Amy Adams

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.

The Power of a Thought

“And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she thought, ‘If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.’ And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, ‘Who touched my garments?’ And his disciples said to him, ‘You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, “Who touched me?”’ And he looked around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. And he said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.’” – Mark 5:21-35

There comes a time when the things you used to do or even still do to make you feel better will not relieve your troubles anymore. But what if I told you that the Spirit of God has the power to help you manage, if not, eliminate those troubles? Miracles can happen in the middle of things you thought were impossible to defeat.

In the start of Mark 5:25, Matthew 9:20 and/or Luke 8:43 Jesus was on His way to Jairus’ house to help him with his dying daughter when He was interrupted by the woman with the issue of blood. Her problem was an internal problem, just like feelings. Nobody can see what you’re feeling. Nobody can see what dominates and depresses you. Are there any areas of your life where you’re bleeding that no one can see? Where are you hurting that no one really knows about? An example might be hurting in a financial way but then the fact that you can’t even provide for your family makes you feel worthless and even worse about being broke…that’s when being broke becomes an internal problem.

Have you done something to make yourself feel better but later come to find out it actually made you feel worse? Have you ever ate something (comfort food) to make you feel better and felt better for about 5 minutes, but then hours later that same thing that made you feel better then is causing you to have an upset stomach or giving you really bad gas now? Are we giving our energy to things that promise to make it better but in the end make us feel worse?

This woman had her issue for so long that her issue became her name and her identity. Have you been called grumpy, an addict, a drunk, anxious, depressed, or even been told that it’s in your genetics for so long that you now identify with it as just who you are? Let me tell you something: these things you identify yourself with haven’t met Jesus yet. There’s also a flipside to how people identify you; along with your issues, people identify you with your achievements as well, making you feel like you have a lot to live up to, which puts tremendous pressure on you. Don’t listen to people when they label you by your failures or accomplishments. That’s not all that you are. Be aware as well as empowered to know that feelings follow thoughts, and depending on the thought you entertain can make you or break you.

Do you define yourself by your emotions, your status, your lowest point or your highest point? There’s a bleeding on the inside of you if your sense of self worth is based on what you do and what you go through. You’re not going to get better just by going to Bible study. You have to put yourself in the promises of God and words of truth with some effort. Maybe instead of waiting for a touch from God, it’s time to reach out to God first with worship, praise, and gratitude. It’s time to show some determination and equip yourself with the armor of God, along with His promises.

What stopped the woman’s bleeding? The bleeding stopped because she thought. After touching Jesus’ garment, she was instantly healed. You can stop it with a thought. I am not my issue. It starts with a thought. Thoughts are optional. You can choose which thoughts you entertain.

Jesus didn’t call her “woman with the issue of blood,” he called her “daughter.” Apparently, this is the only time that Jesus used the word daughter to describe a woman. When Jesus was on his way to heal Jairus’ daughter, there was another daughter who forgot she was a daughter of God. When she heard from Jesus about who she was, it freed her from her shame and it can free you too. Being a child of God is an amazing thing. It has the ability to free you and heal you from the thoughts that enslave you.

Trials and Tribulations

“Consider it pure joy whenever you face various trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish it’s work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” – James 1:2-4

The book of James is a very powerful letter, written by Jesus’ brother in the New Testament. He wrote this to believers who faced trials that were similar to what other believers, including myself, experience today. The first 8 verses alone are incredibly powerful. Today, I’m focusing on verses 1:2-4 and how it has related to my struggle. The darkness and trials people come against after they turn their lives over to Christ is sometimes almost too much to handle, but with God, it’s possible. I believe this letter was a word of encouragement to believers to have patience and persevere through trials.

I have been dealing with a lot of difficulties lately that has given me writer’s block and prevented me from writing. I’ve started writing again only by God’s persistent nudging and encouragement. I have had struggles with family members and addictions, depression and anxiety and God is the only one who has been able to bring me out of it before and now. Before I knew God, there would be times where I would go days just sleeping from depression and weeks with uncontrollable anxiety. I was also an addict and an alcoholic, which helped me self-medicate.

These first 2 verses in the book of James has been something that God has been putting in front of me to get me to see that these trials and tribulations all have a purpose. That purpose is to get me to see that they are producing patience and perseverance in me. The original word for trials was temptations and was Greek for peirasmos, meaning a putting to proof by experiment of good; being disciplined when being provoked by evil.

I feel that the more someone has been through and the stronger the testimony after turning their lives over to God, the more the dark forces of the world will fight to keep that person down and from accomplishing what God has put in their hearts to do. For me, God has made me somewhat gifted at writing and I say that as humbly as possible because I didn’t think I was a very decent writer until other people started telling me how gifted I was at writing. Since then, I have learned to accept their compliments and try and embrace my gift with words that God has given me.

Since I haven’t been writing in a while, this blog might seem a bit rough around the edges but as I keep going and pushing through the negativity this world throws at me, I know one day soon, God will get His glory by having me give my testimony and words of encouragement for all the things He’s done for me. Until then, I will keep talking to the Lord and having him lead me in the right direction.

Fasting: A Spiritual Discipline

“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Matthew 6:16-18 (ESV)

Most Christians don’t know that fasting is an essential part to following God, along with praying and giving. A lot of Christians don’t even do all three. There is so much more to being a Christian than believing that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior. It takes work and dedication, just like with any relationship. Most importantly, it takes trust in God. A relationship can’t work if you don’t trust the other person. However, I’m not here to talk about that today. I am here to talk about the benefits of fasting spiritually and the different types of fasting.

Spiritually speaking, fasting is very important. Muslims have Ramadan but Christians don’t have a set in stone time of the year to fast. The Christians that do fast usually do it at the beginning of the year so that God can bless them in various ways, whether it be through financial blessings, healings, loved ones reuniting, and many other things. God doesn’t usually do the same thing in the same way more than once so even if it’s similar, it’s still not the same. Fasting will even break strongholds like various addictions and demonic powers that influence people to do things they don’t want to do.

There are 3 types of fasts: one being an absolute fast, a total fast and a partial fast. The absolute fast is very extreme and involves not eating or drinking anything and should only be done for very short periods of time. Esther in the Bible did this fast for 3 days when she was going to talk to the king about reversing a decree that was going to wipe out all the Jews and got the decree reversed. A total fast is one where you go without food for a certain number of days. The longer the fast, the more likely you will need juice or broth to replenish electrolytes but otherwise, you can just drink water if you’re doing it for less than a week. Then there is a partial fast, where you cut off certain foods or drinks for a specified amount of time. The Daniel Fast is the most popular fast of the partial fasts. You can also intermittent fast, which is not eating for an allotted amount of time and having a small window (usually 8 hours or less) to eat in a 24 hour period.

I am reading a book right now called Fasting by Jentezen Franklin so there is so much more information that can be said about fasting, not to mention the physical benefits like cell regeneration and ketosis to name a few. Ultimately, fasting is a spiritual discipline that is not taught in most churches nowadays but it is one of the most crucial spiritual practices to see God’s blessings and experience breakthroughs in your life. Whether it’s fasting for 3 days or 40 days, God will see what you do in private and reward you publicly. Moreover, this is something you should really pray and talk to God about before you start doing and see what He wants you to do and what you would like from the fast, that way you have motivation to keep going when the temptation gets really hard to resist.