Praying Through Ephesians Chapter 4

Father I thank you for your Word, all of it!  Your Word is my truth!  Your Word is my peace!  I thank you that you have taken me through it nice and slow this year.  I thank you for speaking to my heart and my mind daily.  Your presence brings such tender care and mercy.  I thank you today for your Word in Ephesians.  As I pray through your Word in Ephesians 4, I ask that you would lead me in sharing.  I thank you that as I have prayed through your Word this morning, with a very heavy heart, I could feel your presence like a blanket ♥️ Father I thank you that you have never failed me and you certainly won’t start now.  Your faithfulness is the most beautiful thing I know.  

Ephesians 4   

Father I thank you that I have been called by you, although I still have days when I feel unsure about my calling, I know that your Word says in Isaiah 43 I am called, I am redeemed, I am yours.  V1 I ask Father that you would help me lead a life worthy of my calling and that you would show me exactly what that looks like.  My heart longs to please you above everything else.  V2 Father I ask you to keep me humble and gentle.  Help me everyday to be patient with others and to make allowance for faults and disappointments because of your great love.  Father I thank you, that you and my family and my friends faithfully make allowance for my faults and disappointments.  You have blessed me so!  You have loved me so, let me love others in a way that honors you.  V3 Father I ask that you would help me, help all of us, to make great effort to keep ourselves united in Spirit, bind us together with peace.  V4 Father I believe your Word and your Word says, there is one body and one spirit and we are called to one glorious hope for the future.  I believe your Word as it says, there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and you are the Father of all.  V6 You are over all, in all, and living through all.  V7 Father I thank you that you are the head and we are your body and I thank you that you have given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of your Son.  V8 Your Word says, when Christ ascended to the heights, he lead a crowd of captives and gave gifts to your people.  Your Word says Christ ascended, which clearly means he descended to our lowly world.  V10 Christ who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.  V11 Father I thank you that in Christ and all that he did he has made us worthy to receive these gifts.  V11 Now here are the gifts Christ has given the church (to us his body): the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.  Father their responsibility, our responsibility, is to equip your people to do your work and to build up the church.  Father I thank you for everyone who is walking out their calling with grace.  Again I ask that you would help me walk out mine with love and grace.  V13 Father I ask that you would keep your body united in your will and let us continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of your Son that we grow fully mature in you.  Let us measure up to the full and complete standard of Christ.  Father help me, help us, to fully understand what that even looks like.  V14 Father grow us up!  Let us not be tossed about or blown by any wind of new teaching that is not from you.  Let us cling to your Word and its truth!  V15 Let us always speak your truth in love and let us grow in every way more like Christ, who is the head of us, your body.  V16 Father thank you that Christ Jesus makes the whole body fit together perfectly!  Thank you that as you help each of us do our part, the whole body will grow healthy and strong and stay full of love.  Thank you Father for Jesus, for his sacrifice, for his love, for your love.  Thank you for binding us together in this perfect love.  Thank you again for your Word, for your Son, for your gifts, for your body, for binding us all together in you.  Father I love you with my whole heart!  I give you this day, I give you my life, I give you my heart and mind.  Lead me please in every step I take today.  Let me love the way you created me to love,  let all of us love like you!  Father thank you for gifts to give away and let me, let all of us, lean in to you for all that we need this day to do your will.  Father I thank you again for Jesus and I ask all of this in his precious name, amen ♥️ 

One Very Long Book Review

I love reading so much!  I don’t always have tons of time for it, but when I do I soak in as much as I can.  I love fiction.  I love the way you can get lost in another time, another world.  Sometimes I get so in that I almost forget these people are not my friends & family.  Seriously, I have been so sucked in that I have almost prayed for characters in books 😂 that’s when you know it’s a really great story! I also really love doing Bible Studies and reading books full of wisdom & advice, and I really, really love reading the Bible!  How about you guys?  Readers or no?  If you are a reader, I would love for you to share your recommendations in the comments so I can add to my already very long list of books to read 😆

As I was saying, I really do love to read, so this summer with an extended vacation time I decided it was a good idea to start and try to finish 5 different books, along with my daily Bible reading.  Kind of ridiculous I know, but I just got caught up 😆.  Anyway, I read some good stuff so I thought I’d share it here with you.  I had started reading Where The Crawdads Sing at the gym before summer hit.  I love to read on the treadmill because if you can find something that sucks you in the time just flies by!  Crawdads definitely did that for me!  The only problem with that one is that there were times when I was reading that tears flowed, and I’m pretty sure my fellow gym goers probably thought I was a weirdo.  I took that one with me to the beach and finished it there, just in time to catch the movie.  It was a good one, sad, but very good!  

Next I started four more, two books (one advice & one fiction), one study, along with my Optivia book.  Yes, I did Optivia, but that is another story for another time.  I have to be honest and admit I am not quite done with that book.  It holds a ton of really good information and advice in its over 500, very small print pages.  I’ve actually made it to page 472, but when I read it my eyes get super heavy after about two pages and have to put it down and go to sleep 😴  Thankfully I had the other three!  I read, Fear Is Not The Boss of Me by Jennifer Allwood and Orphan Beach by Laura Thomas. I also started a Bible Study by Christine Caine called 20/20.  All three were amazing in their on way.  Fear Is Not The Boss Of Me is chock-full of great advice, humor, and encouragement.  It’s an easy read and I love that Jennifer Allwood talks to you like you’re one of her girls friends over for coffee.  I definitely give it a 10 out of 10 😊. Orphan Beach was the second Christian Fiction book that I’ve read and it was so good!  It had drama, sadness, love, happy, all the things you want in a book.  It was written in a way that I thought she had jumped into my life with my friends and family and told our tale.  The characters in this book prayed together and for each other and encouraged each other with God’s Word.  I had never read a book with this kind of content and I loved it so much!  It was like the real life of a believer written in a made up, very exciting story.  I also give it a 10 out of 10!  

And  finally, we have Christine’s study 20/20.  I just finished it up today.  Along with that study, for the last month I have also been reading A Million Little Ways by Emily Freeman for the 2nd time and doing a book club to go with it, but I’ll save that review for another day 😂 Back to 20/20, like I said, I just finished it this morning and I really want to recommend it!  Not only recommend it, but it’s really the whole reason for this blog post.  Seen, Chosen, Sent, that is the message of her study.  Christine has been seen, chosen, sent in a mighty way, that’s for sure, but I have been too, and so have you!  If you are a believer like me, in the wonder working power of Jesus, we are sent!  We are called, we are chosen and we have work to do!  We who know Jesus, know him because someone took the time to share him with us, right?  So it is up to us to carry on!  Christine talks in the last video about watching the Olympics and the relay races and the importance of passing the baton to the next racer.  There is a beautiful exchange that happens in the passing of the baton, and without it there’s no finish.  Do you have a Jesus story?  If so, it’s time to pass it on!  If you haven’t had a Jesus story yet, today could be the day!  I would love to tell you all that I know!  I would love to tell you my story, and if you have a Jesus story please share it in the comments.  It would make my heart so happy for this page to be a place of Jesus stories!  Redemption stories!  Set free stories!  

We really are running a race guys!  We really do have a part to play.  God’s Word (which I believe with my whole heart) says in Hebrews 12:1 - Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up.  And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us!  

We are truly in a race of time and we have the best trainer in the world available to us!  Let us seek Him, Know Him, love Him and be loved by Him, and then let us pass that baton to the next generation so they can pass it to the next and they can pass it to the next and so on!  It’s time guys, to tell our story and to share His Good News and in telling our story, let us live to make HIStory known to the world 🌎♥️

The Lord Is Good & Greatly To Be Praised

I am busting at the seams today!  I have seen the Lord’s faithfulness this week in the most precious ways and I just wanted to share it, hoping it can be an encouragement to you as well.

Monday night I had dinner with a couple of my besties and we ate and talked and caught up on life, as it had been a few weeks since we had gotten together.  As the conversation with us often does, we began to talk about God and how awesome he is : ) Trust me when I say, he really is!  Both of my sweet friends have very recent answers to prayers that we have all been praying over.  The really cool thing is, this time the prayers got answered in the exact ways we had hoped. Of course as any praying person knows, it definitely does not always happen this way, but even when it doesn’t, I promise his way is better.

So today, as I was praying this morning ( and just after reading chapter 13 of a really incredible book by Jennifer Allwood, called Fear Is Not The Boss Of You) I went outside to listen to the Father for a bit.  It was gorgeous outside by the way, temperature turning to cool fall, birds singing so naturally & joyfully.  As I sat there I felt the Lord put something on my heart for a friend so I came in and texted her.  Well low & behold, guess what?!?!  She had huge answers to things we’ve been praying as well!  She and her family have been dealing with some really heavy stuff and to see this glimpse of hope was such a beautiful thing this morning!  I began to cry because I was just really overwhelmed for the 1,000,000th time by the goodness of God ♥️ 

All week long God has been very gracious with showing me his kindness.  It doesn’t always go like that.  He is ALWAYS KIND, but sometimes it’s harder to see.

Life is hard!  Really, really hard sometimes!!  Trust me when I say, sometimes I have days when I am so doubtful, unsteady and flat out ready to hop off this ole planet, but if I hang in there on those days and really push into the Father, He is ALWAYS faithful to bring me back to peace.

He is for us!  He is ALWAYS for us!  He made us in our mamas belly’s, we are his masterpiece and he has good plans for us (Ephesians 2:10) and his plans can be trusted!

If you have prayers that seem to be unanswered I am sorry.  I promise you, I know how hard that is because I have some like that too, but I hope with all my heart that you are seeing him move in other ways, ways that do increase your faith.  I hope and pray this morning that you can feel his presence and sense that he is with you.  If you haven’t felt that before I am joining my faith with you now that you will know his presence soon.  He is with us, we need only be still and know (Psalm 46:10).

I am no expert, but I have seen his faithfulness over & over.  I believe His Word and His Word says he will never leave me.  I have seen that promise proven way more times than I can count!  

I don’t mean to be bossy here, but I am going to beg you to give Him a try today if you haven’t before or let me just encourage you if it’s been awhile since you’ve seen him answer the way you want him to.  Hang in there, get in His Word, let Him love up on you and trust him through the unanswered prayers.  He is faithful and He does love you and you can talk to him right where you are in this moment!  Try it today and please reach out if you’re not sure how to get started.  Like I said I am no expert, but I can share with you what this looks like for me and you can give it a try : )

Romans 2:11 says, “For God does not show favoritism.” - Guys, He loves us, no one better than the other, He loves you and He loves me!  

Jeremiah 29:13 says, “If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.”

Deuteronomy 4:29 says, “But from there you will search again for the Lord your God.  And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him.”

I promise you, He wants to talk to us!  His Word says this over and over!

John 10:27  “My sheep know my voice; I know them and they follow me.”

Isaiah 30:21 “And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or turn to the left.”

Luke 11:28  “But he said, “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

Hebrews 3:15 As it is said, “today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart.”

These are just a few, there are so many more.  He really does want to speak to your heart, He really does hear your voice and not just your voice, but your heart wishes also.  He made you, He knows you better than anyone else and He wants to love up on you!

I encourage you today, open your heart to hear His voice, I promise it will be the best decision you ever make ♥️

Hold Fast To Hope!

I have the heaviest heart this morning. Yesterday was even worse, but today, as I went to Hebrews 2, and began to read, God began to take me all over His Word to remind me that our hope is found in Him.  I know so many families personally, who are going through some of the hardest things they will ever have to face.  Heartbreak no one should have to endure.  I don’t pretend to understand just how hard it must be, but my heart is heavy for them this morning.  I am so very thankful for the faithfulness of the Father I have seen in my life, and I believe with all of my heart that He will take them through these times as He has taken me through mine.  I am praying this morning that they will feel His presence like never before.  I am praying and asking the Father to use me and others to surround these families with His love, His Peace and His hope.  Show us Father, real ways that we can help.

I want to share with you now all the verses He took me to this morning.  I share them with you because I believe that His truth can bring healing like nothing else.  I know it has for me.

Let me first share this reminder and one of my very favorite verses from John 1:14…

“So the Word became human and made his home among us.  He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only son.”

** Jesus came to earth, God in flesh, to live and show us love in a real and tangible way.  He is with us.  He suffered, greatly, that in His suffering we could know him.  He fully knows what we are going through and he is with us.  With his resurrection, he conquered death so that in him we could live forever.  In our suffering we can cling tightly to this hope! ♥️

In Hebrews 10:23 it says this…

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.”

** Jesus is our hope!

And then in Hebrews 2:14…

“Because God’s children are human beings-made of flesh and blood-the Son also became flesh and blood.  For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death.”

**Jesus gives us the power to be free!  He bought our freedom with His very life!

The Word also says in Hebrews 12:1&2 (these are some of my very favorites too)…

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up.  And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.  We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.  Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame.  Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”

And one more, Hebrews 7:25…

“Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him.  He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.”

** Jesus knows your story, your whole story.  He is for you, he is with you and he loves you! He is seated at the right hand of the Father where he, himself, makes intercession for you!  

In all of this reading I was reminded that our story fits into HIStory.  Our story is full of twists and turns, heartache and joy, suffering and peace, but I believe with all that I am that He can and will use all of it for our good and His glory (Roman’s 8:28).  My heart is still heavy for the loss of those suffering in this moment, but my prayer is that they will be filled to overflowing with the presence of the one who loves them so.  Jesus your Word says that our help comes from you, the maker of heaven and earth (Psalm 121:2).  Father please be with all those who are desperately hurting this morning and need your help; there are so many.  In all the uncertainty and fear that will come their way I pray they will seek you and find you faithful.  You promise in Jeremiah 29:13 and Matthew 7:7 and James 4:8 that when we seek you we will find you, when we draw close to you, you will draw close to us.  Father thank you that I can trust you to hear my prayers this morning and hear their prayers this morning.  Father give them the courage to reach out to you and in doing so find the most faithful love they will ever know  ♥️ 

5/31/22

Bind My Wandering Heart To Thee ♥️

Good morning friends!  I am still making my way through the Psalms and yesterday I read a verse I don’t remember reading before that really spoke to my heart.  I was still thinking about it this morning so I thought I would share it with you.

Psalm 118:27  The Lord is God, shining upon us.  Take the sacrifice and bind it with cords on the altar.  V28 You are my God, and I will praise you!  You are my God, and I will exalt you!

I am not sure that the intended meaning of this verse goes with my thoughts on this verse, but I believe my thoughts are from the Father none the less.  When I read this verse I really felt like the Father was just sweetly reminding me, as He often does, to turn my thoughts to Him and keep them there.  So many things come our way in a day, whether it be troubles and worries, or just simply too much to accomplish.  I know I have days that I am so overwhelmed I just want to cry, and then there are days when all is well and I don’t have a worry in the world.  In all these times, worried to death or worry free, I find that drawing close to Jesus, in asking for help or praising his goodness, I find my perfect peace.  In all things, if we will stay close to the Father and keep our hearts fully surrendered, we will be most aware of his presence and his goodness.

Jesus, God in flesh, came to earth fully man, yet one with the Father, and lived a perfect life.  He laid his fully surrendered life on the altar, to become our forever perfect sacrifice.  In this he invited us to the very throne of God (Hebrews 4:16).  In keeping our hearts and minds fixed on Jesus, the most beautiful sacrifice ever made, we bind ourselves to his altar of grace.  

As we come to the altar and lay down our sins, our failures, our worries and our fears,  let us put thoughts of ourselves down and allow God to consume them in his Holy fire.  In the ashes that are left, we will find forgiveness, freedom, grace and an all consuming love.  

Father, everyday, bind our wandering hearts to yours ♥️♥️

Praying Through Psalm 71

Hey guys, I shared a video awhile back that talked about God’s Word, praying God’s Word and pouring your heart out.  I talked about getting into God’s Word and how important I believe that is.  I thought maybe today I would show you an example of how I do this.  I know that we are not to change God’s Word for any reason and that is not my intention in doing this, so please know that up front.  However, I do believe we can use God’s Word as a guide to prayer.  I have done this from time to time over the years, but it was not until I read Beth Moore’s book, Praying God’s Word, that I really started doing this often.  So when I decided to read the Bible again this year, but instead go book by book, I thought this might be a great addition to my reading.  So as I read, I journal my prayers to go along with what I am reading.  Right now I am in the Psalms and I cannot tell you how many times God has already spoken straight to my heart and prayers through His Word.  The Psalms are tricky for me because David talks a lot about his enemies and what he would have God do to them.  I don’t feel like I have any earthly enemies, praise you Father for that, but I know that we all have spiritual enemies and they fight against us regularly (Ephesians 6).  This is one of the many reason we need to know God’s Word and what it says, so that we can fight these battles through Him.  We have been given all we need to battle the enemy of this world and any he would use against us!  In Ephesians, we are given armor to protect us.  So I encourage you again today to get in His Word, know His Word and in knowing His Word you will find Him.  Our God, Jesus our Savior and the Holy Spirit are One!  One who deeply loves us, One who is always for us and One who wants to walk in the closest relationship with us.  I pray right now that you will lean into to Him today ♥️ 

My prayer through Psalm 71

Father I thank you that we can come to you for protection.  I thank you that you do what is right.  Father I thank you that you turn your ear to listen to me and you have set me free.  Father you are my rock and my safety and I can hide in you.  You give the order to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress!  I thank you Father for I have always known this to be true ♥️ V5 O Lord, my Father you alone are my hope.  I have trusted you Lord since childhood.  Yes, you have been with me from birth.  Father I thank you that I truly know this!  I don’t remember a single day that you didn’t love me and this overwhelms my heart ♥️ V6 Yes, you have been with me since birth; from my mother’s womb you have cared for me.  No wonder I am always praising you.  V7 Father (let) my life be an example to many because you have been my strength and protection.  V8 Let me never stop praising you, let me declare your glory all day long!  V9 Father now, in my old age, I thank you that you will not set me aside.  You will not abandon me when my strength fails.  I thank you that you have never left me and your Word says you never will (Hebrews 13:5) V12 Father don’t stay away, thank you that you hurry to help us.  Father we all need your help every single day.  You are our hope!  V14 Father let me praise you more and more, for you are worthy of so much praise!  Let me tell everyone about your righteousness.  Let me proclaim your saving power all day long.  Even though I am not skilled with words, I pray you will use me. V16 I will praise you for your mighty deeds, O Sovereign Lord.  I will tell everyone that you alone are just.  V17 Father I thank you that you have taught me from my earliest childhood, let me constantly tell others about the wonderful things you do.  V18 Father now that I am old and gray, I thank you because I know you will not abandon me.  Let me proclaim your mighty miracles to all who come after me.  Father let us learn to pray and believe and see your mighty miracles.  You are a God who still does miraculous things.  V19 Your righteousness reaches to the highest heavens, you are beyond my understanding!  You do such wonderful things!  Father help us to trust you even when we don’t see you or understand your ways, for no one can compare to you!  V23 Father I will sing praises to you.  I will shout for joy and sing your praises for you have ransomed me.  V24 I will tell about your righteous deeds all day long.  Thank you Father for this day and for time in your Word.  I love you with all of my heart and I pray all of this in the beautiful name of your son Jesus, amen ♥️

Ephesians 6:10-18 NLT

A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

Grace & Truth

Condemnation, why does it comes so easily, so naturally? 

I want to come back to sin & forgiveness again today, with a true life confession.

A couple of Sundays ago, I did the stupidest thing.  I overreacted and kind of showed my bottom.  The day started out so sweet, actually my whole week had been really nice.  I woke up that morning and spent some time with Jesus, he had really loved up on me.  He spoke to me through his Word and let me know He sees me and He knows me.  I jumped on FB and shared that with a group of friends.  I just wanted to let them know they were heard and known and loved too.  While I was getting ready that morning I was thinking about my faith and all that it meant to me.  When we got to church our pastor preached about that very thing, and again I felt really loved and seen and heard.  The message was so good, Pastor Steve spoke about faith and all that it means.  He talked about the  fruit of the spirit, found in Galatians 5 (peace, joy, love, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control) and about walking out your faith and what that looks like.  Then, as we were leaving, we saw some of our friends and I was so happy to see them.  We got to talk and catch up and love on each other.  Again, it was just such a nice day and my heart felt so happy.  So, what happened next?  Well I’ll tell you.  We left church and everything pretty much went out the window.  My head starting hurting. We went to a local restaurant and there was a terrible wait and I just got grumpy. Maybe it was hangry, I’m not sure, but the trouble lies in how I acted next.  I wasn’t nice to the hostess!  She did several things that really bothered me, and I just acted kind of stupid really.  It wasn’t outrageous, I didn’t scream or yell, but I certainly didn’t act nice or show grace.  After we finally sat down I knew I should’ve apologized, but I didn’t. It was just kind of a day ruined for sure.  All because I chose to act ugly instead of showing love.  So why am I sharing all this?  Well, I feel like there are probably a few of you out there that have lost your cool a time or two also.  And here’s the thing, it’s not good!  It makes you look like a fool.  It’s embarrassing.  It was embarrassing for my family.  It was a bad example to my family, just all bad really.  I felt pretty rotten the rest of the day and then the next day when I woke up to do my quiet time, I couldn’t even pray. Condemnation hit me so hard!  I over thought it to death.  My death, death to my joy, death to my peace.  I was beating myself up so bad that I couldn’t even pray, but here’s the thing, that’s when we need to pray the most.  God’s Word says in Romans, that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ.  I didn’t remember that verse in the moment, but I did go to my Bible, because I always find my peace there.  I have been praying through Psalms the last few weeks so I opened my Bible to the place I had left off the day before.  Psalm 24:1  “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.  The world and all its people belong to him.”  Man, that hit me so hard!  I felt like the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart, He said, it’s not’s important that you were embarrassed or that you were a poor example, that is pride. Here’s what I want you to get. That hostess belongs to me. She’s a real person, made in my image, a girl doing her job, and she did not deserve the way you acted.  I have shown you so much love and grace, but what good is it if you don’t show it to others?  I am crying as I write this because even as I do He is still speaking to my heart.  He just reminded me of his words in 1 Corinthians 13:1-8 “If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!”  So, here’s the thing, is the way I acted yesterday okay?  Absolutely not. I messed up and I am still not sure what to do about it.  I would definitely like to apologize, and so wish I would have before I left that restaurant.  I just really want to say I’m sorry, although I fully realize that doesn’t undo what I did.  I can definitely do better next time, and I pray that I will, but what I really want to share in telling you this long story is this: when we mess up and we definitely will, we don’t have to beat ourselves up for days. That is a waste of the precious time we have been given.  Our God is a God of grace and truth!  His grace says, when you mess up I see you and I still love you, and His truth says, when you mess up it hurts others and it hurts me, don’t do it!  Truth and grace also say, He actually died so we could know forgiveness.  He died for that hostess and he died for me.  He died so that we didn’t have to sit long in our sorrow, so that we didn’t have to spend hours in shame.  He definitely doesn’t want us to hurt others, but when we do, he wants us to realize what we’ve done, be truly sorry and do better the next time!  He loves that hostess and He loves me and He’s good and He’s great and He’s gracious, and even when we act our worst He loves us so much!  He is the God who corrects, but He is the God who teaches and loves.  He is for us and he truly sees us and knows us.  He knows when we’re bad and he knows when we are trying so hard to be good and do right, and He loves us fully in both of those places.

So Father today I thank you for your truth, for your Word, for forgiveness and for grace.  I thank you for mercy and for second and third and fourth chances.  I give you this day and pray that in it, my heart and my actions would please you.  Let me walk in the grace and love I have been given and let me fully rely on you to show me how.   Thank you Father for the way you love us, the way you correct us and the way you encourage us to keep moving forward.  I thank you for listening and letting me pour my heart out and most of all, I thank you for Jesus, my savior and redeemer.  I pray all of this in His name, amen ♥️

Salvation, Sin & Forgiveness

Our sins are forgiven.  What does that mean exactly?  Or when someone says, “are you saved?”  Saved from what?  If you didn’t grow up in the south, or around church going folks, you may wonder what on earth “saved” means.

I would love to share what it means to me.

First, let’s see what the dictionary has to say about salvation.

Salvation-1a: deliverance from the power and effects of sin

Saved-verb-1a: to deliver from sin 1b: to rescue or deliver from danger or harm 1c: to preserve or guard from injury, destruction, or loss

What is sin exactly?  Again, let’s look to the dictionary.

Sin-1a: an offense against religious or moral law 1b: an action that is or is felt to be highly reprehensible 1c: an often serious shortcoming 2a: transgression of the law of God 2b: a vitiated (made faulty or defective, to be made ineffective) state of human nature in which the self is estranged from God

So what does this look like?  What does this mean?  What is sin?  What does it mean to receive salvation and forgiveness of sins?

Let me start with the Bible.  I believe the Bible is the Word of God, a beautiful book that gives instruction for life.

Hebrews 4:12-13 (ESV) says, “For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and of marrow and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.  And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account.”  

The Message translation says it this way, “God means what he says.  What he says goes.  His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey.  Nothing and no one is impervious to God’s Word.  We can’t get away from it-no matter what.”

In the TPT it reads this way - “For we have the living Word of God, which is full of energy, like a two mouthed sword it will even penetrate to the very core of our being where soul and spirit, bone and marrow meet!  It interprets and reveals the true thoughts and secret motives of our hearts.  There is not one person who can hide their thoughts from God, for nothing that we do remains a secret, and nothing created is concealed, but everything is exposed and defenseless before his eyes, to whom we must render an account.”

The Bible speaks very clearly  about salvation, sin and forgiveness.

Acts 4:12

There is salvation in no one else!  God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.

* Salvation is necessary and can only come from God.

2 Timothy 1:9

For God saved us and called us to live a holy life.  He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time-to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.

* Salvation is God’s plan.

Acts 2:21

But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

* Salvation is an invitation to all.

Romans 10:10

For it is believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.

Colossians 1:19-20

For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself.  He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.

Isaiah 53:5

But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.

Romans 6:23 

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ.

1 John 1:8-10

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 

* Salvation is a free gift, given by God, through the death and resurrection of Jesus.  All we have to do is believe in our heart that Jesus came and lived a sinless life among us, he shed his blood on a cross, he was buried and raised to life, and now through Him we can live forever with Him.

So now, what does this mean to me?  Let me tell you a bit of my story in HIStory.  I grew up in a family where salvation was a familiar word.  My mom’s Dad was a pastor and he loved Jesus with his whole heart, mind and soul.  I think his family would say his only fault was that he loved Jesus more than anyone, and is that really even a fault?  He prayed over us daily, so much so that the carpet by his bed was worn.  Just thinking about that overwhelms me.  Was he perfect?  I am sure he couldn’t have been, as the the Bible says in Romans 3:23, “we have all sinned and fallen short of his glory.”  I will tell you this though, the way he lived was so much like the Jesus I know, and I pray that I can learn to live that way too.  My family was a very mixed bunch, with some loving Jesus and living a life to please him, and some running as fast and hard as they could from that life.  I saw many colors of life in our bunch.  I saw sweet and kind and mean and nasty.  I saw forgiveness and I saw unforgiveness.  I saw judgement and I saw grace.  Our family has gone through trials and we’ve all come out on the other side.  We have known what is it like to live in peace and to live without it.  We are not perfect, but we are all still together and I am so thankful for this.

Growing up in this family and being introduced to Jesus at such a young age I have always known the Father’s love.  I really can’t remember a day without him.  Because I grew up this way I don’t really remember the day when I officially accepted him as Lord of my life, but I do very clearly remember the day I confessed that I had, before a church full of people.  In that church my precious grandfather baptized me and took me under that water that washes clean.  I was really young and not sure I fully realized at all what that meant, but I believe my life was forever changed in that moment.

As life went on, I grew and lived and did so many things that in my heart I knew were not right.  I believe that moment of knowing God and confessing my faith in him is what told my heart what was right and wrong for me.  The Bible says in James 4:17 “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him/her it is sin.”

So to me Sin is a knowing in your heart, the heart you’ve given to Christ, what is right for you and what is wrong.  I can tell you too that what the Bible says is right and wrong is coming from a God who knows us well and loves us so.  He really does know what is best for us!  When we meet Jesus and invite him into our lives he comes in spirit to live inside our hearts, and when he does he brings conviction.  When he lives in our heart we can know how he’d have us live.  Can we live a perfect life?  The Bible says, no.  Again, in Romans it says, “we have have all sinned and fallen short of his glory.”  But, can we have salvation as sinners?  Yes.  Should we go on living in sin, without repentance?  No.  The Bible also says in Romans 6:14-16 (in Christ) “Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law.  Instead, you live in freedom under God’s grace.  Well then, since God’s grace has  set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning?  Of course not!  Don’t you realize that you become a slave to whatever you choose to obey?  You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.” 

SO what does this mean?  It means we can choose life!  We can choose to live in Christ and for Christ.  In Christ we can know salvation, in Christ we can know freedom, and in freedom we can know peace.  

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 says, “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses.  Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make.  Oh that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!  You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him.  This is the key to your life.  And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

Father let us choose life this day.  Let us walk in forgiveness, received and given.  Let us seek you first and walk in obedience to you daily.  Let us choose you to be ours as you have chosen us to be yours.  In the beautiful name of your son I pray, amen ♥️

Thank you again for letting me share with you and pour out my heart.  If you have never known Jesus and you would like to please feel free to reach out.  I’d love nothing more than to introduce you to the greatest love you will ever know.