Tag: grace

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Slaying Giants

The Bible is rich in wonderful stories that teach us how to walk this life out. One of my favorite characters in the word is David. His life has so many twists and turns, but His faith in God never changed.

A shepherd boy king…there is a profoundness in that statement. The image of how God will take the truly lowly and make them great should bring encouragement to us all. The anointing of God was on him and David was more than he could ever be by himself.

Let’s look at a part of the David’s story in 1 Samuel 17, where he came to bring food to his older brothers and ended up slaying a giant (let that statement permeate a minute in your spirit for a moment):

But when David’s oldest brother, Eliab, heard David talking to the men, he was angry. “What are you doing around here anyway?” he demanded. “What about those few sheep you’re supposed to be taking care of? I know about your pride and deceit. You just want to see the battle!” “What have I done now?” David replied. “I was only asking a question!” He walked over to some others and asked them the same thing and received the same answer. Then David’s question was reported to King Saul, and the king sent for him. (‭1 Samuel‬ ‭17‬:‭28-31‬ NLT)

David’s own brother didn’t want him around because he knew David’s anointing (his power and authority given to David by God) and didn’t want him to, yet again, steal his thunder – remember, David was crowned king after all his brothers were rejected. Hmmmm, how many times in our lives do some of those who are around us, our brothers and sisters in Christ, try to quiet us because they are intimidated by our anointing?

Let me just say this – if people are (1) trying to take you out, (2) talking about you behind your back or (3) doing what they can to make you seem smaller than you are – you are on the right track! The enemy (that would be the Devil, not our brothers and sisters in Christ) only wages war on people that threaten his efforts.

You want to know how best to “slay that giant?” Do everything in LOVE. No matter what others do to you, they are God’s children and deserve to be treated as such. Showing that kind of grace to those who don’t treat you well will bless you greatly. Take the story of Joseph in Genesis 37-50. The grace he showed his brothers saved their lives and brought prosperity on the next generations.

I’ll leave you with this scripture:

If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. (‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13‬:‭1-3‬ NLT)

Be blessed everyone.

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Healing – The Next Step

Healing – an essential part of life. So often, when we seek healing, it is for the physical…for sickness in our bodies in some form. Emotional healing is just as essential. Just like the physical, without it, we could die.

Unforgiveness is a poison no one needs to hold onto. Please see more on this in my post Forgive 4 U. We must not let people/situations hurt us so much that we cannot move on – that is the work of the enemy!

Healing needs to come – which begins with forgiveness. Unfortunately, there is more to it than that. After forgiveness, there still might be some pain. The emotions & the changes that occurred due to the incident(s) can be hard to swallow. Don’t give up! Don’t let the enemy steal your joy!

1 Peter 2:24 says: He Himself (Christ) bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live righteousness; by his wounds we have been healed.” (NIV). Give all these things over to God & lay them at the Cross. Jesus already paid it all so that we might live in victory. Let God fight this battle for us.

I pray that in this new year, the things that we have held onto for years will fall away & we might be able to enjoy life the way God intended it to be.

Be blessed everyone!

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For such a time…

It amazes me, when I read any of the laws & regulations, that the people of the Old Testament had to live in such a different world than us. How Christ’s life, sacrifice on the Cross, and Resurrection allows us to live in such grace & freedom.

As we enter into a time of celebrating the gift of Christ’s birth & life, think about how blessed we are to live in this time.

You were put here just for this moment in time. Make the most of it! (Jeremiah 29:11)

Be blessed.

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Same place, same boat

Oh how very different we all are. There are really no two people that are alike. God designed it that way. We are all his creation & masterpiece and sincerely valued by the God of Angel Armies.

How ironic that we ultimately are all the same? Maybe not in look, character, or personality…but in reality, there is one sure thing that binds us together as one body – our desperate need for a savior.

I don’t care how holy or evil one may seem, we need the Cross daily. No one is perfect or Devine except for the God-head. So many times, though, we get it mixed up.

One thing I discovered as a counselor is how deeply Our Father loves each of His children, no matter what they have done. It struck me speechless many times His deep, pure, unconditional love He has.

Thus, we must understand that we cannot treat those who do horrible things as second class citizens or as if those of us who are “good” are more deserving. Why? Because everything you do to people, you do to God. (Matthew 25:40)

Therefore, we must treat people well not because they deserve – we need to treat people well because we are doing it for God. Of course, we need to honor our own boundaries because we need to treat ourselves well, too. If we treat people the way they deserve to be treated, then no one, including ourselves, would ever be respected. Ultimately, without the Cross, we are all disgusting.

Remember that we are ALL in need of a savior every day, that God loves ALL His creation, and we must do to people what we want done to us. (Luke 6:31)

Take a peek at this scripture:

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (‭Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭8-10‬ NLT)

Remember that homeless man, the sketchy lady you run into, or the thug on the street…they were all created for a purpose by our creator, just like you!

Be blessed.

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