Monday’s Blog: God’s Unmerited Favor
I am taking a few weeks off blogging (will return in June) to finish up my kids’ schooling, along with some writing and home projects I’m working on. Before I take off, I want to share one of my favorite messages God’s led me to write. It’s a message He often reminds me of when I am facing difficulties and feeling worn down by my trials. If you’re feeling weary today, I pray this message encourages you too!
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God’s Unmerited Favor
I heard a heartbreaking story on the radio the other day. A woman called into the station. She was hurting deeply and didn’t know how to get out of the pit she was in. As she shared her story she cried out, “I’m tired! I don’t want to fight anymore!â€
Have you ever felt like you couldn’t take another day and face another mountain?
I was hit by something once. I didn’t know why it happened or how it was going to work out. As I was sharing it with my friend, she expressed, “Maybe God is trying to teach you about grace.â€
After talking to her, I opened my Amplified Bible and started reading Zechariah chapter four. I came across verse seven, which read: “For who are you, O great mountain [of human obstacles]? Before Zerubbabel [who with Joshua had led the return of the exiles from Babylon and was undertaking the rebuilding of the temple, before him] you shall become a plain [a mere molehill]! And he shall bring forth the finishing gable stone [of the new temple] with loud shoutings of the people, crying, Grace, grace to it!â€
I looked up grace in my Amplified Bible and saw it defined as “God’s unmerited favor, spiritual blessing, and mercy.†I knew God was telling me to shout to my mountain, “Grace, grace to it!†God wanted me to see that my mountain was only a mere molehill compared to His grace.
My obstacle was not going to crush me. It was not going to harm me. It was not going to destroy me. God’s favor was surrounding me.
You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.
Psalm 139:5
God’s favor doesn’t mean our trials will go away and everything will work out the way we expect them to. God’s favor means that we will rise and soar above our mountains and they will not overtake us.
Have you ever flown in an airplane? Everything that seems so big on land looks so small when you’re soaring high above them. God wants to lift us high above our mountains so we can see that He is so much bigger.
The Apostle Paul experienced more trials than most of us, yet he expressed, “Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.†Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong†(2 Corinthians 12:8-10).
Paul “delighted†in his weaknesses. He “delighted†in insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties. He knew his trials strengthened his faith and drew him closer to the Lord. He knew God’s grace was all he needed. He knew God’s favor was resting on him. He knew God wouldn’t allow anything that He couldn’t work out for Paul’s benefit and to further the gospel.
Paul soared above his mountains with joy knowing they weren’t bigger than His God. If Paul allowed his trials to keep him down, I don’t believe we would know about him today. His life was a true example of God’s unmerited favor.
I read a wonderful quote in the book “Make Me a Legend†by pastor and author, Chuck Balsamo. Chuck expressed, “Whatever fails to kill us makes us better and stronger! Adversity isn’t supposed to be the end of us; it is merely the backdrop of our defining moments. When we face challenges, our smoldering greatness has a chance to flash out for all to see. So guess what, my friend? Those excruciating challenges you’ve been protesting all this time are not going to kill you! In fact, they have been sent to showcase your greatness! Just hold on and you’ll see. Everything is really working out to your advantage, and after God gets finished turning the current hellish trial into your next big win, the devil will wish he had never laid eyes on you. If he had only known how you would come through this fiery furnace with a hefty promotion, he would have never thrown you down into the flames!â€
So if you’re in a pit today, wondering if you’ll ever see the light of day, know God’s unmerited favor is resting upon you. Speak His grace over your situation. Watch and see the Lord lift you out of the pit and turn that great mountain of human obstacle into a mere molehill!
He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support. He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.
Psalm 18:16-19
Heavenly Father,
We praise You that You don’t leave us to sink in the pits we fall, dive, or are thrown into. You always grasp our hands in support and uphold us (Psalm 37:24). Remind us to speak to our mountains and receive Your favor over every obstacle we face in life. We praise You for Your unmerited love and grace.
In Jesus’ precious name, Amen!
NOW SPEAK TO YOUR MOUNTAIN:
For who are you, O great mountain of (your obstacle)? Before (your name) you shall become a plain, mere molehill. I speak grace, grace to (your obstacle)! My God’s favor is greater than you!!
Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.â€
Mark 11:23
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Posted in Monday's Blogs and tagged God's grace, God's unmerited favor, Grace, Jesus, speak to your mountain by Amanda Beth with
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Monday’s Blog: One thing at a time!
We live in a fast paced, demanding world. It seems like everyone you talk to has too much on their plate. God’s called me to homeschool my four children and write. Life can get pretty overwhelming with my kids’ activities and writing if I try to take on too many demands at once.  If you have kids, don’t you feel overwhelmed when they demand your attention all at the same time? I can’t count how many times I’ve said to my kids, “One thing at a time! There’s only one of me!â€
Regretfully, I’ve said the same thing to God when I’ve been overwhelmed and burdened with ministry or family needs. But God reminds me that His burden is light. When I’m overwhelmed, I’m carrying my own load, not His.
Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.â€
Matthew 11:28-30
Life’s demands are not the only thing that can weigh us down, but trying to live a godly life can be burdensome if we are carrying our own load. I just ended a series on sin that God’s Word warns us to be on guard against. God’s Word shines a light in our hearts revealing the areas where we fall short. Sometimes it can be overwhelming when we read His Word because we fall short in every area.
From the start, God has led me to do these series to teach me, and to help others, focus on only one area at a time. Two of my series have been turned into devotional books. Even though I wrote the books, I still use them to help me in the areas I fall short. I only focus on one area for the whole week, reading, meditating, and praying the Scriptures I found on that subject. I’ve been falling a lot in my love walk lately, so God’s led me to go through my love walk book. This week, in my quiet time with God, I’m only studying Scriptures that deal with “kindness.â€
I am telling you this in humility, not to promote myself or my books, but to encourage you that God’s commands are not burdensome (1 John 5:3). The Bible says “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. … Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit†(Galatians 5:16, 25).
Surely God’s Spirit is not leading us in a hundred different directions. When we walk, we take one step at a time. Walking with Jesus and learning from His Holy Spirit one step at time will greatly take the burden off us and help us enjoy our walk with Him.
Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
Psalm 55:22, KJV
Heavenly Father,
We praise You that Your commands are not burdensome. You’ve given us everything we need to live a godly life in Christ Jesus. Help us lay down our burdens at the feet of Jesus and learn from Him one step at a time. In His name we pray, Amen!
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Posted in Monday's Blogs and tagged Burdened, Galatians 5:16, His yoke is easy, Matthew 11:28-30, Stress, walk in the Spirit, Weary by Amanda Beth with
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Monday’s Blog: Sword of the Spirit (“Armor of Light” book release)
I released my second devotional book today on the Armor of God, titled “Armor of Light: A 7 – Week Devotional on Ephesians 6:10-18” (*see discount coupon code below). I wanted to share this excerpt with you from week six about taking up the sword of the spirit, God’s Word.
WEEK SIX
 Sword of the Spirit
 … and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
~Ephesians 6:17
We can often get so caught up fighting with the devil that we neglect doing God’s will. We don’t have to continually fight the devil. That’s why all of the other armor is for defense, and only one piece is needed for offense—the sword of the Spirit (God’s Word).
When Jesus walked the earth, He didn’t constantly fight with Satan. Jesus came to do God’s will. When Satan tried to distract and tempt Him, Jesus didn’t ignore him. He used His authority, and the Word of God, to send Satan fleeing (Matthew 4:1-11). Jesus drove Satan away by believing and speaking God’s Word.
It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.†With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak.
—2 Corinthians 4:13
When God first called me to follow Him and start writing, my family was attacked unmercifully. We were hit by one trial after another. The attacks were like nothing we had ever experienced before. They were so apparent that even others noticed we were being attacked. I thought for a moment that God was punishing us. I thought I misunderstood His calling and He was trying to stop me from writing.
But as the attacks continued, God opened my eyes and showed me that Satan was trying to distract me from doing God’s will. I was exhausting so much of my time and energy dealing with the messes that I didn’t have time to work on my writing. Once I realized what was happening, I stopped trying to fix the messes, and started focusing on God’s will. As I focused on God, and stood firm on His Word, Satan fled and the problems resolved.
God didn’t give us His Word just to send Satan fleeing. He gave us His Word to sanctify us and equip us to do His will.
Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
—John 17:17
The Bible tells us that: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work†(2 Timothy 3:16-17). I’ve heard people say they don’t need to read the Bible daily because they’ve read it before. They say they already know right from wrong.
The Bible isn’t like a book that you read once and don’t need anymore. There is power in God’s Word. When we feed our minds and hearts with His Word, it gives us power in our spirits.
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
—2 Corinthians 10:4
God’s Word tears down strongholds that we don’t know exist until we are in His Word. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.â€
God’s Word reveals the dark places in us. His Word opens our eyes to what’s truly in our hearts. God’s Word is life to our bodies, souls, and spirits. We need God’s Word more than we need food and water.
Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
—Matthew 4:4
There is power in believing and speaking the Word of God over our lives. “Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him†(Mark 11:23).
Jesus didn’t say if anyone “thinks†about moving the mountain. He said to “speak†to the mountain. Remember, Satan can’t read our minds. We can’t make him flee by just thinking the Word. We need to speak the Word!
Psalm 103:20 says, “Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word†(KJV). It says angels hearken to the “voice†of His Word. When we speak God’s Word, His angels take heed and minister to us, as they did to Jesus after He drove Satan away with God’s Word.
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’ †Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
—Matthew 4:10-11
*The “Armor of Light” is available in Paperback and Ebook at Amazon. It will be released on audio format in May. As a special for all my blog readers, enter coupon code GQ5M59M5 at this link at Createspace and receive $3.00 off the paperback version!
Here’s a review on the book from one of my editors, Steve Sawyer:
This is the second book I have edited for Amanda Beth. I am especially enamored with two things Amanda Beth does as an author that distinguish her writing from some other Christian authors I’ve read.
First, Amanda Beth immerses herself in her writing. She doesn’t preach, She shares her heart. When you read one of Amanda Beth’s books, you are getting a glimpse of her personal life, her joys, her struggles, her strongholds, and her victories. Her personal life and her experience with God as He teaches her and grows her are what you get in the pages of her books. And everyone can relate. She is a thirty-something, stay-at-home mother of four young kids. But her message is universal. In Armor of Light anyone can relate to her experiences and her relationship with Jesus.
The other thing I like about Amanda Beth’s writing is the way she weaves God’s word throughout her writing. I have read books by other Christian authors whose references to Holy Scripture are not much more than token verses, sprinkled haphazardly throughout the book. Not Amanda Beth. Her writing is based on Scripture. Amanda Beth uses her personal life experiences to justify God’s word for us, rather than using God’s word to justify her writing or her opinions or her interpretation or application of Scripture, which is often the case with other Christian authors I’ve read.
Amanda doesn’t just decide to pick a topic and write a book about it. Amanda takes her direction directly from God. I can guarantee Amanda Beth spent months in prayer and Bible study before she sat down at her keyboard to write the first word of Armor Of Light.
In this second book, Amanda Beth shares how and why the armor of light is a necessary robe we need to wear. “When we don’t stand for the truths in God’s Word,” Amanda Beth said, “we open the door to deception. Too many Christians today are not standing for God’s Word as complete truth. As a result, Satan has sown many lies within the body of Christ. The Bible warns us that it’s only going to get worse. We need to be on guard so we don’t fall into this deception.” In her book Amanda Beth shares how God can keep us on guard so we won’t fall into deception from the enemy.
I can recommend Armor of Light without reservation. It is an easy read with questions and scripture for meditating and deepening your enjoyment and application of God’s truths.
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Posted in Armor Of God Series, Book Reviews, Book Updates, Monday's Blogs and tagged Amanda Beth, Armor of God, Armor of light, God's Word, Jesus, Sword of the Spriit by Amanda Beth with
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Monday’s Blog: “Accepting” by Dave Moore
I wanted to share this post I read a couple weeks ago written by my good friend, Dave Moore. Dave is the author of “The Father’s Love” and he has a blog at http://thefatherslovebook.blogspot.com/. I pray this message blesses you as much as it has blessed me!
 Accepting
By Dave Moore
B.T.A. Believe. Trust. Accept. As Christian’s many of us, and I did say US, have little trouble with believing and trusting in God, the power of God, and the promises of God. Where we might get into some trouble is with accepting His promises, His healing, His answers to our prayers, His will.
Accept in the Webster’s Dictionary means to take (what is offered or given), to receive favorably, approve, to believe in. So accepting would be the act of taking what is offered or given, receiving favorably, approving and believing in. “Accepting†is the action part of receiving the Lord’s will. There comes a moment in time when the Believe, Trust, and Accept come together as one, and become a realization in your mind, your heart, your very soul.
Desperation in prayer brings on accepting. The effectual fervent (to boil up, hot; burning; glowing; intensely devoted or earnest) prayer of a righteous man avails much. James 5:16b
Jesus prayed fervently in the Garden of Gethsemane, so fervently that He shed great droplets of blood from His pores. We know that He prayed Believing, Trusting, and Accepting. Jesus prayed that the suffering that He knew He was about to endure would be taken from Him. But, He then said “nevertheless†Thy will be done. He “Accepted†the will of God His Father without any reservations.
We might not always know God’s complete will for our life but we can always Believe, Trust, and Accept that God knows best, He has the best plan for us and the Kingdom, and that we can Believe, Trust, and Accept His will, and His promises.
In Proverbs 4:20-22, the word of God says: My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh.
In other words ACCEPT.
Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive (ACCEPT) them, and ye shall have them. Mark 11:24, KJV
Norman Grubb, in his book, The Law of Faith, makes interesting commentary about “asking†vs. “takingâ€:
Faith is the spiritual hand, exactly as, in the natural world, nothing is received and put to use merely by wishing or hoping or by asking for it, but by taking and using it, so in the spiritual. The hand must reach out and take the food or the book. Faith must reach out and take the promises, and the spoken evidence of such taking is the spoken word of faith. Probably the effect in the realm of the Spirit is the same as in the realm of matter. God offers all in His promises. The word of faith is the act of taking and applying His power according to need. What we actually take we actually have, and when the decisive word of faith has been spoken, God in His grace begins to work; and as the stand of faith is persisted in, the answer appears. That is why the declared word of faith is so vital and should be so stressed. It is the act of taking in the invisible, and we suggest that the serious lack in so much of our prayer life, both public and private, is that it hardly gets beyond the stage of asking. Hardly ever do we hear a person in a public prayer meeting, having asked, take and thank; yet probably it is much more important to have “taking†meetings than to have “asking†meetings. Our constant asking must have the same effect on God as would a child on his parents, who keeps asking for food, when they have set his meal before him and told him to take and eat it.
We have a choice whether or not to accept Christ at His word. We must begin to speak to our mountains and accept God’s promises.
Don’t be afraid. Just trust Me. Mark 5:36
If you trust Me, you are really trusting God who sent Me. John 12:44
Don’t be troubled. You trust God, now trust in Me. John 14:1
No matter what I pray for Lord, nevertheless, I Believe, I Trust, and I Accept Your will for my life!
*Thank you, Dave, for allowing me to share this encouraging message!
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Monday’s Blog: Sin Series “Sexual Immorality”
This is the last message in my series on sin. We continue last week’s message on Colossians 3:5-7 with turning away from temptation and putting to death the things of our flesh (denying our flesh of its desires).
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.
Colossians 3:5-7
Last week, I talked about turning away from and denying our flesh of greed (covetous). This week we focus on turning away from and denying our flesh of sexual immorality.
The Bible says:
It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.
1 Thessalonians 4:3-8
When talking about sexual immorality above, Paul expressed that we should not wrong or take advantage of our brothers and sisters. I don’t think we realize that when we give into sexual temptation, we don’t just hurt ourselves. I heard a story once about a young man who was saving himself for marriage. The girl he was dating at the time didn’t want to wait for marriage, but he refused to wrong her by giving into that temptation. Years later, his best friend ended up marrying the girl. His friend expressed how grateful he was that he saved her for him.
The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.†But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.
Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
1 Corinthians 6:13-20
When I was a baby Christian, still very carnal, I volunteered for a Christian activity and was teamed up to work with another married man. As we continued working together, I became more and more uncomfortable around him. We were talking one day and he complimented me on how good I looked. I was flattered by his compliment, and instead of kindly rebuking him and fleeing from that temptation, I continued talking to him and flirting with him. After we parted, God convicted and warned me that I wouldn’t like it if a woman complimented and flirted with my husband. God must have convicted him as well, because next time we saw each other he fled passed me without saying a word.
The Amplified version for 1 Corinthians 6:18 says to shun immorality and all sexual looseness, and flee from impurity in thought, word, or deed. We need to flee from sexual immorality in every way because we can’t stand against it. Our flesh is too weak.
Jesus said, “If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away†(Matthew 5:29).  In other words, we need to get rid of and run from anything that causes us to stumble, anything that feeds that temptation and causes it to grow.
So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
1 Corinthians 10:12-13
God will always give us warnings and provide a way out of temptations. It’s when we continually ignore those warnings, and feed those desires, that we fall into sin. It’s not a sin to feel tempted. It’s a sin to ignore God’s warning and give into temptation.
In our society today, we are constantly bombarded with sexual temptations. But God hasn’t left us here to stand up against it without help. He’s provided a way out.
- For the unmarried and widows, Paul exhorts:
“It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
… Are you free from such a commitment? Do not look for a wife. But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.
…An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord.
… I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.
1 Corinthians 7:8-9, 27-35
Many single Christians fall into sexual immorality by seeking a spouse. In their pursuit to find the right one, they often get involved in the wrong relationships. If their pursuit takes longer than they’d like, they often compromise their values and marry someone that isn’t God’s first choice for them. God’s way out is to stop seeking a spouse and start seeking Him with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. When your heart is in Him, He will bring your spouse to you at the right time, unless He’s placed a desire in you to remain single as He did in Paul.
- For the engaged, Paul expresses:
“If anyone is worried that he might not be acting honorably toward the virgin he is engaged to, and if his passions are too strong and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning. They should get married. But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin—this man also does the right thing. So then, he who marries the virgin does right, but he who does not marry her does better.
1 Corinthians 7:36-38
A Christian woman once told me that she was living with her fiancée. She said she felt convicted. She knew God didn’t approve of her situation, but she couldn’t stop sleeping with him. I encouraged her that she could stop. I told her that God’s given her a way out to endure that temptation. She could either move out or get married to him right away.
- For the married, Paul exhorts:
“But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
… Are you pledged to a woman? Do not seek to be released. … What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not; … For this world in its present form is passing away.
1 Corinthians 7:2-5, 27-31
Do you notice how single people long to be married, while married people long to be single? Our flesh will always desire what we don’t have. Our flesh can never be satisfied. No matter how much we give it, it will continue wanting something more. Satan knows that. As I shared in the post on envy, he takes what we can’t have (what is harmful to us) and makes it appealing in order to trap us. I’ve seen him lure many husbands and wives away from their spouses and families only to trap them and leave them with deep regret. God’s way out of this temptation is to be content and enjoy our spouses and not withhold intimacy from them.
The Bible shares many more teachings on sexual immorality. I didn’t have time to list everything in this post. If you struggle with sexual temptation, I encourage you to pray and study all the Scriptures you can find on it. God is faithful to help you and provide a way out during temptation. If you have fallen into sin, God is right there ready to lift you up. Just hold onto Him.
Though he falls, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord grasps his hand in support and upholds him.
Psalm 37:24, AMP
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Heavenly Father,
We praise You for ministering to us through this series on sin. We know that Your divine power have given us everything we need to live a godly life in Christ. We submit our soul to You; our mind, will, and emotions. Help us to follow Your Holy Spirit so we do not gratify the desires of our sinful flesh. We praise You that there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus. Sin has no power over us because He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world.
In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!
*If you know a brother or sister in Christ who has fallen into sin, I recommend Pastor Greg Baker’s ebook Restoring a Fallen Christian “Rebuilding Lives for the Cause of Christ.†I started reading it shortly before this series and I found it very inspiring and helpful.
Posted in Monday's Blogs, Sin Series and tagged impurity, lust, sanctification, sex, sexual immorality by Amanda Beth with
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Monday’s Blog: Sin Series “Greed”
This is the eighth message in my series on sin. The series will end next week. For these last two messages we will focus on our willpower to turn away from temptation and put to death the things of our flesh.
The Bible instructs us to:
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.
Colossians 3:2-7
When our minds are on Christ, by the power of His spirit we can put to death those things that used to control us (Romans 8:13). To put to death means to deny our flesh of its desires. The verse above instructs us to deny our flesh of greed (covetous), which is idolatry. We deny our flesh of greed by continually making God the Lord of our lives, not money and other earthly possessions.
In the first message, I talked about keeping our lamps full so we are ready for Jesus’ return. Living with an eternal focus is the key to denying our flesh of greed. The perishable things of this world won’t mean anything to us once we are gone. So why hold onto them and make them lord of our lives?
My grandma, who I loved dearly, spent her life accumulating wealth and earthly possessions. My mother was adopted by her, but my grandma never acknowledged us as her real family. When my grandma was too old to care for herself, even though we were the only ones who truly loved her, she chose to move across the country to live with her greedy brother and his family because they were “blood relatives.â€
She didn’t realize when she moved away that they would wipe out all her accounts and sell all her possessions. On her death bed, with deep regret, she held tightly to the last remaining possessions she had, the three rings on her fingers. My mother was appalled when she saw one of my grandma’s greedy family members trying to pry the rings off her fingers before she died. My grandma fought with all her might to hold onto those rings until my mother reached out for her hand. My grandmother peacefully released the rings into my mother’s hand to give to me and my two sisters as a token of her love for our family.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
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“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Matthew 6:19-24
Remember last week when I talked about envy and how the KJV calls it an evil eye? The original Greek word for eye in the verses above is “of-thal-mos,†which means “envious.†When we envy the things of this world, we are filling our hearts with darkness. Notice that it says “If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!†Jesus is talking to those of us who have received the light and then choose to make the things of this world our god instead of Him. The darkness will then be greater in us than those who don’t know Christ because we are a greater target for the devil.
“When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first.â€
Luke 11:24-26
If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,†and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.â€
2 Peter 2:20-22
I believe that is how Judas was deceived into betraying Christ. Judas followed Jesus. He was His disciple (pupil), and then designated as an apostle (one sent forth with orders).
When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
Luke 6:13-16
I don’t believe Judas intended to betray Jesus. The verse above says that he became a traitor. I believe Judas gave into his greed and it opened the door for the devil to take him captive to do his will (2 Timothy 2:26).
The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.
John 13:2
We can see Judas’ sin of greed when he earlier objected to the woman who poured expensive oil on Jesus.
But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.†He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.
John 12:4-6
When Jesus rebuked him in the following verse, Judas did not take heed and turn from his greed. His greed ultimately led him to use Jesus as opportunity to get more money.
Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?†So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.
Matthew 26:14-16
Sadly, Judas was like my grandma and filled with remorse for making money his god instead of Jesus.
When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders.
Matthew 27:3
Heavenly Father,
We praise You for giving us these examples to turn our focus to You and set our minds on the things above, not the perishable things of this word. Help us to put to death anything that we hold onto as god of our lives instead of You. We praise You that You are faithful to help us by Your Holy Spirit in us. We will not live in darkness and allow Satan to take us captive to do his will. He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world!
In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen!
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*Come back next Monday as the “Sin Series†continues.
*All Bible verses are taken from the NIV, unless otherwise noted.
*If you haven’t received Christ into your heart, click on the “SALVATION†tab at the top of the website.
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Posted in Monday's Blogs, Sin Series and tagged covet, Envy, evil eye, Greed, Holy Ghost, Jesus, Judas Iscariot by Amanda Beth with
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Monday’s Blog: Sin Series “Envyâ€
This is the seventh message in my series on sin in the church. Last week, I talked about how our spirit is perfectly holy in Christ. When our soul (mind, will, and emotions) and spirit are in agreement, our body (flesh) will follow.
I’ve already talked about bringing our mind into agreement with our spirit. Now we are focusing on our emotions.
James 3:14-16 warns us:
But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom†does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
We may not realize that envy is linked to selfishness. To be envious is to be discontent with who we are and what we have (focusing on ourselves), and to be jealous of and covet what someone else has.
Selfishness always leads to discontentment, which leads to envy. When we focus on ourselves we break our fellowship with the Lord. Jesus fills us with everything we need. When we try to fill ourselves, we will be left in lack. Our lack will then cause us to envy and seek what others have.
In the Old Testament, the Lord’s people were left unfulfilled and in lack as they pursued their own will instead of God’s will. The Lord spoke to them through the prophet Haggai:
Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.â€
This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,†says the Lord. “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?†declares the Lord Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house. Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the olive oil and everything else the ground produces, on people and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.
Haggai 1:5-11
The King James and Amplified Versions define envy as “an evil eye†because it is not of God; it is of the devil (see James 3 above). Envy distorts our vision so we can’t see the truth. The devil takes what we can’t have (what is harmful to us) and makes it appealing in order to trap us. He did that in the Garden of Eden with Eve. The serpent (devil) pointed out the only fruit that was forbidden. “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it†(Genesis 3:6).
Proverbs 7:21-23 shows how deceptively appealing adultery is, and the trap it leads us into:
With persuasive words she led him astray; she seduced him with her smooth talk. All at once he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer stepping into a noose till an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare, little knowing it will cost him his life.
The devil will also tempt us to envy what others have in order to prevent us from living out our calling. When my older brother and I were kids, my parents would hide eggs for us to find on Easter morning. My brother would follow behind me and then complain that I would get all the eggs. Every year, my parents would tell him to stop following me and find his own eggs. He would never listen and I’d always end up with more eggs than him.
I think we do the same thing in life. We see someone living out their calling, so we try to follow what they’re doing instead of seeking our own divine purpose. We are then left in lack while they are fulfilled. We complain at God and wonder why He’s blessing them more than us. But God is like my parents and telling us to stop following others and start following Him.
In my book “The LOVE Walk,†I shared how envy distorted the truth in my life for many years and kept me from my calling. When I started seeking God’s will, I found that most of the things I thought I had to have in the past, and was envious of in others, I didn’t even want. Envy blinds us of our true heart’s desires. It makes us think we need something that we don’t even want. Proverbs 14:30 says, “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.†Envy robs us of our life because it keeps us chasing after something we can never take hold of.
And I saw that all labor and all achievement spring from man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
Ecclesiastes 4:4
I remember the freedom I felt when I finally laid down everything I was chasing after and gave my will over to God’s will. When I stopped wanting what others had, and started seeking His will, I became free to be me. By being content with what God has given me, He has been able to bring out His heart’s desires in me. I couldn’t see those desires when they were buried in a heart filled with selfish ambition and envy.
Let not your heart envy sinners: but BE YOU in the fear of the LORD all the day long.
Proverbs 23:17 (AKJV)
Heavenly Father,
We praise You that You have no favorites. You will never bless anyone more or less than You would bless us. Your promises are the same for all who will receive them. We praise You that You have gifted and called each of us to a divine purpose. Help us to seek Your will so that we can live out the calling You have marked out for us. We praise You that Your gifts and calling are irrevocable (Romans 11:29). We turn from our selfish pursuits and seek Your will and receive our calling.
In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!
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*Come back next Monday as the “Sin Series†continues.
*All Bible verses are taken from the NIV, unless otherwise noted.
*If you haven’t received Christ into your heart, click on the “SALVATION†tab at the top of the website.
Posted in Monday's Blogs, Sin Series and tagged discontentment, Envy, fulfilled, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Selfish ambition, selfishness, Sin, sin series, unfulfilled by Amanda Beth with
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Monday’s Blog: Sin Series “Bitterness”
This is the sixth message in my series on sin. With Easter coming up, we celebrate the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Just as God sent Moses to deliver the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, Jesus was sent to deliver us out of slavery to sin. We have been set free from sin. It shall no longer be our master. But as the Israelites were tempted to return to slavery, we also face the temptation of returning to slavery by allowing sin to reign in our bodies.
The Bible says,
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
Romans 6:5-14
I heard a message recently about our spirit, soul and body. Our spirit is perfectly holy. Our soul is our mind, will and emotions. When our soul and spirit are in agreement, our body (flesh) will follow.
And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
Romans 8:11-13
We’ve already talked about bringing our mind into agreement with our spirit in the last two posts. The next few posts we’ll focus on our emotions. The remainder of the series will be on our will to turn away from temptations.
Galatians 5:13-16 tells us: You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.†If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh
We indulge our flesh when we allow bitterness and unforgiveness in our hearts. There is so much bitterness in the church today, especially toward each other. We are trying to reach out and love the world, but not loving our brothers and sisters in Christ. We can’t love the world when we are bitter toward one another.
Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.†Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky.
Philippians 2:14-15
I want to invite you to do an exercise God taught me to reveal why we are quick to take offense and become bitter toward one another.
Grab a pen and paper and make a list of everyone who offended or hurt you this year. Come back to this spot when you are finished.
Are you back with your list?
Great! Now I want you to make another list. This time, write down everyone you have offended or hurt this year.
Are you finished?
Now compare your lists.
Which list is longer?
Most likely, your first list is longer. When I made my lists, I could come up with a handful right off the top of my head of who hurt or offended me. But I had to think hard to remember who I’ve hurt or offended, and could only think of my husband and children, since they are with me the most.
Why is it easier to remember those who’ve hurt us than those we’ve hurt?
I believe there are two reasons: One, we are so busy and focused on what we have to do that we don’t realize what we do to others. Two, we don’t believe the best in others, so we often judge and perceive their motives wrongly.
Most of us don’t intentionally set ourselves out to hurt others. I don’t get up in the morning and think, “Who can I hurt or offend today?†Many times when we say or do something hurtful or offensive, we never intended to. Our hearts may be in the right place, but our actions or words come out wrong or are perceived wrong.
Several years ago, I was walking with my kids in the parking lot of my church when a woman nearly ran us over with her SUV. I was so upset at the woman that I didn’t pay attention to the couple opening the door for us as we were entering the church. I didn’t realize they opened the door until I heard them huff at me for not acknowledging them with a “Thank You!â€
A man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.
Proverbs 19:11
If I would have overlooked the offense in the parking lot like God instructed me to, I wouldn’t have offended the couple holding the door for us. If the couple holding the door would’ve overlooked my offense, they wouldn’t have responded rudely to me. The Amplified version for 1 Corinthians 13:7 says that love bears up under anything and everything that comes, and is ever ready to believe the best of every person. If we would’ve believed the best in each other, we would’ve seen that our perceptions were wrong.
The lady in the SUV didn’t purposely try to run my family over. It was an accident. She didn’t see us even though we were out in the open. She probably had something else on her mind. I didn’t mean to be rude to the couple holding the door for me. It was an accident. I didn’t see them even though I walked right past them. I had something else on my mind.
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Colossians 3:13
Isaiah 26:3 tells us that God will keep in perfect peace all who trust in Him, all whose thoughts are fixed on Him (NLT). When our minds are fixed on God, He will help us bring our emotions under submission and respond to one another in love.
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Ephesians 4:31-32
I encourage you to take your first list and rip it up right now and throw it away. Forgive those who hurt you just as Christ forgave you. If you wrote anyone on your second list, seek their forgiveness and receive God’s forgiveness for yourself. Leave no room in your heart for bitterness.
Heavenly Father,
We praise You for sending Jesus to set us free from sin. Thank You for having compassion on us so we can have compassion on others. Help us draw close to You, so You can remove all bitterness and unforgiveness in our hearts. Bring our mind, will and emotions into agreement with Your Holy Spirit so we make no provision for our flesh.
 In Jesus’ name we praise You! Amen!
But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
Romans 13:14, KJV
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*Come back next Monday as the “Sin Series†continues.
*All Bible verses are taken from the NIV, unless otherwise noted.
*If you haven’t received Christ into your life, click on the “SALVATION†tab at the top of the website.
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Posted in Monday's Blogs, Sin Series and tagged anger, bitterness, resentment, unforgiveness by Amanda Beth with
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Monday’s Blog: Sin Series “Unbeliefâ€
This is the fifth message in my series on sin. As I talked about pride last week, I mentioned how our carnal mind is defiled with unbelief.
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
Romans 8:7-8, KJV
Our carnal mind will always lead us in opposition to God’s will. Satan knows that. That’s why our mind is the battlefield where he attacks us the most. The Apostle Paul explained:
“By the humility and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul, who am ‘timid’ when face to face with you, but ‘bold’ toward you when away! I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world. For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.â€
2 Corinthians 10:1-5
When we let our carnal mind have free reign over us, by not taking our carnal thoughts captive and making them obedient to Christ (not accepting what doesn’t agree with the Word of God), we give Satan an inroad to set up strongholds of unbelief.
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Romans 8:5-6, NKJV
I wrote a message once on a promise God gave us in His Word. I shared all the Scriptures that confirmed this promise was given to us in Christ. “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ†(2 Corinthians 1:20). I also shared how God manifested this promise in my life and many others. A person who hadn’t seen that promise manifest in their life yet, came against me claiming it wasn’t true. Their argument was backed by human understanding (our carnal mind), not by spiritual understanding (mind of Christ). We have to stand firm believing God’s Word, not what others say or are experiencing.
For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar.
Romans 3:3-4, NKJV
Abraham took his carnal thoughts captive and stood in faith, believing God was faithful to His Word. Even though it was a fact that he and Sarah were too old to conceive, he knew what God promised him. He knew if God promised him a son, God would deliver him a son.
Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.†Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.
Romans 4:18-21
The Bible tells us to take up the shield of faith, with which we can extinguish all the flaming arrows of deception Satan throws at us (Ephesians 6:16). The church has not been holding up their shield of faith. As a result, we’ve allowed Satan in to sow deception and create false doctrine. And the Bible warns us it’s only going to get worse.
For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
2 Timothy 4:3
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves … lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.
They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected.
2 Timothy 3:1-8
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.
Colossians 2:8
Heavenly Father,
We praise You for showing us the truth in Your Word. Help us to take up our shield of faith and stand firm believing everything in Your Word. Help us to take captive every carnal thought and make it obedient to Christ. We want to take hold of all that You have promised us in Your Word. Help us believe even when we don’t see Your promises manifest right away. Jesus said if we abide in His Word, we are truly His disciples, and we will know the truth and the truth shall make us free (John 8:31-32). We must believe first before we see Your promises come to pass in our lives. In Jesus’ name we pray, believing Your Word is truth! Amen!
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
1 Peter 5:8-9
Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:1-2
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*Come back next Monday as the “Sin Series†continues.
*All Bible verses are taken from the NIV, unless otherwise noted.
*If you haven’t yet received Christ into your heart, click on the “SALVATION†tab at the top of the website.
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Posted in Monday's Blogs, Sin Series and tagged 2 Timothy 4:3, Carnal mind, Colossians 2:8, mind of Christ, Renewing our minds, unbelief by Amanda Beth with
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Monday’s Blog: Sin Series “Pride”
This is the fourth message in my series on the bondage of sin that is weighing down the body of Christ today. Last week, I talked about tolerating sin by allowing the world to be our teachers instead of Jesus.
James 4:4-10 warns:
You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.â€
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
The world is full of pride. It cannot submit to God’s authority. When we fall into pride we also can’t submit to His authority. The verse above exhorts: “purify your hearts, you double-minded.†To be double-minded means we believe in God but then we doubt His wisdom and authority.
James 1:5-8 explains:
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.Â
The reason we fall into doubt is because we submit too often to our carnal mind. Our carnal mind is defiled with unbelief. When we submit to it, it leads us in opposition to God’s will.
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
Romans 8:7, KJV
Our Spiritual mind is purified in Christ. When we submit to it, it leads us into God’s will.
For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
1 Corinthians 2:16, KJV
How many times do we seek God for His will on a matter, but then our minds start rolling through our own ideas of how to handle it? If we don’t cast down those carnal thoughts, and submit our minds to trust God’s authority, we will walk in opposition to His will.
I had a situation come up recently. I went to God with the matter, and I felt Him speak to me in my Spirit that I was to leave it in His hands and do nothing. Whenever God tells me to do nothing about something, I know right away it’s going to be a challenge for me. After submitting the situation to God, while waiting on Him to move, my mind continued to think about what I could do to help. Instead of casting down those thoughts, and praising God for coming to my defense and handling it, I submitted to my carnal mind and took the matter into my own hands. By the evening, the situation had spiraled into a huge mess. God humbled me and showed me how much grief could’ve been avoided had I listened to Him in the first place.
To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. Counsel and sound judgment are mine; I have understanding and power.
Proverbs 8:13-14
God has all the understanding and power. We don’t. So why would we not want to seek and accept His wisdom and His authority over our own? When the church operates in its own wisdom, it operates in opposition to God. God opposes the proud. Pride is what led to Satan’s destruction. Satan knows if he can tempt us to submit to our carnal mind, he can lead us to follow him to his destruction. I read a message recently that said “Satan promotes pride; it makes you like him (misery loves company).â€
God gives grace (power, strength and wisdom) to the humble. If we want to see change in the church we must humble ourselves before God. We as a body must be in unity of the spirit by each of us doing our part and operating in the mind of Christ. In everything we should seek and accept God’s wisdom over our own.
Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
Romans 12:16, KJV
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 15:5-6
I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.
1 Corinthians 1:10
Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.
2 Corinthians 13:11
Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
Philippians 1:27, NASB
Fulfill you my joy, that you be like minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
Philippians 2:2, KJV
I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord.
Philippians 4:2, KJV
Finally, be all of one mind, having compassion one with another, love as brethren, be tender hearted, be courteous:
1 Peter 3:8, KJV
Heavenly Father,
We praise You for giving us the mind of Christ that we may know You and understanding Your will. As these verses above clearly show us, it is Your will that we operate in the mind of the Spirit. Help us keep our thoughts on You and cast down everything that is in opposition to Your will. We humble ourselves before You, and lay down our wisdom in exchange for Your wisdom, Your power, and Your authority. In Jesus name, we submit to You. Amen!
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*Come back next Monday as the “Sin Series†continues.
*All Bible verses are taken from the NIV, unless otherwise noted.
*If you’ve never accepted Christ as your Savior, please click on the “SALVATION†tab at the top of the website. Don’t wait another day!
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Posted in Monday's Blogs, Sin Series and tagged body of Christ, fear of the Lord, God, Holy Spirit, Humility, Jesus Christ, mind of Christ, one mind, Pride, reverence, Romans 12:16, Sin, the church, unity by Amanda Beth with
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