The One He Loves

I am the one He loves.

I regularly remind myself of God’s love for me because it is the only thing that gives me the confidence and boldness to do everything He’s called me to do.

I feel like I’m good company because I’m reminded of John, who called himself, “the disciple that Jesus loves.” I sometimes wonder if John believed—the same way I do—that receiving the love of God is often the beginning of everything you will ever do for the Kingdom of God. After all, we love because He first loved us.

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Butterflies Don’t Turn Back Into Caterpillars

Who do you worship?

Is there a relationship in your life that you idolize, adore, or glorify? Often, the important relationships in our lives can slip into a place of worship without us even realizing it. The problem is that our identities are shaped by who we worship. So, when we worship another person, we actually become that person’s image of us.

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Is God Really Good?

“I’m just not sure if I see God as good. I see Him as holy but not necessarily kind.”

Someone said this to me a few days ago, and it immediately brought me back to my teenage years when I had the exact same thought. I was trying to read through the Old Testament, and I remember being so confused by God’s responses to His people. In Exodus, He responded to the Israelites’ grumblings in the wilderness with grace time after time. Then suddenly in Numbers, He responded to the exact same grumblings with curses and serpents.

I found myself wondering: Did He just run out of patience? Does that mean His grace for me also has limits? Why did He keep blessing Abraham and Moses, even though they made so many terrible choices, but then didn’t show that same continued grace to His people when they were wandering in the desert? Does He have favorites?

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A Girl With a Sword

I have been so encouraged by my time in 1 John. I love all of the books written by John—he has a beautiful, poetic way of describing the love of God—and a key emphasis of this particular book is how to turn “loving one another” into a way of life. I have had a lot of people ask me what my time studying/reading His Word looks like. So, let me start by saying I am not an expert nor do I have a degree in anything pertaining to Biblical Studies. I’m just a girl who loves Jesus and loves spending time in God’s Word.

I’m not unaware of the spiritual war I’m in. I have strapped on my belt of truth, my breastplate of righteousness, my boots of peace, my shield of faith, and the helmet of my salvation…I’m not about to leave my sword behind.

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Serving Satan an Eviction Notice: Destroying Strongholds

“For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” 
– 2 Corinthians 10:4-5

Our words have power. Proverbs 18:21 confirms this: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” And before we dive into taking thoughts captive and destroying strongholds, it’s important to acknowledge that Satan does not have the same power we do. His words don’t hold the same weight as ours, so he gets more power when we speak his words for him. He wants us to do his dirty work. So, he frequently attacks us through thoughts and thought patterns because it is human nature to believe and say whatever we think or feel, and we give power to whatever we speak.

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