I feel as though God has been laying some things on my heart and I am supposed to share them. I can't shake the words He is speaking to me. Not when He has been telling me the same things over and over again, in various ways through various people. My husband. The songs I hear on the radio. My children. The books I am reading. My pastor. The verses I am studying in Scripture on my own. My friends. Maybe He's even used YOU to speak to me...
As I share my thoughts and more so my questions to what God has been revealing to me, I want to be sure I stick to HIS Word and not just relay my interpretation of it. This morning our pastor reminded us of the importance of knowing God's Word and using it to combat Satan as he tries his best to derail us from the plans and purposes God has for us. He wants to sidetrack us, trick us, deceive us, sideline us, or whatever he can to prevent us from doing and BEING all God has created us to be. He lies to us. He misguides us. He trips us up. He sabotages us. Or tries to. He even uses Scripture - God's very Word - to carry out his evil schemes. He takes what God intended for good and twists and turns it, rips it out of context, distorts it, and more, but just enough that we don't tend to realize what he's doing. So, we fall for it. We believe his lies. We listen to him, thinking we are listening to God. And as we do, we miss out on all that God has for us. We forfeit His wonderful, amazing, spectacular, out-of-this-world, life-giving plans and purposes for us and trade them in for the not-so-glorious, mundane, quite ordinary, life-draining traps Satan has set ever so carefully for us.
My hope and prayer is that we will return to the TRUTH of God's Word and see for ourselves what God Himself has to say, that we will hear from HIM, that we will listen to HIM, that we will believe HIM, and that ultimately we will CHANGE THE WAY WE LIVE because of what we learn from HIM.
This is not about me. It's really not about you either. It's all about Jesus. The awesome thing is, though, as we focus on Jesus OUR lives get better and better. That's how God works. And that's what I want us to see. I want us to understand that we are MADE FOR MORE, so much more than what the world tells us, so much more than what Satan tries to convince us is good. But only as we "dig deep into God's Word" will we discover the "Father's heart" for us, only then can we break free from the chains Satan has used to tie us up and hold us back, without us even realizing it. Only then can we RUN and do and be all that God has created us to be. Only then can we live the ABUNDANT life God offers us, if we will just come to Him and drink from His flowing water and let us wash over us. Only then can we THRIVE...
I hope you will join me on this journey into God's Word. I am excited to discover with you what the Bible says about God's rich, lavish, gracious, ever-abounding love for you and me. I have goosebumps just thinking about the humanly insane, ridiculous, mind-boggling plans He has for each and every one of us. I get tears in my eyes as I pray for us to truly believe God and take Him as His Word. I can hardly wait to see what God will do in and through as we surrender our hearts and minds and lives over to Him. As we come to realize we serve the God who can do the impossible, may we also understand that this same God is living inside of us and equipping us with His power - the same power He used to raise Jesus Christ from the dead - to accomplish incredible things! Things we could never even begin to hope or imagine. Things beyond our wildest dreams.
But before we get started, I invite you to listen to a song God has used to spark this fire and ignite this dream inside of me...
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