There are a million steps we have to work through in order to recover from intimate betrayal, but I believe the first (and most critical)
Sometimes we get so caught up in our own desire to be right, we miss out on being a part of God’s mercy. We choose judgement and misery over excitedly taking part in a miracle because we’ve forgotten how merciful He’s been to us! There is much we can learn from the Biblical account of the prophet Jonah.
It’s time to wrap up this Redeeming Thanksgiving series, and begin to prepare our hearts for Christmas. When we started the month out we asked God to set us ablaze with thanksgiving. We laid out the kindling and prepared the wood by committing to this study, and He cultivated that first spark with the promise of restoration. We learned how a thankful heart has the power to redeem for good what the enemy intended for evil. We fed that fire by learning how our gratitude leads to hope which fills us with the joy of the Lord, which is our strength. As the flames of His blessing spread, our praises grew and led us into the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding.
Then, last week, that inferno reached a new height. No longer was it simply spreading God’s blessings throughout our own lives, but it began to consume what didn’t belong. The devouring fire of our God sent the enemy running. Our praises demolished strongholds while reminding us of the ultimate victory, which is as good as won. It is my hope that today, as we conclude this series, the flames of gratitude will blaze from us onto the lives of those still lost and ignite a magnificent explosion of blessing across the whole world!
There is an awesome story in the Bible about what happened when one king decided to praise God, even in the face of certain death. When King Jehoshaphat of Judah led his people with a spirit of thankfulness, the enemy turned and ran. We can learn to do the same thing today!
Several months ago I had the honor of being asked to make a guest appearance over at Faith Beyond Fear. Of course, I was eager to accept, and when we decided on a publication date of last week I realized it would fall right in the middle of our Redeeming Thanksgiving series. So, I decided to tie what I wrote into that topic.
Peace – it’s a “state of being” more coveted than any other. How we all long for peace! We’ve created prestigious prizes to honor those who have contributed to the world’s quest to secure it; but the sad truth is, peace is unattainable through human efforts. No striving, no program, no method will work if they do not include God. It is only His peace, the peace that exceeds anything we can understand that will provide lasting comfort. It is only God’s peace that promises to guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus!
It’s no secret that God wants his people to be joyful. In John 15:11, Jesus tells His disciples, “I have told you these things so that you will be filled with My joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!”
In Galatians 5, joy is listed second, behind only love as a product of the work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of believers.
But sometimes life just sucks, and it can be really hard to be joyful at those times. Especially when our specific situations start to feel hopeless. So let’s learn how a little bit of thankfulness can help us reclaim our joy!
Thanksgiving has been my favorite holiday for a long time, so when life made this time difficult, I had to learn to redeem what the enemy had broken. So, I’d love it if you’d join me through these weeks leading up to Thanksgiving here at His Dearly Loved Daughter as we focus in on cultivating a heart of thanksgiving. There really is great power in this one little discipline, so we’re going to reclaim what has been broken and hand it over to the Master Builder to be lovingly restored.
Let’s be honest, we don’t often find ourselves on the mountain tops of life questioning God’s goodness, or His plan for us. It is in the depths that these questions surface. It is beneath the crushing weight of life’s sorrows that God’s good plan begins to feel like a far off fairy-tale written for someone else. This is when we must force ourselves to answer the question: Do I TRUST God’s GOOD plan for me?
For the past four weeks we’ve been studying the Bible to learn some of what the Infinite God has revealed to us about Himself. We discussed His identity as the Triune God, and unpacked the unique characteristics of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Today, we’ll wrap up this series with a look at His infinite qualities, and how we should respond.
We’ve been working our way through a study of the One God of the Bible. In week one we examined how He reveals Himself in the form of three unique Persons. Then we spent a week studying the Father, one studying the Son, and now we have reached the week in which we’ll examine Scripture to see what we can learn about God the Spirit.
We have embarked upon a 5-week study to know God. We started by learning about the Trinity – three Persons united as one God. Last week we learned about God the Father: His authority, sovereignty, adoption, discipline; His role as the One to whom we pray, and His love. This week we are going to study Scripture to learn what we can about God the Son. Friends, there is no way to contain all there is to be known of Jesus in one blog post, so this is going to be both long, and shockingly inadequate. I’ve done my best to hit the most important aspects while keeping it simple.
Last week we decided to take a little break from all the betrayal trauma stuff and spend some time studying and getting to know our God. We started this five-week study by learning about the triune nature of God: how He can be both three distinct Persons, and the One God. For the next three weeks we’ll be learning about each member of the Godhead starting today with God the Father.
There are many attributes shared by all three members of the Trinity like omniscience and omnipotence, but there are also qualities that set Father, Son, and Holy Spirit apart. So, let’s take a look at some of the characteristics that make God the Father who He is.
Let’s take a little break from all the sexual addiction and betrayal trauma content and spend a few weeks just getting to know our God a little better. Sometimes I need to step away and focus on my Savior, don’t you? Let’s spend the next 5 weeks doing a little study on God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This week we’ll learn about the Trinity. After that we’ll take three weeks dedicating one to each Person of the Godhead. Finally, in the fifth week we’ll examine our role – what should our response be to God? The goal of all this is simple: We want to know God! We want a deep and abiding relationship with Him. Every great relationship includes a sincere desire for intimacy. A quick read through of Psalms 139 demonstrates God’s personal knowledge of us, so let’s be inspired to get to know Him too.
You guys, God is doing a work in my heart! Jesus is calling to me. I have been processing with Him ever since we got back from our trip to Senegal at the beginning of June. I’ve been almost paralyzed; unable to write because there were just so many thoughts swirling around in my head. I still don’t know exactly what He’s up to, but there are some things I do know, and I’d really love to share them with you.
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