Tag: truth

Are You Stressed?

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Are you stressed?

Of course you are, so am I.

There is a lot to be stressed about.

That is why we need to take a break from over thinking.

That is why we need to take a break from fear.

Take a holiday from doubt.

Take a permanent vacation from unbelief. 

Forget it all and make space to remember who you are in God and who God is in you.

You are God’s child redeemed by the blood of Jesus, embraced within the Father’s heart and filled with the Spirit of love, power and a sound mind for all that you will face.

Hebrews 4:11 says, “So then we must be eager to experience this faith-rest life, so that no one falls short by following the same pattern of doubt and unbelief.”  (TPT)

Break away from stress today and take as much time as you need to rest in the truth that you are loved.

Joy Over Circumstances

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Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!   Philippians 4:4 NIV

Rejoicing is the theme of the book of Philippians, even though the circumstances with which it was written seem to hold no reason to rejoice.

The Apostle Paul is under house arrest in Rome waiting to go before Caesar. He is cut off from his friends and chained to a guard 24 hours a day. He is not comfortable and knows that he will probably be executed.

As Jesus’ followers, joy is not contingent on circumstances, it bursts through in spite of them.

Are you missing out on joy today because you are waiting for your circumstances to warrant it?

Don’t wait one second more, joy is a fruit of the Spirit, not the fruit of your circumstances (Galatians 5:22).

Receive the gift, invite some friends over and throw a joy party!

What Are You Worried About Today?

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What are you worried about today?

“Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down.  It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.”

Philippians 4:6-7 MSG

Worry is not meant to be the center of your life. 

Jesus is. 

Worry will keep you distracted and you will miss the small moments of joy that are sent by God to let you know He loves you. 

His love for you is stronger than worry. 

Love is a stronger way to make decisions than fear. 

Instead of worrying, pray. 

Put it in God’s capable hands. 

Hand over what you are worrying about to Jesus right now. 

Then allow a sense of God’s wholeness to fill your soul.  

Then get busy loving the people He has placed in your life.

What is worry stealing from you today?

The Freedom of Forgiveness

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“Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.” Matthew 6:12 MSG

Forgiveness sets you free to live the adventure that God has for you.

And it allows you to be free from how others impact you.

Forgiveness is a relationship word that begins with our relationship with God and then with our relationships with others.

And at its heart, forgiveness means to let go.

It is daily to keep us right with God and right with others.

Taking stock, taking responsibility.

Receiving grace, giving grace.

Living forgiven, living forgiving.

Everyday.

Jesus lived like this and then said, “follow me.”

What do you need to ask for forgiveness for?

Who do you need to forgive today?

His Treasure

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“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!”  Matthew 13:44-46 NLT

In the above verse, Jesus is telling His own story.

The story of a man who found something so precious, that he happily sold all he had and paid the price for it.

Whatever your day looks like, I pray that today you stop for a minute and realize that your Savior sees you as a priceless pearl worth leaving heaven and all His rights for.

The reason He came to earth as a babe to redeem the treasure that is worth the high price He paid on the Cross- YOU.

You are His treasure.

Never Doubt

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“Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energizes you.“

-Ephesians 3:20 The Passion Translation

To doubt is to be human.

We don’t trust each other and we don’t trust God.

We have been hurt and we have been let down.

We are not sure of so many things in life and doubt gives us a chance to step back and look again before making a decision.

But one thing you never have to doubt is the power of God’s love.

You don’t have to think twice that God can do the impossible in you.

That He can accomplish in you what you can not accomplish in yourself.

When you turn yourself over into His open hands, into His powerful love – He gets to work.

His love transforms, energizes, heals and forgives.

His love recreates, redeems and restores.

His love inspires, empowers and enables you to become who He created you to be.

And in the process you get to see Him do in you and through you more than you could ask or imagine.

This Is Love

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“This is love: He loved us long before we loved him. It was his love, not ours. He proved it by sending his Son to be the pleasing sacrificial offering to take away our sins. Delightfully loved ones, if he loved us with such tremendous love, then ‘loving one another’ should be our way of life!”  1 John 4:10-11 The Passion Translation

We are loved long before we love God.

However, it seems to me that the majority of the time, we are trying to grow our love for God instead of living in the expanse of God’s proven love for us.

We work hard to do the right things instead of simply resting in the righteousness of Jesus, the rightness of Jesus.

He was right with God, He sacrificed Himself so we could be right with God. It’s done.

That is it.

That is love.

When we stop striving to be good enough for God to love and simply receive the unearnable love of God, it feels like a gift.

Because it is.

Are you living loved or striving for it today?

You are accepted right this minute. You are forgiven right this minute. You are delightfully loved right this minute.

Receive the gift of being ridiculously loved right this minute.

Then love someone else in the same way God is loving you: ridiculously, completely and luxuriously.

May the luxurious love of God for you transform the way you see yourself and treat yourself today. Then may it spill over onto everyone else.

New Creation

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“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”  2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV

What does God do in you through Christ? 

He creates “new” in you.

New identity to live from.

New power to live with.

New hope to live for.

New relationship to grow in.

Jesus makes you brand new.

God is presently re-creating you.

Old things have lost their power and new things are rising up.

May you live fully in God’s love for you today and discover the wonder of the new things He is doing in you. 

Your Take

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“Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.  His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”  

2 Peter 1:2-3

All relationships have to be give and take in order to be healthy.

This includes your relationship with God.

Your “give” to God: to journey with Him and hold nothing back.

So what is your “take”?

Your “take” is to partake of God’s promises, dwell in His presence and walk in His power in every area of your life. 

This taking is not a selfish act, it is a trusting one.

How is your relationship with Jesus today?

What do you need to recieve from Him?

What is He asking you to give?

And in Truth

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“..and in truth.”

1 John‬ ‭3‬:‭18‬ NIV

God will never ask you to love someone and lie to them at the same time. 

He does not ask you to avoid the truth or use His love as a cop-out to deal with the truth.

He does not ask you to stay locked in a silent prison of fear while you “act” love out.

Sometimes it is harder to love in truth than it is to love in action. 

Whether that means talking or listening, truth is the only foundation of love. 

Be brave.