Don’t Quit Warrior

I see the warrior you’re becoming. Keep leaning on the One who is holding your fragile yet fierce body. You were made in His image, so stop trying to be someone you’re not…be the best version of yourself you can live as. I know you’ve been told your whole life that you’re not worthy and you’re a burden, but the truth is you are a fierce warrior riding in on eagle’s wings that was created from nothing by the One who had your gifts and talents in mind when He birthed you into existence. His perfect timing brought your past experiences and pain here, in this very present moment, for a reason for a purpose you may not be able to understand right now. Just know He never makes mistakes, so if you’re exhausted from the battle you were just wounded from, know and believe He’s working it all out for your good. He will heal your land. You are fierce, brave warrior. Don’t quit. Continue fighting on account for every single beating heart, crying soul in need of His promises unfolding in your very being cause He is with you always, in peace and in chaos…this promise you can rely on.

~ Bethany Anne

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Amazingly Real

No matter what you’re going through, may you remember that your identity is secure in Christ; it’s not up for grabs or changeable with popular opinion.

Jesus is sold on the idea of you and loves how He made you!

May you trust Him to guide, provide, correct, and redirect you along the way.

May you love people, but keep your hope in the Lord.

May you see with eyes of faith even when you can’t find a reason for hope.

Seasons come and seasons go, but God’s love for you is abundant, profound, and amazingly real, right here, right now.

Walk like you’re loved, because you are, beyond your wildest dreams.

Have a beautiful day!

~ Fenich Jerry

Happy Street

Learn to dance in the rain on your way to Happy Street!

Be blessed -XXOO Michelle

Good Friday World

We live in a Good Friday world, a world filled with suffering, anguish, pain, sorrow, sin, and death.

Those things get played out around us every single day, sometimes even in our own lives.

That’s why the message of Easter is so important.

It reminds us that we are Easter People, and Alleluia is our song.

Easter reminds us that Good Friday doesn’t have the last word.

God has the last Word—and that Word is Hallelujah, He has risen!

Jesus rose from the dead with the promise of eternal life for all who follow Him.

Yes, the world wants us to live in Good Friday, but we are Easter People, and Alleluia is our song!

~Elizbeth Crews/Winning Words

You Will Overcome

May you step back from the things that frustrate you and consider what God might be saying to you here.

Is He asking you to lay down your arms and entrust your soul to Him?

Or is He asking you to raise your shield and stand in faith?

Either way, you’re not at the mercy of your circumstances, you have His mercy and He’ll keep you steady and sturdy in your faith.

Don’t take the bait of offense.

Look up and do what Jesus tells you to do!

You will overcome!

Blessings on your day today.

~ Fenich Jerry

Establish

May the Lord Himself establish you in His highest and best purposes for you.

May He open doors, move mountains, and bring provision in the very near future.

May He confirm your faith steps and energize your prayers.

He is mighty, He is good, and He cares about every detail of your life.

Dare to obey Him and do what He says.

He’s making a way where there is no way.

He loves you truly and deeply.

Trust Him today.

~ Fenich Jerry

Above All Else

May you–above all else–see yourself as someone Jesus loves.

May His affection for you heal you in the deepest ways and inspire you like nothing else ever has.

May His saving grace and enabling power compel you to dream with Him, believe in Him, and take crazy-faith-steps because of Him.

May every lesser voice and every lying circumstance fall by the wayside so that all you hear is His voice in your ear saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it.’

Nobody’s opinion matters as much as God’s.

Nobody can save, heal, redeem, and refresh like Jesus.

Walk intimately with Him today.

His will for you is your best-case-scenario.

~ Fenich Jerry

Community

Friends, neighbors, family, co-workers, and our church family are invaluable assets in this lonely world.  We need each other.  We are the blessing of which the imprisoned are deprived.  We are the true riches of this life.  Money and things can bring ease of living, but only people can add meaning to life.  We are Our Father’s inheritance; we are why he created the universe, and we are those for whom he created heaven.  To be sure: heaven is his home, but also just as sure: it is now our home.

We find ourselves in our community involvement.  Just as we need solitude to know our private self, we also need our community to develop our public self.  Church, work, school, and play are all just different avenues of developing our public self.  Our private life is a valid and indispensable part of who we are, but, in a sense, it only prepares us for the larger world of community.  Imagine who God would be if he had kept heaven all to himself and he had never borne Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the angels, or any of us.  Yes, he would still be God, but he would not be The Father.  He would be all alone in heaven, and we would not exist.

So, let us make room in our hearts and our lives for others.  Let us pray for one another, play with one another, and work with one another.  Let us serve one another, be kind to one another, and love one another.  If we will, we will have Almighty God in our corner; we will hold all of heaven’s attention, and we will always be welcome in the homes and hearts of our chosen community.  Despite all of its demands and trials, this life in community can be rich in rewards, both temporal and eternal.  People can be sources of great joy and pleasure for all of those who will hold them in the same regard as does their creator.

~ Brad Heilhecker

Be Yourself, Live For Christ

Conventional wisdom tells us: “Be yourself.”  Jesus tells us, “Lose your life for my sake and you will find it.”  So which is it?  Be yourself, or live for Christ?  It may be true that we only truly find ourselves while pursuing Christ.  If we were created by his will and for his pleasure (Rev. 4:11), it may be the ultimate “wild goose chase” to seek our identity anywhere else but in Christ.

In fact, it might be said that most of the world’s sorrows can be traced back to people’s attempts to find life outside of Christ.  “Finding oneself” often involves neglecting our obligations to others and to God.  Although it is expected of youth, it is often a fatal flaw in those of mature age.  To be sure, it is good to discover our driving passions, our motivations, and our joys, but let us be ever mindful that we are part of our God given families and that community involvement and service and sacrifice for others is part of our heritage and legacy.

In heaven and in the new earth, life is centered around Christ, but each and every soul is fully unique, inspired, and needed in Christ’s world.  Unlike human monarchies, where the king’s subjects are sometimes thwarted and restrained in their attempts at self actualization, in Christ’s reign there will be glorious liberty and honor bestowed upon all.  Christ is actually glorified only when we are living full and fruitful lives.  Just as parents are reflected in their happy children and husbands are reflected in their beloved wives, Christ is best seen in those who have found their lives in him.

~ Brad Heilhecker

The Way

Though we often cannot see it, there is a way through this life.  Christ is “the way.”  In the Bible, Christians were described as those who were following “the way.”  So, what is this “way?”  How does it differ from normal religious observances and commonplace religiosity?

It must be different than a set of rules or principles and it must stand in stark contrast to the religions of the day.  There are many philosophies and religions that will tell us how to worship God or achieve success, but there is only one “way”, one Jesus Christ, one road to abundant and eternal life.  This “way” is more than just wise living, more than just holy living, even more than having a kind and loving heart.  This “way” is death to self and surrender to Christ—body, soul, and spirit.  And this is why it is often a lonely and difficult path.  It is not popular with the multitudes.  There may be many who will want to imitate it, hoping for some measure of success, but there are only a chosen few who will choose this “way” as their life.  These are the ones who have “counted the cost” and made an informed decision to forsake all for the sake of The King.

Why must if be so radical and austere?  Why can’t it be easier?  Why can’t it be more inclusive?  Luke gives us a clue when he recounts Jesus’s parables about counting the cost.  He tells of a king going to war against an army that far outnumbers his, and he tells of a man building a tower and not having enough supplies to finish it.  The conclusion is that “unless you give up all of your possessions, you cannot be my disciples.”  The point is that we must be fully surrendered to Christ, or we will be defeated by the sheer number of opposing factors or the logistical considerations of what it takes to complete a project such as Christ has undertaken in us.  It is the overwhelming audacity of The Father’s kingdom vision that demands such selfless sacrifice.  It is the radiant glory of our eternal inheritance that demands the sacrifice of all lesser allegiances.  Without a doubt, this “way” will lead us straight to The Father’s heart, straight to oneness with Christ, and, ultimately, straight to eternal riches and glory which surpass all earthly descriptions!

~ Brad Heilhecker