Walk Boldly With Jesus

Dead To Sin

Romans 6:1-4 “What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound?  By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it?  Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”

The other day I talked about how our sins are not remembered.  Once you have confessed your sins, God forgets about them.  He isn’t keeping a long list of all of our sins.  List keeping and score keeping is something we do, not God.  The episode called Your Sins Are Not Remembered talks about how we are saints who sometimes sin and not sinners who sometimes get it right.  If you haven’t listened to that episode I encourage you to go back and listen to it.  The information in the episode is information I learned in my class and I thought it was a great new way to look at ourselves and sin.

Today I want to look at where in scripture it talks about us being dead to sin.  There may be several places, but I picked this one to start with.  The beginning of this verse is actually said in response to Romans 5:20 which ends with, “but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.”  Romans 5:20 is saying the greater the sin the greater God’s grace.  Then this verse picks up asking if we should continue to sin so that we can have more grace.  Then the verse says, by no means! Yes, where there is sin, there is grace, but we don’t need to sin to receive grace.  God’s grace is always available to us.  

The next line says, “How can we who died to sin go on living it it?”  Jesus took our sins to the cross and gave His life so that we could be free from them.  This verse is asking us how can we go on sinning when we have been freed from them?  This is something a lot of us have a hard time wrapping our heads around.  It is something easy to say, “Jesus died for our sins.” It is a lot harder to actually believe that He died for our sins.  It might be easy for us to believe it for our friends, and family.  But believing that He died our sins, yours and mine, is sometimes harder than we would think.  We like to hold onto our sins.  We like to let them define us.  This isn’t what God wants for us.  He doesn’t want us to hold onto them and He doesn’t want us to define ourselves by our sins.  What He wants is for us to repent and turn back to Him.  He wants us to forget about them just as He does.  

The next few lines say, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”  This is pretty remarkable.  I like how this part says, “we too might walk in the newness of life.”  How many of us want to live in a newness of life?  I looked up what this phrase means to try and give you, and myself, a better understanding of this phrase.  I found an article titled “Walking in Newness of Life.” (Click Here) for article.  Here is what she said about this particular verse:

“To walk in newness of life requires us to abandon our judgmentalism and to do God’s justice rather than continuing in our self-serving habits (Rom. 6:12–13). As instruments of God’s justice, believers act in ways through which the life-giving power of God’s grace builds up people and communities in Christ. This is far more active than merely refraining from bad behavior. Our calling is to become instruments of justice and reconciliation, working to root out the effects of sin in a troubled world.”

This definitely sounds like something I would love to do.  I would love to abandon being judgmental and do God’s justice rather than continuing my self-serving habits. The articles talks about how we need to change the way we think.  Everything I seem to be learning about and reading about lately is all focused on a renewal of the mind.  In our class they keep talking about the old saying, “What would Jesus do.”  They say we shouldn’t be as focused on what Jesus would do, we should be more focused on “What would Jesus think.”  Jesus did not have self-serving habits.  He put others first, always.  If we could start to think more like Jesus we would see the world in a whole new light.  Imagine if you tried to see people how Jesus sees people.  He doesn’t get annoyed when people ask questions, unless it is the Pharisees who are just trying to trap him.  He doesn’t brush people off because He is too busy, He makes time for them.  He doesn’t get really upset if His plans don’t go the way He thought they would, he adapts.  

We can say to ourselves that it was easier for Jesus because He is fully God as well as fully human.  However, He didn’t use his divinity while He was on earth.  He only used the power He received from the Holy Spirit and then He left us with that power when He went to join His father.  We have the same power Jesus used.  However, we won’t ever be able to fully use and rely on that power if we don’t have a renewal of our mind.  We need to walk in newness of life and that requires us to think like Jesus did.  When you are in your car and you are dealing with bad drivers, think to yourself, what would Jesus think of this driver?  When you are out and about and you see homeless people on the streets, think to yourself, what would Jesus think of this person?  If we tried to think like Jesus thinks in all situations, it would not only change our thoughts, it would change our actions as well.  

For instance, before thinking like Jesus thinks, we might see a person in need and just pass them by for one reason or another.  I am sure we could come up with plenty of justifications as to why we can’t help them.  However, if we see them and think of them as Jesus would, we would stop and see how we could help them.  Another example is our motivation behind our actions.  If we see a homeless person, we may give money because we feel guilty if we don’t.  However, if we think of that person like Jesus does then we would give money, food, gift card, or whatever we do because we love that person and we want to help them.  

The article I mentioned above said, “As instruments of God’s justice, believers act in ways through which the life-giving power of God’s grace builds up people and communities in Christ. This is far more active than merely refraining from bad behavior. Our calling is to become instruments of justice and reconciliation, working to root out the effects of sin in a troubled world.” This newness in life is not just saying I will not longer sin, or do any bad behaviors.  It is going beyond that.  I like how the author put it “believers act in ways through which the life-giving power of God’s grace builds up people and communities in Christ.”  I think grace is so important.  Jesus definitely offered so much grace.  I think if we lead our lives with grace and love in the forefront of our minds in every interaction we had, our lives would be transformed and so would those around us.  

I love the saying “sprinkle kindness like confetti.”  What if we did the same with grace.  I think we worry if we offer people grace, we are saying what they are doing is ok.  If we look at all the interactions Jesus had with sinners, He offered love and grace.  The woman caught in adultery, did He condemn her?  Did He look at her disapprovingly so she knew what she did was wrong?  Did He tell her what she did was wrong, so she would know?  No, He gave her love and grace.  Why do we think it is our job to judge others?  Jesus was truly the only one with the power to judge and He didn’t.  If He could offer so much love and grace, why do we think we need to judge and condemn?  I challenge you, the next time you want to judge or condemn, or politely point out someone’s shortcomings, stop and ask yourself, “What would Jesus think?” Then, instead of doing what you want to do, offer them love and grace.  You can affirm someone without agreeing with them.  You can offer someone love and grace and still not approve of what they are doing.  Jesus didn’t approve of what the woman was doing and yet he still gave her grace. It is not our job to judge and it is not our job to fix everyone.  Both of those jobs belong to God.  Our job is just to pass God’s love and grace onto everyone we meet.  One last thing, I know we think we are helping when we are mentioning how our loved ones are falling short of living up to God’s expectations.  We are pointing out what they are doing wrong so they can change, I get it.  However, I just ask you to think about how you would feel.  Would you be more open to talking to someone and to hearing what they had to say if they were showering you with love and grace, or judgement and correction?

Dear heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today.  Lord, help us to think like Jesus thinks.  Renew our minds so we can live in the newness of life Jesus earned for us.  Lord, I feel you want us to lead with love and grace, please help us to do that.  Please help change the way we think.  Anytime we have the desire to judge or to condemn please remind us to offer grace and love instead.  Lord, we can’t do any of this without you, help us to remember that.  Help us to lean into you when we are struggling.  Help us to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to not only guide our actions, but our thoughts too.  We love you Lord, you are so amazing.  You have give us so much at great costs to you and we want you to do know we are so grateful.  We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen.

Thank you so much for joining me in this journey to walk boldly with Jesus.  I would like you to all consider doing a witness for the podcast.  Testimony is how we build up faith and we all play a part in that.  As you can see from the various witnesses we have had so far, everyone has a story.  It can be as simple as God helping you pass a test, or get a job, to God working some miracle in your life.  It doesn’t matter what your story is, it will help build the faith of others when they see God working in our everyday lives.  Just think about it and if you feel called to do and aren’t sure how, let me know, I would be happy to help.  I look forward to spending time with you tomorrow.  Remember, Jesus loves you and so do I. Have a blessed day!

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Being Persistent Pays Off

Luke 18:1-8 “ Jesus told them a story showing that it was necessary for them to pray consistently and never quit. He said, “There was once a judge in some city who never gave God a thought and cared nothing for people. A widow in that city kept after him: ‘My rights are being violated. Protect me!’ “He never gave her the time of day. But after this went on and on he said to himself, ‘I care nothing what God thinks, even less what people think. But because this widow won’t quit badgering me, I’d better do something and see that she gets justice—otherwise I’m going to end up beaten black-and-blue by her pounding.’” Then the Master said, “Do you hear what that judge, corrupt as he is, is saying? So what makes you think God won’t step in and work justice for his chosen people, who continue to cry out for help? Won’t he stick up for them? I assure you, he will. He will not drag his feet. But how much of that kind of persistent faith will the Son of Man find on the earth when he returns?”

Persevering in prayer was the topic of prayer group today.  The person leading today had a whole talk written our on a different topic and then while she was eating her breakfast, the Holy Spirit told her she needed to speak on prayer instead.  Now, my prayer group starts at 10 am and she was getting picked up at 9 a.m.  I am not sure what time she eats breakfast, but that didn’t give her much time to prepare.  However, the Holy Spirit is not going to tell you to rewrite your whole talk and then not help you with what to say.  

It was a wonderful talk and it was clear throughout the whole meeting that prayer is what we were supposed to be talking about.  Most of the scripture verses that were give were about prayer.  Most of the words of prophecy that were given were about prayer also.  We are asked several times in the Bible to pray continuously.  We are also told we should have expectant trust when we pray.  We should pray confidently knowing the Lord our God hears our prayers and answers them.  We are also asked to pray persistently.  The woman giving the talk asked us all to examine the qualities of our prayers.  Are they persevering?  Are they encouraging?  Are they trusting and steadfast?  Those are great questions.  What about your prayers?  Do they have these qualities to them?  

The verse above is one of my favorites, although I have a lot of favorites.  I love how the woman knew what she wanted and she didn’t give up.  I love how Jesus is the one who tells us this parable and then encourages us to do the same.  Have you ever felt like you were pestering God before?  Have you ever worried that He might be getting annoyed because you have been asking Him the same thing for a very long time?  I know I have and I know plenty of other people that have.  Have you ever prayed for something so long you started to think God didn’t want you to have it?  Have you ever prayed for God to take the desire away from you for a specific thing you keep waiting for?  You aren’t alone.  Many of us have done that.  I know God’s timing is perfect and yet when I am waiting for something year after year, it doesn’t feel perfect.  

If we knew why we had to wait, or when we had to wait until, it would be easier.  It’s the trusting part that is so difficult.  It’s the waiting in silence as we continue to ask year after year.  I get it.  I have been there.  I have prayed for so so many years that our kids behavior would get better.  I prayed for all the anger to leave our house.  I prayed for so many things for so many years.  There were definitely times when I wanted to give up.  There were times when I didn’t feel I could ask for the same thing one more time.  Yet, the verse above kept me going.  The verse above reassured me that we can’t ask God for something too many times.  He does not get annoyed, He does not get upset.  In fact, He is the one telling us to keep asking.  In fact, those prayers that my boys behaviors would get better and that the anger would leave our house, they cam true.  My prayers were answered after all those years and yours will be too!

Did you know this verse is not the only verse where Jesus tells us to keep asking and asking?  It says in Luke 11:5-8 “ And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’  I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.” There are others examples like this in the Bible as well. God wants us to continue to ask for something, even if He hasn’t given it to us yet.  He wants us to be like a dog with a bone.  

If you have a deep desire in your heart and you are getting tired of praying for the same thing, ask someone else to pray for you.  Our friends can be a great resource for extra prayers.  If you are praying for something you really want it can be emotional to keep praying for it when it feels like you will never get it.  If you are struggling to persevere with a prayer for something you really want, enlist the help of your friends.  The more people praying the better.  Imagine if that widow in the parable had other people bugging the judge as well.  Maybe she would have gotten justice faster, who knows?  

The woman giving the talk said that although perseverance in prayer is important, the first step is to begin with asking in the first place.  Have you ever complained about God not giving you what you wanted but then upon digging deeper you realized you never asked Him for it?  The speaker said she got this sense that Jesus was really sad because there were so many people complaining and yet they didn’t ask.  He has what they are looking for and He is happy to give it to them, He is just waiting for the to ask Him.  That thing you are waiting for, did you already ask for it?  Did you ask often?  Are you still asking, or did you give up?  And by the way, not judgement if you gave up.  I totally get it.  It is hard to keep asking.  I have been there.  I want to encourage you, if you gave up, start again.  Ask again.  Jesus is telling us to be persistent, to keep asking.  What if God was just about to give you the very thing you have been waiting for and you gave up asking right before He was about to give it to you?  Don’t give up too soon.  Remember, if you get tired, enlist the help of your friends or your loved ones.  

I learned something about St. Dominic today.  He had four elements or characteristics for a perfect prayer.  If you wanted to pray perfectly you must be patient, persevering, persistent, and pestering.  I love that last word.  I feel as though the word pestering gives us permission to continue to ask for things.  One of the ladies in the group said when she heard that word she pictured us going up to Jesus as a little kid and tugging on the bottom of his outfit.  Let’s all see if we can do some pestering this week?  Let’s try to ask God for that thing we assumed He didn’t want to give us.  Let’s all ask Him for that thing we keep asking Him for, or that thing we got tired and stopped asking Him for.  Let’s see if we can approach our prayer time this upcoming week with a renewed sense of perseverance!

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those who are listening to this podcast today.  Lord, help us to persevere in our prayer, even when it’s hard.  Help us to enlist the help of our loved ones.  Help us to pray with trust and confidence.  Help us to see what is lacking in our prayer life.  Holy Spirit please open our eyes and ears and reveal to us how we can improve our prayer life.  Help us to remember to ask for whatever it is we need, big or small.  Lord, give us the strength to be like the persistent widow.  We love you Lord and we are so grateful for all you do for us.  You are the Light of the World.  You are the Word made flesh.  We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus holy name, Amen.  

Thank you so much for joining my on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus.  I look forward to spending time with you on Monday.  Remember, Jesus loves you and so do I!  Have a blessed weekend!

www.findingtruenorthcoaching.com

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Kingdom Mindset

Mark 8:17-21 “And becoming aware of it, Jesus said to them, “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” They said to him, “Twelve.”  “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” And they said to him, “Seven.”  Then he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”

This verse comes after the feeding of the four thousand in Mark’s gospel.  Right before this verse the Pharisees came and began to argue with Jesus and were asking Him to show them a sign.  Then Jesus got on the boat and warned the disciples about the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.  They did not understand and were wondering if Jesus was talking about the fact they forgot to bring bread.  Jesus hears them talking and this is where the verse picks up.  Jesus is upset with them because they still don’t seem to understand who they are with.  Right before getting on the boat Jesus fead four thousand people with just 7 loaves of bread.  Then they get on the boat and the disciples are worrying because they only have one loaf of bread.  The first thing Jesus asks is, “do you still not perceive or understand?”  I think this is a really important question.  It shows us something that is so important.  If we want to follow Jesus we need to have a renewal of our mind.  We can’t filter the things we see the Holy Spirit do through our worldly brains.  They just won’t make any sense to us.  

What we can see in this verse is that the disciples haven’t quite developed what they called in my class the “kingdom mindset.”  Jesus even asks them, "Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear?”  The disciples just saw Jesus feed 4,000 people and yet they didn’t really understand what they saw.  They weren’t able to understand it as well as they could if they let go of their worldly mindset and took on a kingdom mindset.  In our worldly mindset we understand that some things can and can’t be done.  We understand the laws of nature and we honor them.  We know from experience and everything we have been taught that some things are just impossible to do.  We know this to be true.  A kingdom mindset is one where we understand nothing is impossible for our God.  When we have a kingdom mindset we understand that God can do more with less.  He can feed 4,000 with 7 loaves.  He can feed five thousand with five loaves.  God can do the impossible.  He can heal the leper and cure the blind.  He can solve any problem that comes His way.  

A kingdom mindset is not something that is easy to develop.  It is something we can work towards and it is also a gift from God.  First, I say we can work towards it because we can spend time going over the miracles Jesus performed, not just Jesus, but the disciples too.  We can read and reread them so that we know them like the back of our hand.  We can read them so many times they seem normal to us, because that is the thing.  When you have a kingdom mindset, when you are with Jesus, a supernatural lifestyle is normal.  You will see miracles everywhere you look once you are able to see them.  Once your eyes are opened and the film is removed from your eyes you will be amazed at all the things God is doing in your life and the lives of those around you.  Secondly, I say it is a gift from God because Faith is a gift from God.  We can read about more and more miracles and that will definitely increase our faith, but to get the kind of faith we need to move mountains, that is not something we can manufacture on our own. That mountain moving faith is a gift from God for those who are seeking it.  The more we trust God the more He allows our faith to grow.  However, we need to do our part also be renewing our mind and working toward developing a kingdom mindset.  

It says in 1 Corinthians 2:12-13, “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. And we speak of these things in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual.”  Through our baptism we have been give the Spirit of God.  We have this Spirit living inside of us.  This Spirit is the one who helps us interpret what we see and what we hear.  Although, He can only help us if we listen to Him.  That still small voice you hear inside of you, that is the Holy Spirit.  The thing is, the voice inside is so soft and the voice of the world is constantly screaming at us. Sometimes it is hard to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit.  If we want to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, we need to practice.  We need to intentionally set aside time to sit and quiet our minds and ask the Holy Spirit what He thinks.  The more you practice, the louder the voice of the Spirit will become.  The more you listen to the Holy Spirit the less you listen to the world.  The more you listen to the Holy Spirit the more your mind will be transformed.  

Our teacher said something in class the other day that really resonated with me.  She said you know your mind is beginning to be renewed when you start to lose the fear of man.  Do you ever worry about what others think of you?  Do you ever worry what someone might say or do?  I know I would love to be more open with my prayer.  I would love to walk up to every single person I see who is struggling in some way and ask if I could pray over them.  If I see a physical injury I instantly want to pray over that person for a healing.  What is holding me back?  Fear.  I am afraid of what they might say, what if they say no and I feel rejected.  I am afraid of what I might say.  What if I say the wrong thing?  What if I pray for them and they aren’t healed?  What if they get upset?  All these things hold me back from living the life I know God has called me to live.  What about you?  What fears are holding you back?  

Our teacher said, “Everything changes when we lose that fear of man.”  I want to lose that fear so badly and yet I don’t think it is something I can will away.  As mentioned earlier I truly believe developing a kingdom mindset is partly my job and partly God’s job.  I think faith is a gift from God and that He will provide the wisdom I need to strengthen my faith.  I also think the more I expose myself to His miracles, through reading about them, maybe watching them on TV or youtube, and telling others about them, my faith will grow.  The more we expose ourselves to the supernatural the more normal the supernatural will become to us.  When I heard our teacher say that everything changes when we lose that fear of man, I instantly asked God, “How do I lose that fear of man?”  Later in the class the answer I heard was, “Turn your eyes to me.”  

Did you notice when I was listing my fears it was all about me?  I might say the wrong thing, I might feel rejected, and so on.  What if I fixed my eyes on Jesus?  What if I trusted He was prompting me to pray over the person and therefore He would give me the words to pray.  When we pray over people, we are not the ones healing them, God is, so the results or the fruit of my prayer, whether they are healed or not, is not up to me.  I worry about whether I will feel rejected, but if I was focused on Jesus I would worry more about whether he feels rejected because He asked me to pray over someone and I didn’t.  

If we want a transformation of our mind, we need to turn our eyes to Jesus.  We need to focus on Him.  We need to listen to that small voice inside of us.  We need to give that voice time to talk.  If we want to develop a kingdom mindset then we need to remember all the miracles we have seen and heard about.  We need to look at all God did through the disciples and realize that God wants to do that through us too.  He wants to work through us, we just have to let Him.  Do you want a renewal of the mind?  Can you keep your eyes fixed on Jesus?  Whenever we start to worry about what the world might think, we just need to turn our eyes back to Jesus.  Whenever we start to think too much about ourselves, we can turn our gaze back to Jesus.  A renewal of the mind is not only possible, it is necessary!

Dear Heavenly Father, we ask you to bless all those listening to the episode today.  Lord, we love you and we are so grateful for all you do for us.  Lord, we ask you to fill us with the gift of faith.  We want to be able to see all your miracles through a supernatural lens.  We want to see what is truly right in this world.  We ask you for a renewal of our mind.  We ask you for the faith we need so we can  move mountains.  We ask you for the faith needed to heal the sick and cure the blind.  Lord, we believe, help our unbelief.  Give us all we need to do your will Lord Jesus!  You are the almighty one.  You are Lord of Lords and King of Kings.  We love you Lord and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen!

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus.  I look forward to spending time with you tomorrow.  Remember, Jesus loves you and so do I. Have a blessed day!

www.findingtruenorthcoaching.com

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We have all seen God working in our lives, however, we might not all be aware it is God who is working in our lives.  This is why it is so important we start talking about it more.  The more we share our experiences the more people understand how God works and how much He truly loves us.  If you would be willing to share any experience you have had of how God has worked or is working your life, please email me at [email protected] or just click here.  It won’t take up much of your time and your story could be just the story that someone needs to hear today.  Prayerfully consider sharing.  Everyone has a story and the world needs to hear them.  I look forward to spending time with you again tomorrow and I will have another witness for you next Wednesday.  Have a blessed day!

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Your Sins Are Not Remembered

Isaiah 43:25 “I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.”

This was the topic of one of our sessions at my Encounter School of Ministry class last night.  The topic was dead to sin.  We talked about how because Jesus died on the cross for us and because we are baptized, then we are dead to sin.  When we are born, we have a fallen nature.  This is because of original sin.  However, when Jesus died on the cross, he took our sin with Him.  Therefore, we no longer have a fallen nature, we have a sinless nature.  In Romans 6:11 is says, “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

Do you consider yourself dead to sin?  I wasn’t sure what to say when asked this question.  I wasn’t sure what this question even meant.  Then we were asked another question that gave me a little more clarity.  Do you consider yourself a sinner who does the right thing now and then, or do you consider yourself a saint that sins sometimes.  This is all about a mindset.  We have to live into our baptism promises.  We need to believe that Jesus died for our sins and when he did he removed our sinful nature.  Our identity matters.  You may think this is a little thing and it doesn’t really matter.  You may think the above question is just a matter of semantics.  I assure you it isn’t.  What you tell yourself matters.  

We are saints who sin sometimes.  It is important that we understand this because the enemy wants us to focus on our sins.  He wants us to think we are unredeemable.  He wants us to feel like we are our sins.  The enemy wants us to take on our sins as if they are our identity.  For instance, I lied to someone therefor I am a liar.  I stole a piece of candy from a friend, therefore I am a thief.  You are not your actions, you are not your sins.  You are a redeemed child of God, that is your identity.  Your sins are things you do and they can be forgiven and forgotten.  

Did you know that Jesus doesn’t remember our sins once we confess them?  He forgives and forgets them.  It says this in the verse above.  Jesus is saying he blots out our transgressions and he does not remember our sins.  One of the saints, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, the nun responsible for the spread of the devotion to the sacred heart was once asked by her spiritual advisor to ask God what her last mortal sin was.  He wanted to make sure her visions about the sacred heart were truly from God.  Who better to know our last mortal sin than God who knows everything.  The next time she was having prayer time she asked the Lord what her last mortal sin was and do you know what he said?  I don’t remember.  With this response her spiritual advisor knew her visions were from God.

Can you believe this response?  I thought this was a great verse to bring to all of you today because I don’t remember ever hearing this verse before.  I have read through the entire Bible three times and I have done several Bible studies and yet I don’t remember ever hearing this verse before.  We tend to think of God as someone who is writing down all of our sins in a book and keeping track of them so He can show them to us at the end of our lives and ask us to explain them.  However, this verse says He forgives and forgets our sins.  How amazing is that?  Another things a lot of us think is that we need to work really hard to make up for our sins.  We don’t.  Jesus did that when he took our sins to the cross with Him.  All we have to do is admit our sins, confess them to God and they will be forgiven and forgotten.  Our teacher explained it like this, “Jesus, just wants you to admit that you took the cookie from the cookie jar.”  God wants you to come before Him as a child and admit what you have done.  

The enemy wants you to hold onto what you have done.  He wants you to accept your sin as your identity and he wants you to be too ashamed to share it with the father.  The devil wants to convince you that God couldn’t possibly forgive you for this thing you have done.  He convinces you that this thing is different, yes, God forgives sin, but not sins like this, not sins this bad.  The devil is a liar.  He is telling you this because he knows your deepest fear is not being forgiven or accepted by God.  There isn’t anything you can do that is unforgivable.  And it is not hard to be forgiven.  All you have to do is admit what you have done and then accept the forgiveness God gives to you.

This last part is hard for many of us.  We are willing to confess our sins, and yet we have a hard time accepting the forgiveness God is offering us.  We have a hard time believing we are worthy of this forgiveness.  Let me set one thing straight, we aren’t worthy of God’s forgiveness or His Grace.  We aren’t worthy and yet He gives them to us freely.  Through his death on the cross and through our baptism we are redeemed from our sinful nature and therefore our sins are forgiven and forgotten.  It is incredible and yes, hard to believe.  

If we look at this through our worldly eyes, we find it hard to believe God would forgive and forget.  Forgiving and forgetting is something we really struggle with.  If we are struggling with identifying as a saint who sins sometimes and instead think of ourselves as sinners who sometimes does the right thing we can take this to God during our prayer time.  This week while we are praying we can ask God to show us how to transform our thinking.  We can ask God to help renew our minds so we can understand this truth.   We can ask God to show us how to adopt this identity of a saint as our own.  If God forgets our sins, why are we holding onto them?  Why do we take these sins and make them our identity?  Our true identity is a redeemed son or daughter of Christ.  Our true identity is a saint who sometimes sins.  

Dear Heavenly Father I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today.  Lord, help us to truly believe we are saints who sometimes sin and not sinners who sometimes get it right.  Lord, help us to believe you forgive our sins when we confess them, and then you forget about them. Help us to believe you are not sitting up there in heaven keeping a stick account of every sin we have ever done.  We love you Lord.  It is amazing to us how you forgive and forget even though we aren’t worthy.  We are so very grateful and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, amen!

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to spending time with you tomorrow.  If you would like to give a witness this week for Witness Wednesday there is still time, just contact me today. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I!  Have a blessed day!

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Gold Is Tested In The Fire

Sirach 2:4-6 “Accept whatever is brought upon you, and in changes that humble you be patient.  For gold is tested in the fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation. Trust in him, and he will help you; make your ways straight, and hope in him.”

Accept whatever is brought upon you, that’s easier said than done.  Sometimes I wish when it said hard things like this, it gave exact directions on how to do it.  Wouldn’t that be so much easier?  Or, even better, if you could ask God specifically how the Word applies to your situation?  For instance, how do you accept everything that is  brought upon you when the thing that is brought upon you is the unimaginable?  What if you lose your child, or your spouse?  How are you supposed to accept that?  Where is the how part of this verse?  What if you are like Job and you not only loose all your sons and daughters, but all your farm animals, your servants who were with those animals and then your possessions and your health.  How is one to accept so much loss?  

Then the verse goes on to say, you should be patient when you experience changes that humble you.  If something is humbling you, it is probably difficult.  Have you tried to be patient when you are learning something new?  It’s not that easy.  Its frustrating! One of our sons is learning to drive.  That is a very humbling experience because when you are a teenager you think you know everything.  Then you get behind a wheel and you realize there is so much you don’t know.  Being patient while learning to drive is difficult.  Being patient while trying to teach someone to drive is difficult as well.  Teaching your child to drive is also a change that humbles you.  I know how to drive, I have been doing it for over 25 years now.  However, when it comes time to teach my son I forget to say certain things because I do them without even thinking after all these years.  It is humbling for both of us and although I am mostly patient while doing it, I am not sure how I am able to be patient.  This is another place where instructions would be great.  

I really like the analogy in the next line.  “For gold is tested in the fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation.”  I love the image of gold being tested in the fire. I am not sure if you have ever heard the story of the refiners fire before, but I just love the story so I am going to share it with you.  In this story they are talking about silver, but it is a similar process for refining gold as well.  Here is the story:

As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: ‘He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.’ (Malachi 3:3) She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, ‘How do you know when the silver is fully refined?’ He smiled at her and answered, ‘Oh, that’s easy — when I see my image in it.’

My favorite part of this story is the last line, “Oh, that’s easy-when I see my image in it.”  God is our refiner.  He is watching us the entire time we are in the fire.  He doesn’t leave us in that fire a second longer than He has to in order to get all of our impurities out.  God is not just sitting around on the sidelines talking to others while we are in the fire.  He is right there keeping his eyes on us the entire time.  Today’s verse says just as the gold is being tested in this fire, so is an acceptable man being tested in the furnace of humiliation.  God isn’t going to let us get humiliated more than we can handle.  He will not leave us in that humiliation a minute longer than we need to be. He is our loving father and He is trying to help us become all we are meant to become.  Once He looks at us and see’s His reflection shining back at Him, He knows we are ready.  

The ending of this verse says, “Trust in him, and he will help you; make your ways straight, and hope in him.” Actually, maybe this is the how part of the verse.  How do we accept the unthinkable thing that happened to us? We trust in Him. I was just talking to a friend today about this very thing.  We both prayed for our friend to be healed.  We both really believed she would be, and she wasn’t.  Well, I guess technically she was because their is not disease or illness in heaven.  However, she was not healed here on earth.  We were questioning this today while thinking back on it.  We were talking about how we didn’t understand because Jesus said whatever you ask for in my name if you believe, I will grant you.  Well, we asked, we believed, and it didn’t happen.  We both agreed the only way to accept it is to accept that God’s will is sovereign.  His ways are higher than our ways and His thought higher than our thoughts.  We trust Him and if she wasn’t saved we trust He had his reasons.  

The verse says to trust in him and he will help you, I have seen this time and time again.  I have trusted Him a lot over the years and He has helped me a lot over the years.  I know trusting is hard, especially if you have been hurt in the past.  Trusting God isn’t like trusting anyone else.  It is safe to put your trust in God because He doesn’t let us down.  If you trust in Him He will come through for you.  He loves to come when unexpected and just knock your socks off, He is that good of a daddy!  Next it says, make your ways straight and hope in him.  Hope is another thing that can be tough.  We have all hoped in something before and been let down.  Hoping in the Lord is different.  It is safe to hope in Him because He is not going to promise you something He can’t deliver on.  He is the God of the impossible and He is a WayMaker.  He makes a way where there is no way.  If you hope in Him He will come through.  He is amazing like that!  We started this episode by talking about how we wish we knew how to accept whatever is brought upon you and how to be patient when a change humbles you.  I think the answer to both of these is to trust God and He will help you.  

I think sometimes we don’t understand the power God brings when He comes to help you.  We read God will help us and we wonder what He is going to do about your broken leg or how is he going to help me quit smoking.  God can literally heal your leg in a moment.  I have been reading so many healing stories and you wouldn’t believe  all the amazing things God has done.  Also, we dismiss God from miracles like smoking or vaping. I prayed that my son, who was under 18 at the time would stop smoking.  The next time I talked to him, he said it was so weird because every time he would smoke a cigarette it made him sick.  He said it was all of the sudden.  He used to be fine but now cigarettes grossed him out.  That was totally God doing that.  I asked to heal him of this addiction and He did.  God is so good.  He is much more powerful than we give Him credit for.  If you are finding acceptance of your circumstances difficult, turn to God, ask Him for help. Trust in Him and He will help you!

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today.  Lord, we love you and we are so happy you love us.  Lord, we ask for you to help us understand what you are saying in today’s verses.  Help us to really take it in and apply it in our lives.  Lord, help us to accept those things that are brought upon us.  Help us to understand you are refining us in the fire of your love.  You have your watchful eye on us and will take us out at the perfect moment.  Help us be patient enough to wait for you Lord.  Help us to put our hope and trust in you.  We love you so much Lord and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen.

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus.  I look forward to spending time with you tomorrow.  Remember Jesus love you and so do I! Have a blessed day!

www.findingtruenorthcoaching.com

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Would You Choose Fire or Water, Life or Death?

Sirach 15:15-17 “If you will, you can keep the commandments, and to act faithfully is a matter of your own choice.  He has placed before you fire and water: stretch out your hand for whichever you wish. Before a man are life and death, and whichever he chooses will be given to him.”

This is one of those verses where it sounds a lot easier than it is.  If you will, you can keep the commandments.  Which one of us would say, “I want to break the commandments?"  Who would say, “I think today I will decide not to do what God commands us to do?"  I don’t know if there are any of us listening to this podcast who feel that way.  If you are listening to a podcast called Walk Boldly with Jesus then you are probably trying to do your best to live as God commands us to live.  It seems to me it is not as easy at it sounds though.  It would be nice if everything were black and white, but we live in a world of grey.  We look at the commandments and we say, those seem pretty easy to follow and on the surface level we are correct.  It is not all that difficult for most of us not to steal and not to kill someone.  Most of us don’t worship other God’s, we know God is our one true God.  Honor you Mother and Father, that’s not too hard to do, right? Do you see what I mean about how they seem pretty easy to follow on the surface level.  

However, if we really look into our behaviors we will see things aren’t so cut and dry.  There are lots of ways where are behavior is breaking a commandment and yet we don’t realize it.  For instance, if we were asked we would probably say that we do not worship any other God.  We know God is the only God there is.  But then when we look at how we are living our lives what do we spend most of our time doing?  Are we giving our TV, our phone, or our video games god like status?  We may say we aren’t worshipping them, but is it the first thing we turn to in the morning and that last thing we turn to at night?  When we are upset are we turning to God or are we turning to our phone or TV to sooth ourselves? What are we placing first in our lives?  Is it God?  For many of us, it isn’t.  

What about the commandment “You Shall Not Bear False Witness Against Your Neighbor?”  Have you ever passed on a rumor that you heard about someone?  Have you ever gossiped?  I am pretty sure we have all gossiped at one point or another.  Have you ever stretched the truth to make someone else look bad or to make yourself look better?  Have you ever said something untrue and unkind when you were angry?  Or maybe when you were embarrassed.  When I was younger I was at a friend’s house.  We asked to use her brothers video game and he said no.  We used it anyway and then he got super angry and it started a big fight.  My friend told her mom that her brother said we could use it.  I knew it wasn’t true and I didn’t speak up.  Have you even been in a scenario where you didn’t lie and yet at the same time, you knew someone else was lying and you went along with it?  

The next part of the first line says, “to act faithfully is a matter of your own choice.”  This is something else where I think there is a lot of grey.  Yes, ultimately it is your own choice and yet it doesn’t feel that simple in the moment.  Think about how many times you have been in a situation where you did something you weren’t proud of because you felt you didn’t have any other choice.  We live in a broken world and sometimes none of our choices are good choices.  For instance, you can stay in a marriage that is abusive or you can get a divorce, neither one is a pleasant choice.  Sometimes our choices aren’t that drastic and yet we still don’t feel like we had much of a choice, especially when we are younger.  How many times when you were in school did you do something you knew was wrong because everyone else was doing it or because the older kids dared you to do it.  Peer pressure is a thing and not just when we are little kids.  Adults cave to peer pressure also.  

Tony and I are going away this weekend and the friends was are staying with are not Catholic.  I am not sure if they attend a church service or not.  I wanted to look into what time mass would be in their town and I instantly hesitated.  I didn’t want to inconvenience them by asking them to plan their morning around my plans to go to mass.  What if they wanted to go out to breakfast, what if they wanted to head out to  go somewhere early, what if it was an inconvenience to them?  Now, they are super sweet and they wouldn’t care a bit if I said I wanted to make sure I attended mass.  I know this and yet I still feel weird fitting mass in when we are supposed to be visiting them.  I made sure to go to daily mass today in case I don’t make it this weekend.  While at mass, or just after mass, I had this though come into my head.  “You don’t want to mention mass to your friends because you are afraid of what they may think, but you don’t care what God will think.”  Wow, that hit home for me.  Why are we more concerned with what others will think when we should be concerned what Jesus will think? I say we because I know I am not the only one that thinks like this.  

The Next line in the verse says, “He has placed before you fire and water stretch out your hand for whichever you wish.”  That seems like a pretty easy choice.  I would definitely choose the living water of God versus the fires of Hell.  I can say that with certainty and yet, if you look at the day to day choices I am making, would my actions support that claim? Am I choosing on a daily basis the living waters of God, or am I giving in to the temptations of this world.  We may be strong in Spirit and yet weak in the flesh.  We may want to choose heaven and yet inadvertently choosing hell.  Here is one way that just came into my mind to help describe what I am thinking.  I have a choice, I can either be healthy or I can be unhealthy.  I choose to be healthy.  I don’t think any of us would choose to be unhealthy.  However, if you look at my daily choices would they support this?  Currently, I would say no.  Today I had several spoonfuls of raw cookie dough, I had pizza for dinner, for the third time this week, and I had some of my son’t birthday cake, his birthday was Tuesday.  My choices do not support the fact that I choose to be healthy.  I have plenty of salad ingredients in my fridge.  I could have easily made a salad for dinner.  If I truly choose to be healthy, that would have been my choice.  

The last line of this verse says, “Before a man are life and death, and whichever he chooses will be given to him.” This again seems to be an easy choice.  I choose life!  I think the important thing to remember is that this is not a one time thing.  You can’t just choose life once and it will be given to you.  You have to choose life over and over again with your actions.  You have to choose life when you are deciding to go to the gym or watch tv.  You have to choose live when you are deciding between drinking a 12 pack of beer or drinking some water.  You have to choose life when you are deciding between staying in bed all day or getting up and calling a friend.  You have to choose life when you are deciding between committing that sin you know you shouldn’t do or just saying no and putting God first.  We get to choose and we get to make that choice over and over again, so if we choose wrong, we usually get another chance to choose the right the next time.  God is good like that.  He is a God of many, many chances.  Choose wisely and remember, the stakes are high.  We are choosing between water and fire, life and death.  Which do you choose?  Would your actions agree?

Dear heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today.  Lord you are amazing and we are so grateful you give us a choice.  Please help us to choose wisely.  Please help us to realize the consequences of our actions.  Help us to see that ever choice puts us closer to life or closer to death.  Give us the strength we need to choose correctly.  We may be strong in Spirit and weak in the flesh.  Help us to make the right choice.  We love you Lord, you are such a great Father.  You teach us the right way to live and then you let us make up our own mind.  You don’t demand our love, you ask for it.  You are so good and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen!

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus.  I look forward to seeing you again on Monday.  Remember Jesus loves you and so do I.  Have a blessed weekend!

www.findingtruenorthcoaching.com

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What Is Steadfast Love & Faithfulness?

Proverbs 3:3 “Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.”

This is one of those times where I looked up the meaning of the verse so I could gain a better understanding of what it was saying.  I read two articles that gave me more insight into what this verse is saying.  I will put a link for the two articles in the show notes.  The first article talked about steadfast love.  Steadfast love is a predetermined commitment to love regardless of the qualifications of the beloved.  “I am here for you because that’s who I am,” rather than, “I am here for you as long as you are lovable.”  How great is that?  Wouldn’t it be great if we could love people with a steadfast love?  I think my kids know that I love them even when I don’t love their behavior.  I have always told them that.  When they were younger they had a lot of behaviors I didn’t like.  I would always tell them, “I love them, I just don’t like their behavior.”  I think they know in their heart this is true.  However, I have never thought of steadfast love being a love because of who I am instead of who they are.  Actually when I think about it I guess I have thought that, but didn’t know that was steadfast love.  I know I love them because I am their mom.  It doesn’t matter what they do, and trust me, they have pushed the boundaries, I will always love them because I am there mom.

Did you know this is how God feels about us too?  He loves us, not because of anything we do, not because of who we are, but because of who He is.  The second article I read talked about how the first line in this verse is Covenant language.  It says that faithfulness and steadfast love characterize God’s behavior toward His people.  In return since covenants are reciprocal, we are expected to return faithfulness and steadfast love to Him.  Covenant language is a new term for me.  I know God made several covenants with His people throughout the various times, I just don’t remember hearing that term before.  I do love thinking about covenants made with God though.  To me a covenant is so personal and the thought that God didn’t just make this covenant with His people as a whole, but that He made this covenant with each one of us just blows my mind.  Think about that for a minute.  You God loves you so much He made a covenant with you.  God is so good!!

We talked about steadfast love, now let's talk about faithfulness.  One thing both articles mentioned that I didn’t know is that faithfulness means truth.  One of the articles also said trustworthiness, which I can see.  In a marriage if you are faithful then you are trustworthy.  If you are not faithful then you are not trustworthy.  However, I don’t think I ever thought about the word faithful meaning truth.  The first article said faithfulness is saying and doing truth.  It said faithfulness and steadfast love will often be found together in the Bible.  The author gave a great analogy.  He said these two virtues are like a kite and string.  Love functions best when tethered by truth.  When we love without commitment to truth, we are like a kite without a string.  Likewise, when we are true without love, we’re more string than kite.  If we offer truth to people without love, they likely won’t hear it as intended.  Have you ever told someone something and although what you said was the truth, it was said without love and so it was rejected?  

Tony and I really enjoy watching The Good Doctor tv show.  It is a doctor show where one of the doctors has Autism Spectrum Disorder.  He struggles to feel the emotions others feel.  He is big on telling the truth and he does not do it with love most of the time because he doesn’t feel love like others do.  It is interesting to watch how people react when he is talking to him.  For me, I can truly see what a difference it makes not just what you say, but how you say it.  My children were pretty strong willed when they were younger.  I learned early on that how I said something made just as much of a difference as what I was saying.  I could say the same thing two different ways and one way would get the response I wanted and one way would not.  For instance, telling my kids they had to get in the shower would create a negative response.  However, simply asking them to take a shower sometime in the next 10 minutes would usually result in a shower.  If you are not getting the results you want when talking to someone lately, take a minute and think about how you are talking with them.  Are you giving them the truth without love?  Is there any way you could switch up how you are talking to them?  

Now that we have talked about steadfast love and faithfulness are, we can talk about what it means to not let it forsake you.    Maybe you know what this means.  I didn’t.  That is one of those words I know, but couldn’t really explain it if someone asked.  I thought it meant something negative in this verse though.  Almost like, don’t let it get you into trouble.  What forsake means is abandon or renounce/give up.  So what this verse is saying is don’t abandon steadfast love and faithfulness.  Don’t walk away from them, keep them with you always.  I am glad I looked this up because once I truly understand what a verse means it takes root more in my soul.  Also, I don’t skip over when I am reading the Bible.  Whenever I read it again I smile.  This is one reason I love doing this podcast, it helps me understand what I am reading.  I gain a better understanding of God’s Word and what He is calling us to.

The last line of this verse is great.  It says, bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.  When I first read “bind them around your neck,” I thought of something really heavy, almost like a millstone around your neck.  However the second article talked about how our love and trust in God should be obvious to others, like a beautiful necklace which would adorn our necks.  This is a much better thought and representation now that I understand the verse better.  Wouldn’t it be great if all Christians had steadfast love and trustworthiness and they wore it around their neck on display for the whole world to see?  How many more people do you think would fall in love with Christ if they saw the steadfast love and faithfulness He promises us lived out in our lives?  The first article talks about how binding this virtues around our neck is like wearing our fitness tracker around our wrist.  Our fitness tracker can only do it’s job if we remember to put it.  These virtues can only help us if we make sure we put them on each morning and have them with us throughout the whole day.  

What does God mean when He says to write them on the tablet of your heart?  The first article says this means to press them into yourself so deeply that you live them genuinely from the inside out.  That sounds like a pretty good plan.  Anytime you want to make a change everyone always says you need to change on the inside before you can change on the outside.  The second article says that writing something on your heart means (1) it touches you deeply, (2) you are marked by it, and (3) you will always remember it.  I think both of these give a great idea of what God is talking about when He asks us to write these virtues on the tablet of our heart.  God wants us to love with a steadfast love and to be faithful, not just towards him, but to all those in our lives and those we meet.  This is not something that just happens, we need to intentionally remember this each day, we need to think of it often so we can ingrain it into our very being.  The good news is, God will help us with this.  We never have to do anything on our own or by our own strength.  God is always there to help us.  All we need to do is reach out and ask.

Dear heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today.  Lord, you are amazing and we love you.  We ask you to help us develop this steadfast love and faithfulness you are calling us to.  Help give us an understanding of how we can write this on our hearts and bind it around our necks.  We say yes to this call Lord, now we just need you to show us how, as you always do when we ask.  We thank you Lord, for always being there for us.  You are the almighty one and you never cease to show us what to do, you never cease to support us and strengthen us.  We are so grateful Lord, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen!

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus.  I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow!  Remember Jesus loves you and so do I.  Have a blessed day!

The first article was titled Proverbs 3:3-4 | Wisdom & Loving Faithfulness by Matt Broadway (Click Here)

The second article was titled Family Wisdom. Proverbs 3:3-4 by Britta Lafont (Click Here)

https://brittalafont.com/family-wisdom-proverbs-33-4/

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Thank you so much Dee for coming on the show.  I really appreciate you coming on the show to talk about how  passing the test was a miracle.  One reason I love that Dee came on to tell you about this miracle is because Dee is not one for organized religion, or religion of any kind really. She is not someone who prays all the time. I think many people assume if they don’t pray all the time then God won’t answer their prayers when they do.  They don’t feel they are worthy of miracles, or they don’t think miracles are possible.   I think many people see others receiving miracles and they count themselves out because they don’t go to church, or they don’t pray enough, or they aren’t holy enough.  Yet, God loves all his children equally.  He doesn’t love those who pray any more than he loves those who don’t.  The only reason some are receiving miracles while others aren’t is because those who are receiving them have asked.  Even if you don’t know for sure who is up there.  Even if you aren’t quite sure if God is real, take a chance and ask for something.  You will be surprised what your heavenly father will do for you.  

We have all seen God working in our lives, however, we might not all be aware it is God who is working in our lives.  This is why it is so important we start talking about it more.  The more we share our experiences the more people understand how God works and how much He truly loves us.  If you would be willing to share any experience you have had of how God has worked or is working your life, please email me at [email protected] or just click here.  It won’t take up much of your time and your story could be just the story that someone needs to hear today.  Prayerfully consider sharing.  Everyone has a story and the world needs to hear them.  I look forward to spending time with you again tomorrow and I will have another witness for you next Wednesday.  Have a blessed day!

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Our God Is A God of Abundance

2 Corinthians 9:8 “And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.”

Have you ever prayed for something and then gotten way more than you prayed for?  God is always doing this for His children.  He loves to lavish His love and His grace on us.  He  showers us with mercy and forgiveness as well.  God is amazing.  I want to look at some examples of how our God is a God of abundance.  When we are reading in Mark 6:30-44 we are reading about Jesus feeding the 5,000.  This is where Jesus took 5 loaves and 2 fish and fed 5,000 people.  This is a miracle, no one would have thought that could be done.  I think if I had been feeding that many people I would have put limits on them while I was handing the food out.  I would have told them to make sure to just take one piece of each until we make sure there is enough for everyone. Mark 6:42-43 says, "And all ate and were filled;  and they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish.” Jesus didn’t limit people, He wasn’t worried.  He knew His Father was a God of abundance.  After all 5,000 people had eaten, they still had 12 baskets of bread and fish.  Can you even imagine that?  Can you picture how much they had left over after feeding 5,000 people with 5 loaves and 2 fish?  

Do you remember when God rained down quail for His children when they were in the dessert?  In Numbers 11 it talks about how the Israelites were complaining because they had no meat to eat.  They were saying it was better when they were in Egypt because at least they had meat and other fine things to eat.  Now, remember, they were slaves in Egypt, but right now all they could think about was how they wanted meat to eat.  So, God gave them a miracle and He rained down quail on them.  God could have given them meat for one or two days, but instead He gave them meat for a whole month.  He is a God of abundance.  It says it Numbers 11:32, “So the people worked all that day and night and all the next day, gathering the quails; the least anyone gathered was ten homers; and they spread them out for themselves all around the camp.”  Every single person gathered at least ten homers.  I know that number probably means nothing to you, or at least it means nothing to me.  I have no idea how much an homer is.  However, I did google it to see.  If we do a bit of math we see that 10 homers is equal to about 220,000cm3, and at 0.98gm/cm3 that works out to about 1900 birds, weighing about 475 pounds.  You can’t look at that number and tell me that God isn’t a God of abundance.

Next, let's look at Peter when he was trying to catch some fish.  Peter and his brother Andrew had been out  all night trying to catch some fish.  They were really behind on their taxes and they needed that money. They were not able to catch anything all night long.  In the morning Jesus was on the shore and he ask Peter if He could get in his boat to preach to the people on shore.  Afterwards Jesus told Peter to put his net back into the water.  Peter explained they tried to catch fish all night and nothing happened but since Jesus was asking he would do it.  Then in Luke 5:6 it says, “When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break.” They had to call the other boat over to help and both boats were filled with fish. God knew how much money they owed.  He could have given them just enough fish to pay off what they owed.  But that is not who God is.  He likes to go above and beyond what we need and what we expect.  

There are stories of God’s abundance in our life time as well.  I have told the story before and yet I don’t think you can repeat stories of miracles too often.  My parents were praying for food one day as they had just said they would babysit a family of 8 kids and they had at least 8 kids of their own at this point.  Within the hour of that prayer their neighbor came over and gave them grocery bags of food they didn’t need as they had their father move in with them and he had a lot of food at his house but they had also just gone shopping.  Then there was another knock at the door and and someone else gave my parents a bunch of extra meat they had from their last hunting trip.  

I talked about a story of abundance in my witness last week.  God could have found Tony any job and yet He gave him a job with a promotion.  He gave Tony a job that he loved with awesome people to work with.  He moved us to a place where we had incredible friends and a great support system.  He moved us to a place where we had an incredible house and the boys each had incredible friends.  The teachers at the boys school were amazing.  We didn’t lack anything.  

My sister was searching for a new job. A part time job so she could have more time with her family.  Not only did God find her a part time job, but he found her a job that checked all the boxes she was looking for.  It was part time and it was fully remote.  It had a flexible schedule so if her grandkids had to stay home from school she could help their parents out and watch them.  She made more money per hour than she did in her full time job.  It wasn’t just any job, it was the perfect job.  

I am sure you all have your own stories of the abundance God has provided for you.  If you can’t see the abundance, I challenge you to look for it.  I challenge you to examine how God has answered your prayers. What have you asked for and what has He given you?  I have a friend who decided to move closer to home.  She and her husband decided to give themselves a year to sell their house, move back home and build a new house.  Well, God had other plans.  Within 3 months of deciding to move they had sold their house and started building their dream house closer to their parents.  I believe they moved into their new house just after the new year, just 7 months after they had decided to move.  Now they are living on a farm, in a newly built house, they have chickens, they are growing vegetables, they both have new jobs.  God is so good!  He is definitely a God of abundance.  If you can’t see you abundance, keep looking I know it is there.

Dear Heavenly Father I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today.  Lord, we love you.  You are too good to us and we are so grateful.  Thank you for the abundance you give to us.  The abundance we don’t deserve and yet you give to us freely. Thank you for all the ways you show up for us Lord.  You are truly amazing.  Lord, we just ask that you help us to recognize where in our lives you are providing for us, where you are giving us an abundance.  We ask you to show each one of us and help us to fully appreciate all you do for us.  We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen.

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus.  Tomorrow’s witness will be one of my sisters, Dianne.  She has a witness of how God miraculously helped her pass a certification test she needed to pass.  I look forward to sharing that with you tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!

www.findingtruenorthcoaching.com

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