Hi ladies ~ would you be so kind as to post a LIE or two (or more!) that Satan has used against you in battling guilt and/or shame in your life? Whether past or present... just think about the LIES you've heard him speak to you over 'that issue' or 'that sin'. You know the issue or sin because he has tried to make sure you NEVER forget! Feel free to post anonymously if you'd like!
THANK YOU!!!
Friday, April 17, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Our Promised Land
Hi ladies!!!! I'm still pondering the beautiful truth that Paulette spoke so clearly to us on Monday night:
What was true for the Israelites in the PHYSICAL sense is true for New Testament believers in the SPIRITUAL sense.
We could have lesson after lesson on this glorious, deep truth alone!!! I've been encouraged to remember and apply this to my life ANY and EVERY time I study Old Testament scriptures related to God's chosen nation. As New Testament believers, we have become part of His chosen people and there is sooooo much we can glean from what God has done through His people already!!!
I've always loved the term "promised land". There's something so wonderful about it, sooo... well ... PROMISING! And even more so, because the promise comes from God ~ and so we know absolutely, no doubt about it, that He is faithful and will keep His promise!! Each and every one of us has a promised land that God has planned for us to live here on earth before we get to the ultimate promised land of Heaven!!!
I don't know about you, but that gets me EXCITED and I am determined to WALK IN IT!!! I have wasted so many years of my life in the desert, wandering around ~ worshipping other gods ~ trying to find that certain something to satisfy my emptiness, my craving ~ and yet all that searching for something or someone other than Jesus just produces pain and heartache and CONSEQUENCE. I am SO DONE with that kind of life and I believe the women of IGNITE are, too!
I believe we are all longing for a deeper relationship with Jesus and with one another.. and IGNITE is the beginning of something BIG that God is doing in our community! May we never, ever again be like the Israelites who said it would be better to return to Egypt! NO WAY, JOSE!!! We will not give in to the enticements of the enemy.
We will choose TRUTH! (His word is truth)
We will choose to THINK DIFFERENTLY! (by renewing our minds with THE WORD)
We will choose to BELIEVE GOD! (not the old familiar lies of the enemy)
We will choose to make PHYSICAL CHANGES! (replacing sinful habits with God-honoring obedience - resulting in JOY and PEACE)
Thank you, Paulette, for sharing your heart.. and God's heart.. with us on this matter of idols.
He alone is worthy and the women of Ignite will lift up His Name alone!!!
AMEN?? Let's hear from you, sisters! What is God doing in YOUR life this week?
What was true for the Israelites in the PHYSICAL sense is true for New Testament believers in the SPIRITUAL sense.
We could have lesson after lesson on this glorious, deep truth alone!!! I've been encouraged to remember and apply this to my life ANY and EVERY time I study Old Testament scriptures related to God's chosen nation. As New Testament believers, we have become part of His chosen people and there is sooooo much we can glean from what God has done through His people already!!!
I've always loved the term "promised land". There's something so wonderful about it, sooo... well ... PROMISING! And even more so, because the promise comes from God ~ and so we know absolutely, no doubt about it, that He is faithful and will keep His promise!! Each and every one of us has a promised land that God has planned for us to live here on earth before we get to the ultimate promised land of Heaven!!!
I don't know about you, but that gets me EXCITED and I am determined to WALK IN IT!!! I have wasted so many years of my life in the desert, wandering around ~ worshipping other gods ~ trying to find that certain something to satisfy my emptiness, my craving ~ and yet all that searching for something or someone other than Jesus just produces pain and heartache and CONSEQUENCE. I am SO DONE with that kind of life and I believe the women of IGNITE are, too!
I believe we are all longing for a deeper relationship with Jesus and with one another.. and IGNITE is the beginning of something BIG that God is doing in our community! May we never, ever again be like the Israelites who said it would be better to return to Egypt! NO WAY, JOSE!!! We will not give in to the enticements of the enemy.
We will choose TRUTH! (His word is truth)
We will choose to THINK DIFFERENTLY! (by renewing our minds with THE WORD)
We will choose to BELIEVE GOD! (not the old familiar lies of the enemy)
We will choose to make PHYSICAL CHANGES! (replacing sinful habits with God-honoring obedience - resulting in JOY and PEACE)
Thank you, Paulette, for sharing your heart.. and God's heart.. with us on this matter of idols.
He alone is worthy and the women of Ignite will lift up His Name alone!!!
AMEN?? Let's hear from you, sisters! What is God doing in YOUR life this week?
Friday, April 10, 2009
Come Home
Along with many of you, I am reflecting today on the amazing sacrifice of our Lord and Savior, Jesus. I am humbled, broken, and in awe of Him. I am sooo incredibly in love with Him and would be nothing without Him ~ nothing. Can anyone relate???? I bet you can!
I'd like to share the words of a song by Stephanie Wojnicki. She is my former pastor's daughter from Missouri. I watched her grow up physically and spiritually. She is beautiful inside and out, and is now married to a pastor herself! This is what Stephanie says about the inspiration for this song:
God planned an unlikely meeting some time ago between a woman who was dying from kidney failure and myself. The reality that she faced both spiritual death and imminent physical death put me on my knees, praying she would run into the arms of Christ. My experience of sharing the gospel with this woman caused me to ponder the scope of God’s redemptive plan.
The song is titled Come Home:
Before the earth was formed, the Father ordained a plan
To send His dear beloved Son to rescue the souls of man
The Savior died upon the cross, our sins He did atone
To purchase a possession, a people for His own
I see it in your eyes, the sorrow and pain you bear
Besieged with doubts, alarmed, and burdened with every care
He frees you from the weight of sin, He pardons and forgives
His promised yoke is easy, He died so that you might live
Come home, O weary one, come home
The Father waits for you with open arms
Come home, weary one, come home
The Father looks with joy to welcome you
O Sinner, lift your eyes; Behold the Crucified
He has conquered all your foes! Death cowers at His side!!!
The Spirit beckons you with strength that's not your own
You rise and give Him GLORY ~ the Lamb upon His throne!
Welcome home, my dear child, welcome home
You'll join the glorious song of the redeemed!!
Welcome home, dear child, welcome home
We'll praise our Savior through eternity!
Come home, weary one, come home
The Father waits for you with open arms
Come home, weary one, come home
The Father runs with joy to welcome you!
You can hear an excerpt of Stephanie singing this beautiful song at www.stephaniewojnicki.com
Just click on 'launch music player' and select the song Come Home.
I pray that this Resurrection Sunday will be a time of great rejoicing and celebration for everything that Jesus has accomplished on our behalf! What amazing love.. what amazing grace.. and we are HIS!!!! Praise You, Jesus!!!!!
I'd like to share the words of a song by Stephanie Wojnicki. She is my former pastor's daughter from Missouri. I watched her grow up physically and spiritually. She is beautiful inside and out, and is now married to a pastor herself! This is what Stephanie says about the inspiration for this song:
God planned an unlikely meeting some time ago between a woman who was dying from kidney failure and myself. The reality that she faced both spiritual death and imminent physical death put me on my knees, praying she would run into the arms of Christ. My experience of sharing the gospel with this woman caused me to ponder the scope of God’s redemptive plan.
The song is titled Come Home:
Before the earth was formed, the Father ordained a plan
To send His dear beloved Son to rescue the souls of man
The Savior died upon the cross, our sins He did atone
To purchase a possession, a people for His own
I see it in your eyes, the sorrow and pain you bear
Besieged with doubts, alarmed, and burdened with every care
He frees you from the weight of sin, He pardons and forgives
His promised yoke is easy, He died so that you might live
Come home, O weary one, come home
The Father waits for you with open arms
Come home, weary one, come home
The Father looks with joy to welcome you
O Sinner, lift your eyes; Behold the Crucified
He has conquered all your foes! Death cowers at His side!!!
The Spirit beckons you with strength that's not your own
You rise and give Him GLORY ~ the Lamb upon His throne!
Welcome home, my dear child, welcome home
You'll join the glorious song of the redeemed!!
Welcome home, dear child, welcome home
We'll praise our Savior through eternity!
Come home, weary one, come home
The Father waits for you with open arms
Come home, weary one, come home
The Father runs with joy to welcome you!
You can hear an excerpt of Stephanie singing this beautiful song at www.stephaniewojnicki.com
Just click on 'launch music player' and select the song Come Home.
I pray that this Resurrection Sunday will be a time of great rejoicing and celebration for everything that Jesus has accomplished on our behalf! What amazing love.. what amazing grace.. and we are HIS!!!! Praise You, Jesus!!!!!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Be on Your Guard
Hello dear ladies, it is 2:09 and my cell phone alarm has just rung, reminding me to pray against evil. And pray I will ~ I'll be right back!!
Our pastor challenged us as a congregation a couple weeks ago to pray at 2:09 every day of 2009 (that's where the 2:09 came from).. specifically to pray against darkness; against evil. In taking up this challenge, I have been made keenly aware that we are truly at war ~ NOT AGAINST FLESH AND BLOOD, not against each other ~ but "against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
I have truly been in a spiritual battle over the last several days and I've not always been victorious! Yet in recognizing what is happening, my vision has cleared, my faith has been strengthened, and my resolve made firm. Our God REIGNS and He is VICTORIOUS. Satan would like nothing more than to sit us on the sidelines for the rest of the 'game', rendering us ineffective and useless to the cause of Christ. May it never be!!! Jesus paid too high a price for us to sit on the bench (or in the pew) and act as though nothing special has taken place. Something ~ make that Someone ~ SPECIAL has taken His place in your heart the day you asked him to do so. Live in the GLORY He created you for... live the STORY He created you for.. and if you don't yet know what that is... ASK HIM!!!
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. James 1:5
A little side note here.. after Pastor Gary issued the challenge, I mentioned to some of our Ignite gals that our verse is also '209' - Jer. 20:9!! So 2:09 is also a time that I specifially pray for every woman who IS and who WILL BE a part of Ignite!!! And for GOD to be glorified in and through each one of us.
Remember to be on your guard!!!
"Be careful," Jesus said to them. "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
"Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be (wo)men of courage; be strong."
Our pastor challenged us as a congregation a couple weeks ago to pray at 2:09 every day of 2009 (that's where the 2:09 came from).. specifically to pray against darkness; against evil. In taking up this challenge, I have been made keenly aware that we are truly at war ~ NOT AGAINST FLESH AND BLOOD, not against each other ~ but "against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
I have truly been in a spiritual battle over the last several days and I've not always been victorious! Yet in recognizing what is happening, my vision has cleared, my faith has been strengthened, and my resolve made firm. Our God REIGNS and He is VICTORIOUS. Satan would like nothing more than to sit us on the sidelines for the rest of the 'game', rendering us ineffective and useless to the cause of Christ. May it never be!!! Jesus paid too high a price for us to sit on the bench (or in the pew) and act as though nothing special has taken place. Something ~ make that Someone ~ SPECIAL has taken His place in your heart the day you asked him to do so. Live in the GLORY He created you for... live the STORY He created you for.. and if you don't yet know what that is... ASK HIM!!!
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. James 1:5
A little side note here.. after Pastor Gary issued the challenge, I mentioned to some of our Ignite gals that our verse is also '209' - Jer. 20:9!! So 2:09 is also a time that I specifially pray for every woman who IS and who WILL BE a part of Ignite!!! And for GOD to be glorified in and through each one of us.
Remember to be on your guard!!!
"Be careful," Jesus said to them. "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
"Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be (wo)men of courage; be strong."
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