Are U Up for the Challenge?

Dear heavenly father thank you so much for yet another beautiful day! Thank you for giving us the strength to not only roll out of bed but to be able to go out and do the things you have set out for us to do. We lay all of our worries fears and struggles at your feet. Please exchange our yoke for your yolk giving us the lighter one so that we can go out and help others. Heavenly Father we also want to pray for all those people out there who are lost, broken, hurting, struggling and just needing you in their lives. Help them to see you today Lord the way that we see you. If there’s any way that we can help someone out today please guide us to that person give us the eyes to find the person the ears to listen to their problems and the words that you want to come out of our mouth to comfort them and encourage them. Lord we want to thank you for yesterday, all of the problems that we had and joy’s. Today we’re able to look at those pitfalls and step backs and be able to overcome them through your words and guidance. Help us to clear ourselves out so that you can bring your Holy Spirit into us using us as your vessel. In Jesus precious name amen.

Was I not worthy, or did I do something wrong? Those were the two biggest questions I kept asking myself when my life seemed to be in the toilet. What I should have been asking God. ” What can I do to get through this problem, Lord” or “God, I lay this problem at your feet. Please give me the strength to handle it.” It wasn’t because I was doing something bad or wrong. It was because this life is not perfect, and neither are we. God wants us to rely on him when things go wrong and good. Not just to praise him for the things that are going right in our lives but to come to him with our anger, our sadness with, our grief with, our addictions, and our mourning. He wants us to ask how we can overcome all these obstacles in our life. He could snap his fingers and make all of our problems go away. Would we want that? Would we have the kind of feelings, strengths, and experiences if we didn’t have the struggles, fears, and worries? No, we wouldn’t, and we definitely wouldn’t have to lean on God; therefore, we wouldn’t need God in our lives. We do need to know, however, that God is strong and amazing and wants to help us and wants us to come to him for all of our needs, good or bad.

I long for you to know me and to embrace my ways. Come and learn of the way eternal. For my paths will lead you into more joy, until it overflows. If you receive my love, even in difficulties, you will know the secret of the wonder of eternity. Don’t let appearances deceive you—my love will win every struggle that you face. Even this day, I have prepared a hiding place of mercy for you.

I want to give you a faith that is limitless—a faith that can come only from me. Let me flood you with love so magnificent and fulfilling that you never question it again. My love will wash away the discontentment you’ve experienced in this world. It will set you upon a foundation that cannot be ravaged by storms. If you walk in my ways, the higher ways of heaven, I will help you interpret situations rightly and give you the wisdom you need to navigate every situation. Tap into my eternal ways and allow me to satisfy the yearning of your soul.

Whispers written by Brian Simmons and Gretchen RodriguezPsalm 139:23

The Passion Translation

God, I invite your searching gaze into my heart. Examine me through and through; find out everything that may be hidden within me. Put me to the test and sift through all my anxious cares.

Have you ever gone the wrong way? Once you realized that you were headed in the opposite direction of where you wanted to end up, did you keep going—or did you turn around?

We’ve all been lost at one time or another.

We’ve all done things we regret.

We’ve all messed up.

“Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 2:38 NIV

“Sin” (the Greek word hamartia) means to miss the mark, to be mistaken, or to wander from the path of righteousness. “Repent” (the Greek word metanoeō) means to change one’s mind, change direction, or think and act differently.

To summarize our situation: God made the world, we messed it up, and Jesus has come to make things right again. This is our story. But the great news is, even when we’ve made choices that haven’t honored God in the past, it’s not too late to turn around.

But you (“each of you,” as Peter said) must decide if you want to abandon the path that eventually leads to empty pleasure and unnecessary pain, and turn back to God—allowing grace to wash over you, and by accepting the gift that’s already yours.

And that awesome gift—the Holy Spirit—will help you, lead you, and comfort you … in a way that only He can. And though you can’t take credit for purchasing the gift or giving the gift, the gift isn’t truly yours until you reach out and take it.

Your family cannot do it for you.

Your friends cannot do it for you.

Your church cannot do it for you.

“He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.”
Psalm 23:3 NLT

As you process today’s verse, in what way can you turn from your selfish desires and run back to God? Ask Him to give you the strength, discernment, and endurance to keep following Him … wherever He leads.

He is the better way.

“Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away—all who have been called by the Lord our God.””
‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭2:38-39‬ ‭NLT‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/116/act.2.38-39.NLT

Matthew 6:25-34 “therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air: they do not so or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you- you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘ What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ Or ‘ What shall we wear?’ for the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all those things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. ” I LOVE THIS SCRIPTURE!” I I have never been one to worry about money but many people do. The things I do worry about however are many but it always brings me back to these scriptures. We can also remember this scripture day by day just by looking at our window or taking a walk. I’ve always been fascinated at everything around me. The way the different flowers are colored, how beautiful the birds can be, but also looking at my situation. Every morning I leave my finances at my heavenly father’s feet. We only owe one person currently but are making slow and steady payments. Whenever I pray I ask that God meets our needs and not our wants. It seems like not long ago I was praying to God for a Ferrari but he gave me a Honda instead it was like he told me” this will get you to and from work and get your family around town, this is what you need!” If only I had more faith with things that I worry about, day by day however he increases that faith so long as I step out and trust in him. If you would like to trust and have more faith this morning then please join me in prayer. Heavenly Father we are your meek humble servants. We would like to place all of our warriors struggles fears and finances at your feet this morning. We don’t want the burden of having to worry over these things when we know that you will provide the solutions for us. Thank you for always being with us, in us, and around us, in Jesus name amen!

My family and I pray together as a family in the morning before we our home. We also pray before meals and sometimes before bed but not as much as we should. I have this view on what a perfect prayer life should look like but don’t always put it into practice. I’m going to make it a personal goal today to present an all in prayer challenge to my family. We are going to pray constantly in all circumstances whether things affect us in a positive or negative manner. Anytime anyone talks to us we will ask if we can have prayer at the end of the conversation. 1st Thessalonians 5:16 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. I used to only pray when things were going wrong and I needed a helping hand up. In this verse however it is asking us to pray in “ALL”, circumstances not just the bad times. We should be praising God especially when things are going well. Sometimes I just expect God to do these good things for me and I don’t end up telling him thank you enough. I don’t want to just challenge my family but you as well. Go out and be the best prayer warriors that God has called us to be! Even if you think that you are not great at praying do it anyways because practice makes perfect. I get compliments on my prayers quite often but I always feel like there’s room for improvement. The best way to advance in your prayer life is to ask the Holy Spirit what to pray for and how to pray, believe me he will give you the words. If you’d like to be better at praying for yourself and others then please join me in this morning’s prayer. Dear heavenly father thank you for yet another beautiful day. Thank you for the opportunity that we have to just roll out of bed and take the breath of Life. Lord we give you all of our struggles worries fears and burdens today unloading our yoke for your yoke giving us a lighter load that way we can go out and help others without any restrictions. Touch your minds and our lips today when we speak please let it be the Holy Spirit speaking through us. Nudges and influences on what to say in these perfect moments. In Jesus precious name amen!

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. – Galatians 5:22-23

As you receive the Spirit of Christ—the Spirit of unselfish love and labor for others—you will grow and bring forth fruit. The graces of the Spirit will ripen in your character. Your faith will increase, your convictions deepen, your love be made perfect. More and more you will reflect the likeness of Christ in all that is pure, noble, and lovely. . . . This fruit can never perish, but will produce after its kind a harvest unto eternal life. – Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 67-68

As you walk intimately with Jesus, may faith feel as natural to you as breathing in and out. Pause throughout the weekend to look at the sky, notice a child, or help someone in need. Remember that you belong to Creator God. He made you for a purpose and placed you on the earth for such a time as this. Be selective about what you allow into your soul. Be more careful with the thoughts that seek to take up residence in your brain. Understand the wisdom of guarding your heart and renewing your mind. It’ll change your life. Breathe in God’s promises and breathe out His Word. Rehearse His goodness. And remember your worth. You are His masterpiece. Walk with joyful, humble, bold confidence today. susielarson.com

Ephesians 2:10 NLT ~ For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.

The Bible is full of hope. It contains everything we need. The good news of salvation is clearly presented to the reader. But all these wonderful elements of the Word are of no use if they are not moving from our mind to our heart and into our actions. Taking hold of the promises in the Word will enable you to put into practice what is written. This process can be painful at times, but rest assured, it is for your benefit and will lead to an ever-deepening appreciation of your Friend Jesus and His Truth. Is it your desire, today, to let God’s word penetrate your heart, cut out what is destroying you, and heal your life

My family and I were helping to clean a friend’s place one day. It took us about 2 hours and went quickly until Ginger, “my wife,” came into the room I was cleaning to tell me something. She said to me that our daughter had had an accident, one that involved dirty britches. Lily, ” our daughter,” said to her that her stomach was hurting, and we figured after the job, we would go and give her some tummy medicine. Ginger said that Lily was very embarrassed and didn’t want me to know about it. My wife just wanted me to go home, grab a change of clothes for her and come back. Ginger had left the room, and I started thinking about the situation.

My daughter would see me going because she was in the front room and would start questioning why I was leaving. She would also beg to come with me. Instead, I called Lily, saying, “Hurry, come here”! Lily came bursting into the room saying,” What’s the matter, Daddy”! I told her that I had an accident, that I didn’t want her to tell Mommy, and that I needed to go home to get some new shorts. As soon as she heard this, she looked worried on her face. She told me, “let me see daddy,” and tried to look behind me. Instead, I kept saying,” I’m embarrassed I don’t want to show you”! Lily told me,” It will be okay, Daddy. I had an accident too, and that accidents happened. Then I told her that I would run home and grab some new shorts, and for her as well. We would then be okay. It choked me up a bit, however, knowing that I was trying to help my daughter, and she, in turn, helped me with a kind, loving heart. It reminds me of a couple of different scriptures. One is John 13:34, A new command I give you love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. The other is Ephesians 4:2. Be completely humble and gentle, be patient, bearing with one another in love. Many other scriptures support the story that I have shared with you. The importance, however, is that we show empathy and compassion towards one another. We want God to love us every second of every day. Should we not do the same for others who want that same Love. Every morning, we should place all of our worries, struggles, and fears at Jesus’s feet and ask how we can love others the same way He loves us.

Dear heavenly Father, we come to you this morning and lay all our struggles, worries, and fears at your feet. Giving us a clean slate for the day to go out and help others. Show us how to break our hardened hearts and show others love today. In Jesus’ precious name, amen!