Receive Gods Love

For God was in Christ, restoring the world to himself, no longer counting men’s sins against them but blotting them out. This is the wonderful message he has given us to tell others. We are Christ’s ambassadors. God is using us to speak to you: we beg you, as though Christ himself were here pleading with you, receive the love he offers you—be reconciled to God.2 Corinthians 5:19-20 TLB

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Have you really  accepted God's  love?  That  seems like a simple  question to answer, Right? But often times  we  feel like  we are so far from where  God wants us to be that somehow His  love for us has diminished. Thankfully, this is not the case.  God is not like man  and  there is nothing that  we  could  do to weaken His  love  for us.

For many of  us  the concept of  unconditional  love  is  hard to wrap our minds  around. We  base  Gods  love on  the  relationships that we've  encountered in our life. But the   thing about  people is   that even with the best  intentions  we have the tendency to have  conditions  for  our  love.  We have these  check list   and  boxes to check off and  at times  unattainable  requirements. But the good news is that  God  isn't  that way.


Gods love  isn't dependent on  us  at all.  As a  loving  Father  He reconciled us  back to Him through  Christ, so  His love has  already been  established.   What  we must do is  broaden what we  think about  God  and  accept  the love that He has offered to us.  There  are no hoops to  jump through or level of perfection in our  walk  to attain with God . God  is literally love and  He has  graciously  given  us  His love as a gift  that  will never  run dry.


 So don't wait for the perfect  time  or  circumstance to reach out  to  God.  There is  no better  time than right now  to   seek Him.  The best  decision  you  will ever  make is  to   cling to  the  one  who  created you, loves  you with an unwavering  love   and   will walk  with you  and  guide  you every   single  day  of your life without fail.  Think about it this way the one who created  us all, the universe and  so much more  believes that  we matter and that  we are  valuable  in his  eye's.  Don't wait another  moment  accept God He is waiting with open arms.


Love,

Where Does Your Hope Lie?

31  but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength;they will fly up on wings like eagles; they will run and not be tired;they will walk and not be weary. Isaiah 40:31(CEB)

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When you read over today's  reference  verses  Isaiah 40:31 and  Lamentations 3:22-23 (CEB)  you'll   notice that   God  guarantees  us that  if we   put our  hope in  Him:


1.  He  Will Renew  your Strength: 

We don't have to rely on our  own strength  or  abilities to get through the seasons in our lives.  As we  begin to  be totally  dependent on  God we  can  trust that  the Lord will  fix all that  is  broken  within us and  set  us back  on our  feet again.


2.They  Will Fly on Wings Like Eagles:  

We  are  never  below  Gods  grace  we are right in the center of  His  mercy.  Every  morning   we  receive  new mercies.  So we  don't have to  carry the  burdens of  yesterday into today. There  is  no  circumstance that  God cannot   carry us  through because  He consistently meets our  needs.


3. They Will Run and Not  Be  Tired;  They Will  Walk and  Not Be Weary: 

No matter where you are ,  no  matter   if you  feel  like   you have nothing  more to offer, the  Lord will give you  just  what you need to   take  the  next  steps you need to  get through to the other side of  each difficult  circumstance.

 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV)

So you have  to ask yourself,  Where does my   hope  lie when I reach the end  of  my rope? Will I continue to seek my own  way or   will  I   finally  lay down  all that I have before  God and allow Him to fill me  with  his everlasting love and  wisdom? Trust me I know life happens and there  are  so  many  things that compete  for  our  attention  but  we  have to purposely choose  to  put  our  hope in God and not  what  we  see or  feel is going on  around us. Remember,  you are never  beyond  God's  reach.


The way that we can begin to shift  our  focus  is  through quality time spent  with God. Reading  His word and meditating on His promises  instead of   the things  that  leave of  anxious and cloud our judgement. The  bible is  our  life  manual  and our  best  tool to navigate through life. Friends are great,  a supportive  family  is amazing but  no one can restore you like  God.  So  today make sure that you  intentionally  give  God  your time  so that  He  can fill you up.  


Love,

With God All Things Are Possible

13 I can do all things through Christ[a] who strengthens me.  Philippians 4:13(NKJV)

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It's amazing how  God  can reach  each one of  us   in  a  completely  unique way that is suited  to our  individual needs.   He isn't  limited  by  where we are in our faith,  our  circumstances  or  any  plans of the enemy.    His   abilities  are limitless  and so  is  His  love.  There is nothing that  we  cannot  do when we are  open and  receptive  to  the Lords direction .

The Lord  loves us so much  and   He  desires to  see us walk  boldly in  His purpose  for our lives. He doesn't  just  leave us to  sort things out on our  ow. He  has given us the bible as our life manual and the  gift of the holy  spirit  to   coach us  through   life and   grant  us  discretion.  It  feels  good to know that we have  so much  support.  While we   begin to trust  the  Lord with  our  journey  He  meets us  every  step of the way making sure that  we   find success.

No matter where  we find ourselves in life  we can be assured that  His power  rest in  us.   We  must    be  willing to  tap into  His  resources. He can use  us  just  as we  are and meet us  at the point of  our faith.   His grace is   sufficient  and If we are  open to   His plan   the possibilities are  endless for us.   All we  have to  do is is  accept  His provision by offering our lives to Him so that  He  begin to  change our hearts  and   mold us.

Don't  be  discouraged by where  you are in  your walk with Christ because   you are in  a place that is  less than perfect. Don't  fall into  the trap of    comparing  your walk with  other  believer. Although we all are    walking   a  path towards our  purpose everyone's  journey is  different.  What is  important  moving forward is  that  we let  go of  our  own abilities and  rest in  Christ's capable  hands.   You may not understand how things  will  come together   but  today  resolve to   trust  Gods  plan.

Love,

Open Communication

In my trouble I called to the Lord.I cried out to my God for help.From his temple he heard my voice; my call for help reached his ears.                               Psalm  18:6 (NCV) 

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I  don't  believe in luck or   happenstance;  But   I do firmly  believe  in sincerely  seeking  God through  prayer  and  the Lords  ability to meet me  at the point  of  my needs.  We are   blessed beyond measure   because the Lord has opened a  line of  communication  with us through  prayer.  We  can confide in Him with our  deepest  concerns; we can  trust Him with our heart, our   pain as well as  our weaknesses  and His love remains the same.  



He  never views  us  any differently  because of the areas we fall short in. His  compassion  is simply amazing. When  we come before the  Lord and  pour  our  heart  out  there is  no  need  to  clean things  up and    project ourselves in  a certain light  because  we are  concerned about   how  God  will react  to our pain.    The  Lord  accepts us  just  as  a loving  and  kind Father  would and He  cares about the things are on our hearts.


One of the  great things  about  the Lord is  His  ability   to completely  turn things around  in our life: There are no   big  jobs in His eye's, the question  we should ask ourselves is   if  our  faith is too small?  Do we   trust  the  Lord  enough to  be really  honest about  where we are and admit  that  we  need   His help?  There is  no  weakness in  admitting  that   you need help so don't  allow your  pride to keep you stuck in one place when God is  more than willing to take on your issues and  move you forward.



Why  spend so much  time trying to sort through your own issues  when you could  be  spending that  time   at the  feet of  the Lord.  Give your worries to  the  God and leave them there in His capable hands.  Today I encourage you  to  receive   His  peace and His  joy which  will sustain you.  Remember  that  his  peace and his joy are  things that will never diminish and  you can   rest  knowing that He has everything   thing handled.


Love,

The Reality of Faith

11 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV) 

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The one thing that we  all have in common is  a   desire to  see the things that we  are  hoping for  come to fruition. But  when  we  submit  our  prayers to  the Lord  do  we  really  have faith  in  Gods  ability to  grant  the desires of  our heart?  I'm sure there have  been  instances in your life where  you've been  praying for  something and there seems to be a  delay between  when you've prayed and  when your prayers are answered.  In these cases we  often  mistake  Gods  timing in the matter   for a denial  of  our  request.

Hebrews 11:6 (NCV)6 Without faith no one can please God. Anyone who comes to God must believe that he is real and that he rewards those who truly want to find him. 

The truth is when we  make  our request known to  God  we   must  first  start  by fully trusting that God  not  only  hears  us but  He  really cares.   If  you are praying for something but your faith is wavering ,   how can our  prayers possibly   be  effective? You must  be  all in  and begin to cast down any doubts that  attempt to distract you.   If you have  poured your  heart out to  the Lord in prayer then   trust He is  shifting things around and  creating a  perfect  moment   for things  to come together.

When we   seek  the  Lord  with all of our  heart we  can be  confident in the fact that  He will  meet us at the point of our needs.    Cultivating an  attitude of  expectancy in our  prayer  life  plays  a vital  part in   pleasing God  and our spiritual  growth. When the   hope  we have  in  God  meets  with His ability to  completely  change  our circumstances around  there  is  nothing that  we  cannot do.

So  your mission moving forward  is to pray earnestly, trust that  God  has heard you and  leave  all  your  request at His  feet.   For  your own  peace of  mind I encourage  you to get rid  of the   timetable that you've  created for your prayers to  be answered  and   just  trust the  Lords timing.

Love,

Your Praise Matters

46 Mary said,“With all my heart I glorify the Lord!47 In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior. Luke 1:46-47 (CEB)

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When  I think about  all the  things that  the Lord has done for me over the years,  even   up to this  point  I find  it is  impossible not  to be in  awe  of His  love  and  provision over  my life.    I've  come a long way and I  recognize that  I couldn't have  made  one  step forward without His  hand   guiding  me along the way. I am  far  from perfect  but  perfection  isn't my  goal. My   desire is  to  live for  God with the best of  my abilities  and  rely  solely  on Him to fill in the gaps in my walk with  Him.

 As  much  as we  appreciate  God  we  must  also take the time  out  to  actually  express to  Him how  grateful we  are .  We  can do this   through  worship, prayer,   the way we  live our lives and  how we serve  others.  In the same  manner that  we would like  to know that our works are  appreciated  we  should  also  extend  our  gratitude   to the Lord  and  give Him  the glory  that  He is  deserves.  

Have you  taken the time out to really think about  how  different your  life would be if  God hadn't  stepped in  at the  right time  and   shifted things around in your  favor?  Many of  us  aren't where we would like to  be in life but  on the  other side of that, things could be far worse and  the  Lord has never  for one moment  stopped being  faithful.  His  timing  is  incredible  and  there absolutely no one  who   has  such a  passion  to  see  us   live boldly  within your  purpose and thrive. 

With the   kind of support that we have  in  Jesus  we  should  never withhold  any   praise to Him. He has  been faithful   even  when  we  haven't  been nearly  as  faithful to Him . The  Lords  love is amazing , everlasting  and  deeper  than  we  could  ever begin to    imagine.  So I  encourage you reflect on  how  amazing  the Lord has been  to you  and  take  some time out   to   purposefully   express your  love and  appreciation for   God's works in your  life. 

His Grace is Enough

9 He said to me, “My grace is enough for you, because power is made perfect in weakness.” So I’ll gladly spend my time bragging about my weaknesses so that Christ’s power can rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 (CEB) 

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There is  wisdom in being  honest  with ourselves and admitting that  we need  help.   To  accomplish all that God  has  placed in our heart to  do  we need  His  grace  daily.  We  often  put  so much  pressure on ourselves to  figure things out that  we  weigh ourselves down with the  burdens  of life. God  never intended for us  to navigate through  our life  alone, and  the   sooner we  realize this the  sooner we  can  receive  the  freedom of  serving a  God that   partners with us   to  ensure that  we succeed.

Letting  go can  be difficult  especially  when  fear  begins to   clouds our   vision.  Sometimes  it  is  hard to see ourselves  breaking  through the cycles in  our  lives when we  cant   seem to see  beyond   our challenging  circumstances.   In these instances we  have to be determined  to    trust  God and really  submit  the burdens  in our  hearts  over to Him so  that  He can begin to restore us. 

You  may  not have  all the answers  right  away  and that's fine, but  you do have  to  be  willing  to  keep  moving  ahead  even when you don't understand.  Will you trust  God  with   your pain and the  areas in your life that  you are  insecure  about?  It's not easy to   expose the  areas of our life that  we are weak in but   2 Corinthians 12:9  say that    God's  grace  is  enough and  His power is  made  perfect within our  weakness.  The good news is that  He will  exchange  our  weakness with  His  power and  His   love.

So ask yourself,  what am I  holding onto and what do I need to   hand over the  Lord?  Will you make  room for Him to shift   your circumstances or will you  continue to   circle  around and  around with the same old  issue?  There is  no peace  in  having to  fight  every  battle  alone and to be honest I wouldn't  want  to  face  everything  with my  own  abilities.  When you fully trust  God and His  capable  hands it  is impossible to   lose.  Victory is  already   set in place.  Will your  receive it?

Love,

The Weight of Your Words

 29 Don’t let any foul words come out of your mouth. Only say what is helpful when it is needed for building up the community so that it benefits those who hear what you say. Ephesians 4:29 (CEB)

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I believe that so many  relationships  could be saved if we were  more  careful with our  words. Harsh words can harm you far more than physical pain because   the  pain of  unkind  words tend to linger  longer in our hearts and within our thoughts.  Unkind words  leave  emotional  scars.  Most of us  can  think back to  a moment  where someone said  something  very  hurtful to us.  We can remember  how it  made us  feel  and how long it  took to  move  on.

Harsh  words kill potentially   amazing  relationships  everyday.   So I want to  encourage you  not  allow your pride and the need to be  "right"  begin to   alienate  the  people around you.  If  people are unable to communicate with you in fear of  your reaction you will begin to miss out  on   important connections .   Having a  good  circle  of  friends or a companion  is  a  beautiful thing but  in order for these relationships to grow the people in your  life  need to be  able to trust you  with their  thoughts and their  feelings.

We are  all wired  differently, some  hold things in  and then  explode  suddenly  without  warning  and  then others  just say the  first thing that  comes to mind; Neither  are  effective  in a  relationship. To be  effective in any  relationship  you should  always  choose  to give   grace to  others in the same  manner that God freely gives His  grace to you. This means   you should  think   things  through before you speak and  practice  not  reacting based  on  your emotions. 

Remember, every word  counts,   so    manage your emotions  wisely.  If  you have  been carrying around the  pain of  rejection, hurt or  bitterness towards someone  it will eventually manifest itself  through  your  words.  Ask  God to check your heart instead of carrying all those  negative emotions   day in and day out.  We  all need  a heart  check  from time to time  so  take an  honest  inventory  of yourself  and   present  it  to God  so that He can fill in those  gaps.

Lastly  remember this.  "Everything that you think doesn't need to be  expressed."  Take the  time  to  really  listen to  your loved ones, ask God  to   grant you discernment  when it  comes to  your  words and  allow the holy spirit  to guide you in  choosing  what's  appropriate to say and how to be more effective in  communicating with others.

Love,

Staying Connected

John 15:5(NCV) 5 “I am the vine, and you are the branches. If any remain in me and I remain in them, they produce much fruit. But without me they can do nothing.  

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In our day to day  life   we are  faced  with so many  things that  are  competing  for our   attention.  We can be distracted  by   so  many things like     relationships ,   work , or  our social  lives.  It's  easy to become consumed with those things and  as  a  result we begin to neglect  carving out  time to spend with the  Lord.  This is no  coincidence.  The  enemies  mission is to keep  you  distracted.  He  knows when we put off time with   the  Lord  we  miss out  on  valuable  moments where God   pours into us granting us   wisdom  and the discernment that we need to navigate through life.

Staying connected  to  the Lord  and  His  word is the  only thing that  will sustain us  throughout life's up's and downs.   When we partner  with God's will and rely  on  Him as  our  main  source  it  doesn't  leave  much room for the  enemies  plans.   We are  better  equipped  to  stand firm on  our  faith  and we  won't  be  easily   shaken when the unexpected happens.  Spending  time with the   Lord   gives us  endless access to  His  resources.With Him there is nothing that  life  can  throw our way that  we  cannot   power  through because of the  foundation that the Lord has  created in our heart  through  quality   time spent with Him.

Without  God  pointing us in the right  direction  we  have nothing  and we  are  basically  a  walking  target for failure , when we  trust the  Lord  with our  time and  really  tune  in to  His  leading there  is nothing that  God cannot  do  in   us  and through  us.    God  has  a wealth of  knowledge and  wisdom that He  wants  us to  take advantage of  so I  you encourage to  be  deliberate  about   spending time at the  feet  of the  Lord. 

  Find  a time  that   you can  tuck away to  a quiet  place  to  talk to  the  Lord and study.  I know  we   all have  a lot on our plates  especially with the holiday  season and you may be  thinking  that you  don't  know where you'll find the time.   The truth is if you  find that you don't have time  to  spend with the  Lord   you are  simply too busy  and you need to change your priorities.  When you feel that  tugging  at your heart  don't   ignore it,  the  Lord  has  something  far more  important  for you than  anyone  else  has to offer.  Whether  it's first thing in the morning,  on your  lunch  break or  at night before  bed.  Today  make a  plan  to  spend time with Christ.  It will be  the  best  decision  you've  every made.

Love,

What Is Your First Response?

Psalm 9:10 (NCV) 10 Those who know the Lord trust him,  because he will not leave those who come to him.

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When you are  going through trying  circumstances what is  you first  response? 

• Do you isolate yourself  from everyone  and  begin to internalize   how  you could have   done things  differently 
•  Lash out at others due to being  so overwhelmed and  frustrated
•   Or  do you    spill out  every thought or  concern to anyone that will sit  long enough to listen?

Your  response  to  difficult  circumstances is  an  indicator of  where your  faith  lies.   Knowing  the Lord  for yourself and trusting his  hand on your life means that  seeking Him first is  the  best  choice to  finding  a resolution and  moving forward.   If  coming before  God with your  concerns is  an afterthought it's  time to shift your perspective. 

I admit that  I  am definitely   one who isolates and  internalizes everything!  It's  hard  for me  to  immediately  express how I am feeling  in the moment . I've  always  admired those  who are  able to  express themselves  well under difficult  circumstances.  It  definitely   takes me a lot  longer to gather my thoughts together.

 I hadn't really thought about the way I dealt with things in life when I began to feel overwhelmed until recently.  I'm learning that sometime you have to take a  step back and ask yourself  if the Lord is willing to  take on   my  burdens and replace it  with  peace of mind , why would I waste so much   time  trying to figure things out on  my  own? He  wants me  to be free!

Having a  circle  of  friends to  confide in is  great and it is a very  important part of your spiritual  growth but don't overlook the  fact that  you need to hear   from the Lord first and  then  go to others for support as  God leads you.  When  you are  under pressure  don't allow it to weigh you down to the  point where you're  alienating  your  friends and loved  ones.  God is  more than capable of handling your  anger  as well as  your  pain so  vent to Him and receive His peace.


This week I encourage you  to  trust  God  and cling to Him when you are  faced with  difficult  situations or  difficult  people.  When you trust the  Lord , He promises never to leave you. He will  relieve   you  of   your  burdens and  grant you clear thinking so that you may move forward.  Surrender it  all to Him today! 

Love,

The Gift of Grace

 8 I mean that you have been saved by grace through believing. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God. 9 It was not the result of your own efforts, so you cannot brag about it. 10 God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing.  Ephesians 2:8-10 (NCV)

All photos  are taken and edited by Lesli Allyn Blogs unless otherwise stated. 

The  Gift  of  salvation is  something that   we  sometimes take  for  granted , the  depth  of  Christ love  for us is  truly  amazing.   It is   easy  to  be  disconnected from the  word  and gloss over key points that we  really need to digest but    I want to  encourage you to take the time to   really  think about   what  it  looked  like for  Christ  to put His  life  on the line  in order  to  save ours.

Wisdom is  recognizing  our  dependence on  God  for  everything in our lives; From our  next  meal to the  our next  breath, we  cannot  take  credit  for  anything that we  have. it's  because of   Lord  that we have  the privilege  to  walk out  our purpose.  Nothing  just happens   chance  the  Lord is always  actively  working   in our  lives and     pouring out  His  grace  to us  each and everyday.  I don't know about you but I need  His  grace each and every  day.

10 God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing.  -Eph 2:10

Because of the  grace that  God  extended to us it   is  important for  us to mirror that  same  grace towards other that  haven't  quite  matured in their  walk with Christ.  I know that I have  been guilty  at  one point or another  of not  being understanding  of those  who were  struggling in areas  that  I  wasn't.  This is  why it  is  important to  surround yourself with other  believer  who   you can draw wisdom from  and  who will also hold you  accountable.  We  need  one another , we all need  a support system in  our lives to keep us  motivated. 

God  has  a plan and  a  purpose  for  each of our lives,  how  awesome is it to know that we are important enough to  the Lord  that  He  has  placed  a calling  on our lives.   There is assignment  that  only  we  can  walk out because  He has   chosen us .  You may  not understand   the purpose  for  every  twist and turn on the road  to your purpose but  what you can be sure of is  that God  will   complete the work that He  began in you .  Keep pushing forward , remain  humble  and  continue to trust His timing.

Love,