Amy Adams

Forgiveness And Letting Go

Forgiveness isn’t easy and the longer you have been holding onto the offense, resentment, or hurt, the harder it is to let it go. This is because it takes root and gets reinforced with the remembrance of the painful memory that caused you to develop that unforgiveness in the first place. The roots run deeper the more that specific person hurts you or even another person hurts you in the same way. An example of this would be rejection from a parent developing over time and then meeting someone you like who rejects you in some way. These things that happen may be intentional or unintentional and not even have anything to do with you as a person, but they still leave scars and hurt us deeply. I have some good news though, Jesus Christ came to heal us from all hurts in our hearts that cause us to have hang ups in our lives that bleed off into doing bad things or acting out in a bad way. Letting go is what the “Wonderful Counselor” (Isaiah 9:6) came to do and teach us how to do it by “casting all of our cares upon Him, because He cares for us.” 1 Peter 5:7

God has healed a lot of deep wounds in my life and has shown me some are easier to heal than others. The one’s that haven’t taken root are easier to pull up than the ones that have been there for a long time. The best way to think about this is pulling a weed out of the ground that just sprouted as opposed to pulling a weed out that has grown over years or even decades. The quicker we pull out the weeds in the garden of our mind, the easier it is to keep our mind free of the clutter that comes from the result of not forgiving someone. Things like anger, hate, resentment, sadness, anxiety, etc. take place in a person’s heart and mind when there is unchecked unforgiveness sprouting there. “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.” Ephesians 4:31 Sometimes when a root of rejection runs deep, it takes God longer to loosen it before it’s safe to pull up, otherwise there will be a big hole where that root used to be and no spiritual fruit to fill it with.

Sometimes, we get the bright idea to take revenge on the person who’s wronged us, but as long as we are children of the Most High God, that will end up being futile and backfire on us. It is not our job to get revenge on those who’ve wronged us, it’s God’s job. “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave the way open for God’s wrath [and His judicial righteousness]; for it is written [in scripture], “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.” Romans 12:19 (AMP) Instead, what we must do is let God heal those wounds by asking God to take away whatever pain someone committed against us and keep praying for God to loose it from us. Then and only then will we have peace about the situation and feel okay about what they did, not getting a lump in our throat or a pain in our heart when we think about the situation in which they wronged us.

Forgiveness is not easy. It’s a process, sometimes a short process but sometimes a very long one indeed. Regardless of how sinister or hurtful the situation is, it is our job to forgive them, not for them, but for us so we can have peace and serenity about the situation and even treat the person with respect and decency. They may not deserve it but we didn’t deserve Christ dying for our sins and saving us from our sinful lives and He did it anyway because of His love for us. The least we can do for Him and for ourselves is to forgive those that have hurt and wronged us just like Christ has forgiven us. The world would be a much better place if we would learn how to drop the hurt and the hate where it stands and take on the love and character of Christ instead. We are supposed to be ambassadors for Christ. It’s time we started acting like it and we can only do that by letting the Holy Spirit heal us right away every offense occurs or in due time depending on how deep the hurt has taken root. God will heal all wounds if only we would let Him.

A Fresh Start After Healing

“Do not remember the former things, or ponder the things of the past. Listen carefully, I am about to do a new thing, it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even put a road in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:18

One of the hardest things I’m having to learn how to do is start again. I have spent quite a bit of time in the wilderness and have dropped a lot of the baggage that has been keeping me there. I have let go of unforgiveness, addiction, idolatry, past pain, and much more. God has been hinting at it now for about a week that it’s time to start again and that plan B will work out better than plan A because I spent the better part of a year figuring out the things that held me back and learned a lot of what not to do.

So you might ask: How do you start again? I will tell you some of the things I did for a new start.

First things first, I started to have a relationship with the Holy Spirit and truly believe it was Him working in my life. If you have a hard time trusting God, you have a hard time building faith and faith is paramount to a lot of miracles working in your life and staying that way. Unbelief can sometimes make the one who was healed revert back to their old ways. I speak from experience with this. It is impossible to trust God and have faith, not to mention, it’s impossible to please Him too. “But without faith it is impossible to [walk with God and] please Him, for whoever come [near] to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He rewards those who [earnestly and diligently] seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6. I struggled for the longest time believing it was God and for the longest time, thought it was a deceitful spirit trying to pull one over on me because of some of dealing with them in the past, not to mention some of the promises He told me seemed like it was too good to be true. I have come to realize though, the closer I am to God, the more I believe the promise and I guarantee that isn’t a coincidence. Not only did I have a hard time believing the promise but because I doubted God, I started reverting back to my old ways and in starting again, I have reverted back to the way I was when God came into my life a couple of years ago.

The second thing I did was I fasted from food for 5 days last week and man, let me tell you about the miracles that came out of that fast. I got my friend back who had been blinded by deception that made her believe I did something with her husband, not because of me but because of what he had done to her multiple times in the past. I got closer in my relationship towards God. I dropped an addiction to kratom. I started trusting again that it was God telling me about the promises because fasting makes you more spiritually sensitive to His presence. I also dropped the unforgiveness I had towards my ex, my step dad and the guy who beat the crap out of me. It was exhilarating and I know that I’m a better person for it and more importantly can be used by God to help others again.

When I forgave those that hurt me, believe me, it was not easy or pretty for that matter. There was a lot of yelling, screaming, hitting the floor, bed, car and even hitting myself a couple of times trying to get out that unforgiveness. It was a temper tantrum in every sense of the word. But, afterwards, I felt so light and free and felt like a HUGE weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. There is nothing like feeling no pain when you think back on a past event in your life that caused you a great deal of pain every time you thought about it. Every time I used to think back on certain things, it would either make me depressed or angry and now I don’t feel any pain whatsoever anymore.

The Holy Spirit is the Ultimate Healer and it was even prophesied in Isaiah that He would be just that: “For to us a Child shall be born, to us a Son shall be given; And the government shall be upon His shoulder, And His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6. If you are sick and tired of being sick and tired, I would like to introduce you to my friend Jesus Christ, who truly has the power to heal all wounds and rewrite all wrongs. He is a God of second chances and the God of a fresh start. It is not easy and it takes a little effort on your part, but in the end, it is worth it when you finally find freedom in Him and not be hurt by your past anymore on top of not letting new, painful roots take hold in the future. He can and will heal all wounds if you let Him.

“Praise the Lord!
For it is good to sing praises to our [gracious and majestic] God;
Praise is becoming and appropriate.
The Lord is building up Jerusalem;
He is gathering [together] the exiles of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted
And binds up their wounds [healing their pain and comforting their sorrow].
He counts the number of the stars;
He calls them all by their names Great is our [majestic and mighty] Lord and abundant in strength;
His understanding is inexhaustible [infinite, boundless].
The Lord lifts up the humble;
He casts the wicked down to the ground.”

Psalm 147:1-6

Infidelity and the Sanctity of Marriage

I don’t think there is a person who can hurt a person more and cut more deeply than that of a spouse or a significant other being unfaithful. It is a rejection and betrayal that trumps all others. The Holy Spirit confirmed for me today that old wounds from my ex fiancé had been truly healed after getting confirmation of him cheating on me years ago with who was supposedly supposed to be my best friend. I had a friend who had been going through the same thing and my heart immediately went back to that time and place but rather than thinking about how much I was hurt by my ex, I instead remembered what that pain felt like and was hurting for her because she was going through the same thing with her husband. It was bitter sweet because I knew God had truly healed the hurt my ex had caused me back then. Instead, my heart hurt for my friend because I knew exactly how she felt and how broken she was because I was the same way after my relationship had ended. “Even my best friend, the one I trusted completely, the one who shared my food, has turned against me.” Psalm 41:9

There is major freedom in Christ when it comes to Him healing your hearts and asking you to forgive those who wronged you in the past. I thought I would never get over that pain but today I realized beyond a shadow of a doubt that I had truly forgiven him and part of the pieces that he had broken in me had truly been healed by God. “The Lord nurses them when they are sick and restores them to health.” Psalm 41:3 I grieved and cried with my friend today, not because of the major empathy I had for her going through almost the same situation I did. Just like my situation with my ex, the situation with her husband had been going on for years and the Bible even covers on that as well: “Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.” Proverbs 17:9.

Infidelity is probably the worse sin a husband and wife can commit against one another. “But the man who commits adultery is an utter fool, for he destroys himself.” Proverbs 6:32 Not only that, but it’s a major sin against God too. “Run away from sexual immorality [in any form, whether thought or behavior, whether visual or written.]Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the one who is sexually immoral sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is within you, whom you have [received as a gift] from God, and that you are not your own [property]? You were bought with a price [you were actually purchased with the precious blood of Jesus and made His own]. So, then, honor and glorify God with your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:18-20. You create a soul tie to anyone you have sex with and that soul tie can give you an unhealthy attachment to whoever you fool around with and make you blind to the true nature of that person. So, if you have sex with someone or multiple people out of wedlock, you create soul ties to every single person you’ve slept with and only God has the power to break those soul ties, which is why God gave us the rule of one man for one woman and one woman for one man in the confines of the wedding bed.

Defiling the marriage bed causes major repercussions and consequences in a person’s life that cannot be undone without the help of the Holy Spirit. “Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.” Hebrews 13:4 There is also the mental and emotional scars that infidelity causes in a marriage. It breaks the person who was cheated on to the point they don’t trust themselves anymore or even God, which was my case and still is to a certain extent. I used to be so sure of myself but after my relationship with my ex, I don’t trust myself and it has been a long road of healing with God to help me learn to trust myself again. When God came into my life, I felt like a shell of the person I once was and the craziest thing is my ex never admitted that he cheated on me, but I always knew in my heart that he was cheating when he didn’t come home at night or when I would confront him about it.

God has given me multiple signs in the last couple of years upon me inquiring about his unfaithfulness for my own healing. The most recent one was today when my friend told me about what had been happening to her. I asked God last week to give me a sign that my ex had cheated on me with my best friend because the Holy Spirit had just healed me from that hurt and upon hearing my friend’s story, I knew it was the sign that I had asked God for, which felt so relieving but bittersweet because that meant I was right and not crazy like I kept getting told I was. If you get told you’re crazy long enough, you start to believe it.

My hurts from my relationship have taken a toll for the better because not only have I forgiven him but I can help my friend through the transition of forgiving her soon to be ex husband. I can’t do the actual healing, only God can, but what I can do is be there for her to relate my experience and lead her towards the Holy Spirit who can and will heal all her wounds when she is ready to forgive and surrender. Not forgiving my ex has been why I have had such major writer’s block but I hope now that I can start writing every day and sooner than later start writing a book that has to do with my testimony from drug abuse, alcohol abuse, mental and emotional abuse to true freedom in Christ. God is so good and I’m ready to share it with the world!

(FYI, you cannot change a man or woman who is abusive whether it be physically, emotionally, or mentally. ONLY God can and I strongly recommend if you are in an abusive relationship, get out while you can because it will only get worse as time goes by. Please be safe out there.)

The Cost of Discipleship

Church Sermon By: Jared Thompson

Written By: Amy Adams

Christ didn’t come to make believers. He came to make disciples. Disciples are vastly different from those who just believe in something. Disciples are disciplined and God is looking for those who are dedicated and disciplined. Most of us can’t even wake up on time…

Disciple literally means “one who is disciplined.” The Bible says: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me”… most of us don’t even realize sleep can even be an idol. Discipleship is something we are trying to do. Discipline requires an attribute that is lacking in most of humanity: dedication. The word for that in scripture is holy, which is hagios in Greek and qodesh in Hebrew. Dedication can only be achieved through maturity. The mark of immaturity is one who abandons something after it starts to get difficult. Most of us have more dedication to conquer a video game level than we do when it comes to prayer, fasting and even having and maintaining a relationship.

“⁷Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, ⁸“When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, ⁹and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. ¹⁰But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. ¹¹For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 14:7-11

Shame also means confused in Greek. This passage talks about not thinking of yourself more highly than you should because you might sit in a place where you think you’re important but be asked to move down. Instead, be humble and sit in a lower position so you may potentially get asked to be moved up to a better position by the “host.” Those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted. Help those who can’t possibly repay you and God will reward you for your generosity, whether it be with time, money, listening, etc.

¹⁶But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. ¹⁷And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant^[a] to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ ¹⁸But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ ¹⁹And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ ²⁰And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ ²¹So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ ²²And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ ²³And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. ²⁴For I tell you,^[b] none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’” Luke 14:16-24

This passage talks about those who were invited to a party and all gave excuses to not being able to attend the party. The owner was mad and told his servant to go and invite the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame. They all attended and the master then said, “none of these men who were invited shall taste my banquet.” You absolutely must love everything and everyone else less than you love God. Whoever doesn’t take up his cross and follow Jesus can’t and won’t ever be a true disciple. Whoever goes through a lot of suffering and doesn’t stop following God even after all their troubles, distractions and disappointments are the only ones who will be called a true disciple of Christ. Is what you have now sufficient enough? Is the cost of following Christ worth more or less than what you already have? Is it worth abandoning what you already have? It’s time to count the cost of being a disciple.

Do you want to just be a believer or do you want to advance the kingdom of God? It costs a lot and there’s going to be some suffering involved in order to follow Christ. Let’s not be mocked and diluted by the rest of the world and be called “hypocrites” because we didn’t count the cost before we started following Christ. We are supposed to be the miracle by being the change only God can accomplish. Only God can change the heart… No one and nothing else can.

A disciple says: “I follow anywhere He goes.” Jesus wants someone who is disciplined in His way and knowledgeable in His teachings. Jesus held many conferences but only 12 showed up every day. If you can hold true to marriage then you can hold true to discipleship. Church is supposed to be a house of disciples. He wants believers who are constant, consistent, disciplined and dedicated to be His disciples. The goal of a union is oneness, whether it be a marriage to a spouse or a covenant with God. Christ will cover up our failures and mess-ups; you just stay dedicated.

Delighting in Our Heavenly Father

“Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do it.” – Psalm 37: 4, 5

What does it mean to delight yourself in the Lord? The word for delight in Hebrew is anag and also means to be soft or pliable, which leads me to believe that not only are you supposed to take pleasure in Him but you are also supposed to be willing to bend to His will. Otherwise, you end up following your ways and thoughts and not His. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:9 If you follow after the flesh and not after the Spirit of God, you end up serving yourself and not God, which in the long run leads to chaos, death and destruction. The actions that ensue are a result of continual sin.

I am truly starting to believe that anyone who says they are happy and satisfied with their life but are not following in step with God are partially lying to others and to themselves because I’ve seen rich people miserable and the ones trapped in perpetual sin look and act miserable at times. I’m not saying that every day with God is a walk in the park, but I am saying the more mature you become in Christ the easier it will be to find joy in every circumstance and situation, no matter how bad or how sad the situation might be.

When you delight yourself in God, He will give you the desires of your heart. That simply means the things you want most in life will be given to you if you follow His will, plan and purpose for your life. It may be uncomfortable at times but it will be worth it just to do the things God created you to do. There is no greater fulfillment in life than when you are directly in the will of God.

“Do not be conformed to the patterns of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing, and perfect will.” Romans 12:2

Holy Vs. Unholy… What Is Acceptable?

What do you consider to be unclean or unholy? Is it a certain food, alcohol, drugs, etc.? What makes it unclean to you? What if I told you that since Jesus Christ came and died for our sins that He might have just made it to where almost nothing is unclean unless He says it is? Because what is okay for someone to take or do is not okay for someone else, like pork or alcohol. One person might be dependent on that substance or might have beliefs that that food is not okay to eat. Paul clarifies for us in Romans 14:14-18 about what is acceptable and what is not but also goes on to talk about not being a stumbling block for other people when it come to things we can or can’t eat.

“I know and am convinced [as one] in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean [ritually defiled and unholy] in itself; but [nonetheless] it is unclean to anyone who thinks it unclean. If your brother is being hurt or offended because of food [that you insist on eating], you are no longer walking in love [towards him]. Do not let what you eat destroy and spiritually harm one for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let what is a good thing for you [because of your freedom to choose] be spoken of as evil [by someone else]; for the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking [what one likes], but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For the one who serves Christ in this way [recognizing that food choice is secondary] is acceptable to God and is approved by men.” – Romans 14:14-18 (AMP)

I actually came along this passage when I was about to visit a friend and I had been drinking. They had recently gotten sober from other things and the Holy Spirit pointed out to me that they were not ready to be exposed to someone who had been drinking and that it might not be the best idea to go around them then. This passage also showed me that other substances like marijuana, kratom, other substances and foods are not bad to take as long as you’re taking them for the right reasons and not taking them all the time. For instance, cake tastes good but it is not something you can eat all day every day unless you want to gain an extravagant amount of weight in a short time. I would not recommend eating cake for breakfast, lunch, and dinner because it will deplete your nutrient stores and cause other major health issues if you eat cake all day every day. I feel the Holy Spirit impressing upon me to say that everything is okay in moderation and nothing is okay to substitute His presence in order to receive peace and comfort, whether that be from comfort food or drugs.

I am not saying to go out and get stoned because God says it’s okay. What I am saying is that conferring with the Holy Spirit about what is acceptable for you is what you should do when you are on your walk with God. I cannot replace God and His plans for you but I can tell you about some of the things He says works for me and I strongly suggest that before you start doing something or taking something you think is questionable, pray about it because nothing beats the council of God and His knowledge of what is okay for you. I used to be a drug addict and an alcoholic and God has freed me from the bondage of addiction, not once but twice, and has made it possible for me to partake in drinking alcohol again without it turning into a daily habit and occasionally smoke marijuana after a long day. I have talked to other friends who have received Jesus in their lives and they have told me they cannot drink even though God is with them, so my case is not the same for everyone. God frees some people from addiction where other people might keep their “thorn in their flesh.”

“Because of the surpassing greatness and extraordinary nature of the revelations [which I received from God], for this reason, to keep me from thinking of myself as important, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan, to torment and harass me – to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might leave me; but He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you [My loving-kindness and My mercy are more than enough – always available –regardless of the situation]; for [My] power is being perfected [and is completed and shows itself most effectively] in [your] weakness.” –2 Corinthians 12:7-9

As you can see, if God kept Paul with that thorn in the flesh, He knows what is best for each individual and has the power to save you from your weaknesses or exalt you above them. He knew what worked best for me and in doing so, made it possible for me to drink and take substances again without them turning into a daily habit, though at one time, He had to correct me on when it was acceptable to drink and when it wasn’t; when it was acceptable to smoke and when it wasn’t.

Overall, it is ultimately up to you on what you think is okay for you and what is not. It is not your job to judge someone for what they do or don’t do. Our hearts need to be filled with the love of Jesus to show others the way to Him. Only Jesus can save. Our job is to point people in the direction of who can save them. So talk with your personal God and He will show you the way to a new life of freedom in Him, not depending on any substance, any action, or anything other than the Holy Spirit.

The Gardener And The Garden In Your Mind

Until recently, I never realized just how hard it was to keep a garden. I am currently growing a vegetable garden and never thought I would be spending so much time keeping the weeds from overtaking the garden. The same thing can happen to our mind if we’re not careful about keeping it clean, well-kept and in step with the Spirit of God. Being in communion with God is extremely important to keep our spiritual fruit from being eaten by pests, choked by weeds, drowned by torrential downpours, or scorched when the flames of life threaten to overtake us. God is the gardener of our mind and if we let Him, He can grow the most brilliant, vibrant and breathtaking garden in our mind, full of His tender loving care and His peaceful presence.

Our main goal in life is to live out God’s will for our lives, which is pretty fitting because God’s will usually always aligns with passions of ours and natural talents and gifts we have. Sometimes we may be uncomfortable to get where we want to be but after all the awkward moments of mistakes and failures, we push through into His promises to reap a harvest from the hard work we put in. There are times when our mind may get beaten down with doubts, criticism and mean-spirited people who act like pests that start to eat on our harvest and leave holes of doubt and skepticism in our brain. Or like a weed, those thoughts get planted and need to be weeded out before they become bigger. “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5. Sometimes even people you go to church with can make you second guess yourself and your relationship with God, not intending to but faith must be tested in order to make it strong.

There are some people who can only be successful in life if they have God leading them through everything, then there are others who have the drive to accomplish what they need to do to get where they want to be. Those people will never be fulfilled though until they have God leading them in life. Every heart aches for union with the Almighty and is never fully joyful, fully satisfied until communion with God takes place. I am one of those people who’s parents never taught them to have goals and things to aspire to, so it’s been hard even thinking of goals to write down and accomplish because it’s not something I grew up learning how to do. But, God is slowly teaching me how to set goals for everything I do and do life with Him, instead of apart from Him.

“I am the Vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him bears much fruit, for [otherwise] apart from Me [that is, cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown out like a [broken off] branch, and withers and dies; and they gather such branches and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you remain in Me and My words remain in you [that is, if we are vitally united and My message lives in your heart], ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.” John 15:5-7

Life has trials and tribulations from time to time and those trials can leave you feeling defeated, deflated, and set ablaze your peace and your relationship with God. Those trials are like the scorching sun in summer time or like a torrential downpour and really start testing your faith in God and even confidence in yourself. God’s plan won’t work for your life if you’re second guessing Him every step of the way. Trust in God and His Word is an absolute must when you’re doing life with God. God is the best gardener in the universe and knows what He’s doing when He let’s the dirt cover you, the sun scorch you, and the rains to drown you: all these things lead you to Trust Him.

“So neither is the one who plants nor the one who waters anything, but [only] God who causes the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one [in importance and esteem, working toward the same purpose]; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.” 1 Corinthians 3-7, 8

The Love of God

God’s love is unconditional and pure. There is no one on this planet who can love us like God can. So many people are exposed to twisted love that when they get introduced to God’s love, they second guess it and think God is trying to trick us, get something out of us and lie to us to get us to do things for Him. That is not at all the case and God had to work with me and He withdrew Himself for a time just so I would know it was Him.

Have you ever heard the phrase, “For the love of God!”? That phrase is usually used in moments of surprise, anger and annoyance, which is the farthest thing from what the love of God actually is. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trust, always hopes, always perseveres.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NIV). As you can see, this is actually what the love of God is and it’s the farthest thing from anger or annoyance. Getting to know God better is key to having a relationship with Him, or anyone for that matter. You can’t possibly love someone if you don’t know them, or can you? The answer is yes you can after you start to receive the love God has for you and that can only be done if you spend time with Him daily. He will not talk back in an audible voice but He will speak to you in thoughts, feelings, Bible verses, through other people, and actions of affection. God is not a silent God if you truly want to get to know Him. He will make coincidences happen that are not coincidental, but a sign of His presence.

“We have come to know [by personal observation and experience] and have believed [with deep, consistent faith] the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides continually in him… There is no fear in love [dread does not exist]. But perfect (complete, full-grown) love drives out fear, because fear involves [the expectation of divine] punishment, so the one who is afraid [of God’s judgement] is not perfected in love [has not grown into a sufficient understanding of God’s love].” 1 John 4:16, 18

Love is agape in Greek in the verse above. Agape love is not just words, it’s action too. It means to be charitable and have affection for someone, which means to like or be kind to them. Words are empty without action. If you don’t do things for other people and just say you love them, the words “I love you” fall short because there are no actions to back it up. A lot of people get manipulated by others who constantly demand things from other people but fail to reciprocate their affections, which is done more often than not nowadays and is likened to narcissism. People do this to people and to God. How can you serve or love God if you’re not doing anything to spend time with Him or spread the gospel? You can’t.

In order to serve God best, you must believe just how much He loves you and how pure His love is. It’s hard to grasp it especially when you’ve been around perverted love all of your life and never got to experience real love like God’s love. I f you don’t accept His love, you will be fearful and frightened all the time of the wrong things and not be in reverential awe of God. God doesn’t want you to be terrified of Him but He does want you to respect Him and give Him your time. Once your grasp how much God loves you, you will be able to do things you never thought possible and will stop second guessing yourself every time you mess up or receive criticism from others. You will start to be more comfortable doing things that make you uncomfortable, like talking to strangers, pursuing your dreams, making bold decisions, confronting others etc. His love also makes it easier to love others, forgive them when they hurt you, and love yourself too.

Knowing God loves you and that His love doesn’t come with stipulations or accomplishments and isn’t merit based will give you more confidence and will propel you forward out of old, damaging ways of thinking and into new, Christ-like ways of thinking. Once you start to receive the love of God, your whole life can be renewed if you put forth the effort. All you have to do is believe!

Community Betrayal Is Community Fail

Sermon By: Jared Thompson

Written By: Amy Adams

Because we don’t know peace, we don’t know how to interpret it. Don’t mistake God’s correction for shame. We can quickly hear what God is speaking to us for correction and immediately run to a hiding place.

This information is, first and foremost, to the church, meaning the people who are already called out believers and are currently walking in faith. Understanding is something you can stand on. We must use our spiritual eyes to comprehend understanding. Because of time, we have lost understanding. Understanding hasn’t been hidden from you but for you…. Spiritual understanding for natural application.

Hurt is a real thing and it really hurts. Church hurts are sometimes the worst hurts, because we don’t expect it. We expect to see the Spirit of God and the Body of Christ in it. The Body of Christ concept came from the physical concept that the church is like the physical Body of Christ. The compassion, thoughts and power He had when He was on earth is now supposed to be in the church body as a whole. The word Christ means the anointing that was upon Jesus.

We, the church, are supposed to be that living sacrifice image of God. As God does things in heaven is how we’re supposed to do things on earth. When we don’t see that, it kind of hurts. We handle hurt wrong and we handle healing from the hurts wrong. We don’t handle it God’s way at all. Most of church hurts are self righteousness, meaning we want all the grace for ourselves but when someone else does something wrong, we don’t want to give them the same grace God gives us.

We also shouldn’t be surprised that church is a mess because it’s been messy since the beginning. If you look at somebody else and think they are a mess, know there might be a chance that you might have helped to create their hurt and contributed to their mess.

Judas betrayed Jesus and said he was done. Peter betrayed Jesus and said he was moving forward. Judas was the treasurer and kept up with all the money. How well do you think all the disciples knew each other and were travelling together for 3 solid years? How well do you think the disciples handled being betrayed by Judas? You only see them mention Judas once more when looking for a new disciple and never mentioned him again.

The church gets in a victim competition and talks about the betrayer and who’s been betrayed more. We complain a lot more than the early church because the disciples were so focused on the mission that they didn’t give the betrayal of Judas more mention or thought than needed to be. They were so in awe of Jesus that they didn’t focus on the betrayal of their best friend Judas.

After being resurrected, Jesus hung around for about 40 days, so no one would question His credibility of being the Messiah. He was there to correct the disciples and keep the mission going forward. It’s insane that when we get betrayed by the church, we abandon Jesus. When we put our eyes on God, it’s a lot harder to let those feelings of betrayal settle. God is not surprised by your trouble with doubt. Only one betrayed and walked away but the rest of them pushed forward with the mission. Why? Because their eyes were focused on Christ. Church hurts stay in the church and if you take it outside our church body, it can infect other parts of the church body.

Forgiving = I am for giving you another chance, and another chance, and another chance…. And so on. How often should you forgive? Jesus said “70X7.” Numbers had meaning back in Jesus’ time. 7 was the number of completion, which is why He said that particular number.

If you find yourself struggling to forgive people and struggling with hurts and constantly keep repeating things over and over, you have no understanding of the Spirit of God. The more we commune with Him, the more the mountains in our lives become mole hills. We’ve got to move closer to the Spirit of God. Those hurts and things become what we call a testimony. If you leave out the test part, the passing of the test becomes moaning and complaining. We forgot what the testimony was about.

A testimony is for His glory. It is not your story.

We talk about the test but we can’t handle the healing right. We are more concerned about the scar and the story than to start the healing process with the Holy Spirit. When we’re talking about healing, we’re talking about healing your broken mindset, broken perception of Him, and our broken church.

Let’s not worry about the betrayals and the brokenness. Instead, let God form you to be the person He created you to be. We go to set at God’s table, not for God to set at yours. Everything that you are becomes more and more like Christ until you’re almost undistinguishable from the Spirit of God. Become a testimony to God and become unbreakable.

Knowing Your Calling

Moses probably had one of the most important callings anyone in the Bible had: to free God’s people from the oppression of Pharaoh. The one thing Moses and I have in common is that we both disagreed with God about our ability to meet the calling God had given us both. I have come to realize that God isn’t a liar and that if even Moses had his doubts, it’s okay for me to have mine too. The only thing is, I have yet to prove myself to the calling God has given me.

It is okay to be fearful but it is not okay to let that fear paralyze you and keep you from doing the thing God has put in you to do. I believe God has called me to be a writer and eventually have my own ministry, mainly speaking to individuals who have been oppressed by people and drugs to keep them from accomplishing God’s plan for their life.

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.’” Jeremiah 29:11-13

God’s plan for us is not to work somewhere for menial pay making some big corporation money for the rest of our lives. It is so much bigger than that. Every believer’s job is simple: spread the gospel and make disciples of all nations but God has specific callings for everyone who is willing to follow Him and listen to Him.

God has never failed anyone. It is people who fail themselves more often than not with insecurities, laziness, an unwillingness to listen, and other things keep people from grabbing onto the calling God has placed in their hearts. I have had my own troubles with these things a

“‘Render true judgements, show kindness and mercy to one another… and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.’ But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear.” Zechariah 7:9-11

This world we live in is getting darker and darker and if Christians don’t get their act together, stop being hypocrites and actually start seeking a relationship with the Most High, this world and the evil in it would subside overnight. Prayer is a powerful thing and shouldn’t be a last resort by any means. God can do so much more than we could ask or even imagine and it’s time for us to stand up against tyranny and evil and remember that when we have God on our side, anything is possible. God is a God of miracles, second chances, and a love so powerful that we as people couldn’t ever comprehend just how big God’s love is for humanity.

As children of God, it is our job and our duty to stand up and fight for what’s right. We are not supposed to just take injustice sitting down. God has given us a responsibility to watch over this world and the people in it and we can’t do that if we don’t pursue our calling and tell people just how amazing the Holy Spirit is. All it takes is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and the power of the Holy Spirit will come upon you and lead you in the way you should go.