He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.
Psalm 103:10-14 (ESV)

There is no doubt we can be our own worst enemies. We have the ability to allow our wants, desires, and other peoples influence take us from the path in which God knows is best for us. However, the great news is that there is always an open door back! Like the dad of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32, Father God welcomes us back into His court (time and time again). God's forgiveness abounds so much, that even a man who openly denied Christ (Peter) before his crucifixion (Luke 22:54-62) went on to deliver the message of Pentecost (Acts 2:14-36).

 

The key is to always seek God. 

Seek Him in your highs and lows, obedience and disobedience.

Only through Christ are we made perfect, alone we will never be. Yet, that doesn't mean in the midst of whatever we are going through that God doesn't care, whether it be by our own design or another's.

He is creator of the world, and He loves you so very much! Remember, it is by Him you are alive. It was by Him you were born.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39

Another great post by Gina, which I am delighted to share with you all now. She simply is a wonderful woman of God and it has been such a delight to watch her blossom within the almost ten years now that I have known her. Many of you enjoyed her previous piece, Fan The Right Flame, and I am sure you will be touched by this one, just as much.

Governed by the Holy Spirit 

(link will take you to her wordpress blog)

SiC ♥

So, who would be your favorite biblical person (aside from Jesus of course)? Mine would have to be Paul, of course if you have read some of the other devotionals or have been reading for a while, you may have picked up on that or even seen me say it before.  Hooray repeating and consistency!

Continuing on, while browsing upon the great social network invention Pinterest I saw a pin which was most disheartening to me. It read “Your God-fearing Facebook updates do not cause me to forget the godless –bleep- you were in high school”.  Ouch. Well someone woke up on the wrong side of life when they wrote that. Thank goodness that God doesn’t hold onto hatred like that or we’d all be doomed eh? Of course, dear person who wrote this, I am going on a limb and say you aren’t a God-fearing person now or you wouldn’t be showing hate like that on someone anyways. So, prays for you and all the people who ripped it along the way. 

So was I personally a “Godless” anything during high school? Nope not really (but I didn't have no halo over my head either), but I mean I can say without a doubt my walk now is stronger than it was back then (and common sense), so with all that one becomes a different person over time (with all the great additional ups and downs of life thrown in). Yet why must we remember things in ourselves and others that God has forgotten and that should be (us) /is (God) forgiven? Insert pseudo psychological evaluation but it is some sadistic means of torture I think, we already know that the evil one can play nasty tricks with our mind (bringing up memories we’d rather keep buried) and when he can’t win (or even when he does) at succeeding to cave into our torment, he extends our gaze to those around us. THIS is why I like Paul, time and time again, if God can love + use for His glory + betterment of ALL mankind a super mega killer of believers than ANYONE can be forgiven of what they have done / may do.  BAM! 

So yes, you may have lied with every movement of your tongue or had an adulterous span or you may have cheated someone out of money or even killed someone (or any of number of things you can think of), but guess what … you haven’t done ANYTHING that is too far out of reach that the GRACE OF GOD cannot find you and FORGIVE you for YOUR SINS if you believe.  And once they are washed away, they are done. You are made WHITE AS SNOW and God does not remember your transgressions. 

That’s truth. So let go and let God; not only of your own transgressions, but others as well. We live in a world that is FILLED with hate, what we need is a whole lot of PURE, TRUE, UNCHANGING LOVE for one another up in this space.

Be You. Be Beautiful. Be Love.

Now check the tunes (please) ->

Dear Heavenly Father,
We come to you tonight and THANK YOU for forgiveness. We deserve not on our accord, but through the death and resurrection of Your son, the Perfect One, Jesus Christ. By whom alone ALL men come to You or they don’t come at all. May You remove the hatred from our hearts, minds and lives Father. Fill us with peace, love and understanding. Have us act towards others, as You act towards us. We thank You for all things. In Jesus name, ><>

SiC <3

First and foremost thank you all who prayed along the way for Little Jimmie. He went this weekend onto a place with no more suffering nor pain, prayers of comfort for the family that remains here.

Scripture references for the messages that were given today are as follows:
Genesis 45:16-18

Acts 1:1-5
Hebrews 4:12
Psalm 23:4
Proverbs 18:21

Jonah [Book of]

Key Points:
Importance of trusting in God / Prayer Time
Importance of the Holy Spirit (part 1)
Importance of knowing the word / Obeying God's will for your life

Always remember to EAT YOUR VEGGIES!

Especially when you are having CAKE for breakfast.

So you will be properly nourished, in order to break-it-down on a
street corner singing praises to the Father!

*To God Be The Glory For All Things* 

What would that word be?

FREE!

Not convinced? Well, don’t take my word for it – read through the scripture verse blast below and make your own conclusion.

“And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written,
“THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME,
BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR.
HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES,
AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND,
TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,
TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.”
Luke 4:17-19 (NASB)

“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?” Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:31-36

“Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.” Acts 13:38-39

“What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” Romans 6:15-18

“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Romans 8:1-4

“But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.) Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.” Romans 15:15-18

“For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.” 1 Corinthians 2:11-13

 “What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it. Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law.” 1 Corinthians 9:18-21

“Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham.” Hebrews 2:14-16

“For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.” 1 Peter 2:15-17

Told Ya So =)

Dear Heavenly Father – Thank You for setting us FREE through Your Son Jesus Christ, by whom alone we are counted whole again in Your sight. May the number of Your kingdom grow more and more each day, as those around us learn this truth for themselves. In the name of Your Son Jesus, ><>