Tag: Christ

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The Power of One

As humans, we care about numbers. How many friends we have. How big our salary is. How many people watch this show. Or even how many people show up to our event.

God is not always like this. Great numbers of people coming to Christ for the first time is special to Him, yes. But so is just one. God will gladly orchestrate a situation for you to reach one person, even if it is inconvenient for you. Check out what Jesus said here:

““Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”

Luke 15:4-7 NIV

Or the situation with the Woman at the Well:

“Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. Now he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)”

John 4:1-8 NIV

Jesus was passing through & knew He had to stop there in order to reach this woman. I wonder if it was a bit inconvenient for Him & His disciples. But to reach that one woman mattered enough to Jesus to make His way there. When you read further in John 4, you will see that, because He took the time to reach her, she reached her town.

That is why the ONE matters to God. Because the ONE rarely remains just one.

What does that mean for us? It means that you can make a huge difference. You matter so much to God & to His kingdom. It means that when you are sent on a weird route or you are on a detour you didn’t expect – look out for one that you need to reach. Because God will orchestrate something just like that.

Out of 7 billion people in the world, God celebrates when one comes to Christ. Because each of His children matter to God.

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No Matter What

It seems the older I get, the more I realize how trust in God is our lifeline.

So many bad things can happen to us – it doesn’t matter how “holy” you are. But knowing that, no matter what we face, God has our back & will work everything out for our good. That knowledge brings a peace that knows no understanding.

Whatever you are going through, give it over to God & trust His ways. Lean into Him and find rest.

“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 ‭3:5-6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

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Shelter

I am in a rather long season of singleness. Being alone can make you lonely sometimes, but it is in this time of “aloneness” that I’ve found a special relationship with God.

He is my shelter & my foundation. My lack of person, in the wee hours of the night, has lead me to late night talks with the Holy Spirit. I can lean into Him and find my hiding place – my safe place, where I can share those things that no one else know.

Psalm 91:3-6 says “Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stocks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.”

This is the promise for me & for you. In the darkness, he will cover you…when the arrow flies, he will cover you…when the person talks behind your back, when you are overlooked, when you feel defeated, broken or misunderstood, he will cover you.

In those “wee hours of the night” talks, remember to tell the Holy Spirit all that is on your heart & let him wrap you up in himself. You have shelter in him.

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Unity

Unity – the state of not being multiple. That is what Christ wants for His church. If you consider yourself a Christ-follower, He is speaking about you & I. It is no secret that, in America, unity is not where we are in our country. So many of us are waiting for our government to unify us, make this country better. But we can’t depend on them to do that. It must start in the church…with us!
So many things could divide us if we let differences matter. I am very blessed to attend a church that is multiracial, multigenerational, and multi-socioeconomic. We aren’t a perfect church because that doesn’t exist. But the fact that we have many differences and yet we are one family says so much. It shows me that unity within the body of Christ is possible.

We are going to be different. We are going to have Democrats & Republicans, different races, some people wealthy and others that aren’t – and still work for the same goal. The Church should be where unity starts.  

Let’s show love to others regardless of how different someone is to us. Speak truth, yes. Preach the word, yes. Live righteously, yes. But love people like God loves. Seek justice for those who deserve it. Treat all people like they have value…because they do. Everyone is made in God’s image.  

Let’s start being the change we wish to see in the world & living boldly. Who is joining me?

““A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.””

‭‭John‬ ‭13:34-35‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2:1-4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3:12-14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭3:26-29‬ ‭NIV‬‬

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Road to You Accepting You, Pt. 1

In 30 years of life, I’ve struggled quite a bit with self worth.  I know I am not alone.  In fact,  I am pretty sure you are someone or you know someone who are struggling/has struggled with it.  It is a hard thing to overcome, but to live a bold life in the Kingdom, we must overcome.  We must understand who we are in Him.

No, not being prideful or boasting about how you are better than everyone.  But understanding the power God has placed in and on your life.  Understanding that He has a purpose and a plan that no one can take from you.  YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD.

To do this, to accept yourself as a worthy son or daughter of God, one must go on a journey.  It isn’t something you can just do one day because you are bored.  There are steps to this that may take time and effort. Change never happens overnight.

The first step may not be what you think it is.  It may not be what the world says is the right way to accept yourself.  But this must be your first step in any journey in the Kingdom.  Be humble before God and acknowledge that you are not perfect and in desperate need of Him.

Have you ever tried to be perfect?  Ever tried to never get anything wrong?  It’s hard and discouraging.  But why is it that way?  It’s simple – because we are sinful creatures, being born into sin and have to fight our flesh on a daily basis.  God is our source, our savior, our keeper.  He is the one who is perfect. We need His presence everyday to combat this awful flesh of ours.

As we all know, Lucifer believed that He was perfect and, subsequently, was sent to Hell.  As humans, created in His image, we have the wonderful Grace that God provided through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus, we can now live a new life if we are born again.  But we must practice humility.

1 John 1:8-9 says: “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”

He is faithful and He is all we need!

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 says: ” Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.  That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

When we are weak, then we are strong!  Be humble before God and confess you need Him daily!  How do you start this journey – designating a time to pray every day, reading His word every day, fasting, cutting the things of the world out of your life.  In doing this, great things will happen.

Live boldly, dear friends.  Many blessings!

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A NEW SEASON

I live in Texas.  Rarely do we ever see a full season here with the exception of summer.  Even then, we have those crazy moments.  Like a few years ago, in the middle of July, we are outside in sweaters and coats because it is 40 degrees.  The next day, hot and steamy again.

I’ve recently turned 30.  That was one big birthday!  Kind of hit me a little hard.  But I’ve looked back over my last 29 years of my life and I saw that I’ve dealt with life like Texas handles it’s seasons.  Sporadic, crazy, chaotic.  For me, that is no more.

1 Corinthians 13:11 says: “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”

Will you take this journey with me?  Will you decide to lay down the childish ways of your past and move into a new season of maturity?  Let’s start a new season.  Not just because it is a new year, but because we have only a small time on Earth.  Let’s make it count!

Be blessed everyone!  It’s a new season!  Step boldly into it.

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Your First Love

Love…so often spoken about…we speak the most about love in the context of romance.  Finding that “one” that is yours and you their’s.  A special relationship indeed.   According to the world, this is the greatest love we can find.  But I contest there is one greater…our first love.

 Having a relationship with God, I understand that I already belong to someone…I belong to God, the Creator of the universe, the one who holds the entire world in His hands…I belong to Him and He belongs to me.  He is my first love.

He is your first love, too.  Sinners, Saints, anyone in between, He is your first love, the one Who loved you from the very beginning.  The one who sees every mistake, fault, problem, frustration, crack…loves you.  It doesn’t matter what you have done, who you are, how far you have ran…you cannot go too far to exceed the bounds of His love!

David describes this part of God’s character:

“If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” Even the night shall be light about me; Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You.” Psalms‬ ‭139:8-12‬ ‭NKJV‬

God is love.  In that love He sent His Son to give us a chance at everlasting life:

“In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” ‭‭I John‬ ‭4:9-10‬ ‭NKJV‬ (emphasis added).

If you ever feel insignificant, unimportant, forgotten, unloved…remember your first love. Remember that God loves you because you are His…you don’t have to do anything to obtain that love.  It was yours from the beginning.

Thank you, Father, for your love!

Be blessed, dear friends.

  
Haven’t accepted Christ as your Lord & Savior yet?  Pray this with me: 

Dear Lord, I am a sinner and am in need of a savior.  I ask that you forgive me of all my sins.  I ask Jesus to become my Lord & Savior and He makes a place in my heart.  I want to be made right with you.  Thank you, Lord, for loving me enough to save me.  Amen.

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Redeemed

Redemption – defined as “the action of saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil.”  A word used in the church, but I think not many truly understand.  That is because our human brains cannot fully wrap our heads (or hearts) around it.  In reality, our society has little space for such a concept.

Have you ever seen a celebrity “fall from grace” and then try to get their life right again – only to be reminded of their past transgressions over and over again? That is the goal of our advisory – who isn’t our neighbor, church member, friend or foe.  It is the work of Satan himself.  He makes it very difficult to walk in grace, if we give him power.

Do I believe there are consequences to every sin?  Yes, of course there is.  But grace says the consequences are not a death sentence.  Once you have given your life to Christ, accepted the gift of redemption through the Cross, and make amends with those you hurt – you should get up and move on.

Don’t allow anyone or anything working for the advisory tell you otherwise.  You are redeemed, made new, whole again.  Walk with your head held high.  Love those who remind you of your past.  Let God fight your battles.  Don’t let Satan win.

If you struggle with this – I encourage you to place these scriptures somewhere you can see them everyday:

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” Ephesians‬ ‭1:7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.” Titus‬ ‭2:11-14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.” I Corinthians‬ ‭7:23‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians‬ ‭1:13-14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Get the enemy out of your mind & put on the mind of Christ.

Live boldly, dear friends, and be blessed!

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Stand…

“God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.” Matthew 5:10 NLT

My heart hurts for the Middle East Christians who are being killed, tortured, hated, forgotten…may the Lord bless them and give them a great reward for staying strong in their belief in times like this.  They are truly my heroes.

We can learn a lot from them, especially those who have the freedom to worship however we like…people like me.  I hate a little conflict.  Even a tiny fight with a friend makes my world start to spin because there isn’t peace.  My fellow believers, we need to get over the ache of a little conflict and realize that persecution for doing RIGHT can be a good lesson to learn.

I know you are saying “What???  Has Brooke lost her MIND????”  But, think about this – when we are persecuted, we start to understand the plight of Christ in His last day.  He stood up, was spat upon, beaten, tortured, stripped naked, and hung on a cross to die.  If only Satan knew that instead of killing Him off, He just gave Him the rights to the Kingdom…

To our brothers and sisters in the Middle East who are continuing to stand up for what you believe – I applaud you.  May Christ reward you greatly.  May we, here in a world with much less persecution, learn from you and start standing up for what we know is RIGHT.

May all those who worry about making the person next to you mad so you don’t share the truth with them – remember that even just a little persecution brings us closer to who Christ is.  Stand up, speak up, and live a life without fear!

Prayer: Father, bless those who are being persecuted for your sake, especially those in the Middle East.  Give them great rewards and send them peace here on Earth.  Help us, those who live in a much easier situation, stand up with our brothers and sisters and not back down to just a little conflict.  Build up an army of believers that will do whatever we need to do to make sure your truth is known.  And make me one of your warriors in that army.  I love you.  I thank you for being you.  In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.

Be blessed everyone!

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Credit: freeimages.com

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Footsteps

Generations – my church’s theme this year. I have been thinking about this a lot lately – about whose legacy I am living out. I find it interesting that my maternal grandmother retired from the insurance business and now I currently am working in insurance. I am walking in her footsteps and find it very special. Her husband, my beloved grandfather (we called him Papa) – was one of a kind. I wish the entire world knew him because I truly believe they would fall head-over-heels in love with him. I am a little partial, though.

My grandfather only wore cowboy boots – it is a Texas thing. I loved walking around in them. They went all the way to my thighs as a young girl and I couldn’t even bend my knees, but they were my grandfather’s so I didn’t care. My heart longs to walk in his shoes today – be kind to one another, love people, take care of them. I hope I am making him proud. Another habit of his I am trying my best to immolate is reading the Bible every day. He loved that thing and you can tell it was well used when you looked at it.

Having a heart for God’s word is a vital part of having a relationship with God. John 1:1 speaks of how the Word of God was there in the beginning, it was with God and it was God – speaking, of course of Jesus Christ. Knowing the Word brings us closer to who Christ is – having that in our heart will make us like Jesus. It will also help us know when the Enemy himself is setting a trap for us so we can avoid it and not succumb to his advances.

I encourage you to spend a part of your day taking in the Word of God. You will be happier and more at peace than you ever have been. No need to be super ambitious and try to read the entire book in one sitting. Just take a chapter a day to start out. Let it flow over you like a refreshing spring. Do this and watch your life change!

“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” (Psalm 119:105 NIV)

Pray this with me: Father, I thank you for the Word you have provided. I want to learn it and hold it in my heart. As I start to read your word, speak to me. Show me things about my life that I need to know. I want to know you better and carry your word inside my heart. Help me continue with this good-for-me habit. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Be blessed everyone!

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