Tag: Jesus

First Peter Writing Challenge

I’m back with another writing challenge to get us through the rest of the summer! I’ve been off the map so to speak these last few months, lots going on in my life. I’m trying to navigate this new normal, some days are better than others, some days I am more productive, and some days I’d rather not relive. I have much to learn still in this life and there is no other place to learn, than from the Word of my God, not the lies that the world shouts constantly!

This month we will be in the book of 1 Peter. Peter, also known as Simon Peter, was one of the first disciples Jesus called. Peter and his brother Andrew were fishing as Jesus called to them, “Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:18-19) They immediately left their nets and followed him. As I started to read more and find out why they were so willing to just go with Jesus, I quickly found out why over in the book of Luke chapter 5 verses 1-11.

One day Jesus was by the Sea of Galilee sharing the Word of God to the crowd around him. There was a boat of Peter’s there and Jesus got in and asked him to put out a little from shore so he could teach from the boat. After Jesus finished speaking, he said to Peter, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” But Peter answered saying that they had worked hard all night and hadn’t caught anything, but because you say so I will let down the nets. After he obeyed the Lord, they caught such a large number of fish that the nets began to break! They had to call over another boat to help get all of the fish into the two now sinking boats.

Peter then fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me Lord; I am a sinful man!” He and his friends were astonished at the catch of fish! Jesus then said to Peter, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. What faith they had! That’s the type of faith I want to have.

 

 

Click here for a Free PDF printable:

1 Peter Writing Challenge(3)

 

In the darkest hour of Christ’s life as he struggled in Gethsemane about his coming task, Peter fell asleep. At one point Jesus came upon His dozing disciples and asked, ” Why are you sleeping?…Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation” ( Luke 22:46) The consequences of Peter’s prayerlessness were both immediate and tragic. In the ensuing hours, as all the forces of hell were unleashed, the disciple ironically nicknamed “the Rock” discovered that good intentions are not enough to withstand great temptation.-Stormie Omartian

Don’t become a person of prayerlessness. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12

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Easter is all about Jesus!

“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.” Isaiah 55:6

There will be a time when we call on the Lord and it will be too late! Our time will have passed and we will be separated from God and his presence for ever and ever, for all eternity future!

Easter is this weekend and it is my favorite time of the year. Easter brings newness. New season, new life outdoors-trees budding, flowers sprouting up, animal life comes out from hibernation. Usually new clothes in bright new shades.

As a girl I didn’t know Jesus and we didn’t attend church but we did celebrate Easter with a huge meal and an egg hunt at a relative’s house. It was so much fun to get together with some of my cousins and spend almost the whole day together playing, eating, egg hunting, discovering what was inside the eggs, and getting unique prizes from my uncle. We would then re-hide the eggs for each other to find. We did this until dark because spring break was usually the week after and the time change had recently happened and we enjoyed every bit of sunlight.

I remember thinking to myself as a child, there has to be more to this “Easter” thing than Easter bunnies who filled my basket with candy and goodies, egg hunts, silly hats and gloves that I’d seen in Hills and K-Mart while we were there to get out picture taken with a guy in a rabbit suit in a large wicker chair. Even then God was pursuing my heart. Praise Him!

The great news to me and every person is, yes there is more to this Easter thing and his name is Jesus!

Biblical truths as we approach Easter

  1. Easter is about redemption, salvation, and new life. New life because of Jesus and what he did to save us. We all are in need of a Savior and now is the time to realize that before it is too late. The Lord has numbered all of our days and if we have not repented of our sins and placed our faith and trust in Him before our last day, my friend, it will be too late to call on Him.                 “Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.”  Isaiah 55:7
  2. Jesus was born on our behalf. He lived a sinless life, and was crucified for us.  Surely he took up OUR wickedness/pains/griefs/sins and carried OUR sorrows/sickness/diseases but he was pierced for OUR rebellion/transgressions and he was crushed for OUR iniquities/sins/immorality; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds/death/burial/resurrection we are healed. Paraphrased from Isaiah 53:4-5 Alleluia! What a promise to hold onto. Easter is a grand celebration of his victory over death and the grave. He was raised to life again to bring us new life and better than just life…Life eternal in heaven with the Heavenly Father and Jesus by his side. Jesus says in John 14:6, ” I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
  3. Easter is better known as Resurrection Sunday. The day we pause and ponder what his life,. death, and resurrection means to us personally. It is a very bittersweet to deeply think about because life and death are heavy subjects but we do not have to face death with any sense of fear whatsoever! If we have placed our faith and trust in Jesus himself. Even with death for this body, comes new life in Paradise for all who believe.
  4. Remember and remind yourself often, ” for he bore the sins of many, and made intercession for the transgressors,” Isaiah 53:12b. Jesus intervened to save us. Every last one of us. Every unworthy, undeserving sinner like you and like me. There is nothing we could ever do to save our selves. That’s the meaning of Easter! He lived and died, so that we can live and live.          “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10

Do you get that? Jesus wants us to not only live, but to live life in large quantities, live plentifully, to the extreme! That really puts a smile on my face and makes my heart happy! He wants us to be thriving, enjoying, loving, sharing, caring and in doing so, we are doing all of these things for those around us. We are shining His light for all to see His good work, and in that, we glorify Him!

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1st John: April’s Scripture Writing Challenge

My favorite way to study and learn scripture is to read and write it down. Underlining is good, highlighting is fun, but reading and writing it down really helps memorize and get it into your head and heart!  “You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” 2 Corinthians 3:3

This is the second scripture writing challenge I have written, the first was the book of Ephesians and was rather long but oh so good! First John is shorter and will only take mere minutes each day to complete. It is set up with 5 daily assignments a week, with two grace days for you to catch up if needed or reread the previous weeks scripture or write ahead! Reading the Word of God, writing the Word of God, praying the Word of God, or just sharing about the Word of God are all life changing habits. It’s never too late to start to make better choices and by choosing the Word, you will be storing up treasures for yourself in heaven friend.

A little background, First John is a letter written by John, same as the Gospel of John and Revelation. It was written 85-95 after Jesus’ death and resurrection. John was now a very old man and was most likely the last living apostle. John was writing to a church or a group of churches who were in crisis, mainly those being attacked by false teachers spewing out false information.

Isn’t that us all now in 2017? People left and right, shouting out the newest breakthrough in this and that. Buy this book, download this app, buy this piece of clothing, this system, that new pill or powder and it will change your life! Therefore you will be so much happier and life will now have satisfaction. All you need is this new product and all your troubles will be taken away and real stress-free, pain-free, drama-free, you-name-it life will begin. The truth is, any thing besides Jesus, does not have true value! He is all that we need. He is the only true Satisfier, Life Giver, Savior!

Back to the subject of 1 John, it is a very simple letter to follow about real life but has awesome content for all Christians. Those more seasoned, or the new believer seeking wisdom and direction. John calls readers back to three basics of Christian life: true doctrine, obedient living, and faithful devotion to Jesus. In fact, we ALL can use more and more of that!

Above all,

God is life. God is light. God is love. We are children of God, so we should also be life, light, and love.

Click to print a FREE PDF plan:

1 John Scripture Writing Challenge Weekly Assignment

 

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Eugene Peterson’s wise words, “The two most difficult things to get straight in life are love and God. More often than not, the mess people make of their lives can be traced to failure or stupidity, or meanness in one or both of these areas. The basic and biblical Christian conviction is that the two subjects are intricately related. If we want to deal with God the right way, we have to learn how to deal with love the right way. If we want to love the right way, we have to deal with God the right way. God and love cannot be separated.”

 

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4 Guaranteed Ways For Overcoming struggles in Jesus

Do you feel like an overcomer (someone who gets the better of a struggle or gains victory over a conflict) when you think of your life? Or do you feel more like a loser who is failing, missing the bullseye so to speak, going through the motions day in and day out but still feel lost without victory?

I am going to boldly say that most of you who are honest will say you are on the losing side of the struggle called life and do not feel like an overcomer of anything good. You do not feel like you are overcoming your struggles and feel victorious.

Women tend to compare themselves with other women. We listen to the wrong advice and are hyper critical of ourselves. We try to live up to other women’s lives, instead of living to be Christ like. But the good news is that we were created for so much more than feeling like a failure. We were wonderfully made in the image and likeness of God himself and made to live as overcomers even in the face of struggle and suffering!

You are an overcomer because of Jesus!

We who believe that He is the Son of God are overcomers. We who have faith in the 2,000 year old testimony of Him coming to this earth, being born a man, yet fully God, living a perfect sinless life of love are overcomers.

Jesus was beaten and crucified on your behalf, yet raised back to life three days later. He is the one true Son of God who takes away all our sins by what He sacrificed and endured for us. He was separated from his Heavenly Father for our forgiveness and redemption! Jesus bore your sins, my sins, and was able to overcome the world for his Father’s glory and for our eternal well-being.

1 John 5:4-5 says:

“for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 

Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”

Jesus said:

4 Guaranteed Ways to Know You Are an Overcomer in Jesus

1. If you admit you are a sinner in need of a Savior, believe and are born again, confessed that Jesus is Lord of your heart and has forgiven you of your sins, you are an overcomer.  “The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4b

2. You must fix your eyes on Jesus and his ways, not what is seen. “For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16.     “We live by faith, not by sight.”  2 Corinthians 5:7  Always looking to Him and His Word for strength and peace. Acknowledge the fact that you are in desperate need of Him, you are an overcomer.

3. Keep in mind that the Christian walk is not easy, trials and troubles will come but don’t lose heart friend. You will make mistakes, you will stumble and fall, you will want to wave your white flag of surrender! That’s perfectly normal, and you sitting, waving your flag of surrender is exactly when Jesus lifts your chin and says, “It’s okay Love, I’m here to help.” Press on, stay in prayer and remember: He is always with you, you are an overcomer. “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8

4. See the common thread above? Most of all Jesus. You cannot do it alone by your own strength or power. Only by Him, His love, His strength, His power, His Spirit, His work on the cross can you know without one doubt that you are an overcomer. Trust and obey and you are an overcomer.

 

 

Therefore friends, if you are like me, you may have struggled with feelings of failure and doubt but by seeking the Lord constantly and relying on Him, you too can know that you are an overcomer in Jesus. Believe in Him, have complete faith in Him, keep your eyes on Him, knowing He is always with you! If you need prayer or a word of encouragement, please feel free to contact me and I will be delighted to pray with you.

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Where to Find Comfort in Times of Confusion

Only a very few people knew that we are actually trying to have another baby. I am in my late thirties and hubby in his early forties, and realize that our kids are getting older and if we wanted to expand, now was our time to try. We placed our trust in the Lord and waited. Mid August 2016 we found out we were expecting. September 6th we found out the baby had stopped developing. Total confusion and disbelief set in. How? Why? This can’t be happening to us!

Someone shortly after said, oh you might not have meant to be pregnant but it’s still sad you lost the baby. That hit a raw spot in my heart. We did desire to be pregnant. We did want to expand our family. Even with already having four children living on one income and times being tight, our hearts desired to love and care for another. We knew God was bigger than our paycheck and knew that He would provide accordingly. We had faith in Him then, and still have faith in Him now. No matter what our future brings we know that He can be trusted and that He has good in store for us. We are being renewed day by day and wait expectedly for what His will is.

Today, March 15, marks the six month anniversary of my miscarriage. Looking back over the past six month after losing the baby, life seems very surreal. It sometimes seems like it never really happened, almost like a really bad nightmare and other times it hits me hard. I was pregnant. I was carrying a baby for several months. I did lose a baby. A sweet baby the Lord had blessed our family with. A baby that was very much loved and wanted by us all.

“Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. ” (2 Corinthians 4:1)

I would be about 38 weeks if I were still pregnant. Nathan, our 16 year old, was born at 38 weeks and the others between 38-39 weeks, so realistically we could have a newborn any day now. Sigh. But God had different plans for our family. Instead of him/her coming home with us, the Lord decided to bring him/her home to heaven. I know our baby is waiting on us with Jesus now, that doesn’t take the pain away totally, but it does give me hope!

“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;  persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” (2 Corinthians 4: 8-9)  We are overcoming this only by His grace and mercy.

All things work together for our good! All circumstances, whether pleasurable or not, all heartaches, all highest of high moments, and the lowest of the low.  All things are for our benefit! Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

We are dependent creatures, who we are set apart for good works, and are being molded and shaped by the mighty work of God from the inside out. Once we plant this firmly in our hearts and minds we can have peace with whatever life brings our way and be comforted by our creator.. This life, this world, these struggles that we are faced with aren’t about us and making much of us, it’s about making much of Jesus.  We are to be focused on bringing glory and praise to the one who created us and loved us enough to die in our place on the cross at Calvary.

From the loss of my Dad two months after having my youngest daughter, heartache of all shapes and sizes, to my sweet husband working out of town alot and being a busy mom of four.  To moving hours away from all family and friends for my husbands job change, to a double cancer diagnosis in a close family member (currently in remission praise the Lord), to a miscarriage and all other life in between.

All very real joys and struggles that I personally have had to deal with over the past eight years or so. But no matter where I found myself, the Lord was near and had goodness in store of me.  He is also near all those who call on His name, anytime, day or night. Sickness or in health. There is comfort in knowing that truth. Call on the One who cares in your time of need. If I can pray for you, please contact me and it will be my pleasure to pray for you.

2 Corinthians 1:3-5, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.”

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Day that changed it all

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All six of us were so excited for this appointment and to see our sweet baby and possibly hear his/her heartbeat. It was a beautiful sunny day in September. The kids and I had worked on school work and chores that morning like any other day. Tommy went to work. I cooked rice and broccoli for lunch, I was trying to eat more vegetables even though I didn’t have much of an appetite.

I met Tommy at the doctors office that afternoon. I was nervous excited because this was the first time I had met this doctor and I was so excited to see the new baby. Tommy was too, his smile told me. We chatted and laughed while we waited for the doctor to come in.

He came into the room and we went over some history and I answered some questions. He stepped out to get the ultrasound machine and the nurse. When he returned with it, he set it up so I couldn’t see the screen, just the back of it.

He studied the screen for minutes it seemed and didn’t say a word. He finally commented something about “it being blurry, very blurry.”  The nurse agreed and he clicked more buttons. I remember it taking much longer than when Dr. Baker did my other early ultrasounds. I felt in my gut that something was wrong. He wasn’t talking, he wasn’t moving the machine so that I could see my baby. He was moving the wand around and around. To the left, to the right. Tilting it this way.

Still silence. It was awful. My heart sank and began breaking. I cried out to God. I wanted to cry out to Him aloud. But it wouldn’t happen. Please God. Please I begged. God help me.

He finally spoke after what seemed like an eternity. He said something like, there is something in your uterus but I cannot find a heartbeat. Something in my uterus. Never once acknowledged there was a baby that my God had blessed us with. My sweet sweet baby that I loved so very much. My baby that I so desperately wanted. He was in shock I guess just like we were and his words were few and not very comforting or kind at all.  He suggested I go for a second opinion ultrasound at the hospital. But by that time it was 4:45 and the hospital radiology department was closed for the day. I said I’d go to a nearby town for one. I wanted to know what was wrong.

The doctor and nurse left the room and the tears began to flow down my face. My heart just shattered into a million zillion pieces because I knew that something was terribly wrong and my baby was not ok. I cried and cried and held my husband. I couldn’t breathe and it hurt so bad. God help me. Not my baby. Not our baby. Oh God.

We finally left the room to see the doctor on the hallway. He suggested we call the next day for the second ultrasound. Like here, ball is in your court, have a good day. I was crying. I asked if we could go to the next town over and they said yes and handed us a paper with an ultrasound order on it. I asked if there was a number on it on who we needed to call, where we needed to go, etc but the nurse just got on the internet and wrote the phone number on a post it and handed it to my husband. Didn’t offer to help by calling for us. Very cold. They acted as if I had a scrape on my knee or a common simple cold. My baby has died and they couldn’t care less. The sweet receptionist noticed what was going on and came over and gave me a hug and whispered some encouragement in my ear.

We went out to the van and Tommy called the hospital and they could only do an ultrasound if it was an emergency and the doctor called them. He went back in and they again didn’t offer to call and say it was an emergency. They just took the paper and said they would call in the morning.

Tommy offered to drive home since we had both cars at the office but I didn’t want to deal with going back at some point to get the second car so I drove home. I cried and prayed the fifteen minute drive home. I turned on the radio and a song came on that I had never heard.

“I know you’re good
But this don’t feel good right now
And I know you think
Of things I could never think about
It’s hard to count it all joy
Distracted by the noise
Just trying to make sense
Of all your promises
Sometimes I gotta stop
Remember that you’re God
And I am not
So

Thy will be done
Thy will be done
Thy will be done
Like a child on my knees all that comes to me is
Thy will be done
Thy will be done
Thy will”

It has been three weeks since we found out that the baby didn’t make it. Seems unreal at times yet feels so very real knowing our baby will not be coming home with us next spring.

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