Frenemies

In life there are so so many opportunities for us to make “frenemies”, yes, I said it, “frenemies”. Haha, but when you think about it how true is this! We can go through life being ignorant of our frenemies and not even know it. A Frenemy is an enemy disguised as a friend. We need to be watchful and careful what we all let enter into our lives. Don’t take life and all that is in it so lightly, but as Kasey from the Bachelorette would say, we need to “Guard and protect our hearts”. The devil and sin can be so sneaky that we wouldn’t even know he was there if we weren’t being watchful of him/it. It could be anything from the form of lying thoughts/reasoning – talking yourself out of God’s word because you think you have it figured all out, pride – once again thinking you have everything under control and that you don’t need God’s help, gossip – talking with friends behind someones back, maybe even in a “Christian” manner – so that you can pray for them, when really you just wanted to gossip about them, greed – saying that you need to pay the bills, taxes, and get groceries before you give to God and give God what is left over,unforgiveness/bitterness – holding onto a grudge against someone who has done you wrong or you believe has done you wrong(you think it’s not hurting anybody, but you definitely are hurting yourself and your relationship with God),  lying – maybe saying something that isn’t true to make yourself look a little better in someones eyes, anger – getting that road rage and yelling at someone to make yourself feel better by telling off someone who isn’t even there or can hear you….yeah and so many more. That is right, I bet we go through life not even thinking about these kinds of things, but trust me, it’s these kinds of things that the devil will use most often, because he is sneaky and wants you to think well thats not that bad, but really these are things that can hinder your testimony, intimacy with God, and your walk of love.

1 Peter 5:8 says “ Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. ⁹ Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters^, all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.”

James 4:7-8  says “ So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.”

So we need to realize that there is an attack on your life, even though you may not be a bank robber, a murderer, a prostitute, a lawyer (jk haha), it doesn’t mean that there aren’t things in your life that you need to “flee from” and resist the devil. We need to be watchful and stay alert from these attacks. I personally always try to do my best and the Holy Spirit always helps me to recognize when there is even a “little thing” or “little white sin” in my life, so that I can resist it. I can’t say that I always do, because a lot of times the Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, but I do strive for it. And when I mess up and give in to even the “little sin” i confess it to God and repent of it, because God asks me to (1John 1:9) and because it will help me/ and you to realize yes that is wrong and not just brush it under the rug. Everybody is going to face these little things in life that we have clung so dear to. You may think you need that “road rage” and to say yours, but you don’t, you may think you need your boss to think you are amazing by fibbing a little on your resume, but you don’t. Most of the time nobody else will know of this “sin” because it is a heart matter, a sin that takes place in your heart. It may not even be expressed physically, but yet it is still there and it is still a problem. For example, the bible says that if a man looks at a women in lust, that he has already committed adultery in his heart, that would be a heart sin. No one else knows but you and rest assuredly GOD! So let’s be aware of these heart matters, or these little things that we hold on to and think nothing of. They aren’t your friends, they are your frenemies and enemies.

Proverbs 4:23 “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”

Our heart should be very dear to us, because it is to God. We should guard it with our lives and with all our might. We need to learn to be aware and to recognize when anything that is contrary to the good life that God calls us to live, that that is something we need to get rid of and weed out of our lives. Our heart is the thing that “Determines the course of your life”, so if you are just giving in to these little things, soon they may become big things and steer you off of the course and call God has for you. God has big plans for you and your life, so guard your heart and surrender your everything to walk with him and follow after him. It will definitely be a battle, but thank God,  he gave us the victory!

1 Corinthians 15:57 But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.
So I challenge you today, examine your life and heart and see if there are any “little things” that you are holding onto. If there are recognize that that is an attack from the devil, even though it may be subtle and sweet, it will give you big problems when trying to be a light for Jesus. If there is a “little thing” or “frenemy” that you have realized is there, than ask God for his help to resist that temptation and get rid of it. Like I said, it may be a battle, but remember that God has given you the victory, so be strong and persistent! God will be your strength when you are weak.

“Brothers and Sisters”

I am going to be talking to you today on something that I think is very important that we as a church and a body of believers seem to neglect. That is brotherly love, that is community with other believers. We as a church not only need to grow in our personal relationship with God, but we need to grow in our relationships with each other. We need to be there for one another through the good times and the bad. We need to be a shoulder to cry on and a person to laugh with, We need to be there to give spiritual encouragement and to lend a helping hand in natural things. Let’s take a look at a few verses. You in your congregation, in your local church should see it as your call to be there for one another and to respect and love those God put in leadership.

1 Thess. 5:12-22     “¹² Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord’s work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance. ¹³ Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work. And live peacefully with each other.¹⁴ Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone.¹⁵ See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people.¹⁶ Always be joyful. ¹⁷ Never stop praying. ¹⁸ Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.¹⁹ Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. ²⁰ Do not scoff at prophecies, ²¹ but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. ²² Stay away from every kind of evil.

It first says that we should honor the leaders, and show respect and wholehearted love for them. If they are leading you somewhere with a vision God placed in them, then follow wholeheartedly. God will bless that because it is his will. And we can accomplish so much more together than if we are by ourselves.
Then it goes on to tell us how we should be towards one another. Warn those who are lazy, Encourage those who are timid, Take tender care of those who are weak…If we really just take those three things and focus on them, there is so much work to be done in the church. Look at it as your duty, your call as a Christian and a brother or a sister to be that for one another. Be the difference in someone’s life. Simply, rather than just going to church every Sunday and leaving right at the end, start walking life as a true disciple of Jesus and learn to really show and express that brotherly love he is calling us to. Everybody needs somebody, No matter how well we seem put together on the outside, we all have been broken before and we all could use that someone to help us in any time of need, no matter what the case.

Be patient with one another. Don’t Repay evil for evil, but always try to do good to one another and to all people. We all need more patience for people and we all need patience from people when we are going through a tough time. That is why it is important to be patient, it can be such an amazing trait. Obviously, we need to steer clear of repaying evil for evil, even in our hearts. We need to come to a place and always be striving for that place where when someone does us wrong that we won’t even mutter under our breath retaliation haha. But for real, we need to get our hearts to a place, where we don’t get all wound up over someone wronging us and give it to God. It will be a daily thing, I know it is for me, but God help me and us, we can get there. Honestly, in the church, look for something to do. There are so many needs a church has and we are the body so we are to be being involved. We should always look to do good in any situation or need. Don’t burden yourself with so much, but learn to walk this way and let the Holy Spirit help you to live this kind of walking in brotherly love.

“Always be joyful”. That is a tough one but strive for it.”Never stop praying”. Every day daily keep God involved in your decisions, keep his voice and his will in mind in everything.  ^“Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus”. No matter what you are going through always be thankful, because without God and his love we are nothing and destined for destruction, through the good and bad, give God thanks for he deserves it. “Do not stifle the Holy Spirit”. Let the Holy Spirit teach you and guide you and help you to live this life full of brotherly love.  ^“Do not scoff at prophecies, but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. Stay away from every kind of evil.” Learn to decipher what is good to God and what is bad to God, and follow after what is good!

I see a whole lot of holes in our Christian body as a whole and our body as a local church. We are called to be there for each other in all these ways. If you are waiting around for God to call you to some position in the church, don’t, because that door isn’t open yet, but PLEASE be faithful to to his call on us as brothers and sisters of the Lord. God has a position for you and that is to be somebody to somebody in any way possible that is good in God’s eyes. We need to realize, that not only does God need people in the mission field, but he wants us to strive for unity with one another. So I challenge you today, keep your eyes open to really truly show brotherly and sisterly love. Dig a little deeper than the status quo surface relationship, because you could be the answer to someones need or prayer. Keep your eyes open to fill a need in the church and look at it as doing work unto the Lord, because that is what it really is. God sees it and is pleased! Keep your eyes opened and your heart focused on that call to be there for somebody!

 

Refuge

As we see in life and in our own lives, we can have so many ups and downs, ins and outs, and so many unexpected things happen. Life may not always go as planned, life may knock you down, sometimes life may be plain and simple be a struggle. Maybe you lost a child, maybe you lost your job, maybe God’s promise to you isn’t coming through, maybe you are going through divorce or sickness. We have to remember where we should place our trust.

Jesus said in Matthew 16:33 “ I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

Jesus said that we may may have “Peace IN HIM”. He lets us know that we will have hard times in life, that life isn’t always easy, but he tells us that we may have peace in him. So lean on Jesus when the hard times come, build yourself up around him and his word, so that you are ready when the storms of life come.

Matt 7:24-27 “²⁴ “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. ²⁵ Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. ²⁶ But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. ²⁷ When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

Phil 4:6-7 “⁶ Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. ⁷ Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

In these verses we see these truths about life. Life is going to have storms, life is going to have trials and sorrows, life is going to give us the opportunity to worry and doubt. But what we need to remember is that God says we can have peace in Jesus. God says that if we build our lives around him, the foundation of our life will be a firm foundation and the storms of life won’t knock us down, God says if I am for you who can be against you. So what I am hear to tell you is yes, you will have hard times, but God can get you through it. When we focus our lives on Jesus and God’s word, we can find peace that we can’t even understand. God sometimes may delay a promise for your sake, maybe you have been praying for that husband, but God knows you aren’t ready for one just yet and that it would end badly or You have been praying for that job, but God has plans for you else where…we need to learn to lean and depend of God more, and not jump into things without even considering his will.

Remember that God gives us strength when we are weak. We need to get ourselves to a place in God, where the world and it’s problems don’t seem so big, because we have a relationship with a God who is so much bigger. You won’t realize the problems of this world are so small, until you get your relationship so in tune with God that your eyes only see him. So I challenge you that if you are facing a problem, to begin to trust God to give you peace and lean on him in every way possible. And I challenge those of you who life seems pretty good for, begin to build your life around God and his word. You will want that firm foundation and close relationship IN HIM when the storms of life may come. So let us start today, begin a new walk with God that has us so enveloped in him, that he is our main focus and that is where you will begin to find true peace.

Running

As a Christian we are faced a lot of times with the reality of the battle of good and evil. Although this may sound cliche to some people, be aware that this is very evident and real in the lives of every human being. It also may sound way to deep or way over your head. The reality of the war, not against flesh and blood, but against  rulers, dark powers in this world, against evil spirits in high places (Ephesians 6:12). Think about it, how many times did the “Real You” want to do something and pass up on temptation and yet there were driving forces urging you to give into temptation. That is the battle that we face daily, that is the battle called “spiritual warfare”. Whether the temptation being smoking, drinking, sex, pornography, cheating, lying, drug addiction, shopping addiction even white lies, even the inward sins, like lusting after women, thinking up lies, strategizing how to get your self a promotion or ladies for you a boyfriend maybe, by ruining someone else’s reputation and so much more. These are all things that I am sure you don’t want in your life truly, but we battle with these things, and that is real. This is not what I am talking to you about today, I just wanted to lay some groundwork on the realities of what we face everyday and that is sin. It is all around us and we need to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. We need to learn to yield to God and his word and his call to holy living. This is something that we need to strive for every single day!

    But trust me, I do realize that nobody is perfect. God knows that we are not perfect. There is another choice. That is after maybe you fall into a sin, there is a temptation to run from God and try to hide out in more sin, but let me tell you from experience that there is a better way! That is running to God for he is so merciful, so forgiving, so loving with open arms that he will pick you up like a father and tell us its ok, we can try again, I will never give up on you or leave you. There is a choice to either run from God or run to God, anytime we sin. I have done both in my lifetime, It is so much better to run to God. His yoke is easy and his burden is light. What that means is sin and guilt can weigh on you so heavily, especially when you are to the point where you know God has called you to a better life, when you know that God has a plan to use you for his glory. This is what I want you to realize today. If you screw up, God is not going to turn you away, God will not run from you, but he will be there with loving arms to grab you and hold you. We just have to choose to run to him rather than away.

1 John 1:9 says “⁹ But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”

God knows what we have done, but it is part of a healing process that he has set up, his ways are higher than our ways, that we should confess it to him and get it off of our chests and out of our lives. He is so forgiving!

Lamentations 3:22-23 says “²² The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease.
²³ Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.”

God has new mercies for us every morning. I am talking to YOU! You can start today a brand new day as if you have never sinned in God’s eyes. *Don’t live life looking to your past, look at life through God’s eyes and see the future he has planned for you and follow after that(that is good preacing right there haha)!God is looking at your past mistakes, so you shouldn’t either. God is looking at the new you and the you He know you can be through him! God is here to love you and guide you and forgive you. The Bible is full of scripture that talks of how merciful God is and we should find great comfort in that! So I urge you and challenge you to the next time you screw up and you feel like maybe you want to run from the situation or that you want to run from God and back into sin, just don’t! It is so much better to run to God and his forgiveness. He knows that you messed up, but that doesn’t mean he will ever give up on you. He loves you to much and will welcome you back with his eager love!

Now there is an issue I would like to address and that is that God’s mercy and grace does not give us a license to sin. He calls us to a holy life, he calls us to take up our cross daily and follow him.

Romans 6:1-2;15-18 says “Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? ² Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?………¹⁵ Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! ¹⁶ Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. ¹⁷ Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. ¹⁸ Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.”

As we see here, God’s grace is not a license to sin, but it is his grace that gives us power to overcome lives full of sin. Of course we are humans and we still battle against temptation, sin, and our fleshly desires and we will fall time and time again. But we are called to run the race and strive towards perfection. We are called to put off the old man and put on our new nature, we are called to be more than conquerors and put on the full armor of God so that we can be overcomers. God’s grace is not there for you to go out into the world and intentionally sin and think that its ok. No his grace is there for those who truly follow him, but obviously screw up from time to time. God knows your heart better than you know yourself. He knows your intentions and your heart decisions, so don’t try to sneak one past him! 🙂

    Another good verse to look at when talking about RUNNING to God and not from God is…

James 4:7-10 “⁷ So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. ⁹ Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.”

    This verse tells us to resist the devil, it is only by God’s grace and power working in our lives that we are able to do this. God is our strength when we are weak. And then it says that when we draw close to God, he draws close to us! He will always be there for you, we just have to turn to him rather than run from him to truly experience his love that forgives and heals our guilty hearts. We are to humble ourselves before God. We need to take a real look at our lives and our hearts and be completely and totally honest with God, We are nobody’s, who deserve nothing without him. We need to be wholly surrendered to him, and then he will lift us up, he will pick us up, he will love us and show us how to love. I challenge you once again if you have messed up from the even the smallest way to the biggest way, Run to God, not from him. His mercies are new every morning, His grace covers you and is sufficient for you. His love holds you and never lets you go. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Run to him!

Character

Today I want to talk to you about character and character traits. The dictionary describes character like this “a distinctive but not necessarily invariable feature exhibited by all individuals of a group and capable of being described or measured”. As true followers of Jesus and believers, I believe as we grow in our relationship with God a certain spiritual transformation begins to take place. This transformation begins with a decision that you have to make inside yourself, God can’t make it for you.  The decision to say that I want whatever you want for me God, I totally surrender my whole life to you in every area. We owe him that much, without him we are lost forever, but thank God he is merciful and and he sent his son to die on the cross for our sins!

Romans 12:2  “² Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

Here in Romans we are told not to conform to the customs of this world. Don’t live life by the standard and morals of this world. God has placed a higher standard and call for living in light and love. This verse tells us to LET GOD transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. This is something that we have to surrender to God, that we have to LET GOD do, if we don’t let him, nothing will ever change in your life and you will continue on a mediocre Christian walk. Letting God transform us starts inwardly, first with the decision to “let him”, secondly to surrender to him wholly, and when the transformation begins to take traction in your hearts and minds, that is when righteous character develops truly. It will begin to shine through your insides and display outwardly in your actions and by the way you conduct yourself. I’m not talking about legalism, but a true transformation that God gives you the ability to have in him. It also talks about this in Eph 4:23. to “let the Spirit renew our thoughts and attitudes”. Eph 5:9,10  tells us that this light within us produces only what is good, right and true, it also tells us to “CAREFULLY determine what pleases the Lord.” God is calling us to make this decision within ourselves as children of light who have been shown the light, to walk in this life-style of love, forgiveness and to get rid of all anger, bitterness, rage, harsh words, foul language, slander and any other evil behavior(Eph 4:31). We are to “Carefully Determine” these things, not just live life without ever thinking about God’s will in the situation. Always keep in mind God’s heart on things.

Being a Christian isn’t just about doing the right thing, it is about following after Jesus wholly and surrendering your agenda, wants and desires to please him because you are so grateful and you love him. We need to let our wants go, and let God transform us.

Philippians 1:11 “¹¹ May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.

Paul tells us that when we partake of salvation, their is fruit that comes with it, and that is the way we live. “The righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ”, Not only will it fill your life with fulfillment, it will bring much glory and praise to God. So I challenge you today, to let God transform your heart. Truly surrender your ALL to him and give him your whole heart and life. Once you do that, you will begin to see the “fruit of your salvation”, as you yield to the Holy Spirit on a daily basis, Your heart will beat with the love of God, and you will begin to see yourself transformed and on the same page as the will of God. You will begin to find it easier to yield to the Holy Spirit and easier to put off the old man and sinful nature. You will begin to see the fruits of the spirit become evident in your life. Let go and Let God haha. A good saying in this context.

Guest blog post and testimony

check out my first ever guest blog post and testimony here!

http://revelationsofadaughter.blogspot.com/2012/07/life-so-aware.html

Forgiveness

Forgiveness is such a simple term. Yet it is a word that runs deep with everything that we are as believers and as human beings in general. Forgiveness can be such a hard thing for some people to have to submit to. Forgiveness is a form of walking in love. God’s first and second command to us is to #LoveGod and #LovePeople. In 1 Cor 13:4-7, we see some of the actions and fruit that love carries with it. “Love holds no records of wrongs, love hopes for the best and trusts, love is not easily angered. Be honest with yourself right now, ask yourself are these core fruits of love evident in my life, is this how I am acting maybe towards my spouse, sibling, co-worker, or even someone you barely know? The bible gives us a pretty clear picture on how love acts and is supposed to act, and we need to make it our intention to let our hearts soak in what love really is and what God is really commanding us to do and how to live(in love). I see it that love and forgiveness walk hand in hand. They co-exist, forgiveness doesn’t happen unless you are yielding to some form of love and vice versa. When God calls us to love, that definitely is a call to not only walk in love, but walk in forgiveness. Forgiveness is not only when there is a clear cut moment when you know that you need to forgive someone for really screwing with your life. Forgiveness, I believe, is a lifestyle choice that we all really should choose to walk in. Forgiveness is the big things and the little things. Forgiveness is when someone cuts you in line, when someone lies to you, and so much more. Yes, definitely get the major forgiveness issues sorted out in your life. Holding onto grudges and baggage only hurts yourself, and that is real. If you have bitterness towards someone who has done you wrong and you are holding on to that, let it go. God commands us to, and honestly it will only set you free and ease the heavy burden you may have been carrying on your chest for years and years. Don’t only do it because you have to, do it because you want to make a life choice to live free and joyfully and in peace with others. Our call is to live in peace with others. God clearly, clearly speaks about forgiveness all over the bible. The whole message of Jesus Christ is forgiveness. We are nobody and sinners without Jesus forgiveness. So who are we to think that we are better than Jesus and we don’t have to forgive. This next set of verses I am about to share is a parable about forgiveness and it gives us a clear picture on why we should forgive.

Matthew 18:21-35 “²¹ Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someonewho sins against me? Seven times?” ²² “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven! ²³ “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. ²⁴ In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. ²⁵ He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt.²⁶ “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ ²⁷ Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.²⁸ “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.²⁹ “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. ³⁰ But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.³¹ “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. ³² Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. ³³ Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴ Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.³⁵ “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”

    In this passage we are the forgiven servant. We owe God millions and millions of dollars worth of debt by the sin that we have committed, yet he forgave us. He is telling us, since he forgave us so much for everything we have ever done, than we are to be people of forgiveness as well to anyone who has ever sinned against us or wronged us in anyway. Instead of getting even, get into God’s plan for humanity and walk in forgiveness, walk in love.

Matthew 6:14-15

For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

 

    This is a crazy tough love verse. We need to be real and honest with ourselves and learn to trust God’s way of doing things rather than thinking we know it all and holding onto the smallest bit of unforgiveness towards anybody who you believe has wronged you in anyway. Whether they apologized or not has nothing to do with it. Being a person who truly follows after Jesus has everything to do with it. Not only be the “bigger person”, but for the sake of true crazy passionate love that God is calling and commanding us to, forgive!, forgive!, forgive! I challenge you right now to look into your life, if right now there is a situation where you know that you need to show the love of God towards someone and forgive and really hold no record of wrongs, than take that leap and forgive the person in your heart and if you need to in person or on the phone, etc. Also if months or years have gone by in your life after someone has wronged you and you never forgave that person for doing you wrong, maybe you put it on the back burner and did your best to forget about it, but still the smallest piece of you is holding on to that bitterness and unforgiveness, I challenge you to be a real disciple of God’s word and forgive that person. I promise you that forgiving them is only going to give you the freedom that you need. Unforgiveness can lead to bitterness and bitterness can lead to hate, and that is something that you don’t want lingering around in your heart. That is something that will totally hinder your relationship with God. Even though it may be hard to do, ask God to help you with it and take that leap of faith. God is calling you to a daily life of forgiveness. Focus your intent on forgiveness in your life and let God soften your heart once again.

Trust

Today I want to take a passage of scripture and really just reiterate it and and take a closer look at what it is saying.

Ephesians 3:16-20 “¹⁶ I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. ¹⁷ Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. ¹⁸ And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. ¹⁹ May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. ²⁰ Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. ”

The Bible tells us In John 14:23 “Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.”.

In our lives we need to put our trust in God, definitely more than we do now. Honestly, I believe us as Christians today need to make a conscious effort to involve God in our daily lives and life decisions. We need to make a decision within ourselves to choose a hand in hand, side by side walk with God. I know myself and from my daily Christian life. I make a ton of decisions and choices and do life, without even thinking of involving God and his call and will for the situation. We as a church, as a community, as Christ followers need to learn to move and flow with God and his call for us to be followers of him. Not just Sunday followers, but true everyday, close relationship devoted followers. Not only putting God first in your life, but making him the foundation on which you live. Letting Christ truly live through you and be formed in you. When We make the conscious effort to do that and let Jesus have reign, that will be the start of God’s true call on your life and he will be able to use you without your agenda and your goals getting in the way.

When you trust him, that is when he makes his home in your hearts, when you obey him and his voice, that is when he makes his home in your hearts. That is when you live, move and breathe together in one home. Think about a home, it’s not just a house any more, a home is a place where you are intimately involved, where your relationship goes to a whole new level, You learn things about a person that you never knew before. God wants us to know him like we never knew we could. When you trust him your roots grow down in to God’s love and become strong. That is when you are building your house upon the rock. And making God your foundation for life. It is an honor to think that the creator of the universe wants to make his home in you, wants to have that personal relationship with you, wants to work with you to see his call for your life come to pass. When God is with you who can be against you, When God is with you, all things are possible, When we make that decision to walk with God and put our trust in him and not in ourselves. When we make the decision to look for his call and not follow after our own agenda and our own goals, Miraculous things can happen, the impossible can happen. God can use you in ways more than we can even fathom. More than we can ask or even think of He says. This is God’s call, that we live with him and move with him and work with him to fulfill his call to seek and save the lost.

I would challenge you today, ask yourself if your daily life, if your daily thoughts consist of mostly of your wants and desires and goals. If God and his will even enter your minds and hearts throughout the week. If not, can we as a group that wants God’s crazy passionate love in our lives, make the decision to focus daily on asking God what he wants and desires for you today. Can we make the decision that we want to live and move with God and his call for our lives. For some of you, it may just be involving him in your marriage or in your workplace. For some he may have a ministry call on your life. It is simple and difficult all at the same time, Simple in the fact that we know what to do, we know what is the right decision to make. Difficult in the fact that it may be hard to give up our own agenda and surrender to Jesus our whole life and not just parts of it. But God says, when we put our trust in him, we grow strong in him and that is when he is able to use us in amazing ways. Amazing ways could be anything from planting seeds of faith into peoples lives all the way to leading millions to Jesus. God just says he can use us in ways that we can’t even imagine. Don’t be fooled, even the smallest way that God starts to use you once you have made that decision means more than any goal or agenda we had for this life anyway. You can be the difference in the world around you!