20 For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. 21 For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better
Philippians 1:20-21
so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Colossians 1:10
How am I living for Christ? Do I emulate Him in all I say and do at work?
Is He being magnified in my every day life?
I won’t bow to idols, I’ll stand strong and worship You And if it puts me in the fire, I’ll rejoice ’cause You’re there too I won’t be formed by feelings, I hold fast to what is true If the cross brings transformation then I’ll be crucified with You ‘Cause death is just the doorway into resurrection life And if I join You in Your suffering, then I’ll join You when You rise And when You return in glory with all the angels and the saints My heart will still be singing, my song will be the same
I’m in the process of writing that book I mentioned I wanted to write 3 years ago, LOL. I’ve got two close friends who are going to keep me accountable and are going to be praying for me as I embark on this journey.
Whether or not it gets published, at least I will have the satisfaction that I wrote a book.
If you want to write, you can Fear stops most people from writing, not lack of talent. Who am I? What right have I to speak? Who will listen to me? You are a human being with a unique story to tell. You have every right.
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Colossians 3:12-14
Forgiveness can be hard. I know this. I have struggled with this. We all have at one point or another. But we are required to forgive! Just as the Lord forgave us we are required to forgive.
The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.[g]
23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold[h] was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.[i] He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’
30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
Matthew 18:21-35
God freely forgives us and gives us eternal life. But he also expects us to extend that same mercy to others, with strict warnings to us if we don’t. A life of judgement, condemnation and unforgiveness is a prison.
Refusing to forgive someone puts us in prison! A prison full of anger and bitterness! We must be willing to forgive! To let go of the anger and bitterness and move forward.
“When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free.” Catherine Ponder
Yes, I know. Some hurts are hard to move on from. But the longer a person stays unwilling to forgive, the longer it will control us. And the longer it controls us, the longer the anger and bitterness remain, causing us to hurt others.
And as the saying goes, “Hurt people HURT people!” We tend to take the hurt we’ve been dealt and lash out towards others. Sometimes these people haven’t even done anything to us but they happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Holding a grudge toward the person who hurt you just isn’t right. It isn’t what God wants from us. He wants us to “let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice. And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another even as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:31:32)
Forgive. It really will set you free.
Forgive. God forgave you.
35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
Every year the denomination I’m affiliated with has a National Convention. I’ve had the pleasure of serving as an intern for a couple years in college and absolutely enjoyed it.
I haven’t been in years due to the different sites being too far to travel. But next year it is going to be held in Birmingham and while it’s an 11 hour drive I’m determined to make it there.
The year following Birmingham it will be held in Raleigh, NC. That’s only a 3 hour drive so I’m definitely going to that one. 🙂 🙂 🙂
While I wasn’t able to go this year (it was in Memphis) the wonderful tech people live streamed the services. I watched each day this week and it was such a blessing.
“Christ be magnified, Let His praise arise. Christ be magnified in me. “
Cody Carnes
The services are always such a blessing but tonight’s was especially so.
I sure do love my Lord and Savior. He was definitely in each of the services this week.
I want people to see Jesus in me! He saved my life and he can save yours!
“Just because you don’t understand it doesn’t mean it isn’t so.” Lemony Snicket
I cannot stand the words “Get over it”. All of us are under such pressure to put our problems in the past tense. Slow down. Don’t allow other to hurry your healing. It is a process, one that may take years, occasionally, even a lifetime – and that’s OK.” Beau Taplin
“Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and also more hard to bear. The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain increases the burden: it is easier to say “My tooth is aching” than to say “My heart is broken.” ― C.S. Lewis
“Even as a Christian, you’ll have good days and you’ll have bad days but you’ll never have a day without God.” Unknown
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18
“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
It’s Going to Be Okay….
As I’ve said before, life is already hard. Add mental illness on top of that and life can get extremely difficult.
But guess what? It is going to be okay. Jesus promises that even though we suffer here on earth (He promises that we will….) BUT we are to take heart! Why? Because He has OVERCOME THE WORLD!!!
I’m Writing a Book! (Maybe?)
I want to write a book. I’ve been saying this for several years….if not a couple decades if I’m being honest, LOL
I asked two close friends to keep me accountable this go around. I told them to just check in with me every couple of days. I feel if I have someone in my corner, rooting for me and keeping me on the path to accomplishment then I can do it. AND I have God on my side too. With His help, I can do this.
I’m currently in a manic state right now and am wondering if this sudden burst of energy and impulse is a part of the mania. I’m trying to work through this. I so badly want to write a book. I refuse to let any kind of mental illness stop me. I have GOD on my side.
Sometimes what would be best for us is a “no” from God. Other times it might be a “not yet” because we’re not quite ready for a full “yes” and need to learn and grow before it’s complete realization.
It’s hard to see what’s going on while we’re in it, though, and it can be disheartening. So disheartening, at times, that we resolve not to ask anymore…..but this is not the best way to go.
Chad Veach, “Faith Forward Future”
We may not understand God’s answer of “no” or “wait” but we shouldn’t allow that to turn us into non-askers
Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
1 Peter 1:14 “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance.
John 15:18-19 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
Be more like Jesus, less of the world.
Toes definitely got stepped on at church this morning. Our pastor had such a great sermon on Lot and Sodom and Gomorrah. I wish I could figure out how to link the service on here so y’all could watch it! Oh wait! I figured it out! So cool!
14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Ephesians 6:18
13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.
James 5:13
8 The LORD detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases him.
Proverbs 15:8
12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Here’s my heart, Lord, take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above
I’m a wanderer. Honestly most of us are. Wait, you know what? We ALL are prone to wander. It’s in our nature, unfortunately. At one point or another in the different areas of life, we have wandered from the Lord.
Maybe we didn’t get the answer we were hoping for when we asked the Lord. Take a few steps back.
Maybe a tragedy occurred and we blamed God. Take 5 steps back.
Maybe life’s battles just overwhelmed us and we can’t see how a loving God would allow so much suffering. Pull back even further.
Eventually we’re so far back we can’t even feel the Lord’s presence.
Whatever it is….we are wanderers. We are that one sheep that the Lord comes to rescue.
Life is hard. It isn’t always fair. There’s no denying that.
But we have a God who is ALWAYS on our side. We have a God who knows what’s best for us. He always has, always is and always will be on our side!
When you start to feel that tug meant to pull you away from God, pull back…return to the Lord.
Count it ALL joy.
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
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