, that we are God’s kids and who he made us to be and what he call us to do, gives us that confidence to fight fearlessly to be and do what he’s called us to. Because if he’s called us to something he will provide and protect and back us up.
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Jesus was not a back up plan, he is God, he is creation, he is the very word that created us.
He loves us and in loving us gave us choice. For it would not be love if we were forced. God is gentle and he will never force us into anything we do not choose. We make choices in life that either brings us closer to him or further away from him.
He knew we would make mistakes and he planned from the very beginning to sacrifice himself for us, to make a way for us to come back into right relationship with him.
Jesus choose us because he loves us. We either choose to accept his sacrifice or we don’t but in choosing we also choose to let him love and forgive us or we choose not to.
Hear my cry, O God;
listen to my prayer.
From the ends of the earth I call to you,
I call as my heart grows faint;
lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
For you have been my refuge,
a strong tower against the foe.
I long to dwell in your tent forever
and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.
Even on our worst day, when we feel we have nothing left, we always have God. He will be our strength when we are weak. He will lead us to the firm foundation that lifts us up and shelter us from the storms.
Jesus did not fear weakness, he fasted for forty day and forty nights because he knew that Father God would sustain him. He allowed himself to be beaten and killed because he knew God would raise him. Showing vulnerability shines God even brighter when he lifts us up, he gives us the strength and stamina to continue to share him with others despite our own iniquities.
God is always listening to us, always ready to answer our call for help, for wisdom, for protection, for strength and for shelter.
People often see weakness as a sign of failure. I see it as a sign of strength. The bravery to be vulnerable enough to show your weakness is strength. But its what we do with that weakness.
Do we just curl up in a ball and call it quits or admit our weakness and ask God for his strength. Strength is knowing that the smallest amount of God’s strength can out due us on our strongest day. Knowing where your strength comes from, makes being vulnerable easy.
Jesus friend of sinner by Casting Crowns perfectly describes how we have become towards non-believers and contrasts how we should actually act.
Jesus befriended sinners.
Think about it this way. Has being poking at, people pointing fingers at you, being teased, being told you are wrong, or protesting ever convinced you that you are loved by God. Then why would we think that it would convey that to anyone else.
Did Jesus do anything of those things? No.
When people met Jesus, they changed their ways by their own decision. The tax collector gave back the money he stole with interest and Jesus never asked him to. Jesus didn’t throw rocks at the woman who was going to be stoned for adultery, he defended her.
Jesus causes people to change their ways just by being love. It’s the love of God that causes people to choose to change, not condemnation.
Isn’t that what brought you to God?
His love and forgiveness.
We are not meant to be judge and jury. We are meant to show God’s love.
It’s amazing how one turn can change your whole path.
One choice, one decision can change your direction and ultimately your destination.
When driving one wrong turn can send you in a completely different direction. You may pass by things you would have never seen or known before just because of one turn.
Our life is the same, one wrong decision can lead us into things we never thought we would say or do, we may feel trapped like there is no where else to go, all because of one decision.
But there is always a choice to turn around.
It may be hard, an up hill battle, you may face opposition, but the end destination changes from bad to good.
My life changed when I turned my back on Jesus and tried to live my life without him. I made bad choice, after bad choice, that led me to do things I once said I never would. I made compromises to try to attain my goals, eventually hitting my rock bottom.
It wasn’t until I hit my rock bottom, that I realized I needed Jesus. So I turned my life back to him and he pulled me out of the pit I had dug; almost instantaneously. It took time for me to fully surrender different areas of my life before he could heal the damage I had inflicted on myself, but he was there and is still there continuing to heal me as I surrender more and more to him.
You have a choice.
If you made one wrong choice or dozens God is always there waiting to show you his love, grace and compassion. He is always ready to help you turn around
Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
Its easy to excuse away our behavior by saying ‘that’s just the way I am.’
But if we are are made new in Jesus, then we are not who we used to be. We are like him.
By saying ‘that’s just the way I am’ we are resurrecting our old self and saying that Jesus in us, is not enough to kill off our old selves.
Jesus makes us new when we invite him into our lives, he gives us new life a new identity.
When we say we die to self, we are spiritually no longer that person and are given new life in Jesus and that new life is to be him.
So when we find our selves reverting back to our old ways and our old habits we don’t need to try to change, we need to realize that, that is not us anymore.
That’s why knowing Jesus is so important, because the more we know him the more we know our new selves, its how we find our identity in him.
It’s easy to feel alone and like no one understands, because no one really knows what every moment of your life is like.
But God does…
…He knows because he was there with us whether we realize it or not. God is the only one who can and does understand, but we often feel afraid to go to him because we’re worried about what he would think. But he already knows it all so there is really nothing we can hide from him.
And even in knowing everything he still loves us.
We don’t have to be afraid of him, because he is love. Nothing about God is something that we should ever fear.
Because he is love, joy, peace, patience, kind and good.
So what about that is scary?
He is the one that we can always turn to no matter what.
So no matter what is running through your head or your heart, you can’t surprise God. But you can let him in.
Jesus Freak by DC Talk was one of my favorite songs when I was in junior high, when I started to make my faith my own.
I was proud then and I’m proud now to be a “Jesus Freak.” Because that means that others see him in me and through me.
We are supposed to be different, we are supposed to stand out for Jesus. People are supposed to see us different and it’s supposed to be desirable.
That doesn’t mean that we wash down the gospel so that it’s palatable to people in there current point of view, it means that we show them that they can have peace and joy and hope and love through relationship with Jesus.
Being a Jesus Freak should be something we are proud of, not something we are ashamed of.
Warnings are there for a reason. They keep us away from danger and help us to go the right direction.
In ‘The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe’ Aslan warns Mr. Tumnus that he is going the wrong direction by following the orders of The White Witch. Mr. Tumnus had never meet a human before and didn’t know what they were like or if they were safe. But he did know the source of the request to kidnap Lucy.
When we are completely unaware about something we need to look at the source for the answer.
Mr. Tumnus knew the witch was not good and he knew that Aslan was nothing but good, even though he had not meet him yet. Mr. Tumnus knew that Aslan was good.
When we are unsure of things in life, we must look to the source for guidance. The Holy Spirit is that for us. He knows what is good for us and what is not. He keeps us safe from harm and looks to do nothing other than bring us closer to God.
In this world where new things arise everyday. Trust the Holy Spirit’s guidance and he will lead you to the feet of Jesus.
In our current climate it’s easy to become worried and anxious but does worrying or having anxiety accomplish anything besides causing us stress. No.
We need to remember is there is a big difference between want and need but God always provides. As adults we all wish we could go back to a day before bills and responsibilities when all we needed was provided.
We can in a way, if we look to God to provide all we need. He will. He is our heavenly father and he loves to care for his kids.
Don’t be discouraged about wants either. He loves to bless his kids. You’ll be amazed at the blessings he provides when we seek him and put him first instead of worrying.
Our focus should always be on him first before anything, he sets our mood and attitude if we let him. When we start our day with him and let him permeate our whole day, he provides all we need. Trust him and let him relieve all your stress. Don’t worry God’s got this.
Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.
For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
Colossians 3:1-4
We are meant to think like Jesus, act like Jesus and be Jesus. But we are not meant to play act, we are supposed to let him shine instead of us.
Think of Jesus as your boss in a way, but imagine he is the best boss ever, who only ever wants the very best for you and others. You wouldn’t make decisions without your bosses approval so why would we make decisions with out first going to Jesus.
He knows everything and therefore knows the best way, the most efficient way and the funniest way to do things. So why wouldn’t we look to him for guidance.
We are meant to set our mind in heaven where Jesus is and bring heaven to earth to those around us.
Jesus is with us all the time. He is our constant companion. We can talk to him anytime anywhere, in a traffic jam, at work, with our family, anytime he’s like your best friend that you can text anytime but you don’t need a phone to communicate with him.
We have the creator of the universe with us at all times, why wouldn’t we use that to our advantage?
We are meant to see the world through his eyes not him through the worlds eyes.
When you love someone you want to spend all your time with them. That’s what I love about God. I never get tired of spending time with him and he never grows tired of me.
To have someone that you can always go to no matter what, whether your weak and tired or thrilled beyond belief. The one you love is who you want to share that with.
God is that one.
He is always there, always waiting, wanting to spend time with you. He rejoices in your successes and comforts you in your sadness.
He is my everything. Is he yours?
Sometimes we can be worried about what we should do and what we shouldn’t do. So here’s my question. Whatever your doing or saying, can you do it with Jesus? Can you say it to Jesus?
I am not perfect and I can honestly say that their are moments when I couldn’t say I would be proud to have Jesus with me when I’ve said somethings, or put my self first before others.
But the reality is that if we believe, then he is with us every moment. He’s with us when we brush our teeth, when we yell at the driver in front of us, and when we hold the door open for the next person.
He’s always with us so why don’t we act like it.
Honestly I think we forget sometimes, but what if we lived are lives like we we never alone, like he was always with us, not as this overwhelming presence, but as our constant companion, someone who is always here to help us, to uplift and encourage us, so that we are never alone. He’s our best friend to protect when we’re scared or intimidated, to love us at our worst and celebrate with us at our best.
See your life different, as never before, as never alone. But with Jesus always.
We teach our children that they have nothing to fear, there is no monster under the bed or in the closet and that God is with them. But do we use the same reasoning with ourselves?
God is always with us and that should make us fearless, but often we let our imaginations get the best of us.
In the those moment we need to change our focus to the reality of our situation instead of our fear of the possibilities.
The reality is that God is with us and that he does and will provide everything we need in every situation if we just look to him first.
See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits[a] of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.
Everyone fills their heart and their head with something.
What we focus on first in the morning will be with us all day and what we focus on at night will be with us in our dreams and may even wake us up.
How we start and end our day impacts how our day goes. That doesn’t mean that we can’t change our focus through out the day, but we will be trying to counteract something instead of starting out on the right foot.
Starting our day with God sets the tone for the day, putting him first gives us the energy, wisdom and stamina to not just get through the day but to strive.
When we let him fill us up in the morning and ask him to direct our step through the day, our days go smoother. We have more peace and calm, because he gives us all we need, helps us do what we need to better, more effectively and more efficiently and helps us to avoid the pitfalls that can drain us or steer us in the wrong direction.
Let God direct your steps and you’ll be surprised how amazing your day will go.
The beauty of the kingdom of God is that’s its infinite and we don’t have to strive to bring his kingdom to this world.
When we accepted Jesus into our hearts, when we accepted his loving sacrifice, he came to live in us. When we allow the Holy Spirit to flow thru us and stop trying to do it on our own. Peace and joy can abound through us.
God’s presence is amazing and beautiful, peaceful and joyful all at once.
When we bring God into a situation he changes the atmosphere.
When we allow him to build his kingdom in and through us, nothing can hinder us, when we give him full freedom in our lives he gives us freedom.
When Jesus said he would destroy the temlpe and rebuild it in three days, he did. He destroyed the temple and tore the veil so that we all can experience his presence. When he rose from the grave he built his kingdom in our hearts, so that he can be everywhere and in all of us.
No matter where you are, if you have Jesus in your heart his kingdom is always with you. Share his love and peace, his grace and beauty, his peace and joy with everyone around you, because he is always with you.
Fear your not welcome here
The breakup song by Francesca Battistelli is a great anthem for those moments of fear that sneak up on us.
The reminder that we have the power to tell fear to leave.
We don’t have to let it over take us every moment of every day you have the choice to let your self be ruled by fear or to choose your feeling and refuse to let fear control you.
Listen to the song sing along a tell fear to leave.
‘Just because someone stumbles and loses their way doesn’t mean their lost forever’ (Charles Xavier X-Men Days of Future Past 2014)
I was that person that stumbled and lost their way. But I had friends and family that we’re there ready and waiting to help me find my way back when I was ready. But it had to be my decision, my choice.
We can’t force people to change; because if we try and even if they seem like they are changing, its not really change. Because its not their choice. I know its hard to watch others make bad choices, but we can’t force them. Forced change is always worse; because they are still going to be opposing you on the inside or resenting you.
But if we present options and support. When they are ready, they may make a change and they will know who to turn to.
Praying for them is also a big part but our prayers should not be God please change them or make them see that I am right. But God help me to see them as you see them, help me to love them as you love them.
Most of the time in order for someone to change we need to change too. None of us are perfect and we all make mistakes even with the best of intentions.
Our Pastor when we lived in Tennessee used to say ‘come as you are and let Jesus mess you up.’ Isn’t that what we all did? We came to Jesus with our junk and mess and let Him change us. So why don’t we encourage others to do the same?
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
Where we draw our strength is what lets us stand in the storm.
Our faith is built on Jesus and when we root ourselves deep in him, we can weather the storm. When we draw our nourishment from Jesus, our roots grow strong in him and we can withstand more then we can imagine.
When the storm is over we may see damage to branches and leaves but its what you can’t see deep down the roots that give the us strength to grow back bigger and stronger that matter.
Let’s root ourselves in Him.
So when the storm comes it’s his words, his love, his strength and his character that we depend on to weather the storm and come out stronger.
In our current time of social media and constant self promotion it can be hard to be humble.
We can be so worried about how many likes, shares, hits, retweets we get that we can lose sight of who and what we represent. As believers in Jesus we are meant to shine him to others. And we can be discouraged when even our posts about him get little traffic.
But we must remember that what we write/post/share for him isn’t about us, it’s about him. And even if it reaches just one person, it might be what that one person needed more than we could ever know.
What do you do when you feel worried and overwhelmed, like the world is spinning faster and faster?
I wonder how Mary felt when she was carrying Jesus. She had all the reason in the world to feel like she wasn’t enough or that she couldn’t do it.
But she didn’t, she surrendered her life to bear Jesus in her womb and raise him.
God has a plan for our lives, he has chosen each of us for a specific task, a calling specific to be who he made us to be.
He knit us together in our mothers womb.
He made us to bear Jesus in us, to shine his light an his love.
Stop rushing around trying to do all that the world expects and take a moment listen to this song and ask God what he has for you.
Putting God first can seem overwhelming, but if we put him first we will find that he’s essential to our lives, like that first cup of coffee. Putting God first sets our day off right. Just shifting our focus to him can change our whole, mood, demeanor and mindset about the day. Even if it’s just a moment that shift can change our whole day if we let it.
He provides-
peace that surpasses understanding
Who doesn’t need more love, joy and peace in their day.
So put him first and see how your days exceeds your expectations.
“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
The angels said ‘fear not.’ Often we shy away from God because we feel we don’t measure up, but that’s the beauty of why he came, to make us free of shame and guilt and to know him deeply.
Jesus choose humble beginnings, lived humbly and counted not even his own life beyond sacrifice. He held back nothing so that we could have everything.
His gift to us is salvation and righteousness so that we could live a life filled with his love joy and peace.
As the Christmas season begins. Remember the reason for the season. Don’t let yourself become overwhelmed with the shopping, decorating, gift giving and parties.
Instead keep your focus on Jesus, he is the reason for the season. Make him the focus of all you do.
If your shopping for gifts ask him what gift that person really needs and trust him to help you. Ask God to give you opportunities to share about him to the store clerk or the people in line with you. While decorating sing Christmas songs as worship songs.
Make him the focus this season, and ‘Adore Him’.
https://youtu.be/StjSsCbvavw
It’s easy this year to get caught up in what we can’t do or can’t give during this Christmas but are our family traditions or gift giving really the purpose of Christmas? As wonderful as they are.
No. Christmas is the celebration of Jesus birth and it’s his life that we should celebrate. A man who was poor and even had times with no where to sleep, but was forever kind and generous. It’s he that we celebrate, one that loved all humanity so much that he came to serve us, not allowing selfish moments but letting his love for us guide him.
Even if we were have nothing this Christmas season we can always be grateful for our friends and family and for Jesus birth.
So this Christmas no matter how different your celebration may be you can always count your blessings.
The humility of Jesus birth speaks volumes to his character. Jesus is the very creator he is the word that was spoken that created us. And he choose to be born in a glorified cave surrounded by animals, by his creation not by man made structure.
He came to do his fathers work not what we thought he should do. He came to bring peace, joy and gentleness. So that all may know him.
Read about him, really study his words and actions, not what man says about him but he says.
Listening to the song Last Christmas by Wham reminds me that we as humans are fallible, we all make mistakes and disappointment each other.
But the one that we can always count on is God. He is love, joy, peace, patience, kind, good, faithful and gentle. He knows what we need and when; and he’s always ready to love us when we let him in.
We as humans have misrepresented him because we are not perfect and we make mistakes. So please don’t let people keep you from knowing him, let him prove who he is to you himself.
Give him your big questions, he can handle it, but make sure you listen for the answers.
This Christmas give him a chance to share his love for you with you.
I know I’ve posted this sermon before but I cannot stress enough how much God wants to talk to us each day.
Learning his voice and realizing that he wants a deep and loving relationship with us is essential.
Please enjoy!
With all the gift giving this season. Don’t forget the reason for the season, Jesus.
What gift could you give him?
You may think you have nothing to give, but like the little drummer boy you give what you can, you give your gifts, your talents, your time, your life. Everyone has a life to give. And he deserves it because he gave his.
Even if you think you have nothing to give, Jesus says otherwise. He created you, he gave you gifts and talents you may not even know exist.
When you follow God’s plan for your life he uses those gifts and talents for him.
God gave me the calling to ministry ten years ago. And I didn’t start my blog till this September. He had to take me on a journey to teach me and grow and develop me into the woman that I am today. I am a very different person then I was ten years ago, because he had to mold me into who he made me to be and he’s still molding me.
That’s why I started this blog to use the gifts he’s given me to help others see God in their everyday lives.
The gift you can give him this Christmas is YOU!
We are not meant to know everything or the answer to all of life’s questions. but we should know how to respond. even Jesus didn’t always respond with words. Sometimes all people need is someone to listen, a shoulder to cry on or someone to cheer them on and encourage them.
We have the Holy Spirit with us at all times and he is the one with all the answers. But even his response is not always what to say but sometimes what to do or what not to do.
How to react to a situation usually makes a bigger impact then words. that’s why building a deep intimate relationship with God is so important. So that in the hardest and most influential situations we can hear him and follow his leading.
Next time your in a situation and you don’t know what to do, ask the Holy Spirit and trust that he knows how best to react.
Todd White always stretches my faith. I pray he stretches your.
Our worship should be ingrained in us, so much that everything within us cries out to God. Every fiber in our body should be yielded and shout out to him “you are HOLY.”
King David danced because he wanted everything within him to praise God. “Who decided that reservation is worship? God gave his everything for us. Why shouldn’t we do the same in our worship?
What will happen if you lift your arms. Will the world end?
If you jump for joy, will the ground fall out underneath you? No. God gives a firm foundation.
If you dance for joy. Will God turn from you in shame? No, he will dance with you!
So what’s stopping you? You?
Yesterday I talked about having the faith in God to make the big sacrifices and that, that starts with conversation, with talking to God.
But there is so much more, it’s more then taking to him its about knowing him. I have trusted God when he asks me to make big leaps of faith because I know him.
I know that he loves me and that he will not let harm come to me. I know that he has brought me through some crazy impossible situations and that he will continue to do so. Because I know him
I know that he is loving, kind and gentle, that he provides all my needs when I trust him and that he never leaves me.
Jesus made his acrifice because he loves us and wants us to know him.
Take a chance and give him a chance to show you just how much he loves you.
Surrounded (fight my battles) by Michael W Smith may be the simplest lyrics ever written but they are powerful. The song talks about our times of struggle when we feel a heaviness, no way out, surrounded by nothing good or positive. We fight with praise. We fight by rejoicing in Jesus, the only one who is always constantly there for us, always fighting for us.
The simple repetition of theses lines
“It may look like I’m surrounded but I’m surrounded by You”
“This is how I fight my battles”
Over and over again has such power in it because it reminds us that we don’t fight with anger, hate, malice and judgment.
We fight with love, joy, peace and patience.
That’s why when we feel surrounded, we fight by giving praise to God.
We shift our focus to the one who fights for us, so that we can allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us and to show us the true perspective.
When I was in Honduras, we were working at a Christian school that also hosted youth nights. One night when we were praying before one of the youth nights a mob came to both of the gates of the fenced in facility and tried to break down the gates.
Our pastor told us what was going on and our response was not panic or worry but to pray. We trusted that God had brought us there to make an impact for Him and that He would protect us and He did.
As we were praying the Holy Spirit showed showed me a vision of the compound surrounded by 30 foot angels guarding and protecting us.
Not for one moment did I feel fear or worry because I knew God would protect us. The mob eventually dispersed and we were able to have the youth night.
God always provides for His children when we turn to Him.
So no matter where you are, what your doing, or how hopeless you feel you can always count on God to be there for you.
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
When you know God, sacrificing for him is easy. Putting others first, before yourself, giving of all you have and loving as he loved, comes easy because it’s him through us.
And we know that no matter how much we give or how empty we think we are he will fill us up and bless us all the more.
When we give out of him he fills us with his abundance and we lack nothing, because he always takes care of his kids.
When you love someone and they love you sometimes all you need, sometimes all you want is to just sit with them and enjoy their presence.
Jesus is like that.
His love is so pure, so true, so comforting that all I want to do sometimes is just sit in his presence and drink in his love, joy and peace.
Sometimes that the best thing for us.
Just to sit and enjoy his presence, no talking necessary just drink him in.
No matter what is going on, when you don’t have the words or the strength you can just sit in his presence and that is enough. Because he is enough.
