Tag: hope

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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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Victory

People will hurt you.  You will hurt people.  Living in a fallen world, this is a guarantee and a reality we all must live with.  It is in those times when our true characters are seen.  Yep, mine, yours, theirs…all our characters will be tested at some point.  We will all have to face the sad truth that even those who love us dearly will harm us in one way or the other.

Let’s look at David.  His King who was also his father-in-law spent many years trying to kill David.  King Saul was a troubled man who spent a lot of his efforts and resources as king to take David out.  One day, David was hiding in a cave and King Saul came into the very cave David was hiding to relieve himself:

He came to the places where the sheep were kept on the way. There was a cave there, and Saul went in to get rid of his body waste. Now David and his men were sitting farther back in the cave. David’s men said to David, “See, this is the day the Lord told you, ‘See, I am about to give the one who hates you into your hand. You will do to him what you think is best.’” Then David got up and cut off a piece of Saul’s clothing in secret.  After this, David felt guilty in his heart because he had cut off a piece of Saul’s clothing.  So he said to his men, “May the Lord not let me put out my hand against my leader, for he is the Lord’s chosen one.”  David stopped his men with these words. He did not let them go against Saul. So Saul stood up and left the cave, and went on his way.

After this David got up and went out of the cave and called to Saul, saying, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David put his face to the ground, showing much respect.  David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘David wants to hurt you’?  See, your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you to me today in the cave. Some told me to kill you, but I had pity on you. I said, ‘I will not put out my hand against my leader, for he is the Lord’s chosen one.’  Now, my father, see the piece of your clothing in my hand. I cut off the piece of your clothing but did not kill you. So know and understand that I have no desire to do wrong to you. I have not sinned against you, yet you come wanting to kill me.

1 Samuel 24:3-11

David was a man after God’s own heart – therefore he understood that, in order to win, he must not raise his hand against anyone, even when they are doing him wrong.  We must love our neighbor – just as Christ commanded in Matthew 22:36-40.  (Also see Matthew 5:44).  This is an easy thing to say, but so much harder to do.

What would happen if you were put in the same situation as David was, but with someone who has done you wrong?  Would you be able to not bring harm to them?  Or would you do something to “make them pay?”

Let me tell you a secret – if you leave the battle up to God, you will get your victory!  The story of David would have gone very different if he had not left the revenge up to God.  He would not be the revered King of Israel he became.  He is still revered today as a great King of Israel because he went the way he did.  Paul writes in Romans 12:19: “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.” Some things need to be left to God to handle because we were never meant to carry them ourselves.

Let it go, y’all.  Let God handle it.  Why?  Because David got his Kingdom, got his Temple, and is still revered today.  Live in freedom from bitterness, anger, and strife.  Let God do what only He can do.  Don’t try to step in and do things your way.  You (and I) will only mess things up.

Our freedom is worth too much to lose it over someone else’s actions.  Live in peace with each other and we all win.

Pray this with me: Father, thank you for another day I get to see and for the sacrifice of Your Son so that  I may live in freedom and in peace.  Lord, search my heart and show me areas of my life that I’ve tried to fight battles that weren’t mine to fight, but Yours.  Help me learn to lay these things down at your feet so that I may live in the very freedom that Christ paid for on Calvary.  Fight my battles, my Father, so that we all win.  I ask you to bless my enemies and all those who despise me.  Show them your love.  I thank you for all of this.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Be blessed everyone!

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Purpose

2015 has been quite a year already. One aspect of this year is the overwhelming sense of expediency. As I shared with a friend this past week, it feels like I need to start doing something significant….something greater than what I have been.

In my 29 years on earth – I wonder if I have done anything of significance in this world. I don’t want to wonder anymore. I want to leave a lasting legacy. My life needs to make an impact for the kingdom…because I am not living for me, but for Him.

Why am I feeling this way this year? Is it a pre-midlife crisis? Maybe. Or it is a better understanding that I am made for more than how I was living? The greater I understand that, the greater the sense of “get it done!” becomes. What about you? Do you feel that way?

Take a deep breathe and then let it out. Were you able to do that? Do you know what that means? You have purpose. You were not created just for you, but for Him…and, essentially, for those around you. You can be the person that reach the unreachable.

Are you asking yourself if you are worthy? Well, ponder the significance of this scripture:

Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. (‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭3‬:‭11‬ NLT)

He has a plan and purpose for you. Have faith that, even though you may not see the full scope of it yet, you are made to do the those things He has laid out ahead of you. Do not get discouraged. Do not let the enemy tell you that you can’t do it.

You will blossom when it is time. Keep on going down the right road and don’t give up hope. God will continue to do His work in you.

Be blessed everyone!

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. (‭Philippians‬ ‭1‬:‭6‬ NLT)

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Through the fire

In grade school, I remember watching a movie about nature. In that movie, it showed an entire forest burning. As we watched trees that stood as tall as buildings fall, the narrator described how fire – death – creates new life. The ashes of those before actually fertilize the ground so new things can thrive. Old things must pass away for fresh, new things to start growing. Through this fire, the forest life will actually be stronger.

Spiritually, this happens, too. We all go through the fire. There are seasons where it seems like everything that we hold dear is taken from us. It is scary and makes no sense. But there is great purpose in these seasons.

Take a look at these two scriptures:

When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. (‭Isaiah‬ ‭43‬:‭2‬ NLT)

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. (‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭2-4‬ NLT)

God is with us, even in the fire. He is refining us so that, in our next season, we will be ready for the new things that are He is going to bless is with. Never get discouraged when trials come – great things are always around the corner. Keep your faith strong & never give up.

Be blesse

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The Race

Are you a people pleaser? Well, I am. I absolutely hate when someone doesn’t like me. Odds are, I am going to come into contact with a number of people who will not approve of who I am and what I do.

There was a time in my life that this idea would consume me – so much that I would do everything to make sure it didn’t happen. That way of life is a slippery slope and I found myself in a place where I no longer knew who I was. That is not just a problem for me…but also for our Creator. He “knit us together in (our) mothers’ womb(s)” (Psalm 139:13). We are to work & please Him only, not others. (See Romans 12:2).

Now, my goal is to make Him happy. Do I still fall into the pattern of my past? Of course, I am human. But I don’t let it control me or change who I am. We are all too precious to compromise who we are in Him for someone else…who isn’t Him.

No, this post is not a post encouraging rebellion against authority. God has commanded us to list to authority and follow their commands – see Mark 12:17. We cannot make false gods of them, though.

One of my favorite quotes by Mother Teresa reads:

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered.
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies.
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you.
Be honest and sincere anyway.
What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight.
Create anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous.
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, will often be forgotten.
Do good anyway.
Give the best you have, and it will never be enough.
Give your best anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God.
It was never between you and them anyway

Also, ponder this scripture:

Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls! (‭Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭1-3‬ MSG)

We are to live for the One who gave His life so that we can live. Follow His lead. Live like that & I truly believe you will know what it is like to be happy. Be you & trust Him – it is enough.

Be blessed.

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