Still amazed at how just when I’m at the brink of slipping into the deep end, God reveals Himself through someone else. Or through something that would normally be mundane or ordinary. It’s been a horrible month, an even worse week and then out of the blue.. God. He always shows up. Never failing, He has never given up on me even though I am constantly failing Him. I am so humbled by His love for us.

His amazing love.

This weeks scripture is one of my favorite scriptures. It’s all about His love this week. If you are like me, then you need some reminding once in awhile about how much He actually loves you. This great big God has His great big love directed towards us. That’s the best thing to think about this week. His amazing love.

    The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all who are oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.
(Psalm 103:6-13 ESV)

He loves Us!

Sermon jam

This weeks sermon jam.

Vanity of vanities, all is vanity!

Mid week inspiration

I read this on the Christian Living For today and was really inspired by it. Sadly they don’t have a share button for WordPress so had to copy it, I take no credit for it. If you like this, you can go to their website and check out their other posts.

God’s Powerful message to hurting women – I can heal you! by Robert
The number one question that people ask of God is why He allows suffering to come to them. This question has caused more than one pause for minister and layperson alike.

As a woman, it can seem like your suffering has gone unnoticed. After all, women are the keepers of the earth and home. You look after your families much like the woman mentioned in Proverbs 31. You don’t clothe them with scarlet but you do pray for them and that covers them with the blood of Jesus Christ.

Unfortunately, when it comes to dealing with your own pain and hurt, there seems to be no one there for you. Maybe your heart is broken over a divorce. It could be that someone has brutalized you physically or mentally. You have learned to hide your pain and go on for the sake of the kids or for your livelihood. After all, the bills don’t stop coming because we are hurt.

Even at church on Sunday, you greet others with a smile that hides deep suffering inside. But how far can that really get you? Some women feel that there is strength in pain. The truth is that there is strength but not  that way.

When the hurt is that great, even your soul aches. In this life, it seems quite unfair that the deeds of the guilty can go unpunished. The only way that you see to stay in the “game of life” is to deny your pain and thus, a big part of yourself.

God wants you to know right now that  just will not do. Did you know that His heart is broken when your heart is broken? If Jesus wept for Lazarus in his death, he is surely weeping at the feet of the Almighty for your life. John 3:16 tells us that God loved every human being so much that He sent His only son, Jesus, to be a living sacrifice for us once and for all time. Does that sound like a God who doesn’t want your hurt to be healed?

God stands ready at the door of your heart to come in and change your life. There is one thing that you need to know: God is not like any man, woman or child that you have ever met. Even the most loving person in your life will let you down. It may not be their intention but it is human nature. God is not a man. He will never lie to you or make a promise to you that He doesn’t intend to keep. It’s time for you to hear God’s message of healing for your life.

Read the following verses:

The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
His mercies never cease.
23Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning.

-Lamentations 3:22-23

God desires to sustain you with His love. It is an everlasting love that no man or woman can understand. You have to accept it on faith. Remember the faith you had as a child? That same childlike faith is what God works through to heal your heart, mind and soul.

This is not just a promise for the believer but the non-believer as well. It is human nature to hold onto pain and try to rationalize how you feel about it. God says to cast the burden of that hurt on Him. Pray right now, wherever you are for God to heal every part of you from the pain that you are experiencing. Let Him be your strength.

A text From a friend

So as the title states today’s post was not something I wrote, a friend ent me this and I thought I should share it. Hope it inspires you as well.

There is a battle between light and darkness in this world. The devil will do bad things to people if he can get away with it. He is a thief and is always endeavoring to steal God’s blessings form us. Although we enjoy a great deal of protection from him simply by avoiding sin and living in obedience to the word of God, we cannot er afford to just sit back complacently and think we’re immune from his attacks. Be sober and alert.

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
(1 Peter 5:8 ESV)

Move that mountain.

Today, you may be facing a difficult situation and it’s making you feel like your hands are tied. Maybe the negative voices are constantly playing over and over, telling you that it’s not going to work out, or how impossible things seem. It’s true that your hands are tied in the natural, but always know God’s Hands are never tied. With God all things are possible. God can do whatever is necessary to bring you through. His Power is unlimited! Nothing is too difficult for Him!

Awe

I keep messing up. Unintentionally and intentionally.
I keep choosing the darkness over the light. With complete knowledge of what my actions are.
I am constantly  failing Him, but still He remains faithful. I am humbled by the love He has for us.

Live!

He that is in us, is greater than he that is in the world. Consequence, bad choices, weakness or whatever it is that’s pulling you from God. He is greater, and He will win the fight if you let Him fight for You. Remember Him dying on the cross? That was for whatever you’re going through now. Whatever, we’re going through. He saw it then, He sees it now, and He’s already won. Now it’s up to us to act like we believe it, living  like it. Knowing that our lives are not in vain. That our pain is not eternal. It all passes because we have been promised it does. Dust yourself up and move on from whatever is holding you back from living fully. Embrace the freedom we have been blessed with. Live!

   

Christian?

I’ve heard a lot of people say that Christians only do good so they can go to heaven. Apparently, that’s the overall “vybe” that most Christians exude to non-Christians. Made me wonder, considering how many people seem to think that , are there any Christians who share that belief? Are there Christian who live that way? Doing good only for what they could get in the end. Are you among those? Doing good deeds just because of the great reward?

If you are, then you probably know deep down that, that is not what being a Christian is about, at all! Christianity is not some primary school reward system where you get points for good deeds, and lose them for the bad. If it were we would all be running on negatives trying to gain some points wouldn’t we? In that really messed up view of Christianity where would grace fall? Is there even any room for it? For forgiveness or mercy? Wouldn’t our lives be all about working really hard to be perfect and always do good so we could make the cut? The bible says,

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
(2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV)

God’s power is made strong in our WEAKNESS, meaning yes He knows we are weak. He does not expect us to be perfect and good. Only Jesus was, that’s why He chose to die on the cross that we may live. Acknowledging that, is all we need. Knowing that Jesus is indeed our only way, is the only salvation. No amount of good deeds can get anyone to heaven no matter how good you are, and no amount of bad can keep you out if you believe in God. Our God is a God of second chances, a God who loves us in our weakness and failures. No one should convince you other wise.

So no. Christianity is not about all the good you do. It’s about Jesus! It’s about our relationship with Him. An honest, authentic relationship with Christ. He doesn’t want a fake, “Hey, look at me world, I do good deeds all the time”, He just wants an honest heart with all the brokenness and short comings. Do not be fooled into living an inauthentic life just so you can look good on paper. Yes, as Christians we are a representation of Christ and because of that we have to work to live as He did. That does not mean that when you slip up you should hide away in a hole or live a life in secret sin. Your mistakes do not make you any less Christian. As long as you keep your relationship with God honest and repent. God does not expect any more from you than He knows you can give, so don’t try to live by anyone else’s standards. Do not live to please anyone else. Good deeds are good, but the love of Christ is best.

Forgiven

I let myself slip, I let myself stumble.

With everything that’s been happening in my life, I just let go. I can’t really give any excuses because I know my choices are what matter most in my life and I made the wrong ones. Don’t get me wrong, I am not beating myself up or feeling sorry for myself. I just know a lot more was expected of me. I expected more from myself and I just didn’t deliver. People are always talking about Go’s grace like it’s supposed to okay our sinful nature. Constantly trying to grey the black and white to suit or needs when the truth is clearly written. God expects a lot from us. Yes, He ha this amazing grace that covers us, but we should also remember that He sees our hearts and knows our intentions. We can go around acting like we don’t know when we clearly know what is right and what is wrong.

I hear a lot of people talking about, “only God can judge me” like He’s not going to. Do we really know the meaning of that? Do we really understand the implication of God’s judgement? He is an amazing God that forgives, and understands our weaknesses but our weaknesses cannot be our excuse to act as we please.

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
(Romans 6:1-4 ESV)

He knows us better than we could ever know ourselves, and loves us with an everlasting love. We can not misuse or abuse that love by being dishonest with ourselves. Try, try, try again to do right. No matter how many times you fail don’t quit trying. Do NOT be fooled to think that you can do whatever you wish and it will all be okay. Do not be fooled to live a life less than the one intended for you. I have fallen a couple of times, but I repent, I pick myself up and I try again. Life is short, the temptations will end and when it’s all over I refuse to be found on the wrong side.

What about you? Will you give up? Will you choose to give in to temptations that only give short term gratification? Or will you choose life? We can’t have both. So what is it going to be? You have to choose. Every single day, every moment of your life is a choice you’ve made. So choose. He’s waiting for you to.