Wisdom

Photo by Lori Kennedy

Wisdom 

                                                           by
                                                   Lori Kennedy

“If any of you need wisdom, you should ask God, and it will be given to you. God is generous and won’t correct you for asking.”James 1:5(CEV) 

Oh how I wish I knew at 25 what I know at 45 after 20 more years of living, being a mother and wife, seeking God, and 20 more years of falling down and getting back up over and over again. Each day I continue to have life, I realize how much I don’t know and how much there is still to learn.  I remember back to the days when I thought old consisted of anyone over the age of 25 and I thought “old” people were dumb.  I also thought I knew just about everything about everything and oh so much more than anyone else knew.  

We can say that’s just a stage young people go through.  Or, we can call it what it is…the sin of pride.  I was seeking a life consisting of what I considered successful by the world’s standards.  For me it all stemmed from not understanding my identity and not seeking Christ in all things.  I was not a Christ follower at that time and in my people pleasing overachieving way, I was attempting to find worldly success at the sacrifice of my very self; my heart, my dreams and my desires.  I became wise in my own eyes.  God had very special plans for me but I was not seeking them because I was too busy selfishly seeking what I wanted and what I considered was successful; which was worldly success. 

We have all been created with the internal desire to make a difference in this world.  It’s how our heavenly Father designed us.  If we don’t seek wisdom from God in living that out, we might end up seeking things that aren’t part of His hope for our lives.  Those things may not even be bad things.  I once read about a girl who defined herself through her success at swimming.  It was all she lived for.  Swimming in itself is not a bad thing, but if you are defining yourself through your success at any given activity (for me music, playing guitar, singing), then, sooner or later, you will be left feeling unsatisfied.  If our identity is determined by our success at something, then that can be a problem as there will be times that we will fall short of that success.  The first way to make a difference is to find our identity in Him and seek His will.  By making Him famous first, you will make the largest difference in this world. 

The scripture above says to ask God for wisdom and it will be given to you.  I don’t know about you, but I want to make a difference in this world and I want to do it God’s way not man’s way and not my way.  I need ongoing and continued wisdom for that.  Wisdom that I don’t have inside myself; but wisdom that I can get by asking God for it through prayer, seeking it through reading God’s Word, and communicating with God’s people. 

What does making a difference look like in your life? 

4 Keys of Grace

Photo by Amelia Grace Photography

4 Keys of Grace

By

Debra Courtney 

You and I were born to enjoy the benefits of the grace of God. We have the inborn traits of instinct for improvement within us.  We have the motivation for the increase of grace or at least we should. There should be something inside of us that gravitates us towards grace. 

God created us that way, and we will never be happy any other way. Now, I could discuss forever how our Abba Father bestows the grace of: Peace, Power, Wealth, Health, and Success – but unless you know how to obtain grace, it will not help you.  

1.       The Grace of Obedience

Deuteronomy 28:1 MSG says, “If you listen obediently to the Voice of GOD, your GOD, and heartily obey all his commandments…”. It means living up to the knowledge you have received. Simply doing what God has told you to do. If God has been talking to you about doing something, do it! 

2.     The Grace of Knowledge

Hosea 4:6 MSG says, “My people are ruined because they don’t know what’s right or true.” What you don’t know can destroy you God wants all His children to be knowledgeable. God is in the information business. The Bible is an information book. However, you can’t take hold of the grace and blessings of God unless you have the knowledge of what He has provided for you and therefore claim what belongs to you. 

3.     The Grace of Forgiveness

Matthew 6:14-15 MSG says, “In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can’t get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God’s part.” Forgiveness does not flow to you until it can flow through you. It means that you give up your right to allow God take care of any judgment and penalization of another person. Always exercise the ability to withhold judgment and let God perform His program. Believe me He can do it better than anything we could come up with to pay back anyone with anything they have done to us. 

4.      The Grace of Praise

Psalm 9:1 AMP says, “I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will show forth (recount and tell aloud) all Your marvelous works and wonderful deeds! The purpose of praise is not just to make us feel good, but it is also to stir up others. Praise lifts us up to where God is. Praise is something we deliberately choose to do. God is comfortable with praise. Know this also, the demons hate it. So “PRAISE” on!  

We were born to receive the “GRACE” of our Abba Father!

Lord, I will sing of Your grace forever. I will tell others of Your grace from generation to generation.

Indescribable Grace

Photo by Amelia Grace Photography

Indescribable Grace

ByDebra Courtney

“[All] are justified and made upright and in right standing with God, freely and gratuitously by His grace (His unmerited favor and mercy), through the redemption which is [provided] in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:24 AMP)

How would you respond if you heard something bad happened to someone who had been trying to harm you for several years? David for many years had been running from King Saul who had been trying to kill him. In a final battle with the Amalekites, a sword killed Saul. When the news reached David, instead of rejoicing that his enemy was no longer a problem for him, he responded in a totally different manner. He mourned. Wow, imagine that; he mourned over the very one who sought to kill him. 

It takes a person who’s heart has been put on the potter’s wheel and molded by the hands of God to not take matters into one’s own hands. One who knows what it is to give considerable pain and torment in the past to others. Where you now have to look past an individual who is the source of your pain and torment and consider how God views them. God looks upon that individual and sees their needs and knows why they respond the way they do. The enemy torments them to no end. When we begin to see people as God does, we'll no longer look at them as our enemies, but as blind, needy people in need of grace. Grace that in and of ourselves we could not give, but by the grace God gives us in turn helps us to give grace to people who spitefully hurt and abuse us. 

I dwell upon how Jesus gave His life for me. He saw my great need, not what I did to Him. When someone wrongs you, do you seek revenge, or do you pray to understand the need behind the offender's actions? 

For several years I watched a person who was a source of constant pain and used me and others to gain his own personal desires. He would tell us what we wanted to hear to gain his selfish desires, then when he got what he wanted he would do the exact opposite of what he said he would do. There was nothing I could do to change it. However, God allowed me to see beyond the person's actions, to understand what the source of his need was. When I gained that understanding, God gave me a picture of this person inside a prison cell of bondage. I pray for him and genuinely love him in spite of his persecution towards me. This is the kind of love Jesus wants us to have when He tells us to love our enemies and pray for those who spitefully use us. “But I tell you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”(Matthew 5:44 AMP)

Because I have been forgiven of horrendous sins, I believe God does a special work of amazing grace in lives of those who go beyond the realm of normal response to persecutions they find themselves in. He brings us to a level of grace we never thought possible. Because I have been forgiven of much, I can in return forgive much. It’s beyond explanation the indescribable grace that God has for us.

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What about you? How has your Heavenly Father communicated to your heart and mind about His desire that His grace be poured into you and then through you to others?

Is there anyone in your life that challenges you in greater ways than others? How can praying blessings over them cultivate grace in your own heart towards them?

4 Lies Women Tell Themselves

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Four Lies Women Tell Themselves

ByLucille Zimmerman

Lie #1: It’s selfish to put yourself on the list.  Self-care is not selfish. Self-care is about taking control of your own health and happiness. By being in control you stay healthy and put yourself in charge of making sure you have a good quality of life. Taking good care of yourself means the people in your life receive the best of you rather than what is left of you. When Jesus told people to love their neighbor as themselves, he was presupposing that people would love themselves. If we don’t love ourselves, we are violating that commandment just the same as when we don’t love others. Alternately, if we only care for ourselves without caring for others, that would be selfish. But loving ourselves is good and godly.

Lie #2: It’s unchristian to set boundaries.  I used to think people who had clear boundaries were mean and nasty, and people who accommodated everybody else's whim were Godly. People with healthy boundaries have developed an identity separate and distinct from others. Their lives have a nice balance; they are connected with people, not enmeshed with them. Imagine a picket fence with a gate: You get to decide who you want to come into your life and how far they come in. For instance, you may want to crack open the gate by limiting someone to a ten-minute phone call instead of inviting her over to your house. There may be a family member you want to honor, but his or her behaviors may be so toxic you must limit the relationship to a birthday card. Boundaries are flexible, so they can change. The most important thing to understand is that you are the gatekeeper controlling your life and space.

Lie #3: You can’t show people your flaws; you must be perfect. When I studied group counseling, I learned a really interesting concept: If there is a group of people, and one person decides to take a risk in sharing a vulnerable piece of her story, she instantly becomes the most popular member of the group. Why? It’s a concept called “universality”: Every person in a group has traits or experiences or flaws or past mistakes that he or she wants to hide. When we see another take a bold risk and be accepted, we wish we had the guts to be that authentic. Of course, this concept could be taken to an extreme. It would not be prudent for a member to go into a group and reveal everything too quickly without getting to know the others. But a gentle unveiling of a vulnerable truth by one brave soul can offer the ripple effect of relief and acceptance to others.

Lie #4: You must stick every person’s opinion of you on yourself. In situations where someone reacts negatively towards me, I’ve learned to ask the question, “What is the person telling you about himself?” All of our actions and words are a reflection of our past experiences. They are evidence of the lens through which we see the world. When people blow up or overreact, it usually isn’t about what we did wrong or about how bad that person is hurting or about what dots they are connecting from their own histories. The more we back off and see a bigger picture, the more we stop allowing others to direct our lives.

Lucille Zimmerman’s book, Renewed: Finding Your Inner Happy in an Overwhelmed World releases TODAY< March 1^st.
Connect with Lucille on her website 
at
www.lucillezimmerman.com 

Grace that is Greater by @ShelleyHendrix #YcantWeGetAlong

Photo by Shelley Hendrix

Grace that is Greater

by 

Shelley Hendrix

But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: 

"God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

James 4:6 NIV

God’s grace means more to me today than it ever did when I was growing up and attending different churches. Back then I understood that God’s grace meant that if we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, repenting of our sins, and placing our faith in Him, then we would go to heaven when we die and not have to go to Hell. I guess I figured that between the two options, the first one was the only logical one to make.

Most of what I knew back then was that if you were a Christian, you stood against a whole lot of things. Although we did experience some really good times, it was far from “joy unspeakable and full of glory.” (I Peter 1:8) I was afraid almost all of the time. Afraid because I knew that God was watching every single thing I did and He was keeping a record of it all. I was afraid of Him because I only knew Him to be powerful and mostly angry—because we, as His people, were always messing up. I imagined that He was expecting me to mess up. And if He was expecting it, then I was in for it when it actually happened—He was prepared.

I can’t tell you how many times I heard someone, usually an adult in the church, say, “Shelley, I can’t believe you did _____________; you are the pastor’s daughter!” (They didn’t seem to notice or care that whatever it was I was doing, I was doing with their kid!) I didn’t know the God who made Himself known to us in the person of Jesus Christ—to me, the two personalities couldn’t be more different from one another.

In the church environments I was familiar with, our relationship with God was mostly focused on the rules we needed to keep: stay away from secular music and movies; don’t go to public schools; don’t play cards; don’t wear a two-piece bathing suit; don’t swim with the opposite sex; don’t ….don’t….don’t….the list could go on and on. In fact, I heard of one college student (at a Christian college) who was not allowed to graduate with his class because he talked to his fiancé in public without a chaperone present. Yes. Really. I also heard of a church in the US which keeps a barber chair in the foyer to cut the hair of men who might just show up to church with their hair touching their collar or ears. Yes. Really. And these two specific scenarios aren’t pulled from the 1960’s either.

Now, I know things have changed a lot, even in the culture and climate of most of today’s churches. Most of us realize now that what the generation before us (and some folks even in today’s Church) did/do, with good intentions, by the way, didn’t/don’t work for a good reason. God doesn’t initiate this kind of relationship with people!

In addition to what I’ve already mentioned, there is another extreme. For example, it is almost weird in some Christian churches for someone to come to church in a suit and tie carrying a Bible. I’ve heard people wearing jeans and t-shirts who have the Bible in their iPhones make critical remarks about those who are so “old school,” I mean “old church” as to show up to church in a suit and tie.

For goodness’ sake, we wear the same name, so why can’t we all just get along?! For the sake of ourselves, and especially for those who have never had a positive experience with those who claim that Name, we’ve got to do better. And we can!

The truth about God’s grace to us

So, if God’s grace is even greater than the basic truths of changing our eternal destination—which, by the way is no small matter—and goes beyond this to something more, how do we define or explain the grace of God?

Some have used the following acronym:
God’s
Riches
At
Christ’s
Expense

Consider what my friend, Cindy Beall, shares about her understanding of grace:

“Good old Webster’s defines grace as ‘unmerited, divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification.’ Here is how I reworded the phrase to help me better grasp what God was trying to say to me: ‘My unmerited, divine assistance given to you is enough.’” 

My son is in Cub Scouts. In the Scouts, there are badges he can earn. These are called “merit badges.” He doesn’t get these simply because he goes to the meetings, because he is so likable or even because he wants them really badly. He has to prove he has earned them. And wisely so. There are some things in life that need to be earned. But Grace is unique. Grace is something that is unmerited, which means that we can’t merit it; we can’t earn it. 
The bottom line is this: if it can be earned it ceases to be grace! 


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What were your first impressions of God?

Where did you receive those first impressions?
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This post is an excerpt from my soon-to-be-released book, "Why Can't We Just Get Along?" published by Harvest House Publishers. You can read more in a free sneak peek and pre-order/purchase your copy(ies) easily by CLICKING HERE