Jesus Wants You To Know...
"Though you may not understand how, I am loving you and I am working in your life. Sometimes My ways are a mystery, but My Love for you is not. It is always perfect and always yours. Rest in this wonderful Love. Rather than trying to control things or think through your problems, close your eyes. Curl up in My Presence. Take a deep breath and let My Love surround you."
"I will look to the Lord for help. I will wait for God to save me. My God will hear me."
"I will look to the Lord for help. I will wait for God to save me. My God will hear me."
- Micah 7:7
- "Jesus Today for Kids" by Sarah Young
Knowing Who I Am In Christ
Have you discovered how amazing your life in Christ is meant to be? This list reveals the truth about who God created you to be and how He wants you to live!
▪️ I am complete in Him Who is the head over all rule and authority - of every angelic and earthly power.
Colossians 2:10
πππ π¦ππ’ πππ πππππππ‘π ππ π»ππ, π€βπ ππ π‘βπ βπππ ππ πππ πππππππππππ‘π¦ πππ πππ€ππ.
▪️ I am alive with Christ.
Ephesians 2:5
ππ£ππ π€βππ π€π π€πππ ππππ ππ π‘πππ πππ π ππ , ππππ π’π ππππ£π π‘ππππ‘βππ π€ππ‘β πΆβπππ π‘
(ππ¦ πππππ π¦ππ’ βππ£π ππππ π ππ£ππ),
▪️ I am free from the law of sin and death.
Romans 8:2
πΉππ π‘βπ πππ€ ππ π‘βπ ππππππ‘ ππ ππππ ππ πΆβπππ π‘ π½ππ π’π βππ ππππ ππ ππππ
ππππ π‘βπ πππ€ ππ π ππ πππ ππππ‘β.
▪️ I am far from oppression, and will not live in fear.
Isaiah 54:14
πΌπ πππβπ‘πππ’π πππ π π¦ππ’ π βπππ ππ ππ π‘πππππ βππ; πππ’ π βπππ ππ πππ ππππ ππππππ π πππ,
πππ π¦ππ’ π βπππ πππ‘ ππππ; π΄ππ ππππ π‘πππππ, πππ ππ‘ π βπππ πππ‘ ππππ ππππ π¦ππ’.
▪️ I am born of God, and the evil one does not touch me.
1 John 5:18
ππ ππππ€ π‘βππ‘ π€βπππ£ππ ππ ππππ ππ πΊππ ππππ πππ‘ π ππ; ππ’π‘ βπ π€βπ βππ ππππ ππππ ππ πΊππ
πππππ βπππ πππ, πππ π‘βπ π€πππππ πππ ππππ πππ‘ π‘ππ’πβ βππ.
Application of God's Word: Hebrews 12:3
Verse: Hebrews 12:3
For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself,
lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.
lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.
Application:
When we face hardship and discouragement, it is easy to lose sight of the big picture. But we're not alone; there is help. Many have already made it through life, enduring far more difficult circumstances than we have experienced. Suffering is the training ground for Christian maturity. It develops our patience and makes our final victory sweet.
Do you constantly ask God to clean up every messy are of your life? To brighten every dark corner and to dress up every shabby appearance? That's okay; our concerns are His concerns. But don't expect perfection. The perfect world we crave is for a future glory, not for now. Ease and comfort are not usually His prescription for us, because they will not prepare us for that future glory. No, God will leave us reminders of brokenness to serve as reminders of His grace. Endure those reminders well.
Do you constantly ask God to clean up every messy are of your life? To brighten every dark corner and to dress up every shabby appearance? That's okay; our concerns are His concerns. But don't expect perfection. The perfect world we crave is for a future glory, not for now. Ease and comfort are not usually His prescription for us, because they will not prepare us for that future glory. No, God will leave us reminders of brokenness to serve as reminders of His grace. Endure those reminders well.
Redirecting Your Thoughts
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.”
Psalm 32:8 (ESV)
What do you fixate on? Fixations are the things we constantly think about. They come out in our words, feelings and decisions. They are the focus of the books we read; the podcasts, websites and groups we search out; and the obsessions we pursue. It might be our weight, finances, worries over our kids or fear for our health … but something is absorbing our thoughts.
Here’s the thing: God has given us the power to interrupt this fixation! That’s what the Bible says, and it’s news we desperately need to hear. But how can we interrupt the downward spin?
The answer, at least in part, might lie in counseling, community or fasting - and certainly in prayer. For you and me both, the answer will center on God: His presence, power and grace. Every spiral can be interrupted. No fixation exists outside of God’s long-armed reach. As He says in our key verse, Psalm 32:8, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.”
God has given us power, tools and His Spirit to shift the spiral. When we’re willing to take the initiative in choosing different thoughts and choosing His Truth, some pretty cool stuff starts to unfold.
For one thing, when we think new thoughts, we physically alter our brains. We grow new neurons. We blaze new trails. When we think new thoughts, everything changes for us. What we think about, our brains become. What we fixate on is neurologically who we will be.
So who will you be? Tell me what you’re thinking about, in other words, and I’ll tell you who you are.
So who will you be? Tell me what you’re thinking about, in other words, and I’ll tell you who you are.
If we don’t like where we're going, we have the power to redirect our thoughts, reminding ourselves what is real and true, like a parent might do with a kid when they start losing it: “Kiddo, time out. I love you. You’re OK. You don’t have to panic. You can choose another way. You don’t have to be steamrolled by this.”
To redirect our thoughts, we first have to remind ourselves that change is possible. We have a choice! And the more often we grab hold of that truth, the easier it will be to interrupt our fixations and the downward spiral of our thoughts, leading them somewhere new.
You may find that some thoughts, once interrupted, will simply lose their power. God can do this. Other thoughts, however, may require daily, hourly or moment-by-moment capturing and redirecting. But even those thoughts can be captured and contained (2 Corinthians 10:5).
You can be set free. You can learn to “mind your mind.” The battle for your mind is won as you redirect and refocus on Jesus - every moment, every hour, every day.
You may find that some thoughts, once interrupted, will simply lose their power. God can do this. Other thoughts, however, may require daily, hourly or moment-by-moment capturing and redirecting. But even those thoughts can be captured and contained (2 Corinthians 10:5).
You can be set free. You can learn to “mind your mind.” The battle for your mind is won as you redirect and refocus on Jesus - every moment, every hour, every day.
Jesus, thank You for giving me a choice! Help me parent my mind well, with the same kind of love and compassion You give me. Lead me to choose what is true today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
- Jennie Allen
Provided by "Proverbs 31 Ministries"
Note:
For 100 days of power-packed devotions that will inspire you to stop toxic thinking patterns and remind you of God’s power to set you free, get a copy of Jennie Allen’s new devotional, Stop the Spiral Devotional: 100 Days of Breaking Free from Negative Thoughts.
Provided by "Proverbs 31 Ministries"
Note:
For 100 days of power-packed devotions that will inspire you to stop toxic thinking patterns and remind you of God’s power to set you free, get a copy of Jennie Allen’s new devotional, Stop the Spiral Devotional: 100 Days of Breaking Free from Negative Thoughts.
Jesus Wants You To Know...
"How do you know which voice is Mine? Spend time with Me - quiet time in prayer and praise. Just as good friends know each other’s voices, you will come to know Mine. And I will tell you the right way to go."
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” - Isaiah 30:21 (NIV)
- "Jesus Calling for Kids" by Sarah Young
Anatomy of a Surrender: Idolatry
2 Corinthians
6:14-7:1
14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
“I will dwell in
them
And walk among them.
I will be their God,
And they shall be My people.”
17 Therefore
“Come out from among them
And be separate, says the Lord.
Do not touch what is unclean,
And I will receive you.”
18 “I will be a Father to you,
And you shall be My sons and daughters,
Says the Lord Almighty.”
7 1 Therefore, having
these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the
flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Paul points out the obvious conflict between light and
darkness to urge the Corinthians to disassociate from corrupting influences.
The principle applies to our social relationships, but it also applies to the
struggles within our hearts. If light and darkness do not mix within the
church, which is the temple of God collectively, they do not mix within
ourselves, who as individuals are the building blocks of that temple. We cannot
entertain elements of the kingdom of light and elements of the kingdom of darkness
simultaneously and expect God to bear fruit in us. He wants purity.
That's a problem for every human being who has ever lived.
We aren't pure. Long after we've made that landmark decision to follow Jesus,
we still have internal struggles with sin and obedience. The decision was
right, but the follow-through proves difficult. And it's the follow-through
that makes the difference between unusual blessing and mediocrity. We cannot be
mature Christians until the initial decision to let Jesus be our Lord actually
becomes a way of life. We cannot make a commitment to light while maintaining
our grip on darkness. We must surrender ourselves.
Nearly every Christian has remnants of darkness that cloud
his or her discipleship. We like to call them character flaws or weaknesses of
the flesh. In reality, they are idols. They may range from the alarming
addictions of temper, lusts, and obsessive greed to the relatively minor flaws
of bad diets, time mismanagement, and mild obsessions with hobbies. Regardless
of their severity, they are our battlegrounds. They are points of conflict
between us and our Creator. They test us on whether we will, or will not, obey.
All Christians have had their struggles with idolatry. Many
of those struggles rage today. Some of them rage within your heart. The issue
is not whether they are big or little sins; the issue is whether we trust God
enough to do what He tells us, even in the small things. Choosing our will over
His, at any level, is idolatry.
- William Ullathorne
[An excerpt from "The One Year Walk with God Devotional" by Chris Tiegreen]
I Don’t Like Being Caught off Guard
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.”
Jeremiah 17:7 (NIV)
You know how some people love the thrill of being surprised?
They love surprise parties. They would love to show up at work today and learn they are being whisked away from their desk for a vacation in just a few hours. They would even love to have one of those makeover shows show up at their house with a film crew and a whole new wardrobe.
Surprises feel exciting to them. Like how some people feel when a roller-coaster ride they thought was over suddenly takes off again and starts doing upside-down loops. They throw their hands in the air and embrace the thrill of the unknown.
They call that fun. I don’t.
I can usually manage my dislike of surprises in all the situations I just mentioned. My friends know not to throw me a surprise party. After the initial shock, a surprise vacation or a new wardrobe could be nice. I might even be able to stomach a roller coaster, if I can thoroughly check it out and know its patterned route before I agree to ride it.
But life is different. Life twists and turns and throws loops into places we think will be flat and smooth. Sometimes it catches us off guard.
At the end of the day, I guess that’s why I don’t like to be surprised. Getting caught off guard makes me feel exposed, afraid, and put on the spot before I’ve had any time to think through my response.
But slowly … I’m learning it’s not all bad to be surprised.
That vulnerable place reminds us we have needs beyond what we can manage. Feeling a little exposed and afraid reminds us we need God. Desperately. Completely.
And in that gap between what we think we can manage on our own and what we can’t manage, faith has the opportunity to grow deep roots. Roots that dig down into the hope and joy and peace only God can offer.
I’m challenging myself to remember my faith doesn’t just need to grow big - it needs to grow deep, like the Bible describes in Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NIV):
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit”.
Jesus Wants You To Know...
"Though you may not know the way you should go, you do know the One who is the Way. Stay near Me, and you will not go astray. Because I am sovereign over your life, I actually direct your steps and make them sure even when they feel random to you. Talk with Me about your uncertainty, your fear of making wrong choices. Remember that the most important choice you make moment by moment is to stay in communication with Me."
Application of God's Word: Psalm 1:3
Verse: Psalm 1:3
He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.
Application:
When Scripture says, "In all they do, they prosper," it does not mean immunity to failure or difficulties. Nor is it a guarantee of health, wealth, and happiness. What the Bible means by prosperity is this: When we apply God's wisdom, the fruit (results or by-products) we bear will be good and receive God's approval. Just as a tree soaks up water and bears luscious fruit, we also are to soak up God's Word, producing actions and attitudes that honor God. To achieve anything worthwhile, we must have God's Word in our hearts.For all who take their delight in living by God's Word, there is prosperity. Under the image of a fruitful tree, the psalmist declared that whatever the righteous do will prosper. Two qualifications need to be noted. First, the fruit, that is, the prosperity, is produced in its season and not necessarily immediately after planting. Second, what the godly person does will be controlled by the Law of God (
Music: "Keep Your Head Up"
God says He will never leave us, and God is faithful to His promises.
πβπ πΏππ
π· βπππ πππ ππππ ππππππ π¦ππ’ πππ π€πππ ππ π€ππ‘β π¦ππ’; βπ π€πππ πππ£ππ ππππ£π π¦ππ’ πππ ππππ πππ π¦ππ’. π·π πππ‘ ππ ππππππ; ππ πππ‘ ππ πππ πππ’πππππ. - Deuteronomy 31:8 (NIV)
No matter what you are going through today, May you experience God’s love, God’s peace, and God’s presence. May you be encouraged, knowing that God will never leave you or forsake you. May the name of the Lord be glorified in all of our lives today and always, Amen.
Growing Pains
Me: Hey God.
God: Hello.....
Me: I'm falling apart. Can you put me back together?
God: I would rather not.
Me: Why?
Me: What about all of the pieces of my life that are falling down onto the ground?
God: Let them stay there for a while. They fell off for a reason. Take some time and decide if you need any of those pieces back.
Me: You don't understand! I'm breaking down!
God: No - you don't understand. You are breaking through. What you are feeling are just growing pains. You are shedding the things and the people in your life that are holding you back. You aren't falling apart. You are falling into place. Relax. Take some deep breaths and allow those things you don't need anymore to fall off of you. Quit holding onto the pieces that don't fit you anymore. Let them fall off. Let them go.
Me: Once I start doing that, what will be left of me?
God: Only the very best pieces of you.
Me: I'm scared of changing.
God: I keep telling you - YOU AREN'T CHANGING!! YOU ARE BECOMING!
Me: Becoming who?
God: Becoming who I created you to be! A person of light and love and charity and hope and courage and joy and mercy and grace and compassion. I made you for more than the shallow pieces you have decided to adorn yourself with that you cling to with such greed and fear. Let those things fall off of you. I love you! Don't change! ... Become who I made you to be. I'm going to keep telling you this until you remember it.
Me: There goes another piece.
God: Yep. Let it be.
Me: So ... I'm not broken?
God: Of course Not! - but you are breaking like the dawn. It's a new day. Become!!!
- John Roedel
The "True You"
Here’s a truth you need to embrace if you’re ever going to change: You do what you do because of what you think of you. One more time: You do what you do because of what you think of you.
God says in Proverbs 23:7 (NASB), “For as he thinks within himself, so he is.”
Who you think you are drives your behavior. So it’s critically important for you to know who you are.
Who are you?
We tend to define ourselves by what we believe influential people in our lives think about us. Psychologists call it the “looking-glass self.” We see ourselves through the eyes of others. We let those people define us, but this is not who we are.
You are not what your parent, your coach, your teacher, your grandparent, or the bully at school said you were or made you feel.
We can also define ourselves by our worst sins or habits. So you might think, I’m overweight, or I’m too skinny, or I’m an addict, I’m lazy, or I’m a loser. No. That’s not who you are, but we’re all tempted to define ourselves by the worst in us.
The Apostle Paul shares the key to transformation - real, lasting, eternal change. In Romans 12:2 NLT, he says:
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. ... Romans 12:2 (NLT)
Paul says you’ll experience transformation not by changing what you do but “by changing the way you think.”
God knew you before you were born. He made you. God knows your worst and your best. In fact, the One who knows your worst loves you best. God defines your true you. So who does God say you are? If you’re in Christ, you are forgiven. You’re loved. You’re accepted. You’re chosen. You’re an ambassador of the Most High God.
That is who you are. God said so. You may fear you’ve screwed everything up, but the depth of your sin is not greater than God’s power to forgive.
If you’ve believed a lie about yourself for a long time, embracing God’s truth about you won’t be easy. When you discover what’s true about you, I encourage you to pray about it and repeat it. Ask God every day to help you believe the truth about you.
True and lasting change doesn’t come from self-driven, do-your-best behavior modification. You change by God-empowered spiritual transformation, which happens when you embrace your true God-given identity.
- Pastor Craig Groeschel
[An excerpt from reading plan entitled "The Power of Change"]
Romans 7:14-25
[New International Version]
We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do - this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do - this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.