What good is it for someone to gain the whole world yet forfeit their soul? Mark 8:36 Are you a people pleaser? Do you care that people like you? Does it bother you if people don’t like you? People-pleasing can be a technique to feel that we belong, gain influence, or get others to fix a problem for us. Let’s get started! Read Exodus 32:1. Why were the people concerned? What did they want Aaron to do for them? What did they say about Moses? With Moses out of sight and out of mind, they reverted to their old idol worship ways. While Moses was…
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Letting Go Of Entitlement
What good is it for someone to gain the whole world yet forfeit their soul? Mark 8:36 Do you have a hard time trusting God’s heart when it comes to what is happening in our lives? It is usually our perception of how things should be that makes us have a hard time trusting God. When we have expectations, we make assumptions about what we should receive or what we shouldn’t have to experience. Let’s read Luke 15:11-24. Jesus wants everyone to know that God’s love, hope, and grace are for everyone. It doesn’t belong only to those who think they deserve it. In this…
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Trials Do End
What good is it for someone to gain the whole world yet forfeit their soul? Mark 8:36 Have you ever been in a trial where you wondered if it would ever end? Or if it will end? Or how about one trial after another? We have. The last hard trial I went through, I sat at Jesus’s feet and let Him be in control. I learn many, many good things during this time. Read Matthew 4:10. What is the first thing Jesus says to satan? How can we resist the devil, according to James 4:7? This may require us to resist, to turn from temptation. …
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It’s Not About You
What good is it for someone to gain the whole world yet forfeit their soul? Mark 8:36 How much of this life that you are living is about you? Your purpose? What about our life’s expectations and how it should turn out or how people should behave reveal otherwise. Read Matthew 4:8-9. What did Satan show Jesus? What did Satan tell Jesus that he could do for him? What would Jesus have to do to receive it? Satan offered the world to Jesus if he would bow down and worship him. It is said that Satan’s temptation reveals to his heart that what really…
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Letting Go With Help
a time to search and a time to count as lost; a time to keep and a time to throw away; Ecclesiastes 3:6 Do you like to help others, even if you may be causing more harm them helping? Today let’s look at some ways to know when to help and when to let go. When someone comes to you asking for help or bail them out of a situation they have created themselves; what is the best option? This is a tool to use. Show compassion to them without being impulsive to act. Take time to validate the person’s stress, fear, or even panic…
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Letting Go Of Others
a time to search and a time to count as lost; a time to keep and a time to throw away; Ecclesiastes 3:6 Do you control others that are in your life? We need to let go of their lives and let God work in their lives. Who in your life right now that you love making unhealthy choices? Are you willing to let this person discover his or her need for God? If you can’t answer this question, that is ok. It is hard living in the balance of helping others and realizing that our helping others is actually hurting them. Let’s go…
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Letting Go Of Fear
There’s a right time to hold on and another to let go. Ecclesiastes 3:6 Jesus taught us to trust God in the timing of the trials of our lives. We don’t need to be afraid, controlling, or steer the outcome elsewhere. All we really need to do is trust God and follow his plan/ways. Do you live in fear? I once had an acquaintance state how she saw how I lived in fear. I can look back and realize she was also living in a lot of fear. Do your fears cripple you to where you try and control the outcomes or stop you from…
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God’s Way
There’s a right tie to hold on and another to let go. Ecclesiastes 3:6 Do you struggle with doing things God’s way? Do we complain about it? Let’s look at Numbers 20. The Israelites are complaining, yet again, about the lack of water. Moses is tired of complaining. Can you relate to this? This time around, with them complaining, is no different than the first time. So Moses knows what to do. Pay attention to verse 8. Now, look at verse 10. What does Moses do here? Did Moses follow God’s instructions? No, he struck the rock twice. Moses messed up here. He spoke…
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Satan’s Half Truths
There’s a right time to hold on and another to let go. Ecclesiastes 3:6 Satan uses Scripture to tempt Jesus by using half-truths to make God jump in and save him. However, we know this doesn’t work! Let’s read Matthew 4:5-7 and Luke 4:9-10. In what city does Satan tempt Jesus? How did Jesus get there? What did Satan tempt Jesus to do? It would probably be easy for Jesus to put Satan in his place. Jesus chose to go through the temptation, the pain, to choose to identify with our pain. He chose this to show us how to walk and live in victory…
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Letting Go of Following Feelings
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33 Feelings! We all have them. What do we do with them, though? Do we let them drive how we handle situations? Our feelings are not wrong. God created us to have feelings. They are neither good nor bad. They are tools to help us learn how not to behave impulsively and act out without taking responsibility. Let’s read Proverbs 4:23. The Hebrew word for heart is leb. It is a combination of our minds and our desires. The wisdom in this verse is to guard…