Psalms‬ ‭139‬:‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬ — I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Join us for See You Saturday as we wrap up our week on grace! Make sure to check out the outtakes! Join us next week as Deborah shares on Chrisitan living.

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭1‬:‭4‬-‭7‬ ‭NIV — For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.

I leave you with a mantra this Friday: “I can’t let the labels of my past taint who I am in Christ and my perspective of the cross.”

God has turned my feelings of inadequacy into knowing I am the heir to God’s throne through His son Jesus Christ, therefore I am a favored daughter of the one true king. 

God loves you!

He’s got a plan!

He can be trusted!  

When Satan starts attacking our thoughts, we must remember God’s plan for our lives isn’t always going to be easy. We can choose our thoughts in the process. Satan always tells us lies, but we don’t have to believe them. 

Let’s pray. Dear God, my heart’s desire is to keep growing my faith, becoming the Godly person You have woven me to be. In the process, I will choose not to let my perceptions of what others think cloud the truth of how You see me. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

@biblegateway

Hebrews 12:1 NIV — Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Resentment can leave a wedge in our hearts for Satan. Comparison can lead to an ungrateful heart. We must remind ourselves daily to run our own race. We must throw off our past and current sins that entangle us. Repeat after me, “Christ is in me, I AM enough!”

What is hindering you today? What do you need to throw off? Maybe your vision is clouded or you’re not sure where to start. I encourage you to start by making a gratitude list that can help you see the good in your circumstances. Then turn it over to God in prayer.

Dear God,

Thank You for hand-picking me to walk through this season in life.

Thank You for using my past mistakes to shine Your glory.

Thank You for turning my situation for Your glory and my good, even when I may not have done Your will.

Thank You for putting sandpaper people in my path so that my rough edges can be made smooth.

Thank You for your grace that covers my sin and goes before me.

In Jesus’s name I Pray, Amen.

@biblegateway

Ephesians 5:2 NIV – And walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Some of us are wrapped up in our regrets, rejection and guilt. Pastor Ken Phelps preached a sermon on “Dr. Jekyll Meets Jesus.” He said, “there are flaws in the fabric of humanity, Jesus is here to sew up those flaws for every one of us. We need to open ourselves to God’s grace and His glory. We need to let His forgiveness take place.”

Just as the disciples were average men hand-picked by Jesus himself, Lysa Terkheurst writes “We may be overlooked by others, but we are handpicked by God.”

Are you feeling inadequate today? Are you needing God to sew up your flaws with His grace? Have you equipped yourself with God’s word so you can stand up against the schemes of the Devil?

Let’s pray. Dear God, I come to You with a humble heart to lay my flaws before You. Sew them together Lord so that I may be Your fragrant offering. Thank You for Your unending love and grace. Thank You for Your goodness and mercy. And Lord I praise you for my flaws for I know You can use my shortcomings to bring You glory. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

@biblegateway

Psalm 46:10 NIV – He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

When asked to give a sermon message at church, I am always hesitant. I still struggle with considering myself a public speaker. I worry about crying during my message or what if I don’t speak clearly enough or even have enough to say. Good news, our calling is wrapped up in our obedience to God. 

We read in Exodus 9:16 NIV – But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.

We must trust in God to raise us up, however, the devil likes to tell me otherwise. Rather than relishing in God’s grace, sometimes I allow my past mistakes to cloud my vision for whom I am in Christ Jesus. As Lysa Terkheurst writes in her book Uninvited, “A line in our past can turn into a lie, which then turns into a label we place on ourselves and at that point becomes a liability.” She goes on to write, “rejection steals the best of who we are by reinforcing the worst that has been said to us.”

I know that God will use our past wrong choices, disappointment, deception, addiction, heartache, and rejection to catapult us into a life full of grace. 

Let’s pray. Dear God, thank You for Your grace that knows no boundaries. Thank You for equipping me to walk in the calling You have over my life. Help me to step out of my boat and Walk on Water today. In Jesus’s name I pray, Amen.

@biblegateway

Make a declaration with me today. I have provided an example. I encourage you to make your own declaration. 

I can choose my thoughts! I don’t have to accept Satan’s lies!

I have victory in Jesus! Fear is a liar! Christ is in me! I am enough!

I praise my God because I am fearfully and wonderfully made! (Psalm 139:14 NIV)

The one who is in me is greater than the one who is in the world! (1 John 4:4 NIV)

God’s not finished with me yet!

@biblegateway