Category Archives: Abide in Christ

The Romans Challenge: Live by Faith – Connection to God

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“For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.””
‭‭Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

(Today we read Romans 1)

Sin divides. It separates. It keeps us from what we were meant to be all along, closely connected to God in an intimate relationship with Him. The gospel – Good News – is we do not have to live separated any more. Jesus made the way for us by paying the penalty for our sins on the cross.

The restoration of our relationship with God through Jesus and His gift of salvation is only the beginning! We receive what Jesus has done for us as a gift by faith. It isn’t anything we have done. He cleanses us from sin. We are made right with God. Connection is restored! BUT we were meant for more! This relationship we have with God is a daily living “by faith.” As we live connected to Him, our relationship is meant to grow!

Faith is trusting in God. It is placing our confidence in Him. It is believing what He says. Living by faith is a day in day out relationship of hearing God speak to us through His Word, listening to it – paying attention to it, and doing what He says. All of this is for our good. Because God is good, all He does is good, and His plans for us are good. In fact He is a work in our lives working ALL things for our good! (Psalm 119:68, Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 8:28)

A life of faith is a life living connected to God. It is like a baby in the womb. That baby is connected to her mom by the umbilical cord. Everything the baby needs is provided. The baby doesn’t have to second guess or worry about what will happen next. That baby is connected to her mom. We don’t have to worry or second guess. The power of the Gospel has connected us to God. The more we know Him and grow in our relationship with Him the more our faith will grow. We will rest in calm assurance that our God holds us closely to Him, and we can live our lives believing and trusting Him — We can live by faith!

The Romans Challenge- Called to Belong

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“And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭6‬ ‭NIV‬

(Today we read Romans 1)

You and I were created for connection. We were meant to be a part of and in relationship with someone greater than us. We were created to belong. Paul puts it this way, we are “called to belong to Jesus…”

When God first created man, He stated something very profound:

“The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone…””
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭2‬:‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

It is not good for any of us to be alone and disconnected. We can see it easily in the life of the most fragile amongst us, a baby. Without connection to their mother and father, lack of physical contact, (skin on skin time— close and intimate) a baby will present as “failure to thrive.” They simply will not develop correctly without experiencing “belonging.”

Spiritually, we will not as well. God knows this. His great love draws us in for connection to Himself. He knows that without us experiencing, “belonging” to Him, we will be “failure to thrive” spiritually. This will affect every area of our lives. We will lack peace, love, and joy if we live disconnected from Him. We NEED to belong to Him.

Paul states not only that we are “called to belong”, but we are “called to be God’s “holy people” i.e. “saints”. (Verse 7) To be holy is to be set apart for God. It is to be conformed to His image and have our life regulated by His divine precepts (i.e. God’s Word) -Webster’s 1828 Dictionary.

Our connection to our loving Heavenly Father, will cause us to grow as we were meant to grow. We will become more and more like Him in every way — His image bearer.

Do you feel the longing “to belong?” This is what you were created for — relationship with God.

He longs for you “to belong” to Him as well. In fact our verse says, He called us to belong to Jesus Christ. He called us to be His Holy people — set apart for Himself.

All we have to do is come to Him responding “Yes God, I want to be connected to you! I no longer want to live my life alone. I give myself to You. I belong to You!”

The Roman’s Challenge: Slave of God

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“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God—”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I cannot tell you how often I have wrestled with God. Beginning this study is another example of that wrestling.

Last month, as I was finishing my study of James, I felt the Holy Spirit prompting me to invite you all on a journey with me through Romans. But, I have resisted. I felt like it was too big for me. Truthfully it is. Anything we do in our lives is “too big.” That is why we need Jesus! This is why He has given us the Holy Spirit to be our helper.

Paul opens Romans stating He is a “servant of Christ Jesus…” The Greek word for servant is “duolos” which is interpreted “slave.” A slave is defined as “A person who is wholly subject to the will of another; one who has no will of his own, but whose person and services are wholly under the control of another.” (Webster’s 1828 Dictionary)

When you and I say that Jesus is “Lord” of our lives, we are stating that we have become His “slave.” He owns our lives. Whatever He says, we must do. He is not a harsh and cruel taskmaster. He is good and everything He does is good. What He commands us to do is for our good.

Our service to Him was purchased by His love, and our obedience to Him is a display of our love for Him in return!

Oh how I long to have a heart that is fully and instantly obedient to my Lord! I fail at times, but I am hoping that my response time to His call is getting better.

As Paul said, I am a slave to Christ and set apart for the gospel ( The Good News)! My obedience brings glory to Him and displays to others His image so they can see Him too. Then they can respond to His call saying, “Yes You are my Lord, I am a slave to Christ. Whatever You say, Wherever You send me, I will obey!

Join me in reading the Book of Romans. We will read chapter 1 for a week. Each day we will read it expecting the Holy Spirit to speak to us through His Word!  This is the Romans Challenge that God has put before me.Join me!

FIRST — What am I seeking?

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About a year ago, God pointed out to me my phone addiction… God: “Janet, what do you do when you first wake up?” Me: “Uh…grab my phone and check Facebook… then the weather.”

I wasn’t exactly walking in obedience to what Jesus said…

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭33‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I came across this video last night and it has been very impactful to me. Take few moments and watch.

Jesus told us: 

““Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more.”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭4‬:‭24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

We are to pay attention to the Word. “Consider carefully.” Relationship with God doesn’t just happen. If we want to be close to God and experience Him in a close friendship. We have to invest our TIME! The measure of the time we spend seeking Him. Is what we receive. If we are investing in our relationship we will receive from Him and then some!

He’s waiting on us to respond to His invitation to “Know Him.”

This is where true life is! 

“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
‭‭John‬ ‭17‬:‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

What are we seeking first, to KNOW Him or to KNOW our social media feed…? Only one option gives eternal life!

James: Prayer

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“…The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
‭‭James‬ ‭5‬:‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Today is James 5.

“I guess all I can do now is pray…” I don’t know how many times I have heard that statement. Sadly, I don’t know how many times I have made that statement…

“All I can do now?!?!” How sad it is that we undervalue prayer!

James 5:13-18 speaks of how important prayer is. If we are in trouble, we need to pray. If we are happy, our prayer should be praise. If we are sick, have the elders of the church pray and anoint us with oil for healing. If we sin, pray for each other so we may be healed.

I would venture to say that prayer IS the most important thing we can do. Prayer is connection to our Heavenly Father. The Holy Spirit will help us pray. Jesus paid the price for us to be able to come boldly before God in prayer. Yet we relegate prayer to quoting the Lord’s Prayer, praying a short blessing over our meals, and possibly a quick, “Now I lay me down to sleep…” prayer at night.

Of all the great works we an do, prayer is the greatest. It is in prayer that we come to God: We acknowledge our total dependence on Him; We surrender our will and our ways; We listen for Him to speak; We are given the power to obey.

As we pray God’s Word over our situations and circumstances, we will know God and will experience Him. We will be assured that He is working all things out for our good!

Prayer isn’t a small part of the work God has called us to. Prayer is the work. May our hearts be attentive to prayer continuously throughout our days!

James: I Am The Problem…

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(This week we are reading James 4)

“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”
‭‭James‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Self focus is deadly!!! It produces fights and quarrels with others. It leads us to atrocious sins.

The self focused person wants what they want when and how they want it. Their theme is “it’s all about me…” But when we live our lives focused on us and our desires, we cannot receive from God. That is because our motives are wrong. Our desires are set on getting what we want — our pleasures.

If our lives lack peace and God feels distant, there is one phrase that will describe the root of what is going on. It is worthy of saying it out loud so understanding can come. “ I am the problem…” I need to get my eyes off of me and onto God who holds everything I need.

Life is not about me at all. It is all about Him!!! If my desires are set on Him, if I ask God for His provision from a heart that is surrendered to Him entirely, totally, and completely, if my life is all about God, I will dwell in God. His peace, joy, and love will fill my life.

“I am the problem” can be changed to “Jesus is the answer.” He is to be our lives. That is the only way to live as we were created to be.

Show Us The Father — Unchanging

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Today is Mark 13.

Jesus and His disciples came out of the temple. One of the disciples commented on the beauty of what he was seeing. Jesus spoke of how all that seemed so certain and indestructible would be destroyed, the Temple.

They went to the Mount of Olive opposite the Temple. As they sat at there Jesus began to tell of what was to come. In all the disturbing events Jesus spoke of, One Thing stood out as unshakeable and unchanging — His Word!

Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” (Verse 31)

In all the changes we experience in our daily lives, Jesus tells us His Word will not change. It will endure.

The Word is God! It is His Divine Expression of Himself. You cannot separate God from His Word. They are one. Jesus shows us that His Word is unchanging, so is His Heavenly Father. Nothing in the future will change the character of our God. He will always be love, goodness, our peace, our strength, etc.

Of all the events that we will face in our lives, there is one certain person to run to that will withstand the storm, God. He and His Word are unchanging!

Show Us The Father — Family

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Today is Mark 3:21-35.

Jesus’s biological family thought He was “out of his mind.” They came to seize Him. They did not understand who Jesus really was.

When Jesus was told about their coming, they said, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” Jesus then defined our true heavenly family. He said, “…whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.” (Verse 35)

If we want to dwell in a relationship of “family” with God, we need to do the will of God. What is the will of God?

Jesus defined the will of God:

“For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.””
‭‭John‬ ‭6‬:‭40‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The will of God is that we believe on Jesus and receive His eternal life.

Jesus also defines eternal life:

“And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
‭‭John‬ ‭17‬:‭3‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Knowing God = Eternal Life= Connection to God in a Relatioship of Oneness

When we know God intimately, in a connected relationship, we will be in His will. The ones who know God in this relationship are His family.

Nothing else matters in life. God wants us to experience Him as our Father. In this passage, the ones who were seated around Jesus, listening to Him speak were the ones who wanted to know God and to experience Him in relationship. They were the ones who were doing the will of God. They were Jesus’s true spiritual family.

When we enter into a relationship with God, we enter His family too! We can know God in a relationship of family!

New Beginnings in the Book of Acts — The Holy Spirit Comes

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“Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”” 
Acts 2:38-39 NIV

Acts 2 is one of my favorite chapters of the Bible.  It is when the men and women who had been following Jesus as He walked and talked with them on earth were filled to the overflowing with His Holy Spirit. They had known “God with Us/ Emmanuel” now they KNEW (Intimately) God within us — the Holy Spirit.

Rushing wind, tongues of fire, each of the disciples speaking in other tongues, then they went out onto the streets below. They were “declaring the wonders of God.” (Verse 11)

Then Peter stood up to preach with BOLDNESS. Peter, who had a little over a month and a half before denied Jesus three times in the garden as Jesus stood trial and was later led off to be crucified, that same Peter preached! What a difference the presence of the Holy Spirit within the life of a believer makes! The words that the Holy Spirit enabled Peter to speak that day “cut to the heart” (verse 37) of the people.  They wanted to know what to do.  These words have stood true throughout the centuries of what we should all do when we hear the Holy Spirit calling to us. “Repent and be baptized… and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”  

What a promise! The promise of the Holy Spirit and all the wonderful works that He does in and through a believer were not a one and done deal.  “The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off— for all whom the Lord our God will call.” (Verse 39)  

Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would come to give us power. (Acts 1:8)  With the Holy Spirit in our lives, we too can live our lives with a new beginning. We do not have to remain in our old patterns of selfishness and sin. We can live with our lives full of the Holy Spirit. May we hunger to know “the fellowship of the Holy Spirit” (2 Corinthians 13:14) each and every day! Then we will be empowered to do what the disciples did on the day of Pentecost— KNOW God and make Him known!

WOW Scripture Reading Matthew 4:4 ( Latch On)

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“Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4 NIV

Dear Devoted and Determined Princess Warriors,

Have you ever considered the condition of your spiritual life? Would you describe your spiritual life as one of abundance, thriving in a living and real relationship of oneness with God? Or have you been living a life that is destitute — wanting and needy, never satisfied, never content, without continual comfort, hope, joy or peace? I considered these questions almost 4 years ago, when I first began attending WOW. At that time, I did not know that the most important thing about me was my spiritual heart. I knew I was living without hope, joy, and peace. I was not satisfied nor was I content; however, I did not realize why. I did not realize that the Word of God was an indispensable necessity for my spiritual heart and life. I did not see that I truly could not live or thrive without the Word.

My spiritual condition was similar to a physical condition my daughter, Faith, experienced as a newborn. She did not latch on correctly when nursing. The first two weeks of her life were absolutely miserable for her. I tried to get her to nurse correctly, but she couldn’t. She cried and cried and could not be comforted. When I took her in for her two-week checkup, she had lost two pounds. The doctor instructed me to supplement her feedings with formula. When I did, Faith suddenly became a sweet and peaceful infant. The weight loss stopped, and she began to grow.

Four years ago, I was not latching on to the source of my spiritual food, the Word of God. I was not thriving nor was I surviving well. I thought I could satisfy and fulfill myself with earthly things when I was meant to be connected to God in a love/ faith relationship. Simply put, I was not making room for God’s Word to dwell in my spiritual heart. I was not reading His Word, receiving it, understanding it, believing it, and obeying it. Instead, I was ignoring it, neglecting it, omitting it, cherry picking it, and rejecting it. As a result, I was living a destitute life — empty and hopeless.

In our verse this week Jesus is speaking of such a condition. Jesus tells us that “‘…Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” As my infant daughter needed physical nutrition in order to thrive, you and I need spiritual nutrition. Jesus, the living Word, is “…the true bread from heaven” (John 6:32)! Jesus and every inspired word written in the 66 books of the Bible are the bread, the spiritual food you and I desperately need for nourishment, sustenance, and growth of our spiritual hearts and lives. Every day we need to continually feed on the Word of God that is right and true, sweet as honey, more precious than a thousand pieces of silver and gold. As we make room for the Word in our hearts, we will truly live a life of abundance! But we must choose to “latch on to the Word,” or receive the Word and take it in.

As I consider the words spoken by Jesus in our verse this week, I am contemplating these questions: How hungry am I for His Word? Do I long for His Word more than I long for my next physical meal? Do I take time planning and scheduling when I can eat more of the Bread of Life, God’s Word, and take it into my spiritual heart? Perhaps you wonder the same things. The Word of God is an indispensable necessity for our spiritual hearts and lives. May we truly hunger for “every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

This week’s song is “Your Words” by Third Day featuring Harvest.

Love,

Janet

Devoted and Determined in the Word