Living in the Confidence and Hope Found in Christ Alone!
I have been using the words fortress, refuge, and strength in my prayer life lately.
I wanted to find a Bible verse that spoke of these characteristics of our Mighty God. And Jeremiah 16 is what popped up in my search.
I look forward to diving more into this Scripture as time and energy permits. It is definitely a Scripture to partially write out and put on my “Wall of Encouragement” in my room… where I highlight certain things that hit home during my quiet times.
❤️
Let’s talk about loving folks. It’s Summer, which isn’t the easiest time of year to love others if you wrestle with the heat.
In Scripture, we are urged to consider how we treat others. We are taught to love God and love people. But, what if we struggle profoundly with loving people?
There are a variety of Scriptures we could turn to and quote. But, let’s stick with Romans 12:9 – “Don’t pretend to love others. Really love them.”
Bottom line: As God’s children, we absolutely cannot only love those that love us. This is what nonbelievers do. How can we allow our lives to scream the Gospel and glory of God – if we are not allowing Jesus Christ to shine through us?
Applying Scriptures to real live relationships is hard, especially if you have difficult to love people in your life. In order to allow my life to scream the Gospel and His glory, I have to be increasingly more careful about how I interact with others.
Yet, this is what I am urged to do: love despite others’ unloving remarks and treat every interaction as an opportunity to serve our Risen Lord! I have to cry out to the Lord for His strength and help, so I can glorify Him in this difficult relationship.
I have to remember to rest and refocus as I spend time with this person. What we give in time and other resources is absolutely a ministry – all on its own. And I have to keep reminding myself that He is my ever present help in times of trouble. The relationship can grow and cause spiritual fruit to show up our lives.
Reflection: How are you loving that difficult friend or family member – when you feel as though you have nothing to give? How can you better prepare your heart to love the unlovable person in your life? How have you witnessed the Gospel and glory of God loudly on display, as you love others?
If you have chronic illness and are interested, we have a Facebook Bible Study (on Ephesians) that starts up January 13! You can join the group by clicking here.
Oh friends, we need the joy of the Lord to be our strength!
Hang in there.
Seek His face.
Draw nearer to our King.
He is waiting and has soo much in store for us.
So many resources and gifts He wants to bestow upon us.
Hey everyone!
I wanted to let you all know of a new opportunity to join me in digging into the Word of God – specifically the book of Ephesians!
The “Walking Into The Light” Study Journal is completely optional. But, it is $4 on Amazon right now for those who want to join in the Bible Study.
Because of how the day’s readings are spaced out, it will be a thirteen (13) week Bible Study!
This is an amazing opportunity and super affordable! [Especially if you have Amazon Prime] I paid under $4.50 for my copy.
You will not want to miss this, so be sure to order your journal and join the Facebook Group for our Bible Study on my friend Melanie’s group.
Journal – https://www.amazon.com/dp/1533266212/
Facebook Group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/ccien.biblestudygroup/
My apologies for the uneloquent linking, my laptop hasn’t been allowing me to use WiFi last few weeks. So this is all via my cell phone. Who would have ever thought that we could write blog posts or Study Announcements via our phones?
In Christ,
Stace
In Exodus 16, we are met with how our God can provide all we need. In this place, we see His plenty. The question I want to ask you today is this: How are you trusting the Lord to be your plenty (more than enough)?
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Look, I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that day. I will test them in this to see whether or not they will follow my instructions. On the sixth day they will gather food, and when they prepare it, there will be twice as much as usual.”
Exodus 16:4-5 NLT
Each day’s food was provided for them. While they could hoard like we may be tempted to do in the midst of a pandemic, He taught them important lessons through it. Notice how on the following day, with the exception of Sundays, the left overs had maggots crawling all over their spoiled food.
Then Moses told them, “Do not keep any of it until morning.” But some of them didn’t listen and kept some of it until morning. But by then it was full of maggots and had a terrible smell. Moses was very angry with them.
Exodus 16:19-20
I can see quite a bit of myself in this single chapter. The Israelites are giving complaints and hoarding their resources. While I am not recovering from a physical time of slavery, I have my own set of circumstances. My trials have shaped me and taught me of my need to trust in our Lord Jesus Christ. But, complaining can become an easy trap to fall into, for anyone.
While the Lord was giving the people plenty and teaching them to trust Him, they continued to air their complaints against God. God is the One who is in full control and loves us far more than words. Yet so often, we forget that He isn’t only giving us enough… He is giving us more than enough. He has given us plenty.
In this physical realm, it may seem like we have not been given enough – much less plenty. There is a quote floating around that “when you can’t trace His hand, trust His heart.” Through the Bible, we get to meet our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ up close and personal. Yet in our hearts consumed with trials and worry, we have to consider if we will trust His plenty or our trials. This is not an easy passage to wrestle with, but it is a worthwhile one.
The problems we face are hard and honest struggles. We face things such as homelessness, abuse, chronic illnesses and more. Our God is much bigger than we are, and knows exactly what we need to do. [Get as far away from abuse as you can. That’s never something our Lord would want you to stay in.]
We need the Lord Jesus and His Church to remind us of His truths and His Words. Coming together in community and following the Lord Jesus is what it’s all about! How are you taking notice of His plenty? And reminding Christ following friends of His plenty?
Three quick tips for sharing plenty with friends:
(1) Recognize their needs.
(2) Point them to our King Jesus who is present with us in the storms of life.
(3) Speak this truth: He can stop the storm or carry us through it.
And pray with them, friends. Sit with them while they wait for the Lord to “show up” in their trials.
