THIS.
(via edifywithlove)
you never leave me nor forsake me
Hebrews 13:5
Soo true. I didn’t learn this until I met my fiance and he showed me. A lot of people need to learn this truth, before it’s too late. No one else can define you, you have to love yourself before you can really love someone else.
(via keepsavingme)
(Source: iamlovestrong, via keepsavingme)
By Grace Alone: How to forgive yourself:
Step #1, be honest with yourself
Realize that down deep inside, you’re not happy with the person of your past. If you are in denial, then forget trying to treat the root of your problem. You need to see the problem before you can apply the solution. It might even be helpful to list all of the things that you hate about your past, and one-by-one, give them to the Lord and release yourself from each failure.
Step #2, you need to realize that your debt has been PAID
The only way that you can beat yourself up, after Jesus has paid your debt, is if you aren’t accepting the gift that He has given you. If He’s paid the debt, and you keep denying that fact, then you are rejecting the very gift that God has given you! You need to accept what Jesus has done for you by faith.
Galatians 2:16, “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”
The blood of Jesus was shed for the payment of your sins:
Matthew 26:28, “For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”
Because of the powerful work that Christ did for us on the cross, God’s Word tells us to come boldly unto the throne of grace, so that we can obtain mercy:
Hebrews 4:16, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
The price for your redemption has been paid in full. It’s up to you receive it and realize that the blood of Jesus actually removes the sin from your record. Now you need to see yourself as being forgiven and justified (which means, “just as if you’ve never sinned”).
In Luke 7, Jesus took a very sinful woman (likely a prostitute) and freely washed her clean without hesitation…
Luke 7:47, “Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.”
The above verse is just one example of how freely Jesus would forgive a person of their sins. It is true that if we take our sin to Jesus, He will freely forgive us without hesitation:
Romans 3:24, “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:”
There is also no sin that you can take to Jesus, which He will not forgive… for the Bible tells us that He is prepared to cleanse us of ALL unrighteousness if we will turn to Him with our failures!
1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Step #3, allow the Holy Spirit to heal your soul
You need to let God heal you… as long as you keep holding something against yourself, you are blocking the Holy Spirit’s power from entering and healing that area of your mind and life! You need to open up your heart, and allow the light of Christ to shine into the darkness of your soul.
Step #4, begin to see the “new creature” of Christ within you
You are not seeing yourself as you really are. If you’ve repented of your past, and sought God’s forgiveness, then you are forgiven or justified (which means “just as if I’ve never sinned”). It’s not that you should try to forget what happened (don’t remind yourself of it either though), but the important key is to see your past through the Blood of Jesus. You need to see your past as “paid in full” by the work that Christ did for you on the cross! Seeing things with this perspective changes everything! You need to begin seeing yourself through the blood of Jesus.
One day, when the enemy was trying to beat me up over my past, the Holy Spirit spoke clearly to me and said, “You need to KNOW that you’re clean… your faith depends upon it!”
A well-known speaker started off his seminar holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, “Who would like this $20 bill?” Hands started going up. He said, “I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this.” He proceeded to crumple up the $20 dollar bill. He then asked, “Who still wants it…?” Still the hands were up in the air. “Well,” he replied, “What if I do this?” And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. “Now, who still wants it?” Still the hands went into the air. “My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We may feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who do love you. The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by who we are. You are special; Don’t ever forget that.
(Source: xvax-stephen, via keepsavingme)
Be praying for this sweet girl. She’s in critical condition and on a ventilator, just out of brain surgery. She was shot in the back of the head earlier today by a stray bullet. The doctors are saying there is no medical hope, but we know our hope is in something much greater. I love this girl so much, and many others love her even more. I know that more than anything she desires for God to be glorified. I know He will be. (Taken with instagram)
(via findingrest)
EMERGENCY PRAYER REQUEST!
Guys, I really need your help. A brother of ours just texted me and informed me that a sister from his church was just shot. The bullet entered the back of her head but she is still managing to breathe.
We praise God for this! But we still need your prayers!
Her name is Hannah Kelley. Lets raise her up in prayer. We know our Lord is more than able to heal and work in a mighty way! May His will be done and may He be glorified through this. Please, also pray for her family members and friends. For peace of mind through this tough situation.
Reblog if you’d like. Not for the sake of notes but because Hannah’s life hangs in the balance.
Thanks everyone! Grace & Peace, Ramses
Lord please protect the life of this girl. Keep her close to you and in the prayers of your people. Heal her and make her strength in you an example.
In Jesus name, Amen<3
(Source: justgenesiz, via edifywithlove)
Complaining vs. Thankfulness
“We need to ask ourselves, how quick we are to become impatient and begin to complain when stuck in traffic or while waiting in checkout lanes in grocery stores or department stores? How quick are we to spot and point out all the faults of our friends or family members? Do we complain about our job when we should be thanking God that we have one? The best antidote for complaining is thanksgiving. Truly thankful people do not complain. They are too busy being grateful for all the good things they have that they have no time to notice the things they could complain about.” - Joyce Meyer
Complaining is something that everyone struggles with and it is so easy to do. However, I find that for me it produces more pride and arrogance which is not something that I want. However, if we are thankful for everything we tend to become happier in life. We also become more humble for the things that we do have. Most people in North America have a lot and many times we take it all for granted. That is until some disaster happens somewhere in the world and we see how other people are forced to live and survive. But even then people can still be ungrateful. If we instead become thankful for the things we do have in our lives (even simple things like food and shelter), then we will become happier in our everyday lives and that is what Christian people want to show the world. God’s love and happiness or joy that he gives us, no matter what may happen in our lives we still have things to be thankful for.
