Christian Christmas Gift Guide – To Encourage Her
A Christian Christmas Gift Guide to Encourage HerThis gift guide is full of gift ideas designed to ENCOURAGE. Whether it's for your grandma, mom, sister, aunt, cousin, friend, daughter, niece, coworker, WHOEVER, these gifts for HER are focused on uplifting. I hope you...
Rooting Out Pride Part 1 – The Power of Pride
Living purposefully, for a Christian, goes hand in hand with living the way God calls us to live.
It calls us to step into what He calls us to step into, but it also calls us to root out the things He hates. One of those things is pride.
Isaiah 2:12 says very clearly, “For the LORD of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up–and it shall be brought low.”
James 4:6 says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Proverbs 16:5 is very firm when it states, “Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the LORD; be assured, he will not go unpunished.”
On a very practical level, we can see that pride destroys.
If God HATES pride and if pride brings destruction, it must go. Pride needs to be taken out. Living the way God calls us to live, living purposefully, does not allow for pride.
Don’t Grow Weary In Doing Good
Have you ever gotten tired of doing the right thing? Maybe you’re listening to your conscience, trying to do good deeds or walking in obedience to God. But sometimes it can get EXHAUSTING.
Often we either get no reward for doing good, we get no praise for obeying God and we even get punished or ridiculed for obeying God or listening to our conscience.
It can be hard to, like Peter and the apostles in Acts 5:29, live with the mentality that “We must obey God rather than men.”
Galatians 6:7-10, speaks to everyone who may feel this very relatable way: “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”
It’s a call to not grow weary. If we sow to the flesh – to earthly or sinful things – we will reap corruption, but when we sow to the Spirit – the things of God – the verse promises that we WILL reap eternal life.
It promises again “we will reap” — if we do not grow weary of doing good.
Praising Him In Highs and Lows
In the difficulties and the struggle, we’re to make our boast in Him because He is capable, He is gracious, He is God! But sometimes it seems difficult to praise Him in the midst of hardship. It doesn’t come naturally, and, sometimes, it’s the last thing on our mind. We’d rather fret and tell God our worries. There’s nothing wrong with that, but we forget we are called to remember who He is and praise Him. So how do we get to the point where we boast in God through the hard times and good times? The truth is it’s a decision. It takes effort on our part. We have to let go of our fears and the desire to try to fix it ourselves. Sometimes it might seem counterproductive to let go of the problems and set our mind on God. Yet, when we’re struggling, the best thing we can do is boast in the Lord and sing His praises!
When We Fail
Sometimes I can’t do it, and I’m not capable. I find myself crying to God because I can’t do it. Maybe I can’t be as productive as I hoped, or maybe I’m struggling to love someone better. Sometimes I keep failing no matter how hard I try. Sometimes I can’t get free from discouragement or laziness. I struggle to conquer battles and accomplish goals. Can you relate? These are all hindrances in my life that root in the fact that I am not as able, strong or “good” as I hoped I was. It’s a scary thing to realize that I can’t do all things or conquer all things or figure out all things alone. But it’s also the most freeing, because that’s exactly when I find that He can.
Victory in Obedience
let me tell you, God knows best. And I’m placing all I have in that three word sentence. I’ve seen Him come through before, and I know He’ll do it again and again. Trust, claim, cling and live on the voice of the Lord and obey all He has to say. Because victory is already here. We just need to step out in faithful obedience.
Stepping Into Freedom
Friend, freedom and purpose go hand-in-hand.
In 2014, Jesus revealed to me in such a new, fresh way that there was FREEDOM in Christ. At the end of 2016, He did it all over again.
I slowly began to realize that not claiming freedom, whatever it be from, was holding me back from moving forward, moving forward and STEPPING INTO things had for me.
Being so stuck in a repetitive, condemning, people-pleasing thought process was pulling me back from stepping into anything else. Not embracing FREEDOM was chaining me down. And when you’re chained down, it’s hard to notice, well, anything else but those chains.