Nourishment and refreshment for your soul.

There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved [Jesus].” Acts 4:12

We all remember taking tests in school. Fill in the dot, multiple choice (otherwise known as multiple guess), true and false, short answer, and the dreaded essay question.

If I had prepared for THE TEST, I actually liked working through the process of multiple choice questions using the “Cross Out Strategy.”

The Cross Out Strategy:

1. Know the truth.
2. Examine all the questions and search for truth.
3. Cross out the obvious wrong answers.
4. Analyze remaining answers.
5. Cross out answers that contain a bit of truth.
6. Circle remaining answer.

The key to the Cross Out Strategy is knowing the truth. Without having access to the true answers, the Cross Out Strategy is futile.

The same strategy works when looking for the answer to life’s biggest question: How may we be saved?

1. Know the truth.
2. Search for the truth.
3. Cross out wrong answers that contain a bit of truth.
4. Accept the correct answer.

The answer to our biggest question is contained in our verse above: There is no other name by which we must be saved. Jesus. It is only by accepting His sacrificial death on the cross that we are saved.

It all comes down to the cross: cross out all other answers.

Action Points:

1. Is Jesus your Savior? Have you crossed out all other options?
2. Do you depend only on Him for salvation, restoration and forgiveness?
3. Do you allow others to rest only on Jesus, or do you require others to continually pay for their sins?
4. Are you hanging on to something Jesus has already nailed to the cross?

Life is sweet.

Nourishment and refreshment for the soul.

29 “Is not My word like a fire?” says the LORD

1. Identify the hay, straw, and stubble in your life.
2. What can you do to cooperate with the firing process?
3. What is God building in your life?
4. How can you aid God in the building process?

Sometimes God must tear down before He can build up.

Life is sweet!

For more information on God’s refining fire, please click on the link below.

Refining Fire Bible Verses

Nourishment and refreshment for the soul!

And the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand; not a man of them shall stand before you.” Joshua 10:8

Too much of my life has been spent fearing the wrong things. Fear of failure, fear of accidents, fear of change, and fear of sickness and death have all cost me plenty, but nothing has been more costly than the fear of man.

Why do I fear man? I fear because perhaps what others say about me is true.

I am nothing.

         I am wrong.

                         I am weak.

                                   I am useless.

                                               I am dumb.

I am broken.

  I am … I am … I am …

I AM that I AM

The GREAT I AM!

In the GREAT I AM …

… I am called … I am chosen … I am gifted … beautiful … redeemed … forgiven … talented, restored, adopted, strong, wise, beautiful, useful, effective, influential, free, justified, blameless, pure, sanctified, holy, alive, secure, complete, victorious, and loved. I am because He is.

Fear of man will cause me to miss my calling; to leave unlived the life God has willed for me. The only thing God wants me to fear is Him. He calls me to lay aside all other fear, and live with boldness: standing ground, slaying giants, and tumbling walls.

Because of the Great I AM, I am.

Action Points:

1. Slowly, with emphasis,  read the I am list out loud.

2. Mark in your mind the most important attributes in the I am list and thank God for what He has made you in Christ Jesus.

3. Make your decisions today based on the fear of God, not the fear of man.

Remember who you are in the Great I AM.

Life is sweet,

For more information on overcoming fear, please click on the links below.

Francis Chan: Fear Not

Joyce Meyer: Choose Boldness

Refreshment and nourishment for the soul!

Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,
“This is the way, walk in it,”
Whenever you turn to the right hand
Or whenever you turn to the left. Isaiah 30:21

Today I took a tramp through the woods at an area nature center. As I walked along the wooded paths, I noticed the evidence of new life springing forth to dazzle the senses … trilling birds,  sweet-smelling flowers, prancing deer, velvety mosses, verdant grasses. The warm spring breezes blew away the cobwebs of winter. As I hiked, I thanked God for each blessing; the herd of deer I spooked, the pileated woodpecker hammering on a dead branch, and the Dutchman’s-britches peeping out from under last years leaves.

When I rounded the curve of the Old Field Trail, my eyes met a shocking sight; the scorched lands of the tall-grass prairie. While I gazed on the ugliness of the field, I tried to reconcile the carnage of the seared grasses with the beauty of the woods. I felt the Holy Spirit tugging at my heart to stop and reflect on the object lesson before my eyes.

God, I already know sometimes you have to burn off the old to encourage new growth. But God had a new lesson for me. As I scanned the scorched grasses, I suddenly noticed one thing remained–the green path. Formerly hidden by the long dry grasses, the path was now easily seen.

Yes, God does burn off old growth (humdrum habits and unhealthy relationships) so we can continue to mature,  but sometimes He burns these things because they are clouding our vision of His path. With the briars, weeds, and old growth removed, we can clearly see the path God wants us to take.

Action Points:

1. Are you following God’s path for your life?
2. Is there anything you need to give up to follow God more closely?
3. What needs to go so you can clearly see God’s path?

Life is sweet!

Nourishment and refreshment for the soul.

1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2

The air is full of madness, March Madness. Throughout the dismal days of March, we’ve all been glued to our devices with our crumpled brackets in hand, cheering for our favorites. (What else is there to do in March?) Now we are down to the Final Four.

As I watched the news this morning, I was moved by a photograph of a player from Duke, arms out-stretched, muscles quivering, body straining, and eyes intensely focused on the prize–the basketball. I admired his determination and perseverance to pursue his goal against all odds, sacrificing himself for the prize.

We have a final four as well: Self. World. Sin. Jesus. They all vie for our attention in a battle for mastery over our souls. Which ever one we focus on we will master us. Where the eyes are focused, the body will follow.

Action Points:

1. Where do you want to end up? Are your eyes focused in the right direction?
2. Do your current habits help or hinder your goal?
3. How can you better focus your eyes on Jesus?

Day 10:Abundant Life

 “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10