Meditate.

   Happy Thursday everyone! I read these two verses this morning during my Bible time and just wanted to share them with you:

"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you." - Philippians 4: 8-9

   Meditate today on thoughts of Jesus. Worship Him throughout the day, read your Bible on your lunch hour, listen to some praise music on the way home from work, encourage someone in Christ, take extra time to pray this evening. Keep focusing on the Lord and He will be faithful through the day. 

Blessings, 

~ Abby

P.S. - I have an exciting interview with one of my best friends coming up talking about the subject of God's grace! Keep your eyes open for that!

Choosing the Will of God

   Hello readers! Today, I want to talk to you about God's will. How willing are we to follow the will of God and to choose it over other things? Even Jesus had to acknowledge His Father's plan and follow His will. But how do we do this?

And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed,

saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.

And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. ~ Luke 22:41-44

   Jesus separated himself from His friends. We don't like to separate ourselves from our friends and family. It's human nature to crave connection with those around us, even with things of the world. But if we really want to seek out God's will for ourselves, separation from the world is required and sometimes, separation from our friends and family is necessary. Are we willing to separate ourselves from the people and things that can distract us from God? I'm not talking about becoming a hermit, never interacting with anyone ever. But when you need to seek out God and His will, do you distance yourself from the distractions and take the time to worship the Lord and pray for an answer? Luke 5:16 says "So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed." Like Jesus, we need to understand the importance of separation from everything else to pray.

   Jesus recognized that He had to give up His own will to follow His Father. Here's something we don't like to do... give up our plans for someone else's. But here's the main thing: it's not our plan for either someone important in our lives or not. This is our plans for God's plans. To some people, this might not make a difference. "Why would I want to follow someone else's idea of what I should do for my life?" "They don't know me." "They don't know what I want or what I'm good at." "They don't care enough for me to take their advice." That's the thing. God knows what's best. He knows you. He knows what you want or what you're good at because He made you. He cares more about you than you may think. God only wants good things for us. Does this mean that His plan will be smooth-sailing, sunshine-filled, roses-along-the-path kind of life? No, but we'll get to that next.

   Jesus did not give up even as the struggle became harder. I'm sure you've heard that things will almost always get worse before they get better... well, even as Christians, this can be very true. When struggles get hard, we often want to take the easy way out which is usually to just give up. But God calls us to something more than that and He empowers us to continue on. Even Jesus knew when the struggles were harder that He had to keep going and He held on to the promises of His Father. Isaiah 46:4 says "Even to your old age, I am He, And even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you." No matter what the trial we face, even after we have surrendered our will to the Father's, we can rest in the promise that the Lord will carry us. 

   Does following God's will require great personal sacrifice? Yes. But it is His will for us and He will sustain us through. May this small thought be an encouragement to each of us to surrender ourselves daily to the perfect will of our Heavenly Father. 

Blessings, 

~ Abby

An Ephesians 2:19-22 Blessing

Sorry for my absence on here. Last week my grandma was rushed to the hospital for multiple things, so our household was a bit "topsy-turvy" this past week. But thank the Lord, she is at a rehab center slowly improving! But this post isn't about that. This is something I wrote recently and I felt lead to share it with all my readers.

"19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit." -Ephesians 2:19-22

You are part of a family & a kingdom. The family of God. Nothing you have done can change that. What really matters is not the choices you've made, but the child of God you are. This song, "You are More", by Tenth Avenue North tells us that our decisions of the past do not define us... we have been forgiven by our Rock, by our Savior. AND, because of that, we are now part of a loving family and we are part of the Lord's kingdom What a wonderful promise this is! 

In the next section,  the Bible tells us that we, the family of God, have a foundation of the prophets, the Bible. We stand firm on the promises of God in the Scripture! The chorus of an old hymn say this: 

      

"Standing, standing, 

standing on the promises of Christ my Savior; 

standing, standing, 

I'm standing on the promises of God!" 

R. Kelso Carter

Another song says this: 

"How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, 

is laid for your faith in his excellent word! 

What more can he say than to you he hath said, 

to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?" 

"K" in Rippon's A Selection of Hymns

Isn't is marvelous that we stand on the promises of our Savior? He is our Rock, our Fortress, our Shepherd, our Lord! He is the cornerstone that we as a family of God, and as individuals, can put our trust and faith in.

The last verse says that we are being built together to be a dwelling place for God. Our bodies are a temple. We as a group are a temple of God. In 1 Corinthians 6:19, it says "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?" When we are saved, we are no longer our own. We have the Almighty God living inside us, we belong to Him! 

One last song, I promise: 

"Know ye not, know ye not ye are the temple?

Know ye not, know ye not ye are the temple?

Know ye not, know ye not ye are the temple?

Ye are the temple of the Holy Ghost!"

I don't know where that's from, but I remember singing it in church years ago. What a faithful reminder that we are the temple of God! 

So my main points: 1) We are part of a family and a kingdom. We accept each other, we help each other, we love each other. 2) We are founded on Christ and the promises we find in Scripture. Trust in them. Keep them close to your hearts. 3)We are a temple! We have our Lord living inside us, helping us, loving us, teaching us.

Thank God today! Thank Him for everything that He has done for us! Thank Him for your salvation, for His love, for His promises, and for the family that you are a part of!

A rainbow, one of the promises of God.

I hope that this little thought blessed you as it did me!

Blessings, 

~Abby