lisa @glitterpixie

How do you know if your ambitions are Godly? bible.com/en/videos/5568…

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Thought for Today: “To Be Healed, Stop Blaming Others” Jesus asked the paralyzed man at the Pool of Bethesda, “Do you want to be made well?” (John 5:6) He replied, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” (John 5:7) Other people were to blame for his not receiving healing. For the past 38 years, this man had so rehearsed why he was sick that he never thought about or hoped for his healing. Instead of responding, “Yes, I want to be made whole,” he answered Jesus with resignation and resentment. He lived at Bethesda, which means “house of mercy,” but expected none. The wait had dulled his hope, and now he no longer expected or anticipated healing. The Bible says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.” (Proverbs 13:12) Maybe the desire you have longed for hasn’t come yet, and your heart is hurting inside. Instead of letting it make you resentful or resigned, let Jesus heal your heart. Instead of blaming others or the situation for your lack of healing, confess it to God and let Him heal your broken heart (Luke 4:1).

Healing Through The Hurts In every relationship, there will be hurts. Our problem is that, instead of letting the Lord heal them, we hold on to them, revel in them, and keep rehearsing them in our minds. D.L. Moody said, “A great many people seem to embalm their troubles. I always feel like running away when I see them coming. They bring out their old mummy, and tell you in a sad voice, ‘You don’t know the troubles I have.’ … My friends, if you bring your troubles to the Lord, He will take them away. Would you not rather be with the Lord and rid of your troubles, than be with your troubles and without God?” Paul said, “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (Colossians 3:13) The way of healing is the way of forgiveness. It’s not enough to merely put up with the other person. It’s not enough to refuse to retaliate. We must truly forgive them, and if that seems too difficult, recall what Jesus did for all of us when He died on the cross to forgive our sins. Thanks for your posting. I appreciate. Take care and God bless.

God’s Portion “The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein.” (Psalm 24:1) Everything, including all of us, belongs to the Lord. He created it all (Genesis 1:1, 26). And to us He has given the earth’s abundance and called us to be good stewards of it (Genesis 1:28). Therefore, speaking of God’s portion is a bit ludicrous, because everything is His, as our signature verse states. While it is all God's, He wants us to give Him the very best. Although this is often taught in relation to the tithe, it goes beyond that. The prophet Ezekiel illustrates this when God tells him to measure out God’s holy temple and to show how the land was to be divided in the new millennium. “Moreover, when you divide the land by lot into inheritance, you shall set apart a district for the Lord, a holy section of the land … in it shall be the sanctuary, the Most Holy Place.” (Ezekiel 45:1-3) This idea of God’s portion is also reflected in our Psalm, where God asks, “Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place?” (Psalm 24:3) The hill referenced here is the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. This signifies that while all the earth is the Lord’s, He wants people to place Him at the center of their lives, since God’s temple now lives within every believer (1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 6:19-20). And so the question becomes, “Have we turned over our best to God?” Have we given God the best of ourselves? (Romans 12:1-2)

“Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” (Ruth 1:16) When faced with a choice between staying or following, Ruth chose to follow. She chose to move forward with God rather than remain in her comfort zone. Ruth, a Moabitess, had a choice: leave Naomi and return to the life she once embraced, or go with Naomi into a new life and follow the Lord God. Her confession marks a change of allegiance, from the gods of Moab to the living God. Ruth's declaration demonstrates profound loyalty and marks a conversion from an old way of life to a new, loving relationship with the Lord. It therefore challenges us to examine our faith and commitment to God and calls us to be steadfast and faithful to our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. When life’s difficult decisions come our way, we need to be like Ruth and choose to follow God by faith rather than take the easy, most comfortable path. Because of Ruth's choice, she became the wife of Boaz, an ancestor of King David, and her decision to follow God was honored as she joined the hallowed ancestry of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Ruth's inclusion in Jesus's lineage highlights the impact of a life lived in faith and encourages us to consider the legacy we leave behind.

“Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established.” (Proverbs 16:3) Proverbs 16:3 invites us to commit all we do to the Lord, submit to His purposes and sovereign supervision, and trust that He will establish our ways. This appears earlier in Proverbs: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6) To commit is to roll every task onto the Lord’s shoulders. It means bringing all that we do under God’s rule. It means entrusting our effort and its outcome to the Lord and trusting that He will bring about the desired outcome in accordance with His kingdom purposes. It’s a total surrender of our plans and a trust in God’s preferred outcome. In short, our plans should never be made apart from God. In a way, we partner with Him, seeking His guidance and strength to see us through and to be successful in His will, way, and calling for our lives. This is seen in the Lord’s promise through the prophet Jeremiah. “‘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.’” (Jeremiah 29:11) So, as we fulfill our mission for the Kingdom of God, let’s do so in total submission to God's will and way, trusting that He will establish His good and perfect plan. “A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9) AND “There are many plans in a man's heart, nevertheless the Lord's counsel--that will stand.” (Proverbs 19:21)

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Thought For Today: “Perfect Love” The Apostle John tells us that where perfect love exists, fear is not an issue because perfect love casts out fear. “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:18) But I’d like to add that perfect love also casts out discomfort. Jesus embodied perfect love, and no one’s physical or emotional condition made Him uncomfortable or fearful. He touched and engaged with outcasts and the diseased, and He also engaged those who opposed Him. Frankly, others make us uncomfortable. They aren’t like us. They don’t look or act like us, and they don’t hold the same views we do. They live differently than we do. But perfect love, the love that Jesus places in our hearts, the love He displayed, neither fears nor is uncomfortable around these people. So let the perfect love of Christ shine through you by loving others as you love yourself, as Jesus commanded: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39). This Sunday Morning’s Message -- Unprecedented Love: “The Value of Love”

No Contest: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63)

Who’ll show up for you when you need someone? bible.com/en/videos/5579…

God’s Plan for Us: “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:17)

A Thought on Hebrews 6:10 God Sees: An Assured Promise “For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.” (Hebrews 6:10) Hebrews 6:10 speaks more about God’s faithfulness than about our merit. In saying that, God promises that He is both just and righteous and will neither forget nor overlook the faithfulness of our service to Him and His Kingdom, as expressed in our service to His children and His church. God sees every act of loving obedience, including those others overlook. The Apostle Paul affirms this in 1 Corinthians 15:58, stating that our labor in the Lord is not in vain. Therefore, nothing, no matter how small, escapes His notice. In fact, God created us for such work, as Paul writes in Ephesians 2:10: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” As Hebrews shows, these works, our service and care for one another, are a labor of love, flowing from our love and devotion to Him. God sees and values our heartfelt devotion to Him in our faithful service to His children and His Kingdom purposes, a service that continually flows from our love for God. Hebrews 6:10 is an assured promise that God sees, remembers, and never forgets our loving devotion as we serve His children and His kingdom.

God Sees: An Assured Promise “For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.” (Hebrews 6:10) Hebrews 6:10 speaks more about God’s faithfulness than about our merit. In saying that, God promises that He is both just and righteous and will neither forget nor overlook the faithfulness of our service to Him and His Kingdom, as expressed in our service to His children and His church. God sees every act of loving obedience, including those others overlook. The Apostle Paul affirms this in 1 Corinthians 15:58, stating that our labor in the Lord is not in vain. Therefore, nothing, no matter how small, escapes His notice. In fact, God created us for such work, as Paul writes in Ephesians 2:10: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” As Hebrews shows, these works, our service and care for one another, are a labor of love, flowing from our love and devotion to Him. God sees and values our heartfelt devotion to Him in our faithful service to His children and His Kingdom purposes, a service that continually flows from our love for God. So, Hebrews 6:10 is an assured promise that God sees, remembers, and never forgets our loving devotion as we serve His children and His kingdom. Therefore, may our ministry always reflect our love for God, expressed through loving service to His children, which Jesus identified as the Great Commandment, the foundation upon which our faith is built.