Amanda BethSharing the Truths Behind the TRUTH

Nov 28th Monday’s Blog: Blessed Are The Pure In Heart

We continue our series on the Beatitudes with Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”

Do you long to see God? Do you long to hear His voice? Do you long to know Him? Do you long to understand His will for your life?

God wants us to know Him. He wants us to hear His voice. He wants to reveal His will for our lives. But the only way we can be close to God is through a purified heart.

So how do we get a purified heart?

God said, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26).

When we receive Jesus, we are born again and given a new heart and a new spirit. But because we still live in this body, we have a sinful flesh. Therefore, we have an important responsibility to keep our new hearts from being contaminated by sin.

To keep our hearts pure, we need to set our minds on spiritual things, not on worldly lusts. We need to put to death the things of our flesh and receive the things of the Spirit. We put to death the things of our flesh when we stop feeding and satisfying our sinful appetites. We receive the things of the Spirit by feeding our minds and hearts the Word of God daily.

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. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these….

—Colossians 3:2-7

Some Christians think that Jesus just came to give them a ticket to heaven and that’s it. They receive His atonement for their sins, but continue living in sin like nothing has changed. They don’t realize they have a responsibility to guard that precious gift Jesus’ died to give them—a new heart to see God, to hear Him, and to know Him.

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

—2 Corinthians 4:6-7

What an amazing treasure we have within us! We have the Holy Spirit of our Creator shining His light in our hearts so we can know Him. Yet we cover that light when we fill our hearts with anything other than Jesus.

Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

When we stop seeking worldly pleasures, and start seeking God with all our hearts, we will find Him. In my life, I know when I am seeking God with all my heart. I can hear His voice, understand His will, and feel His presence in my life. But when I start to let my guard down and slowly let disappointments, unbelief, or worldly desires creep in and take up residence in my heart, I can feel myself slowly drifting away from Him. I can no longer hear His voice or feel His presence. That’s when I run back to God in tears repenting that I gave my heart to the world instead of Him.

Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If any one loves the world, there is no love in his heart for the Father.

—1 John 2:15, WNT

I encourage you today to give your whole heart over to Jesus. Don’t let anything take up residence in your heart over your relationship with your Creator. God is not looking for perfection in us. He only wants our hearts. When He has our hearts, He will perfect us.

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**Prayer for the week**

 Heavenly Father,

We praise You for giving us a new heart. A heart to know You. A heart to hear Your voice. A heart to feel Your presence in our lives. Help us to keep our hearts pure and our minds set on You.

In Jesus’ precious name, Amen!

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*If you have never accepted Christ as your Savior, please click on the “SALVATION” tab at the top of the website. Don’t wait another day!

*Come back next Monday as I share more of God’s Truths and the reasons behind the Truths.

*All Bible verses are taken from the NIV, unless otherwise noted.

Nov 14th Monday’s Blog: Blessed Are The Merciful

We are halfway through our series on the Beatitudes. If you missed any of the previous posts in this series you can view them here. This week we move on to Matthew 5:7, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”

James 2:12-13 says, “Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!”

This is a strong command. If we are not merciful to others, we will not be shown mercy.

Why does God tell us to be merciful? Because we have sinned against Him immeasurably more than anything anyone can do to us. When we realize how much mercy God has given us, we have no excuse but to have mercy on others.

Those who understand how much they have been forgiven for will have a merciful heart toward others.

In Luke 7, a woman who had lived a sinful life came and wet Jesus’ feet with her tears. While the Pharisees were quick to judge her, Jesus had mercy on her. He expressed, “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven–for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little” (Luke 7:47).

I think it’s often harder to be merciful toward those who are struggling with something we haven’t experienced before. For instance, I have a lot of mercy for parents, and couples struggling in their marriages. I have made a lot of mistakes in my marriage and raising my children, but God has shown me mercy.

When I see a parent frustrated with their children, while others are pointing their fingers in disgust, I want to run and hug the parent. I have mercy because I understand their struggles. I know it is impossible to be a good parent without God’s grace. Therefore, I can’t judge parents when they lose their patience.

I’m the same way toward spouses who are causing trouble in their marriages. When someone shares a marriage problem with me, I find myself feeling sorrow for the spouse who is doing wrong, because I know what it is like to be blinded by sin. You don’t see how much you are hurting your family.

This doesn’t mean we have to be in everyone’s situation to have mercy on others. Jesus was already tempted in every way. So we learn how to be merciful to others through Him.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

—Hebrews 4:15-16

One thing I have prayed often is for God to help me see people through His eyes. I want to see others as God sees them. I don’t want to have an unmerciful heart because I need God’s mercy. I know what I am like without Him. And if I need His mercy, then others need it as well.

While God softens our hearts toward others, we still need to show mercy. Don’t wait until you have a merciful heart to give mercy, because you likely won’t feel it until after you do it.

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**Prayer for the week**

Heavenly Father,

We praise You for Your great mercy on us. We know we have been forgiven for more than anything anyone can ever do to us. Help us to use this knowledge to be merciful toward others, so we will be shown mercy when we stumble.   

In Jesus’ precious name, Amen!

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*If you have never accepted Christ as your Savior, please click on the “SALVATION” tab at the top of the website. Don’t wait another day!

*Come back next Monday as I share more of God’s Truths and the reasons behind the Truths.

*All Bible verses are taken from the NIV, unless otherwise noted.

Nov 7th Monday’s Blog: Blessed Are Those Who Hunger And Thirst For Righteousness

We continue our series on the Beatitudes this week with Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”

Do you hunger to live a life pleasing to God? Do you seek Him daily as a greater necessity than food and water?

If we desire to live for God and seek Him with all our hearts, why do we sometimes feel unfulfilled? The amplified version for Matthew 5:6 says, “… for they shall be completely satisfied!”

I believe one of the main reasons why we have a hard time feeling completely satisfied in our walk with Christ is because we set too high standards for ourselves. We expect more from ourselves than God does. We set the bar at where we think we are acceptable to Him. And the more we grow, the higher we raise that bar.

As I grow in my relationship with Christ, I have a greater tendency to fall into works of the flesh, thinking I need to do more to please God. God may expect more from us as He gives us greater responsibilities, but His love for us never changes. He loves us when we don’t follow Him the same as He loves us when we do follow Him. God’s love for us isn’t based on what we do.

… you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions … For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.

—Ephesians 2:1-9

One morning, after days of exhausting myself “trying” to please God, I awoke to envisioning Him looking down on me with a big smile, saying “Good morning, my child. I love you!”

Despite my shortcomings, God reached down and took my anxiety and guilt away and filled my spirit with joy at the revelation of His love.

Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn … The Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.

—Isaiah 51:1-3

We sometimes need a refreshing reminder of God’s unconditional love for us. When I know God is pleased with me, not because of what I do but because of His love for me, I fall less. When I am filled with His love, I am not easily led astray, seeking to find satisfaction in other things. When I know God’s smiling down on me, I am completely satisfied because His approval is all I need to sustain me.

God’s love is always more than enough to satisfy us. If we are not satisfied in our walk with Christ, we are not receiving the love God wants to give us. Jesus fills us with everything we need when we receive Him into our lives, but we need to continually reach out to God to keep us filled. If you are dissatisfied in your walk with Christ today, run into the arms of your Heavenly Father and ask Him to fill you with a greater revelation of His love.

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!

— 1 John 3:1

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**Prayer for the week**

Heavenly Father,

We praise You that Your love is more than enough to completely satisfy us. We pray that You would give every one of us a greater revelation of Your love this week. May we always come to You and not the world when we are hungry and thirsty. For You alone can  fill us.

In Jesus’ precious name we pray, Amen!

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*If you have never accepted Christ as your Savior, please click on the “SALVATION” tab at the top of the website. Don’t wait another day!

*Come back next Monday as I share more of God’s Truths and the reasons behind the Truths.

*All Bible verses are taken from the NIV, unless otherwise noted.

Oct 17th Monday’s Blog: Blessed Are Those Who Mourn

This is the second blog in our series on the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-12. This week we move on to verse four: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

There are many things in this world that weigh down our hearts. I want to focus on five main depressors that bring us down, and share how to receive comfort in the Lord:

 

Depressor: The Devil

Our adversary, the devil, pursues to steal, kill and destroy everything God has given us. The Bible says, “…But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short….Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring—those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus” (Revelation 12:12, 17).

Comforter: The Bible

When I am being attacked by the devil, I find great comfort in the Word of God. When Jesus was tried and tempted by the devil, He sent the devil fleeing when He tore down his lies with the Word of God (Matthew 4:1-11).

The lies the devil hands us are like weights. He can’t force us to carry them. We have a choice to receive them. The more lies we carry through our lives the more they weigh us down. The Word of God exposes the lies we carry (the weights). Once exposed, we can let go of those weights and refuse to take hold of them again.

 

Depressor: Sin

Sometimes we think the devil is attacking us when it’s our wrong choices that create problems in our lives. We want to blame the devil for our problems, but we don’t want to take responsibility for our actions. We can’t disregard God’s commands and expect to live a blessed life. God gives us His commands for our benefit. He knows sin hurts us. If we refuse to follow Him, we will reap the consequences.

Comforter: The Holy Spirit       

Jesus said, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” (John 14:26, KJV).

I find great comfort knowing God’s Holy Spirit is living in me. It is comforting knowing God is teaching us and guiding us every day. When we fall into sin, He is always there to grasp our hands in support and lift us out.

 

Depressor: Condemnation

The Holy Spirit convicts us when we sin. The devil, on the other hand, tries to condemn us when we sin. We have to be careful not to confuse the Holy Spirit’s conviction with condemnation. Conviction makes us aware of our sins so we can confess and turn away from them. Condemnation keeps us feeling guilty in our sins.

Comforter: Jesus Christ

Romans 8:1-3 says, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.”

Once we accept Christ, we are set free from the power of sin. We don’t become sinless like Jesus was when He walked the earth, but we are forgiven for our sins and justified before God. So we don’t need to beat ourselves up every time we fall short.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

—Romans 3:23-24

 

Depressor: Hardships

In our struggles against sin, and in times of hardships, we must not refuse the Lord’s discipline.

Comforter: God

In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.” Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?

—Hebrews 12:4-7

God takes the trials of this world and the consequences that come from the wrong choices we make and uses those to train us and lead us into holiness. If we allow God to teach us, by not refusing His correction, we will reap a harvest of righteousness in our lives. Hebrews 12:10-11 says, “…God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”

 

Depressor: Pain in the world

As I grow closer to the Lord, He opens my eyes to the needs around me. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed knowing so many people are suffering. It’s not only the obvious physical suffering that brings me down; it’s more importantly the great spiritual suffering in the body of Christ that I see today. Many Christians are not living the life Jesus died to give them. I truly mourn for the world today. If we are not being the hands and feet of Jesus, how is the world going to know the Truth?

Comforter: Grace

God reminds me of Elijah whenever I begin to lose hope in the body of Christ. In Romans 11:2-4 Paul talks about Elijah’s appeal to God against Israel: “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me.”  God’s answer to Elijah was: “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”

In the next verse Paul explains, “So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.”

We can find comfort knowing our works will not bring about change, God’s grace will.

In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.

—Acts 2:17-18

 

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**Prayer for the week**

Heavenly Father,

We praise You that we can always find comfort in You. Help us to stand against the enemy’s deception with the Word of God. Help us to turn away from sin by following Your Holy Spirit. Help us not to fall into condemnation when You convict us of sin. Help us to accept Your correction and allow You to train us and lead us into Your Holiness. And help us to mourn for the lost and hurting, and lead them to Your matchless grace.

In Jesus’ precious name, Amen!

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*If you have never accepted Christ as your Savior, please click on the “SALVATION” tab at the top of the website. Don’t wait another day!

*Come back next Monday as I share more of God’s Truths and the reasons behind the Truths.

*All Bible verses are taken from the NIV, unless otherwise noted.

Oct 10th Monday’s Blog: Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit

This is the first blog in our series on the Beatitudes Jesus taught in Matthew 5:3-12. This week we focus on verse 3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

I used to think that poor in spirit meant saddened and downcast. I thought it meant we were to feel lowly and down because we are sinners.

The amplified version explains the true meaning of poor in spirit: “Blessed (happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous-with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the poor in spirit (the humble, who rate themselves insignificant), for theirs is the kingdom of heaven!”

The poor in spirit are the humble. The humble are not downcast or saddened; they are filled with the joy of the Lord. The humble, those who rate themselves insignificant, seek to lift Christ up instead of lifting themselves up. The humble live to make Christ known, not to make themselves known.

I read a sign recently that said, “It’s better to be faithful than to be famous.” We are to strive to be faithful, not strive to be popular with the world.

I always wanted to be famous growing up. I battled with insecurity most of my life, so I thought being popular would help me overcome my insecurity. After I graduated high school I started pursuing a modeling career. My life dream was to see myself on the cover of a magazine. I wanted to be known.

I eventually got my ticket into modeling after landing an agent at a modeling conference. However, once reality hit me I realized I didn’t want to be a model and I backed out. Modeling didn’t make me satisfied. It didn’t take away my insecurity. In fact, it made me even more insecure. I was so driven by the desire to make a name for myself that I was blinded from my true desires.

Soon after, God got a hold of my heart and started working in me and humbling me. I started to see that God didn’t put me on this earth to make myself known. He put me here to make Christ known. I found that true happiness, and the confidence I desperately desired, was only attained through laying down my ego and pride and allowing Christ to be lifted up in me.

Now, my desire is not to see myself famous, but to make Christ famous. I want His Name to be known everywhere I go. I want to take every opportunity I have to share His glory with the world.

I had nothing to offer the world when I was striving to be famous. Being popular would have only fed my pride and insecurity and led to my downfall. That’s why we see so many celebrities fall. We were not meant to worship man, and we were not meant to be worshiped. We were called to worship only the Lord our God. He is the only One that is to be praised and lifted up.

Chuck Balsamo wrote in his book, Make Me A Legend, “Certainly you have noticed how fast today’s superstar burns up and then fades away. Everyone built on a poor foundation of twisted intentions and rotten character always ends with a humiliating collapse.”

I’ve been talking to other authors lately. I’m finding that many struggle with promoting their books because they are afraid of promoting themselves. I’ve struggled with thinking that as well, but as I told them, God knows our hearts. He knows our motives behind the things that we do. He knows our true intentions. He knows when we are trying to promote ourselves instead of promoting His message.

My friend told me recently that she has been trying to pay attention to her motives. She said it’s amazing how much pride you find when you look at the motive behind everything you do. She shared an example when she fixed the copier at her work. When her boss asked her about the copier, she wanted to say, “I fixed it.” But knowing she would be praising herself, she humbly said “we fixed it” to include the others who worked on it. The boss replied “You mean, you fixed it!” knowing she was really the one who fixed it.

This is a great example of Proverbs 27:2: “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; someone else, and not your own lips.” We don’t need to praise ourselves and lift ourselves up. We are to praise God and lift up the work He is doing through us. When we are humble, God will lift us up and recognize us. God’s favor will be on us everywhere we go when we walk humbly with Him. When we are humble, we won’t need to make ourselves known. God will make us known because His glory will be shining brightly upon us!

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm. Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy….

—Isaiah 60:1-5

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**Prayer for the week**

Heavenly Father,

We praise You that you share Your glory with us! Help us to walk humbly with You all the days of our lives. Help us to live each day making the most of every opportunity to share Jesus’ love with the world. Help us to lay down our worldly pursuits and our pride. And help us to humble ourselves, pick up our crosses, and follow You.

In Jesus’ precious name, Amen!

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*If you have never accepted Christ as your Savior, please click on the “SALVATION” tab at the top of the website. Don’t wait another day!

*Come back next Monday as I share more of God’s Truths and the reasons behind the Truths.

*All Bible verses are taken from the NIV, unless otherwise noted.