Set Apart

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that You present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”
~Romans 12:1

“Six hours, one Friday. God is on the cross. The Creator of the universe is being executed. Spit and blood are caked to his cheeks, and his lips are cracked and swollen. Thorns rip his scalp. His lungs scream with pain. His legs knot with cramps. Taut nerves threaten to snap as pain twangs her morbid melody. Yet, death is not ready. And there is no one to save Him for He is sacrificing Himself.” (Six Hours, One Friday, Max Lucado)

Jesus offered His whole life for you. He chose to be the sacrifice so you can have life…everlasting life! A living sacrifice is one who lives their daily life in a constant state of surrender to God’s will. Be a living sacrifice for Him who gave His everything for you!

Walking Uprightly

“Who may worship in Your sanctuary, Lord? Who may enter Your presence on your holy hill? Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking the truth from sincere hearts. Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbors or speak evil of their friends. Those who despise flagrant sinners, and honor the faithful followers of the Lord, and keep their promises even when it hurts. Those who lend money without charging interest, and who cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent. Such people will stand firm forever.” ~Psalm 15 (NLT)

We should desire to live blameless lives and walk uprightly. The way we will be able to do these things is to ask God to fill us with His power. It is only through Christ that we live blameless lives. Pray that God would strengthen you to walk uprightly and practice these things listed. Then you will never be moved!

Be Sin For Us

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” ~2 Corinthians 5:21

God, out of His eternal love for us, sent His only Son to become a man and die for all of our sins. He took upon Himself all the sin of the world and paid the price so we wouldn’t have to. His blood covered our sins. He knew no sin, He was perfect, complete, and He became sin just so we might have life. It is because of His blood that we are now righteous in His sight. Not because of who we are or because of what we have done, but because of who He is and what He has done!

Storms

Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side of the lake." And they launched out. But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. But He said to them, "Where is your faith?" And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, "Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!"
~Luke 8:22-25

Do you ever feel like you are living in the midst of a raging storm? It seems like nothing is going the right way, you are being persecuted, your faith is being tested, and it feels like you are going to drown? We all have those moments, days, or weeks. Jesus’ disciples felt like they were about to drown. Funny how they had Jesus right in their presence, where they were able to reach out and touch Him, and they still thought they might drown. We run to Jesus in a frantic state of panic, thinking He has no idea what we are going through. The amazing thing is that Jesus leads us into our storms. He led His disciples into that storm to show them how powerful and mighty He truly is. We need to always run to Him, not frantically, but peacefully and calmly. Know that He is in complete control over every situation; even the winds and waters obey Him!

Dwell in His Temple

One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple.
Psalm 27:4

Now there was one, Anna....and this woman was a widow
of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.
Luke 2:36-37

Commit every day to serve the Lord! Spend time in His Word, praise Him, spend time in prayer daily, and you will see the beauty of the Lord. I encourage you to dwell in His presence all the days of your life. Anna did this and she ended up seeing Jesus. She beheld the beauty of the Lord. You will too when you seek Him!

With You

“…Be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20

It can be so easy to forget that God is always with us. We think, “God, are You sure You are with me? I don’t feel like You are here.” But He is always with you! Your future is in His hands. His loving, everlasting, merciful, and capable hands are directing your every step, and you can be sure of that! God guides and leads you and He enables you with the strength for what you are facing today, and for what the future holds!

By His Power

"By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life..." ~2 Peter 1:3 NLT

God asks us to live after His own heart. Living a godly life isn't always easy, because Satan is out to seek, destroy, and kill. How comforting to know that we can live godly lives by simply relying on the Lord. He has all we need and He will equip us through His divine power!

Walking Uprightly

“Who may worship in Your sanctuary, Lord? Who may enter Your presence on your holy hill? Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking the truth from sincere hearts. Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbors or speak evil of their friends. Those who despise flagrant sinners, and honor the faithful followers of the Lord, and keep their promises even when it hurts. Those who lend money without charging interest, and who cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent. Such people will stand firm forever.” ~Psalm 15 (NLT)


We should desire to live blameless lives and walk uprightly. The way we will be able to do these things is to ask God to fill us with His power to do these things. It is only through Christ that we live blameless lives. Pray that God would strengthen you to walk uprightly and practice these things listed. Then you will never be moved!

Don't Worry

“25So I tell you, don’t worry about everyday life--whether you have enough food, drink, and clothes. 27Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not. 32Your Heavenly Father already knows all your needs, 33and He will give you all you need from day to day if you live for Him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.” Matthew 6:25, 27, 32-33 NLT

Why is it so easy to worry? I find myself worrying about the dumbest things and that worry turns into stress and then before I know it I am freaking out about something that probably won’t happen. Here’s a good example, our economy is not doing so good and lately I have been worrying about what might happen to us. But I end up thinking “We are going to lose our jobs, we are going to have no income, and then how will we eat and what will happen to our home? Where will we live and how will we make it?” And my thoughts can go on and on. I practically get an ulcer before I hear God’s sweet soft voice whisper in my ear, “Why are you worrying about something I am in complete and total control of?” He knows our needs and He will never forsake us or leave us. He is sovereign and He sits upon the throne. He is in complete control and He is deeply in love with each and every one of us. His desire is to bless and take care of every one of His children. So why do we worry when we have the Creator of the universe taking care of us? Our worries can’t add a single moment to our lives. They only add stress and ulcers and shingles and more stress and frizzled out hair and more stuff like that. So I encourage you to wait on the Lord, trust in Him, follow after Him with all your heart, and allow Him to work in your life. He will take care of us so we don’t have to worry. When you begin to worry, surrender your thoughts to Him and praise Him for always being faithful!

Surviving the Fire

I feel like I have been walking in the fire these last few months. And let me tell you, it is no more easy than it is uncomfortable. God is using this time to refine me and I am so thankful that He is always working on my life. I am reminded of Shadrac, Meshac, and Aben-dego. They chose to be in the fire and that is where they were closest to God. He was walking in there midst! How great to know that we don't have to walk through the fire on our own. God is right there desiring to walk alongside of us. These promises are easier said than done, because the fire is still able to burn. But just be encouraged to surrender constantly to your personal Savior Jesus Christ. He went through much harder times and He did it all for us. Praise the Lord for saving us from the real fire! So be encouraged, and I will be too, to know that Christ is with us, He is the one who bears the scars, and He loves us more than we know.