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Defeating The Lie: I’m Not Clean Enough To Get To Know God

God laid it on my heart these past couple days to talk about how Jesus isn’t looking for us to “get clean” before we ask him in our life. Neither should the church you attend. The church you attend should be showing the love of Jesus by meeting you where you are at, sins and all. None of us our perfect. None.

I have went to different churches with different denominations. Where I have learned the most is where I felt the love of Jesus and was taught biblical principles. I’ve never learned something out of fear or condemnation. We know that fear nor condemnation come from God. Love casts out all fear and God is Love. There’s a big difference between conviction and condemnation. Condemnation is overwhelming guilt that pushes you away from God. Where conviction is where Holy Spirit points out you have something to work on in your heart through love.

When I went back to church in 2015, I was sick and in need of a doctor. In other words, I was consumed by the enemies lies, what people portrayed God to be, overwhelmed by the heaviness of my sin, and just came home from the bar a couple hours before while still battling a pill addiction. I stepped into The River and was very timid and didn’t really want to talk or be seen by anyone. However, I was stopped by 4 amazing women that day that I still love to this day. They knew that I was struggling but loved me anyways, just as Jesus does. I walked into worship and it was completely different than anything I had ever saw. People were free. They held up their hands praising God, weeping, and laying hands on one another. And then Holy Spirit hit me….Like right in the face. Some of you know exactly what I’m talking about! The song we were singing was talking about was about breaking free from addiction and depression.

I am unsure why there is this lie floating around that Jesus expects you to be white as snow when you come to him…probably just one of satans tactics…But, if we were clean and not in need of a doctor, God wouldn’t of went Jesus to die for us. It’s never too late to come to God & you’re never too dirty to come to him either.

“Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord . “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool.
Isaiah 1:18 NLT

“Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.”
1 John 4:18 NLT

We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.
1 John 4:16 NLT

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Looking Back On 2017: WOW!!!

I have had a goal for the past 4 years and it was to get to know God and put him first. I can finally say, in 2017 it has been accomplished. This past year, as it comes to end has shown me who I am in Christ. Nothing is more powerful than knowing your identity in Christ. When I faced trials and tribulations, the more I knew my Papa and declared his promises, the better off I was! I knew throughout 2017:

  • “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”-Romans 8:28 CSB
  • Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable — if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy — dwell on these things. Do what you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.-Philippians 4:6‭-‬9 CSB
  • Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God remains in us and his love is made complete in us. This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and we testify that the Father has sent his Son as the world’s Savior. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God — God remains in him and he in God. And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.-1 John 4:10‭-‬16 CSB
  • We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and yet hates his brother or sister, he is a liar. For the person who does not love his brother or sister whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And we have this command from him: The one who loves God must also love his brother and sister.-1 John 4:19‭-‬21 CSB

Those are just some of God’s promises that got me through. God has inspired me to write not only this blog, but I am working on a book. He gave me my amazing husband this past year and I got a beautiful puppy this CHRISTmas! God has provided abundantly in my finances and has healed me of Bipolar Disorder. (You can check out the links below to see more on mental health) I’ve saw people find God that I prayed for and other miracles happen before my eyes! The list goes on of how God has blessed me this year.

As this year approaches I want to encourage you to keep a prayer journal to show what Abba has brought you to and through. I also remind you that “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”-Romans 8:37‭-‬39 CSB

If we put God at the throne of our hearts where he belongs you will watch 2018 be one of the best years of your life! I’m telling you this from my experience!

Did you reach any of your goals in 2017? What are some in 2018?

Thankyou to all those who have supported me through this blog. May God bless you abundantly in this next year to come. My hope is for you to grow into a deeper & more intimate relationship this year with Abba. That you always keep him on the throne of your heart. I pray he gives you a boldness to show people who may not know him, what pure love really looks like by showing Christ’s example. I pray you hold onto your lifelines of your relationship with God: his word, prayer, and a church family who loves God, who pushes you to know him more!

Here’s to 2018!

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What You Are Really Searching For…

Before you start reading this…hear me out…read it all the way through.

The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep.”

‭‭John‬ ‭10:10-11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.”

‭‭John‬ ‭3:17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭4:9-10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“So Jesus told them this story: “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭15:3-7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:38‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭1:4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

These are just a few of many verses that shows Abba’s love for us. Before I started my walk with God, I was looking for love in all the wrong places…I mean all of them. I would try to fill this void in my heart with whatever I could get my hands on…boyfriends, drinking and drugs, food, a promotion at work, money, friends, popularity, and yes, even social media. No matter what I did, I was never satisfied. I knew in my heart there was something more. I didn’t understand. Now, most of the things I listed above are what the world thinks as “bad”. If you try to fill the void of God’s love with anything, including your spouse, bodybuilding, healthy eating, a productive hobby, etc….it becomes a bad things. Some things that are really good for us can become an idol, something that we put before God which in turn, can turn out really bad. My point of this post is that really what our world is looking for is love…and God is love. (1 John 4:8) We are all searching for a deep intimate relationship with Abba.

What I love about God is that he believes that bringing one of us home to the Kingdom of God, is of great importance. He is a good father that doesn’t want anyone to perish. He looks at us as his masterpieces. He looks at us with love and tells us we are worthy of love. We are made to be loved. I heard that “we are made to be loved.” & I was like ugh….Abba, my heart.

When my relationship with God first started really developing, I was blown away with how many lies the thief, aka satan, aka, the enemy, had snuck into my life. Everything I believed about God was untrue. I had to let go of who I thought he was & who I thought I was. I began to read and study the word daily, praying more than I ever before, and started having fellowship with other people following Jesus, and I started to understand my identity.

I am a Child of God.

Before really pursuing my relationship I was searching and searching, trying to fill the void, and really I just needed God. I needed his true, pure, reckless love. I can speak about his love for me all day long. I know that he loves you too. But, getting to know his love is something you have to do. By this I mean, his love is individualized. He loves you and every “flaw” you think you have. His love never changes no matter the mistake you may make or what your past looks like. God loves you no matter where you are at in this very moment. He is willing to leave the 99 to come get the one. Are you the one?

His love doesn’t just stop at me, it doesn’t just stop at you…he uses all the things we’ve been through for the good. He uses it to help others that may be struggling. To me, that is so beautiful. How his love just travels and travels through people and for all generations to come.

Like I said, I can speak about God’s love for you all day long, but it’s for you to decide to get to know him on that intimate level.

I know we will never reach the depth of his love here on earth…and I think that’s one of the things that really sets a fire inside of my soul. I can just keep reaching out to him and he keeps pouring his love back upon me. We can never outgive God. His love is overwhelming to the point of tears of joy. His love is reckless and is unstoppable. His love is constant. His love is everything I’ve ever needed and more. Thank-you Abba for who you are.