And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord , the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”
Exodus 34:6-7
Sunday, October 29, 2017
Sunday, October 22, 2017
Sunday Bible Verse
Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
John 14:27
John 14:27
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
God's Enduring Presence
I wanted to share something that I have learned this week about God. It's something that is a recurring theme in my life. I feel like I'm constantly being reminded what it means, even though I tell people about it all the time. I'm talking about what I'm calling God's enduring presence. Not promise, presence.
I tell people all the time that God is with them, no matter what, He is always there by your side, and He'll never stop loving you, never abandon you, and never let you go. It's something that I can see clearly in my own life, that God has never left me. He's always been hear, and I can always trust Him, even if I don't know how it will work out.
One of my most favorite Bible verses is Deuteronomy 31:6. God has led the children of Israel through the wilderness, and it's time for them to take control of the land God promised them. During this time they are also transitioning from Moses to Joshua as their leader. New land, new leader, I can see how they might be a little scared. But here is what the verse says:
"Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you."
Isn't it great to know that God goes with us wherever we are, and never leaves?! I find that very comforting. The "them" this verse is referring to are the people that were living in the promised land. God had told the children of Israel that they would have to fight with the inhabitants to posses the land. If we wanted to apply this verse to our lives, "them" may refer to someone at work doing something illegal, or a foreign enemy trying to hurt us where we live. It could be something like the house and car bills, or something your family maybe dealing with at home.
Here is my story I wanted to share today about how I was reminded of all of this just this week. It starts with me not wanting to go back to school, and believing that I wouldn't be able to afford it anyway. Everyone was telling me that it's something I needed to do, and that there were ways to do it. I didn't want to hear that. But God has been working on me, and I have tried to listen to His Will and wait for His timing. I want to do so many different things, but I didn't want to choose just one of my interests as a life-long career. But with a low budget capability I could only choose one and choose it wisely. I finally decided, about a month ago, on something that I would like to start a career in, planning on continuing my education in another field of interest after graduation. I was super excited. I had finally decided what to do with the next couple of years of my life, and I felt like God had led me to this decision. There were many things that still needed working out, and I didn't see any clear path on how to complete those tasks before I could get started, but I knew that if I just took everything one step at a time, God would take care of it all, one way or another. I had options, and I was waiting to see which one, if any, God would use. After the first two steps of my path, I was completely discouraged, and didn't see any possible way I could go to school. Isn't it funny how the things right in front of us can make us forget our faith? I didn't realize it at the time, but I had stopped putting my faith in God, and my whole point of view shattered. I came from this, "God says I can do this. I don't know how, but I'll make it through." And went to this, "There is no way around it! I can't do it after all!" My optimism dropped within two weeks. I stopped praying about school, and I stopped seeking God's help. I became bitter at the very thought of school.
Here's where my lessen was learned. My parents never gave up. My mom talked to people, and the next couple of hurdles were passed. I felt silly. She took one day to figure something out, while I felt defeated for a week and a half. I suddenly realized what happened. I took my focus off God and was relying on myself. Everything is not settled yet, but we're closer than ever before.
I learned a new aspect of something I have known for such a long time. I know God is always with us, and when He sets us on the path of His Will, He will prepare the way to accomplish that Will. But that doesn't mean it will always be easy to say or think it, let alone believe it. This is something I always knew, but I guess it hadn't fully soaked in. We need to keep our focus on Him through all of the darkness, not just the beginning or the end of that darkness.
Two things that I understand better after this experience. (1) The LORD truly does direct our steps. Proverbs 16:9. And (2) We need to be surrounded by fellow believers. Can you imagine what would have happened if my parents had no idea what I was going through? I probably wouldn't be writing this post right now.
You may think you know God very well in one way or another, but God will always continue to surprise you. I thought for sure I had this whole trusting God thing down, and that I knew all I needed to know about His presence in my life. But I was so wrong!
Elizabeth :)
Jesus Loves You! <3
I tell people all the time that God is with them, no matter what, He is always there by your side, and He'll never stop loving you, never abandon you, and never let you go. It's something that I can see clearly in my own life, that God has never left me. He's always been hear, and I can always trust Him, even if I don't know how it will work out.
One of my most favorite Bible verses is Deuteronomy 31:6. God has led the children of Israel through the wilderness, and it's time for them to take control of the land God promised them. During this time they are also transitioning from Moses to Joshua as their leader. New land, new leader, I can see how they might be a little scared. But here is what the verse says:
"Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you."
Isn't it great to know that God goes with us wherever we are, and never leaves?! I find that very comforting. The "them" this verse is referring to are the people that were living in the promised land. God had told the children of Israel that they would have to fight with the inhabitants to posses the land. If we wanted to apply this verse to our lives, "them" may refer to someone at work doing something illegal, or a foreign enemy trying to hurt us where we live. It could be something like the house and car bills, or something your family maybe dealing with at home.
Here is my story I wanted to share today about how I was reminded of all of this just this week. It starts with me not wanting to go back to school, and believing that I wouldn't be able to afford it anyway. Everyone was telling me that it's something I needed to do, and that there were ways to do it. I didn't want to hear that. But God has been working on me, and I have tried to listen to His Will and wait for His timing. I want to do so many different things, but I didn't want to choose just one of my interests as a life-long career. But with a low budget capability I could only choose one and choose it wisely. I finally decided, about a month ago, on something that I would like to start a career in, planning on continuing my education in another field of interest after graduation. I was super excited. I had finally decided what to do with the next couple of years of my life, and I felt like God had led me to this decision. There were many things that still needed working out, and I didn't see any clear path on how to complete those tasks before I could get started, but I knew that if I just took everything one step at a time, God would take care of it all, one way or another. I had options, and I was waiting to see which one, if any, God would use. After the first two steps of my path, I was completely discouraged, and didn't see any possible way I could go to school. Isn't it funny how the things right in front of us can make us forget our faith? I didn't realize it at the time, but I had stopped putting my faith in God, and my whole point of view shattered. I came from this, "God says I can do this. I don't know how, but I'll make it through." And went to this, "There is no way around it! I can't do it after all!" My optimism dropped within two weeks. I stopped praying about school, and I stopped seeking God's help. I became bitter at the very thought of school.
Here's where my lessen was learned. My parents never gave up. My mom talked to people, and the next couple of hurdles were passed. I felt silly. She took one day to figure something out, while I felt defeated for a week and a half. I suddenly realized what happened. I took my focus off God and was relying on myself. Everything is not settled yet, but we're closer than ever before.
I learned a new aspect of something I have known for such a long time. I know God is always with us, and when He sets us on the path of His Will, He will prepare the way to accomplish that Will. But that doesn't mean it will always be easy to say or think it, let alone believe it. This is something I always knew, but I guess it hadn't fully soaked in. We need to keep our focus on Him through all of the darkness, not just the beginning or the end of that darkness.
Two things that I understand better after this experience. (1) The LORD truly does direct our steps. Proverbs 16:9. And (2) We need to be surrounded by fellow believers. Can you imagine what would have happened if my parents had no idea what I was going through? I probably wouldn't be writing this post right now.
You may think you know God very well in one way or another, but God will always continue to surprise you. I thought for sure I had this whole trusting God thing down, and that I knew all I needed to know about His presence in my life. But I was so wrong!
Elizabeth :)
Jesus Loves You! <3
Sunday, October 15, 2017
Sunday Bible Verse
So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
James 1:19-20
James 1:19-20
Sunday, October 8, 2017
Sunday Bible Verse
But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
Matthew 10:19-20
Sunday, October 1, 2017
Sunday Bible Verse
Praise is awaiting You, O God, in Zion;
And to You the vow shall be performed.
O You who hear prayer,
To You all flesh will come.
Psalms 65:1-2
And to You the vow shall be performed.
O You who hear prayer,
To You all flesh will come.
Psalms 65:1-2
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