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: 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 “Slandering The Church”
Last week, I started this series on the bondage of sin that is weighing down the body of Christ today. I want to clarify that this series is not meant to criticize or condemn the body of Christ. The Lord is leading me to warn and inform of the dangers of sin, and open the door for His Holy Spirit to convict where necessary. Condemnation is from the devil to pull us deeper into sin. Conviction is from God to turn us to Him so He can lift us out of sin.
Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.
Revelation 3:19
This week, I want to focus on slander. There is so much slander going on in the church today, particularly toward our own brothers and sisters in Christ. Have you noticed whenever a well-known preacher messes us, we are the first ones in line to throw a stone at them?
Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?
James 4:11-12
God humbled me once when I joined in on an online discussion to criticize a famous preacher for saying something unbiblical on National television. God humbled me by directing me to King David when Saul was pursuing to kill him. Even though Saul was clearly not obedient to God, David wouldn’t lift his hand or mouth against him because he was God’s anointed.
He said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the LORD.” With these words David rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul …
1 Samuel 24:6-7
God has the power to bring down the disobedient. Our criticism doesn’t humble them. God has to humble them.
But it is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another.
Psalm 75:7
I was once introduced to a woman who ran an online ministry. Shortly after following her ministry, it became apparent that her focus was to hatefully slander the body of Christ. During one of her hateful remarks toward the church, I felt led to humbly confront her. She responded harshly that she was called to rebuke the church and criticized me for not doing the same.
Criticism is not one of the gifts of the Spirit. In fact, 2 Timothy 2:16 warns us to “shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness†(KJV).
My husband and I once left our church that we had belonged to since we started following Christ twelve years ago. We left because of the slander we heard from others toward several in leadership positions. After years of hearing about the ungodliness and worldliness in our church, it started to embitter our hearts.
We were gone for almost two years and then God called us to humbly return. During our time away, God worked in our hearts and helped us focus on the sin in our lives. As God was purifying my heart, I began to feel sympathy and love for my church. Once God removed the plank in my eyes, I was able to see how much the Lord was working in my church, and that many were obedient to God and filled with the Spirit, especially our Pastor. As I allowed God to work in me, I was able to sincerely love and help my brothers and sisters who were in bondage to sin, instead of feeling bitter toward them and abandoning them.
Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.
1 Peter 1:22
As we continue to allow God to purify our hearts, and remove the sin in our lives, we can see clearly to help our brothers and sisters who are caught in sin. Criticizing and abandoning our brothers and sisters only causes more division in the body of Christ and pushes the world further away from Christ. Change in the body of Christ starts with you and me. We are responsible to allow the Holy Spirit to work in us so that He can work through us to bring unity and restoration in the church.
Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.
Galatians 6:1
Heavenly Father,
We praise You that You do not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities (Psalm 103:10). Your compassions never fail. They are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). Help us to have the same compassion for our brothers and sisters in Christ who are deceived and caught in Satan’s trap of sin. Cleanse our hearts and mouths so that we can speak Your truth in love to help set Satan’s captives free (2 Timothy 2:25-26). In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!
Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman.
Proverbs 15:1-3
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Kerry Johnson is sharing on her blog today Chapter Seven: Love Is Not Self-Seeking from my book “The LOVE Walk.” Follow this link to read it.
*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 backbiting, Baptism of Holy Spirit, body of Christ, division in the church, God, Jesus, Sin, Slander, unity by Amanda Beth with
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Monday’s Blog: God’s Promises Still Stand
I met a woman recently at my homeschool co-op class. Her name is Amanda also. I found out that she also writes blogs. For several weeks we’ve been sharing our stories and personal struggles with each other. She’s been going through a lot of hardship since her and her family stepped out and followed God’s will. Last week, she shared that she’s been fearful of looking back at the Scripture verses God first led her to before the arduous journey her family has been on the past few years. She explained that she’s been avoiding those chapters lately out of fear of disappointment.
As she shared her story with me, I realized that we were struggling with the same fear. When I surrendered my will over to God’s, and started following His plan, God spoke His will to me through two specific chapters in the Bible. For the first year or so, I would read the verses frequently with great expectation and hope. But as time went on, and troubles arose, I started losing hope as God’s plan appeared to be forgotten. I’ve avoided those verses out of the same fear Amanda had. I couldn’t face the disappointment that they hadn’t come to pass.
As I was talking to Amanda, I suddenly realized why God brought us together at that exact moment. I expressed to her, “Maybe God brought us here to tell us that those promises He spoke to us individually still stand.†Since then we’ve prayerfully re-read our verses and God has individually confirmed to us that His promises for us do indeed still stand.
For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn.
Romans 11:29, NLT
I love how God goes through great measures to remind His children that His promises are true. He never takes back His Word. If God promises us something, He will deliver. We must not give up and lose faith when we don’t see His promises come to pass in the time frame we expect.
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.
By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise.
Hebrews 11:1-2, 11
If you are waiting for a promise to come to pass, God is speaking this message to you too. His promises for you still stand. Don’t be afraid to look back at those promises. Psalm 119:148 says, “My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises.†Continue meditating on God’s promises, and keep the faith that they will come to pass at just the right time.
Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up. You will increase my honor and comfort me once again. I will praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praise to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel. My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you—I, whom you have redeemed.
Psalm 71:20-23
*I want to thank my friend, Amanda, for giving me permission to share this message. You can read her inspiring messages on her blog: I’m Still Clay
Posted in Monday's Blogs and tagged faith, God, God's promises, hope, Jesus, Jesus Christ by Amanda Beth with
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Monday’s Blog: Is it God who’s late?
Have you ever received a provision or blessing from God and thought, “I really could have used this a couple weeks ago. Why did it come so late?â€
My parents have been going back and forth for several months about whether or not they should sell their house. They finally came to an agreement to call their realtor and see if it was the right time. After talking to their realtor they decided to wait a few more days to decide if they should go ahead with it. After a few days, they called their realtor and asked if they could wait a week before putting it on the market. A few days before it was going to be listed, their realtor informed them of a pastor and his wife that had been looking for a home in their neighborhood. The couple needed to move to that area, but they hadn’t been able to find anything. So they recently pulled their house off the market and stopped looking. The realtor asked my parents if the pastor’s family could look at the house that evening. My parents agreed and the pastor and his family walked through the house and loved it. It was exactly what they’d been waiting for. That same night they made an offer and my parents accepted.
I thought about how many times we’ve prayed for something that we knew was in God’s will, but it didn’t happen when expected. It may be that we weren’t waiting for God to move, but God was waiting for someone else to move through.
A couple years ago, I prayed for God to send me provision for a need I had. Several weeks later, I received His provision through a friend of mine. When my friend blessed me with God’s provision, she expressed, “I am so sorry. God spoke to me to give this to you several weeks ago. But I got busy and I kept putting it off.â€
God works through people. Sometimes it takes a while to get us moving and do what God instructs us to.
A couple weeks ago, my husband went to the mall to return something he bought online. When he left the mall, we checked the receipt and found they gave him $30 more than he purchased it for online. Instead of returning the cash right away, I thought I’d inquire about it online. I got busy during the week and put it off for a few days. When I got around to emailing them, they informed me to go back to the store and talk to the manager. I didn’t want to go back to the mall, so I put it off again.
I got a call a few days later from my parents. They invited me to meet them at that mall. I knew God was reminding me to get moving and return that money. I went to the mall and told the cashier about the mistake and returned the $30. I thought the girl was going to jump up and hug me. She was ecstatic. She told me that she was the one who gave my husband the wrong return amount. She said they had spent hours trying to figure out why they were $30 short. I felt bad and apologized for being so late. She replied that she was just happy I came back and it worked out.
When God is speaking to us to move and deliver His provision to someone, it’s best to obey right away. When we have a need and God’s provision takes a little longer than we expect, it’s encouraging to know that He will still come through and work everything out for our good.
I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands.
Psalm 119:60
Posted in Monday's Blogs and tagged Christian living, Don't delay, giving, God, God's provision, Jesus, obedience by Amanda Beth with
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Preparing For Your Calling Series: “Be Faithfulâ€
In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.
—2 Timothy 2:20
This is the last message in my series on preparing for your calling. Follow this link to read all the messages in this series. In the first message, I talked about following Jesus as He leads us into our calling. Today we end with following Jesus in our calling.
The third time Jesus appeared to His disciples after he rose from the dead, He commissioned Simon Peter to feed His sheep and told him, “I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.â€
Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!†(John 21:18-19).
Peter turned and saw John following them and asked, “Lord, what about him?â€
Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me†(John 21:21-22).
When God reveals to us our calling, we may not always like where He wants to lead us. We have to be careful that we don’t take our eyes off Jesus and start looking at and coveting someone else’s calling. We are one in Christ, but each of us has a different role. Each role is vital to support the body of Christ as a whole and help it grow.
From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Ephesians 4:16
When we follow Jesus we have sufficient anointing to do His will. When we try to do what someone else is called to do, we step away from Jesus and His anointing, and do not bear any fruit to contribute to help the body of Christ grow.
I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
John 15:5
When God led me to start writing, I took my eyes off Jesus many times trying to do something I wasn’t called to do. Each time I tried to follow what someone else was doing or what others expected me to do, instead of following Jesus, it was a heavy burden that left me exhausted and produced no fruit.
While publishing my first book, I received many invitations to write, teach and mentor on marriage and parenting. Since my book was written to help marriages and families, it was expected that would be where I was called to minister. But after accepting a few invitations I quickly saw that the same anointing I had while writing the book was not with me in those other things. So I cancelled and turned down all the invitations and sought Jesus where He was leading me and where His anointing was with me.
Jesus said, “Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.â€
John 12:26
I was listening to Christian radio recently and a local vocal artist shared how God called her to the ministry. She encouraged her listeners to seek God for His will, write the vision down and stay the course, following Jesus every step of the way. This past weekend I prayed for God to show me His will where He was leading me next. I remembered the advice from the artist and started writing down anything the Holy Spirit revealed to me.
After I was finished, I was humbled by what God led me to write down. Majority was little things in my relationship with my husband and children, in my finances, and in my relationship with the Lord. At the end were just a few small writing assignments that God was leading me to finish. It was a humbling reminder that we don’t have to do something big to do our part in the body of Christ. We just need to follow Jesus and start where we are at, and not neglect being obedient in the little things.
He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
Luke 16:10, KJV
I want to encourage you to continue following Jesus. Write down the vision He’s given you. Whatever He calls you to do, don’t despise it. Do your best to be faithful where you are right now, and do your part to support the body of Christ and help it grow. As you are faithful with little, you will be faithful with more.
His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
Matthew 25:23
Heavenly Father,
I praise You for ministering to us through this series. Help me to follow Jesus and be obedient to You in my calling. Show me Your vision for me. Help me not to despise these small beginnings. I want to do my part in the body of Christ. I will be faithful and start right where I am at today. I praise You that Your anointing is with me enabling me to do everything You’ve called me to do.
In Jesus’ name, Amen!
Verses To Meditate On:
 Titus 3:14; 1 Timothy 4:12-16; Matthew 25:23
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Posted in Monday's Blogs, Preparing For Your Calling Series and tagged 2 Timothy 2:20, anointing, Disciple of Jesus Christ, Faithful, Holy Spirit, Jesus by Amanda Beth with
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Preparing For Your Calling Series: “From Defeat To Victoryâ€
In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.
—2 Timothy 2:20
This is the ninth message in my series on preparing for your calling. Last week, I talked about God appointing Joseph to lead the Israelites out of the wilderness. After leaving the wilderness, the first place they camped at was Gilgal (Joshua 4:19).
Gilgal has two meanings. It’s Hebrew for “circle†and “wheel.†“Circle†symbolizes that God brought them full-circle. They would no longer have to go around the same mountain over and over again. “Wheel†symbolizes that God rolled away the reproach of Eqypt. They would no longer carry the shame and disgrace of their former captivity.
Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.†So the place has been called Gilgal to this day.
Joshua 5:9
I did a Bible study recently about believing God to bring us to our Gilgals. In the study, God showed me a few of my Gilgals where He brought me full-circle and rolled away my reproach. One Gilgal was in my marriage. My husband and I had marriage problems from the moment we said “I do.†We never wanted anyone to know because we were ashamed, so we kept it hidden for many years. We continued around the same mountain of defeat year after year. We never thought we’d see victory.
God was faithful and He worked through the years to heal our marriage. And in April 2009, He led me to write a book about it. It took me two and a half years to write the book. During those two and a half years, our marriage was tried even greater than in the past. A month before the book’s release our marriage hit a wall. We had to make a choice. Either we bust through it, or turn back in defeat and go back around the same mountain again. Instead of turning back, we pressed through it and God gave us victory!
God brought us full-circle and finally broke the cycle of defeat in our marriage. He not only took away the reproach and brought us victory, but He also produced seeds for us to sow into other marriages. The first six months of the book’s release, God provided for us to give away over 10,000 copies of the book! That’s 10,000 seeds God made possible for us to plant!
The LORD God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as ye are, and bless you, as he hath promised you!
Deuteronomy 1:11
We had to experience defeat first in order to experience victory. First Corinthians 15:36 says, “What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.†And Jesus said in John 12:24, “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.â€
What seeds would I have been able to sow had my marriage been alive and perfect all along? Sure it was painful to go through that trial. When something is dying, it hurts. But now that I’ve seen the miracle God’s worked in my marriage, and the seeds it’s producing, I wouldn’t change a thing. I am no longer ashamed to talk about my marriage problems. God has rolled away the reproach.
… The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;
1 Corinthians 15:42-43
I want to encourage you not to despise the trials you’re going through as God’s leading you into your calling. Let God bring you full-circle to your Gilgals. He will give you victory, roll away the reproach and bring a harvest like nothing you’ve ever seen before. Then the reproach you once despised will be the seed you cherish the most!
Those who cry while they plant will joyfully sing while they harvest.
Psalm 126:5, GW
Heavenly Father,
I praise You for giving us victory in Christ! Bring us to our Gilgals, so we don’t have to go around the same mountain over and over again. Roll away our reproaches and turn them into seeds for us to plant, so You can produce a bountiful harvest in our lives and the lives of others.
In Jesus’ name, we praise You! Amen!
Verses To Meditate On:
1 Peter 4:12-13; James 5:7-11; 1 Peter 5:6-10
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Posted in Monday's Blogs, Preparing For Your Calling Series and tagged 2 Timothy 2:20, Defeat, Discipleship, Gilgal, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Reproach, Victory by Amanda Beth with
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Preparing For Your Calling Series: “Your Appointed Missionâ€
I recently found out those of you who signed up to receive email notifications haven’t been receiving them for several months. I’m so sorry. The problem has been fixed and you should now be receiving them every Monday.
For the last seven weeks I’ve been doing a series on preparing for your calling. If you missed any posts in this series, you can follow these links below:
Week 1: You Have A Calling
Week 2: Loving God More Than The World
Week 3: Emptying And Filling
Week 4: Single Minded
Week 5: God’s Blessings
Week 6: Believing Jesus’ Teachings
Week 7: Be Strong And Courageous
In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.
—2 Timothy 2:20
Last week, I talked about being strong and courageous and keeping your confidence as you step into God’s calling. Today we will focus on the mission of our calling.
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.â€
Matthew 9:35-38
No matter what part of the field God sends us to, we are all given the same mission: to love, reach, feed and lead Jesus’ sheep until He returns. As Jesus stated above, I think the workers are few because too many Christians think they have to be a pastor or a preacher to reach and disciple people. God can use us to reach and minister to those in our neighborhoods. He can use us to reach and minister to our families. He can use us to reach and minister to those in our jobs, our communities, and even our churches.
I am a stay at home mom of four children. I didn’t have a platform or church pulpit to minister from when God called me. The first assignment God gave me was to borrow a women’s Bible study from my church and lead the study in my home. I sent invites to all my family and friends, and anyone I knew in my neighborhood and community. That one study grew and many more studies followed. For two and a half years, God used those studies to reach and disciple women of all ages and walks of life. Some didn’t know Christ. Some were just starting their walk with Christ. Others were mature in their walk with Christ. By simply opening my home each week, I was able to love, reach, feed and lead many of Jesus’ sheep.
Before God told Moses that Joshua was chosen to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land, Moses said to the LORD, “May the LORD, the God of the spirits of all mankind, appoint a man over this community to go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so the Lord’s people will not be like sheep without a shepherd.â€
Numbers 27:15-17
To prepare you to love, reach, feed and lead those in the community God appoints you, God first has to give you a heart of compassion. You can’t love without having compassion. And you can’t reach and minister to others without love.
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3
Jesus has compassion and love for us because the Bible says that He is able to sympathize with our weaknesses. He has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin (Hebrews 4:15). In the same way, God uses our wilderness times to purify our hearts and soften them so that we would have compassion first for ourselves, and then for others.
We have to learn to be compassionate toward ourselves first because if we are hard on ourselves, we will be hard on others. I used to be extremely hard on myself. It affected all my relationships, especially my marriage. God opened my eyes to this when my husband expressed to me once: “I feel like you are always disappointed in me. I feel like I constantly let you down.†I couldn’t sympathize with his weaknesses because I hadn’t received God’s grace for my weaknesses.
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 4:16
I want to encourage you today to receive God’s mercy for yourself so you can fulfill your calling to love, reach, feed and lead those in the community God appoints you.
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
1 Timothy 1:12-17
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Prayer For The Week:
Heavenly Father,
We praise You for having mercy on us and forgiving all our sins. Cleanse our hearts and fill it with love and compassion for others. Appoint us to the community You need us most. Help us to love, reach, feed and lead Your sheep to Jesus, our good and faithful Shepherd.Â
In His name we pray, Amen!
Verses To Meditate On:
1 Timothy 1:5 (AMP version); Ephesians 4:1-16
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Posted in Monday's Blogs, Preparing For Your Calling Series and tagged 2 Timothy 2:20, compassion, Disciple, Discipleship, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, lost sheep, love, shepherd, Your Calling by Amanda Beth with
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Preparing For Your Calling Series: “Be Strong and Courageousâ€
In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.
—2 Timothy 2:20
This is the seventh message in my series on preparing for your calling. Follow this link to read previous posts in this series. Last week, we saw that Joshua spent time pursuing God on his own, and God chose him to eventually lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. After the death of Moses, as God was preparing Joshua to cross the Jordan, He told Joshua:
“Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.â€
Joshua 1:1-9
God reminds Joshua to be strong and courageous. He then emphasizes to be strong and “very†courageous. Then a third time He “commands†him to be strong and courageous. As if that wasn’t enough, a few verses later the Israelites remind Joshua once again to be strong and courageous.
Then they answered Joshua, “Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses. Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey your words, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!â€
Joshua 1:16-18
Why all the reminders to be strong and courageous? Joshua had already been told a few chapters earlier. Why was it so important to continue reminding him?
Before Moses died, Moses encouraged the Israelites, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you†(Deuteronomy 31:6).
He then encouraged Joshua, “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their forefathers to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged†(Deuteronomy 31:7-8).
Then the Lord commanded Joshua, “Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land I promised them on oath, and I myself will be with you†(Deuteronomy 31:23).
Each time Joshua and the Israelites were told to be strong and courageous, they were also reminded that God would be with them and would never leave them. The purpose of reminding them was to help them gain confidence to fight the battles that were ahead. Without confidence they would be quickly overtaken and wouldn’t accomplish God’s will.
God will often call us to do things that are beyond our own ability. It can be scary to do something that you know you have no power to do on your own. God tells us not to be afraid because He is with us, ready to help us succeed in His plan.
When the Sennacherib threatened Jerusalem, King Hezekiah told the people to: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.†And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said.
2 Chronicles 32:6-8
When God called me to start writing, the first verse He told me to hold on to was Hebrews 10:35-36: “So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.â€
Once reality kicked in, and I saw that I had no experience in writing, I became scared. As soon as I took my eyes off God and started focusing on my own ability, fear began settling in. For about a month, I couldn’t write anything. Every time I tried to write I was unable. I started questioning if I had made a mistake and God didn’t call me to write. I felt stuck. I didn’t know what to do.
One evening, I was watching a Bible study video. The message was on Hebrews 10:35. The preacher had a trash can next to her as she shared a story about losing her confidence early in ministry. As she tossed a piece of paper (that symbolized her confidence) in the trash, God opened my eyes and showed me that’s what I had done.
Immediately, I got out my laptop and started writing. Full of confidence in the Spirit, the words came pouring out of me like a flood. It was amazing. Once I had my confidence back that God was with me and helping me, His spirit was unhindered and able to work through me.
But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.
2 Chronicles 15:7
I hope this message encourages you to be strong and courageous. Don’t throw away your confidence that God is with you. Don’t focus on your inabilities. Focus on God’s abilities. And watch what His Spirit can do through you!
“But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.â€Â
Jeremiah 17:7-8
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Prayer For The Week:
Heavenly Father,
I praise You for always being with me. I know You will never call me to do anything that You won’t be there to help me accomplish. Thank you for giving me confidence in Your ability. I am not afraid. I know that I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. I am strong and very courageous!
In Jesus’ name, I praise You! Amen!
Verses To Meditate On:
1 Chronicles 22:11-13; 1 Chronicles 28:20; Proverbs 3:25-26
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Posted in Monday's Blogs, Preparing For Your Calling Series and tagged 2 Timothy 2:20, Courage, Courageous, Disciple, Discipleship, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Preparing For Your Calling by Amanda Beth with
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