God is for YOU!

EVERYTHING IS AGAINST ME!

Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take Benjamin.

Everything is against me!”

Genesis 42:36

What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Romans 8:31

There are days when things seem stacked against us, are there not? Computers crash. Clients rant. Babies teethe. Appliances break. Calls drop. Dinner burns. Friends disappoint. Storms surge.

Even our thoughts can rack havoc against us: You can’t do this. You’re not who people think you are. Do you really think you can make a difference? Look around. It’s hopeless! You’re hopeless! You’ll never change. Quit now; it’s not worth it.

When circumstances and the chatter in your head, come against you, don’t retreat. Remember! Remember the One who is for you! God is for us! (Romans 8:31)

Have stinkin’ thinkin’ self-doubt? Go to the One who is for you! He promises that you can do all things in His strength (Philippians 4:13).

Is shame threatening to sink you? Focus on your Savior, Advocate and Redeemer. He is for you! There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).

Does the image in your mirror sicken you? Think on your Maker who is for you and formed you! He says, “You are my masterpiece. I made you fearfully and wonderfully” (Psalm 139:14).

Are obstacles and opposition draining your desire to do good? Consider Him who is for you! He endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart (Hebrews 12:3).

Has discouragement beat you down? Look up! God is on your side in every situation! Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness (Lamentations 3:21-23).

When life feels like it’s against you, remember that feelings are not facts. God is for you! Stand confident in His care. Put on His armor. Claim His promises with conviction. I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39). Thanks be to God!

Think on it: What feels against you today? Memorize Romans 8:31 and trade in feelings for facts. God is for you!

Emotions don’t tell the truth. Just because you have a feeling about something doesn’t make it a reality.

Joyce Meyer

grace and peace,

Lenae         

This is a big one, ladies!

SELF TALK

The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his (her) life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

James 3:6

For most of my life I’ve read the James chapter 3 “Taming the Tongue” passage with the focus on what my tongue has the potential to do in the lives of others. Like a bit in the mouth of a horse or a tiny rudder on a massive ship, our tongues can steer people toward Jesus or away from Him. Our tongues can set the world on fire for Jesus or destroy like fire when we gossip, lie, swear, brag, exaggerate, complain, manipulate, and mislead. The tiny tongue is a massive weapon of destruction or a tender instrument of healing and an arsenal of truth.

That was the primary Communications 101 lesson I gathered from James 3 until the theme, Think Right: Win the Fight! Now I’ve come to fully understand that what’s true for what we speak to others, also holds true for what we speak to ourselves.

Your and my steady stream of self-talk has the potential to steer us toward Jesus or away from Him. It can set our hearts on fire as we speak His promises and focus on His presence, or it can destroy us when we lie to ourselves to cover up guilt and shame, when we are proud and consider ourselves and our choices better than our neighbors, or when we grumble in our spirits about mornings, long lines, and short weekends.

The words we speak to ourselves today set the course for all our tomorrows. Do you want to know what your life will look like 5, 10, 20 years from now? Don’t look in the mirror. Look in your thought closet. The words you speak to yourself are the bit and rudder that are steering you to the woman you will become.

The way we use our tongues, whether talking to ourselves or to others, demonstrates who we are and to Whom we belong. Our words align us with God or the father of lies. We know what it is to talk out of both sides of our mouth, don’t we? Sometimes our words are right, true, and pleasing to God. Other times we use the language of the enemy – speaking words that destroy and devour.

James says that this must not be! Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers (and sisters!) this should not be (v. 10). It shouldn’t be, but we know it is! What do we do? Outside of Christ, we can’t do a thing. We are incapable of perfect obedience. We need Christ. And when we cry out to Him, He will answer and help.

Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57).

Think on it: What is the speech pattern of your self-talk? Ask Jesus for His power to speak Philippians 4:8 words to your soul. 

The things we think about, focus on, and surround ourselves with will shape who we become.

Author Unknown

grace and peace,

Lenae         

Do I have the mind of Christ?

THE MIND OF CHRIST

Let each of you look not only to his (her) interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 2:4-5, ESV

Very little is known about English hymn writer Kate Barclay Wilkinson. She lived in the early twentieth century and ministered to young women in west London. Based on the words of her only known hymn, one wonders if she talked to those girls about what it means to think right and win the fight!

This is the first verse of Kate’s beautiful hymn, which begins as a prayer for our mind:

May the mind of Christ, my Savior,

Live in me from day to day,

By His love and power controlling

All I do and say.

This hymn is based on Philippians 2:5: Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus. There’s the command: Have this mind. But what is Paul referring to? It’s in the previous verse. Let each of you look not only to his (her) own interests, but also the interests of others. Have this mind (v. 4-5).

The mindset of Christ thinks about others more than self. It’s a mind that thinks humble, selfless thoughts. It’s an attitude that does nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility considers, thinks, and counts others more significant than ourselves (v. 3).

Do you and I have the mind of Christ?

·      Do we give more thought time to others or ourselves? Jesus looked to the interests of others (v. 4).

·      Do we count our rights and entitlements or do we calculate and do the math Jesus’ way? Jesus did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing (v. 6-7). 

·      Are our actions most often self-serving or servant-like? Jesus made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant (v. 7). He came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28).

·      Do a self-assessment. Are you humble or proud? Would others agree? Most importantly, what does God see in our hearts and minds – humility or pride? Jesus humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (v. 8).

When Jesus’ mindset of love and humility lives in us from day to day, it will control all we do and say.

Think on it: What can we do today to take a greater interest in the lives of others?   

Regularly contemplate the cross.  Nothing should humble us more than the perfect, sinless, Son of God willingly pouring out His life to rescue those who hated Him and rebelled against Him.

Mark Altrogge

grace and peace,

Lenae         

Are you hungry?

THINK ABOUT YOUR HUNGER PAINS

Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”

John 6:53

I come from a long line of grumblers. All the children of Abraham do. The Israelite community grumbled in the wilderness because they were starving to death, so God provided manna. Every day everyone had as much manna as they needed. Miraculous. Sadly, in time they whined because they were sick of God’s menu; they hungered for the food of Egypt – cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic (Exodus 16:3, 18, Numbers 11:4-6).

Fast forward to John chapter 6. There are 5,000 men, plus women and children, sitting on the mountainside near the Sea of Galilee with no food to eat. It’s quite possible that a number of people from the group thought they were starving. Again, God provided. Jesus took five small barley loaves and two small fish, gave thanks, and distributed it. After eating until their stomachs were full, there were twelve baskets of barley loaves leftover (v. 1-13). Miraculous. Sadly, the very next day they were grumbling because they were hungry.

The crowds remembered the manna their fathers had eaten in the wilderness. Now they had received bread on the mountainside, and they wanted more. “Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread” (v. 34).

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life, He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty” (v. 35).

At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven” (v. 41). Sadly, they again whined about God’s menu. They hungered for food that spoils; Jesus gave them food that endures to eternal life (v. 27). They hungered for materials things (v. 22-27), hungered for good works theology instead of faith (v. 28-29), and hungered for miracles (v. 30-33). And when the One they needed most, the Bread of Life, offered Himself, and a promise that they would never go hungry or thirsty again, they refused Him (v. 35).

Think about your hunger pains. What do you and I hunger for most? Do we hunger for God or for His gifts? Are our thoughts and pursuits on “food that spoils” or on Jesus, the Bread of Heaven?

Think on it: When’s the last time you were starving for friendship, for a physical need, for peace, or for ____________? Surrender that hunger and pray: Jesus, feed me! O God, fill me. Just give me Jesus!   

Let’s renounce the secular or religious happy meals which prove so fatal to their eaters and which stop them from eating God’s salvation. Let’s feed deeply, daily and devotedly on Jesus.

Phil Moore

grace and peace,

Lenae