Colossians 3:1-17

We may not celebrate it all the same, but Lent is a forty day challenge to strive to be closer to God. Put on a new outfit that says you are new man in the image of Him who created you (Colossians 3:10).

Here is the passage that encouraged me:

1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

4 When Christ, who is your life, appears,then you also will appear with him in glory.

5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.

7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.

8 But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.

9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices

10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

11 Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

12 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Think about when Saul became Paul in the book of Acts (Acts 9). Saul was a persecutor of Christians in the Old Testament. Even up until the LORD made Himself present to Saul, he had taken part in stoning Stephen and had gone to Damascus to arrest and Jewish man or woman he found in the Synagogue. That very same day, Jesus appeared to Saul, and Saul was blind for 3 days. After his sight was restored, saul was baptized and started preaching Jesus' name, instead of prosecuting it. Although this was not during the time of Lent, Paul completely changed and put on a whole new wardrobe!! Praise God!

Put to rest your evils ways, and do not conform to this world. Whether it is anger, jealousy, worry, lust, doubt or even speaking profane language, get rid of those things, so that we may be pleasing in the sight of our Lord.

It may be hard to find the time, but I encourage you to take even 3 minutes to sit in silence and listen to God. Listen to what He is trying to tell you. Most of the time we make prayer time about us. God has things He wants to tell us to. How can we hear them, if we are always the ones talking? So, take time, and listen to the silence.

Some key verses:

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. - Romans 12:2

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. - Philippians 4:8

For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father forgive your trespasses. - Matthew 6:14-15

Create in me a clean heart O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. - Psalm 51:10

-Amy

Coincidence? I think not....

Hello! 

It has been quite some time since my last blog entry, and I wish it was not this way but school has been so overwhelming that it is even hard to find time to relax for a few minutes. Now that the semester is almost three quarters finished, I have found some time! Don't get me wrong, I do love my studies and what I am learning, but the work load is a little heavy some times... but when the times get tough and I feel like I can't get through it I look to the Lord for guidance and ask him to give me strength to move forward and give that test, paper or project my best!

This morning in church, for those that go to Open Door you already heard this, the pastor preached about being familiar and having faith in Jesus. The differences and the why being "familiar" is dangerous in your walk. The sermon was tied to John 4: 14-30 and the verse that stood out to me was...

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord" - John 4:18

This was Jesus talking to the people of Nazareth in the synagogue. This verse stuck out to me because in the middle of it, it says that Jesus was sent to heal the brokenhearted. However, Jesus did not do these things for the people in Nazareth because they are familiar with Jesus, they know who he is and they have become comfortable and they ask that what he has done in other countries, that he would do it in theirs also. Pastor Tom really focused on broken hearts and through him, God really spoke to my heart. Some quotes from pastor Tom that stuck out to me were:

• "Sin will take you farther, and keep you longer"
• "We need to be set free from selfishness
• "All of us are born near-sighted. We're more interested in the temporal than eternal"
• "we are spiritually and morally bankrupt with out Jesus"

He also mentioned that when you have been hurt or you have had a broken heart, you don't want to love anymore, you may very easily grow bitterness and can even forgive, but not forget. Sometimes I cannot understand why God has not healed my heart yet, or why I am still feeling hurt from time to time. Today it was made clear that Jesus is the ONLY one who can restore and heal my heart and make it ready to love again. I realized it is because I am not crying out to God and surrendering my all to him saying "God I am a sinner, and Jesus is my all-in-all. He is above no one or nothing else." I have not repented or laid all my burdens, pain, fears, in other words everything, on Jesus! I need to become free in Jesus and be able to not only be able to forgive, but to also be able to forget the things that have hurt me. Have you lately? Are you free in Jesus?

To continue with the title... After church today, I had a friend bring it to my attention that letting anyone or anything get inside you and affect your spiritual life not a good thing. It is allowing Satan to tear you down. This could be because you are not fearing God or walking in His light (1 John 1: 4, 5). This got me thinking because why should I let one or multiple people bring me down when I have God's strength on my side and I can ALWAYS lean on Him? Another reason to always be walking in God's light and never let your path go crooked (Proverbs 21:8). To continue with my day filled with "coincidences" at the 6pm service, Pastor Tom preached out of Proverbs 3: 5, 6. What better verses to preach on? They may seem "basic" because we all have them memorized but they are not emphasized nearly enough. Some quotes from tonight's sermon that stuck out were

• "We rationalize our actions when we are not doing the Will of God"
• "we are to act only in obedience to God - Love your enemies, Love your wife, submit to your husbands"
• It  brings joy to walk in God's light and have fellowship with other people who are walking in God's light!"
• "a good marriage is based on TWO people walking with Jesus Christ"
• "The obstacles in a relationship are within your own pride. Only God can remove that pride!"
• "If you cannot love your brother who you see, how can you love God who you can't see?" (1 John 4:20)
• "Let others do what they want with you, but become vulnerable and TRUST in the Lord" (1 Samuel 24)
  

On the way home from church tonight, the FIRST song that came on was "Praise you in this storm" by Casting Crowns and at that point I had a big replay of the whole day. I asked myself "was that a coincidence? Or is God really trying to get my attention and tell me something?" My heart has never been so tugged so hard over the course of one day. Surely the LORD was speaking to me and has been trying to get my attention, well he has it!!! If there is anything that you take away from this it is that: 1) Jesus is the ONLY one who can fully heal a broken heart, 2) to TRUST in Him all the time, "do not be wise in your own eyes", 3) That God really does want the best for your life and He has a purpose for EVERYTHING He does (Romans 8) and 4) ANYTHING that is laid on your heart, that is a burden or is weighing you down, give it to Jesus!

getting in the swing of things!

Starting school, for me, has been something I have been looking forward too. It means moving back to school, starting classes that apply to my major (Social Work) and being with my roommate & friends which all get me really excited! I have loved the first 2 day of classes. I have already learned more about the different of fields of practice there are (family and child services, mental health, geriatric services or school social work), the populations you can work with (homeless, physically disabled, adoption or foster care), and I will be able to visit all of these different fields, and more, in my Social Work in the Settings class when we take field trips to different agencies. I am very excited and hopefully God will show me what I do and do not have a talent for. Check out the Social Work program at RWC if you'd like at: (I'm even in the picture of the home page, in the yellow shirt!) 

http://www.roberts.edu/Academics/divisions/social_work/bsw/

In my Purity Devotional book, the past sections have dealt with your heart, being single-minded, and being clear-sighted so that we are NOT double minded for God. We should have ONE desire. To focus on the LORD and to make our hearts be the most pure that the Holy Spirit is trying to achieve in us. We can NOT obtain full purity, unless we it starts in our hearts. I have come to the "Pure in Body" section. This chapter deals with your  outward appearance and physical body. This is definitely something I personally struggle with, and you may too. It is hard to say NO to temptations that i face everyday, and offer up my body as a sacrifice to God from Him to use.

A Pure Woman Offers God Her Body

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

- Romans 12: 1-2

Do you know how much God wants of you?? ALL of you. Your heart, desires, plans, hopes, emotions, goals and everything else. But how can you do that if you are tempted to use your body to satisfy yourself? There is a daily battle we are faced with and that is why offering our bodies to God is a daily sacrifice, that must become a routine. The more you offer yourself to God the more pure you will become and you will resemble your SAVIOR more and more! In verse 2, Paul gives us 2 steps/actions: 1) not to be conformed to this world and 2) renewing your mind. Controlling what you think about can really determine your purity. If you are obsessed with catching up on the latest gossip, constantly trying to keep up on all the latest trends, or never going out in public with make-up on, than you probably don't have a pure mind set. You would be focusing on things of this world and consuming feeding off of those things, rather that feeding off God. (I admit, I find myself caught up in these things form time to time. But this is a battle that I am facing every single day and I know that I am not doing this alone. I have Jesus to help me through everything that I do. Philippians 4:13 " I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me") 

"Guarding what we watch, read and hear isn't legalism. It's just sanctified common sense." -Lydia Brownback

The challenge for this devotional is for YOU to take out one thing from your daily routines that is holding you back from growing closer to God and becoming more pure in body, mind and spirit. Whether it is your make-up, that TV show you "must watch" every day, the magazine with the latest celebrity gossip in there or even wearing expensive designer clothing just for the labels. Take IT out of your sight and out of your mind and see how your priorities change. Pray to God and offer yourself to Him, today! After all, He is your Heavenly Father. :)

What is your image?

Hey all, the last month of summer has definitely been the most crazy, fun, and busy of them all. It definitely has flown by so quickly too. Finishing up my summer class last week and only having a week to re-cooperate for school starting next week (monday, august 30) I am trying to get ready and get focused for a new semester to start. I am so excited that God has guided me to where he wants to be. I am in the Social Work program at Roberts Wesleyan College and have buying books, reading/studying, and preparing myself for the classes I am about to start. I am trusting God and letting him take control, so that His Will be done. I can't think of anything better than to know that my Creator is in control, and I can be worry free. To trust Him and to know that He wants the best for my life (and yours too!!!) is an awesome feeling!

So, for the past 2 weeks, I have been missing my Purity devotional book. But, I have found it again! So i have not done any blog posts on my devo's and really have been focusing on the book of James. The book of James is one of my favorites, its always great to turn back to when I feel like I need spiritual growth and guidance towards being more like Christ. Such as, taming my tongue, going through trials/temptations, focusing on the Lord's plans and not my own, putting my faith into my actions/deeds and being consistent about them! Now onto the devotional...

A Pure Woman Reflects God's Image

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Proverbs 31:30

The women of this world are caught up with the latest fads, obsessed with their body image, their reputations, their wealth and fortunes, and how people view them from the outside. That isn't how God designed us though. God designed us to beautiful in our own images and to radiate his love & kindness, and to be the kind of woman a wise man seeks for his wife. Are you seeking to be like the Proverbs 31 woman? You cannot be like her, or look like her because she isn't real. She is only an image in a poem, and she is the image of an ideal woman. We CAN however be like her, in our own images. The way God has created us, with our own specific talents, our own unique looks, personalities and to our own standards. We can be our own kind of Proverbs 31 woman by distributing biblical femininity, which glorifies God. 

What are your God-given talents? How are you going to glorify God today, or this week? Honoring and loving your husband (1 Peter 3:1), helping the needy (Philippians 2:4), or encouraging your friends (Proverbs 27:17)? This week you should try to go outside your limits and see how you can glorify God in your own special way, make a devotion to Him and submit to Him everything you have. After all, He DID sacrifice for us His ONLY son so that we could be saved form this world and one day, live with him for an eternity. So, give it all to Him!!! 

Thanks for reading!

Amy

WOW i can't believe its almost been 3 weeks since i've last blogged... but i guess i can say the past 2 weeks have been the craziest/busiest yet this summer! I don't know how i survived... Oh that's right, the LORD helped me through it!!!! Don't you just love when you are starting out the week on a monday morning and you think to yourself "this week is going to be the worst" or "this week is going to go by so slowly" and than it ends up flying by and going so much better than you thought???? The Lord is SO good to me in that way. The week of July 25-31 i was scheduled over 30 hours of work, and usually I get about 8-12 hours. I was not looking forward to starting out my monday morning at 6 a.m and I wanted to think that if I just stayed in bed, than I wouldn't really have to go to work... It didn't work out like that! However, it turns out the week went so quickly and by the time friday came around it felt like it had only been about 2 or 3 days! If you just give everything up to God, your worries, your burdens, your pain, your struggles and anything you may be dealing with right now and just let him handle it, he will work it out for the best. Romans 8:28 - "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him...." Several people have encouraged me to really dwell on this verse because the past few weeks i have been going through my own trials and dealing with pain that may seem unbearable (heartbreak). When you trust in the Lord and Delight yourself in Him, He really will work things out for good. He loves us so much that He wants us to have the VERY BEST in our lives and right now I may be wishing and wanting things that I cannot have because for some reason God took them out of my life, but I know that God will work things out for the best. I just need to seek Him and trust in him FULLY! Also, everything really does happen for a reason. I believe that I am going through this trial because God is teaching me patience, and he is trying to show me that He is all that I will ever need, above any man, above any friend or item of clothing! That's why I'm sticking like paper on glue to my Creator! Because He will provide all that I need for this life until I spend an eternity with Him!

Time flies when....

Why does it seem like time flies by so quickly? This past week I have been trying to sit down and just type up another blog because i have read so many good things from my devotional, but i just can't seem to find the time....Finally I am sitting down at 11 pm and I am going to share some things with you!

So in my Purity book I am still in the Purity of the Heart section and every single day it is showing me a new way to make my heart pure in terms of loving God and devoting my time and energy to him and becoming wholehearted towards Him. This chapter is called "A Pure Woman Abides in Christ" and the verse is: Who can say, "I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin" ? (Proverbs 20:9). In this Proverb chapter, it is clear that we cannot make our hearts pure by ourselves. This does not mean with a friend, a boyfriend/spouse, parent etc. It means coming to God with our faults and mistakes and confessing that we can not fight this battle for purity alone. However, because Jesus died for our sins and "did" purity for us, God considers us to be pure because we are in Christ. Isn't that great news?! I think it is! But, just because we are found in Christ, it doesn't end there. Have you ever felt like your walk with God was just stuck in neutral and you didn't have that "on fire for God" feeling? I know I certainly have, and not too long ago either. That's because we lust, fantasize and desire over all the things that God has given us to enjoy, not to take advantage of. Satan is a liar and a deceiver who will try his hardest to destroy any progress you may be making in your walk with God. He will make us feel discouraged and maybe even make us want to just give up. The only way to have the strength to fight off the Devil is to Cling to Christ!

The second chapter I'm going to discuss is called "A Pure Woman Loves the LORD" and the verse is All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirit" (Proverbs 16:2). This Chapter starts out talking about True Faith and how growing up in a solid Christian home may actually be harmful to your children. How will they know what True Faith is if they have never experienced anything. They may have mastered the rules, but conformity and obedience are not the real indicators of True Faith. We cannot have pure hearts without Love for God. Yes, we can do "clean" acts like refraining from physical intimacy until marriage, doing your bills or avoiding drugs and alcohol, with out Love in our hearts, but then our hearts are not Pure.

"Growing love in a relationship involves and investment of both time and emotional sacrifice." - Lydia Brownback

^So far, this is my favorite sentence form this book! it is SO true. Not only in our human relationships with family, friends and significant others, but also with God!!! He takes the time to make sure His Will is being done in our lives, we need to make time to talk to Him, listen to Him and figure out what He has planned for us today, this week, this month or for our whole life!

Have you been playing by the rules but you still seem so distant from God? God will not be pleased if our outward purity is not motivated by love for Him. Not only do you need to offer him clean hands, but your WHOLE heart too!

There's a first for everything!

Hey Everyone!

This is my first time blogging, ever. So I may not be all that great at it but, I thought this would be a good way, for me, to share my opinions, struggles, thoughts, strengths, and anything else since I'm not all that great at face-to-face conversations. However, it is always something to work on and pray about! So bear with me as I begin my very first blog! P.S feel free to leave comments, questions or suggestions! I LOVE feedback!

 

I have recently started a new devotional and it’s about Purity. The book is called "Purity: A Godly Woman's" Adornment by Lydia Brownback. This book is not just about sexual purity, but also about purity in the heart, body, mind and in love. Which every woman should have because it is about our hearts and focusing them on the Lord. The first section is about a Pure Heart.

 

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God - Matthew 5:8

 

In Matthew Chapter 5, Jesus gives a sermon of nine different blessings followed by The Beatitudes. Now, maybe some already know and maybe some have no idea what it means to be “pure in heart”. A woman that is pure in heart is a woman that is not watered down by things of this world; she has a heart with one single purpose, a heart that is set on God. She is also able to enjoy the things of this world that God has given her but they do not consume her because her heart is fully focused on God. The second part of this verse is being able to see God. A pure in heart woman has the blessing of sight. In order to “see” God we must have a heart that is focused on Him. Other wise, we will over see His blessings, His will and everything else He has to offer us.

 

Often times I find myself searching for lesser things that this world has to offer, just to find satisfaction for myself. I try to make myself happy, make others happy, and just try to fill the empty space in my heart with something so temporary that will fade…but nothing ever seems to work. Why doesn’t anything satisfy me fully? Because my heart has been divided by wanting God and also wanting the pleasures of this world. This is when I am missing the blessing of “sight”. God is capable of anything, and when our focus is on Him that is when we experience happiness, blessings, joy and all the wonderful things God wants to offer to us.

 

“…heart purity is the root from which all other purity springs.”

 

Have you ever had a divided heart? Or do you feel like you are in and out with having a pure heart? Take time to talk to God and ask him to make your heart pure again, ask him to cleanse your heart and start turning your focus onto Him!