Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
Being uncertain and scared and riddled with doubt some days isn't a sign of bad things to come. It's actually quite the opposite. After all, if great things weren't on the horizon, I don't think the enemy would be so bent on attacking us.
The only way our faith will ever strengthen is for us to use it. We need to apply thought and prayer to our decisions and then trust God for the outcome. We need to set our sights on growing in faith, not shrinking back for fear of failure.
The decisions we make dictate the schedules we keep. The schedules we keep determine the lives we live. The lives we live determine how we spend our souls. So, this isn't just about finding time. This is about honoring God with the time we have.
Too many people think that finding the reason God placed us here on earth will come in one assignment with a big title and complete job description. I believe that discovering our purpose will unfold slowly, like a seed planted deep in the ground.
Spending some time getting quiet can really be the best remedy for tangled situations. Taking a step back from all the emotion, frustration, and exhaustion to sit quietly with Jesus will do more to untangle a mess than anything else I've ever found.
Dear Lord, forgive me for all of the times I've compared myself to others. I know that You have hand-picked all of my qualities. Help me to see these things as beautiful reminders of Your great love in creating me as Your daughter. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
We try so hard to hold onto our stuff. We call it our treasure and expect to feel joy. But in God’s economy if we want to gain, we must give up. For joy won’t ever be found in collecting treasures. Joy radiates in our life only when we share our treasures.
We aren't supposed to strive for perfection everyday. If we were perfect, we'd have no need for Jesus. And it's through our imperfections that we really feel the pull toward our need for a Savior. So the imperfections serve a wonderful purpose if we'll let them.
Most of us spend years chasing things in this world that we think will make us feel loved. But everything this world has to offer is temporary. Everything. The kind of love our souls crave is lasting, eternal. And only God can fill up our hearts with that kind of love.
Getting healthy isn't just about losing weight. It's not limited to adjusting our diet and hoping for good physical results. It's about recalibrating our souls so that we want to change - spiritually, physically, and mentally. And the battle really is in all three areas.
Food can fill our stomachs but never our souls. Posessions can fill our houses but never our hearts. Sex can fill our nights but never our hunger for love. Children can fill our days but never our identities. Jesus wants us to know only He can fill us and truly satisfy us.
Everything I do and say tells a story of who I am serving. If I am acting out of anger and spite, I am serving the father of darkness and spreading his darkness. If I am honoring to the Lord with my actions, I am serving to further the name of Jesus and spreading His light.
Having God as an identity marker is nothing but a label, a language, and a lifestyle. I'm a Christian. I talk like one. I act like one. But having God as an identity changer is so much more. It's lavish abandon to who God is and who He's made me to be. Holding nothing back!
Progress. Just make progress. It's okay to have setbacks and the need for do-overs. It's okay to draw a line in the sand and start over again - and again. Just make sure you're moving the line forward. Move forward. Take baby steps... Then change will come. And it will be good.
Wounds. Broken places. Possibility. Change. Steps toward holiness. Imperfect progress. The hurt in those who hurt me---their underbellies. Grace. Love. Me looking alot more like Jesus than I did before. And to discover through all this seeing---being unglued isn't all that bad.
This morning, you have a choice. You can lay in the dark replaying the awful events of the week, or you can turn the light on and read God's Word-His truth-which is the best thing to do when lies are swarming and painful thoughts are attacking like a bunch of bloodthirsty mosquitoes.
How I wish we could all see the cost of our choices as clearly as a price tag on items in a store. If I know how much something is going to cost me, I make much wiser choices. But we have an enemy who schemes against us to keep the cost of dumb decisions concealed until it's too late.
Regardless of where you are tonight, God is with you. God is wooing you. God wants you to experience Him. Whatever you are going through today, you can find His joy and peace. However distant your dreams may seem, God is working things out, and today is an important part of that process.
The problem with saying yes all the time is that it won't make you Wonder Woman. It'll make you a worn-out woman. And soon you'll find the relationships you treasure most are constantly getting your 'less' instead of your 'best' because of your endless to-do list and overwhelming schedule.
I have discovered a few things that help me when God seems silent... - Press in to God when you want to pull away. - Praise God out loud when you want to get lost in complaints. - Put yourself in the company of truth (reading Scriptures and surrounding yourself with positive, Godly people.)
Toxic thoughts leave no room for truth to flourish. And in the absence of truth, lies reign. Spend some time soaking in your favorite verses from Scripture tonight. The more we read God's truths and let truth fill our minds, the less time we'll spend contemplating untruths and toxic thoughts.
Feelings are indicators, not dictators. They can indicate where your heart is in the moment, but that doesn't mean they have the right to dictate your behavior and boss you around. You are more than the sum total of your feelings and perfectly capable of that little gift . . . called self-control.
Jesus didn't mean this as a sweeping command for everyone who has a lot of money. Jesus meant this for any of us who wallow in whatever abundance we have. I imagine Jesus looked straight into this young man's soul and said, 'I want you to give up the one thing you crave more than me. Then come, follow me.'
On the other end of the spectrum, we can't use this permission to sometimes say no and use it as a wand to wish away all our responsibilities. We also must remember not to use our "no" answers as a weapon. We can't turn into No! ninjas, karate-chopping anyone who even comes close to asking us for something.
Person who lives with the stress of an overwhelmed schedule will often ache with the sadness of an underwhelmed soul. So if we want to live better and invest wisely in our souls, we've got to change our approach to the way we make decisions. We've got to rethink how we use the two most powerful words, yes and no.
When we have the same thought again, the line of the original thought is deepened, causing what's called a memory trace. With each repetition the trace goes deeper and deeper, forming and embedding a pattern of thought. When an emotion is tied to this thought pattern, the memory trace grows exponentially stronger.
God never intended us to want anything more than we want Him. Just the slightest glimpse into His Word proves that, Look at what the Bible says about God's chosen people, the Israelites, when they wanted food more than they wanted God: 'They willfully put God to the test by demanding the food they craved' (Psalm 78:18). Yikes
Saying yes to God isn't about perfect performance, but rather perfect surrender to the Lord day by day. Your obedience becomes radical the minute this desire turns into real action. Radical obedience is hearing from God, feeling His nudges, participating in His activity, and experiencing His blessings in a way few people ever do.
The decisions you make today matter. Every decision points your life in the direction you are about to travel. No decision is an isolated choice. It’s a chain of events. If you choose wisely, your future will reflect that. But if you don’t choose wisely, the decisions you make now will take you to places you don’t want to be later.
It is good for God's people to be put in a place of longing so they feel a slight desperation. Only then can we be empty enough and open enough to discover the holiness we were made for. When we are stuffed full of other things and never allow ourselves to be in a place of longing, we don't recognize the deeper spiritual battle going on.
Motherhood - no matter if you're a working mom or stay at home mom - is really tough sometimes. It can really leave us each day with a sense of wondering if we're doing it right. You know, it's a long term investment. You don't see big returns in the short term. Raising a child can easily pull you into being hyper-focused on the tough everyday moments of life.
Here's an encouraging word for someone tonight - don't think you're not doing what God called you to do just because things don't seem as glamorous as you thought they would be. If you are a woman who honors God right where you are, you are in ministry. Keep being obedient, keep looking for the next open door of opportunity, and above all else hold closely to our Lord.
God can take what Satan meant for shame and use it for His glory. Just when we think we've messed up so badly that our lives are nothing but heaps of ashes, God pours His living water over us and mixes the ashes into clay. He then takes this clay and molds it into a vessel of beauty. After He fills us with His overflowing love, He can use us to pour His love into the hurting lives of others.
One thing you can be assured of is that God has already worked out all the details of what your obedience will accomplish - and its all good. we need not fear what our obedience will cause to happen in our life. we should only fear what our disobedience will cause us to miss. the sooner this truth resonates in your heart, the quicker you can make peace with a command from God that you dont fully understand.
Seeking - really seeking - is more than just reading a few verses from the Bible in the morning and trying to be a good person that day. Seeking requires me to sacrifice the things I feel compelled to chase so I can be available to notice God’s clear direction. Whatever we chase, like it or not, gains our full attention. Dear Lord, forgive me for all the times I’ve rushed by Your gifts and overlooked Your blessings. Today, I want to pause and really seek You with all I’ve got. I love You, Lord. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.