Colossians 3:12-13 Therefore as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
"Forgive as the Lord forgave you." This is by far one of the hardest things for me to do. Saying I forgive you to someone and actually doing it are two totally different things. When someone does or says something hurtful, or disappoints me I sometimes struggle with actually forgiving them. The words "I forgive you" come out, but my heart remains unchanged. Later on the resentment or bitterness I feel reappears in the form of words or actions I may show. How can I call myself a Christ follower if I cannot forgive the smallest offense toward me and yet He can forgive me for all of my sins and offenses towards Him? This devotion has been very humbling. Just this week I have been tested by this and have truly had to be conscious in my feelings toward someone after an argument. After saying I forgive you I prayed about what happened, and handed it over to God. I immediately felt the situation and feelings associated with it being taken from me. The person I had the argument with is not a Christian and when I spoke with him the next day he was very surprised that I was not reigniting the argument or mad about what had happened. When he asked why I wasn't doing these things I was able to tell him about what my devotion had reminded me of and what the Bible says about forgiveness. What a great way to show how great our God is!! Truly forgiving others as the Lord forgave me brings peace to my heart and strengthens my faith in Him. I pray that we all may continue to remember His love for us and show it to others through our forgiveness towards them....just as He forgave us.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Worry and Faith
Ephesians 3: 16-17 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may stregthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
When I first read the heading of this devotion (Worry and Faith) I thought to myself "hmmm, that sounds strange". Fear and faith are diametrically opposed. When we worry about things in our life we are taking our trust and faith away from God and placing it in ourselves. It's as if we're saying, "I love you God, and I know you're amazing, I mean you are the one who breathed life into me, but I'm gonna try to work this problem out on my own because I think I can do it just as well as you could". How crazy does that sound!?! Despite the fact of how crazy it is I find myself saying this all the time. I'm sure we all worry about similar things...money, work, friends, family, school, etc.. Instead of worrying about these things and allowing them to pull us away from God, why not let them draw us closer to him? Seeking His will in our lives and remaining in constant conversation with Him about our worries and fears will eliminate them and cause our faith to grow. This week I have felt so overwhelmed with class, the end of school, and things going on in my personal life. Just when I thought I couldn't possibly take anymore stress and worry, because if I did I was going to get an ulcer, I read this devotion. WOW! I love it when God winks at me! I think we've all had a time in our lives when we've felt this way, and it's as if He's speaking right to you! I hope that this week we will all turn our worries over to Him!
One of my favorite verses is Philippians 4:6-7 Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
I pray that He will strengthen our faith so that we may experience His peace, which is greater than all else.
I hope you have a WONDERFUL week!
When I first read the heading of this devotion (Worry and Faith) I thought to myself "hmmm, that sounds strange". Fear and faith are diametrically opposed. When we worry about things in our life we are taking our trust and faith away from God and placing it in ourselves. It's as if we're saying, "I love you God, and I know you're amazing, I mean you are the one who breathed life into me, but I'm gonna try to work this problem out on my own because I think I can do it just as well as you could". How crazy does that sound!?! Despite the fact of how crazy it is I find myself saying this all the time. I'm sure we all worry about similar things...money, work, friends, family, school, etc.. Instead of worrying about these things and allowing them to pull us away from God, why not let them draw us closer to him? Seeking His will in our lives and remaining in constant conversation with Him about our worries and fears will eliminate them and cause our faith to grow. This week I have felt so overwhelmed with class, the end of school, and things going on in my personal life. Just when I thought I couldn't possibly take anymore stress and worry, because if I did I was going to get an ulcer, I read this devotion. WOW! I love it when God winks at me! I think we've all had a time in our lives when we've felt this way, and it's as if He's speaking right to you! I hope that this week we will all turn our worries over to Him!
One of my favorite verses is Philippians 4:6-7 Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
I pray that He will strengthen our faith so that we may experience His peace, which is greater than all else.
I hope you have a WONDERFUL week!
Friday, May 13, 2011
Welcome!
Welcome to my blog! I hope that in reading this you will be provided with a weekly "scripture vitamin" that will sustain your joy and encourage you to see and receive God's blessings in your life each week. Since I began doing a daily devotional I have been able to see God's glorious works more prominently in my life. My faith has grown and I have truly felt myself draw near to Him. Although I know God is always present and ever-faithful, sometimes the hum drum of daily life hinders us from truly seeing Him work in us. I do a daily devotional from A Daybook of Grace and I will post a weekly blog of the scripture and my reflections of the devotion that really speaks to me each week. I hope that the words I share with you will encourage and strengthen you in your own walk with Christ! "And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ!" Ephesians 3:17-19
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