Video - Sheila Walsh: Peace In Your Brokenness

Author/speaker Sheila Walsh talks about her horrific childhood experience and the peace that broke its power. A powerful message!  ~Eve

Our Deceitful Hearts

"All deception in the course of life is indeed nothing else but a lie reduced to practice, and falsehood passing from words into things."  - Robert Southey

Have you ever heard someone say, "He/She is living a lie?" What this is telling us, is that when someone is "living a lie" they are in essence presenting a false representation of themselves to the world. When one pretends to be something they aren't, they are being deceitful and untruthful. 

The world in which we live is chock-full of lies. This provides a very fertile environment for deceit, and it wastes no time in taking root. Unfortunately, our own hearts provide an excellent location for "self-deception" to grow and prosper as it pertains to our relationship with God. And grow and prosper it does!

The problem with self-deceit is that it can blind us to God's truth. The apostle James warned against this exact thing. He saw this as an inappropriate response to truth (James 1:22); the truth being that God's Word is meant to change us (Psalm 119:11; John 17:17).

There are those who consider themselves religious because they accumulate a lot truth by reading scripture, listening to sermons, etc. They have a false sense of what true religion is about. I'm not saying that it's pointless to do these things, but if you are not being changed by any of it, then you are "living a lie."

One kind of self-deception is a belief that our words don't matter. This is a form of self-decieived (worthless) relgion (James 1:26). Contrarily, by successfully avoiding self-deception we are engaging in true (pure and faithful) religion (James 1:27). God favors our faith expressing itself through love (Galatians 5:6). 

Many Christians are "living a lie" when it comes to religion, and the worst part is that they are fully cognizant of this. Self-deception can be induced by human pride and arrogance. It can be very destructive to our religious lives if it goes unchecked. The by-product of self-deceived religion is an "empty" religion, which is undesirable to God. 

Keeping the Word in our hearts, exemplifying the Word, and persevering in the Word develops character and counteracts self-delusion. Our outward appearance and inward spiritual life can then be reflected in true proportionality of our love for both God, and His truth.

Augustine of Hippo summed this up rather nicely when he said, "Where I found truth, there found I my God, who is the truth itself."  

Scripture: Psalm 101:7; Psalm 120:2; Jeremiah 17:9; 1 Peter 3:10; Jeremiah 9:6  

Prayer: Dear Jesus, thank You for the path You provided me when You laid down Your life in my place. Sanctify me by the truth, Lord; Your Word is truth.  Amen

May your day be blessed!

Charlene

Why Are You in Despair, My Soul?

"The road that is built in hope is more pleasant to the traveler than the road built in despair, even though they both lead to the same destination."  - Marion Zimmer Bradley

Hopelessness, despondency, and discouragement. No matter the order in which way you arrange these words they all stand for the same thing, "DESPAIR." None of us are strangers to despair. In fact, it's a common occurrence in humankind.

We all have, at one time or another, experienced despair during tough, challenging times in our lives. And, when it does strike it usually leaves us feeling hopeless, despondent, or discouraged about personal matters in our lives, such as our: jobs, marriages/relationships, family, finances, etc.

If it goes unchecked despair can lead to a loss of faith about one's ability to find meaning, fulfillment, happiness, and possibly worse. As I mentioned earlier, none of are unfamiliar with despair. Even Jesus' apostles were not anymore exempt from the grasp of despair than we are.

Despair can be incited by fear. Who can doubt that the apostles found themselves battling despair on an almost daily basis? At times it must have seemed as if there was no way out of the formidable, circumstances that seemed to encompass them. Maybe you're even going through something similar as we speak?

It would be very easy to turn our backs on hope; to slowly give up. The apostle Paul was quite familiar with all of this, believe me. Yet, in 2 Corinthians 4:8, he shares some hopeful words of encouragement to those who may be suffering in the throes of despair. How was he able to keep it together, to be so optimistic and confident?

Paul knew he couldn't depend on anything or anyone in this world to strengthen, encourage, and guide him out of despair. That's a big mistake that many of us make. We count on help from the temporal, or worldly. He knew that the only way out of despair was through his knowledge that God is in control (Isaiah 55:8-9).

Paul learned that it didn't matter whether he lived, or died (Philippians 1:23-24); was in the state of abundance or scarcity (Philippians 4:12-13), He knew that God controlled his life, and that everything he went through would ultimately have eternal meaning (2 Corinthians 4:17).

It's easy to disbelieve God and His promises to provide and deliver us when we've been beaten up by despair. Friends may abandon us, and our enemies might kick us while we are down. But, as Paul was aware of, God will never leave or forsake us.

In times of despair God gives us hope. Regardless of how hopeless or afraid we might be during those dark, despondent times, God gives us the hope that we will soon be able to praise Him and take delight in His goodness (1 Corinthians 13:13).

The GOD'S WORD® Translation bible expresses 2 Corinthians 4:8 as, "In every way we're troubled, but we aren't crushed by our troubles. We're frustrated, but we don't give up." The next time you find yourself struggling with despair remember, "don't give up," God has you covered!

Scripture: Psalm 34:17-20; 1 Peter 5:7; Romans 15:13; Philippians 4:19; Psalm 147:3

Prayer: Dear Lord, I will show Your mercy to others; and I will glorify You by letting everyone know how good You are to me, Your mercy is boundless and no one, no matter how troubled or hopeless they may be,  should ever have reason to despair of Your loving embrace and support. Amen

Have a blessed Monday!

Makinzie

Friday Faith Check-up - "And So, Let Us Pray"

“God knows our situation; He will not judge us as if we had no difficulties to overcome. What matters is the sincerity and perseverance of our will to overcome them.”
~ C. S. Lewis

Whenever anyone brings up the topic of prayer in our daily lives they are sure to grab our attention. Prayer is very personal to each of us. The way we pray can be very diverse in style and manner. Most importantly, it's the most intimate connection that we have with God.

From time to time we may hear or read about the demise of prayer. Maybe you have even let prayer slowly slip away from your daily routine. The good news is that prayer is alive and well in the world. For example, according to a 2013 Pew Research Center survey, more than half (55%) of Americans said they pray every day,

Of course, 100% would be better, but if over half of the population is praying, I will take it! Like many of you, prayer was part of my daily routine as a child. I said my prayers every night before going to bed. As I grew older, my prayers became less frequent. My prayers even stopped for a time.

Why am I telling you this? I realize that life changes from day to day. One day you're up, and the next, well...you know! But, I want you to know that a prayer life doesn't just happen. It is developed, and then continues to grow over a lifetime. (I am happy to report that my prayer life is back on track!)

This might sound like there is a certain age when prayer should begin, but there isn't. You can start a daily prayer regimen at any age. God doesn't worry about qualifications or past history when it comes to prayer. Even if you've never prayed in your entire life, you can start today.

We have many ways to communicate today. Marvelous inventions enable us to exchange information faster, and more reliably than past generations. Our world is connected together by a vast network of processing chips, servers, and computer code. We can interact with one another almost anytime and anywhere.

But as incredible as all of this technology is, the best way to communicate with God is still through prayer. When we talk to God through prayer we don't have to worry about dropped calls, weak signals, or bad connections. Prayer is the most dependable line of communication to God there is, or ever will be!

Certainly, we can talk to God during our darkest moments. But, He also likes when we share, or update our lives with Him (James 4:8). Prayer can be an opportune time to confess our sin and ask for His help in overcoming it (Psalm 32:5). It also allows us to express our gratitude for His provision (Psalm 9:1).

We cannot overestimate the importance of  prayer. In fact, it is mentioned over 250 times in the Bible! In addition to those mentioned above, I believe the most important reasons to pray are: it is a personal gesture of worship and obedience (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18); and an admission as to who truly controls our lives (Isaiah 46:9-10; Daniel 4:17).

Wouldn't it be wonderful if one could simply pull up a chair and have a chat with God? We can! It's called praying. And, it's something that we should do on a daily basis. Unlike so many things in life, prayer will cost you nothing except a little time out of your day (Matthew 6:6). Isn't God worth it..?

Scripture: Jeremiah 33:3; 1 Timothy 2:5; Luke 11:9; Ephesians 6:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:17

Prayer: Dear God, may I always be joyful and full of faith, full of hope, full of patience; for your mercy leads me on. Amen

Have a blessed and safe weekend!

Kaye

Faith Without Trust Is Nothing

"We find faith by not only believing what Jesus says, but, even more, by trusting Jesus Himself."  - Oswald Chambers

How many times have you heard, "Keep up the faith," or "You gotta have faith?" Maybe you're familiar with someone who is a "faithful" Christian, or who "faithfully" attends church services. We tend to toss the term "faith" and its other variations around as easily as a Frisbee, but are we understanding it like we should?

Sadly, the world is full of those who have simply given up on faith. We can only speculate as to why this is so. Maybe their faith was weak, or they had none to begin with. Was their faith was snuffed out by some terrible incident in their life? Perhaps they grew less reliant on faith, and figured they just didn't need it anymore.

Like many things, what once had power, significance, and authority becomes weak, and ineffective over time. Complacency and loss of interest takes root, then unbelief sets in. This can happen to governments, business, personal relationships, and "faith."

Faith is defined beautifully for us in Hebrews  11:1, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” We put our trust in something that we can't fully confirm. As they say, this is what separates the men from the boys; the wheat from the chaff, the real players from the wanabees.

Also, faith in God does not come in different flavors like ice cream. However, there are two crucial parts to faith that are worth mentioning: intellectual assent and truth. The former is the belief that something is true. The latter is our confident reliance that something is true.

Information about Jesus Christ is familiar to many. And, some agree intellectually with the biblical facts as they relate to Jesus. But, being merely informed about Him is not the same "faith" described in the Bible. This type of faith requires that we are not only knowledgeable about Christ, but that we trust in Him, too.

Take a large passenger jet, for example. Our intellect tells us that it is built for flight. It's aerodynamic shape, wings, and powerful jet engines affirm this in our minds. Trust comes in when we actually step inside of it, strap ourself in our seat, and prepare for takeoff.

To know all about Christ and rattle off every verse in the Bible at will is impressive. But, do you trust, indisputably, that He died to absolve us of our sins? Bear in mind, this "saving faith"does not apply exclusively to "salvation." It's just as relevant to the Christian life. This is exactly the kind of "faith" we are to have in Jesus. This is "biblical faith."

Scripture: Hebrews 11:6; John 3:16; John 10:10; Acts 16:31; Romans 12:2

Prayer: Holy Father, form my life in Your Truth, and my heart in Your Love; free me from darkness and may You always keep me in the Light of Your Truth. Amen

Have a blessed day!

Susan

Video - Beth Moore: Free From Shame

Learn to be “eccentric” in Christ to live outside of the shame of our sin. Another great message from Bible teacher Beth Moore. Enjoy!  ~Eve

Our Holiness Is Attainable

“You are my Lord, because You have no need of my goodness.”  - Augustine of Hippo, Confessions

Among all of His other attributes, the immense "holiness" of God stands alone. There is nothing else that is more solemnly pronounced, nor with such frequency in Heaven itself than this (Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8).

Further, God applies His holiness as His assurance of His personal commitment (Psalm 89:35; Amos 4:2). It describes His glory and beauty, by which we use to honor Him, and to honor one another as He desires us to (1 Thessalonians 4:4; Ephesians 4:24). And, it reminds us that His holiness is His life (Ephesians 4:18).

I realize that this may all sound very intimidating to some of you. When we think of something being "holy" it sounds like something that is reserved only for an exclusive few (i.e., a VIP backstage pass). In my own mind I picture damp, dimly lit cathedrals with the monophonic tones of Gregorian chants reverberating off cold, stone walls!

We know that God is holy, but is it possible for us to be holy? We have a lot things going against us, I know, but what if holiness is something that is attainable for you and I. For the Christian, the hope for holiness is not only real, it is a necessity.

Hebrews 12:14 tells us outright that "without holiness no one will see the Lord." Of course, we could never be Holy as God is. He is "essentially" holy, we're not. Our holiness is obtained by our relationship with Christ. Our "practical" holiness grows as we spiritually mature.

Does this mean that our search for holiness concludes when we come to Christ? Not at all. Actually, we're just getting started! To make things easier let's put holiness into two categories. First, there's "positional" holiness. We inherit this when we are born again. The second is "practical" holiness, which we must constantly practice or work at.

God has some pretty big expectations of us when it comes to holiness. He expects that we conform to a lifestyle that exemplifies holiness (1 Peter 14:16), and to work on perfecting our holiness (2 Corinthians 7:1). Does this mean we have to live by a checklist? Of course not (2 Corinthians 3:6; Galatians 5:16-18).

Our achieving holiness is a joint effort between God and ourselves. He will support and assist us every step of the way. That is, if we cooperate and hand control over to Him. There are many qualities of holiness that He wants to promote within our lives. All He asks is that we allow Him to do so.

Can we just kick back and let God do what He needs to do? Not so much. Like anything of value, holiness will not be gained without a little sweat on our part. We must be active participants with God. Everyone must pull their own weight.

God didn't have to redeem us from sin and death, but He did by sending His only Son, Jesus Christ to take care of this for us, right? At the very minimum, in return, for this unselfish act, we should reciprocate in total surrender and holiness with our own lives (1 Peter 2:24 ).

Our ultimate goal, as a result of His mercies, is to become "holy and pleasing" to Him (Romans 12:1). The only way to get there is to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, and never stop pursuing holiness (Hebrews 12:2).

Scripture: Hebrews 12:10; Leviticus 11:45; 1 Corinthians 6:17; Philippians 1:10; 1 Timothy 6:11  

Prayer: Holy Father, renew me so I may help renew those around me. Amen

God bless you!

Alexa