Sticks and Stones!

"Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me."

Whoever came up with this silly saying obviously has not been devastated or destroyed by somebody spewing hurtful words at them. Personally, words are very powerful to me. They can express the deepest feelings of love and joy or they can tear down when they are said with hatred and ugliness. I can CLEARLY recall names I have been called, actions I have been falsely accused of, and attacks on my integrity, character and family. I also can remember some of the nasty things I have said, words I wish I could take back.

I heard a song on the radio the other day called Words the lyrics pierced my heart because they rang so true...

                                        Words can build you up
                                       Words can break you down
                                       Start a fire in your heart or
                                                Put it out

                                         Let my words be life
                                        Let my words be truth
                                     I don't wanna say a word
                               Unless it points the world back to You"

In Proverbs it says that the "tongue can bring death or life". Life or death..which comes out of our mouths more? I don't think there is much middle ground. If we were truly to take a look at what we say through out the day where do we fall? I for one CONSTANTLY have to pray over my words!!! My foot is a continual fixture in my mouth!

"Dear Jesus, guard my heart so that what comes out of my mouth brings life, speaks truth, encourages, and is loving. Help me fight against foolish talk, gossip, slander, and foul language. I want to build people up not tear them down! Help me to reflect you well by what I say so I can point everyone back to you!"

"Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them." Ephesians 4:29

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Jesus.....BUT?

A sorry doesn't mean as much when it is followed by a but...the but word some how takes away from the apology. "I'm sorry but I am really tired after work." "I'm sorry but you just made me so mad." "I'm sorry but I had a bad day." It gives the person a way out, a reason to not really be responsible. 

Often times we use this word in our relationship with Jesus, intentionally or unspoken.  "I will follow Jesus BUT I am not willing to commit too much. I love Jesus BUT I'm not willing to give up "fill in the blank".  I would share Jesus with others BUT I am too shy. I will go to church once a week BUT I'm too busy the other days to fit Him into my schedule." But, But, But.....

We feel better because at least we do something or follow part of the time or love mostly. We can still check off the boxes right? It's better than nothing? "But" is such a tiny word how much does it really matter?

Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind." Matthew 22:37

The "buts" stop us from giving our all. The "buts" give us the excuse to only meet Him halfway, to put up walls that cause barriers in our relationship with Him. We hold on so tight to parts of our lives in the end we lose because we miss the power of the Gospel!

"If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it." Matthew 16:24-25

So, how do you get rid of the "buts"? The answer is the cross. When we truly understand and rejoice in the work of Jesus on the cross we are not motivated by guilt or shame or have to. He said, "It is finished" and that's were our lives truly begin, standing in His grace and mercy and ultimate sacrifice. He doesn't need us to do anything, but because of the cross we should WANT to!

"Dear God, help me to know and see the "buts" in my life that are keeping me from loving you with all my heart, all my mind and all my soul. I don't want to hold anything back from you. It is hard, to give certain things up. Give me the wisdom to see the beauty of the cross and the courage to respond to it."

Weak Moments

In Your Weakest Moment You’ll Experience the Benefits of Being His
by Sheri Rose Shepherd

"The righteous may fall seven times, But they will get up again."
— Proverbs 24:16

One of the greatest battles we fight every day is the one in our mind. Our flesh tells us to “Quit trying to live for God...We will never be good enough.

That is a lie.

Too many times we allow our failures to define us. So let me take the pressure off you. No man or woman in the Bible or in history, no believer who did something great to further God’s kingdom, lived a perfect life. Each hero of the faith loved the Lord, and despite their failures, never quit. What they did do is answer His call on their lives despite their failures, difficult circumstances, and people who hurt them or discouraged them

Our Loving Lord is for us and no matter how many times we fall, He is there to pick us back up as many times as it takes until He comes to take us Home. Don’t let anyone ever tell you that God cannot redeem what you have done. Just ask your heavenly Father to help you get up and let Him handle whoever and whatever is keeping you down—and you’ll win!

His Love Letter to You

My Beloved Child,

I want you to experience the benefits and blessings of being mine. I want you to know the power of grace that only I can give you. You won’t discover who I really am in your own strength. You can conquer and accomplish much on your own but you will never know the joy of everlasting work until you have been weak. It is in your weakest moment that my strength will become your strength and that my Holy Spirit that lives inside of you will rise up and you will know that I am with you always. If you will embrace your weaknesses and grabbed hold of all I am you will become all you desire to be. Now is the time to let me do great things in you and through you!

Love,
Your Strong and Mighty God

“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

For more from Sherri Rose Shepherd, visit Bible Life Coaching or check out Sheri's new book If You Have a Craving, I Have a Cure:

Call Back!

Someone just gave me the book Jesus Calling to read. Although I will admit I was in a bad mood when I started the first page... I struggled to get into it! One thought kept going through my head, "Jesus is Calling BUT.... I Don't Want To Answer the Phone!" I couldn't even focus on the words as I argued with myself and God. "What if I am tired of Him calling? What if I don't want to answer? Maybe I just want to be left alone? How about you call back another day!" I know this sounds ridiculous but I couldn't stop myself from throwing a mini tantrum. 

Like most toddlers, I finally wore myself out. And Jesus called. 

"Kimberley, are you done? If not I will wait. Remember that I love you and the promises I made to you 20 years ago. Your journey with me will sometimes be very difficult. There are going to be many times you will grow weary. I never promised you a rose garden or dreams full of fluff. But I will never leave or forsake you. I will always love you and be your refuge in the storms."

But God, I am so tired sometimes of dealing with all "this"!

"Kimberley, you promised to obey and you were called for such a time as this! Do you remember what life was like without me? Did you forget where I found you? Run into my arms to find rest and give me your burdens to carry. Lean on me, I will hold you up when you can't take another step. I will carry you when you can't move forward. But when I call, don't block me out."

Jesus IS calling! I'm going pick up the phone because I want to talk to Him! He will wait and continue to pursue me even when I put my fingers in my ears to tune Him out. Why? His love for us is relentless! He will never give up!

"Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me." Psalm 103:1-2

Tasty!

Have you ever went to a restaurant and got excited to order food thinking it was going to be great and when it came out you were disappointed because it really didn't taste the way you thought it would? The picture looked so appeasing, the description was enticing and made your mouth water, and then it was blah! I get so frustrated when this happens to me, especially if it was an expensive meal. That makes it soooo much worse! I have wasted my time, my energy, and my money on something that just didn't meet my expectations or maybe even was a bit falsely advertised.

When I look over most of what the world has to offer, I suggest that the majority of the "things" we desire are a "bill of goods", surrounded by lots of false advertising, and empty promises about how said things will make our lives better when actually they are mostly just distractions. We keep searching for the next best "thing" to fill our void, our all consuming need to finally get "it", whatever "it" is...

But we were not created to "acquire" things, to store up treasures here on earth. When we come face to face with God he is not going to ask which tax bracket you are in, what car you drove, or how many activities your kids were in. He is not going to look at your beautiful front yard, awesome creative scrapbooks (gulp), or rare coin collection. He will ask, "Kimberley, did you love others well because of the sacrifice of my son?"

Yes, I too get tempted and often fall into the "I need this ____!" The pull of the world is strong. The distractions of the enemy are many but then I remember the "taste" of feasting on God's word, the joy when singing His praises, the tears shed when I see people loving others well, the awe of seeing the Holy Spirit unleashed in someone's life, the overwhelming kindness when people pitch in to serve one another. Nothing can take the place of God's mercy, grace, goodness, and love. God doesn't make false promises. He is the "IT" we are searching for! 

"Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." Romans 12:2 NLT

This Ain't Burger King!

A few years ago Burger King had an ad out that stated, "Have it your way, right away!" While this is good for a fast food restaurant trying to attract customers and compete with other chains this shouldn't be our attitude about church. Too often I hear people complaining about what they don't like about church. I am not talking about the deeper issues like doctrine or core beliefs; I am talking about the non-essentials like the music being too loud or the preacher not giving the best sermon ever. One of the sayings that irritate me the most is, "Well I am just not being fed." 

Where did Christians get the idea that the only reason they go to church is to get fed? This ain't Burger King! You don't get to drive up to a church and expect it to meet all your needs exactly the way you want it. God did not make us helpless and passive. We are not called to sit back and let the church serve us in just the "right" way and grumble, loudly when it doesn't. We are not supposed to "shop" churches until we feel "comfortable". Comfort was never the plan! Sometimes God has you in a specific place, for a specific reason, to do a specific task for Him. 

This doesn't mean we shouldn't using wisdom and discernment in choosing a church. But let's consider for a moment that maybe its not about us. Maybe if we have been Christians for awhile we shouldn't be searching for "our way" but His purpose. Maybe God wants you at a specific church because He has someone for you to journey with, a ministry to serve, or a lesson to learn. Maybe we will bring GLORY to our creator when stop focusing on the give me, serve me, my way... but instead stop our complaining and say, "God use me YOUR WAY, ANY WAY, I am yours."

"These people are grumblers and complainers, living only to satisfy their desires. They brag loudly about themselves, and they flatter others to get what they want." Jude 1:16

"Their responsibility (pastors, elders) is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ." Ephesians 4:12-13