Refusing to Sow Discord

By: Sarah Geringer 

These six things the Lord hates,

Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:

A proud look,

A lying tongue,

Hands that shed innocent blood,


A heart that devises wicked plans,

Feet that are swift in running to evil,

 A false witness who speaks lies,

And one who sows discord among brethren.

Proverbs 6:16-19 NKJV

Sometimes focusing on the negative can teach us so much. That's what today's reading in Proverbs 6:16-19 does for us.

God mentions seven things that He hates. The one we will focus today on is the seventh: A person who sows discord.

I chose the photo of a dandelion to illustrate this point. Dandelions spread their seeds freely. One puff of wind sends hundreds of seeds into the air.

These hard-to-kill weeds pop up everywhere a seed lands. The deep tap root of a dandelion is not easy to pull up. Unless you eradicate every plant, one dandelion plant will easily populate an untreated yard in a single summer.

The one who sows discord is even worse than a determined dandelion.

With her careless words, she plants seeds that easily take root and are tough to pull up. Her thoughtless words broadcast discord far and wide. Her gossip is like weeds that overtake a healthy group.

I have been this person before. I remember times that my negative, critical, harsh, and gossip-laced words caused untold destruction. I don't even want to think about how much discord I helped sow and how much conflict I stirred.

We all need God's forgiveness for discord we helped sow. We can all receive it when we humbly ask for it and open our hearts to him.

I'm so glad God offers grace to the one who is sorry for sowing discord and stirring up conflict.

One reason I love the book of Proverbs is for its no-nonsense guidance. It's clear in these verses who God is and what He expects. I am thankful for this guide, because it teaches me the model for who God wants me to be.

In this time of quarantine, where we aren't exposed to as many people, we can work on these stubborn sins with God's help. We can confess our faults to him, ask him to set a guard at our minds and mouths (Psalm 141:3) and grow more Christlike. If we commit ourselves to this type of spiritual growth now, we'll be better prepared when we will gather together again.

Today, read this list of seven sins, and meditate on how God wants your heart to change. Ask him to help you change. Meditate on verses that you can use when you are triggered. Pray that the Holy Spirit will help you overcome these sins, bear more spiritual fruit in his power, and give you the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16).

Here's a prayer to encourage you today:

Heavenly Father,
I praise you for your holiness.
I have failed to meet your standards many times.
But I want to become more like Jesus.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be transformed.
I don't want to sow discord any longer.
Set a guard in my mind and at my lips, Lord.
Change the way I perceive and speak to others.
Help me bear the spiritual fruits
of kindness and gentleness instead.
In Jesus' name, Amen.

If you want to share feedback on this post, please leave a comment below. You can always share at my site if you have any trouble leaving a comment here.

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Have a wonderful weekend!

Blessings and God's peace to you,

Sarah Geringer
Finding Peace in God's Word

Photo from Canva.com

Thanks to BibleGateway.com for easy scripture navigation!

As The Deer

By: Jenifer Metzger

Recently I have started walking again. I am walking for heart health and because it is so good for the pesky restless leg syndrome that keeps me awake at night. Each morning I walk one mile, just one. No biggie. Except, I am out of shape, I am forty, and it is about a bazillion degrees here in the Midwest.

One morning last week my son was leaving for work as I was walking in the door. He said, "Wow. Why do you look like you just ran ten miles?" Uh. Excuse me? Ran? Nope, I walked. Ten miles? Nope, just one. I was drenched in sweat, panting far too heavy for one mile, and dying for some water.

What if we desperately longed for God the way I long for water after a walk? The way a deer pants for the cool streams?

We count down the minutes until the new episode of our favorite show. Our mouth waters for the warm, fresh out of the oven brownies. We cannot function when we leave our phone at home by accident. We yearn for the waves of the ocean. But we don't long for God.

When we miss church, no biggie. When we skip our quiet time, no problem. When we see the lost, our heart doesn't ache. When we forget to pay our tithe, we feel no guilt. Why do we long for everything but God?

I think it all goes back to commandment number one: have no other gods before Me (Exodus 20:3). When we place God as number one in our life, when He is above all, we will long for Him. We will desperately seek Him.

Let's be women who place God as number one in our lives and hearts and let's truly long for more of Him.

It's time for Share A Link Wednesday! Each Wednesday we invite you to leave a link to your latest blog post in the comments. We still desire to connect women of God with one another and encourage each other in Christ. So grab a cup of coffee or glass of sweet tea, sit back and visit a few blogs. Be encouraged and share your own stories.

Resting in God's Mission and Plan for Your Life

By: Rebekah Hargraves

Photo Courtesy of: Ana Tavares

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” ~Ephesians‬ ‭2:10‬

This is a verse from one of my favorite books of the Bible that really jumped off the page at me in a new way several months back. I had read this verse countless times over the years, but never before had it impacted me so deeply as it did that particular morning.

The thought that popped into my head was regarding the implications of this verse in light of our current culture of competition, hustling, and striving to make our dreams come to fruition right away.

This kind of behavior, that can be all too common, often comes from a place of fear, rather than from a place of trusting God. I heard someone say something on a podcast one day that I completely disagreed with and that I think is lending itself to this phenomenon of fearful striving.

The podcast guest said that, as a writer, she believes that there are all these book ideas out floating somewhere in the universe and that if we don’t quickly snatch one of the ideas up and begin working on it, then someone else will.

Sorry, but I cry foul on that fear-based mentality. It is true that if one person refuses to do what God wants to have done, He will raise up another person. But that’s different.

I believe that what Ephesians 2:10 is saying is that if you are dedicated to waking by the Spirit, are remaining in step with God, and dedicated to doing whatever He calls you to do when He calls you to do it, whether that is write a book, lead a ministry, serve at a homeless shelter, acquire a certain dream job, or something else entirely, God will undoubtedly bring it to pass. You don’t have to hustle, strive, pay for followers, spend hours on social media to build a platform, or cheat your way to the “top”.

Instead, you can believe that God is God and that the good works He prepared long before you were born, the good works He wants *you* to do, will come to pass in His own perfect timing - no matter what good works someone else is doing!

We can rest in that truth today, friend. 

Those Who Mourn

By: Joanne Viola

Today we continue on in the Beatitudes. Jesus continued to teach:

“God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4, NLT)

The mourning He speaks of here derives from the word “lament”. It is a deep personal grief caused either by sin, tragedy, social evils, or oppression.

Jesus is describing the person whose heart is broken by what breaks God’s heart.

This mourning Jesus speaks of is a pain that, if we allow it, will push us more deeply into our relationship with God.

“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.” (Romans 5:3-4, NLT)

There are lessons learned from such mourning:

1. God doesn’t waste our pain. Our pain produces. Each step through a time of mourning produces fruit in our life until we are made complete.
2. We learn to endure. The small things in life become easier to overcome or overlook. We gain strength to not only jump over the hurdles of life ourselves, but also encourage others to do so.
3. Our hope is solidified. Just as Jesus overcame, He is our hope in the midst of our pain. His strength becomes ours.

But this mourning does more in our lives – it enables us to come alongside others. When we are comforted by God, we are able to comfort others with the same comfort we have received.

“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4, NLT)

And this is the precious promise we have been given as written in Isaiah 61:3 –

We will receive a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
a joyous blessing instead of mourning, and
festive praise instead of despair.
And we will be like great oaks, standing strong, planted for the Lord's own glory.

Image by silviarita from Pixabay

 

Rehearsing What I Know Of God

by Elizabeth Stewart

I love the honesty of God's Word. There is so much evidence that the Bible is truly God-breathed and true-things like prophecies fulfilled over the centuries and archeological evidence confirming Biblical history. But, one of the things that, to me, is evidence that the Bible is not just some made up religious volume is the fact that the Bible clearly shows the human frailty, weakness and sinfulness of  all of the God/Jesus followers, all of the heroes of our faith in both the Old and New Testaments. There is no effort to make the life of a believer seem anything but down to earth and real, struggles and all.

In Psalm 42 the psalmist writes about his soul being "cast down." In The Message Bible it says, "my soul in the dumps." Perhaps due to our current circumstances-the coronavirus pandemic, the economic impact of the shutdown due to the virus, the civil unrest or any number of other personal struggles you might be going through-you too have had some days when your soul is cast down or in the dumps. The writer of this Psalm encourages himself by "rehearsing" everything He knows of God.  What are some things you and I know of God that can help us in times like these?

God is still in control even when things around me feel out of control.
God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne. Psalm 47:8 NKJV

God promises to never leave me or let go of me.
I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!] Hebrews 13:5 AMPC

God sees me, loves me and cares for me.
Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully. 1 Peter 5:7 AMPC

It is impossible for God to be unfaithful, even when I feel faithless.
If we are faithless [do not believe and are untrue to Him], He remains true (faithful to His Word and His righteous character), for He cannot deny Himself. 2 Timothy 2:13 AMPC

I can be confident that God is merciful and gracious to me, a refuge and shelter for me in stormy times.
Be merciful and gracious to me, O God, be merciful and gracious to me, for my soul takes refuge and finds shelter and confidence in You; yes, in the shadow of Your wings will I take refuge and be confident until calamities and destructive storms are passed. Psalm 57:1 AMPC

The psalmist said that he rehearsed what he knew of God. To rehearse means to practice or mentally prepare. Our minds are prone to rehearse the things we don't like about the circumstances we are in. We mentally grumble, complain, worry and fret. It takes a deliberate shift, a choice to change the course of our thoughts, to rehearse what we know of God instead of continuing to stay "in the dumps."  Why not start rehearsing what you know of God by compiling your own scripture list of things about His character and His care for you?

justfollowingjesus.com

Choosing a Positive Outlook

By: Sarah Geringer 

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Romans 3:23-24 NIV

If I had to ask you how you are doing today, what would your answer be?

Years ago, I started listening to Dave Ramsey's radio show. When a caller would ask him how he was doing, this was his standard response:

Better than I deserve.

I knew from reading Dave's books that he had gone bankrupt. He struggled a long time before achieving success again. Dave's failures made him humble and grateful that God restored his fortunes. Now he always gives God the credit for his success.

As a person with a natural melancholy bent, I find Dave's response to be inspiring. Normally when someone asks me how I'm doing, I simply reply, "Fine." If I'm feeling honest, I'll say something like, "I'm doing o-kay." But I don't usually give such an upbeat response.

However, I want to choose a positive outlook on life. With a positive outlook, I can shine more light into this negative world.

Lately, I've been reflecting on my past sins and how God has delivered me from them. Truth be told, if it wasn't for God's grace, I would be on a pretty sad path right now, full of self-pity and hopelessness.

These verses can help us realize we are all better than we deserve:

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Romans 3:23-24 NIV

When we look at the cold, hard truth, we are all sinners who deserve nothing but punishment for our sins. Yet because Jesus was willing to die as a sacrifice, we can be set free. 

We are all better than we deserve, thanks to God!

If you are struggling to have a positive outlook today, I hope you will use Romans 3:23-24 in these ways:
1. Meditate on these verses. Let them sink in. 
2. Allow them to transform your thinking and provide a foundation of truth. 
3. Ask God to remind you of these verses throughout the day, so you can rise above your hurts and struggles with stronger faith. 
4. Use them to praise God in prayer or song.

With God's Word as our foundation, we can choose a positive outlook instead of a negative one. We always have reason to thank God for giving us better than we deserve, which can turn our perspective around.

Here's a prayer to encourage you today:

Heavenly Father,
I praise you for the priceless gift of your grace.
I confess that I have wronged you many times, and I deserve your punishment.
Thank you for giving me far more than I deserve.
Fix my eyes on the wonderful gifts you have given me.
Your grace is beautiful to me!
I choose to have a more positive outlook, 
based on the truth of your Word.
In Jesus' name, Amen.

If you want to share feedback on this post, please leave a comment below. You can always share at my site if you have any trouble leaving a comment here.

If you enjoyed this post, please share on your favorite social media site using the buttons below.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Blessings and God's peace to you,

Sarah Geringer
Finding Peace in God's Word

Photo from Canva.com

Thanks to BibleGateway.com for easy scripture navigation!

Bible VS Bible Apps

By: Jenifer Metzger

Growing up in church, I remember seeing Bibles everywhere. Everyone carried their Bible tucked under their arm to church on Sunday and Wednesday. During service Bibles would lay open in laps and you'd hear pages flipping as the Pastor would give a Scripture reference. Bibles were preached from. Bible reading and study was deeply encouraged. Bibles were precious and important.

Fast forward and Bibles are rarely carried to church anymore. Many pastors don't even use a Bible when they are preaching, which breaks my heart. Everyone has a Bible app on their phones. Now please do not get me wrong, Bible apps are amazing! I love the convenience of a Bible app and I love reading plans and devotions that many Bible apps offer. I even love that you can have a Bible app read to you. I have YouVersion and She Reads Truth apps on my phone and do use them from time to time.

This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth;

you are to meditate on it day and night so that you may

carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will

prosper and succeed in whatever you do.

Joshua 1:8

In this very digital age, a Bible app can be a help, even a great blessing, but it can also be a hindrance. Should we use an actual Bible? Here are a few reasons why using a physical Bible is important.

Carrying a physical Bible is a witness. When your neighbor sees you walk out of the house with your Bible, when your co-worker sees you open a Bible at lunch, and when strangers see you reading a Bible in a waiting room, you are witnessing! Even if you don't have a conversation with them, you are planting a seed.

Using a physical Bible helps you learn where the books of the Bible are. Learning the books of the Bible is important! When using a Bible app, you just type in the Scripture you want and it pops up. Super easy! However, you don't see the books before or after. Learning the books in order can aid in Bible study.

Using a physical Bible helps you read verses in context. When you type in the verse you want and it pops up, you miss the verses before and after. Often this can lead to reading a verse out of context.

Using a physical Bible can avoid distractions. We all know the pings and dings a phone constantly produces. When reading the Bible through an app or using a Bible app at church, we can easily be distracted. People are using their phone during church for their Bible, but one bubble pops up and they feel the need to quickly check or reply. Before they know it, they are scrolling through social media only half listening to the message.

Using a physical Bible teaches our family. When you are reading or studying the Bible through an app, you could literally be doing anything. Your child sees you and for all they know, you are on Facebook or Amazon. Yet if they see you with your Bible, they know you are in God's Word. You are teaching your family the importance of the Bible. I would much rather my family look back over my life and remember me with my Bible instead of my phone.

I want to reiterate, there is nothing wrong with a Bible app. Over 100 million people have downloaded the YouVersion app and I am sure a large of them were reading the Bible for the very first time. How amazing is that!

I am a paper girl. I much prefer to write things down than make notes in my phone, use a paper planner over the calendar app, and read a physical book over an ebook. Yet I know not everyone is this way, especially a younger generation. Phones and tablets are convenient, easy, and that is okay. But when it comes to God's Word, there is something so powerful about opening the pages of the Holy Bible and reading this living Word.

Your turn:
1) Do you prefer a physical Bible or Bible app?
2) Do you carry a physical Bible to church?
3) What are your own thoughts on a physical Bible VS a Bible app?

It's time for Share A Link Wednesday! Each Wednesday we invite you to leave a link to your latest blog post in the comments. We still desire to connect women of God with one another and encourage each other in Christ. So grab a cup of coffee or glass of sweet tea, sit back and visit a few blogs. Be encouraged and share your own stories.

The Poor in Spirit

By: Joanne Viola

For the next several weeks, we’ll be looking at The Beatitudes. Here we find Jesus teaching the principles of the kingdom, His Kingdom. These are principles to help guide our daily lives.

“God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.” (Matthew 5:3, NLT)

These are the people who realize they are spiritually bankrupt – they have nothing apart from God’s grace.

In his book, The Good Life, Dr. Derwin L. Gray explains it this way:

“Being poor in spirit means to see your spiritual bankruptcy so that you can make room for the treasures of Christ.” (from page 28)

It is those who feel their spiritual need every single day. It is those who only have utter confidence in the provision of and from God. Recognizing our need and our utter inability to provide or change our circumstances, we humbly come before Him and in our state of humility, we find Him willing and waiting to dwell with us.

”The high and lofty one who lives in eternity, the Holy One says this: I live in the high and holy place with those whose spirits are contrite and humble. I restore the crushed spirit of the humble and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts.” (Isaiah 57:15, NLT)

Recognizing ourselves as poor and in need, then moves our hearts to see how Jesus responded to those in need – He often fed them, healed them, forgave them, sat down and visited with them.

Jesus Himself became poor for us:

“You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9, NLT)

Jesus became the model for us. By His self-sacrifice, giving up the riches of heaven to experience being poor on earth, He was able to make us rich with His blessings here on earth.

As we recognize ourselves as poor and see what we have received from Him,
we are better able to love the poor and care for the vulnerable.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash 

 

Christ's Rule and Christ's Peace

by Elizabeth Stewart

For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of His government and peace

There will be no end,

Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,

To order it and establish it with judgment and justice

From that time forward, even forever.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. Isaiah 9:6-7

At the beginning of this year I wrote a blog post about the scriptures above, mentioning that my word for the year is peace. I also noted that I was surprised to read this same passage in The Message Bible and to discover that instead of the title Prince of Peace it says Prince of Wholeness. This sent me on a search of what the Hebrew lexicon said about the original word used and it is, of course, the Hebrew word shalom. While that didn't surprise me, I was surprised that the word shalom means, not just peace, but also wholeness and completeness. What an encouragement this discovery was to me, as God had already been speaking to my heart about rebuilding, restoration, completeness and wholeness. This was a confirmation to me of His dealings and direction.

We are over halfway through 2020, and I'm sure you'll agree with me when I say that this year has been a wild and crazy ride. It has not been a peace filled year, but it has been a year of learning to be peace filled in the midst of difficult circumstances. This week, God brought me back to Isaiah 9:6-7 and showed me an important connection about His peace that I hadn't made before.

This passage in Isaiah is a prophecy about the coming Messiah. It foretells His birth and also His second coming when He will make all wrong things right on planet earth and rule and reign forever and ever on the throne of David. It speaks of the government being on His shoulder. (Hallelujah for the day when earthy politics will be over!) Then it lists names that He will be called, followed by the words "of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end."  While I know that this passage is speaking of the actual government of Christ on the earth and the subsequent peace He will bring, (unlike the short season of false peace that the anti-christ will bring in order to deceive the world), I want to focus on the link between Christ's government in us and the increase of peace, wholeness and completeness that He gives us.

You see, we cannot have peace and completeness and wholeness within, if Christ is not allowed to truly rule and reign in all areas of our life. I often cry out for peace within. But, if I am holding on to areas of self-rule, if I am blocking the increase of His government/His rulership from certain areas of my life, then it is impossible for me to be peace filled and complete and whole. I am, in essence, a divided kingdom within. I have given Christ reign in bits and pieces of my life, but put up no trespassing signs in other areas. Until, I let His government increase in me, until I let Him be Sovereign Lord over all, I will lack the peace and wholeness and completeness that I seek. So, lately I've been shifting the focus of my prayers. I am asking His government to increase within me. I'm learning to daily die to self-will and to choose God's will. I'm declaring that I trust His leadership in my life. I'm trusting Him with all of the desires and longings and petitions of my heart and placing them in His hands. I'm choosing to stop trying to figure things out on my own and trusting Him to guide my steps day by day. The more I let go and choose to trust God and let Him govern my life, the more whole and complete and at peace I am. It's a process and journey I'm still on based on daily choices of surrendering to Christ's lordship in my life-but it's been a beautiful, worthwhile journey. Would you like to join me?

justfollowingjesus.com

Spiritual Tips for Better Sleep

By: Sarah Geringer 

In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe.
Psalm 4:8 NLT

Do you have trouble sleeping? You're in good company. About 70 percent of Americans have trouble sleeping at least one night per month, and about 10 percent have trouble sleeping every night!

My husband and I are both light sleepers. When we first married, we shared a double bed. This caused us to wake up several times a night, because we woke each other up while we tossed and turned. Getting a king-sized bed a few years later helped us sleep better.

This summer, we also tried something new to improve our sleep. We ordered blackout curtains for our east-facing, large bedroom windows. How I wish we would have ordered these years ago, because it makes a huge difference! A white-noise fan helps us too, and when necessary, I add a sleeping mask.

All these tips and tricks aren't foolproof, however. We often have disrupted sleep because our minds aren't at rest. Many of us go to bed with hundreds of worries still on our minds. No wonder we can't get a full night of rest!

I love this psalm because it gives us a practical tip. If we pray this verse before lying down, we are trusting God to be in control of our sleep. We trust him to keep us safe during the night and give us peace for better rest. Declare this verse and go to sleep with confidence in God.

Here are a few more spiritual tips to help you get better sleep:

1. Pray before you go to bed. 
Surrender your to-do list to him, along with all your worries. If you fall asleep while doing this, that's just fine with God. He wants to hear from you, especially before you go to sleep.

2. If you wake up during the night, consider it a call for prayer. 
Many times, God speaks most clearly to me in the middle of the night. Don't fret or fume; ask God to speak to you in his still, small voice. You may learn to recognize God's whisper in the night better than any other time of day.

3. Commit your sleep problem to regular prayer. 
If you struggle with sleep most nights, it's possible that you are dealing with a spiritual stronghold. Pray that God will reveal the source of your sleeping struggles and help you treat it with the safest, most effective methods. Sometimes prayer alone can solve your sleeping problem!

Do you have other spiritual tips for sleeping better? I'd love to hear from you!

If you want to share feedback on this post, please leave a comment below. You can always share at my site if you have any trouble leaving a comment here.

If you enjoyed this post, please share on your favorite social media site using the buttons below.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Blessings and God's peace to you,

Sarah Geringer
Finding Peace in God's Word

Photo from Canva.com

Thanks to BibleGateway.com for easy scripture navigation!