You Are Loved! Thoughts for the New Year

It's a New Year and a time for new beginnings.  Leave the old behind and step forward into your future with the knowledge that you are loved by the Creator of the universe.  You. are. loved. Don't forget that!  Not only are you loved but, if you are His, you have been called for a purpose…. to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him.

God wants you to have a life that is full of His goodness, abounding in the riches of His love. A life filled with purpose.

The enemy, the devil, wants to destroy you…plain and simple.  He wants to plant thoughts in your head to make you feel like a failure, with no purpose.  In John chapter 10, verse 10 we read the words of Jesus, "The thief comes only to kill and steal and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." Jesus wants you to live a full life filled with the purpose of His love.

When we respond to the invitation to follow Jesus and try to live as He lived, even in all of our imperfection, He promises that our joy will be full. (John 15:11 and 16:24).  When He tells us that we would have life to the full in John 10:10, the word for full here in Greek is, perissos...it means "super-abundant, superior in quality, over and above. It is an extravagant, abundant word, full of promise and hope." (see Keri Wyatt Kent's, Deeper Into the Word, New Testament).

Sometimes we allow ourselves to be swayed by the standards of the world and begin to tell ourselves lies that we are 'less than'…not pretty enough, not smart enough, not organized enough. Enough. enough.enough! Stop the lies dead in their tracks and replace them with the truth of God's word. We are to 'take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.' We are to take back our thought life, putting it under the authority of Christ and His word.

 When the world or the enemy of our soul tries to tell us that we are 'less than', we tend to let it sink deep into our thought life. The lie takes root and our emotions become engaged, dictating the way we interact with the world in which we live. It can begin to take over, stealing our focus and causing feelings of helplessness. It becomes a stronghold in our lives, holding us down and keeping us from becoming all that God created us to be.  It drains our emotional energy and keeps us from fulfilling the abundant life that God has called us to. This is exactly what the enemy wants.  We need to turn away from the lie of 'less than' and turn to the truth of God's Word.  HE IS ENOUGH so we don't have to be.  We don't' have to strive to be perfect…to have the perfect family, perfect kids, perfect body, perfect life.  The truth is no one is perfect but the one who created us. And HE IS ENOUGH. We are perfected IN HIM and HE.IS.ENOUGH.

 Instead of letting the world define you, or listening to the enemy as he whispers lies into your ear, lies of worthlessness, and hopelessness…allow God to lead you into a full life….a life of joy and purpose. Allow Him to take your less than and turn it into more than enough.

I want to live that kind of 'full' life, a life that is more than enough! Don't you?

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.    ~2 Corinthians 10:3-5

Small...The Lie....Five Minute Friday

I am coming really late to Five Minute Friday this week and I thought about skipping this week altogether, except for the one word....SMALL. It seems to be a recurring theme popping up a lot this week so...even if I miss the linkups here goes…

Quote from Mary DeMuth's new book, The Wall Around Your Heart.
www.marydemuth.com

Go...

I think at one time or another every person, every woman, every writer, or whatever your profession or role in life, struggles with the feeling of being small...

A teeny tiny fish in a big blue sea.

Just one tiny petal clinging to a gargantuan puff of clusters creating a large and lovely flower.

Only one insignificant person in this vast universe.

Sometimes we feel small because of the wrongs we have committed and sometimes it is the wrongs that have been committed against us. Those wrongs that make us feel broken, fragmented...small.

This smallness holds us back from stepping into the future that God has prepared for us. The enemy of our souls wants us to be lost in the feelings of being small...insignificant...unimportant. Or whispers into our ears that because of the sins committed against us we can never do anything of real importance in this world.

LIES! ALL LIES!

God tells us in His word that He wants us to have an abundant life! John 10:10 says,

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they many have life, and have it to the full.

To the full...abundance! More than enough, because He is more than enough!

A full life does not mean no pain, disease, warfare, or even death...but it does mean a good life because walking in obedience to God's Word brings about fruit in our life, and fullness. It can be hard at times, but it is still good, because God promises to bring us into a good land in our lives and that good land produces good fruit for His glory.  You can touch the lives of so many others who feel small and insignificant because God will produce in you the glorious fruit of His Spirit.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.~Galatians 5:22-23

If you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then you are a son or daughter of the King of kings and Lord of Lords! That makes you a Prince/Princess, and heir to the Kingdom.!

And that, my friend, is no small thing!

Stop!

NEWS from Gay at Captive Heart...

I created the photo at the beginning of this post using a quote from Mary DeMuth's new book, The Wall Around Your Heart. I have the privilege of being on the launch team for the book so you will be hearing more about the book in future posts. I've only just begun reading the advance copy of the book, but it is already proving to be a book worthy of my library shelf!  Oh and so you know...this post was not a review of the book.  I will be posting the review next month closer to the release of the book.



"And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." 2 Corinthians 9:8

  Now it's your turn

1. Write for 5 minutes flat - no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.

2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you &encourage them in their comments. 

Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community...
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