What lies do we believe?

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My temptation when reading familiar scripture is to skim. Familiarity can block us from seeing what we’ve missed before.

Our church follows a Bible reading plan which is the Bible in six years followed by year seven reading the Bible in one year. This is the year to read the Bible in a year. I’ve attempted this multiple times and failed. This year my husband and I are leading a small group, so the accountability will hold us to the challenge.

As I began reading in Genesis 3, I slowed down to intentionally read as though I’d not read this passage hundreds of times. That’s when I saw what I’ve missed in prior readings.

A little backstory. In Genesis 2:16-17 God instructs Adam with the words “….you are free to eat from any tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.” (emphasis added)

God is a God of freedom. Before He instructed Adam of what he should avoid, He started with pointing out what he was free to enjoy. Everything except the one thing.

God is good, and if something is off limits it’s only because God sees what we don’t see. It is for our good.

Jump to Genesis 3 and we notice the serpent doesn’t approach Adam, who had firsthand knowledge of what God said. He approached Eve with his lie.

The serpent plants the seed of doubt in Eve’s mind by posing the question, “Did God really say…..”

We don’t see Eve’s thoughts as she pondered the question. But we know how we toss and turn the doubts in our own minds.

While Eve is stating what God said, the serpent quickly added in his interpretation, which consisted of twisting God’s words into a lie.

The enemy is a liar. Plain and simple. He is a master at one thing. Lying. His goal is to speak lies in such a way that we accept and believe them.

The enemy desires we eat his lies.

In this all too familiar passage of scripture, this well-known story we’ve heard since Sunday school, I noticed something I’ve missed.

Genesis 3:6 “Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.”

The enemy fed the lie, planted doubt about the goodness of God, and waited. Eve considered his lie, which led to her accepting the lie and acting on it in sin.

All it took was consideration of the lie. Considering a lie about who God is, His nature and His goodness, is taking one step into the trap the enemy sets before us.

Consideration of the lie caused Eve to see her reality and surroundings in a new light, one cloaked in darkness.

The word “then” in Genesis 3:6 called me to pay greater attention.

Doubt changes what we see.

Lies morph truth into a false reality.

What we read in the Bible is that once the enemy offered the tantalizing lie to Eve, she looked at the tree and saw it the way the enemy described it to her. She noticed it was pleasing to the eye and offered good looking fruit, which all the other trees offered as well, but she saw it was “desirable for obtaining wisdom.”

God never said the tree offered wisdom. Wisdom comes from God alone.

“For the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” Proverbs 2:6

Considering the lie gave birth to desire. Desire led to acting on the sin.

Then the woman saw…..So she took some of its fruit…….

Following the seeds of doubt planted by the enemy, we see the “then the woman saw…..so she took some of its fruit…..”

What lies are you currently believing about the goodness of God? Do you believe God is good? Always or sometimes? To others or to you too?

If these questions seem to poke you toward discomfort, I have some resources to suggest.

 

Every Bitter Thing is Sweet by Sara Hagerty.

I read this in 2016 and it opened my eyes to the goodness of God in all situations. She posed a question in her book: Is God good to me? 

Yes, we “know” God is good. But do we believe it to our core? And do we believe He is good to us? Even when we aren’t receiving what we’ve begged to receive? Do we trust His goodness?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The God-Shaped Brain by Dr. Timothy R. Jennings.

I read this book in 2020 and was deeply impacted by the stories he shared about how what people believed about God impacted their health, choices, and life. It was both powerful and deeply insightful.

This book caused me to really look at the lies I hold about who God is and how that can lead me towards choices that aren’t for my good and God’s glory. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ebook devotional

 

Illuminate – Seeing God by the Light of His Word by Renee Robinson

To overcome the lies and combat our fears and worries, we must know who God is. His character, His nature. The only way to fight against the darkness the enemy sends is to illuminate our world by the light of God’s Word. That holds full truth so we can cast out the lies we hold in our minds and hearts.

Illuminate is a 14 day devotion focusing on various aspects of who God is so when we are faced with the enemy’s planted seeds of doubts, we will choose not to consider his lies and walk into his trap.

When you purchase illuminate you will receive an audio devotion each day for 14 days. In addition you will receive the pdf transcript. Both are yours forever to revisit as often as you need.

 

If today’s devotion spoke to you, please share on your social media platforms or send to a friend who may be encouraged as well.

 

 

Trusting God with a perfectly failed plan

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Of all this year challenged me with, the one that stands out most is the thought of how much I actually trust God. When circumstances make zero sense or simply don’t follow the plan I hoped for, how quick am I to reach toward frustration? This year exposed the impatience which dwells in me.

The last day of the year can hold a tinge of pressure as we look back and assess the last 365 days.

  • Did we learn anything?
  • Did we grow?
  • Did we reach our goals?
  • Did we grieve our losses well?
  • Did we heal?
  • Did we forgive?
  • Did we achieve?
  • Did we strengthen our faith?

As I typically do when the year draws to a close, I’m reflecting on what I’ve learned.

For Christmas this year, we gifted our boys with a trip instead of material gifts. We’ve done this several times over the years. This time we flew out the day after Christmas to enjoy five days in Arizona. While soaking in the Arizona sun, the Lord began showing me  some similarities in how I plan trips with how I attempt to plan my life.

Intentionality is important to me. Without intention, so much is at risk for loss and waste. Missed opportunities and time escaping before our eyes. The tagline of my blog is “Inspiring & encouraging you to live with intentional purpose.” I parent this way. Attempting to make the most of the brief time the Lord allows to raise these boys, to create as many memories and experiences as time permits.

Trip planning is one of my favorites. In fact, one of my dream jobs is a travel agent. I love to travel, but I love to plan almost as much. I love the hours and hours I spend searching for the perfect house to rent or hotel to book. I love planning the itinerary, deciding what to do and plotting out the logistics to fitting it all in perfectly. If given as a gift, I become giddy with excitement imagining the creative ways to present the gift and the looks of excitement to come.

I spend more time than necessary planning trips because I’m reaching towards perfection the entire time. I want the experience to be the absolute best it could possibly be. Perfection has been a battle my entire life. I’ve learned it’s not something I will overcome once and for all. It loves to rear its head in various forms.

I’ve shared about this in Illuminate – Seeing God by the Light of His Word. 

“I strove to prove myself worthy, to validate my roles and positions, to find identity in all the wrong places, even as a believer. In my personal quest for perfection, I created idols – idols of family, ministry, home, and work. I worshiped at the altar of Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, or words of encouragement from the ones I served. In my strive for perfection, I could at times leave no room for the perfect God because I worked too hard to be my own god.”

God often speaks to me through story. I want to share a story with you from our recent trip and how God brought me right back to  the question, “Do you trust me?”

Follow with me along this story. I’ll point out roadblocks, provision points, expectation + gratitude moments, disappointment, and ultimately the decision to trust God no matter what, even if I never know why. Yes, it’s through the story of a trip plan gone wrong, but God often speaks to me the deeper questions and answers through the experiences in my life He walks me through. I hope He speaks to you here as well.

For our Arizona trip, I planned two golf outings, three hikes, much shopping/eating/exploring, and the once in a lifetime, bucket list excursion in a hot air balloon.

Finding and deciding on which hot air balloon ride took a couple of hours on the internet. I read all I could find on the most reputable companies. In the process, I found a Groupon special for the company I chose to book with. I tried no less than ten times to complete the purchase through Groupon, but each time the site timed out on me and refused to process the transaction. (Roadblock #1) (Frustration #1)

The Groupon special offered savings worth a couple hundred dollars. I emailed the hot air balloon company explaining the situation. She immediately responded what a great price it was and offered to match the Groupon price for us when we booked direct through their site. That’s when I discovered the hidden blessing in the frustrations of a site not working. Groupon required full payment and no refund for cancelled excursion. It’s the risk you take to save hundreds of dollars. Booking direct through the company offered zero risk. You paid after the balloon flight and nothing in the event of cancellation due to weather circumstances. (Provision #1)(Gratitude #1)

Road block #1  +  provision #1 = Foreshadow #1

I could not WAIT to see the boys’ expressions when they discovered this gift. I ordered a handpainted ornament through the company. It was painted with a desert scene and a picture of the hot air ballon. This is how we would tell them what we planned to do with them, plus we would have the reminder on the tree each year going forward of an incredible experience of a lifetime. (Expectations)

I ordered the ornament weeks before Christmas, yet it never arrived. Tracking information showed it began the journey toward us the day I ordered and spent weeks in a postal facility in Denver, CO. (Frustration #2)

Christmas morning, rather than the expected moment of opening a handpainted ornament, we simply showed them the website and explained the gift. (Expectations, Disappointment, Gratitude all intertwined) (Foreshadow #2)

Our excursion was booked for Day 3 of the trip. It was a sunset ride lifting off at 6:30 am. This required I wake around 4:30 am. We all managed to wake on time, bundle up for a chilly ride, and drive the 30 minutes to the location. We arrived about 15 minutes early. I had a nervous feeling. It felt we were in the right spot, we saw other cars waiting, but we didn’t see the van for the balloon company. (Foreshadow #3)

The van arrived, he began setting up his check in table. The exterior building light wouldn’t turn on. He tried several times to no avail. He made the comment how weird that was. “It was working fine yesterday. Guess we will do this a different way.” He pulled out his iPhone flashlight. (Foreshadow #4)

He handed me the waivers to sign, told me we were riding in the van to the liftoff location. We’d leave within minutes. No less than one short minute later, the check in guy called everyone over with these words, “Guys, I’m sorry I have to ruin your day, but your balloon flight has just been cancelled. We received word from the pilot that the winds are too strong for a safe flight this morning. But you can try to rebook for a later flight.”

I felt every ounce of shock and deflation in that moment. The weather looked beautiful to me. I felt no wind at all, but also I don’t understand weather patterns in the slightest.

The moment held that realization of the fact that we had no control of the situation. We held in our hands our hopes and expectations for that morning fully deflated, frustration welling up, and a whisper to trust God. All the foreshadow moments began filling my mind. God’s provision ahead of time, protecting our money He knew would be lost if that Groupon had processed.

Steve quickly found a breakfast spot and as we drove to eat what did we see over the mountains? Yes, hot air balloons floating gently, peacefully into the sunrise. (Frustration, Disappointment) Why did others get to experience a safe ride and we couldn’t? Have you ever asked God these questions?

I attempted to rebook, but no flights were available. The next few moments we had a choice to make. Which path is right? Is God directing? Do we simply trust the cancel and stop trying to make it work? Do we accept it simply wasn’t meant to be? Or was God directing us to another company? Or was that us trying to control the situation and make a way no matter what God suggested?

In those minutes I’d found another company with spots open the next day. It would cost more by a couple of hundred dollars. Because we saw a way to make it happen, did that mean it was wise? Or should we accept the fact that our expectations didn’t come to pass, allow ourselves to feel the disappointment, but ultimately trust that God is good and knows things we simply don’t know.

The hard thing for me is the fact I always want to know. I always want to put all the puzzle pieces together and see the picture, even if it looks different than I envisioned, I find comfort in seeing it make sense. I also want to follow God’s path rather than my own, but in this situation, I simply was unsure.

We began praying and asking God to guide. I had a thought after praying. I would not book with another company, even if spots allowed, but instead if our current company had cancellations the next morning, we would be prepared to take the spots. We let the company know we’d be open to taking any cancellations they had, but it never happened.

When the day passed by, we had fully accepted the disappointment of the excursion that simply wasn’t meant to be. We didn’t understand why, but decided the only choice was to trust God. God is good. Always.

For me I realize it’s so easy to trust God when I see the path and the reasons for the roadblocks, but so very hard when I never know why.

What do I believe about God truly? Do I believe He is a very good God who desires to give good gifts? Do I believe He’s not a God who delights in watching His children disappointed but is also a God who knows our character and faith can only be shaped and strengthened at times when circumstances don’t go our way?

And this is how my year is ending with God allowing me to walk through a scenario that really is a picture of my entire year. Do I REALLY trust God like I say I do? Do I trust Him in the good and bad equally? Do I believe He is good when life is floating in the air as much as sitting in deflated hopes and expectations? Will I follow Him where He leads even if I see I can make my own way on a path I create because I think I know better? Or will I hold His hand on a different path knowing that anywhere with Him is better than alone along my own rocky way?

Before I wrap up this post, I have to mention our trip was beyond amazing. Truly losing one excursion didn’t take away any joy from five days of amazing family time and memories we created. If I thought I could hold your attention here a bit longer, I’d share how many times God showed up with surprise gifts along this trip. It was all a gift.

This year has been quite the year. It’s taught me to continue living with intention. We simply don’t know what tomorrow holds. If you can take the trip, take the trip. If you have breath in your lungs, live today fully. If you have your loved ones in your life, tell them what they mean to you.

“I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war.” Revelation 19:11

Trust God. He is trustworthy. He is faithful. He is true. Even in the roadblocks and frustrating disappointments, He is good and we can trust Him.

“Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” Proverbs 19:21

 

Think carefully about your ways

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Imagine hearing these words and phrases from God.

Think carefully about your ways.

I am with you.

Be strong.

Work – For I am with you.

Reflect back.

Consider carefully.

Consider it carefully.

Would it give you pause? God speaks in His Word. I love the method Anne Graham Lotz teaches for studying God’s Word in The Daniel Prayer. 

  • Read the Word
  • What does the Word say?
  • What does God’s Word mean?
  • What does God’s Word mean in my life?

Sometimes I read God’s Word, and phrases stand out causing me to bullet journal them. When I go back and read my bullet points, I see a theme or message straight from God’s Word.

The end of a year or season leads many into a time of considering and reflecting. But it’s a healthy practice for a more regular life rhythm.

Last week, I felt a small prompting from God to exit social media. It was a whispered invitation to my soul. In argument to the whisper was a louder voice that called me selfish, unconcerned about God’s Kingdom and a call to bring light to a dark area of the world. That louder voice told me to toughen up, stand and fight, be heard. But the whisper gently invited me to come away.

In the past I spent much too much time wondering which choice was God’s will. I’d spend days debating if I was making the “right” choice. Now I make the decision knowing that both may be in God’s will and He cares more for my obedience and walk with Him along whichever of the choices I make. Rather than debating for days if it was wrong or right to leave social media, I simply left and decided to trust God for the guidance along the exit path. I will wait for Him to tell me if it’s a permanent leave or a temporary. In the meantime, I’ll simply enjoy Him.

As I read the book of Haggai, the words of God ministered to me in this time of limiting social media and internet distractions.

Think carefully about your ways. (1:5, 1:7)

  • Where are my pockets of time disappearing to?
  • What am I filling my mind with through the day?
  • Are my habits and patterns drawing me closer to the Lord? Or are they creating in me distance, irritation, anger?
  • Am I becoming a more fruit-filled person through my current ways?

I am with you. (1:13)

  • God is always with us. Am I remembering this?
  • Am I living at a pace that forgets He is with me?
  • Am I consuming content that leaves me fearful and discouraged, forgetting He is truly here.

Be strong. Be strong. Be strong. (2:4)

  • Is the time I spend online sapping me of strength?
  • Am I believing lies leaving me weak?

Work- For I am with you. (2:4)

  • I can work because He is with me.
  • I can do all He’s called and asked when I am focused on His purposes and filled with His truth.
  • I work better with a buddy. Knowing He is by my side keeps me pushing forward from a state of rest.

Reflect back. (2:15)

  • It’s easy to keep going forward without remembering to look back.
  • Reflecting back reminds me of all He’s done in the past and encourages me He won’t stop now.
  • Looking back generates gratitude and thankfulness.
  • Reflecting back fills me with awe. Awe is missing in our frenetic lives.

Consider carefully. Consider it carefully. (2:18)

  • We started with careful consideration of our choices and path and we end with considering carefully.
  • Filled with truth of who He is, remembering He is with us. Working because He made us strong, reflecting back on who He is and what He’s done. Now we are ready to consider carefully our ways.
  • Do I want to keep marching on the path I’m on or is it time to find a new path?

Now, I encourage you to open your Bible to the book of Haggai. It’s 2 short chapters filled with power for your day.

Are you looking for a quiet companion for a few days? If so may I suggest my 14 day devotion, Illuminate – Seeing God by the Light of His Word. 14 days of reflecting on who God is, meditating on passages from the Psalms. It’s available as an audiobook or ebook. I will guide you through the practice of remembering and reflecting, which are gifts to our soul. If there has ever been a season to give our soul some loving care, it is now.

Maybe you’ve run out of time to ship a gift to that person on your list you’ve yet to send a gift to. Buy them a copy of Illuminate. You don’t have to leave your house. No trip to the post office necessary. They will receive a gift that will draw them closer to God as they practice the art of remembering what a powerful God we serve.

 

When you are tired of waiting, wait for it……

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Lord, how long?

If we are honest with ourselves, we’ve all asked this question.

Lord, I’ve been praying about this situation for years. How long must I wait to see an answer? 

Lord, our world feels it is spinning out of control. How long must we wait to see your response to our moans?

Lord, I’ve battled this illness for years. How long must I wait? I’m tired of waiting, Lord.

If you’ve asked God how long you must keep waiting, you are not alone.

“Lord – how long? Turn and have compassion on Your servants.” Psalm 90:13

“How long, Lord, must I call for help and You do not listen or cry out to You about violence and You do not save?” Habakkuk 1:2

These words hang on my bedroom wall. They are from Psalm 90, which I began praying over my family years ago. When I see these words, I remember what I’m asking the Lord.

“Satisfy us in the morning with Your faithful love so that we may shout with joy and be glad all our days.” Psalm 90:14

I’ll be honest, I’m drawn to pray these words out of selfish motives. I want to be satisfied. I want to shout with joy. I want to be glad ALL my days.

When I read Psalm 90:15, the very next verse, I pause. “Make us rejoice for as many days as You have humbled us, for as many years as we have seen adversity.”

Lord, how long?

And what do we do while we wait?

I imagine the Lord with a smile on His face, replying, “Well, child, I’m glad you asked.” I envision Him directing my heart in prayer. And this is the response of my heart.

“Let Your work be seen by Your servants, and Your splendor by their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us: establish for us the work of our hands – establish for us the work of our hands!” Psalm 90: 16-17

While we wait, something is waiting to be seen. Do we see it? “Let Your work be seen….” Friends, He is working. Do we see it?

While we wait, something is waiting to descend upon us. Do we experience it? “Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us.” Friends, His favor is ours to hold.

While we wait, something is waiting to be done. Do we do it? “Establish for us the work of our hands….” Friends, we have work to do while we wait. Do we do it?

How well do I wait? Not that well honestly. I want results yesterday. I want healing instantly. I want to see heart change the moment I ask.

While you wait, dwell well. Live well, dwell well. Don’t wait for the answer to the cry of your heart before you decide to live fully alive in the Lord.

If we continue in God’s Word right where we left off in Psalm 90:17, we move into Psalm 91. Verse 1 holds a key to waiting well and dwelling better.

“The one who lives under the protection of the Most High dwells in the shadow of the Almighty.”

To live under the protection of the Most High is a choice to remain, abide in Him. To live a life of obedience. To crucify ourselves daily. To pick up our cross and follow Him. To slay selfishness and pride. That is how we live under the protection of His umbrella. When we live under His protection, we dwell well in His shadow.

Now that we are willing to live well and dwell well, we are ready to open our eyes.

Watch and Wait

“How long, Lord, must I call for help and You do not listen or cry out to You about violence and You do not save? Why do You force me to look at injustice? Why do You tolerate wrongdoing? Oppression and violence are right in front of me. Strife is ongoing, and conflict escalates. This is why the law is ineffective and justice never emerges. For the wicked restrict the righteous; therefore, justice comes out perverted.” Habakkuk 1:2-4

When I read this passage of scripture, I felt seen and heard by God. It feels as though we are crying out for justice, yet injustice escalates, evil continues to flaunt and parade itself. It seems. Just because we feel a certain way, doesn’t make it true.

How long must we wait? Really?

The Lord answered Habakkuk, and the Lord answers us the same.

“Look at the nations and observe – be utterly astounded! For something is taking place in your days that you will not believe when you hear about it.” Habakkuk 1:5

God desires we be utterly astounded by Him. He is worthy of our astonishment! I love how Habakuk responds to God’s first answer. He responds with who God is. Yahweh my God, My Holy One, my Rock. Yes, Lord!! You are astounding!

Habakkuk makes a choice to wait. To watch and wait.

“I will stand at my guard post and station myself on the lookout tower.
I will watch to see what He will say to me and what I should reply about my complaint.” Habakkuk 2:1

Lord, am I standing at my guard post? Am I stationing myself on the lookout tower? Oh, Lord, may I watch and see what you will say to me. May I be utterly astounded by You.

Wait for it!!!

We have short attention spans. Our media, image driven world, is ready for the next scene before the first is fully developed. When a parent posts a cute video of their toddler, a common caption is “Wait for it!” The one posting the video doesn’t want us to miss the best part, which is yet to come. Often if they don’t prompt us to “wait for it,” we move on because we believe we’ve seen all we need to see. But they know what we don’t know. The best is yet to come.

God responds similarly to Habakkuk in 2:3. “…..Though it delays, wait for it, since it will certainly come and not be late.”

Though it delays, it will not come late. I love words. And words that seem to contradict grab my attention these days. Is a delay not late? Or is it maybe we feel an answer we wait on is delayed, but really it will arrive right on time. God does everything in perfection, including timing His answers.

We can trust Him fully.

Live well, Dwell well, Watch well, Wait well. God is moving.

 

 

 

 

 

A truly safe phone for kids – 24 hour deal

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Once you open the door to smartphones, it’s hard to close it. Once the door is opened, you begin the process of continually learning no amount of restrictions and monitoring are effective in truly keeping our kids safe.

As I’ve shared before, we’ve tried dumbed down smartphones, flip phones, iPods, and have found none to be truly safe. When I found the Gabb phone, I knew I’d found a parent’s dream to a phone they can put into their kid’s hands with no worries.

For 24 hours only, you can get this phone for $49 using my promo code RENEEROBINSON49

Purchase Gabb phone here

(This link will begin working Monday November 23rd at midnight MT)

These phones are expected to sell out fast. Monday November 23 12:00 am-11:59pm MT.

My 15 year old told us a story recently about someone asking what kind of phone he had. His response made us laugh. “I have a ‘my mom loves me phone’.”

The Gabb phone utilizes phone, text, calculator, calendar, music, gps, and camera. No internet, no apps, no games, no social media. No danger. No worries. Truly a peace of mind phone at a perfect price point. I’m not big on putting a $1,000 phone in my kids’ hands anyway.

There’s a new movement of parents waking up to the effects and harms of smartphones and screens on our children. In an effort to do our part in keeping kids safe and saving their innocence and childhood, the Gabb phone is a step in the right direction.

 

 

 

A Wonder-filled Life in Christ

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I had the honor of speaking at the Blessed Christian Women’s Event recently. Five speakers were given a theme verse. Psalm 139:14 “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful. I know that full well.”

As I prayed about what God would have me share, He drew my attention to four key words at the beginning of that verse. I.Praise.You.Because.

God has been stirring the word ‘wonder’ in my soul. I wondered why. He showed me. And layer upon layer He revealed to me to a secret weapon to confuse the enemy. A secret to seeing God at work in a million ways in my life. And it fills me with wonder, which I share in my talk, actually does something to our bodies that brings healing. How like God.

When God invites me to share a message from His Word, He leads me to walk through it in my life many times before and after. I often feel these invitations to speak are God’s sweet intimate invitations to me to dig deep with Him. I walk away from these events in awe of who He is.

I’m linking my talk from the conference here.

Renee Robinson – Blessed Women’s Event

 

I begin at about the 1:19 mark and speak until about 2:02 mark.

I pray you have a blessed weekend. May God fill your soul with wonder.

 

As we approach the holiday season, I pray you take time to sit with Jesus. Before the hustle and bustle, above the shouts of the world, I pray you would carve out secret space where He can speak to you.

I invite you to download Illuminate – Seeing God by the Light of His Word. It’s a 14 day audio devotion centered around seeing God for who He is. I hope it’s 10 minutes a day for 14 days of experiencing awe and wonder for the God who created you and loves you like crazy.

Now available for $5.00!! You receive 14 days of audio, which includes the pdf version as well.

Download Illuminate Now!

Replacing fear with fear

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The first sentence I wrote in my prayer journal this morning: “Lord, thank you that you are a God who speaks!”

Do you listen for God’s voice? Do you look for what He is teaching you? God is unchanging, but what He teaches us changes as we find ourselves in new circumstances, struggles, or seasons.

God speaks in many ways. A primary way He speaks is straight through His Word.

A friend sent me a sermon last night. I love David Platt. This is worth your 20 minutes if you are struggling to remember you need not fear. God is in control of EVERYTHING. Even though I’m about to share some highlights from this teaching, it’s still worth you watching in full.

David Platt showed me a new perspective of the story of Jesus calming the wind and waves. Jesus led His disciples INTO the storm. I’ve never considered this. He went on to point out that sometimes it’s our disobedience that leads us into storms, but sometimes it’s our obedience. Whoa!!!

There are simply some lessons we can only learn through the storm. No other way can we learn who God really is unless we see Him calming our winds and waves.

Now here is where God really began speaking to me. In this sermon, Platt makes note of Jesus asking why they were afraid. He was addressing the fear they carried that exposed their lack of faith. After Jesus rebuked the wind and waves, revealing His authority over nature, we see the disciples described as terrified. The translation of this form of the word is from a fear showing deep reverence and awe of God.

Holy fear. Reverent fear. Awe.

This morning my friend and mentor faithfully emailed out her daily verse.

Isaiah 8:12-13

“Don’t call everything a conspiracy like they do and don’t live in dread of what frightens them. Make the Lord of Heavenly Armies holy in your life. He is the one you should fear. He is the One who should make you tremble.”

God continues to speak to me the message DO NOT FEAR. Now He is adding onto the message as He sees I’m beginning to allow His Words to change me. Now the message is to fear Him. He is worthy of my holy, reverent fear. He is God.

When I see God for who He truly is, I have no reason to fear. Nothing in life or death has power over me. He is God. I’m secure in Him.

My prayer for you today is to rebuke fear in the name of Jesus. Fear has no business in your life. Replace fear birthed in hell with a holy fear of God which causes everything in us to stand down.