Jesus said: “For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother” Matthew 12:50
“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the Lord your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul Deuteronomy 10:12
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Romans 12:1
But be very careful to obey all the commands and the instructions that Moses gave to you. Love the Lord your God, walk in all his ways, obey his commands, hold firmly to him, and serve him with all your heart and all your soul.” Joshua 22:5
Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares the Lord God, “rather than that he should turn from his ways and live? Ezekiel 18:23
And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8
And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. Hebrews 11:6
The Lord knows what’s best for us in the long run. He KNOWS us. He LOVES us. He WANTS us to come to HIM!
Love the Lord your God. Walk in all His ways Obey His commands Live in a way that pleases Him
I have always had low self esteem. I’ve never been comfortable in my own body. I hate the way I look, I hate the way I’ve LET myself go. I hate the way I have no self control. My weight has me disgusted at myself. I blame it on my medication but lately I’ve come to realize, it’s my own fault. So I’m blaming ME now. (and my meds a little too)
I am getting ready to start a 60 day hydration challenge. I bought this water bottle from a company called “Live Infinitely” and they hold challenges where you set a goal of how many ounces you hope to drink each day.
Did you know that the amount of water you drink should be half of your current weight? Yeah, ummm…reaching that goal is going to take some time so I’m starting off slow…I’m going to shoot for 60oz for right now.
Even though the challenge doesn’t officially start until Sept 5, I started today for myself and drank roughly 48oz.
I’m hoping that by hydrating myself more and cutting out the soda and sugar that I’ll be able to lose some weight. I realize I can’t just rely on this challenge to lose weight…but that I have to find the motivation and self discipline to start exercising more and eating healthier.
As a sufferer of mental illness, this post hits home. Mental illness does NOT discriminate just because a person is a Christian.
Too bad it doesn’t come with an instruction manual.
When you first get a mental illness diagnosis, it’s easy enough to look up and see what the symptoms are, but no one ever tells you there’s a whole buttload of other stuff that goes along with it. The mental illness experience covers so much more than just the symptoms, and it doesn’t come with…
To the Christians in Afghanistan, especially those of you about to die for your faith, I doubt you will ever have the chance to read this, but my heart breaks for you. The Lord knows your anguish. He knows the trouble you face, and he is aware of your powerlessness. He also sees your poverty, […]
But it’s in the Bible, you say. And if it’s in the Bible then it’s true!
Well…not so fast. You skipped a word when reading the verse in 1 Timothy 6:10. It is the LOVE of money that is the root of all evil.
For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.
1 Timothy 6:10
We’d all like to have more money. It’s how we survive in this world, right? We need money to buy groceries, to pay rent, to pay, ugh, bills…
When we start obsessing about money is when we have turned that money into a god.
I’m afraid I may have turned it into a god these past several months. I temporarily lost my job last year due to COVID. A lot of people did. So I immediately filed unemployment. On top of the unemployment an extra $600 was given per week. I built up a nice little savings. (which quickly depleted when our stupid sewer line had to be fixed.)
Then we received the several stimuluses and for awhile, life was good! I eventually went back to work and of course the benefits stopped.
I realized now that I was depending too much on that extra money. And if I’m being honest, I’m still depending on it too much.
While on unemployment apparently there was a bill passed that said up to $10,200 in benefits was NOT supposed to be taxed and that we would be receiving a refund.
I’ve been checking my account multiple times a day to see if I have anything pending. As of right now, nothing.
Money had, well has, become a god to me. I’m ashamed that I’m depending more on money than I am my Maker.
There is a song by Natalie Grant called “More Than Anything” and there is a line….
“Help me want the Giver More than the giving Oh, help me want You, Jesus More than anything”
3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
James 4:3
I think God knows that if I was to receive that money right now that I would spend it foolishly. He’s waiting for me to realize that I need HIM more than money. That I need HIM more than what this materialistic world has to offer.
The Young Rich Ruler
17 As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good. 19 But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.’[a]”
20 “Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.”
21 Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
22 At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!” 24 This amazed them. But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very hard[b] to enter the Kingdom of God. 25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”
26 The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked.
27 Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.”
…the god of money is often God’s main competition for our hearts. The problem isn’t money. Money isn’t the root of all kinds of evil, but the LOVE of money is.
Kyle Idleman, “gods at war”
Who are you living for?
Just remember this: You cannot serve both God and money.”
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘let me take the speck out of your eye’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite!, first take the plank out of your own eye and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
Matthew 7:3-5
When I chose to write this post I couldn’t think of a good title (yes, I come up with the title before I start the post, LOL) and the song “I Can See Clearly Now” by Jimmy Cliff popped in my head. Originally the title was “Seeing More Clearly (which actually doesn’t sound right grammatically. It could be…but for some reason it just reads wrong.
Anyway. I digress.
Hypocrite!
It’s a word used all the time. According to Merriam Webster, a hypocrite is “a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion.” They may say one thing but do another. For instance, claiming to love the Lord but live a secular lifestyle.
They don’t “practice what they preach.”
I’ve been guilty of hypocrisy at one time or another as I’m sure we all have.
The Origin of the Word ‘Hypocrite’
“The word hypocrite ultimately came into English from the Greek word hypokrites, which means “an actor” or “a stage player.The Greek word took on an extended meaning to refer to any person who was wearing a figurative mask and pretending to be someone or something they were not. This sense was taken into medieval French and then into English, where it showed up with its earlier spelling, ypocrite, in 13th-century religious texts to refer to someone who pretends to be morally good or pious in order to deceive others. (Hypocrite gained its initial h- by the 16th century.)
A lot of unbelievers claim that the church is full of hypocrites. And they’re not wrong. The church does in fact have a lot of hypocrites. But guess what? That’s the perfect place to be!. In church, learning and coming to realize that maybe their lives aren’t reflecting what they say they believe!
Some verses on hypocrisy:
Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. 1 Peter 2:16
“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
Luke 6:46
He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “ ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.
Mark 7:6
They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.
Titus 1:16
You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
13 “You shall not murder.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
In church on Sunday, the sermon was on the 10 Commandments. It was a really powerful sermon. I was inspired to start a series, my first ever, on here to break down each commandment and apply it to our lives.
Jesus showed the spiritual intent of the 10 Commandments. The first four show us how to love God the way He wants us to love and obey Him. The last six show us how to love our neighbors.
I was all set to work on Commandment #1 when I realized something: I’m wasn’t sure I truly understood the difference between the first and second commandments “no other gods” and “no idols”
I have NEVER thought about it like this. Never. The two sound intertwined when I look and read them over and over again.
So I googled it. (when all else fails, right?)
Commandment #1 “You shall have no other gods before me” is talking about WHOM we shall serve. It is forbidding us to worship a false god.”
Commandment #2 “no idols, is talking about HOW we worship, what we use to worship and what we ultimately replace God with.
Kyle Idleman tells us to “Remember your commandments. First: no other gods, Second: no MAKING other gods to worship.”
“The second commandment (Exodus 20:4) gives us some detail (compared to the first one) about how this great God is or is not to be worshipped. The gist of it is that He will not be duplicated in any form. There will be no substitute for Him in any way.”
In “gods at war” Kyle Idleman says that, ““When we look to someone other than God to complete us and define our lives, it’s idolatry.
I don’t know about you and who you serve but my God is a jealous God who wants ALL of me and nothing less. He sent his SON to DIE for me so I owe Him everything! I choose to worship Him and only Him.
It’s a reminder to focus on the Creator, not the created. It’s a reminder that we are to fear the Lord, but not the type of fear you may be thinking. This kind of fear talks about about a reverence, a deep respect for the Lord of the universe. After all, He created us, He sent His Son to die for us….how can we NOT fear Him?
The first commandment calls Christians to know the true and living God and to worship him alone. “If we worship God without taking any heed to God’s revelation of himself, we are certainly worshiping a product of our own minds, not the true God at all. So, it is important that we worship according to the truth”
And I choose You All my attention, affection And all my devotion’s for You If everybody’s worshipping something I choose You
Point of Grace, “I Choose You.”
“Jesus set the example of putting God first.” Mike Bennett, LifeHopeandTruth.com
Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment”
Matthew 22:37
But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
I’m currently reading a book by Louie Giglio entitled “Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table: It’s Time to Win the Battle of Your Mind.
Long title, right??
So I posted last night about my negative thoughts surrounding my ability to write a book. I’m just frustrated and needed to get those feelings out before I completely had a meltdown. Bottling these feelings is NOT good for me or for anyone for that matter.
This book is pretty good! I’d like to share some quotes with y’all. (I say ‘y’all a lot don’t I? LOL)
“If you are living in defeat, it’s because you are allowing yourself to live in defeat. If you are losing the battle of your mind, it’s because you are not willing to step up and say ‘There’s a fight to be fought and I’m going to fight the battle to win my mind because I have the power of the finished work of Jesus.”
“Use the name of Jesus with authority. Bind the thoughts that don’t come from God and that don’t match the Word of God.”
“Maybe I couldn’t stop the Devil from prowling around my table, but in JESUS’ NAME I definitely did have the choice whether I allowed the Enemy to sit down.”
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Ephesians 6:10-17
I am choosing to be stronger in the Lord. He and He alone can give me the strength and endurance to get through these negative thoughts. Satan thinks he has one up on me but surprise!! I serve a God who loves me and is always with me. He is faithful and just and He will fight my battles. He’s WON! Satan, you have no place at my table.
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, Or nor heavenly rulers neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I found this website, Decision the other day. There are tons of good articles to read. I came across an article called “Be Separate” by Billy Graham that is a must read!
I’m going to share just a few quotes of what he had to say.
We may live IN the world but we aren’t supposed to live OF the world.
I mentioned that I’ve been having struggles with being a light to my coworkers. Friday was no different. I reacted worldly in different conversations. I’m ashamed. But I was immediately convicted. The Lord made sure I knew immediately what I was listening and laughing about was not godly at all. And then I came across this article Friday night that I know it was God who lead me to read it.
To a large extent, the American church has become merged with the world. It has adopted so many of the world’s ideals and standards that it has lost its ability to stem the tide of crime, deception and immorality that is sweeping the nation. For millions of church members, there is no deep commitment to the cause of Christ, no regularity of attendance at public worship, no sacrificial giving, no personal religious discipline.
Billy Graham
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:1-2).
As Christians, of course, we must live in the world. We must infiltrate the world with a purpose to help win the world. But we are not to participate in the evils of the world. There are certain things that a Christian must say no to—in politics, in the shop, in the office. We must show that we are citizens of another world, and many times we may suffer misunderstanding and persecution because of it.
We’re asking for blessings and relief when we should be pleading for revival.
Sharon Wilharm,
This world y’all. I have no words. Wait, yes I do. People need Jesus! We may be the only Jesus people see.
I’ve been struggling with my testimony at work. Instead of letting Jesus shine through me, I’ve been a horrible witness. Laughing at jokes I shouldn’t. Listening to them curse and not saying something.
I know they know I’m a Christian, but I’m doing a very poor job of showing it as of late. I’m letting Satan have his way through me.
How am I living God’s truth? I’m not….simple as that. I’ve become complacent. I allow Satan to do his thing. He knows my weaknesses, and he is winning.
“First, there is an urgent need for a real, genuine spiritual awakening. Second, God is infinitely able to bring about such an awakening. Third, there are definite signs and portents of revival in the world.
The promise of revival is definite. The need of revival is obvious.
This prayer below is one I came across awhile back and had printed it out and posted it on my door so that I would see it every day.
“Lord, you know how difficult, uncomfortable and frightening it is for me to think about what I might need to change in my life or things that I might need to give up in order to follow Jesus fully. Please deal gently with your servant as you lead me down the road of true discipleship. Please work in my heart what I am unable to work in my heart myself—an undying and unwavering allegiance to your Son alone.”
All You Need is Jesus 
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