Pressing Reset

Being a Christian does not automatically cause you to stop sinning. Nope…I am a sinner in need of a Savior every day.  Being a Christian also doesn’t keep you from experiencing tough times.  Nope…we go through them like every other human on the Earth.  The difference, though, resides in who we turn to when in those trials.

Here is a major battle I fight often: I feel so inadequate and unworthy at times. I feel very much like I am worthless…like the promises God has placed on my life are not real.  Oh, but those are just lies.  They are lies from the enemy who wants me to cower and not fulfill my life’s purpose; to keep me believing that I am weak and no different than I’ve ever been.

What about you? What are the lies the enemy tells you?  What self-talk do you struggle with?

The greatest way to counter those lies is the word of God. The truth in the Bible is everlasting.  It will not die!

Here are a few truths I consistently remind myself of:

God loves you and me: But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

You and I are made new: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

He knew us before He formed us: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5

Through Christ, we are made strong: “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”(2 Corinthians 12:9)

Believers have been given eternal life: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

We have been bought with a high price: “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” (1 Peter 1:18-19)

Replacing the lies of the enemy – whatever those lies may be – with the word of God will keep your mind on track. Keeping your thoughts on track will help you stay your course and finish the race set before us.  Don’t ever give up!

There are times, though, where I find myself in a place that I am unsure what are lies and what aren’t. It get confusing because life gets busy, I don’t spend time with God like I should, or I’m just stuck in a mindset that is unhealthy…I will have to pray this simple prayer from Psalm 139:23-24:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”

I encourage you to start spending time with God every day. Pray the prayer from Psalm 139,  Feed your mind with the word of God so when the enemy lies, you can remind yourself what God says about you.

Be blessed, readers.

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Success 101

What is success to you?  Is it money, education, family, what car you drive, or who you hang out with?  What is the trait that binds all of those things I just listed together?  Yep, they are all dealing with the what we look like on the outside.  

1 Samuel 16 describes the anointing of David, the shepherd boy king.  Samuel walks in, sees these big, strong sons of Jesse and assumed that one of them would be the next King of Israel.  Oh, how he was wrong.  David, the littlest of them all, was anointed that day.  Why?  Because, despite what he looked like on the outside, God knew David’s heart.

In the same way, God knows ours.  He understands our strengths and our weaknesses.  He sees who we are and who we can become.  He has a purpose and a plan for us even if we seem like the most unqualified of the bunch.

God’s unfailing love and consistent grace is why we can achieve success.  It is not by how well we know our craft, but how well we know our Saviour.  Not how long we spend at work, but how long we spend cultivating a relationship with Our Father.  Because it is in Him we find life.

My friends, success without God is nothing…worthless.  David needed God’s guidance in order to build the Kingdom.  We need His guidance to do the same.

“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” ‭‭James‬ ‭4:10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Live fearlessly in Him! Be blessed!