Alone

Ever felt alone, discouraged, or dry? We all have, but Jesus encourages us to preserve. In 1 Peter 1:6-7, Paul says to be glad for there is great joy ahead, and trials test and purify us like fire purifies gold. He encourages us to stay strong through the trials, for we will be rewarded when Jesus Christ returns. I firmly believe that that time is nearing soon, we as disciples have to be fervent in our faith. In 1 Peter 5:8-9, Paul urges us to stay alert and be on our guard. The enemy prowls around like a lion looking for someone to devour but take heart, you are not alone. Believes all over are the world are fighting the same things as you, and so did Jesus and He encourages you to press on. In Hebrews 10: 34-35, here Paul says that he accepted his suffering with joy because he knew there were greater things for him that would last forever. He encourages us to have patient endurance so that we will be able to continue God’s will for our lives, and then we will receive the eternal life he has promised. Remember this; in Hebrews 12: 28-29 it says, “Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is UNSHAKEABLE let us be thankful and please God by worshiping Him with holy FEAR and AWE, for our God is a DEVOURING FIRE”. The Kingdom of God is at hand, will you take it our let it pass you by? I encourage you to read the book of Hebrews, it’s a great encouraging book, and if you’re up to it take on Revelation. Take heart and push in deep! Choose joy, run after God with desperate pursuit, and lead strong this week.

Much love - Danielle

Confidence in Action

Confidence: The Action

by Gabriel Downey

Confidence isn’t a way of thinking; it’s a way of living. If we have confidence in our head and forget to act on it, what’s the point? Acting in confidence and with purpose is one of the most important traits of a great leader. Confidence attracts people to us, because we know what we believe is true and we portray it in the way we live and speak. The definition of confidence is faith or belief that one will act in a right, proper, or effective way; a feeling or consciousness of one’s powers; a quality or state of being certain. According to this definition, many of the words that are used point toward action, rather than a stagnant thought, for example: “act” and “state of being.” “Act” obviously is the root of action and “state of being” is a state of living, as opposed to a state of mind or thought. It’s probably apparent by now, that to be an effective leader we need confidence. To be this effective leader, we need to, first, start with being confident in ourselves.

This is so rare these days, because of the everyday pressures of being popular and how people view us. I don’t think anyone can honestly say, “I don’t care what people think.” There is always one area or attribute or flaw that each of us has that, at least, makes us feel the slightest self conscious about. But in my opinion, we can’t be effective leaders without flaws, because it’s from these flaws and imperfections that we learn and grow. And with these blemishes people will be attracted to us and they will be able to relate better and we will be able to guide them through all of the imperfections. Confidence cannot even be achieved if there are no flaws, because we have nothing to overcome and be confident in; we would be perfect.

Secondly, we have to be confident in what we believe. Confidence in our belief in Christ cannot be found, unless we are walking in sync with Jesus, spending time with Him, and growing in Him by eating from the Word. It says in John 15, “those apart from Me can do nothing.” We need to go deeper into the Word and grow our roots firm and deep in Christ for confidence to be possible.

And lastly, just like everything else, confidence is a choice. We have to choose to lead a confident life and be confident in ourselves and in our beliefs. Once we choose to be confident in ourselves and in Christ, confidence will overflow into every aspect of our lives, such as in our relationships, how we speak, and in our everyday choices.

Confidence is a way of living, not a way of thinking. Without confidence there is no faith.

Hebrews 11:1

Philippians 3:3-4

Titus 1:2

Love

Jesus Time

-1 Corinthians 13: 4-7, 13

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

-Let’s just look at this from a friendship perspective. We all have friends and I’m sure that we all have what we would call our “best friends.” Now, picture those close few friends and think about how much you love them. A lot right?

-Well, yeah, and you have good reason too. You spend time with them, you have known them a long time maybe, you understand each other, you confide in them, and you just generally love who they are and the fact that you can call them your best friend.

-Now, look back at the passage of scripture and read it. Let’s start with “love is patient…” Now, can you think of a time where you were impatient with a friend you have?

-Of course! We’re not perfect right? Obviously there has been a time where you were impatient with them. And probably many times. Now, obviously you could sit there and read every little one of the characteristics of love and say oh! I have done that wrong, and that too, and so on. But, that will do you no good without some application.

-A good way to “test” how you love people is by reading this passage and comparing the way love should be to the way that humans have wrongly warped it to look like.

-Do you really love the people you say you do? I mean, would you be willing to keep no record of wrongs? Because that’s how love is supposed to be right? According to the Bible yes. Would you be willing to always trust them? Always be kind and never angry or rude? Just think about that. That’s how love was made to be. I mean seriously. It makes you seriously question the way you go about loving people.

-Sometimes we say that we love the people closest to us and then we stab them in the back or secretly hope they fail at something. I mean let’s be honest. What if you’re the person who gets stabbed in the back by your friend because of some misunderstanding? Are you gonna show them love as it should be by being patient with them and forgiving them by keeping no record of wrongs? Or are you going to show them the jacked up love of this world? And that’s a tough choice because it is so tempting to fight fire with fire, but yet we are called to exemplify love daily. Ya, it’s a huge undertaking but we are appointed to do so. And I don’t have to tell you it’s hard because you know it is. No sugar coating here.

-The scripture goes on to say that love is even greater and more important than faith and hope. More important than faith? Say what?

-Yeah, the scripture literally is telling us that love is greater than faith. Just think about that. It will blow your mind.

-If you look at the end of verse 2 in this chapter you will read, “…and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love I am nothing.” God is trying to tell us that He could care less if we know of Him and believe in Him if we do not love Him. He literally could care less, in fact he says in Revelation 3: 15-16 that He would rather us be basically either really bad or really good (hot or cold) than in the middle (lukewarm). Because if we are in the middle then he wants to vomit us out! And that’s exactly what He’s trying to point out here in 1 Corinthians when Paul writes this passage on love. He’s showing us that he wants our love above all else. And it is so much more important than just believing that He exists. Anyone can be a believer, but it takes LOVE to be a follower.

-So going back to love on a friendship level. How do we expect to love God if we cannot first train ourselves to sincerely love our friends, family, and even those we don’t know? The obvious answer is that we cannot. We are not perfect but we surely can try our hardest to live out this call to love. And when we fail to be patient, or when we fail to be hopeful or trustworthy, or kind, that is where God’s grace will come in and show us His perfect love that will forgive us every time if we just ask for it.

-Finally, we have to realize and accept that we are far from perfect. But we don’t have to be because God is our perfection and we can rely on Him in the times we cannot do it on our own. Don’t be discouraged if you find this love to be challenging. In fact, if it doesn’t challenge you then you are not doing it right. I promise you.

-Take some time daily to pray this passage of scripture over yourself. Ask God to give you the patience and the strength to persevere in this real way of love. You have to understand that God must be your crutch. Lean on him, and let him carry you when you no longer have the strength to love yourself. Because you know what; His love never fails, it never changes, and it’s freely offered to you. Just make use of it.