Memory Verse Challenge: Week 10

This week's verse was an eye-opener for me. 

First of all God commands us to be strong and courageous.  We can't fall back on our timidity as an excuse. 

Secondly - I believe He commands this from us because He knows we have strength and courage within us.  Many of us have been made to feel otherwise. 

We were made into a new person when we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  With that newness came strength.  Courage isn't something we hope to get one day.  It's something we already have.  Now all we have to do is believe it.  Say it with me: "God made me a person of courage."

See more about the Memory Verse Challenge here.
See the complete list of Challenge verses here.

Sunday Blogvotional: Awesome Gift

For God so loved the world that he gave us his one and only son and who ever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.  John 3:16

What an awesome gift! What an awesome free gift!!!

It’s amazing to think about how much God loves us. He loves us so much that even as unworthy sinners, He offers us a grand prize that’s more valuable than all the lottery grand prizes combined.  That’s pretty amazing.

What’s even more amazing is that His grand prize is free to anyone who accepts Jesus as their Lord and Savior. We are so blessed. Our natural instinct should be one of enthusiasm with a passion to share the gospel. If you don’t have it, find that fire, that passion, and proclaim with enthusiasm how awesome God really is.

Encouragement for the week:  Spend some time today meditating on the gift and praising God for how awesome He is. Take a moment to share a funny church story with someone you know not to be a believer. This might take some time but once that door is cracked open, share how much being part of Christ’s church has blessed you. Over time, the door will be wide open so you can share the full story of the gospel.

This week's blogvotional contributed by "the hubs"

Enjoy The Ride

Have you ever been afraid?  Silly question, I know.  Of course, you have.  We all have.

Have you ever let your fear dictate the course of your life?  Chances are the answer to this questions is "yes" too (at least a time or two).

So what does it take?  At what point do we let go of our fears and fully, truly trust God?  At what point do we make the conscious decision to get on the ride of life and simply enjoy it?

Life is short (as I discussed here).  We labor and toil.  We plan our lives and then get put out, fed up and done in when we run into a detour.  We don't like things we can't control.  We want fun but it has to be our kind of fun.  Or does it?

When will we finally realize that our lives are not about our plans. That when we get caught up in our own plans we tend to get a wee bit uptight.  If we're not getting upset, we're probably getting worried.  Neither one of those options sound much like a joy ride.

Think how much fun it would be if we simply allowed God to take us on a ride - fully trusting that the ride He puts us on is safe, rewarding, and a whole lot of fun.  Sure - the ride might be a roller coaster.  It's likely to have ups and downs, even some twists and turns but who really cares. In the end - it's invigorating and you want to get right back on.

Yes - we can stay on the kiddie ride.  You know - the little roller coaster that's really just a coaster.  It goes super slow and maybe gets you a couple of feet off the ground.  But what kind of life is that?  Let God take you on a great adventure.  When He says "Get on! I've got a plan", don't hold back.  Don't hesitate.  Get on!!!  Enjoy the ride. 

You can live your life according to what makes sense to the world or you can live the adventure God has in store for you. If you're wondering if a "calling" makes sense, stop wondering.  Life is too short to waste time in debate.  Get on the ride while you still can.

Memory Verse Challenge: Week 9

This week's verse reminds us that God's true desire is to help us.  He knows having wisdom will help us make our difficult life decisions.  All we have to do is ask for wisdom and He will give it to us.  He's not trying to hold us back or keep us ignorant.  Sadly - we often prefer to stay in an ignorant state of mind than to act with wisdom.  The choice is ours.

See more about the Memory Verse Challenge here.
See the complete list of Challenge verses here.

Sunday Blogvotional: Ity Bity Faith

Doubt can be a deadly thing.  It's a very useful tool the devil likes to use.  If we can be consumed by the idea that we need to believe better or that our faith doesn't muster up, then the devil will ever so subtly convince us that our faith is worthless - that we'll just never live up to God's standards. 

The truth is - God loves us no matter what level of faith we have.  And it's because of this enormous love that He takes time to help us grow in faith.  He is our teacher, mentor and guide.  As we walk through life's journey He continually uses life moments to strengthen our faith (not to condemn us for a lack of faith).

Never be discouraged when you're faith is not perfect.  We may not always have the faith we want to have but even a tiny amount can do amazing things.

He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you." 

Luke 17:6

Encouragement for the week:  Don't let the devil get you down by telling you that you don't have enough faith.  Remember - even a tiny amount of faith you can silence the devil and put him in his place.  Trust God to help your faith grow.