Light in the world

Matthew 5:14-16

New International Version (NIV)

14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

We Need each other

We need each other. There is nothing more encouraging than a brother or sister in Christ "spurring you on to love and good deeds." But just as deflating is a brother or sister who talks you out of your convictions. I am tired of this! God has given us the ability to be a life-giver to someone's faith, to breathe a flame into a fire for the things of Christ. If my convictions line up with scripture, I need to hear someone say, "You will never regret this in light of eternity." Or, "It may be difficult, but you have to do what the Spirit is leading you to do!"

Do you find yourself giving courage (encouragement) to other believers? If not, could it be that you are holding back so that you don't have to feel any conviction? Ask the Lord to search your heart on this, because He is waiting to use you in the life of your friend, husband, child... Ask God to give you the opportunity to be a life-giver.

"Encourage one another and build one another up." (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

Suit up

Do you ever get so overwhelmed and discouraged being a woman? There are so many obstacles to endure in one day. Before I open the door and enter the war zone, I spend time with my King. In other words, I suit up and put my armor on. No sooner do I put my foot on the enemy's territory than my shield goes up and I am darting arrows as fast as I can. Then I lose my bearings and drop my shield and the enemy takes me down. The enemy is not some creature from another place; it's someone I know really well. It's me, my flesh.

When I received Christ, I received the Holy Spirit. I now have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Hebrews 10:16 says, "This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds." I have no excuse; God gave me a part of him. He gave me the same power He gave Jesus. I ask myself daily, "Why do I waste such a priceless gift?" So many times it's my flesh that is first to cross the finish line.

This is when I go into my quiet chamber (my closet), enter the throne room, and get on my knees and say, "Forgive me Father. Once again I thought I could do it in my strength. Please fill me with your Spirit till my heart and soul are overflowing." I am now confident to fight my enemy and enter the battle. I now pick up my cross and follow Jesus.

"So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you!" (Hebrews 10:35)

Our Heart's Desire

Have you ever been singing a worship song, and wondered if you could actually mean what the lyrics were saying?

When I sing songs about God being more than enough for me, andall that I want, I struggle with the integrity of those statements. I know at moments it is true; there are moments when I taste that God is, in fact, enough for me. But there are also so many moments when He is not all that I want. There are a lot of things that crowd out my contentment in Christ.

This is all the more reason to embrace denying ourselves. There has to be a connection between our dissatisfaction in Christ alone, and our over-indulgence in stuff.

The more we have, the more we crave. The more we crave, the more we pursue. And whatever it is we are pursuing, that becomes our treasure—our hearts' desire.

So imagine how this applies spiritually: The more of Christ that we experience, the more of Him we crave. The more we crave that intimacy with Him, the more we pursue Him. And as we pursue Him, He becomes our treasure—our hearts' desire!

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."(Matthew 6:21)

We need to make room in our hearts for God. And I really believe it will happen as we let go of some of our earthly pleasures and treasures. Pray for a heart of contentment today. Ask God to help you love Him more than any other thing. He really is more than enough for us... we just need to see it and believe it.

We can all agree that it's easy to get caught up in the difficulty of denying ourselves. Some can't even get past it, so they give up before they even begin to learn how to do it. So what if today was different? What if today you focused on the outcome of self denial; the benefits that far outweigh the difficulties.

For example: you commit to denying yourself of the time spent watching TV for the week. Which, amazingly, means you added a whole hour, or three, to your day. You have the ability to go through your Bible with care, and actually have time to really come before the Lord in prayer. It's concentrated prayer for your family and the ones you love. This, inevitably, makes you feel more intimacy with God and gives you peace you didn't even realize you were lacking.

Maybe one evening you engage your kids in a meaningful conversation that you never could have planned, but one that just happened, because all the noise in the background was gone.

Then one night as you're finishing mowing the lawn, you realize you have time to mow your neighbors' lawn. The one who just lost her husband, and you can't get over how amazing it feels to bless someone in the smallest of ways.

As you consider the dramatically different turn your week has taken, you realize this all started with a simple, difficult decision to deny yourself.

It's so worth it! You can't always see or know the blessings that will come to you on the front end of obedience and surrender. So dive in. Trust God to do immeasurably more than anything you could imagine. Let Him work in you and show you things you have never seen before.

JOy

There is so much joy to be known in our walk with Christ. Joy is one of the most powerful emotions. It draws people in, it motivates the heart, it is contagious! Joy is something that can transcend circumstances, because it is wrapped around our hope in Christ.

I would hate for us to get so caught up in the pain of self-denial, that we lose our joy in the process. Of course it is difficult to go against our flesh- but we are never without hope. There is always a joy in obedience, because we are honoring God, and displaying that He is worth our sacrifice. Christ laid down his life for "the joy that was set before Him." And we too can lay our lives down willingly, because we are confident of the JOY we will experience. "Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory..." (1 Peter 1:8)

My prayer for today is that an inexpressible joy would well up in our hearts, that this joy would overshadow every struggle against our own desires and motivate us to keep dying to ourselves. And ultimately, this joy in us would draw people to Christ, the hope of glory.

TumbleWeed

The messages of our culture and this world are so strong. They are so in your face. We are literally bombarded by lies every day. If we are not very careful, these messages will begin to creep into our thinking. Without even realizing it, we are no longer trusting the words of God. It makes me think of Jeremiah 17:5-8:

"Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord.

That person will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes.

They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.

"But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.

They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.

It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.

It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." (emphasis added)

When we trust in man, our hearts are turned away from the Lord. The very life is taken out of us! It's the picture of a bush dried up in the desert.

But when we trust in the Lord, and our confidence is in Him, we are strong and steady and full of life. It's the picture of a gorgeous tree planted by the water—its source of life!

When I read these verses I ask myself, "Are you the bush or the tree?" And I think we all need to ask ourselves this question. One is cursed, and one is blessed. One will not see any fruit, and one will never fail to bear fruit.

The wind of this world will blow you around like a tumbleweed, until you're dried out in the desert. But the truth of God's Spirit will feed you and sustain you and cause you to be full of life.

How He sees Me

Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth.
    Remember me in the light of your unfailing love,
    for you are merciful, O Lord.


Ps 25

“This is the new covenant I will make
    with my people on that day,[c] says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their hearts,
    and I will write them on their minds.”[d]

17 Then he says,

“I will never again remember
    their sins and lawless deeds.”[e]

18 And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices.

A Call to Persevere

19 And so, dear brothers and sisters,[f] we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20 By his death,[g] Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.21 And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, 22 let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

Hebrews 10

The Word

Hebrews 4:12

New Living Translation (NLT)

12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

What are you like?

¹⁰ God is my shield,
saving those whose hearts are true and right.
¹¹ God is an honest judge.
He is angry with the wicked every day.
¹⁷ I will thank the Lord because he is just;
I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.

³ Cry out for insight,
and ask for understanding.
⁴ Search for them as you would for silver;
seek them like hidden treasures.
⁵ Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord,
and you will gain knowledge of God.

Ps 25
The Lord is good and does what is right;
    he shows the proper path to those who go astray.
9 He leads the humble in doing right,
    teaching them his way.
10 The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness
    all who keep his covenant and obey his demands.

Who are those who fear the Lord?
    He will show them the path they should choose.
13 They will live in prosperity,
    and their children will inherit the land.
14 The Lord is a friend to those who fear him.
    He teaches them his covenant.
15 My eyes are always on the Lord,
    for he rescues me from the traps of my enemies.

El-Shaddai

Gen 16: 17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. ² I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.”

³ At this, Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him, ⁴ “This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations! ⁵ What’s more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations. ⁶ I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them!

CLICK HERE FOR THE SONG THAT YOU ARE SINGING IN YOUR HEAD RIGHT NOW :) YES I KNOW YOU

Memory Verse Due on Sat 1-11-14

Psalm 13:5-6

New Living Translation (NLT)

5 But I trust in your unfailing love.
    I will rejoice because you have rescued me.
6 I will sing to the Lord
    because he is good to me.

Getting to know you, God.

Lord, I want to start recording different things I learn about you when I read your scripture

Psalm 3

A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom.

¹ Lord, how many are my foes!
How many rise up against me!
² Many are saying of me,
“God will not deliver him.”

³ But you, Lord, are a shield around me,
my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
⁴ I call out to the Lord,
and he answers me from his holy mountain.

⁵ I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.
⁶ I will not fear though tens of thousands
assail me on every side.

⁷ Arise, Lord!
Deliver me, my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
break the teeth of the wicked.

⁸ From the Lord comes deliverance.
May your blessing be on your people.

“Did God really say..."

3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

² The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, ³ but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

⁴ “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.⁵ “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

⁶ When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

WHO TOLD ME THAT?