From my devotional...

I was reading my devotional tonight when it just hit me how true and powerful this one was. I wanted to share! Enjoy!
~ Stefanie

God Means What He Says

Sometimes in my life, I forget how serious God is - how true the words in the Bible are. In this day and age of instant gratification and feel good messages, it’s easy to start to think of God as a warm and fuzzy persona. The unconditional love He has for us is talked on more than the firmness of the proclamations He’s made.

In Hebrews, we are told that God means what He says. In two ways. That once we are His, we are His forever. That we are to “...hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” (Heb. 10:23 NIV) We can come before him and know that because of Jesus, we are shown as white as snow.

But the flip side of this is the last part of these verses. For those who hear the Word and turn away from it, who refuse to accept Jesus’ offer of salvation, “...no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.” (Heb 10:26-27 NIV) That’s pretty heavy stuff. How often do we hear this in the same paragraph as a loving God?

“But,” we may think, “not really. I mean, surely when they die God tells them it’s ok, no worries. They might be really nice people. He won’t send anyone to eternal hell.”

Sisters, nice isn’t the condition for salvation. It’s fully, totally, unconditionally accepting that we are broken and sinful by nature, and the only way that we can come before God is through Jesus. Jesus makes this very simple: there are no hoops to jump through, no lists, no good works to get to a certain level of holy. Nothing. There is nothing on earth we can do to ensure eternal salvation short of having Jesus as your Savior.

This verse is uncomfortable. It’s not pretty. But it’s the truth. God means what He says. When you’re His, you’re His forever. Period. And if you hear and reject what He’s offered, there is no other option. No second chance at those pearly gates.

Let's look into our hearts and make sure we are fully comprehending our salvation, that we have truly given our lives to our Father and not simply been working on getting to heaven because we are nice people.

Good works should come from our thankfulness for salvation and love for Jesus, not as a way to get around what He did for us.

http://shereadstruth.com/2013/01/14/fresh-start-day-14-hebrews-1019-29/

A wonderful opportunity!!!

My wonderful hubby got the opportunity to preach for the OVERCOMERministries Blog Radio!!
Enjoy him here!!

www.DanielBodkinMinistries.com 

Do Not Worry

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life ? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:25-34 NIV)

It's been far too long...

It's been far too long since I wrote what's in my heart. I used to love writing here. My thoughts, our stories, our every day life. Somehow though, I felt violated. Today I was reading a story that touched my heart and I wanted to share. It reminded me that The Lord is always here, always sees and always blesses! Enjoy:

"Ruth went to her mail box and there was only one letter. She picked it up and looked at it before opening, but then she looked at the envelope again. There was no stamp, no postmark, only her name and address. She read the letter:

Dear Ruth:

I`m going to be in your neighborhood Saturday afternoon and I'd like to
stop by for a visit.

Love Always,
Jesus

The Power of Words

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. (Proverbs 18:21)

Communication in marriage is a lifeline of information, conflict resolution and affection. To be able to communicate effectively, you must understand the disproportionate power of words.

In relationships, words are tremendously powerful for good or bad. In every good relationship, there is an exchange of many positive words. These words act as seeds that create a powerful and disproportionate harvest. The same is true in bad relationships. In every bitter or unsatisfactory marriage, there are either few words exchanged (few seeds planted) or there are negative words exchanged (bad seeds planted).

Literally, the power of life or death for any relationship is in your mouth. You possess an incredible ability to give life or death, encouragement or discouragement, truth or deception, praise or criticism, hurt or help to those around you.

Euroclydon

A tempestuous head wind arose... Euroclydon.



Acts 27:14



Euroclydon! It's the only storm named in Scripture. It means "typhoon," and
 Paul had to sail through it to reach his destiny. Observe:



(1) To reach your goal you'll have to go through storms. "When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved" (Acts 27:20 NIV). There will be days when you'll wonder how you're going to make it. But by God's grace you will!

(2) Storms reveal how well you know God. "Last night an angel of God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, 'Do not be afraid, Paul,'" (Acts 27:23-24 NIV). It's the tough times that reveal the strength of your God-connection.

(3) God can make a success out of a shipwreck. Notice some important things in this story: (a) Sometimes you'll have to throw stuff overboard (Acts 27:18). (b) In spite of your best efforts you'll occasionally run aground (Acts 27:26). (c) You must remember what God told you and stand on it (Acts 27:25).

(4) Often the worst thing that could have happened turns out for the best. God used this shipwreck to reach Malta with the Gospel. And notice what happened to Paul and his travelling companions as they left that island: "They honoured us... and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed" (Acts 28:10 NIV).


Stop worrying, God will provide what you need in ways that amaze you. If you're His child you're not the victim of circumstances. Your future is not in the hands of people, it's in the hands of God. And what He owns, He takes care of!

-Anonymous

Made in Heaven

Made In...

Where something is made matters to us. Look at the tag on most any product and you'll likely see a line like these imprinted on it:
MADE IN CHINA
MADE IN MEXICO
MADE IN AMERICA
And if you could see the line imprinted on your heart,
it would read, MADE IN HEAVEN.

The word made usually conjures up visions of factories and impersonal production lines, but the way heaven creates is entirely different. Every part of you was carefully and intricately crafted by God. Of course, that creation was carried out physically in your mother's womb, but the idea of you started in the heart of heaven itself and He declared it was good....

God longs for His children to embrace the worth and value He's given them and then use it to bless others.
When we know who we are and whose we are, we're free to love, live with joy, and make a difference in the world.

-Holley Gerth