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Overwhelming Love

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"Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments..." Deuteronomy 7:9 My thoughts this morning reading a devotional, I became convicted of the fact that though I tell God I trust Him, there are different levels of trust. I trust Him to work out difficult circumstances, but He wants me to trust Him with my life ...all of it. The bad things I do, and the good things I do. Do I trust Him to the point that I can be vulnerable with Him? Jesus lives for me to run to Him in times of distress. The Christian community tends to shoot down people who “use God.” Those who talk to Him when things are going wrong then drop Him when things are fine. Who are we to speak on Gods behalf of who He will love and not? Who He will help and not help? He is Love! He loves when believer and unbeliever alike run to Him. He will always receive with open arms. We also shoot each ot

Your Social Media Posts I have Hidden in My Heart

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  "Your Word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against You. Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things, and revive me in Your way.  Establish Your Word in Your servant.  Through Your teachings I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.  Your Word is a lamp to my feet and light to my path.  I have gone astray like a lost sheep; Seek Your servant, For I do not forget Your commandments." Psalm 119:11, 37, 104-105, 176 The majority of people today, myself included, struggle with the lure and captivity of Social Media.  While it's not all bad, it can be distracting, cause confusion, and really in the religious world spark heavy criticisms, bickering and horrible actions.  Social media has given a voice to every participant, and a sense of "community" to air grievances or make a stand for what they believe in.  I myself repentantly have engaged in this type of nonsense.  Earlier this year I deactivated my Facebook account after a long battl

Unprepared Preparedness in Advent

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Yesterday morning (Sunday Morning) I pulled down my Advent wreath.  For the past few years it has sat on my bookshelf, and I decided end of last Christmas that I wanted to do my wreath this year.  So I went to Hobby Lobby in true Christian fashion and bought the purple and pink candles, kept them in the bag and threw them next to wreath.  Fast Forward to Sunday morning...I set my candles inside and noticed I forgot the most important candle!  The white Jesus candle!  I felt terrible.  Typical Allison letting myself slide on stuff, and not preparing ahead of time for things.  After church I went to Target in search of a white pillar candle that would fit in the middle.   As I sat in my shame of being unprepared for the preparedness of Advent, God brought to mind the parable of The 10 Virgins.  He was warning me of the sleepiness and lack of awareness and to wake up!  The parable goes like this: “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps [ a ]  and went to

An Awareness of God's Goodness

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  Oh, Hi!  Yes, that's me over there.  Thanksgiving I was happy to wear my newly ordered "Goodness of God" shirt.  It seemed like a perfect day to tear it out of the package (finally) and throw it on.  Who would think that a t-shirt could focus your mind to think on the message it proclaims.  I fell in love with this song the very moment I heard it years ago.  I want it played all my life whatever that looks like day to day, at graduations, wedding, baby, birthdays...and even my death.  "All my life He has been faithful." I've worn it the past few days.  Y'all have to know I love, and live in t-shirts.  I will wear it over and over before I wash it.  But my mind stayed fixated on my shirt walking around in it, and it brought me to an awareness of God in my life.   I began to describe the things I was doing and ending it with "...in the goodness of God." I'm going to bed in the goodness of God, I'm going to church in the goodness of God

God Would You Heal This?

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"Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities." -Isaiah 53 I have learned to pray in the midnight hour when plagued by my mind. Thoughts that trick me, anxieties that keep me knot

A Life that Counts: My Possessions for the Glory of God

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 "Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the first fruits of your increase; So your storehouses will be filled with plenty." - Proverbs 3:9 BLESSINGS ON OBEDIENCE: "The Lord will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you." -Deuteronomy 28:8  There is nothing I own in my life that God didn't give and provide for me.  All my life He has been faithful and has provided my every need and then some.  God blesses not only those who do good things, but He gives blessing to those who do bad things too...and not that it is deserved, but that God is good in who He is.  Where Jesus followers divide off is what we do with the possession, and not just merely thanking God, but giving Him glory in how it is used.  I have been convicted of this for several months now in my own life.  Have I used my apartment to the glory of God in who I have over, in the a

The Way of Healing According to Jeremiah

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 My life has felt like it's been spinning out of control for a few years now.  Maybe you feel that way too; still feeling the affects of the pandemic and how shaken up life became.  We've lost friends, family both through death and in the manner of politically not seeing eye to eye.  We fell out of church and away from church because it wasn't open, or other reasons which may also fall into the political spectrum.  Jobs changed.  Life just isn't the same.  We've endured a lot these past couple of years trying to pick up the pieces and rebuild from the wreckage.  The trauma of all we faced lead us to do some things we maybe would never do.  I found myself in that situation.  It's like one bad thing led to another bad thing and it was a snowball effect downhill.  How do we recover?   Maybe you're a perfect Christian and none of the past few years fazed you, in that case, that's wonderful for you.  In the case of myself and I'm sure many others we are b