| Sin |

“He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” Proverbs 28:13

There tends to always be that moment where something you just said may not have been the 100% truth. You think really hard about the absolute perfect story as to why you couldn’t do something with or for someone else. Well… You just lied! What you do from there is up to you. There is always a chance to say, never mind I’m sorry, I lied. Or, you can continue on with your story & hope no one asks specific on your story after the event you just “couldn’t make it to”. 
This doesn’t just apply to excuses why you can’t attend something or help someone. It happens all the time where someone tells a little white lie, and then has to tell another white lie to backup the initial lie. Well I’ll let you in on something I learned young in children’s church.. Lying is a sin! 

The church is running rapid with sin. Lying, cheating, stealing & familiarity are the ones rearing their head the most regularly. I feel that we’ve come into this season where the Lord is coming for a spotless bride and if you decide not to get your life right, He will use someone else! 

Now is the time to make that change. Repent & do a complete 180 from your sins. God will always give you the strength to do the things that appear too hard. Trust in Him. 

“All of Gods promises are yes and amen” 2 Cor 1:20

| Guarded |

It’s funny the things that the Lord starts teaching you and then you figure out why He was working so hard to teach you something. 

I have always struggled with never letting anyone close to me because I didn’t want to get hurt. Eventually, my pastor got ahold of me and showed me that putting up those barriers was no way to live. 

I finally began to open my heart and let people in. The issue with doing this, was that I was never taught how to guard my heart correctly. I let them in and then I proceeded to let them stomp on my heart as well. I just kept getting bitter and didn’t understand why people would do this to me after I let them in. I didn’t know that through all of it, the best way to guard my heart I needed to learn how to have a pure heart. 

No matter who hurt me, or who loved me, I would be able to love them with God’s love. 

| Gossip |

God is always trying to teach us principles in our lives through situations that can prepare us for our future. These situations are typically caused by us not listening or not following Gods path for our lives. No one has ever handled a situation perfectly 100%, but we can learn the process of how to deal with our issues biblically. 

One issue I’ve seen rise up in the church recently is this constant battle with gossip. Every believer is told that gossip is wrong and that it is speaking death into others lives. The funny thing, is that it still happens everywhere. The most common trait associated with gossip is someone who is not spiritually mature. 

As a Christian, we typically talk about spiritual maturity in the same way as physical maturity, but just because a person may be physically 30, they may still be a baby Christian.

A spiritually mature person is a peacemaker, not a troublemaker. 

“Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves. . . .You’re spoiled children, each wanting your own way” (James 4:1, 3b).

We need to learn to take those that are gossiping and figure out the spiritually immature aspects of their life to help them grow. It is our responsibility to help our pastor with his sheep, not hurt. Gossip is like a sword and when you listen to it, you are stabbing yourself. 

As believers, we know better. We must keep a pure heart to know the truth. We must learn how to speak often and use words when necessary. Start praying for God to give you a pure heart and see what He does. Be sure to be strong in your Word that you can stand strong against the trials. 

| Praise |

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven”
Ecclesiastes 3:1

I constantly feel myself going in and out of different seasons. Seasons of sadness, seasons of joy, seasons of anxiety, seasons of strength, seasons of bitterness & seasons of peace. Throughout these past few months, I have been striving to find solid ground. Changes have come in every single area of my life. I have always said that I loved change, but then when push comes to shove, I can only handle so much. I know whom I have believed in, and I know where I find my strength, but where is it during all this chaos. I question why things happen, but never press in to find the reason.

I have had enough!

The devil comes to steal, kill & destroy (John 10:10). I have had this scripture memorized for the past 15+ years, and yet I forget the meaning so often. I forget that in my times of sadness, anxiety & bitterness, the enemy is trying to do everything to steal my joy, kill my strength & destroy my peace… and most of the time.. I let him.

I didn’t know what I could do to change anything. Sometimes, I just enjoyed sitting in my dirty diaper so that I didn’t have to do anything to change. Eventually you get to that point where you realize you stink, and the diaper rash is kicking in. You are beginning to fall into a pit.

So what does it take to get out of that pit. You know that you cant do it alone, but where do you start?

Start with Praise!

Start telling God how magnificent, powerful & graceful He is. Thank Him for the works He has done in your life & the things He is about to do. When you begin to fill your heart & mouth with praise, the devil loses. The devil is confused by our praise because we are still so thankful for what God has done that all the garbage isn’t important. Create in your heart an end point; a point where you know that God has called you to be. Once you have that point in your sights, begin to have faith that God will bring you do that point, and praise Him until you’re there.

“I will proclaim the name of the LORD. Oh, praise the greatness of our God!”
Deuteronomy 32:3

| Prepare |

The return of Jesus Christ is coming.. Be Ready!!

These are words I have heard my entire life. Each generation exuberantly speaks of the return of Jesus Christ and that it is happening soon. Each day passes, and we are getting closer and closer to the end. Over this past weekend, there was a huge uproar because the Supreme Court of the United States decided that gay couples are legally allowed to marry. Social media was full of hate, violence & bigotry. These actions were not just by Christians, but also by those in agreement with the courts decision.

We as Christians have messed up, and I include myself in this. This weekend should have been a time where Christians were on their knees asking God to forgive America & forgive those that blasphemy God, not a weekend for bashing other people. We have done such a great job at taking America into our own hands & pushing God out of every single area. Biblically, homosexuality is a sin, and God hates sin, but God does not hate the sinners. God died for the sinners, so that they would be able to seek forgiveness & turn from their sin. He did all of that, because He loves the sinner.

I am guilty for forgetting about the sinner and only focusing on the sin. I am guilty for forgetting about the preparation that needs to take place before Jesus comes back. The end is closer each day, yet we sit on the side lines confessing sin to be wrong, but not encouraging people that there is another way. I think about all of the people who are not homosexuals, but fought Christians this past weekend. What are we doing to help those people understand. How many homosexuals have we gotten in touch with to share the gospel, never to bash them but instead to tell them of a loving God.

My God is Loving, Forgiving, Merciful, Graceful… and My God is Just.

Matthew 5:6-12 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

The purpose of us here on earth is to bring glory, praise & honor to God & to tell others about Him.

Have you done all you can do?

| Approval Addict |

To become the woman that God called you to be, it requires a flesh fight. A fight that says no matter what I feel (because as women we strive off our emotions), no matter what I see, no matter what I hear or no matter what I want, I will first and foremost know what God says about me. 

Over the past few months, I have seen a symptom show up in my life. I become bitter, angry and have a problem forgiving. I could not pin point why, but I recognized this symptom from a previous time in my life. 

I came to a point where I said, “No matter what anyone else in my life decides to do, I will fight against these fleshly feelings, pin point the problem, and it will be healed”. That is the point that answers began to come. 

I am an approval addict. I strive and live off others approval. There have been two people in my life that I always felt were approved by everyone, yet their lives were a mess. But I always felt like I had to work my butt off in order to never mess up so I could be the “favorite” and approved. 

The issue with this, was that I wasn’t looking to God to tell me who I am, what my worth is, or that he approves of me & that is the only approval I need. 

I recently taught a lesson on Faith for our Young Adults ministry. I taught on Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” It is always funny to me the things that God has you teach on, when really, He is trying to get your attention. I have been living so long off of what I could do, say or live by that I found my salvation in my works and not in God and His Grace. 

I have begun to focus completely on all of the things that God gave me, who He made me to be & how I would be absolutely nothing without Him. 

If you yourself are in this place where you’ve found your salvation and identity in others approval instead of in God, then you need to have a real talk with God. Ask him to show you who He is in you. An awesome book to help guide you through this is Joyce Meyer’s book “Approval Addiction: overcoming your need to please everyone”.