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!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
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!
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!
Monday, February 2, 2009
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!
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!
Monday, January 19, 2009
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!
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!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Resisting Temptation
This world is full of fleshly desires and temptations, and we are all faced with them each and every day. If you are not watchful or you are not on guard, it will be easy to give into the temptation you are faced with. But temptation can be endured and you are completely capable of not giving in to it. Here are some of the temptations we are faced with. We are tempted to:
Date a non-Christian
Lie
Cheat
Steal
Covet
Lose too much weight
Drink Alcohol
Do drugs
Lust
Have sex
Worship other idols…etc
There are so many other forms of temptations; however these are some of the biggest temptations we are faced with, and most of these we are faced with every day. Satan’s most effective way to pull you down is by the deadly pull of compromise. Compromising by having just one drink, taking one hit, missing one day of meals, going on one date with a non-Christian, etc… Satan will try to get you to compromise just a little. These are temptations, and giving into them will result in destruction. Here are six reasons why not to give in:
1. It will break the Lord’s heart.
2. It will hinder your relationship with the Lord.
3. It can ruin the greater plan the Lord wants to bless you with.
4. It will destroy your witness.
5. It will lead to sin.
6. It will rob all of your joy.
I pray that you would choose to not give in to the temptations that come your way. Be a woman after God’s own heart and follow Him, not your fleshly desires. Choose what you know is right, not what is easy. I promise it is never worth giving into temptation. James 1:12 says, “Blessed is the man who endures temptation...” You will be blessed because the rest of the verse says, “…for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” Temptation can be endured and the reward is greater than you know! It has been said, “Christians are a lot like tea bags. You don’t know what they are made of until you put them in hot water.” Will you give in to the temptation or will you endure it?
Date a non-Christian
Lie
Cheat
Steal
Covet
Lose too much weight
Drink Alcohol
Do drugs
Lust
Have sex
Worship other idols…etc
There are so many other forms of temptations; however these are some of the biggest temptations we are faced with, and most of these we are faced with every day. Satan’s most effective way to pull you down is by the deadly pull of compromise. Compromising by having just one drink, taking one hit, missing one day of meals, going on one date with a non-Christian, etc… Satan will try to get you to compromise just a little. These are temptations, and giving into them will result in destruction. Here are six reasons why not to give in:
1. It will break the Lord’s heart.
2. It will hinder your relationship with the Lord.
3. It can ruin the greater plan the Lord wants to bless you with.
4. It will destroy your witness.
5. It will lead to sin.
6. It will rob all of your joy.
I pray that you would choose to not give in to the temptations that come your way. Be a woman after God’s own heart and follow Him, not your fleshly desires. Choose what you know is right, not what is easy. I promise it is never worth giving into temptation. James 1:12 says, “Blessed is the man who endures temptation...” You will be blessed because the rest of the verse says, “…for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” Temptation can be endured and the reward is greater than you know! It has been said, “Christians are a lot like tea bags. You don’t know what they are made of until you put them in hot water.” Will you give in to the temptation or will you endure it?
Truth About Purity
In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God … we prove ourselves by our purity.—2 Corinthians 6:4, 6 NLT
Purity simply means being righteous in the sight of God; when He looks at you, He sees you as pure. However, we cannot be made righteous by our own strength or will. We are filthy and sinful. Righteousness for us can only come through the cleansing power and covering of Jesus' blood. God promises believers, "Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as whiteas snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool" (Isaiah 1:18 NLT).
Jesus' blood can make us pure; His cleansing makes us white as snow. It doesn't matter who you are or where you have been. The Bible explains that "as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous" (Romans 5:19).When Adam sinned against the Lord, we were all made sinners; but when Jesus went to the cross, His blood made us righteous and pure in His sight."
So basically I can do whatever I want and as long as I believe that Christ died for me I will be pure?" No.Purity is a byproduct of a right-relationship with Jesus Christ. So you need to: Acknowledge that you are a sinner in need of a Savior, believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sin, surrender to Him, turn from your sin, dig into His Word (the Bible), pray without ceasing, worship Christ for what He has done for you, and purity will be a by-product!
Purity simply means being righteous in the sight of God; when He looks at you, He sees you as pure. However, we cannot be made righteous by our own strength or will. We are filthy and sinful. Righteousness for us can only come through the cleansing power and covering of Jesus' blood. God promises believers, "Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as whiteas snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool" (Isaiah 1:18 NLT).
Jesus' blood can make us pure; His cleansing makes us white as snow. It doesn't matter who you are or where you have been. The Bible explains that "as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous" (Romans 5:19).When Adam sinned against the Lord, we were all made sinners; but when Jesus went to the cross, His blood made us righteous and pure in His sight."
So basically I can do whatever I want and as long as I believe that Christ died for me I will be pure?" No.Purity is a byproduct of a right-relationship with Jesus Christ. So you need to: Acknowledge that you are a sinner in need of a Savior, believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sin, surrender to Him, turn from your sin, dig into His Word (the Bible), pray without ceasing, worship Christ for what He has done for you, and purity will be a by-product!
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