What if we ran from sin like we are running from sickness?

What if we cared so much about not letting a brother/sister stumble into sin, that we took every measure to help keep them pure.

What if we treated Jesus as the ONLY vaccine/cure/treatment for the worst disease imaginable?

Only this disease infects and kills the souls of EVERYONE who contracts it. That’s what sin is. It is a permanent death and separation from God.

We all HAVE sinned, but we do not all have to live with the curse of sin!

There is HOPE. There is a cure.

Jesus Christ is the cure. He paid the price and took on the sin disease of the world, nailing it to the cross.

We still have to die, because when sin and mortality come into contact with our Holy God, they die.

But when we freely give of ourselves in surrender to King Jesus, we get to be raised a new creation! Not corrupted by the disease of sin, but ALIVE & holding the cure. 

Physically, will we experience pain? Yes. Sickness? Yes. Death? Yes. But all of those are TEMPORARY. This world is not our home. We are foreigners in this land, eagerly awaiting our Lord’s return, eternity with our Creator, and blessed reunion of all believers gone before us.

In the meantime, let’s not give the temporary more control of our lives than the eternal. Let us remember that sin is an even more infectious disease with even more devastating consequences.
Let’s live & love like we have the one and only Cure!

My daughter ran into the room and snuggled up close. She lay quiet for a while, then asked a bunch of questions, and quieted again.       Then the Fruit of the Spirit song replayed over and over from her lips. 🎶
Such a beautiful start to the morning.

Because of her prompting, I got up with this thought on my mind:
How can I be the hands and feet of Jesus today?

When I really prayed about it, the answer was simple: serve.
Wherever you are, whatever position or title you hold, none is greater than Jesus. You are not above the call to serve.
But where? How? (I often ask myself this.)
Wherever you are. However He would.

My obedience to Jesus isn’t necessarily some grand gesture, monumental move, or perfect job switch. It’s serving who He puts in front of me, right where I am, the way He would.

Once I’ve taken that FIRST step of obedience, and put on Christ (Acts 2:37-38, Romans 6:1-4), I then have the privilege to serve others in His name.

But I cannot live like Jesus if don’t really know Him, and I cannot know Jesus if I don’t spend TIME with Him.

He is deep and full of lessons for me to glean from Him for my entire life. I can never learn ENOUGH about my Savior. Why do I act otherwise sometimes, neglecting Him for what serves me instead?

So I dig deeper, I press in, I abide with my Savior, and then I keep obeying. I keep serving. I live my life filled with the same Spirit He had, displaying compassion, mercy, boldness, courage, & truth.
I constantly evaluate and ask myself “When others see me, do they see the fruit of the Spirit in my life?” Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Not a checklist of behavior, but an overflow of God’s goodness to me that I then bestow on others!
That’s the point. That’s the mission. That’s the blessing we get to be a part of!
(Matt. 5:16-17, Titus 2:14, Ephesians 2:10, Col. 3:23-24, Rom. 12:1, Hebrews 9:14… I could go on and on!)

Let’s stir one another up today to love and good works.
Let’s point out when we see evidence of God’s goodness in someone’s life.
Let us walk on, confident in Truth, humble with Grace, and worthy of our calling to serve.

Let’s go be the hands and feet of Jesus.

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”~Mark 10:45

“Faith over feelings” or “choose faith not fear”

Those are phrases that hold a lot of meaning to me.
Just because I may want something (feelings), doesn’t mean it’s God’s best for me.
Just because I feel something in my heart, doesn’t make it biblically accurate or worthy of teaching others.
Choosing faith means choosing God. It means surrendering my heart and all of its deceitfulness to Him no matter what, and trusting that His way is ALWAYS the best way. Even when it’s not the way that hands me my desires on a platter.

But it also means I’m not wallowing in fear. Choosing faith means stepping out in action. It means I’m not standing still out of complacency, fear of the unknown, or anxiety over the outcome… choosing faith means I PRAYERFULLY take the leap.

Since I am married, it personally means I pray about what’s on my heart and discuss it with my husband. I am linked to him forever and if he isn’t on board, THAT is an answer to my prayer! If he is on board, that can be even scarier because it means I can (or should!) go forward as we pray about it together.

It’s kind of funny… I spoke on this topic not too long ago, and STILL God is teaching me to trust Him. Reminding me of who I am in Him, that I should be fearful of no one, but bold in purpose!

All this to say, it is so much easier to let fear do the talking. To let my feelings determine how faithful I’ll be (one way or another).
So, if there’s something you have been thinking about doing & praying about earnestly, I encourage you to identify what’s holding you back…

and then choose faith. ❤️rmw

Yesterday, I was given the honor and privilege to speak to a group of ladies who love the Lord. Here is the lesson I gave; I hope it blesses those who read it as much as it blessed me to study it. God is good all the time!

“Faith is a topic I used to shy away from… I had a skewed idea of what it was, and what it’s not, and to be honest it was just more comfortable for me to ignore it.

But that’s part of the problem isn’t it? Comfort. Choosing my comfort is not choosing faith; at least not the faith of the Bible. And that’s the ONLY faith I want for my life.

So I’d like to dive right in with you guys and talk about 3 points that are so intertwined with biblical faith you can’t have one without the other.

IDENTITY
In whom/what do I place my faith?
When I travel on an airplane, I have faith the that pilot is sober and competent. (Though I’ll be honest, I choose to pray a LOT on airplanes!)
When I go to a restaurant, I have faith that the cooks are going to be clean and there aren’t bugs everywhere I can’t see. Right?
When I go to the doctor’s office, I choose faith in my physician, don’t I? That he/she will guide me according to the knowledge they’ve earned and experienced.
Even something as simple as going to my kitchen sink for some water—I have faith that what I drink will be clean and not tainted with poison.

Those are just every day examples of how we practice “faith.” Believing in something we can’t see. But Hebrews 11:1 defines Faith as “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Assurance of things hoped for. What do I hope for? What does God ASSURE me of in His word? (Forgiveness, Heaven, Peace, Blessings, Communion/Community/Companionship with Christ and His Church, etc.)
Faith is being assured that THOSE things are MINE in Christ Jesus.
Have I seen Heaven and all those promises fulfilled? No, of course not. But I hope for it based on the promises of God.

Something I see a lot these days is “trust your heart” and “believe in yourself.” And while I get the idea behind those phrases, they’re not biblical, friends. The world tells you to trust your heart. The bible tells you “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick…” Jer. 17:9, and to “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” Prov. 4:23.
Guard your heart. Be watchful! Why?? Because our heart can be an open gate to the things that sound nice, but are deceitful.
And Christ says in Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Don’t store up treasure with what you can see.
Think BIGGER.
Choose faith!
Hope for what you cannot see.
“Believe in yourself!” they say. I have been known to preach such a message myself, but it’s wrong! If I’m believing in myself, then I’m as far as I can go.
I don’t want to be as far as I can go. I want my God to take me as far as HE can go! And that will ONLY happen when my faith is in HIM, not myself.
When I can identify my weaknesses and watch God show up through them. THAT is Biblical faith, isn’t it? 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Faith in myself isn’t the faith I want to choose today.
I choose Faith in the God of the Bible. The God of Creation. The God who emptied Himself to die for me while I was deep in the muck of sin. I choose Faith in HIM. And in everything He has promised.

SURRENDER
I’ve identified the Object of my faith, right? The One and only living God. But how do I know Him? Well I need to hear about Him! I need to learn of Him! How will I do that? “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Rom. 10:17. I must surrender my idea of God. I MUST SURRENDER MY IDEA OF GOD. I must get in the WORD. Scripture is the only way I’m going to learn who God is and what He expects of me. Choosing faith isn’t choosing emotion. It isn’t choosing laziness. It’s choosing a CROSS. Matthew 10:38; Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23; Luke 14:27 All say “And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” “Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”

Choosing faith, is choosing to surrender my wants, dreams, ideas of success, all of that! I lay that at His feet and humbly acknowledge that He is my God and I am not.

There’s a song that illustrates this so well…
“if you say ‘go’, we will go. If you say ‘wait’ we will wait. If you say ‘step out on the water’ and they say it can’t be done, we’ll fix our eyes on you and we will come. For your ways are higher than our ways, and the plans that you have made are good and true. If you call us to the fire, you will not withdraw your hand. We’ll gaze into the flames and look to You.” That is FAITH. That is surrender.

Faith has no room for fear, for what ifs, for anxiety, for “but….”.
Faith is surrendering my will to His. If I’m not doing that DAILY I’m not walking in faith, but pride.
God has made it very clear what pride will do to my soul: “’God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” James 4:6b-10

If there is ANYTHING I’m holding onto so hard that I wouldn’t give it up if He asked me to (as in… I see someone who needs it more than me and I refuse to give it. As in… I see in God’s Word I’m living contrary to the life He expects of His children, but I “can’t” change.  As in… I would like to attend church services, but I just need to make more money first….) I am not living out Faith.
I’m saying “God I “love” you, but I don’t trust You to handle this.
I don’t trust You to take care of me, so I need to keep doing what I can see. Even though You’ve made it clear it’s not what I need to be doing. Y’all. How often do we do that?! Relationships we don’t need to be in, jobs that require we sacrifice our families on the alter of “success”, refusing to give God our FIRST AND BEST because we have to pay bills first…
What if Christ had done that? I am SO THANKFUL He not only illustrated so perfectly the God we put our faith in, but he demonstrated faith as well! He demonstrated Surrender!
“For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.” John 6:38 Over and over again, Jesus told us that He didn’t act out of His own will, but the Father’s. How can I claim Him as Lord of my life, if I refuse to do and say the same? Not my will, but Thy will be done.

Faith is SURRENDER. Without surrendering my will to His, I cannot honestly say I choose Faith.

OBEDIENCE
If you have your Bibles, turn with me to Hebrews 11.
This is often referred to as the “heroes of Faith” or the “faith” chapter. [read if time]
Able, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, the Christians who died horrifically for the cause of Christ… they all share a common thread. Obedient Faith.
Would Noah have been saved from the flood if he’d refused to build the ark?
Would Moses and the Israelites have been able to escape the Egyptians if they had not walked across the Red Sea?
What about Daniel? What if he hadn’t continued to pray? God’s power to save him from the lion’s den would have never been displayed!
Obedient Faith is what gives God’s power opportunity to shine through my life.
Obedient Faith is stepping out of the way and saying “whatever You have told me to do, I will DO it! I won’t argue or excuse myself from this, because your ways are higher than my ways!” (Is. 55:8-9)

Faith must be coupled with ACTION in order for it to be a biblical faith. Romans 1:5 talks about the apostles doing their work to bring about “obedience of faith” in us. Words Paul uses are serve, proclaim, labor, etc. James puts it this way in 1:22 “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” Remember how we talked about “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing the word of Christ”? James tells us to not hear only, but DO! That’s OBEDIENCE. That’s biblical faith.

In Mark 5, Jesus heals a man possessed by a demon. He did that often, didn’t He? I read something that stuck out to me a few weeks ago… check out verse 7, “And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.”
That demon knew exactly who Christ was and confessed and believed it! That demon had “faith”. Look at James again with me. Chapter 2 vs. 19-20 “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?”
So what is the difference between my faith and that of demons??
It better be humble obedience. If Christ Himself had to learn obedience (Phil. 2:8, Heb. 5:8), why would I ever think I’m exempt?

My obedience to God isn’t about earning salvation or better favor with God. NO! It’s about CHOOSING FAITH. It’s about allowing GOD to work THROUGH ME to do HIS WILL.

OK, but what are we supposed to do?
That’s where getting in the WORD comes in. Daily. God’s love letter to us, and plan for how approach Him and access the blood of Christ, how to love our neighbors, how to best worship and love HIM, how to love our husbands and children, and ultimately how to be more like Christ… It’s all in the Word. If we aren’t diving in as often as we can, how can we know Him who we are claiming to believe?

[I have some excellent Bible Study resources that I would love to share with you’d like. Or if you just want a one-on-one study with a friend, I’m here for that, too! Community is such a beautiful blessing God provides those who seek Him! :-D]

Identity. Surrender. Obedience.
In ALL THESE THINGS, I choose Faith.”

How can I pray for you this week? Send me a comment or message if you’d like; I would love to go to God on your behalf.

FAITH. No room for anxiety, doubt, fear, or “but”s…. Only identity, surrender, and obedience. Lord, may you grant me only as many days as I will choose faith. 

Isn’t it amazing how learning never stops? As long as we are receptive to growth, we can learn. And when the teacher is The Great I Am… woah. My mind is constantly blown by the levels of depth found in elementary principles.

Lately, themes have been reoccurring in life and scripture, and as any good student will tell you, repetition means a point is trying to be made: God is teaching me something.

So of the 100s of things we need to learn and are still learning, we narrowed it down. Here is the short list; some of it is so simple it doesn’t seem worth sharing, but like I said.. there is so much depth to elementary principles. Especially when we are challenged to not only know them, but to apply them.

1) Cleaning up is hard. One room is most likely going to lead to another. We are in spring cleaning/rearranging mode in our house right now, but in order to really change the one room that is the primary goal, we’ve had to shift focus to others in order to make it all the way we want it. Now to the spiritual application…In our compartmentalized worlds we create for ourselves, we often try to “clean up” the one little room we think is cluttered, but then realize that, in order for this “room” to function as it should (as God desires), we must tidy up all the others as well because they all affect one another. Sometimes it’s a little picking up here and there, and often times it’s more of an overhaul. While we’re at it, let’s go ahead and demolish those walls we’ve built, too. God demands ALL of me, not just the rooms I want Him to see.

2) Sing while you can. A few months ago, Faith, a young college student we have watched grow up the last 7-8 years experienced a terrible car wreck resulting in severe brain damage, and is facing a long, arduous recovery. At the time, she can not verbalize at all. Up until her accident, singing praises to God and our Savior was pretty much her very favorite thing to do. We would spend extra time singing in between scheduled devotionals and song services because she enjoyed it so much. It has been a pleasure for me to lead many of those songs she loves to sing. Now, sadly, she can’t sing at all. She will attend our devotionals and still listen to her Church family lifting our voices, but as it stands, she can not add to the ensemble. I pray she will once again have the ability to sing to Him. God is telling me to sing praises to Him while I still can, with all my heart, mind, and soul. No physical gift or ability is guaranteed, so I must take absolute full advantage of of my abilities each day. Support Faith

3) I don’t HAVE to be right. Or more accurately, I don’t have to TELL everyone I’m right. I don’t know about you, but “setting people straight” is something I wrestle with.  I’ve given myself the job of making sure people in my presence know their information is inaccurate and I have what they need to be “right”. Woah. Writing that down makes my skin crawl and heart ache. Because I don’t have what anyone needs outside of Jesus, and advice given that wasn’t asked for is often not taken, am I right? Being the “actually” girl who is there to set the record straight often ends in strife, disunity, and walls built (instead of bridges). So God is teaching me to slow down, learn to be silent, and pray for wisdom, words that build, and a heart that seeks unity over being “right”. The only way I can do that effectively is by seeking my Savior and pointing others to Him, not me, every chance I get. 

3) Great communication is the only way a relationship will thrive. Teacher/student. Husband/wife. Parent/child. Boss/employee. Friend/friend. Communicate people! Until recently, I had never considered myself a poor communicator. But there’s a reason I tend to work better alone, not relying on groups or others (who may be also relying on me!)… I prefer to not plan ahead. I prefer to keep my feelings inside to stew instead of Matthew 5ing them. I prefer to keep whatever plans I’ve made to myself. I prefer to say things when I feel like it or think about it, instead of intentionally answering questions before they arise and making sure information is easily accessible to the ones seeking it. You can see where my preferences get me in a lot of communication troubles, right? Without a clear declaration of intention, how will my children know what I mean? How will my friends understand their value to me? How will my spouse be able to fulfill the desperate needs I have? They can’t. I have to communicate. Otherwise I’m left with the enemy of my soul who seeks to burn those bridges and isolate me in my stewing thoughts. And that option only leads to destruction.  

So there you have our short list, and we would love to hear yours! What is God teaching you? Have you paid attention to the repetition around you? Is God perhaps trying to get your attention so you’ll sit down and be taught?

We encourage you to prayerfully go to the Source, the perfect Word of God, and learn from Him. ~JMW & rmw

I want to be bold.

I want to be strong.

I want to be faithful.

I want to be a warrior.

Fighting for the weak, standing firm in Truth, linking arms with other believers with the same mission, marching onward and upward, and teaching my children along the way.

Lately, though, the word “coward” has been circling in my mind. I’ve been thinking about what it really means to be a coward. I used to think it was only denouncing my faith in the face of death, but I think it’s much more prevalent than that.

Google and Miriam-Webster define coward as: “a person who lacks the courage to do or endure dangerous or unpleasant things” and “one who shows disgraceful fear or timidity.”

But how often does the desire for people’s approval and applause cloud the mission I mentioned earlier? Cowardice.

How often do I sit back and judge the actions of others without taking action myself? Cowardice.

How often do I allow myself to feel slighted and inferior because I’m not wrapped up in my own purpose for Him? Cowardice.

How often do I shut down the idea that God is moving BIG in someone’s life because I’m shutting the door in His face out of fear for what would be required of me if He were to be that present in my own life? Cowardice.

How often do I pray “easy” prayers that require little change of me, but hard/miraculous/intensely vulnerable change of others? Cowardice.

Disgraceful. Fearful. Timid. Lacking courage.

And in Revelation 21:8, God lumps the cowardly with the faithless and murderers (among other things).

Faithful obedience should fill my heart and leave no room for the coward in me. It should push it out 100%. But only when I intentionally let God take the reins of my life and live in total surrender to His will. His desire for my holiness is everything. Everything. He died to give it to me. It’s everything to Him. (And therefore should be everything to me.)

I can’t be a holy coward.

I can’t be a faithful coward.

I can’t be a strong coward.

I can’t be a bold coward.

I’m writing my prayer below. I’m writing and posting it so I can look back on it a year (or 5) from now and praise God for how He answered; how He did exactly what I begged Him to. I’m writing and posting this prayer so that if you feel the same way I do, then sister, we can pray it together.

“Lord, change me. Mold me. Work in me.

Give me wisdom and discernment as I kneel before Your Holy Word, so that my life bears the fruit of your Spirit and leads others to do the same.

And those other things I’m praying for? The accolades, the money, the “stability & freedom”, the opportunities… strip me of them ALL if they make me more reliant upon myself than YOU.

I am nothing without You. I am nothing without Your love, grace, mercy, and the salvation You provide that I could never earn or deserve.

Take away all the fear & excuses, and replace them with boldness, action, and LOVE.

Do what only You can do, so that the ONLY answer is You.”

https://youtu.be/EeZoQoyPn6I

Justin Williams led us in a beautiful thought this morning before the Lord’s Supper. I wanted to share it with you here because I think it’s a thought we should always hold close to our hearts. I hope it helps you center your mind around our Savior not only on the first day of the week, but every day after.

“This is a matter of life and death.

So it is vital that you focus for the next few minutes.

We come together each week to share this moment together, as do other believers all throughout the world. We come to memorialize the death, burial, and resurrection of our only hope to be with our God in Heaven some day: Jesus, the Christ.

The song says “Why did my Savior come to earth and to the humble go?”

God does not need me or you to keep His power and glory, yet Jesus left His place there to come here and suffered so that you and I could have the opportunity to enter His kingdom.

The song says “He could have called 10,000 angels.”

Jesus could have called legions of angels to exact vengeance for His treatment, yet He endured hours of torture because it was the only way a perfectly just God could look upon us and accept us.

He could have come and exerted His power by overthrowing governments and making allies with Kings and rulers, yet He sat and spoke words or love and truth to those who were considered outcast and hopeless.

He could have reserved the finest tables for the world’s elite, yet He invited his lowly apostles, and you and me, to dine at His table.

His life was spent in sacrifice, and his death was, too.

He took a memorial meal that had been alive since the Passover, put that focus to rest, and brought to life a new memorial – His supper, His communion.

So what do YOU bring to the table? We know what He brings, and He is the host. He died for us, and now He reserves this table for those who die for Him.

Galatians 2:20 says “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

The only way we can share in the fellowship of our Lord at this table is to not be alive anymore, in the sense that we put to death our old person – the person we were before we took on Christ. We fight daily to LIVE more in Him by DYING more to that person we used to be. So Jesus may not need me to maintain His power, but He demands that I crucify my selfish life before taking my seat at this table.

This is a fellowship meal of the most divine nature. A feast of the highest order, fitting for kings and queens, yet reserved for meek and lowly. For you and me.  Yet it is not the food we savor, but the presence of our loving Savior. Take this moment seriously, for it is truly a matter of life and death. Or should I say, death and LIFE.” ~JMW

“God loves broken people, and He can put your pieces back together again.” ~Tim Lewis

God’s love doesn’t run from your sin. 

You’re not too far gone. 

You’re not beyond forgiveness. 

Your heart is not one that can’t change. 

All it takes to get on the track of redemption is a step of humility and faith in the right direction. 

When I was resisting obedience to God, obedience to His Gospel & plan of salvation, do you know what thoughts kept circling me? 

“What if people see me differently?”

 “I should’ve done this a long time ago!”

 “I’m fine. I already took these steps when I was a kid..”

Yes. I had gone through the motions my whole life. I had played the part of a Christian all through my adolescence. And although I believed the Bible, I didn’t take the time to SEEK God.

I didn’t humble myself before Him.

Honestly, I didn’t know what it meant to turn my “own way” (Isaiah 53:6) until I was an adult. Then I was actually able to make my own choices, and be responsible for them. It was then that I realized what sin was, how it separated me from God’s holiness, and my incredible need for a Savior. 

I say all of this for 1 purpose: you are LOVED. The Creator of the universe saw fit to come down to earth and teach you how to live.

Though He was completely innocent He suffered an incredibly cruel execution, taking on the sins of the world, requiring God to turn His back on the One who had been with Him since the very beginning…. so that you could be seen BLAMELESS and PERFECT before the holiness of God the Father.

You. Are. Loved. 

Salvation is a gift, but each of us must decide to receive it. We must decide that living our own way (even if we say it’s for His sake!) isn’t God’s best for us. We have to turn from that and choose a humble surrender to our Creator and act in faithful obedience. (Read Acts 8,9,&22:3-16 to read the beautiful transformation of Saul➡️Paul!) 

There’s no reason to live broken in guilt and shame for what you’ve done. Christ covered it! Turn to Him, give Him your broken pieces and let Him make you a new creation more beautiful than before! Because you are loved!! 💖