Our destiny existed before we did! Stay on your path, it’s been preordained.
God Knew Us First
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Monthly Archives: October 2018
What Is Your Jordan River?
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Everyone is challenged, the question is – how do we stand under the weight?
“Joshua Study – Faith and Courage for the Unknown” (Bible.com)
The land of Egypt was familiar to the Israelites, just as our current home and habits may be familiar to us. But God was calling the Israelites to leave their mediocrity and comfort and enter the radical unfamiliarity of Canaan, the Promised Land. As Christians, we must realize that our comfort is eternally insignificant, but our faith and trust in God will endure forever.
Is the unknown scary? Yes, it can be. But we must remember that our unknown is not God’s unknown. As the Creator of the universe, there is nothing that He does not already know, nor is there anything that He cannot do on our behalf. When God calls us to forsake our own agenda in order to follow Him, there are two specific concepts that we need for our journey:
1) The courage to move past our fears and any unexpected challenges that arise.
2) The faith to believe that God is good and He is for our good.
Just as God required the Israelites to trust in Him for His promise, we must also do the same. Faith is not merely a figment of imagination. On the contrary, it requires believing that God can be trusted and that He is the Provider of all good things. When our faith and trust lie with the Giver of the Promised Land instead of the land itself, we are protecting ourselves from unnecessary hurt and disappointment if things do not go according to “plan”.
Allow me to share two important points from the book of Joshua:
1. When God led the Israelites across the Jordan River into the Promised Land, He chose the harvest season, which means the banks were swollen and the waters were high. God chose the most difficult time possible for His people to pursue the promise. Why? Because He wanted to demonstrate His power and His faithfulness. Be aware that He may do the same in your own life.
2. As soon as the first foot (of one of the priests) touched the water of the Jordan, the river was split in half and the people crossed into Canaan. What a breathtaking image to behold – the Levitical priests standing in the middle of the Jordan river holding up the Ark of the Covenant (a visual of God’s presence) while two million Israelites cross a dry river bed. God did the impossible for man and delivered on His promise. He will do the same for you and me as we choose to follow Him.
Oh, Your Thoughts, Your Thoughts
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The AMP version reads:
“Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart].” Phil. 4:8
Today we experience a magnitude of hate, violence, and racism at are more deceptive than ever before, due in large part to the conveyance of information through all forms of the media. It is overwhelming and we tend to get caught up in the muck and the mire. As Christians, we need to seek out and focus on the things that are true, honorable, right, and pure. Our focus should be on developing a Christian thought life. One of Satan’s strongest ploys is to distract us, to focus our minds in such as way as to create forms of depression and oppression in our thinking.
I like the phrasing in the image – FIX YOUR THOUGHTS. Focus on the thoughts that are filtering through Satan’s smoke screens and are things of God, implant them in your heart. We must control our thoughts, and be intentional about what we think, to‘ demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God,’ we must ‘take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.’ 2 Cor 10:5.
Other Posts that focus on this subject:
*Horses, Blinders, and Distractions, Aug 3, 2018
*Rotating Sphere, Depiction of Chaos in Life, July 7, 2018
*Second Guessing God, Self-Deception, March 6, 2018
*Living Through the Muck and Mire of Life, February 16, 2018
Scripture – Bible.com, AMP, NIV
Images – YouVersion, Google Images
Thank you for visiting my Young Christian Warriors site and dailyinspiration-lisasthoughts.com.
Fully Trained | Laura Bon
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A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. (Luke 6:40 ESV) The word of God says that when we are fully trained, we will be like our Master, Jesus. Glory to God. It is not easy but it is possible. This means that…
— Read on laurabon.com/2018/10/20/fully-trained/
Commanded to Follow and Be Free
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Our God is amazing. He commands us to live a Godly life and be free. He has given us the ability to free ourselves from our sinful ways. He asks us to fight our flesh that desires: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, jealousy, quarreling, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, envy, drunkenness, and wild parties.
His command is for us to fear Him and be obedient, as Ecclesiastes states:
“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: fear God and keep his commandments, this is the duty of all mankind.” Eccl. 12:13
Fear, in this case, means being respectful, obedient, and followers of His Word. Live a holy life, meaning, employing the Fruit of the Spirit in all that we do. What is the fruit? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
And, since we live by the Spirit let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envious of each other. When we live like this, we will not gratify the desires of our flesh but will be obedient and fulfilled by God’s Word.
At the end of life, God will bring every deed to judgment, including those proclivities we think we so cleverly hid, whether good or evil. When we are obedient, we think before we act. It causes us to question our next step, our next word, and our next deed. The question is, do our actions align with His Word, do they direct our path?
Obedience leads to freedom. Solomon, the author of the Book of Ecclesiastes, wrote, (paraphrased) Stand firm, do not let yourselves be controlled by the slavery of sin and wrongdoing.
Do not allow your sinful cravings to keep you in chains. Christ died on the Cross for us. Our sins were nailed to the Cross, and we are now free. Our charge is to believe and live in our freedom.
Re-Blog – https://wp.me/p98Coa-Cg
Scripture – Bible.com/YouVerison,Galatians 5, NIV, NLT
Images – YouVersion, Google Images
Resources/References – Hayford’s Bible Handbook
Thank you for visiting my Young Christian Warriors site and dailyinspiration-lisasthoughts.com.
What is the Difference Between soul and spirit?
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I was listening to an Audible Book entitled, Praying God’s Word by Beth Moore as I was working out this morning and she made a statement about our soul and our spirit, not to be confused with the Holy Spirit.
Ms. Moore’s statement gave me pause. I hadn’t thought about the difference between soul and spirit in some time, and like most, use it as a joint reference. I just completed a quick study and ran across a gotQuestions?org video on YouTube and thought you might find it interesting.
I also ran across another YouTube Animation on the subject by Andrew Womack:
It proves visual clarity.
While there are other references, I found an article entitled, What is the Difference Between The Soul and the Spirit? A Bible Study, April 26, 2014, Jack Wellman on patheos.com, to be enlightening. Difference Between Our soul and our spirit.
Disclaimer: While Patheos .com and my theological understanding may not be in sync (having read other articles on this topic) I find this to article to be credible.
Ponder what you read, viewed, and know and share your understanding in the reply box. It will help other receive clarity regarding our soul and our spirit.
Lisa’s Daily Inspirations 