Made right in God's sight

Because of what Jesus did

We have peace with God

-Romans 5:1

The world defines peace as the absence of war. God defines peace as the absence of sin.

When the angels announced Jesus' birth they said, "Peace on earth..." But Jesus wasn't born to abolish war. He was born, lived and died to abolish sin when he rose up alive from the grave and went to heaven to be seated at the Father's right hand. 

We still see sin and it's effects in the world because not everyone has taken by faith what He provided through His death.When you accept Christ's purchase of you for His very own, and acknowledge that you belong to Him and He is your Lord, it changes your perspective. As you continue in your new relationship with Christ and learn more about who you have been made and what you have been given by becoming Christ's, your perspective is continuously adjusted to become more like His.

You don't see people at work as competition, but as someone for whom Christ died.

You don't see celebrities as someone to be imitated, but as someone for whom Christ died.

You don't see people who do you wrong as enemies, but as someone for whom Christ died.

Everyone is someone for whom Christ died.

Shalom: Romans 5:6-9, John 3:16-21, Zephaniah 3:9-17

Peace On Earth

peace: to become reconciled with

At Christmas we celebrate Jesus' birth. Angels announced it to the shepherds. They said: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” (Luke 2:14)

For many this does not seem like a peaceful time of year. Others don't feel that God is pleased with them at all. The truth is, when Christ was born into the world, God initiated reconciliation between Himself and mankind. He is pleased with us, because of Jesus. God is not waiting to whack us with a stick when we do something wrong. God always wanted you in His kingdom. Jesus did all the work. We just have to accept it.

This year make Christmas about more than just presents and shopping and travel and food. If you've never opened the door to Jesus and allowed Him to be your Lord and Savior now is the perfect time to do it. Here's a peek at what's waiting once you open the door:

“We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand – out in the wide open spaces of God's grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.”

-The Message, Romans 5:2

Shepherd calls my name.

I know Him, He knows me. Peace.

He goes before me.

-John 10:3-5

When God leads us, how do we know its Him and not our friends, family or our own logic or illogic? How do we know for certain that God said it?

The scripture assures us that when we are God's He leads us like a shepherd. John 10:3-4 says:

"The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."

God's leading brings peace. What He's leading you to do may not be exciting or fun or comfortable, but in your gut you will have peace that it's the thing you should do. Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted. (Matt 4:1) That was not fun or pleasant, yet it was right. Paul knew he was to go to Jerusalem and Rome. He also knew he would be put in chains, yet he also knew it was right. Other people were freaked out by it, but Paul was not. He knew the voice of the Shepherd. (Acts 21:10-13)

Even though the road may look dangerous or difficult, follow the Shepherd. His voice brings peace to His sheep. He is the good Shepherd. He loves us. He laid down his life for us. Because He's God He also took it back up for us, so now we can become like Him and be with Him forever! What a life.

Praise God! John 10, Psalm 23, Romans 8:14, Philippians 4:6-7

God! humility:

applying to my own life

the things You show me.

That's how i felt today. Overwhelmed on all sides, my body conspiring against me and breaking out into hives! Clearly there are cares I need to cast on the Lord. God had me write out a list of everything that contributed to the physical outbreak of stress hives. The actual stressor was such a minor thing that it's ridiculous and I won't even mention it. The accumulation of stress was more than my body could handle.

God: "Roll it onto Me. None of it is yours to carry and most of it isn't your concern anyway."

Tears in the car as I, once again, cast my cares on the Lord. He cares for me. He's my Abba.

Me: "Lord, You are the answer to every question. I'm not the answer for my neighbor's problems. You are. I'm not the answer to my finances. You are. I'm not the answer for other people. You are. I'm not my answer. You are. Hallelujah! I choose to praise."

And I do. I sing along to an anointed song in the car as I drive, and feel my stress level decrease. I read Psalm 91 aloud and then do it again for good measure, and I feel my stress level decrease as my faith level rises. Practice what you preach? Definitely.

Comfort from the scripture: Blessed be the Lord who daily bears our burden | The God who is our salvation. (Psalm 68:19) I'm so thankful that God takes the daily burdens and not just the "BIG ones" (but definitely those too). I'm commanded not to worry. Every day I roll my burden over onto God. Sometimes it seems like they want to roll back at me like stray marbles. If I'm not diligent to stay in His rest, I can find myself with a lap full of marbles and hives on my face wondering what happened! Thank God, His mercies are new every morning! You are faithful God!!

I love my Abba and He loves me: Psalm 139, Psalm 103

All I Need Is You, Lord

Search me, O God, and know my heart;

Try me and know my anxious thoughts;

And see if there be any hurtful way in me,

And lead me in the everlasting way.

-Psalm 139:23-24

I learned a worship song yesterday with a simple lyric: All I need is You, Lord. My mind initially rejected that as a trite and religious phrase, and thoughts of past due bills and unfinished work came to mind. Those were anxious thoughts. I knew they were wrong. God reminded me in that moment of a lyric from another song: All you need is love. The knowledge that God IS love broke through my mind and pushed those anxious thoughts out! In my mind I started changing the word love to whatever it was that I needed. All I need is wisdom. God IS wisdom. All I need is financial provision. God IS financial provision. All I need is grace. God IS grace. All I need is... God broke through my anxious thoughts and revealed Himself to me in a beautiful, real way that I needed so desperately. All I need is God.If you’ve been in church for any amount of time you’ve probably heard someone say, “God is my provider.” I submit to you that God is more than that. God is the provision. God doesn’t just give me what I need, He is what I need. If I have NOTHING ELSE except God, I can't lose. If I have EVERYTHING except God, I am miserable.

When you hear, all I need is God, you may have thoughts that sound responsible but are really anxious. I did. Is your immediate reaction, "I NEED to pay my mortgage, I NEED to keep my job, I NEED a better job, I NEED a husband, I NEED kids that respect me..."? If similar thoughts are going through your mind, imagine what life would be like with those things and no God: children that respect you, but who don't know or love God; finally married to a person who only cares about worldly things; abundant finances, but no God. God really is all you need.

• Lord, this person is on my last nerve and I need help to love them!
  Provision - 1 Peter 4:8
• Lord, I had a messed up childhood and I don’t want to pass that on to my kids!
  Provision- 2 Corinthians 12:9
• Lord, I want kids!
  Provision - Exodus 23:26
• Lord, I feel like my window of opportunity for greatness has passed!
  Provision - Joshua 14:6-12
• Lord, my body is broken!
  Provision - Exodus 15:26
• Lord, my bills are past due!
  Provision - Matthew 6:27-33
• Lord, I’m not sure of which road to take
  Provision - Romans 8:14
• Lord, HELP!
  Provision - Psalm 57:1-5

I don’t care what you are facing! God is provision. When Moses said, “Who should I say sent me?” God answered: I AM. God never changes. He still is I AM. Following blogs will dig deeper into what God has revealed of Himself in His word. I need it! I purpose to renew my mind about His greatness and faithfulness. Hopefully it will help you as well. All we need is You, Lord!