freedom and confidence/day 10

We have the ability approach God with freedom and confidence. I personally believe that is something that we take for granted. Oftentimes we might feel like we are obligated to approach God and don't have the confidence to do so. 

That usually causes some ruts in our faith. When we feel obligated to do things - we often aren't taking action out of love. Obligations are actions that we take when we feel like we have to do something without a deeper meaning. 

When we don't have confidence, we are often immediately filled with doubt. Think about it this way...Imagine not having any confidence in your ability to learn something each time you open your bible...you'll never learn anything without confidence. 

In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. (Ephesians 3:12)

My hope for you is to start approaching your walk with Christ in confidence. I promise that you will begin to grow in ways that you never thought were possible when you have confidence. I also encourage you to embrace the freedom that we have through Christ. There are people all over the world who don't have the freedom to practice their religion and in America we have the freedom to do that. Please don't take it for granted. 

Day 10: Dear heavenly Father, thank you for another day! I am especially thankful for your love and for this life you have blessed us with. I pray that you help us embrace the freedom we have to worship you daily. I also pray for our confidence. I pray that we all start to have more confidence in our walks with you. I know that oftentimes that is tough. But you make all things possible. Thank you for loving us unconditionally. 

Day 9

I really don't know if anyone follows these posts closely or not. If you do, you might have noticed that I didn't post yesterday. I made a commitment to pray with you for 21 straight days and it didn't happen. 

But I will be honest - yesterday I didn't completely forgot. Sometimes you just have to take a step back and away from everything. In life we try to make commitments all the time. We try to get on the best diets and workout plans only to be right back where we started most of the time.

The important thing is how you respond. How do you respond when you forgot to do something you were committed to? Do you just give up? Or do you wake up the next day and do it again?

We are not perfect by any means. Your routines aren't going to be perfect. How you try to structure your day isn't going to be perfect. But when you focus on what you can control and get after it each day, that is what will lead to the growth that you really want. 

Day 9: Dear heavenly Father, thank you for another beautiful day and an amazing weekend. I pray that you be with us more than ever this week. It's a start to a new week. I pray for those who often struggle with commitments. I pray that we don't get too down on ourselves and give up. I pray that no matter what we get up each day and try again. It's never about how well we do at something - it's about how hard we try. 

Satruday's/Day 8

Happy Saturday! I feel as if every time Saturday rolls around I enjoy it more. I love waking up on Saturday mornings ready to conquer the day. I know it can be tough sometimes. It's easy to completely turn everything off. But I have found that being able to accomplish things on Saturday mornings make you feel really good. 

I think it would be really awesome for y'all to find something this Saturday to accomplish. Whether it's a workout, starting a new book, trying something new, etc. Don't just use today to relax. Life is too short and too amazing to not be doing things like this.

Day 8: Dear heavenly Father, thank you for a beautiful Saturday morning. I am also thankful for the rain last night. I know a lot of farmers really hoped for that. I pray that today can be awesome for everyone. I pray that people can accomplish something today rather than letting Saturday accomplish it's self. I especially pray for my friend EJ and Mikayla who get married today. I pray that you keep everyone safe at the wedding and that you bless them for all the days of their lives. Thank you for loving us more than we could ever imagine. 

 

A proper response/Day 7

For it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift from God - not by works, so that no one can boast. 

(Ephesians 2:8-9)

When someone gives you a gift, do you say, "That's very nice-how much do I oder you?" No, the appropriate response to a gift is "Thank you." Yet how often Christians, even after they have been given a gift of salvation, feel obligated to try to work their way to God. Because our salvation and even our faith are gifts, we should respond with gratitude, praise and joy.

How many times do you get in a spot where you feel like you have to give something back to God? I know that oftentimes that is a mindset that we have. When we have that mindset we just get in a cycle of never really being able to give something back to God. Honestly, that's because we don't have to and we can't.

The best way to respond to the gifts God has given us is through gratitude, praise and joy.

I encourage you all to start doing that. Praising God rather than trying to figure out how to work our way to God is the easier way if you ask me. Not too many times is the easier way, the way that is right.

Day 7: Dear heavenly Father, I praise you for helping us all make it through another week. I pray that there were people out there who really made a difference this week. I'm so thankful for all the gifts you've given us. I pray that we praise you and be joyful all the time rather than trying to work our way to you. Thank you for loving us more than we could ever imagine.

The head of the church/Day 6

One of my favorite phrases in the bible is this: "And God placed all things under his feet." 

To me me that is the ultimate boss move. It shows God's power over all things. It help me understand the significance up God and the insignificance of so many other things. 

And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to the head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. 

(Ephesians 1:22-23)

With God being head over everything, that means he is head over the church. Oftentimes I feel like we let other things dictate that. I think in our minds we all have an idea of what we want church to be like each Sunday. Sometimes we don't like the music. Sometimes the sermon might not be great. Sometimes you might not agree with church leadership, etc. 

I don't really understand why we forget this, but Christ is head over all those things. The church is Christ. It't not God's fault if there is something about our church's that we struggle with.

Fullness refers to Christ filling the church with gifts and blessings. The church should be the full expression of Christ, who himself fills everything. The book of Ephesians was primarily written to the entire church, not just an individual. 

The imagine of the body shows the church's unity. Each member is involved with all the others as they go about doing Christ's work on earth. We should not attempt to work, serve, or worship merely on our own. We need the entire body. 

I encourage you to remember that Christ is the ultimate head of the church and that as a body, we must all work together to go about doing Christ's work.

Day 6: Dear heavenly Father, thank you for a great nights sleep last night! Sleep is an amazing thing. I pray specially today for the church. The church has really had to step up the past couple months and it's been cool to see. I pray that all members of the body continue to work together for the purpose of doing Christ's work. I specifically pray that there is no division in the church either. I pray that we continue to understand that Christ is the head of the church and that God has placed everything under his feet. 

Day 5

Day 5: Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for waking me up this morning. That you for providing me with the strength to keep this 21 days of prayer going. Today might have been the most difficult yet. I stayed up late. I am exhausted. I didn't feel like doing this at all. But time and time again - whenever I don't want to do something and do it anyways - that's when I feel the most fulfilled and the closest to you. I pray today for everyone who is trying to become more disciplined and trying to stick to habits. I pray you give us the strength to stick to it. Because it's not easy by any means. But I am sure that anyone who is very disciplined would say, once you get something figured out, there is no stopping you. Thank you for loving us like crazy. 

a little is better than nothing/Day 4

Being regimented like I tend to be, I used to think that if I can't fully do something I am used to doing, there is not point at all.

For example, when I have my Jesus time. I like to spend time reading the word, journaling, and then blogging about it. It doesn't take that long for me to do, but sometimes I just don't have the time. I used to beat myself up over it because when I didn't have time, I wouldn't do any of those three things.

I've came to the realization the past couple months that a little is better than nothing. If I can fit at least one of those three things in my day, it's fulfilling to me. Better to use the time I have to be productive rather than just throwing it all out the window.

This morning all I had time for was writing a blog post. Today you might only have time to get into the word. You might only have time to read a devotional plan on your phone, etc. My point is...I know that we are all extremely busy but there is always time where we can honor God in some sort of fashion. 

My encouragement is not to get down on yourself if you aren't spending time with God on a daily basis. There is always something to work for and that it could be it. Just remember: a little bit is better than nothing at all.

Day 4: Dear heavenly Father, I am so thankful for another day. You didn't have to let me wake up today, but here we are and it's another day to love others and to honor you. I pray for everyone today when it comes to their relationship with you. Sometimes it's hard to find time for you in our busy lives, but I know that deep down everyone longs for the fulfillment and eternal salvation that you bring. I pray that everyone can find something that they do on a daily basis to enhance their relationship with God. Whether it's something that is 5 minutes or an hour. A little is better than nothing.