100 Percent

Sin.  Missing the mark.  Falling short of the glory of God.  

We all know what it is to sin and how it feels when we do – both the short term pleasure and the long term pain.

Maybe what we don’t know is how Jesus views sin.  

When he started preaching, he said, “Repent and believe, for the kingdom of God is near.”  I believe he was after the chief sin of unbelief in the human heart.  

Later on he said, “The Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin because they do not believe in me.”  He also said, “He who doesn’t believe has been judged already, for he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.  

And herein lies the judgement: that the light has come into the world, but men loved darkness rather than light.”

Jesus always went right to the heart of the matter.  

Too often, we take aim at the symptoms of sin and not the root cause.  All selfishness and bad behavior is rooted in and fueled by a refusal to believe in or trust in Christ.

Men and women spend their lives in all sorts of destructive behaviors because they don’t want to surrender their lives to Christ.  

The straight and narrow way of Christ may appear too restrictive, too dull, or even too impossible to them.  

Even many Christians find the spiritual life dull and confining (and modern day church may be partly to blame for this.)  It is only when we commit fully to Christ that the light begins to dawn and the road becomes a little more navigable.  

I learned a lesson in surfing, that once you commit to a wave you need to give it 100%; anything less will result in a disastrous wipeout.

The apostle John makes it clear in his first epistle that sin is to be the exception in the life of the believer, not the rule.  

In Christ, we have the power to overcome sin.  

Not always, but most of the time we can walk in love, in faith, and in obedience to Christ.  Habitual sins take time to eradicate and much help and grace from God and from our friends is often needed.

However, surrender to a defeated life is never a good option.  Even if we get knocked down every day, we need to get back up and try again.

The apostle Peter wrote, “After you have suffered a little while, the God of All Grace  will himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”  (1 Peter 5:10)

~ Brad Heilhecker

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The Seed We Carry

“The enemy is after the seed you carry” I heard these words loud and clear a few days ago. While talking to Papa God and going back and forth. He asked me why do I think the attacks on certain people in the Body of Christ where so horrendous and cruel over the last especially seven years. 

The enemy did everything in his power to make us despondent with one attack after the other. The attacks got more intense as time went on, because we were persistently holding on to the promises of Papa. Unknowingly Papa trained us to endure more and more pressure. Our faith grew to heights we never thought possible, our character was tested and transformed and Papa had His way in our lives in the presence of our enemies.

This was crucial training and the lessons learned will be our yoke breaking testimonies forever. The enemy tried to stop the seed that each one of us carry from growing, but he actually helped us to carry our seed full term. We now realise the battle was never about us, but what Papa has deposited in each one of us. Many personal and private sacrifices of obedience Papa asked from many of us, our lives were disrupted in different,  painful ways, but we did not give up on His dreams for us.

It was never just about walking out difficult journeys, the dark times formed Papa’s heart and character in us, that no other journey would have. We came to a place we never thought possible where our minds are at peace and our hearts are free and no amount of attacks would ever be able to take us back to our past. We have awakened to higher levels in the Spirit, we hear His voice clearly and our eyes and ears are alert to every plan of the enemy. We were trained to fight from a position of rest, knowing that every battle is the Lord’s. 

The seed we carry will impact countless people, every sphere of society, governments, nations and our families. Generations will benefit, because of the price we have paid, through our obedience.

This is the last stretch where training is fast, at times it will feel like our heads are spinning, because Papa is dealing with issues in our lives that were left unattended for so long. There will still be attacks to stop us from giving birth, but we will fight from a position of rest, because the battle is the Lords.

We will give birth to every promise Papa has for us, in the presence of our enemies.Satan could not stop us, and he knows that the seed deposited by our Father is going to set the world alight. Keep your focus, lean into Papa and rest in Papa. 

Ecclesiastes 3:1

To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven.

Revelation 12:11

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Romans 8:19

For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.

Romans 8:14

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.

 

~ Ebigale Wilson

The Seed We Carry

The Journey

If You Want Love

This weeks #SongSunday is a song I had to Shazam recently.

It’s by NF – Album is Perception. Song is “If You Want Love”

NF is Nate Feuerstein who also is the songwriter.

Enjoy!

The Sun, The Moon, and The Stars

Earthly romances fascinate us.  

To find someone who thinks the world of us and who we ourselves adore.  It is the stuff of legends and glorified in a multitude of books and songs.  

Whether we know if or not, the allure might be that, for a time, we get to be the sun, the moon, and the stars for someone else, and this lover, our beloved, is our sun, moon, and stars.  

If only young lovers would listen intently to those who have been married for decades and know the realities of keeping romance alive, we would have far fewer divorces.

In Christ, the vision is more humble. We don’t get to be the sun, moon, and stars for someone else.  

In this romance, God is the sun, Christ is the moon that reflects God glory so that we can gaze upon it, and we are like the far flung-stars that illuminate the night sky.  

The sun gives us life, the moon reassures us that the sun is still there at night, and each of us, like stars, gets to play our part and demonstrate the vastness and the mystery of Our Creator.

So let us “do everything without grumbling or complaining that we may become blameless and pure, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom we shine like stars in the universe”—a sobering yet exhilarating vision, a high calling, a challenge equal to the loftiest of ambitions.  

What a wonderful Creator God is Our Father!

~ Brad Heilhecker

Return To Me

Some of my favorite words in the Bible are, “Return to Me...” these words bring me comfort and HOPE that God cares for me and wants what is best for me. These words are used often in the prophets. God spoke to them and used them to remind the children of Israel that they needed to “return to His instructions.”

 

I usually do not like to list verses without copying and pasting them in, but there are so many with these words that I wanted to give them to you and have you read them yourself!  

 

Zechariah 1:3

Nehemiah 1:9

Jeremiah 24:7

Hosea 6:1

Jeremiah 4:1

 

I chose one verse to share with you…

 

Malachi 3:7

 

Since the days of your forefathers

you have turned from my laws (instructions) and have not kept them.

Return to me, and I will return to you,”

says Adonai-Tzva’ot.

“But you ask, ‘In respect to what

are we supposed to return?’ (CJB)

 

The children of Israel often walked away from the heart of God and would follow what the cultures around them were involved in. They often chose to forget what God blessed them with and found it easier to be a part of the world around them. Maybe trying to follow the instructions God gave were too difficult. Maybe they just wanted to be like everyone else. I guess we will never truly know what caused them to turn away from God’s teachings, but one thing is for certain, they rebelled often.

 

I think these words need to be a reminder to us today as well. I think that as a “community of believers” we have given into events and teachings that the world holds too, but are not from the heart of God. We easily dismiss practices we participate in that do not bring honor to God by saying that God can redeem all things and turn it for His glory. We excuse our involvement in them by saying that God wants us to love everyone.

 

Don’t get me wrong… God does say to “love our enemies” and to “love our neighbor as ourself.” Love does cover a multitude of wrongs, and like I wrote before, GRACE is there for everyone! However, God also has HIS instructions that He holds too as important and we need to uphold those teachings. He gave them for a reason and desires that we follow them so we can live LIFE to the fullest and with freedom.

 

The word “return” is sometimes translated as, “repent.” If we look back to the original Hebrew understanding, the closer translation means to “turn back.” If we are repentant it does mean we do a 180 degree turn around. It is supposed to mean that we “turn away” from things in our life that are not from God. When the Holy Spirit convicts us to let something go, we must RETURN to what God requires.

 

My challenge for you today is to look at your life and clean out the area(s) HE wants to purge. Where is He challenging you to “return?” What teachings do you need to “return too?” Are you willing to go against the flow of society and follow His heart?

 

God does have grace for His people. Just like with the children of Israel, when we are willing to repent and return, He is there ready and waiting with open arms to bless us. We just need to LISTEN to our Father and heed His call to “return to Me.”

 

When we come to the realization that returning to the heart of God will bring REST, we will want to RESTORE ourselves to Him. We are then REFRESHED to walk forward day to day.

 

Love and blessings,

Rose

 

 

 

 

 

And Yet…

I believe vulnerability is so important, especially in the body of Christ.  There is no doubt in my mind that my victories (and even my processing toward my victory) can encourage and inspire others along their own journeys.  

This all started a few months ago when I started diving in to the book of John.  Usually the Holy Spirit leads me to read a particular book in the Bible and won’t let me leave that book until I feel a release.  In this past season I have eaten up the book of John, and tried to imagine myself in every scenario with Jesus that John writes of. 

Of all the times that I’ve read through this book, this is the first time that the story of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet grabbed my heart and would not let go (John 13).  Much like most people I know, the foot-washing-Jesus story has been preached to me a hundred times, in many different ways.  But it wasn’t the actual foot-washing action that arrested my heart – it was the fact that Jesus knew that Judas would betray Him, and yet He washed his feet and loved him still.  John 13:1 says that Jesus knew it was His hour (which meant He knew Judas would betray Him that very night), and yet “…He loved them until the end.” 

It doesn’t say that Jesus “loved the disciples that loved Him” or that Jesus “loved because He had to” or even that Jesus became jaded and put up walls and then struggled to love.  It states clearly that Jesus LOVED “the world” and it is everyone in that world (Judas included) that He gave His life for (John 3:16).

I stewed over this for several weeks, wondering how I had never really thought about this situation with Judas before.  I had asked Holy Spirit to make what I read very real to me, even as if I was there with them.  My desire was to feel what the disciples felt, to be overcome by love for Jesus the man, much like that of the Disciples John and Peter.  And yet my heart was constantly drawn to the betrayal of Judas and the love that Jesus still showed him.

“But Jesus was GOD divine, so He HAD to love,” I first thought to myself.  The Bible is clear that Jesus was fully man and yet fully God.  My mind wondered if it was the “fully God” part of Jesus that gave Him the ability to love Judas despite what He “knew” was in this man’s heart.  That’s quite possible; but at the same time Holy Spirit began to reveal to me the fully human side of Jesus as well.  This Jesus, Who wept when His friend Lazarus died (John 11:35).  The same Jesus, who in a fit of righteous anger overturned tables in the temple (Mark 11:15-18).  Jesus, who pleaded with the Lord to take away the “cup” if it would be His will (Luke 22:42).  A Jesus, who after fighting off the devil himself with truth in the wilderness, still needed angels to come and minister to Him (Matthew 4:11).  Jesus obviously had human emotions, and I believe that He most certainly felt the sting of the absolute betrayal of one of His closest friends. 

And yet....He loved Judas until the end.  And He bent down to serve him.

I wondered, while marinating in this, if I could do the same.

(Are you ready for the vulnerability now?)...

Read the rest here to find out…

 

~ Mandy Woodhouse

Prayer

WORTHY THOUGHT: Worrying doesn’t change things, prayer does.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ. -Philippians 4:6-7

Mornings are better when you talk to God first.

“God does business with those who mean business….so pray, believe, and get ready to receive. “ -Jeff Schreve

Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, -Ephesians 6:18

~ Angela Lipe-Pattengill

Yokefellows

Our Father has placed us in relationships and given us responsibility in these relationships.  He has done this by his grace to develop Godliness and Christlikeness in us.  

Our relationships and responsibilities are meant to be a blessing, not a curse, a joy and not a burden.

So, what happened?  Where did we go wrong?  Better yet, how do we reclaim our God given favor and blessing in our numerous relationships and responsibilities?  I suppose we are to learn to hold everything loosely – people and even our responsibilities.  I suppose we must remember to constantly relinquish all of our cares into Our Loving Heavenly Father’s loving hands.  If we don’t, we will be crushed by what was meant to lift us up.

Ideally, we will be able to nurture such an intimate relationship with The Father, through faith in The Son, that he becomes our all consuming passion, and all relationships and responsibilities become just various aspects of our multifaceted, multidimensional love affair with God.

Alone, people and responsibilities can become oppressive to us.  As we unite ourselves with Christ, they can become a delight, both to us and to God.  We are co-laborers in the harvest, we are yokefellows; we are a team, and together we are the winning team!

~ Brad Heilhecker

Changing Me

You said You would 

change me

It came as a shock

I thought I was perfect 

Scales over my eyes

Deaf to Your voice

I thought I knew You

Hard to admit,

but I never did

Oh how I was deceived

I said all the right words

Knew my bible by heart

Yet I did not live it

I flowed in Your gifts

Yet I did not know You

I only knew what others 

told me of You

Looked through blurred lenses

While You were waiting for 

me to know You intimately

It would have happened 

sooner if I was brave enough 

to face my fears

You knew me better 

than anyone else

I lived in a bubble

A dark cloud followed 

me everywhere 

I had so many issues

I thought this was my lot

Passing down a baton of religion 

to the next generations

Oh how I was blinded

I held on to temporary fixes

Yet every time pain would 

come knock on my 

hearts door

Healing and breakthrough 

were waiting in the letting 

go of everything I held dear

The price You asked me to 

pay was too high

Then You

unannounced 

disrupted my life

You got my attention

Separated me unto Yourself 

Here I found myself facing 

every fear

That I for so long chose 

to ignore

When You looked at me

You saw the blood washed daughter You created me to be

You saw my journey of healing 

and dying many deaths

You saw me scared and crying 

and longing for the familiar 

You knew with You by my side 

I could eliminate every demon

In my deepest pain 

You interceded for me

You never let go of my hand

Not even when I begged You to

When I broke through the barricades trying to stop me

You were the Light 

surrounding me

That was the day I discovered 

that all I ever needed was 

You loving me

In my denial and selfishness 

In my rebellion and pride

You reached out to me

Using my deepest challenges 

and pain 

To bring me back to You

I will never comprehend 

the love You have for me

I wanted You to change 

everyone around me

In my ignorance I thought 

I was perfect

In Your kindness You 

reached out to me

You are so, so good to me!

~ Ebigale Wilson

Changing Me

The Journey

Your Love Is Lifting Me

Tasha Layton – Your Love Is Lifting Me is this weeks #SongSunday