What is Faith?

Good Morning and Happy Tuesday!

We here a lot of people use the word the Faith....but some of us might not know exactly what faith is.

In Hebrews Chapter 11, the Bible explains the meaning of faith and gives us lots of examples of people who had faith!

Lets take a look!

Hebrews 11:1, 3
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
By Faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

We have not ever actually seen God, BUT if we have FAITH, we KNOW that he's real and we know that he's there! We KNOW that God made the World and everything in it out of nothing, even though we weren't there to see Him do it! This is the meaning of Faith.

Now lets take a look at some examples from the Bible!

Hebrews 11:7, 11-12, 17-19, 23, 30-31
By faith, Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith

By faith, Abraham, even though he was past age-and Sarah herself was barren-was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had mad ethe promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, cam descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

By faith, Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.

By faith Moses; parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.

By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.

By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.

These are just a few examples the Bible gives of people showing their faith in our God.

Just think, what if Noah didn't have faith and didn't believe God when He told Noah to build a humongous Ark and load up 2 of each animal into it!? That would be hard to do, with the rest of the city people making fun of you for building this big, huge boat! But Noah did what God told him to do and God saved him and his family!

And Abraham had SO much faith in God, that when God tested him by asking him to sacrifice his ONE and ONLY son, Abraham was going to do it! And just when Abraham was about ready to offer his son, God provided a little Lamb to sacrifice instead and saved Abraham's son!

We need to have faith in God in our own lives! So God can show us how amazing He is! And show us that He is always there for us to save us, protect us, and most of all love us!

Put your faith in God!

How Majestic is our LORD!

Happy Monday! Hope you all had a great weekend!

This morning I read through a Chapter in Psalms. I haven't read in Psalms for awhile, and its really an Amazing book!

It's made up of poems...a lot of the poems are giving praise to our God, who deserves ALL our praise!!

Lets praise our Lord this morning with a Psalm!

Psalm 8
O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory above the heavens. From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?

You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.

You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Isn't our Lord absolutely AMAZING!!?? Think of everything HE HAS MADE! The trees, all the beautiful flowers to brighten up our days, the sun to keep us warm, rain to water the earth, all the different seasons! He made YOU and ME!

Our God is awesome! All-Powerful! Creator of Heaven and Earth!

Give Him praise today for everything He has made!

 

Encourage, Encourage, Encourage

Good Morning!

As Christians, we need to encourage eachother everyday in our walk with God. I believe that Encouragement is So important. It keeps people pushing forward, and keeps them believing in themselves and knowing that they can do it...through the hard times and bad.

We need to encourage them at all times! Not just in the hard times, but also in the good times! It keeps them knowing that they are on the right track and doing great.

A couple of verses on what the Bible says about Encouragement:

Hebrews 3:13
But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sins deceitfulness.

Hebrews10:25
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another.


Keep encouraging other's! So that you can be encouraged in your walk with God as well!

Encourage, Encourage, Encourage

Good Morning!

As Christians, we need to encourage eachother everyday in our walk with God. I believe that Encouragement is So important. It keeps people pushing forward, and keeps them believing in themselves and knowing that they can do it...through the hard times and bad.

We need to encourage them at all times! Not just in the hard times, but also in the good times! It keeps them knowing that they are on the right track and doing great.

A couple of verses on what the Bible says about Encouragement:

Hebrews 3:13
But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sins deceitfulness.

Hebrews10:25
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another.


Keep encouraging other's! So that you can be encouraged in your walk with God as well!

77 TIMES?!

Good Morning! Halfway through the work week! Yay!!

Have you ever been hurt so badly by a friend, a relative, an enemy....that you thought "Wow, I can never forgive them for that?"

We are going to dig in today and see what the Bible tells us about forgiveness. I know its not always easy to forgive, but God really wants us to follow His example and keep forgiving and showing God's love to those people who hurt you.

Matthew 18:21-22
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?
Jesus answered, I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

Not only does God tell us to forgive others, but he tells us to forgive "seventy seven times".....this doesn't mean we are to count the number of times we forgive one person. If the same person continues to hurt you.....Keep on forgiving them, don't stop.

Just as God continues to forgive us, His children, for sinning! When we make a mistake all we have to do is pray and ask God to forgive us and He will....every time.
Colassians 3:13
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Ephesians 4:31-32
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

This verse in Ephesians not only tells us to forgive, but it also tells us to get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger. It says to be kind and compassionate to others.
You know how it is...someone hurts you....and instead of forgiving you hold it all in and then you become bitter towards them and angry and it keeps getting worse!

It feels SO much  better to forgive the people in your life who hurt you, and to move on. Treat them with God's love and be kind. Not only will it make YOU feel better, but they will feel the love and see something different in you! What a great way to be a witness to others!

Matthew 6:14-15
For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Matthew tells us that when we forgive others, God will forgive us. This is so very important! Because we NEED and want God's forgiveness. Therefore, we need to forgive others.

I challenge you today, if someone has hurt you, give them a call, send them a text or email and tell them you forgive them. Its not easy, but it will be worth it.

Friends

Good Morning!

Friendships are so important in our lives. That's why I thought I would look up and see what God has to say about friends and friendships.

Lets dig in!

Proverbs 17:17
A friend loves at all times

The Bible says at ALL times....we need to be there for our friends...when they are happy, when they are sad or going through a hard time....We need to always be there for them and show them the Love of God.

Proverbs 16:28
....a gossip separates close friends.

Gossipping can ruin relationships so fast! We need to keep our mouths shut. Keep secrets that friends tell you and don't talk about people behind their backs.

John 15:12-14
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.

The most important thing God tells us, is to Love each other.

 In this verse, God also tells us that we are HIS friends! He is the best friend we could ever have! We are so blessed to have such a loving God, who wants to be our friends, He will never let us down.

Check your Attitude Young Lady/Man

Good Morning!

 I've never really read about Attitudes in the Bible before...so I thought it was pretty neat when I came across some of these verses! God tells us the kind of attitudes that we should have.


Philippians 2:5-11, 14-15
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in the very nature of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the father.

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.

The very first verse says "Your attitude should be the same as Jesus. Jesus obeyed God, humbled himself, and came down to this earth as a human to DIE on the cross for OUR sins!

We need to be obedient to God and we also need to be humble. God does not want us to have a proud "look what I did" attitude.

Then, a few verses down it says "do everything without complaining or arguing. When your boss, or parent, husband, wife asks you to do something...Just do it, don't complain about it or start an arguement. Yikes, I think we all could probably work on this one.

Follow Christs example and live with the Fruits of the Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and self-control. --Galations 5:22

Need more PATIENCE!

Good Morning!

I'm usually a pretty patient person, but lately, I've been feeling like I could use a little more Patience! So I thought I would dig in to God's word and see what he has to say about giving me more patience. And what He showed me is that in order to have patience I need to fully put my trust in God! And believe that everything will fall into place at HIS perfect timing!

Here are a few verses on patience!::

Romans 12:12
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

God will give us patience if we pray and ask Him for it. We need to be faithful in prayer and not give up.

Ephesians 4:1-2
....I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Colossians 3:12
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humlity, gentleness and patience.

As God's children we need to show the World these qualities, within ourselves. Its not always easy, and no, we don't ALWAYS show these qualities, but, I believe, we should try our hardest to have these.

Romans 8:25
But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

Psalm 40:1
I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

When we are waiting to hear an answer from God, the Bible tells us to "wait for it patiently". And when we do wait patiently, God sees that and is there for us and will help us through! How amazing and comforting to know!

A few verses on trusting in God, while we patiently wait :)::

Psalms 56:4
In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid.

Proverbs 3:5
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.

I love this verse in Proverbs!! Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart.....and He will make your paths straight! God will lead us exactly where He wants us when we trust in Him, listen through prayer where He wants us, and patiently wait for His leading!

God's word is always so comforting! I'm definitely going to put all my Trust in Him and work this week, on having more patients!

Enjoy the rest of your day!

A Proverb to Start the Day

Happy Monday!

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

The book of Proverbs has SO many wise sayings! I thought to start the week, we would read through Proverbs 16.

Proverbs 16:3-5, 7, 23, 28, 32

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.

The Lord works out everything for his own ends-even the wicked for a day of disaster.

The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: they will not go unpunished.

When a man's ways are pleasing to the Lord, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him.

A wise man's heart guides his mouth, and his lips promote instruction.

A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends.

Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city.


I just pulled out a few verses, I encourage you to read the whole chapter! There's so much good stuff in Proverbs.

Everything you do--do it for God. Pray and ask God what His will is for your life and commit to doing it. When you work together with God your plans will succeed, because you are doing what He wants you to do.

This Proverb also talks about not being proud. Be humble in all you do. Give God the credit. Because only with God are all things possible!

Your Most POWERFUL Muscle!

Goooood Morning all!

This week we started working through the book of Romans, but today I wanted to  take a "day break" from Romans and talk about Controlling your Tongue.

A Few Fun Facts:
1-The tongue is the most powerful muscle in the body
2-The tongue never stops working! Even when you sleep its still pushing saliva down your throat
3- Every tongue has its own Tongue Print


Lets get started!

We are Representatives of God.We represent Him through our speech and conversations. I read that the average person speaks about 30,000 WORDS A DAY! Thats a LOT of representation time! We have the "job" of showing people what God is like! Thats a big responsibility!
So we want the words that come out of our mouths to be kind, caring, loving, positive and we want them to build people up and not tear them down.

James 3:9
With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth comes praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.

God is the Creator of all things. He made us all in His image....when we put down, or bully other people.....we are putting down God. How would we treat God if he came over to our house for supper? That's how we need to treat all people.

James 1:26
If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.

James 3:5
The tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil amont the parts of the body. it corrupts  the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

We need to watch and control our tongues.
Here's a little rule to live by:

T-is it true?
H- is it helpful
I - is it inspiring?
N-is it necessary?
K-is it kind?

If the answer is No to any of these, then don't say it, because you might hurt someone's feelings....which hurts God.

Control that tongue :).

The WAR Inside All of Us-{Day 4}

Good Morning!


Today we will be looking at Romans chapters 7 & 8.

Lets Dig in!

Romans 7:14-25
So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right but I can't I want to do what is good, but I don't. I don't wan to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
I have discovered this principle in life-that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong.

I love God's law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a lsave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?

Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God's law, but because of my sinful nautre I am a slave to sin.

This is Paul talking about his constant struggle with sin....the war of good and evil going on inside him and inside all of us. We want so badly to do what is good and right, but since we are human and sinful, that doesn't always happen.
The good news??!!....Jesus Christ can free us from our sins.

Romans 8:5-6
Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. Letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.

A life of Peace!? Yes please! :). Let the Holy Spirit guide you through this life and control your mind and you will have peace!

Whatever is in your heart, mind and spirit will show in the words you say.....If you let the spirit control you, imagine how Kind, Loving, Comforting, and Peaceful your words will be towards others! What a great Witness for Jesus!

Romans 8:26-28
And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don't know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

Sometimes, it can be hard to know how/what to pray for. For example, if a loved one is sick...we don't always know how God wants us to pray for them.
 But if you have the Holy Spirit in you, it will help you pray and the Spirit will let God know your heart.

Romans 8:31, 34-35, 37-38
If God is for us, who can ever be against us?

Who then will condemn us? No one-for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God's right hand, pleading for us.

Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted , or hungry, or destitue, or in danger, or threatened with death?

No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ourt through Christ, who loved us.

And I am convined that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels or demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow-not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love.

God is the Almighty, Powerful King and he is on our side!! Not only is he on our side, but it says he PLEADS for us! Wow! The King of all Kings PLEADS for YOU!

It's so comforting to know that NOTHING separates us from God's love. He loves his children no matter what! When you are going through troubles and trials, or you are worried and afraid about today or tomorrow, when it feels like noone in this world is on your side or loves you...Remember GOD LOVES YOU! And GOD IS ALWAYS ON YOUR SIDE!

Thank you, Jesus for being on our side! And for loving us through the good times and the bad!

 

REJOICE through our Troubles?! How do I do that?-{Day 3}

Good Morning All!

I'm really excited, because one of my good friends is flying in today for a visit! It should be a good time! :)

This morning we are going to read from Romans chapters 5 & 6.

Lets Dig in!

Romans 5:3-5
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

Now, I don't know about you, but the last thing I want to do when I'm going through trials is rejoice....complain-yes, get upset-yes, frustrated-yes.....But Paul writes that we can REJOICE!! Because those trials help us grow in our faith, by helping us develop endurance and character!

Romans 5:6-8
When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

I like how it says "Christ came at JUST the right time". God's timing is always perfect. When we are waiting for an answer from God, we have to remember that in God's perfect timing He will reveal His will to us.

This verse shows us again how VERY MUCH God loves us!! What it says is so true...alot of us wouldn't be willing to die for good people, let alone our enemies! But Christ in all his love, grace and mercy died for all of us sinners. How amazing!!

The last part of Chapter 5 goes through and compares Adam (the first human God created) and God.

Romans 5:18-19, 21
Yes, Adam's one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christs one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. Cecause one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other obeyed God, many will be made righteous.
So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God's wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

It is so comforting to know that Sin no longer rules over all people, but now God's wonderful grace rules in its place! Thank you Jesus for dying for our sins! And showing us sinners all of your grace and mercy!

Romans 6:3-6
Have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.

I was baptized, I believe, around the age of 7. I knew that the Bible said we should be baptized after we became Christians to profess our faith. But I guess I really didn't know the full meaning!
To me, these verses really explain what it means to be baptized! The symbol of being baptized is that we died with Christ and were raised to live new lives as Christ's followers. He washes away our sins, through baptism. Sin has no power in our new lives!

Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Thank you Lord for that free gift of eternal life!

 

The Body's Got Talent-{Day 5}

Rise and Shine and give God the glory! Have you ever heard this song? My mom used to wake us up for school by singing this song in morning. What a positive way to start the day! :) Thanks Mom!

We are continuing in the book of Romans today! I'm going to skip ahead to Romans chapter 12.

Ready to Dig In?!

Romans 12:2-8
Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

I give each of you this warning: Don't think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.

Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christs body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to eachother.

In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others do it gladly.

The world often has much different views than God's views. We need to grow a deeper relationship with God, by reading and studying His word and talking to Him, so that we know what God's views are.

The Church is called the Body of Christ. All of us make up the different part's of the body. If our Human bodies were made up of all fingers we wouldn't be able to Eat! Or walk! Or see! Just as our Human bodies need different parts to function so does the church and this world.

The "body parts" of the church are the gifts that God has given each one of us! Some of you may be amazing singers, and can serve on the Praise Team at church. Some of you may be blessed with the ability to host or cook, you can use that to have a new couple from church over for dinner. Or maybe you are very encouraging to others, or God has given you the gift of teaching-lead a Bible Study or teach Sunday School.

There are SO many different gifts out there and there is not one better than the other...they are all very important in the Body of Christ! And God wants us to use those talents and gifts.

Romans 12: 9-
Don't just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.

Love eachother with genuine affection and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.

When God's People are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you. Don't curse them; pray that God will bless them. Be happy with those who are happy and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other.

God says we need to "love eachother with genuine affection". People can usually tell when you are being real with them or faking it. So SHOW people you love them. Speak kindly to them, be happy when they are happy, cry with them when they are sad. Encourage them. Help them.

Pray for those who give you a hard time. And don't curse them back. Show them God's love and pray that God will show them His love. And we are to live in peace with those around us.

Romans 12:19-21
Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, "I will take revenge; I will pay them back" says the Lord.

Instead, "If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads." Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

When someone does you wrong, the first thing you do is think of all the ways to get revenge! But this scripture says to show  those people love. And let God have revenge, because God's revenge will be better than any revenge you could give.

When keep showing people love they will see something different in you. And maybe, just maybe...they will begin to show you love right back :).

Its not Your Beliefs--Its your RELATIONSHIP with GOD{Day 6}

Good Morning!

This will be our last day in the book of Romans! We will be in Chapters 14 and 15 today.

Lets Dig In!

Romans 14:1-5, 10, 12-13, 17-19
Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don't argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. For instance, one person believes its alright to eat anything. But another believer with a sensitive conscience will eat only vegetables.

Those who feel free to eat anything must not look down on those who don't. And those who don't eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them. Who are you to comdemn someone else's servants? Their own master will judge whether they stand or fall. And with the Lord's help, they will stand and receive his approval.

In the same way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike. You should each be fully convinced that whichever day you choose is acceptable.

So why do you condemn another believer? Why do you look down on another believer? Remember, we will all stand before the judgement seat of God.

Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God. So lets stop condemning eachother. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall.

For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God, and others will approve of you, too. So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build eachother up.

There are all different kinds of beliefs and religions in this world. These verses are saying that we shouldn't judge other Believer's beliefs. As long as they have accepted Christ as their Savior and live for Him they are going to Heaven.

It doesn't matter if they worship on Saturday or Sunday...God loves us all the same and accepts them. And we need to accept all the Believers whose beliefs may be different than ours.

For our goal is to build other's up and show them love. And to live a life of peace, goodness and joy!

Romans 14:20-23
Don't tear apart the work of God over what you eat. Remember all foods are acceptable, but it is wrong to eat something if it makes another person stumble.

It is better to not eat meat or drink wine or do anything else if it might cause another believer to stumble. You may believe there's nothing wrong with what you are doing, but keep it between yourself and God. Blessed are those who don't feel guilty for doing something they have decided is right

But if you have doubts about whether or not you should eat somehting, you are sinning if you go ahead and do it. For you are not following your convictions. If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning.

These verses are saying you need to follow your heart. Do what you feel is right accoring to God. And obey His laws the best you can for you! Don't worry yourself about "how well"  other believers are doing in obeying God's laws.

Romans 15:2,5-7, 13
We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord.

May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giveing praise and glory to God,the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory.

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

God accepts us all as His children. We need to follow His example and accept others as well. And we need to give God the glory, Always!

 

Book of Romans-A Little White Lie-{Day 2}

Good Morning All!

Thinking about the Boston Marathon tragedy today...I'm praying that God comforts all those involved and brings healing to the people and city of Boston.


Today we are going to continue our study in Romans! I learned so much yesterday, I'm really excited to read what else God has to say to me today!

Ready to Dig In?! Today I'm reading through Romans chapters 3 and 4.

Romans 3:4
Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true.

This is a good way to start out :). I'm sure all of us have told a little white lie in our lifetime. Isn't it amazing that God NEVER lies to us!!....When he tells us He loves us...he MEANS it! When he tells us He comforts us....He MEANS it! When he tells us He forgives us...guess what?!...HE MEANS it!
I love that!

Romans 3:22-26
We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.

These verses tell us how we can become Christians and have faith in God. We are all sinners and that's why God sent His only Son to die for all of us and forgive us of those sins. To be "right with God" we need to place our faith in Jesus, accept that we are sinners, thank Him for taking away our sins and ask him to come into our lives and hearts. Then we can spend eternity with our Lord and Savior!

Romans 4:25
He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God.

Amen.

 

Romans-GOOD NEWS-{Day 1}

Good Morning All!

The past few posts I kind of skimmed you through the book of Matthew. The next book I"m reading through is Romans! Wanna take the journey with me?!:)

A little background first.....Romans was written by the apostle Paul. In my Study Bible, it says that Paul was writing to the church in Rome. He wanted to tell them God's plan of salvation for all people. The book of Roman's contains some of the prime secrets of the Christian life.

Time to Dig In! Today I read through Romans chapters 1 and 2.

Romans 1:2-5

God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David's family line, and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord. Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name.

I LOVE how Paul writes that God "has given us the PRIVILEGE" to spread the good news about what God has done for them!We should be excited about telling other people about Jesus so they can become believers and live for God!

Romans 1:12

When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.

Wow! This is so true! You should have friends whoare also believers so that you can encourage eachother in your walk of faith. Be accountable with eachother and build eachother up!

Romans 1:18-20

But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made,they can clearly see his invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

Romans 2:1-4
You may think you can comdemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things. And we know that God, in his justice, will punish anyone who does such things. Since you judge others for doing these things, why do you think you can avoid God's judgement when you do the same things? Don't you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can't you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?

These verses tell us not to judge other people's sin. No one sin is greater than another...so we need to concentrate and work on bettering ourselves for God.

Romans 2:7
He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers.

How exciting!!

Romans 2:13, 16
For merely listening to the law doesn't make us right with God. It is obeying the law that makes us right in his sight. And this is the message I proclaim-that the day is coming when God, through Christ Jesus, will judge everyone's secret life.

God is our one and only Judge. We need to live for him, be a witness to others and obey his laws.

Wow! I've learned a lot already from Romans! I hope you have too! This should be a really interesting book to study through.

Troubled Waters

Good Morning!

I'm soo excited...My hubby's been gone all weekend interviewing, and he flies back today! yayy!! I can't wait to see him!

Anyways...

Grab your nice, warm cup of coffee, tea or hot cocoa and lets Dig In to God's Word :)!

Today's scripture comes from 2 Corinthians.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

Sometimes when we are going through hard times and troubles, we feel like God isn't there for us. We feel alone. But in this verse God tells us that he's there to comfort us, when we are having troubles.

He's not here physically, but I believe that he uses us believers to comfort others. When you see someone going through a difficult time show them God's comfort and love, be there for them and remind them that God is there for them too. And He will "never leave them or forsake them".

Tomorrow we start our study on Romans! Don't forget to check back!

A Wife of Noble Character

Good Morning! Happy Saturday! :)

I hope you all are enjoying your weekend so far!

On Monday, I'm going to start our Daily Devotions in the book of Romans! I"m super excited! It should be a fun book, with lots to learn!

Today, though, I read Proverbs 31:10-31 "The Wife of Noble Character" Being a new wife myself, my goal is to try my best to be a wife of noble character. And to be all the things written about in this Chapter.

Proverbs 31:10-31
A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.

She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands. She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.

She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls. She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.

She sees that her trading is profitable, In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers. She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.

When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet. She makes coverings for her bed; She is clothed in fine linen and purple.

Her husband is respected at the city gate. where he takes his seat among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes. She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come, She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

 She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her; Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.

 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeing; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Wow! I"m going to work harder to be a God-fearing wife, who speaks with wisdom and gives faithful instruction. A wife who works hard to take care of my family/and future family. Who supports my husband in all he does. A Wife of Noble Character.

We all need LOVE

Happy Friday!
I hope you all are having a great start to the weekend!

There is SO much written and so many examples of love in the Bible. There are just a few of those verses that I wanted to share with you today.

If you get a chance you should look up on google or in the Concordance of your Bible all of the verses on love! Its amazing!

So lets Dig In!

Christ is our greatest example of love and loving others. He loved us soooo very much that he gave himself up for us by dying on the cross for OUR sins. So that we may be forgiven and live with Him for eternity if we choose too.

Ephesians 5:1-2
Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this; While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

John 13. 34
A new command I gove you; Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

1 Peter 4:8
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

God loves us more than anything. And his greatest command to us is love one another and show love to those around us.

What exactly is love, you ask? God tells us that in 1 Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 13: 4-8
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.

If there's ever a time in your life when you don't feel loved....Remember God loves you more anyone on earth ever could. His love is overflowing for YOU!

Show love to those around you today.

Don't Worry-Be HAPPY, now

Good Morning!

It's almost the weekend! Tomorrow morning my wonderful, handsome Husband flies back to the midwest to interview all weekend! He's done with his residency in June, and we are so excited to see the adventure that God has for us in the next chapter of our lives! I'm so proud of him!!

Alright lets Dig In to our Daily Devotion for the day!

Today we are going to talk about Worry....It's in our human nature to worry...worry about work, worry about our families, our children, wars, school, everything!

But God tells us in the Bible that we don't need to worry about tomorrow, we are supposed to let tomorrow worry about itself! Can you imagine a life with NO worry! ahhhh, how amazing!

Here's our scripture for today:
Matthew 6:25-27
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important that clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
Matthew 6:31-34
So do not worry, saying What shall we eat? or What shall we wear? or What shall we drink? For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

God says look at the birds...he provides food for them....and we, as children of God are much more important than them, so He will provide for us as well. How comforting to know!
He also tells us not to worry about tomorrow, focus on today and the present, because thats enough. God already has tomorrow taken care of...so we don't need to worry about it :)

Easier said than done, trust me I know, but lets try our best to seek God and let him take care of us and all our tomorrow's! Be comforted today knowing that God has tomorrow all taken care of.


And take the advice of Billy Bass :) That sang " Don't Worry, Be Happy, Don't Worry be Happy NOW!"


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Resist The Devil....And he will flee from you

Good Morning!

I hear that its storming, blizzarding, snowing like crazy back home in South Dakota! Its April! Where's Spring?! We are thinking about all you guys back there, Stay Safe! Hopefully this will be the last storm of the season! :) And Summer will be just around the corner

Today I'm going to write about Temptation....we all get tempted, and because we are human we all give into temptation.
Did you know that Jesus was also tempted, while he was here on earth? He is our example of what we should do and say when the Devil tempts us.

The Bible says that Jesus always gives us a way out. He also understands that we are going to fail and we are going give in to sin, thats why he died on the cross for us. To forgive us of our sins. And He will never give up on us.

We are going to read a couple of scriptures today. The first one comes from Matthew.

Matthew 4:1-11
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry.
During that time the devil came and said to him "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread."
But Jesus told him "No! The Scriptures say, People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God."
Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, "If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, He will order his angels to protect you.  And they will hold you up with their hands so you won't even hurt your foot on a stone."
Jesus responded, "The scriptures also say, You must not test the Lord your God"
Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. "I will give it all to you" he said "if you will kneel down and worship me".
"Get out of here, Satan" Jesus told him. "For the scriptures say, You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him."
Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.

Notice how Jesus kept quoting scriptures to the devil, and eventually the devil gave up and "went away".

I believe that when you are being tempted, You need to pray and ask God to help you resist and tell satan to flee from you. And you also need to quote scriptures.

God also gives us this promise in 1 Corinthians....

1 Corinthians 10:13
The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.

 Next time you are tempted pray that the God would show you the way out and follow Him.

LOVE your ENEMIES What?!

Good Morning!

Time to grab your cup of coffee and Dig into God's Word! This morning I read about LOVING YOUR ENEMIES!  What?!
Yes, God commands us to Love our enemies and to PRAY for those persecute you.This is not an easy thing to do (I Know), but remember with God's help ALL things are possible. And prayer really does help!! I've experienced it and its amazing what God does through prayer.

Today's reading is:

Matthew 5:43-47
"You have heard the law that says, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that.

As children of God, we are called to be different from the world's ways. Anyone can hate their enemy and love those who love them and treat them good. 
But GOD says we are to show our enemies love, be kind to them, treat them as God would treat them. Love them as we would love our friends. We can't do this alone, though, we need to pray and ask God to fill our hearts with love for those who are hard for us to love, because everyone deserves to be loved!
Go out today and show the world God's love!

If you would like to become a Christian and be forever a Child of God all you have to do is say this prayer and you will spend eternity with our Lord and Savior.
Dear Jesus,
Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I pray that you would forgive me of all my sins, make me new. I ask you to come into my heart and life. Be my Lord, Savior, and friend. Help me to follow you all the days of my life.
In Jesus' name Amen.

If you prayed this prayer you will be able to spend eternity with God in Heaven!!! Its so exciting!!

Put Your Faith in God

I was very blessed to be raised in a Christian home. We went to Church every Sunday and Wednesday, my Parents did devotions with us every morning before school, we learned Bible verses, etc.

But I have never read through the whole Bible! Its been a goal of mine. So I've started in the book of Matthew and God has shown me and taught me SO much already that I wanted to share with anyone else who wants to learn!

I'm not going to go in any kind of order...I'm just going to share whats on my heart for that day :)

So Lets Dig In!

We are going to start in Matthew 14:22-36:

These verses tell the story of the Disciples (Jesus' followers and friends), they were out on the water, when suddenly a storm of strong winds and huge waves began. Jesus was on shore and saw them and began walking ON THE WATER towards them.(This is one of the many things that show how AMAZING Jesus is!!).
Here's what happens next: Matthew 14:28-31 says "Then Peter (one of the Disciples) called to him "Lord, if its really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water". "Yes Come" Jesus answered. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves he was terrified and began to sink. "Save Me, Lord" he shouted. Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him "You have so little faith. Jesus said "Why did you doubt me?"

Peter asked Jesus to let him walk on the water too, and Jesus did!...But as soon as Peter got scared, he began to doubt Jesus. And that's when Peter began to sink.

I believe that with God's help we can do anything! Philliapians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength"
But the catch is we have to have FAITH and BELIEVE that with Jesus ALL things are possible!

Also, notice, though that when Peter did began to sink he asked Jesus for help and Jesus reached out his hand and saved him.
Jesus is always there for us!..He's just waiting for us to pray and ask for His help and He will reach out His hand to you as well :)
Isn't it great to know that We have such a loving and caring God!

I , by no means, know everything there is to know about the Bible, But if you have any questions or comments please let me know!