GRACE BLOGS COLLECTION
A few days ago, I heard James Robison make a statement that struck home to me. "If they are going to reject Jesus, let's make sure they know who they are rejecting." I was reminded of what Jesus said to the woman at the well in Samaria. "If you knew who was speaking to you, you would ask him and he would have given you living water" (John 4:10). So many people have rejected a distortion of Jesus but have not yet really seen him. It is hard to imagine that you could see him even slightly and reject him, but many still walk in darkness.
I was in a hurry as I parked my truck in the garage. I noticed a young man standing outside holding a clipboard and a pen. I was strangely drawn to talk with him though I didn't really have time. He was getting signatures on a petition for changing some zoning issues in the city. He told me he had been in the terrible hurricane in New Orleans several years back and now lived in this area trying to get his life started.
The conversation got around to my asking if he were a Christian. "Oh, I guess I believe in God, but I went to church with my grandma, and it didn't seem to offer much. There is still too much judgmentalism and hypocrisy among church folks."
I asked, "Do you have time for a short story?" He seemed eager after asking if I wanted to sit down. I guess he was concerned about a senior citizen standing so long in the front yard.
I began: "The God of creation created Adam and Eve to enjoy him and partner with him in developing the earth. He provided everything they needed to have life at its best. For every desire there was a matching fruit on the trees in the garden. The deceiver approached them and cast suspicion on the nature and intentions of the God they loved and adored. They chose to listen to the lies, and became estranged from him. But he loved them so much that he spent hundreds of years preparing a time for another Adam to come. It was his own Son who came and when the moment of temptation came, he trusted his Father rather than the deceiver.
"This Adam was our substitute. He lived as us. He died in our place. He was raised from the dead for us and now sits at the right hand of the Father guaranteeing an eternal place for us. He has sent the same Spirit that raised him from the dead to live in us and now we can live reconciled to God and free to partner with him in developing his earth while enjoying everyday fellowship with him. Believing him causes us to turn from our foolish and wicked ways. We have found something that satisfies the desires that have previously driven us to pursue idols that destroy us."
The look in his eyes said, "that's enough." "If that story is true why wouldn't anyone want to believe that?"
"My point!" I said. "Can I pray with you?"
We bowed in the front yard, a handsome young black man hugging an older white man, both oblivious to age and race. Afterward we talked of how he could grow and find a faith community in which to discover more of this glorious story that changes everything.
And I got to my next appointment on time.
I am so sorry that we have been guilty of presenting a Jesus that doesn't resemble the true Son of God. I am also sorry that many seem to hold on to their religious images and refuse to see who is right before them. Like the woman of Samaria, we live with shame and condemnation arguing about which religious view is correct, while Jesus stands in our midst offering a water from another world that satisfies desires that earthly water can never quench.
Let us tell the story often and boldly. Though thousands have attended church services and religious events, many have never heard. They still cling to or reject a faulty view of the only person who loves us completely. We don't have to change people. God does that when they see him and trust him. We don't have to fix them. We do get to love them and when we do we will love to tell them the story. Love and truth are transforming.
Hebrews 12:1-2 says,
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now He is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. (NLT)
Jesus is always working in us as we keep our eyes fixed on Him!
Don’t make the big deal about what you do (how you behave). Just a warning though: This may make some people (self-righteous people) mad.
Make the big deal about what Jesus has done for you through His finished work on the cross. This way of doing life will remove the heavy weight you may be carrying of trying to fix yourself. It will also bring you great peace and cause your behavior to improve. Yes, you read that correctly. This way of approaching life will cause you to grow in Christ. Why? Right believing leads to right living! You will be changed by the Holy Spirit as you keep our eyes on Jesus! See 2 Corinthians 3:18.
Here’s an example from my own life that just happened today:
I was sick today and had to miss the last day of volunteering at JUMP Camp. I started getting a sore throat yesterday about mid-day and it turned into a cold and flu type thing. I’m sitting here in my bed in the same pajamas I woke up in, just to give you an idea.
I do not believe God puts sickness on us or that He allows it, but I do believe there are times when we experience negative things in our life as a result of the natural consequences that come along with our poor choices. This is what happened to me today.
I explained in my last blog post about the importance of getting enough sleep and admitted that this has been a difficult discipline for me. So during this past two weeks while volunteering at JUMP camp I was hoping to get on a better sleeping schedule, but I didn’t follow through as I should have. I may have gotten a full 8 hours of sleep 2 out of the 7 nights. This left me with 5 other nights where I got less than 8 hours and on two or more of those occassions I got between 4 and 5 hours of sleep.
Not cool. Thank God the lack of sleep didn’t affect my interactions with the kids or adults at camp because it could have caused me to be crabby. I shouldn’t have taken that chance. I’m very thankful I wasn’t crabby, but felt peaceful the whole two weeks (whew). I did experience some tired spells at different times throughout the day though.
Then yesterday about midday it hit me, I started getting a sore throat. I get sick so very little that this was a surprise to me until I remembered how very little sleep I had gotten. In fact, as I am typing this I am recalling that the last time I got sick was during a time when I wasn’t getting the right amount of sleep either. And I have no excuses. I could have gotten in bed earlier if I really wanted to. So I think I’ve made it pretty clear that I need help in this area.
Something very important I want to point out though, is that I have had zero guilt and condemnation over this. I have been sad that I disobeyed God by not getting in bed when I should have, that I had to miss my last day of JUMP camp and also had to miss another very special event tonight that our family was invited to, but no guilt or condemnation. I have a closer relationship with God than I have ever had before so, of course, it makes me said when I disregard His leading.
But that was it. My genuine act of repentance didn’t take all day and it never does for me anymore. I already know I’m loved, righteous and forgiven in Christ and I think about that A LOT. In fact, everyday and all throughout the day.
The Bible says it’s God’s goodness that leads us to repentance, which is why I’m more genuinely repentant now than I have ever been before. It’s the natural result of having my mind on God’s goodness more than I ever have before. I hope you’re experiencing this same freedom!
As a believer in Jesus your position of being loved, righteous and forgiven never changes according to what you do or fail to do. It was never established based on you to begin with. Your position in Christ is established on what Jesus Christ did on the cross for you and your acceptance of that.
Even though I know I opened the door for the sickness through my disobedience, I’m fully expecting to get over this very quickly. It’s not like I have to be sick for a certain amount of days to pay my dues and then I’m clear. This is not a punishment from God. In the new covenant of God’s grace we don’t get punished for our sin, thank God. Jesus already took all the punishment for all of our sin in His body on the cross. Jesus’ willingness to go to the cross changed everything!
I also want to be sure I clarify that every time we are sick or have a negative circumstance, this does not always mean we’re living out natural consequences from some choice we made. Many times these things just happen as a result of us living in a fallen world. The devil will continue to attack us until that glorious day when God throws him into the fiery lake of burning sulphur.
Seriously, I’m just sayin’ – this is going to be one of the happiest days of my life!
Revelation 20:10 (NLT)
Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Until this day arrives, we have to fight the good fight of faith and remember that we have authority over the devil.
Fight the good fight of the faith [in the conflict with evil]; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and [for which] you made the good confession [of faith] in the presence of many witnesses. –1 Timothy 6:12 (AMP)
Ok, I just got a fresh revelation on the importance of us knowing we are completely forgiven in conjunction with us walking in our authority in Christ from reading this next scripture.
Colossians 2:14-15 (NLT)
14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.
Jesus paid our debt and by paying our debt and securing our complete forgiveness, he disarmed and shamed the devil and his demons by His victory over them on the cross.Then He gave this authority to us, His followers!
And then He gave this authority to us, His followers! Through the cross, what Adam and Eve had handed over to satan was now being handed back to us believers – all because of Jesus. I told you the cross changed everything!
Luke 10:19 (AMP)
19 Listen carefully: I have given you authority [that you now possess] to tread on [a]serpents and scorpions, and [the ability to exercise authority] over all the power of the enemy (Satan); and nothing will [in any way] harm you.
My good friend Cally had to fight the good fight of faith and remember her authority in Christ recently as she got some routine blood tests and her numbers were really high, indicating possible cancer. Her doctor wanted to do an exploratory surgery on her. I watched her rest in Jesus’ finished work and all that He has provided for her. From that place of rest I also watched her follow through on a specific protocol that the Holy Spirit led her to follow.
She received grace to implement this protocol AND she just received the great news last week that every one of her numbers are completely normal. Her doctor cannot explain it, but Cally can. No surgery needed. And Cally has already been able to speak into several doctor’s lives as a result of this miracle!
Cally didn’t carry the burden of her healing because she understands that when Jesus said, it is finished, He meant it is finished! She stayed in peace, relied on the power of prayer and God’s Word and followed the leading of the Holy Spirit.
This is not the first time Cally has received a miracle either. Another one of her miraculous stories is in my book and in this blog post titled Victorious Living.
God is still in the miracle working business folks. In fact, I’m convinced if we wrote down all the good things God did for us we would be astounded by the way He miraculously watches over us! Just this week on the first day of camp my right eye was bothering me really bad. I almost never have eye problems. Sometimes, don’t you just want to say, “you’re so obvious devil.”
I even had to borrow eye wash and saline solution from the first aid station at camp several times during the day to get rid of the pain, but it started hurting again after getting home. I simply prayed over my eye and commanded the pain to go and my eye to be made whole in the name of Jesus and I received the healing that Jesus provided for me through His finished work. It never hurt after that. Healed!
Now, do we perfectly understand everything that happens in this life. No we don’t. Sometimes we have to set aside what we don’t understand and stick with what we do understand and one thing we know is what Jesus Himself said here in John 10:10.
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 (NKJV)
One thing we know is that the devil is bad, but God is good.
Referring back to the title of this post, I refused to carry the weight of my poor choice to not get enough sleep, even after I started living out the natural consequence of that choice today. I still turned and looked at Jesus and thanked Him once again for His love, His gift of righteousness and His forgiveness.
I’m not sitting here feeling guilty or condemned for my wrong choice. I’m still believing wholeheartedly in the healing power of Jesus for my body and am ever so grateful that it is not based on my actions, but on Jesus’ finished work on the cross.
The more you understand your position in Christ, the more immovable you will be, no matter what storms come along.
My friend, always remember you can rest in Jesus’ finished work for every single thing you need!
Make the big deal about Jesus and His perfect life of obedience to His Father. Refuse to make the big deal about you and your failures. When you do this, you will see as I have, that it is 100% possible for you to enjoy a life of peace and rest and in addition, you will notice your spiritual life taking off like a rocket!
If you have not yet made Jesus your Savior and received the wonderful joy that His finished work on the cross has provided for you to live in, please visit my page here titled Jesus In The Driver’s Seat. On this page I explain the good news of the gospel and you will have the opportunity to pray a prayer of salvation, making Jesus your Savior! Jesus loves you and His arms are wide open!
Sandra McCollom
Hebrews 12:1-2 says,
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now He is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. (NLT)
Jesus is always working in us as we keep our eyes fixed on Him!
Don’t make the big deal about what you do (how you behave). Just a warning though: This may make some people (self-righteous people) mad.
Make the big deal about what Jesus has done for you through His finished work on the cross. This way of doing life will remove the heavy weight you may be carrying of trying to fix yourself. It will also bring you great peace and cause your behavior to improve. Yes, you read that correctly. This way of approaching life will cause you to grow in Christ. Why? Right believing leads to right living! You will be changed by the Holy Spirit as you keep our eyes on Jesus! See 2 Corinthians 3:18.
Here’s an example from my own life that just happened today:
I was sick today and had to miss the last day of volunteering at JUMP Camp. I started getting a sore throat yesterday about mid-day and it turned into a cold and flu type thing. I’m sitting here in my bed in the same pajamas I woke up in, just to give you an idea.
I do not believe God puts sickness on us or that He allows it, but I do believe there are times when we experience negative things in our life as a result of the natural consequences that come along with our poor choices. This is what happened to me today.
I explained in my last blog post about the importance of getting enough sleep and admitted that this has been a difficult discipline for me. So during this past two weeks while volunteering at JUMP camp I was hoping to get on a better sleeping schedule, but I didn’t follow through as I should have. I may have gotten a full 8 hours of sleep 2 out of the 7 nights. This left me with 5 other nights where I got less than 8 hours and on two or more of those occassions I got between 4 and 5 hours of sleep.
Not cool. Thank God the lack of sleep didn’t affect my interactions with the kids or adults at camp because it could have caused me to be crabby. I shouldn’t have taken that chance. I’m very thankful I wasn’t crabby, but felt peaceful the whole two weeks (whew). I did experience some tired spells at different times throughout the day though.
Then yesterday about midday it hit me, I started getting a sore throat. I get sick so very little that this was a surprise to me until I remembered how very little sleep I had gotten. In fact, as I am typing this I am recalling that the last time I got sick was during a time when I wasn’t getting the right amount of sleep either. And I have no excuses. I could have gotten in bed earlier if I really wanted to. So I think I’ve made it pretty clear that I need help in this area.
Something very important I want to point out though, is that I have had zero guilt and condemnation over this. I have been sad that I disobeyed God by not getting in bed when I should have, that I had to miss my last day of JUMP camp and also had to miss another very special event tonight that our family was invited to, but no guilt or condemnation. I have a closer relationship with God than I have ever had before so, of course, it makes me said when I disregard His leading.
But that was it. My genuine act of repentance didn’t take all day and it never does for me anymore. I already know I’m loved, righteous and forgiven in Christ and I think about that A LOT. In fact, everyday and all throughout the day.
The Bible says it’s God’s goodness that leads us to repentance, which is why I’m more genuinely repentant now than I have ever been before. It’s the natural result of having my mind on God’s goodness more than I ever have before. I hope you’re experiencing this same freedom!
As a believer in Jesus your position of being loved, righteous and forgiven never changes according to what you do or fail to do. It was never established based on you to begin with. Your position in Christ is established on what Jesus Christ did on the cross for you and your acceptance of that.
Even though I know I opened the door for the sickness through my disobedience, I’m fully expecting to get over this very quickly. It’s not like I have to be sick for a certain amount of days to pay my dues and then I’m clear. This is not a punishment from God. In the new covenant of God’s grace we don’t get punished for our sin, thank God. Jesus already took all the punishment for all of our sin in His body on the cross. Jesus’ willingness to go to the cross changed everything!
I also want to be sure I clarify that every time we are sick or have a negative circumstance, this does not always mean we’re living out natural consequences from some choice we made. Many times these things just happen as a result of us living in a fallen world. The devil will continue to attack us until that glorious day when God throws him into the fiery lake of burning sulphur.
Seriously, I’m just sayin’ – this is going to be one of the happiest days of my life!
Revelation 20:10 (NLT)
Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Until this day arrives, we have to fight the good fight of faith and remember that we have authority over the devil.
Fight the good fight of the faith [in the conflict with evil]; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and [for which] you made the good confession [of faith] in the presence of many witnesses. –1 Timothy 6:12 (AMP)
Ok, I just got a fresh revelation on the importance of us knowing we are completely forgiven in conjunction with us walking in our authority in Christ from reading this next scripture.
Colossians 2:14-15 (NLT)
14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.
Jesus paid our debt and by paying our debt and securing our complete forgiveness, he disarmed and shamed the devil and his demons by His victory over them on the cross.Then He gave this authority to us, His followers!
And then He gave this authority to us, His followers! Through the cross, what Adam and Eve had handed over to satan was now being handed back to us believers – all because of Jesus. I told you the cross changed everything!
Luke 10:19 (AMP)
19 Listen carefully: I have given you authority [that you now possess] to tread on [a]serpents and scorpions, and [the ability to exercise authority] over all the power of the enemy (Satan); and nothing will [in any way] harm you.
My good friend Cally had to fight the good fight of faith and remember her authority in Christ recently as she got some routine blood tests and her numbers were really high, indicating possible cancer. Her doctor wanted to do an exploratory surgery on her. I watched her rest in Jesus’ finished work and all that He has provided for her. From that place of rest I also watched her follow through on a specific protocol that the Holy Spirit led her to follow.
She received grace to implement this protocol AND she just received the great news last week that every one of her numbers are completely normal. Her doctor cannot explain it, but Cally can. No surgery needed. And Cally has already been able to speak into several doctor’s lives as a result of this miracle!
Cally didn’t carry the burden of her healing because she understands that when Jesus said, it is finished, He meant it is finished! She stayed in peace, relied on the power of prayer and God’s Word and followed the leading of the Holy Spirit.
This is not the first time Cally has received a miracle either. Another one of her miraculous stories is in my book and in this blog post titled Victorious Living.
God is still in the miracle working business folks. In fact, I’m convinced if we wrote down all the good things God did for us we would be astounded by the way He miraculously watches over us! Just this week on the first day of camp my right eye was bothering me really bad. I almost never have eye problems. Sometimes, don’t you just want to say, “you’re so obvious devil.”
I even had to borrow eye wash and saline solution from the first aid station at camp several times during the day to get rid of the pain, but it started hurting again after getting home. I simply prayed over my eye and commanded the pain to go and my eye to be made whole in the name of Jesus and I received the healing that Jesus provided for me through His finished work. It never hurt after that. Healed!
Now, do we perfectly understand everything that happens in this life. No we don’t. Sometimes we have to set aside what we don’t understand and stick with what we do understand and one thing we know is what Jesus Himself said here in John 10:10.
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 (NKJV)
One thing we know is that the devil is bad, but God is good.
Referring back to the title of this post, I refused to carry the weight of my poor choice to not get enough sleep, even after I started living out the natural consequence of that choice today. I still turned and looked at Jesus and thanked Him once again for His love, His gift of righteousness and His forgiveness.
I’m not sitting here feeling guilty or condemned for my wrong choice. I’m still believing wholeheartedly in the healing power of Jesus for my body and am ever so grateful that it is not based on my actions, but on Jesus’ finished work on the cross.
The more you understand your position in Christ, the more immovable you will be, no matter what storms come along.
My friend, always remember you can rest in Jesus’ finished work for every single thing you need!
Make the big deal about Jesus and His perfect life of obedience to His Father. Refuse to make the big deal about you and your failures. When you do this, you will see as I have, that it is 100% possible for you to enjoy a life of peace and rest and in addition, you will notice your spiritual life taking off like a rocket!
If you have not yet made Jesus your Savior and received the wonderful joy that His finished work on the cross has provided for you to live in, please visit my page here titled Jesus In The Driver’s Seat. On this page I explain the good news of the gospel and you will have the opportunity to pray a prayer of salvation, making Jesus your Savior! Jesus loves you and His arms are wide open!
Sandra McCollom
My family and I had a 20 minute conversation about love yesterday morning. Why did we take the time to have this discussion? Because we want to be a family that is intentional about loving people.
The thing that started us talking is that we’re getting ready to spend the next two weeks at JUMP Camp at our church. Steve and I are volunteering together the first week and the girls and I will be there again the second week.
Of course, JUMP Camp is going to be a blast and we are really looking forward to it, but we wanted to have a conversation beforehand to discuss, as a family, how we could be intentional about walking in love with others and with each other these next two weeks.
What we talked about as a family not only applies to our family or to JUMP Camp week, but to each of us in our everyday lives. This is why I decided to share our conversation about love with you!
As we each opened up and contributed to the conversation, these were the main points we covered.
Be Realistic
To start the conversation we discussed the fact that even though we are going to have a blast at camp, there will also be times when we get tired and there may even be moments when we feel exhausted. I personally think this was a very important part of our conversation that will help us be mentally prepared to respond to others and to each other in love, when that happens.
I’m not saying we can’t believe God for an increase in energy over these next two weeks. We will believe for this and I believe we will have it, but when the sun is beating down on you and the noise level is continuously loud, the truth of the matter is, it can cause fatigue – mentally, physically and emotionally.
Our family went to Six Flags several weeks ago. We have season passes this year and have these special bring-a-friend-free coupons that we can use a number of times during the season. We brought some friends of ours and had a really great time.
Six Flags is a place I spent a decent amount of time at growing up; therefore, I got so excited about our day of fun that I kept saying to everyone at the beginning of the day, “let’s stay all day, until the park closes.” (10pm) That sounded great until about 5 or 6pm when exhaustion seemed to hit every one of us at the same time! It wasn’t near as much fun after we got tired!
So…what do we do at JUMP Camp or in our everyday lives when we become physically, mentally or emotionally exhausted? The answers I’ll be sharing with you in this post apply to both.
1.) Remember why you’re doing what you’re doing
In our family discussion yesterday, we were reminding ourselves that we want to be a walking in love type of family. We talked about how we want to be a blessing in other people’s lives. We discussed how we want to be the light that Jesus said we are.
Of the 6000+ kids coming to JUMP Camp, a decent percentage of those kids haven’t ever heard the Gospel, nor do they go to church. You see how this one fact right here could change our whole perspective. This opportunity is much more than a camp – it’s a missions trip and God has given our family the opportunity to be change agents in the lives of these children.
Although Angel and Starr are not volunteering this year because this is their last year of being in camp, they can be all the things we talked about to their own friends over these next two weeks. They can be a blessing. They can walk in love. They can be an example. They can be a light. They can be change agents in the lives of their current friends and in the lives of the new 8th graders they’ll meet over the next two weeks.
2.) Constantly receive God’s love for yourself
Another aspect of our conversation was talking about the fact that we can, at any given moment, receive God’s love in a very personal way. Steve, my husband, suggested to all of us, “If we’re tired, we can close our eyes for a moment (when the time is convenient) and receive God’s love all over again.”
Since we’re there to extend God’s love to others, we talked about how we would only be able to do this if we are first receiving His love for ourselves.
After all…
1 John 4:19 says,
We love each other because He loved us first. (NLT)
Receiving from God is one of the most important things we can spend our time doing, but I also believe receiving is one of the most overlooked things in the lives of many Christians. If we’re not careful we can spend all of our mental energy thinking about what we need to be doing for God and forget to receive from Him the wisdom, strength and ability we need to fulfill what He’s called us to.
3.) Become more rooted and grounded in knowing who you are in Christ
My husband Steve and I have been talking a lot lately about the amazing results we get from knowing who we are in Christ – from understanding that our true identity comes from being God’s child and also understanding that our worth and value is 100% wrapped up in the person we are in Christ Jesus. You know what I mean, the things the Bible talks about like: we’re new, complete , alive, holy, God’s workmanship, more than conquerors, overcomers, and forgiven in Him. And I’ve just barely gotten started with this short list compared to all the Biblical promises in God’s Word of everything we are in Christ.
Please do yourself a favor and search this phrase on google sometime soon: Who I am in Christ. Biblical promise after Biblical promise after Biblical promise will come up and if you’ll read them and remember them, you’ll see such an increase in your confidence level that this will in turn change your marriage, your relationships with your kids, your business, your personal life, and the list goes on.
I guarantee you that just the one fact alone that I am so much more convinced of who I am in Christ than the old Sandra was will make these two weeks at JUMP Camp and the fact that God has asked me to do everything I do in a spirit of love so much more than a possibility… as long as I keep the truth of God’s Word ever before me!
4.) Take care of yourself by exercising, getting enough sleep, eating healthy and drinking lots of water
Recently I had to take 3 months off from CrossFit in order to allow some physical symptoms I was having to subside. When I returned a month ago I noticed right away that my energy increased from working out again.
My Mom also started a walking program over a year ago. She walks 5 miles or more almost every day and her energy level is off the charts. She actually said she was praying for God to give her more energy and He gave her a desire to walk. She has enjoyed the walking and the results from the walking so much that she never wants to miss her walks!
Thinking of exercise this way – that it actually increases our energy – can give us a whole new perspective about it. After all, it’s kind of difficult to get the things done in our lives that God has called us to do if we are tired all the time. It’s also difficult to walk in love consistently if we are tired all the time. This is precisely why I’m planning to go to CrossFit after being at camp all day long to continue my workouts this week. I won’t have to go everyday after camp, maybe 2 of the 4 days and I’ve already talked to the coach and told him I probably won’t be able to work as hard as everyone else because I’ll be in the sun a lot during the day, but I can still go and do a good workout. If I do, I bet it will give me more energy for JUMP camp week!
Am I going to feel like going to CrossFit after camp. Probably not. This is exactly why I am making an intentional decision ahead of time. I’ll also use wisdom with it. For instance, I usually workout 4 days a week and I may only be able to do 3 days a week for the next two weeks, but I’m not going to mentally set myself up to not go at all.
My husband Steve also works out very consistently. He frequently reads articles about the benefits of exercise and we talk about them. We encourage each other in this area because we have seen the results, far too often, of people who have neglected exercise their entire life and now they’re totally dependent on others to care for them. We don’t want that to be us so we have decided to be intentional in the area of exercise…whether we feel like it or not!
Now, getting enough sleep is an area I could use a little more intentionality in! I do good for a period of time and then I get off course, but our family has been talking for several weeks now about how we will all be needing 8 hours of sleep these next two weeks for sure because we don’t want to go to JUMP Camp tired. That would not be a good recipe for treating others with love.
These two weeks are going to force me to get in bed at 8pm since I will be getting up at 4am. That sounds crazy to some people, but I love getting up early. My days just go better when I get up early, but I am a morning person. I’m believing these next two weeks of being forced to keep this schedule will help me get back into this habit in my everyday life because I admit, this is an area I need to receive God’s grace in to form a better habit, more consistently.
Now, I do want to say I am a very energetic person. I always have been, but especially the new and improved Sandra who doesn’t get bogged down with guilt and condemnation, but instead spends her time receiving and living by God’s grace. So I may not even need 8 hours of sleep every single night, but I need to give my body the opportunity to get 8 hours of sleep in case it does need it.
In regards to eating healthy, for me that means taking the time to prepare healthy food each week and carrying a cooler with me everywhere I go to keep my blood sugar from dipping too low since I’ve had low blood sugar issues all my life. It’s totally manageable and isn’t even a problem if I eat right and eat often enough, but if I don’t, it can get whacked out for days.
In fact, right now I’m starting to get hungry and one of the times I despise stopping to eat the most is when I’m writing. I’m going to town here, typing away and don’t want to stop and then have to take the time to get refocused and get Back in the flow again when I return; but if I want to feel my best and if I want to be able to react to others in love on a more consistent basis, I don’t have a choice. So I’ll be back in about 15 minutes ok?
I’m back, and stopping to take the time to eat was so worth it. I feel wonderful now that my blood sugar is level again.
Regarding the food at JUMP Camp, part of the fun is the fun food; therefore, we have been talking to our girls for several weeks now about what they’ll be allowed to eat at JUMP Camp. There is actually nothing they can’t eat and they will have snow cones available every day and, in addition, Wednesday is ice cream day. We told them they could have 1 snow cone per day and the ice cream in addition on Wednesday. We are also letting them have certain things in their lunches that we don’t give them often like chips and white bread, BUT we made an agreement with them that they will need to eat healthy the rest of the week at every meal. This way they can enjoy the same things the other kids are getting to enjoy at JUMP Camp and not feel left out, but not end up sick afterwords either.
Finally, speaking of the importance of water consumption, the average adult human body is 50-65% water. Our cells must have water to live and our vital organs contain 65-85% water, depending on the organ. It always inspires me to drink more water when I read facts like this.
I am blessed that I actually really like the taste of water. It’s all I drink, but I know lots of people can’t stand water. That has to be hard, but I will say (as a way of encouragement) that there have been numerous times when I have gotten out of the the habit of drinking enough water and when I got back on track, I found the more I drank it the more I wanted it.
To help myself drink the amount of water I need each day I recently purchased 3 water bottles and placed them different places in my home – my bedroom, my office and the kitchen!
1 Corinthians 13 says,
Love Is the Greatest
13 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. 3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it;[a] but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages[b] and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! 9 Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! 10 But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless.
11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity.[c] All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. (NLT)
If you have not yet made Jesus your Savior and received the wonderful joy that His finished work on the cross has provided for you to live in, please visit my page here titled Jesus In The Driver’s Seat. On this page I explain the good news of the gospel and you will have the opportunity to pray a prayer of salvation, making Jesus your Savior! Jesus loves you and His arms are wide open!
Sandra McCollom
Well…I have been intending to share our friend, Chad Daniel’s new YouthBytes App with you for a while and was just waiting for the right time. But as I went to his website while preparing this post and clicked on another aspect of his ministry called Death 2 Suicide, before I knew it I was in tears while watching the video.
So I decided, hey I’m not just gonna tell my friends about the YouthBytes App, but Chad’s entire ministry because this is going to be a blessing to many people and may even save someone’s life.
Steve and I have known Chad for many years and he has a genuine heart for people – and specifically for teenagers and young adults. I highly encourage you to check out YouthBytes and Chad’s Ministry Website.
Now, regarding that App! Chad texted me the link to it, probably a month ago. My girls and I all downloaded it right away and have been enjoying it ever since. We’ve even played the YouthBytes videos on our TV through Apple airplay.
Here’s what Angel and Starr had to say about Chad’s New App:
I like the YouthBytes App because it gives me visual examples that make it easier for me to understand and apply the lessons to my own life. – Angel
I like the YouthBytes App because Chad uses all kinds of extreme examples (snakes, sharks, tarantulas) to help me relate to and understand the lesson. – Starr
Steve (my husband) and I were just talking recently and he was saying he thinks it’s so important for other people to speak into our girls’ lives in addition to us. I totally agreed. Soon after that is when we discovered the YouthBytes App. I love it that my girls enjoy using it and that Chad is able to minister God’s Word to them in a way that is fun and easy to understand.
Here’s the link to get this free App. I highly recommend it!
If you have not yet made Jesus your Savior and received the wonderful joy that His finished work on the cross has provided for you to live in, please visit my page here titled Jesus In The Driver’s Seat. On this page I explain the good news of the gospel and you will have the opportunity to pray a prayer of salvation, making Jesus your Savior! Jesus loves you and His arms are wide open!
Sandra McCollom
Good always triumphs over evil. Even though it doesn’t always appear that good is winning, ultimately, good always triumphs.
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. -Romans 12:21(NASB)
Love triumphs over hate.
see Luke 6:27-28
Forgiveness triumphs over unforgiveness.
see Ephesians 4:31-32
Humility triumphs over pride.
see Proverbs 11:2
Patience triumphs over impatience.
see Colossians 1:11
Gentleness triumphs over harshness.
see Proverbs 15:1
Generosity triumphs over selfishness.
see Acts 20:35
Mercy triumphs over judgement.
see Luke 6:36
Sandra McCollom
In this video blog I offer practical advice from my own personal experience about how simple dietary changes can make a huge difference in our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health!
Can A Change In Diet Really Improve My Moods?
If you have not yet made Jesus your Savior and received the wonderful joy that His finished work on the cross has provided for you to live in, please visit my page here titled Jesus In The Driver’s Seat. On this page I explain the good news of the gospel and you will have the opportunity to pray a prayer of salvation, making Jesus your Savior! Jesus loves you and His arms are wide open!
Sandra McCollom
When you face seemingly impossible situations you can trust the God of the impossible to see you through…it’s a promise!
I hope this short video blog brings you encouragement!
If you have not yet made Jesus your Savior and received the wonderful joy that His finished work on the cross has provided for you to live in, please visit my page here titled Jesus In The Driver’s Seat. On this page I explain the good news of the gospel and you will have the opportunity to pray a prayer of salvation, making Jesus your Savior! Jesus loves you and His arms are wide open!
Sandra McCollom
Do you understand the doctrine of Grace but have difficulty living under the power of grace at times? You’re not alone.
There is no secret and no mystery you need to learn to be nourished and sustained by God, you just have to have faith in your heart toward Christ in every situation. Faith just means trust or confidence. We can have confidence in Jesus, therefore we can experience the power of grace.
I want to give you an illustration regarding how we can experience the influence of his power in our hearts. As with all word pictures, this is not a perfect example but I believe it will help you understand the direct connection you have with God as a believer.
The first 9 or 10 months of our lives we’re in our mothers womb. In the womb we are fed and nourished because we are organically, directly connected to our mother. The environment is a perfect balance of nutrients and safety in the amniotic fluid. When we become born again we are hidden in God with Christ. It’s like Christ is our twin in God. As he is, so are we in this world ~ 1 John 4:17. God has chosen us in Christ to receive the same quality of life that Jesus inherited.
When we become born of God we have a direct spiritual connection that sustains us just like we used to have a direct organic connection with out mother. In God, the environment we’re in is the promise of the New Covenant in the blood of Jesus but the active nutrients of that place are his promises. In the womb we receive oxygen, vitamins, minerals through the umbilical cord. In God, we receive righteousness, peace, joy, wisdom, provision and strength through our hearts by his spirit.
Just like a baby in the womb doesn’t have to convince the mother to feed it, we don’t have to try to motivate God to bless and provide for us. It’s a natural aspect of being born of and being made one with his spirit. The way we experience all of those benefits is by grace through faith.
Everything God has for us is ours already in Jesus, we just have to let Christ dwell in our hearts to engage the process of being nourished and sustained by God.
God wants us to have and experience his steady stream of life and health but we must keep our hearts aware of him. He doesn’t withhold from us when we’re not in faith or trust toward him, we’re just turning our hearts to a different source of sustenance, which is the world.
But the world doesn’t give life, it actually sucks the life out of us. When we’re not in faith toward God in our hearts, we’re like a tree that pulls up its own roots from fertile ground and plants them in a desert. The world is like a desert to our hearts, it only has death. But if we all the roots of our hearts (our beliefs and expectations) to grow deep into God’s love for us, we can become whole emotionally, mentally and physically. Our physical and soulish being will begin to enjoy the same state of life as our spirit that is safe in God.
Believers are not on a journey to complete our holiness by staying out of sin or enduring suffering, we on a journey of transformation through renewing our minds so we live yielded to God and allow his life to bear fruit within us.
I believe this passage beautifully states these concepts. This passage is an excellent description of the function of grace. Take some time to meditate on the powerful truth that we are strengthened, nourished and provided for by God because he loves us. As we allow him to strengthen us, we become emotionally, physically and mentally whole; whole to the point that this world can no longer affect us with fear, worry and doubt. I pray you find a new way to live in God as you discover the powerful truth of his indwelling spirit that is seeking to bless, nourish and sustain you.
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. ~ Ephesians 3:16-19
The post We Are Fed the Glorious Riches of God as Our Hearts Become Rooted in His Love appeared first on Forward Ministries.
The devil is a liar which means the things he lies to us about… we should be believing and speaking the exact opposite. I’ve begun to practice this a lot in the past couple of years.
Here are some examples:
If I’m walking through my house and the devil lies to me by saying, “What if someone breaks into your house and tries to harm you and your family?” I don’t think or say, “Oh my goodness, what if someone breaks into our house and tries to harm me and my family?” Instead I immediately open my mouth and say something such as, “No, nobody will even be able to step a foot on our property with the intention of harming us. God, I thank you that according to Psalm 91:9-11(MSG), Because You are our refuge and You are our very own home, evil can’t even get close to us and harm can’t get through the door. In fact, You ordered Your angels to guard us wherever we go!”
OR
Let’s say I’m just doing some office work while my girls are running around the house playing with their dogs and the devil lies to me by saying, “What if your kids have a serious accident? They could fall down the steps and hit their head and get a brain injury.” Instead of gasping and thinking, “Oh my gosh. What if? What if? What if?” I respond immediately by saying, “I thank you God that Angel and Starr will live a long, healthy life in the name of Jesus. (see Psalm 91:15-16) In fact, I’m so glad Your blessing them with long life so they can enjoy their sibling relationship for lots and lots of years and even grow old together.”
OR
True story: The devil lied to me recently by saying, “Remember that person who said that really unkind thing to your face while questioning your motives for why you do what you do to help others. Well, they’re right. You’re just doing all these posts to get attention.” This did actually happen and the person’s comment hurt me so bad that it nearly shut me down. I cried for days and thought, This is stupid. All I’m trying to do is help people by setting their eyes on Jesus so forget it. I may as well just close up shop and quit trying if people are going to misunderstand me like this.
I know that’s exactly what the devil wanted me to do – close up shop. He wanted me to throw up a huge wall and just lay there wounded on the side of the road of life for the rest of my life. But guess what? The devil did not get his way.
God used the very thing that the devil meant to hurt me and tempt me to enter into a state of passivity and He showed me how to go even deeper in placing my identity in what He thinks of me as opposed to what others think about me.
In addition, God showed me how to forgive the person, after I asked for His help, by reminding me that I have also said some very hurtful things to others over the years, while judging their motives. He reminded me how He had extended His mercy and forgiveness to me every single time.
Once I got my eyes on the grace God had extended to me it was easy for me to get my eyes off what this person had done to me and forgive them. I even found myself believing the best of them as 1 Corinthians 13 encourages us to do. The transformational power of God’s grace never ceases to amaze me!
As a result of this incident, God is also helping me get free from a longstanding fear that I have had of being misunderstood.
Our God is simply a Master at taking what the devil intends for our harm and turning it and working it together for our good!
You can see, and I’m sure you have personally experienced, that the devil attempts to lie to us about a wide variety of things.
He says:
What if you get sick?
What if you get hurt?
What if people reject you?
What if you run out of money?
What if your marriage falls apart?
What if your kids hate you when they grow up as a result of all the mistakes you’ve made?
And this list is just the tip of the iceberg.
You should hear me though. I literally respond to the devil’s what if’s all day long with promises from God’s Word! It’s a fun game I play, but I’ve noticed that the devil doesn’t like the way I play the game; therefore, he doesn’t even bother lying to me very often anymore. When he does, he usually gets about a half a sentence out and I’m already interrupting him by responding with the truth – the reality – of what’s really going to happen which is the opposite of his lies.
Here’s what Jesus said about the devil in John 8:44b – “He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (NLT)
We could even get on the devil’s last nerve by actually thanking him when he lies to us for reminding us of what’s really going to happen which is THE EXACT OPPOSITE of what he’s spouting off. Hahaha – I’m sorry, but I get the biggest kick out of this game!
My friend, always remember that Jesus stripped satan and his personal assistants of their authority through His finished work on the cross and the moment you choose to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, satan’s authority over you ceases to be a reality!
He defeated the rulers and powers of the spiritual world. With the cross He won the victory over them and led them away, as defeated and powerless prisoners for the whole world to see. – Colossians 2:15 (ERV)
If you have not yet made Jesus your Savior and received the wonderful joy that His finished work on the cross has provided for you to live in, please visit my page here titled Jesus In The Driver’s Seat. On this page I explain the good news of the gospel and you will have the opportunity to pray a prayer of salvation, making Jesus your Savior! Jesus loves you and His arms are wide open!
Sandra McCollom