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Month: August 2021

Refining Faith

Refining Faith

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God has promised us a new life. It doesn’t matter what you have done or where you have been, God’s promise is that if you give your life to Christ, He will make your life brand new. For just a moment, I lost sight of that promise. Now, don’t get it twisted. I am not talking about my salvation. I have no doubt that I am saved. What I’m talking about is, every now and then when life gets a little rough…my focus tends to stay on my problem—and not on my God.

I believe we are in a season of strengthening faith. I love God, and I know He loves me. I do not doubt for a minute that He will deliver me out of all my troubles. The thing is…we have to go through our troubles in order to get to the other side, and it’s that going through that can sometimes take us to that lonely place. The awesome thing about that though is that God already knows the plan. Even when we can’t understand we can trust that first, there is a purpose for everything, and second…God is in control.

First Peter 1:7 says, “These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.” Wow! That is so awesome. This scripture is saying that our faith is more precious than gold. Stronger and more powerful.

Before the refiner applies pressure, gold is simply a lump of ore. The refiner stirs and skims the gold to remove any impurities, and when it is just right, he lets it cool before sending it out into the world. That is what God does for us. He is the refiner. Our trials are what He uses to purify and strengthen us.

We will go through times of testing, but just know that God has promised to be there…right in the midst of whatever we are going through—good or bad. He never takes His eyes off of us, and for that I am eternally grateful.

Until next time…

Be blessed

My Dream, God’s Plan

My Dream, God’s Plan

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I am feeling the need to go deeper in the Lord. What I mean by that is, God is allowing me to see things from a different perspective. I think for the first time I am seeing that there really is nothing I can’t do when I connect my faith with His power. 

You know how it is when you know God is calling you to something, but you just can’t seem to get out of your own way. Well, I am realizing that I have been stifling my own creativity by not believing in my own dream. It finally dawned on me that the vision is for doing…not just for seeing. Wow…that was good even to me. I have been looking at the dream God has given me like it was going to magically appear. Ummmm…there won’t be any lucky charm moments. I can’t keep wishing and hoping. I have to be willing to do the work. 

Even though I have read what the Bible says about me, and the plans God has for my life, I am still finding it hard to walk in it. I have to get my mind to be in agreement with my heart, and my heart has to be in agreement with my spirit and it all has to be in agreement with God’s plan, and I am finding that if any one of those things begins to act independently of the other, it all gets out of balance, and out of order. That’s when I need the help of the Holy Spirit, because I know He will lead the way out, and show me the way to go.  

Right now it is time to step it up…to dig into God’s word like never before, and let myself believe in the dream that’s been waiting for me. 

God has so much for all of us…if we just let Him lead the way.

Until next time…

Be blessed

A Good Steward

A Good Steward

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Being a good steward is important to me. Recently I was reminded that everything belongs to God, and He basically allows us the opportunity to manage it. 

It’s like the story of the talents in Matthew 25. The master was going out of town, and he left the talents with his servants, and only two of the three did a good job of managing what he had been given. The third man was afraid, and ended up doing nothing…and that was exactly what he received…nothing. 

When I think about it that way, it makes me sad that I may be letting God down. It’s not that I am frivolous in my spending, or purposely wasteful, but by not consciously thinking about the things I spend my money on I am being careless with the things God has…and is trusting me with. When I started looking at how I was “managing” what God has given me…I saw how incompetent I am at times. I make sure my bills are paid, but then the rest of the time it’s like throwing money right out the window. When I look back at what I did with my money…I can’t really trace it. But I am determined to change that. 

Studies show that it can take anywhere from two to eight months to make or break a habit, and I am confident that I will have the victory. I have to be just as determined to keep trying as I have been to keep spending. The desire to do it is there, and the Bible says that if we delight ourselves in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our heart (Psalm 37). That seals it for me.

Ok, so now that God has me on board, I have to really work on getting my house in order. That means coming up with a plan to track my spending. I know it is not going to be easy, but I also know that God will never lead us down a path to a dead end. He will help me every step of the way. This whole experience is bringing me closer to God, and now that I think of it…maybe that was His purpose all along.

Until next time… 

Be blessed

God’s Hands

God’s Hands

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I am still so grateful for every single day God allows me to be on the face of this earth.

I woke up this morning feeling God’s hand holding me. I don’t know why…but, I just felt secure…safe. I know that He ministers to my spirit as I sleep (that’s probably the only time my mind is at rest). That’s one of the things I love about Him. He will never stop trying to reach us. So, I have to believe that whatever was on my mind when I went to bed last night is being taken care of by the Master. I have been striving to be as Paul says in Philippians 4:11, “… content whatever the circumstances.” (NIV) There is a beauty in being content. It says that I trust the providence of God.

When we believe that everything is in God’s hands it makes it easier to let go. I believe that as long as we hold on to “things” it blocks the flow of God’s plan in our lives. He wants to do big things through us. But, we sometimes get in the way. In our little finite minds we still think we have control over certain situations…and I guess in a way we do. We control our destinies in that we have the power of choice, and we can choose to believe or not believe—to follow Him, or not follow Him. More than anything, I want to follow Him. I want my life to reflect the love of Jesus Christ in everything I do, and I pray the same for you.

I pray that we all continue to walk in the newness that comes from a life that is sold out to God. I pray that His strength will help carry us through those times of trial, and those times when we want to quit. And finally I pray that we all begin to appreciate the gift of being in God’s hands.

Until next time…

Be blessed