He fills my life with good things. Psalm 103: 5 How do we live a surrendered life as Jesus did? Especially when situations still come up and have to be handled. Read Matthew 5:3-11. Highlight the blessed, then draw an arrow to the “for.” Circle the blessing that they receive. Which blessing can you relate to? Do any of these verses correspond to the temptation that Jesus face while he was in the wilderness? If so, which ones? Do you ever feel like you repeat a lesson that you have gone through before? I sure have. I kept going through it until I understood and…
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Letting Go of People-Pleasing
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 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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Trusting God’s In Hard Times
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. James 1:2-3 How well do you trust? Do you trust the people in your life – family, friends, co-workers, or God?? Do we really trust God? Do you trust God enough to let go of control in your life and let God have it? What does trust mean? It means having confidence in someone to rely on the integrity, strength, ability, and surety of that person or thing. Do you have this in God? It’s ok if you…
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This Is My Commandment:Love Each Other
This is my command: Love each other. John 15:16-17 Have you ever realized that almost all lessons from God come full circle, back to love? I have. The bottom line to our life, the one commandment that God wants us to follow and do, is to love one another. How well are we really following this command in today’s society? Here comes the risk of grace. God went out on a limb to make us apart of His branch with the hope that we will bear fruit. When we should love others, we are showing the world that we are God’s disciples. There is…
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Remaining In God-His Words Remain In You
“But If you remain in me and my words remain in you, . . . John 15:7 Do words matter to you? When people give you a compliment or a negative word, does it stay with you? Well, when we study God’s word, the bible, His words will remain in us. They take root and remain in us when we commit His word to memory when we sing His words, when we meditate on His words when we dig deeper to study His words when we hear His words through sermons, podcasts, and books. His words remain in us when we uplift others with His words. His word remains when…
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Pruned and Purified
You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you.” John 15:1-3 Do you think that gardening takes time? Or patience? How about waiting? It sure does. So does our life when God is pruning us. Stop and think about when the seed is first planted when you get to pick the fruit of that plant? You wait months for the plant to produce fruit. This is how it can be in our very own lives. It can take a while for the spiritual fruit to blossom for others to see. There are two things mentioned in John 15:3. Pruning and purification. In pruning by God,…
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No Producing Fruit Or Producing Fruit
“I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit, so they produce even more. John 15:1-3 Pruning! I think this would be the hardest part of gardening. I have plants, I have learned that the dead leaves are to be removed, and the plant will be healthy again. Sometimes I wonder if I am pruning my plants right. I wonder if God feels the same way when He has to start pruning in our lives? What is His motivation for pruning in our lives? Why is it so…
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The Gardener
“I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you.” John 15:1-3 Do you know God? Do you know who He is? Do you know what He is like? Jesus uses two metaphors in these first three verses. These metaphors reveal important things about who The Father and Himself are. Jesus states that He is the TRUE grapevine. Why do you think it is important that He states that…
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A Bondservant Trusts The Leading Of The Lord
“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father, David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom, there will be no end.” Luke 1:31-33 Has God ever lead you to places? Did you go willingly, or did you hesitate? Mary would go on many journeys as she being a bondservant to the Lord. Wherever He led, she would follow. God had a plan for His Son, and…