Fixing My Eyes on Jesus

It’s been awhile since I’ve taught an in-depth Bible study, and the last one I taught was my Out of the Chaos study on the book of Genesis. So, guess what I’ve decided to teach in 2019?!?!

DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!!

You guessed it…Revelation…EEEK!

Genesis and Revelation are like two book ends. One starts the story, and one ends it.

I can’t even tell you how excited I am to teach this since I’ve been studying it for the larger part of 2018. I’ll be using Precept Ministries Precept Upon Precept courses. It will be a four part study. Attached is the syllabus. You can do one part or all parts. It’s totally up to you, but you know I want you there for all of them!! I’d love to have you join me!!

Check out the syllabus below:

Revelation Precept Upon Precept Syllabus

My family and I fought a long, hard battle last year. One of my kids was suicidal and another one was sexually assaulted…all at the same time. How does a parent deal with all of that and get through better on the other side?!?! Here’s how:

So, I heard a sermon by Buddy Owens last night. The sermon was about being filled with the Holy Spirit, but there was one line in his prayer that completely grabbed my attention! He said, “Thank you, Father for all that You have withheld from me.”

WHOA!!! What?!?!

That is a completely foreign concept to me! I mean, we’re taught to thank God for all that He’s given us. We’re taught to come to Him and ask for all that we desire, but I’ve never heard anyone teach me to thank God for all that He has withheld!!

That’s a peculiar thought in this church culture that often preaches a prosperity gospel.

I started to think about all the times in my life that God has withheld things from me. The first thing that came to mind was when I begged God over and over for two years to bring my dad home after he had left my mom. He never came home. It rocked my world!

Then, I started thinking about the kids in Africa that I begged God to make mine. He still hasn’t.

Currently, I am asking God to keep my kids from making mistakes that will impact them for the rest of their lives. Will He answer?! What if His answer is no?

What do you do when God says no? When God withholds something that seems so good to you? Do you thank Him?

I honestly don’t think that’s a natural response. I believe that kind of response comes from years of walking with God and knowing Who He is. It comes from a place of deep trust in God, a place that believes He is good even when it doesn’t feel good.

It makes me think about Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. He only withheld one thing from them…a piece of fruit. To Eve, it looked good. Genesis 3:6-7 says, “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to make one wise, she took its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.”

Oh, how I wish she had trusted God in that moment!! Oh, how I wish that she would’ve listened to His Word and not the word of the enemy!! Oh, how creation has suffered because she ran after the one thing that God was withholding from her!!

As I reflect over my lifetime and all the times God has withheld something from me, I can now see His hand using all of those “no’s” to shape me into the woman I am today. I can say with 100% certainty that I am more like Christ for having suffered from the “no’s”. So, I thank Him!

I thank Him for withholding things from me that I hold dear.

I thank Him for being wiser than I am.

I thank Him for knowing the whole plan from beginning to end.

I thank Him for holding me through the hurt.

I thank Him for His goodness and His kindness in the midst of the “no’s”.

I thank Him for His nearness in my darkest hour.

I thank Him because, although I may never understand the why on this side of Heaven, I know my God, and I know He is good and that He is for me and not against me. I thank Him because He is God and I am not.

If you’re hurting because God hasn’t given you what you want, what you’ve asked for, I encourage you to trust Him and to thank Him!! He is doing something that you wouldn’t believe even if He told you. He’s shaping you into the image of Jesus. Trust Him and thank Him today!!

Wow!! It’s been quite the week!! The enemy has been roaring around my home like a lion. First Peter 5:6-11 says:

“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

We have a very real enemy, and I was reminded last night that we need to do REAL battle with him even though we can’t see him.  We need to be on the alert. We need to resist him. We need to have faith in God and cast our cares on Him. He is the One who will perfect us, confirm us, strengthen us, and establish us in the middle of this battle.

The devil hates us. He knows his time is short. He hates families. He hates Truth. He is the Father of all lies! The best way to battle him is with Truth, the sword of the Spirit. He likes to sneak into our thought lives and tell us lies about ourselves, about our God, and about others. We must resist him. James 4:7 says, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

So, how do you resist him? How do you do battle with him when his attacks are lies?

God’s Word gives us the weaponry we need. Philippians 4:8 tells us, “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” Our thought life matters!!! If the enemy is whispering lies to us, then we need to scream out the truth to him.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 says, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”

When you’re in the middle of a war and you’re tired and weary, it’s really easy to let the enemy captivate you. If you don’t have truth stored up in you, then you will either fail, or you will need someone else to come to your rescue. Thank God for the body of Christ!! Sometimes we need to surround ourselves with others in the middle of the battle. We need others to speak truth into our lives. We need them to remind us of all the truths that we may know but are too worry cling to.

That’s what happened for me last night. Monday, I was face down in my closet crying out to God because I was at the end of my rope. The only words I could utter were, “Help me, Jesus! Help me, Jesus!” And guess what? He showed up!! He began to surround me with others who could help me battle, who could carry the burden with me, who could remind me of all that I know to be true.

Last night I was reminded that I need to fight for my family. I need to go to battle with the enemy!! So, today, I woke up and put my armor on. Before the day even started, I told the enemy OUT LOUD where he could go. I reminded him that he has no authority in my life or my home. I reminded him that Jesus has already paid the price for the redemption of ALL of my sins and the sins of the entire world. I told him to get out!! And then I talked to my Savior and Lord and asked for continued protection and healing in my family. I believe that God has great plans for my family, and I can’t wait to see how God takes all of these trials that we’re going through and uses them for our good.

He is faithful! He is here in the middle of the mess!! I trust Him to fight for me!!

“Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity, and revive me in Your ways.”-Psalm 119:37

Wow! This verse hit me like a ton of bricks this morning!!

It’s so easy to get caught up in my little world. It’s all about me. It’s all about my kids. It’s all about my work. It’s all about my family. On and on I go, thinking that it’s all about me.

When I get into the “me” mode, I quit walking in His ways and start walking in my ways. As Romans 8:5-8 puts it:

“For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

YIKES!!!! I really do desire to please God. It’s one of my biggest goals in life, but it seems the only way to do that is to fix my mind on heavenly things…NOT on me!!!

“Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on the things that are on earth.” Colossians 3:1-2

So, here’s my take away for today: if I want to be pleasing to God, I have to turn my eyes away from vanity…away from myself. I have to choose to set my mind on Christ…to fix my eyes on Jesus!! I have to ask God to revive me in His ways so that I can walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh.

Am I the only one who struggles with this on a daily basis?!?!

What about you? What are you thinking about today? You? Your family? Your success? Your current relational situations? Your current health situation? Your current financial situation? Your current job situation?

Take some time to go to the Father and ask Him to revive you in HIS ways!!

Father, fix our eyes on You, the author and perfecter of our faith, so that we can shine YOUR light in this world and not our own!! When our minds start to drift back to us and all that is going on in our world, give us the Holy Spirit’s prompting to remember that it’s all about You, and help us find a way to meditate on You today! Help us to walk in Your ways and glorify Your name!! In Jesus name, Amen!!

As many of you know, I went to Sierra Leone, Africa in 2011, and I fell madly in love with 3 orphans. I was convinced that they were mine. I spent at least a year pouring over pictures of them on the internet. I Skyped with them every month for three years. God’s answer to that request was no.

No is a hard answer to take when you want something as badly as I wanted those children!! I knew that my husband and I could give them a good life. I knew that we had enough love in our hearts to welcome them into our home. But God said no…

I plunged into a pit of depression!! I was in counseling for year, punching things and yelling at God. I was so angry with Him. I couldn’t understand why He wouldn’t give me what I wanted. I had always been a “good” girl. I had taught Bible study and gone to church. I had raised my kids in church. I felt entitled!! 😦

For over a year, I could barely function in reality. Somewhere along the way, Jesus reached down, pulled me out of the pit, and set my feet on the Rock that is higher than I am. I CHOSE to trust God in the middle of the pain. I CHOSE to believe that He was good and that He was working out His plan for my good. It was painful. It was hard, but still I CHOSE God over those children.

You see, I figured out somewhere on that journey, that those beautiful orphans had become idols in my life. YES!!! Even good things can become idols in our lives…our spouses, our kids, our jobs, etc.

Fast forward to today. God is doing some AMAZING things in my life today. I’m closer to my own biological kids than I ever could have dreamed. He is doing things in my ministry. He is working out His plan for my life…my little piece of His story.

I realized today that God has been doing little things in my life throughout the past 6 years that I haven’t always been able to see. You see, when we fix our eyes on what we want but can’t have, we miss the things right in front of us, the things that He’s gifted to us right here and now.

I’d be lying if I said that I haven’t wondered why I met those kids in 2011. OH, how I have wondered. I’ve wondered why they’re still in an orphanage while so many of their friends have found forever homes. I’ve wondered if they miss me as much as I miss them. I’ve wondered plenty. BUT GOD has been moving me forward all along on His path for my life.

In 2014, I traveled to Uganda on a vision trip with Amazima Ministries. They had a dream of building a secondary school for their sponsored children, because they all had to move 2-3 hours away from home to go to secondary school. I prayer walked the empty land that they wanted to build on. My husband and I have given over the last 7 years, and today, God made that school a reality. Today, they opened their doors and welcomed 72 children. Today, God showed me that I never would have traveled to Uganda if I had adopted. I never would have known about the school. I never would have walked the property and wept and prayed for a miracle. I never would have experienced the miracle that I experienced today if I had gone down my own path without His leading.

If you’re hurting, if you feel like God doesn’t hear you, if the pain is so deep that you feel like you can’t breathe, I ask only one thing of you…TRUST GOD!!! He is doing something even if you can’t see it, even if you can’t feel it. He is working all things together for your good!! Keep your eyes fixed on HIM!!!

It’s that time of year. The time that’s suppose to be filled with joy, but…

People you loved have passed away.

People you were once close to are no longer close.

People you love are hurting.

You’re hurting.

Things have changed.

Life has happened, and it’s hard!!

This has been a rough season for me. Not because anything bad is going on in my personal life, but because so many people that I love are dealing with BIG things, BIG life changes, BIG disappointments, BIG losses, and my heart grieves…

I wonder how they can possibly find joy in the midst of their pain.

And then I remember JESUS!!!

These verses come ringing back in my ears:

“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, FIXING OUR EYES ON JESUS, the author and perfecter of faith, who FOR THE JOY SET BEFORE HIM endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”-Hebrews 12:1-3 (emphasis mine)

Jesus suffered. He understands our pain. We can run to Him!! He is sufficient in our weakness.

My prayer is that each of you can find a way to fix your eyes on Jesus during this season. He is the reason for the season!! The enemy will use anything he can to get your eyes off of Him. He’ll use your feelings, your current situation, your relationships, your job, your family, anything he can. You just need to tell that old devil where to go!!

Jesus is the Prince of Peace and the Wonderful Counselor!! Fix your eyes on HIM!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

 

 

Feelings…

Our country has been bombarded by feelings over the last week, but let me tell you something I’ve learned the hard way. Feelings will lead you in the wrong direction nine times out of ten.

I use to function solely on the way I felt. I responded to my husband and children and friends according to how I was feeling about them at the moment.

Oh, how I wish I could go back in time and change so many things I said or did!! But I am learning…

I thank God that Jesus didn’t follow His feelings. If He had, He wouldn’t have gone to the cross for any of us. None of us are worthy, and He knew that. He didn’t want to suffer, but He CHOSE to suffer. Three times He asked His Father to find a different way, knowing that there was only one way…the cross…suffering.

We are not above our Teacher. He suffered, and we will suffer IF we desire to be like Him.

So, here’s my advice: Follow Jesus!! Don’t follow the way you feel about someone or something. Stop yourself and ask, “Could there be a growth opportunity for me in this situation?” “Is there a way that I can glorify God by the way I respond?” “How can I use these circumstances to allow God to conform me into the image of His Son?” “How can I show this person the love of Christ even though we disagree?”

Let me tell you something, there are a WHOLE LOT OF UNLOVEABLES in the world. You might even be one of them!! But God CHOSE to die for you. Will you deny yourself and take up your cross and follow Him, or will you feed your feelings and follow your own desires?

We will never leave Christ’s mark on this world if we get caught up in the matters of this world. Second Timothy 2:4 says, “No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.”  Let’s reset and FIX OUR EYES back ON JESUS!!!! I promise you won’t regret it!!

I woke up with a heavy heart today. One week from today, we will be voting for our next president.

I’m just going to be honest here… I really don’t want to vote for either of them!! I’m not sure that either of them have the correct solutions to our problems.

You see, we have a sin problem in America. It just keeps getting bigger and bigger!! WE NEED JESUS!! I can’t tell you how many scary Facebook friend requests I’ve received since starting my new page. I accepted them with the hope that they will hear the gospel, but as soon as I accept them, they start private messaging me.

There is some SERIOUS EVIL out there, folks!!!

But guess what?!?!

In my time with Jesus this morning, He reminded me that He is a God of PEACE.

In Judges 6, God comes to Gideon and tells him that the Lord is with him. Gideon replies, “O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying,’Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hands of Midian.”

Do you ever feel that way?

Where are You, God? Why do You let all this evil and suffering prevail?

Well, guess what? Jesus said in John 16:33, “I have told you these things so that in Me, you may have Peace. In this world you will have trouble, but take heart; I have overcome the world!”

He told Gideon the same thing! The first time that God is called “The LORD is Peace” in scripture is in Judges 6:24, right after God tells Gideon,”Peace to you, do not fear; you shall not die.”

There’s the good news, folks! Jesus died to overcome the world!! If you’re His child, that should bring you peace no matter who our next president is!!

So let’s get on our knees and seek the God of Peace!! Peace out! 😉

So, I’m doing a study on the book of Judges right now. I know, I know!!! Who studies the book of Judges?!?! ME!!

At the beginning of the book, the Israelites conquer different parts of the land, but they fail to drive out their enemies, as the Lord commanded them. They allow them to live in the land with them. Because of this, they turn from God, worship false idols, and become enslaved by their enemies.

As I’ve pondered this, I’ve asked myself, “What enemies have I failed to drive out?” We all have them. Those things that we’re enslaved to.

It might be fear and worry.

It might be caring too much about what people think of us.

It might be alcohol or drugs.

It might be some secret sexual sin.

It might be pride.

It might be overspending.

It might be overeating.

It might be a lack of care for others.

It might be prejudice.

It might be lying.

It might be stealing.

It might be jealousy.

You get the picture!!

Whatever it might be, if you don’t COMPLETELY drive it out, you will become a slave to it, and trust me, that’s no fun!! Been there, done that…

I wear a bracelet that says “Surrender Only to One”. I wear it as a reminder to me that I’m in a battle…usually a battle of the mind and will. Who will I surrender to? Who do I want to be a slave to? The enemy or Jesus?

So, I encourage you to ask yourself, “What enemies have I allowed to live amongst me?” Let’s drive them out!!! We probably won’t be able to do it on our own. That’s why God says in James 5:16-“Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.”

I can tell you that today, my enemy has been fear and doubt. That little voice that keeps saying, “You’re going to fail. You’re a joke. No one cares about your Bible study! You’re going to say something stupid and make a fool of yourself on social media, and it won’t ever be erased!! The live feed is going to cut out.”, etc., etc., etc.

So, guess what I did?  I told that mean ole Devil to go back to Hell where he belongs, and I’m telling you so that you can pray for me!! LET’S DO THIS THANG!!!!!!!!