December 23, 2024

16 Day Love Challenge: Chapter 13 – Love Always Trusts

November 20, 2013 by

 

16daylovechallengetrust

 

I am trusting (a tiny pun!) that it is not just my heart that is stirred up thinking about this trust issue…yes?  But here is where I stand and I am not moving:  God is absolutely worthy of my completely and totally trusting Him with my life.  In her sharing of today’s chapter from The 16 Day Love Challenge, Rebecca makes a definitive statement that could not be any more true: “…God is perfectly trustworthy and He will never let you down!”  I love that!

Throughout the Scriptures, we find promise after promise as well as testimony upon testimony directing us to see His trustworthiness and faithfulness.  God’s people throughout time, have shown incredible faith and trust in their God.  The psalmist gives praise time and time again to the One to Whom he trusted with his life.  Psalm 40 contains some of my most favorite words of confession acknowledging my trust in our great God.

I waited patiently and expectantly for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay,
and set my feet upon a rock, steadying my steps and establishing my goings.
And He has put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.
Many shall see and fear and put their trust and confident reliance in the Lord.
Blessed is the <wo>man who makes the Lord <her> refuge and trust….
Psalms 40:1-4

As we read the Scriptures, they relate to us the confessions (both the praises and the struggles) of others who have gone before us who have made the choice to trust our God.

You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace
whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You,
because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.
So trust in the Lord
(commit yourself to Him, lean on Him, hope confidently in Him) forever;
for the Lord God is an everlasting Rock [the Rock of Ages].
Isaiah 26:3 and 4 AMP

Whom have I in heaven but You? And I have no delight or desire on earth besides You.
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the Rock
and firm Strength of my heart and my Portion forever.
But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord God
and made Him my refuge, that I may tell of all Your works.
Psalms 73:25-26, 28

Answer me quickly, Lord; my spirit fails.
Do not hide your face from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit.
Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.
Psalms 143:7-9

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5 and 6

Psalm 56

Listen to this, if you would, it is a beautiful song of trust sung by Mrs. Twila Paris.

 I sing that song, often, when I am tempted to waffle in my trust in my God.  It encourages me and spurs me on to stand on His promises and choose to continue to trust.

As Holy Spirit-led women, we strongly desire to obey God and put our hope/trust in Him.   We follow the example given to us in 1 Peter 3 of women who trust God:

Instead, it should consist of what is inside the heart
with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit,
which is very valuable in God’s eyes.
For in the past, the holy women who put their hope in God
also beautified themselves in this way, submitting to their own husbands,
just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord.
You have become her children when you do what is good
and are not frightened by anything alarming.
verses 4-6

In closing, here’s something to ask ourselves…”When others think of me, am I a woman whose life reflects a heart that trusts God? Is there an outer beauty that is the result of a submitted, grateful, yielded, trusting spirit what shows on my face? Or is it the ‘worry lines’ and chapped, bitten lips or nails that show the lack of resting/trusting in my God?”  Maybe you have an older woman in your life whose trust in God is ‘written all over her face.’  I would love it if you would share your thoughts….

* * * * *

Let’s Pray:

Dear Lord, You are…You ARE…YOU ARE trustworthy!  Please help us, Lord, to ‘trust in the Lord with all your heart…and in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”  We want to be known as women whose trust is in the Almighty God…not to bring attention to ourselves but to bring honor, glory, majesty to You!  May You be pleased, Father, by our sacrifice and our obedience—it is You and You alone Whom we trust with all that we are.  We will trust You, Lord…You never change!  Praise You, Lord!

Amen.

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Rejoice Over God’s Plan

October 23, 2013 by

SeekingHimLogoI saw the American flag hanging as a backdrop…Congressmen were moving within the chamber as white papers were being passed between them…something important was happening.

As I sit here this evening, the news channel shows Congress is voting about a big decision that will affect our county. It’s appropriate that the volume is turned way down. The decisions happening in Washington, D.C. need to fade in this moment.

I am aware that difficulties are on the horizon—if not soon, then, in the not-so-distant future. I need to be aware, to care, and to be in prayer. But the leaders of this world will not solve the problems of this world.

As beautiful and as massive as the White House and the Capitol buildings are, and as powerful as the people who live and work in them may seem, they cannot save us.

But I know of One who saves. And to Him I am grateful. His name is Jesus.

The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone;
the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day that LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalms 118: 22-24

When Jesus came to earth, He was rejected and crucified. He died in our place for our sins and rose to live again, so that we love and serve a risen Savior! He became the Capstone for us, and He is the only One who can truly lead us, save us, and help us!

When Christ was killed, even those closest to Him did not understand at first. But they soon came to realize that it was all part of God’s Plan! What seemed only to be evil at first came to be understood as a beautiful, loving, and sacrificial gift of God giving His Son to save the world.

So, we rejoice over what God did through his Son, Jesus.

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have gained access by faith
into this grace in which we now stand.
And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
Romans 5:1-2

And even though the future may hold many unknowns, I know God has ultimate victory, and I choose to put my trust in Him. Let’s take one day at a time. Dark days will come, and we don’t know how many days each of us have, so let’s make the most of what is given to us. How do we respond to an unknown future? Let’s strengthen our faith and be found trusting God’s plans for us.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6

I close with this:

On my TV screen, the Capitol is lit up in the dark skies…pretty scene….

In our lives, let our hearts be lit up with the love of Jesus in a dark world…more important scenes….

* * * * *

Dear Lord, let us be thankful that You sent Your Son to die for our sins and to become the Capstone!  We rejoice over Your Plan of salvation for us!  We love You, and let us each day remember what all You have done and rejoice and be glad in it!  In Jesus’ precious Name.

Amen.

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Crazy Love: Chapter 6 “When You’re In Love” – Help! I Don’t Love You (pp 103-109)

February 13, 2013 by

I’ve talked a lot in my blogposts about how we absolutely have to be WILLING to let God change us. So, when Chan started this section of the chapter talking about this very topic, I had to laugh. I think many of us make it much harder than it really is. Let Go, Let God. Right? Easy as pie.

<pause for laughter>

Oh, if only it were so simple. We are all running after something. It could be a dream God laid on our hearts. It could be our own selfish desires that are interfering with God’s divine plans for us. Either way, we are chasing after something. Do you want the race you are running to be worth it and bring glory to our Lord? Have you talked to God about your race lately to make sure you are following His Will and not running in another, safer direction? Do you even know the race that God wants you to run? We are only human. We want the easiest path; the less painful road; the one that will cause us the least amount of stress. It is just human nature.

But, my dear girlfriends . . . Jesus did not die so that we could live a complacent Christian life. He died so that we could live a full, rich life . . . walking alongside HIM! Jesus says that we will have trouble in this world. It is not a question of if, but when it will happen! When we take our eyes off of our Savior, our lives lose focus. Things get foggy. All of a sudden, the race gets a bit muddy and we have no idea which direction to turn. And sadly, this is when Satan can get a foothold into our lives and draw us even further away from where we should be.

“As we begin to focus more on Christ, loving Him and others becomes more natural. As long as we are pursuing Him, we are satisfied in Him. It is when we stop actively loving Him that we find ourselves restless and gravitating toward other means of fulfillment.”

(Francis Chan, pg 104)

BUT GOD IS ALWAYS RIGHT THERE! And He LOVES us SO very much!! We may stumble; we may even fall. But God is always there to help brush us off and get us back on the right track. When you lean into the Lord and put 100% of your focus on Him, He will make your path straight. That is a promise straight out of His Word.

Prov3_5_6

So, put all of your focus on loving the Lord with every single molecule of your being. Let God move into every area your life. Ask Him what race you should be running and commit to taking a step of faith for His glory. Let every word that you speak, every keystroke that you make, let all you do glorify your Lord today.

_____________________

Let’s Pray:

Father, letting You into our lives may not be easy. There are some areas that are just difficult and may even be strongholds for us. Lord, I ask that You tear down these walls. Show us a step of faith that we can take today to let You into an area of our lives that we have closed off to You. We want to run the race that You have set before us. We do not want to chase after something that is not pleasing to You. Help us to love You, Father God, with all of our hearts. Remove any obstacles or barriers that are interfering with our love relationship with You. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!

Your Assignment:

What is something that you KNOW God is calling you to do, but you have been afraid to take that step of faith and actually DO it? Commit it to the Lord today and pray for strength and courage to take that step. God is right with you. He will NEVER leave you nor forsake you. Share with us so we can pray with you.

If you are interested in joining this amazing online Bible study for Crazy Love, click HERE to sign up. Once you are registered, you will receive an email with further details.

If you would like to email a private message to Jennifer in regards to this blog, please email her at Jennifer@GirlfriendsCoffeeHour.com

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Life’s Healing Choices: Chapter 5 – Make the Choice (pp 144-148)

February 7, 2013 by

MAKE THE CHOICE

What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord, who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.  When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of refreshing springs.  The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.  They will continue to grow stronger, and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.

Psalm 84:5-7 (NLT)

Have you ever had something just “fall into your lap” and wonder why it appeared when it did, the way it did?  Last month, the February 2013 issue of “In Touch,” a magazine from the ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley, arrived in my mailbox and I dropped it in my bag to read when I had the time.  Preparing for this blog, I pulled it out and decided to peruse for anything that might be helpful.  Turns out this issue is about grace, about a deeper relationship with God, about seeking Him during our trials.  I doubt this is a coincidence.

I think we can pick up a few good tips from this little magazine today.

“God is willing to provide what we need in our darkest moments.  Like a spring, His provision never ceases to flow, but we must seek it.” (Hughes, 10)

Dr. Stanley writes, “Too many believers approach the Christian life on a behavioral level.  They go to church, read their Bibles, serve others, give generously, and try to be as good as possible, thinking that they’re doing what God wants.  Although all these practices are beneficial, they’re not enough.  He desires more for us than knowledge and good behavior.  He wants us to know Him experientially—person to person.” (22)

But, Max Lucado brings it home in such a simple way, ‘Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come.  ‘Twas grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.”  (31)

Recognize those words?  Amazing Grace!  For me, this chapter has been screaming about grace.  Not just about His grace towards me, but being gracious to myself.  God gives us a free gift (grace) to forgive every sin we’ve committed, and even those yet to be.  All we have to do is accept His gift.  It’s our choice.  Pretty simple, right?

So why is it easy to accept His grace for us, but we cannot extend the same gift to ourselves?  When I look back on the experiences that led to my heartache or bad circumstances, it’s been due to my choices.  I ended relationships, or started ones that were inappropriate.  I left jobs for no other reason than boredom.  I said things that hurt other people.  And, even though God has forgiven me and washed me clean with the blood of His son, Jesus, there are days I cannot look at myself in a mirror without thinking I’m a wretch.  I yelled at my kids.  I grumped at my husband.  I didn’t use His time wisely, or manage money effectively.  I trashed my body because the bad food sounded so good.  My hair’s out of control.  My waist is too thick.  My complexion is too splotchy.  I find every little fault possible with my life, my character.  What does this say to God?  Am I grateful for His creation?  His design for MY body, my character, my life?

While a symptom of my heart’s protective nature, it’s also a sign that the father of lies, Satan, is trying to keep me from thinking the truth.  If God has forgiven me, I need to let it go and stop beating myself up.  I’m not a bad person.  I’m just a person who made bad decisions.  This negative thought system is one of the biggest issues I need to overcome.  I need to stop checking off the endless list of things ‘wrong’ with this woman God created.   It affects how I view myself as a wife, a mother, a worker, etc.  And, rather than focus on my short-comings, I need to (1) focus on His Word & Truth about my life, (2) focus on not comparing myself to others, (3) focus on finding gratitude for each day and circumstance, and (4) focus on letting it go.  Hmm, there’s that control thing again!

We’re told in Ezekiel 36:26, 27: 

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will take away your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to follow My Laws and be careful to do what I tell you.  (NLV)

He will give us a new heart and a new spirit.  Will you reach out and accept this treasure from The King?

PRAY –

Take the time this weekend to write a prayer to God.  Acknowledge your shortcomings, character defects, areas you wish to change.  Tell Him what you would like to see instead in your life.  Be specific.  I once read that while God knows our prayers before we speak them, He wants to know that we have thought through the requests and really zeroed in on what we’re asking for.  I think it makes for a much more personal prayer than the rote memorization we learned as children.  Show God your gratefulness, even in difficult times, and as Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians, thank Him for everything (good & bad) in your life.  Ask Him to show you ways to change, and lessons to be learned from the experiences you have.

WRITE –

List  areas you have been able to turn over and surrender to Jesus during our study.
Are there areas you still need to turn over, attempting to control on your own power?  Remember, we make progress by focusing on one defect (or task) at a time.  Not by trying to attack it all at once.

Sometimes it’s not easy to see the positive changes in our lives.  What changes have you seen in the past 5 weeks?  Have you been able to celebrate and find joy in these steps?

Check out Life’s Healing Choices for an excellent note card exercise to help you focus on His Truth regarding your character and life.  I have a list of verses at my desk that I can see at a glance, but this exercise gives a more hands-on approach to keeping the Word close to your heart.  I have listed some of the verses from this exercise below.

SHARE –

Share the one defect God has guided you to focus on changing first.

Share the progress God is making in your life in changing this defect.

Share about your efforts to act yourself into a better way of feeling.

As I was writing this blog, this song came on my Pandora station.  I think it’s another God-moment.

 

Power Verses for Chapter 5:
Psalm 37:5

Matthew 5:6

Romans 12:1, 2

Philippians 1:6

James 4:10

1 Peter 1:13, 14

1 John 1:9

2 Thessalonians 3:3

 

Verses from the Note Card Exercise:

2 Corinthians 5:17

Psalm 9:10

Proverbs 3:5, 6

Proverbs 16:3

Matthew 11:28

Philippians 4:6, 7

Hebrews 11:6

 

Pray this with me:

Lord, show me Your will in working on my shortcomings.  Help me not to resist the changes that You have planned for me.  I need You to direct my steps.  Help me to stay in today, not get dragged back into the past or lost in the future.  I ask You to give me the power and the wisdom to make the very best I can out of today.  Amen. (prayer taken from Celebrate Recovery Participant Guide 3, p. 36.)

 _____________________

If you are interested in joining us for the amazing online Bible study, and would like to join our private Facebook Discussion Group, click HERE to sign up.  Once we receive your registration, we will email you further details.

If you would like to send Amy a private email in regards to this blog, please email her at: Amy@girlfriendscoffeehour.com

 

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A Daughter’s Worth: Week 11 / Day 5 – Be Confident of God’s Involvement

December 14, 2012 by

Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart

         and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.

  Proverbs 3:5-6

How many of you know that it is difficult to let go of certain things that concern us personally? To be honest with you, it use to be almost impossible for me to let go of anything that concerned me in any way. I use to feel like I was the only one who would be able to fix whatever needed fixing.

Well, I was busy with a process that involved the future of me and my immediate family. Although I prayed about this process and what needed to be done, I was all over the place. I did endless research; I read whatever was said about this process we were involved in. I worried whenever I submitted something, and I use to get agitated with my husband whenever he took too long completing some paperwork. Well, needless to say that we were not successful completing the process.

Things only started to fall in place once I surrendered everything, and I mean everything to God and admitted that I did not understand what is going on and need Him to direct my path.

What you have to understand is that God only wants what is best for His children. We might think that a certain person will make us happy, or if we can just get a particular outfit or whatever we are into at the moment; but God knows exactly what we need, and His plans for our lives are far more awesome than what we can ever imagine.

I was so inspired by the following scripture in the Amplified Bible. Hebrews 13:5

Let your character or moral disposition be free from love of money [including greed, avarice, lust, and craving for earthly possessions] and be satisfied with your present [circumstances and with what you have]; for he [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [ Assuredly not!]

Oh my, what an  awesome assurance!!!!

Girls, I want to challenge you today to be confident of God’s involvement in your lives. Know that God has your best interest at heart.

Let’s Pray:

Father, thank You for each girl who will read this blog. Thank You that we don’t have to be worry about anything and that we can trust You with our every need. We admit today that we need You to guide us and be with us in all of our endeavors.   Amen.

If you are interested in joining us in our GCH:decaf Teen Girls Ministry, please click the sign-up form button at the top of our webpage. Just follow the instructions on the form and hit submit. We’ll be happy to add you to one of our Online Bible Study Groups! Please email GCH_Decaf@girlfriendscoffeehour.com for more information.

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