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We don’t realize what we hold onto when we have odd against someone in our hearts. Sometimes the only thing that is holding us back from our destiny in Christ is unforgiveness. 

We won’t pretend like it’s an easy thing to do. We think some people don’t deserve to be forgiven because they hurt us so badly…

Did you deserve to be forgiven? We don’t have to live in guilt or shame, because we’ve been forgiven by Him. 

It’s not fair for you to be living in this bondage based on how another person has wronged or disappointed you. You deserve to be set free. You deserve to be happy and to go further in your relationship with Christ. God wants that for you. Do you want that for yourself?

Sometimes we like to live with unforgivness and bitterness. It fuels us and gives us an excuse for our behavior. You have to make the choice to release it from your life. 

How do we forgive? It’s a nice thought, but for some it seems unattainable. It’s not natural for us to forgive, so we need a supernatural power to overcome it. You need the power of the Cross. 

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.

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭12:9‬ 

When you are weak, He is strong! 

Forgiveness changes lives. It changed your life, when Christ forgave you. It’ll set you free, when you choose to forgive others. 

Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will be dishonest with much. 
Luke 16:10

What are you seeking from God? Jesus says that we need to be trustworthy in order to receive blessings. If you have a friend who’s borrowed from you in the past, but has never paid you back, are you likely to loan money to them again? Probably not. 

Likewise, our Heavenly Father looks for those He can trust. Again, what are you seeking from God? If you’re seeking a better job, you need to be faithful and hard-working in the job you have now. If it’s more money you seek (be mindful that the love of money is a sin), God needs to see that you are being responsible with the money you have. He also wants to see that you’re being faithful and tithing that money. 

If you want your business to flourish, make sure you’re running it in a God-honoring way and being obedient to His direction. 

Maybe you’re waiting for Him to use you in a ministry or calling. He is looking to see what you have done with the assignments (no matter how seemingly small to you) that He puts in your path. Have you been obedient in the small things He’s asked of you and put on your heart? If the answer is no, how can He trust you with the big things?

Serve where you are now, and watch God bless your life. 

Galatians 5 is talking about the attributes that come out of us when devote our lives to Him. Wouldn’t we all love to have love, joy and peace? That is the evidence of a fruitful relationship with Jesus Christ. 

The verse right after these say:

We are able to leave behind our past and our failures and our sins; not because of anything we can do, but because of what Jesus already did for us. You can step into this fruitful life, all you need to do is to devote yourself to Him. 

Devotion starts with one step. Decide that Jesus is the Lord of your life. Believe in the incredible thing He did for you on the cross and let Him change your life. It won’t be immediate and it won’t always be easy, but because of a relationship with Christ, all those missing parts of your heart will start to fill up. 

If you’ve already made that decision, look at the evidence of Christ in your own life. Does it look like Galatians 5:22-23? 

love

joy

peace

patience

kindness

goodness

faithfulness

gentleness

self-control

If not, spend time with Him. Do what you need to do to get back in the right place. Get rid of the areas in your life that are hindering you. Make it a priority to show off the fruit of the Holy Spirit. It will be the best testimony to get others to know Him too. 

You have been given a special mission from God. God could be calling you to foreign countries, or to preach His Word to vast amounts of people. God could be calling you to your school, or your work and specifically to reach the people who are around you. 

No matter how big or small your mission is perceived in your eyes; that’s your mission. It’s your purpose for this moment, and God thinks that it is huge. 

In Esther 4, Esther had a huge task ahead of her and 4:14 says, “Perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this.” 
Perhaps this is YOUR moment! Perhaps where you are right now is the destiny God has for you. Whatever mission field He’s placed in your life, do it with all your heart. Ephesians 6:7 says: “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord and not people.” 

When you go through the daily routine and feel less than impressed, know that God has you here for a reason. You are taking these specific steps for a purpose. They are either the steps leading you to your moment, or your moment is right here. 

Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her fast will be blessed.‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3:13-18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

How do we find wisdom and gain understanding? 

First, read the Bible often and follow what it says. We can sing praise and worship songs, talk about how much we love Jesus and wear a cross around our neck, but in John 14:15, Jesus said: “If you love me, keep my commands.” We can know exactly what he commands because we can read about it in His Word. 

Another way to attain wisdom is to pray continuously. When we pray, we further develop an intimate relationship with our Father. The more you pray, the better you will be able to know the voice of God and the specific way He speaks to your heart. 

Between knowing what the Bible says, obeying his commands, and following the path He’s personally spoken into your life, you will be able to walk in wisdom and understanding. You will be prompted to take the steps He would have you to take. The wisdom part comes in when you follow that prompting. When you decide to follow that still small voice instead of your worldly desires… that’s wisdom. 

When you get to that place in your walk, God is able to invest in your gifts, talents, and use you in incredible ways. Proverbs says that wisdom makes you profitable. 

It’s harder than it seems. We all make mistakes. We blow it daily and walk in the flesh instead of in the Spirit. God says that those who find wisdom are to be blessed. So if you feel like you’ve disobeyed too many times, get back up and search for understanding! Get to the place where God can use you, because He can absolutely use you! Get one step closer to all the plans He has for you. 

Do you want to be profitable to God? 

Since childhood, there’s no feeling like disappointment. When feeling the sting of dissatisfaction, it’s inevitable to become angry. We become angry at the people closest to us and those who influence us the most. We become angry at God because we don’t understand our situations. 

Oddly enough, the best way to get through this is the way that makes no sense at all…

Give thanks. 

Don’t just give thanks because it will make YOU feel better (because it will). Give thanks because God is the author of your story and he deserves all the gratitude. 

Here’s the tough love part… WE ARE SPOILED. We tend to expect our lives to travel in a specific direction and when it doesn’t, we experienced some road rage. Like children, we have specific wants and we can’t help feeling let down and upset when we don’t get what we want. 

This past Sunday, one of the pastors at my church spoke of God’s sovereignty. When it is said that God is sovereign, it means that He is the ruler over all and has ultimate power. It’s easy to say and sing about the fact that He is sovereign, but do we believe it? Do you believed that God is in control of each and every one of our lives? He decides our path. Whether or not it’s a path you approve of, he still commands it. 

It’s a commonly stated verse, but it serves more of a purpose than graduation cards and plaques on the wall. 
He knows your plan. 

He knows everyone’s plan and he’s perfect so He doesn’t get the plans confused. 

When we become disappointed, a lot of the time it’s because our plan got messed up, but God’s plan is still in place. Give thanks for that. Give thanks for the parts you understand. Give thanks for the parts you don’t yet. Everything is as it should be. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

God bless you and your family! 

Let me tell you one more scandalous story in the midst of this political drama and confusion. There was once a man who was born to remarkable circumstances. His father was a king, but his mother was an ordinary townsperson with a very pure heart. 

The man was raised with his mother and her husband in a small town and learned his step father’s trade. Still, his father intended for him to do great things and rule beside him in the kingdom. As a child, he demonstrated much wisdom. The elders in the town were impressed at how much this boy knew at such a young age. 

At the age of thirty, he went off to fulfill the plan his father had in place for him. He traveled the land and spoke about this plan often. He gained followers, but also many people despised him. They hated him because he showed kindness to those who had made many mistakes, he spent time with people in the town that were labeled “untouchable”, he invited everyone, including the poorest into his kingdom, and even miracles were witnessed on his account. 

The scandal was so great in the places he traveled that people wanted him killed. They planned and plotted and one night, he was arrested. The basis of the charge was the uproar that he brought on the roman territory that he lived in. 

He was decided guilty and sentenced to the worse possible punishment… death. First, he was beaten to the point of almost extinction. Then, he was forced, despite his injuries, to walk himself to the place where they would end his life. 
In his final words, he forgave those who had done this. The biggest scandal of this whole situation was that his death was necessary. It was the very moment that his father had prepared him for. You see, his father is the creator of the universe, our God. 

“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 

God sent his son to the world because before Him, we had no hope. Before him, we had no direct connection to our Heavenly Father. His name was Jesus and when he died, the curtain in the temple that separated the Holy of Holies (which was the earthy dwelling of the presence of God) and the rest of the temple was torn from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51). This symbolized that there was now nothing that could separate us from a relationship with God. 

Not only did Jesus die for us, but he also rose again three days later. Luckily for us, that’s not the end of the story. Likewise, the next president of the United States is not the end of the story. Jesus is coming back. He’s coming back for those who believe and those who accept Him as their Savior. 

Unfortunately, this message of salvation is going to be more offensive to some people then the deceiving antics of our political system. The name of Jesus is used as a derogatory word, it is the punchline to many jokes, and it has been the cause of many disputes around our country and our world. 

Don’t reject your only hope! I promise, the next president is not it. 

​I’ve been thinking a lot lately about comparing myself to others. It’s such a part of our human nature to gauge our success on the triumphs of others. I’ve truly learned that comparing myself to another is the fastest route to discouragement and frustration. 

God has a plan for YOU that is an original plan. There was no copy and paste involved. Each of us were designed with just the right talents and situations to lead us to our perfect destiny, and to carry out the very specific plan that is meant for us. 

Therefore, there would be no benefit in comparing one walk to another. There is only one we should be modeling our lives after. 1 John 2:6 says:

If you need a gauge on how you to live your life, look at the life of Jesus. We are to be imitators of Christ, not of man. At times, we feel the need to compare ourselves to others because it defines our worth. How we look to an earthly perspective drives our actions. 

Sometimes comparing ourselves just makes us feel better. “I messed of pretty badly, but look at ________________. He/she is much worse.” 

Galatians 1:10 gives some insight:

In eternity, it truly doesn’t matter how you appeared to the world. You can only take significance in the fact that you are in a relationship with Jesus Christ. It’s most important that you fervently search for the unique plan that God has for you and then unconditionally obey.  

In the end, no one is going to ask how well you compared to ______________. It will definitely matter how well you compared to Jesus. 

It’s October! That means we all bust out the pumpkin flavored treats, the boots and scarves; the fall decor. With all the outward markings of autumn, come the cooler weather and the always exciting start of the holiday season. We can finally start our Christmas countdowns and ditch the diets.

There’s definitely a lot happening, and boarding mid-September, life is on a nonstop train to the new year. I am the first in line to bask in the awesomeness of fall. I live in South Florida, where in October, the alternative to heat is a hurricane (See ya, Matthew!). Despite that, you better believe that the second the temperature drops below 80… I’m in full fall attire (boot cuffs and all).

This coming season is a special one for me, because I’m preparing to marry my high school sweetheart. It is certainly one of the most exciting times in my life, but with that come the stresses of planning a wedding, finding a place to live, and just generally getting life figured out. I have always dreamed of a Christmastime wedding. I don’t regret that decision, but without a doubt it’s added some extra anxiety.

To slowly get to the point… Life is crazy for me. I’m sure it’s not too different for you. The question that keeps coming to mind is: What are you “falling” for (or into)? You may be falling for the excitement of the current and coming months. You may be falling into anxiety or sadness because of how much you have to do, or the sad memories the holidays force you to recall.

In all this, let’s not forget to “fall” into the arms of Jesus. Even though a lot of our celebrations are centered around Him, sometimes we aren’t. Your relationship with God isn’t a New Year’s Resolution (like every year’s resolution to go to the gym). Getting closer to Him isn’t a goal to set for the future; it’s a goal to set every morning when you wake up.

This morning, I was brought to 1 Thessalonians 2:17 and it’s a different one for me. It says:

But, brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned by being separated from you for short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you.

Paul was speaking of a time that they no longer were able to see Jesus face to face. They had to make an effort to seek Him. All through college, my fiancé and I were in (what I like to call) a semi-long-distance relationship. He went to the University of Florida in Gainesville and I went to Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. The two schools are 295 miles from each other (which is about a 4 hour trip). I call it “semi-long-distance” because I still got to see him one or two times a month usually.

I learned a lot about my relationship with God from those four years. It takes work. You can’t ignore the relationship and expect it to be strong. You have to take time aside for that person and sometimes you have do things that you don’t necessarily like. Likewise, you can’t put your relationship with God to the side and then wonder why it’s not strong.

I repeat myself all time when it comes to this: IT’S A RELATIONSHIP. Paul said that when he was separated from his Savior, he made every effort to see Him. The effort may seem impossible at times, but you’ll quickly know the worth of it.

“Fall” into a deep relationship with Jesus Christ. Make an effort to know Him by worshipping, studying the Word, and getting connected to a group of people who also have an intense longing to know him.

Have you ever met someone who only speaks complaints? Even when very positive circumstances are occurring in their life, they have something negative to say. It gets tiring, especially if you’re that friend who always tries to make it better. Your attempts end in no avail.

 
Do you think God ever feels like that friend? All he does is give, yet many of his followers give nothing back. 

I tend to use so much of the time I spend communicating with God, asking for provisions or pointing out the flaws in my world. Jesus actually gives us an outline on how to pray in Matthew 6:9-13:

“This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, 

hallowed be your name, 

your kingdom come, 

your will be done, 

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread 

And forgive us our debts, 

as we also have forgiven our debtors. 

And lead us not into temptation, 

but deliver us from the evil one.”

I’ve mentioned this before, because I love how simple and specific of a direction Jesus gave us to follow. He speaks about praying for yourselves, praying for the world, and extending forgiveness. He also mentions that we should “hallow” his name. To hallow means to honor as holy. Our God, the creator of the universe has done amazing things and we are to honor his greatness. 

One way we can honor our Father is to simply say thanks. Seems like a meaningless task, but how often do we wait for those two words, from the people in our lives that we do things for? 

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. 

1 Chronicles 16:34 

We can get caught up in all the negativity. We can complain and plead for it all to be dealt with. God definitely wants your attention. Praying and spending time with him are both essential parts of our Christian walk, but while you’re at it, thank him for all the many blessings he has given. 

Maybe take a moment to write down a few of them down. As I think about it, I am truly amazed by the number of times I didn’t understand what he was doing, but he worked everything together for his good. 

He promises so in his Word:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:28‬ ‭

Dwell on these great answered prayers instead of the unforetold ones, and thank him! He is mighty and worthy of your praise.