Tag: women of faith

Help For The Hurting

eap7w1487544556
Help us Lord to be sensitive to those around us that are hurting. ~ Help us to see their pain Lord, Help us to ask you for the courage to speak up and that you would give us the words to say to comfort them, that you would speak thru us, Lord. ~ Make us brave, Lord, for those who need our courage today. Help us to speak for others today who can’t and show them that You know their hurt and loneliness.  I pray Lord, that you would wrap your loving arms around them today, help them Lord to feel just how much you love them.  Use us Lord as your vessels of truth and love. I pray Lord that if they do not know you that you would speak to them, Lord, we know there is no salvation apart from you. I plead for you to make yourself known to those who are living in darkness and hurting today. Help them to see their need for a Savior and to turn from their sinful ways. Father, shine your light and send your Spirit to convict hearts and bring repentance. Thank you that you are a God who restores and offers new beginnings by your grace. Thank you for pursuing the lost long after we have given up hope…Thank you, Lord Amen

For those who need fresh hope today…you are not alone. You are never forgotten.

He is with you. Every step of the way!

10 Verses for when you feel broken, for those in need of comfort:

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Ps. 147:3

“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” Ps. 34:18

“But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6

“I believe I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait on the Lord.” Ps. 27:13-14

“Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble by the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” 2 Cor. 1:3-4

“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, yes, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Is. 41:10

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” 1 Pet. 2:24

“Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.” Ps. 55:22

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matt. 11:28-30

“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 Cor. 12:9

Prayer Journal

prayer-journal

This year in 2017 I’ve been taking steps to be more intentional about my prayer life.  One of my goals is to develop a regular prayer time. While I usually wake up around 5:30 for daily Bible reading, I haven’t found a good way to work prayer into this time. Some days I’ll pray for 5 minutes prior to my reading; some days I’ll pray for 30 minutes afterward. Sometimes I pray over a list of people; most times my prayers are random, sporadic, and rambling So,

I have started a prayer journal.

I have put in the date of my request then write it out.  I try to leave space in between so that I can add requests as they come to me.

I also have pages based on events or things I want to see God do and praises.  I pray for my family every day and then work through the additional pages as time permits and God brings them to mind.

Once it is answered, I highlight the prayer request so I can see very clearly all God is doing. On those days when I feel discouraged, I can scan over all that is highlighted and with assurance see God is at work!

Ephesians 6:18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

Love More Judge Less

judge-less

As Christians, we need to love more and Judge less, allow the Holy Spirit to change a person. As this scripture shows us Peter expects our love to be a certain kind of love – an earnest love. The fact that Peter has to use an adverb after his command to love shows us there are different intensities of love. If we have to be told to love earnestly, it must be possible to love non-earnestly. Earnest means serious, sincere or deep. So Peter wants us to take our responsibility to love seriously, not flippantly and not judgmentally. He wants us to be sincere, not manipulative. And he wants our love to be deep and intense, not shallow and hollow.

How important is earnest love? So important that Peter says we should be loving one another earnestly – above all. More important than anything else in this world is our love for one another. Naturally we think of our obligation to love God as more important than our love for one another, and that’s understandable. However, if we love God, we will love one another. They go hand in hand, because the Spirit that puts the love for God in our hearts also puts a love for one another in our hearts.

As Christians, sometimes I feel we are alienating people, people need truth and love. One without the other leads to a warped Gospel. The truth spoken without love is harsh, hurtful and causes people to raise their walls, close their ears, and walk away. Love spoken without truth easily turns into a prosperity gospel, or an “all roads lead to heaven” approach. Our default is to lead with truth, but too often we forget to follow up with love. Jesus gave us many great examples of how he lead with love and followed up with truth – the adulteress woman, the Samaritan woman, consorting with tax collectors, etc. Mark 2 tells us that Jesus dined with thieves and other disreputable sinners. He knew these people needed the Truth, and he knew that what they were doing was wrong. But he also knew that they were looked down upon and scorned by the world already. They heard every single day how they were not good enough. Jesus knew that if he was going to make a difference, he should show them how much he cared and gain their trust and respect. Then the truth he followed up with would hold weight in their lives…We need to offer people hope.  Love first allow Jesus to do the rest.

The Lord Will Rescue Us

prayer-in-times-of-trials

The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from their trials. 2 Peter 2:9
We all face trials of many kinds. No one is spared from the storms of life. Some of these trials seem unending, it’s as if there is a huge mountain in your way and you are trapped on all sides, unable to move even an inch. But remember we serve a God whose hand made the heaven and the earth and nothing is too hard for Him.
– He is mighty to save
– No mountain is bigger than Him
– God knows when and how to deliver you.
We always want to know HOW God will do it. Let us leave the questions to Him and let’s trust Him.

Dear Heavenly Father, help us through the trials and tribulations we are experiencing in our lives. Sometimes we feel alienated and alone, and we faithfully ask for your help. Guide us Lord through these storms of life, and help us to always remember that you alone are the way, the truth and the light. Stay with us, Strengthen us Lord, You have promised to keep us in perfect peace when our mind and heart are fixed upon You.  Help us to wholeheartedly seek You and rely on Your Holy Word so that we will experience perfect peace.  It is in this spiritual attitude that we will fully trust You to work out the problems that greatly concern us. You have overcome the world and You will also help us to overcome our troubles.  Amen.

A Year Of Favor – Happy New Year

happy-new-year

The New Year is a time to learn to rely more heavily on the grace of God. Now I’ve met a few self-made men and women and so have you, but so often these people seem proud, self-centered and driven. There is another way: beginning to trust in God’s help. One secret from the Apostle Paul: “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength,” he said. (Phil 4:13, NIV) And God’s strength saw him through pain, joy, and accomplishment.

By the gentle touch
of His grace you will find
happiness on your path
His love gives us confidence
to embrace a great new year

 

God Uses The Weak

childhood-sexual-abuse

I had the pleasure of speaking to a group of women who have suffered childhood sexual abuse yesterday. I almost canceled, because I had a huge setback in my recovery as a survivor this week. It was a setback that almost made me stop and retreat, it was something that on the surface should have been no big deal, but left me deeply wounded and hurt.  It left me doubting my gifts and my ability for God to use me. No one ever talks about the little things, the not so obvious things that we as survivors of childhood sexual abuse have to manage privately. …The imprint of childhood trauma shows up in our lives in the smallest ways. In what we see, in what we hear or what we smell. … It’s all those things that trigger us day in and day out when we least expect it.   Sometimes, it’s what people say that tear us down, like telling us we are acting like a victim or get over it and move on. These little things can make us retreat and shut down. Every story deserves to be told and every voice deserves to be heard. We need to encourage survivors and victims to speak out and talk about it. Don’t be the cause as to why they remain silent.

The Lord in His goodness showed me that He uses the weary, feeble, powerless… Sometimes when we feel physically or spiritually weak, we’re tempted to take a “time-out,” thinking that God will use us again when we are stronger. In Judges 6, we’re introduced to Gideon who was taking a “time-out.” It was wartime, and Gideon was hiding when an angel of the Lord appeared to tell him that he would be the one to save Israel. Imagine Gideon’s astonishment: “How can I save Israel? Lord, I come from a nobody family, and I’m the lowest nobody in my family. And You’re going to use me?”

After God enlisted the nobody Gideon, He got a nobody army. Then God took those nobodies and won the battle! God takes us in our weak state and uses us so He alone can be glorified. Thank you, Lord.

Why does God delight in choosing the weak:  The first reason is found in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 29: “that no flesh should glory in His presence.” When we get to heaven, not one of us will be able to say we got there on our own merit. We’re saved simply by the grace of God. The second reason is found in verse 31, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.” If we operate in our own strength and not God’s, we risk taking the glory and credit for ourselves. Scripture tells us that we must be weak and low enough in order for God to use us.

God wants to take us down to the very depths of ourselves to teach us that if there is any power, it is the power that is in God, and not in us. God doesn’t need to make us into performers or superstars in order to use us. Instead, He’s looking for men and women who have hearts that say, “Lord, I’m a nobody. I’m nothing without You. Will You use me?” When God finds such a heart, something extraordinary happens — that nobody is promoted to the ranks of God’s nobility.

Don’t allow the enemy to convince you that God cannot use you because you are “flawed”, weak, or seemingly inconsequential. Like I almost did! No, instead, remember that He uses the ordinary, often broken, people…to do extraordinary things. Our God is not looking at your wealth, your social status or your education — He’s looking at your heart! If your heart is willing and your life is available, then He is more than able to perform miraculous work through you for His Kingdom’s sake. With so much work to be done, don’t allow the enemy to stifle or steal the Lord’s vision for your life –- He has a plan to use you to confound the wise of this world, and to bring to naught the things th

Die To Self

galatians-2-20

When we are crucified with Christ by faith in Him, we are to completely surrender every selfish desire and ambition to the perfect will of God. Self-promotion and self-pleasing desires are the greatest obstacle between man and salvation because it is the nature of man to want to please himself, and this self-recognition is a building block for sin. All sin erupts from the desire to please self, and this is what must be crucified with Christ in surrender to the will of God before salvation can bear fruit. This, as Paul attests, is an ongoing process because the spirit, which has been crucified with Christ, still resides within in the flesh, which is still very much alive Romans 7: 18-25.

Many Christians want to be obedient but continue to stumble in sin because they try to hang on to parts of the old self they think they are able to control. This is a self-defeating rationale that relies on the idea that man saves himself by his own works. The Bible teaches us that nothing a man does can save his soul, and salvation is only by the grace of God Eph 2:8-9. Through this gift of grace, man can be born again and be given a new nature to replace the old, sinful self. He must be born again if he is ever to see the kingdom of God John 3:3, and if he is to be born again, his sinful nature must be crucified with Christ, and he must be filled with the Holy Spirit of God.

Make Us Like You Lord

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  1 Thessalonians 5:23

We know all to well that true righteousness and holiness are qualities possessed perfectly by only God. Amazingly, God uses his Spirit to make those qualities a reality in our lives, but we must be willing to yield to his leadership. We need to commit to letting the Spirit work on maturing us in our weakest areas. Why not, take an extra five or ten minutes today, open God’s Word, and read several passages of Scripture that apply to your specific vulnerabilities. Then, ask God’s Spirit to transform you in these areas to be more like Christ!  Amen!

Dear Father, may Jesus come soon with grace and glory! May I be found blameless on that day, dear Father, not by my power and effort, but because of your transforming power at work within me. In Jesus’ name I ask this. Amen.

Grow In His Grace And Knowledge

2-pet-3-18

A minister once stated: “The one thing we all need to do more of is to grow in the love of God and in His grace and knowledge. That means learning how to let these rivers of living water flow out of our innermost being.” Truer words could not have been spoken. Yet, how many individuals believe this today?

but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. 2 Peter 3:8

I love this verse, As a Christian, I have concluded that the only true wisdom, understanding and knowledge I will ever need is contained in this one verse. I know for a fact it is all about Jesus. What do we need to to glean from this? Is all I have to do for my salvation is to believe with all my heart that Jesus Christ came as my Savior and died on The Cross for my sins and rose again on the third day. My salvation is mine through Grace alone. I cannot earn it, It is a gift. Anything I need to know will be revealed as God and the Holy Spirit sees fit. I will continue to read, study and pray but all my thoughts are going to be solely on Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Praise and glory to God the Father!

Peter also tells us, that we need to grow in our knowledge of Jesus and to have an intimate relationship with Him. The more we know Him, we will become more like Him. Paul said in Col 3:1-4: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

The Scriptures contain all the knowledge we will ever need to learn of God, His Son, and His Spirit, at least in this life. God’s desire for those that are saved is their sanctification and transformation. He wants us to become more holy like Him. He wants to transform us into the image of His Son. The way to do this is by meditating on the Scriptures and applying their principles to our lives every day, as we yield to the conviction and power of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. Then we will prove 2 Cor 3:18: “We, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord.”

Teaching Our Children To Love God

deut 6

One of the biggest blessing in my life has been to homeschool my children.  The Word of God was a major part of our day, starting with quiet devotions in the morning and spilling over into every subject – handwriting, history, and language arts.  We used Deuteronomy 6 as our mission statement and model.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

As parents this is our first responsibility, the Bible tells us that children are a gift from the Lord, specially created for His pleasure and divine purpose (Psalm 127:3-5; 139:13-16). God has entrusted us with our children for a very short time, during which parents have the responsibility of training, instructing, nurturing, and disciplining them, as well as overseeing their education (Ephesians 6:4). At the same time, I realize home schooling is not for everyone and that’s o.k.  But, it is imperative that Christian parents teach their children the Word of God from a young age, showing them how to incorporate it into their daily lives, trusting continually in God. We are to keep His words on our heart, to think on them, to meditate on them, to reflect on them. Knowing we cannot give our children what we do not possess. We cannot pass along what we do not own. No one else can do it for us. We are to love the Lord with all our heart and to share and model that love with our children.  Our children are watching us and modeling our attitudes and behaviors. They are parroting back our attitudes about Christ and His church.

Every part of the day as a family is an opportunity to spend time in the Word together, whether the Bible is in front of us or not!

Hopefully, Long after you and I are gone our children will have raised their children and have seen their children’s children will come to know you, nothing else will matter but that we here today taught our children to know Jesus Christ as their Savior from sin. Nothing else will matter—certainly not the money we saved, the businesses we ran, the houses we lived in, or even the friends and memories we shared—none of that will matter. The only thing that will matter will be the Gospel—the saving Truth of Jesus Christ, which has brought life to us and to our children. That is the greatest gift you can give your child—the gift of life, real life, in Jesus Christ.

I pray Lord that we know in our heart the One in whom we  believe. That You are Lord, our God and that Your word of promise will not fail. Thank you Lord that Your grace has redeemed us to be your own. May our love for you overflow in our hearts as we teach our children your ways, that they may grow to Love you and your Word.  Help them Father to grow in the grace and knowledge of You.

May the peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.