God is bigger than any disability. Love Him, appreciate His blessings, and trust Him for the rest of the journey. He puts the rainbow at the end of the hardest trail.
Dale Evans Rogers, 1912-2001, American Actor, m. Roy Rogers
With Love,
Cindy
This Is My Journey Unscripted.
Do you want to become a Christian? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
realchristianwomen.blog
We can never untangle all the woes in other people’s lives. We can’t produce miracles overnight. But we can bring a cup of cool water to a thirsty soul, or a scoop of laughter to a lonely heart.”
Barbara Johnson,1927-2007, American Writer, Speaker
With Love,
Cindy
This Is My Journey Unscripted.
Do you want to become a Christian? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
realchristianwomen.blog
Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to an all-knowing God.
Corrie ten Boom, 1892-1983, Dutch Evangelist, Writer
With Love,
Cindy
This Is My Journey Unscripted.
Do you want to become a Christian? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
realchristianwomen.blog
Photo by Joia de Jong on Unsplash
We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee.
Marion Wright Edelman, 1939- , American Attorney, Civil Rights Activist
With Love,
Cindy
This Is My Journey Unscripted.
Do you want to become a Christian? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
realchristianwomen.blog
Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash
Has God put a desire in your heart? Has He made it so crystal-clear that you know for sure it came from Him?
Did things go great at first, but then problems started to arise? If things don’t go the way you expect, don’t begin to doubt what you first believed. Do not doubt yourself and your ability to accomplish the task.
Remember: God never does things the way we think He will. Just because problems arise doesn’t mean we should give up. In fact, I think it would be safe to say, problems will definitely arise!
Nehemiah spoke about “what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem.” (Nehemiah 2:12)
God put it in Nehemiah’s heart to rebuild Jerusalem. Do you think he may have run into a few problems? Of course he did!
We are instructed to learn from the past. “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.” Romans 15:4 NIV
When God puts it in our heart to do something, we can expect a spiritual battle to be right around the corner.
At first, everything happened quickly and easily for Nehemiah. The king granted all of his requests: letters to the various governors to provide safe travel and permission to take lumber from the king’s forest. The king even sent army officers and cavalry along with him on his journey to Jerusalem.
When Nehemiah asked the people to take on the great challenge to rebuild the wall, they enthusiastically agreed. They “worked with all their heart” (Nehemiah 4:6) and repaired the walls. Things were going great!
Then opposition began. The people were ridiculed mercilessly. “What are those feeble Jews doing? (Nehemiah 4:2) The enemy will always attack you personally. Who do you think you are? You can’t do that!
The enemies plotted together to stir up trouble. The strength of the laborers began to give out. What they started doing with all their heart, they began to doubt their ability to accomplish. They began to fear their enemies. (See Nehemiah 4:10-12)
Does any of this sound familiar? Because this is exactly how things work today! Be encouraged because things are right on track.
When the enemy came against them, “Each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked.” Nehemiah 4:18
When spiritual forces come against us, we must take up the Sword of the Spirit as we work. What does that mean for us? The Word of God and prayer are our weapons against the enemy.
By staying in the Word, we can hear the voice of God. Through prayer, we commune with the Almighty, which is intimate communication and the sharing of thoughts.
“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword…” Hebrews 4:12
“Take ..the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God … and pray” Ephesians 6:17-18
“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.” 1 Peter 4:12
Is my faith being tested? Will I still believe what God has said when the enemy comes against me? Am I trying to accomplish something in my own strength? Or am I trusting Him to do it, knowing that my part is obedience?
Paul said, “Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion…” Philippians 1:6 NIV
Put your trust in God, pray and read the Word. Now carry on, Christian Soldier!
Read about Nehemiah’s determination to rebuild Jerusalem in the book of Nehemiah.
With Love, Cindy
Click this link to learn more about Jesus: Who Is Jesus?
realchristianwomen.blog
Over the last few months, I’ve thought a lot about what I look at and listen to. For example, television, music, news, talk shows, Facebook, etc. How does it all affect me? How does it influence my thinking and my attitudes?
The Bible says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Proverbs 4:23 NIV
What does that mean exactly? I decided to dig in.
A wellspring is the source of a spring or abundant supply. OK. Above all else, I should guard my heart because it is a spring of abundant supply of something called “life”. Hmmm. I still didn’t get it, so I dug in more. I found some clues.
“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” NLT
So, how well I guard my heart determines the course of my life. Well, that’s certainly been true enough (and sometimes in a bad way).
“. . . out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.” Luke 6:45
My mouth reveals what’s in my heart. Can’t argue with that, either.
“The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7
Sometimes we think God only looks at our actions, but what he really examines is our heart. Well, that’s certainly something we should think about! That tells me that no matter how many good works I perform, He is still going to look at my heart.
“. . . the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts.” (1 Chronicles 28: 9
He knows me better than I know myself.
If I’m to guard my heart, I must be careful what I allow to influence me. After years of being a “news junkie”, I rarely even look at the news anymore. Honestly, it doesn’t do anything positive for my attitude. However, I’ve learned that the more I listen to and sing Christian music, the closer I feel to God.
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” Psalm 100:4
“Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul. I will praise the Lord all my life. I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.” Psalm 146: 1-2
My heart is the spring that nourishes my life. Is that spring sparkling clean or is it polluted by the things of this world? Well, I guess that depends on how well I guard my heart.
With Love,
Cindy
This Is My Journey Unscripted.
Do you want to become a Christian? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?
realchristianwomen.blog
Have you ever thought, “I love Jesus, but I’ve lived a sinful life. I’m divorced, I was a prostitute, a thief, a liar, a drunk, Fill in the blank.
Does that mean church people won’t accept me? Do I have the right to be in church? Will I be punished for the rest of my life? Will I be shunned? Could Jesus ever use me?
Jesus said this about the woman who had lived a sinful life, “Because her many sins have been forgiven, she has loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” Luke 7:47 (Berean Study Bible)
Honestly, I would be more worried if I had lived a so-called “perfect” life! If I was really proud of myself for following all the rules, would I be as thankful for Jesus as I am now? Would I judge those who had not followed the rules? Would I look down on them? Let’s consider some other things Jesus had to say about this.
“Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.” Luke 11:39 NIV
Basically that means they did things for show and they were very legalistic, but there was no love in their hearts and they only thought about themselves!
In verse 42 He adds, “You give God a tenth . . . but you neglect justice and the love of God.”
“You load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.” (verse 46)
In other words, you give people a lot of rules to follow, but you don’t care anything about them and you couldn’t be bothered to help them.
If you have had “Pharisees” in your life, or if you are just afraid that church people will judge you, listen to the words of Jesus.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
The Scripture says, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” Isaiah 1:18
“As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:12
I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more. Isaiah 43: 25
If you have given your heart to Jesus, but you have a past, remember this. He forgave you when you asked him to. He remembers your sins no more. It’s like you never did them in his eyes. Being a Christian means you are a Christ-follower. Pleasing Him is what matters.
The Rest of the Story
When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
“Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.
You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet.
Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Luke 7: 36-48
With Love, Cindy
Do you know Jesus?
If you have never asked Jesus to be your Savior, you can do it now. He loves you more than you can comprehend, and it will change your life forever.
“IF YOU CONFESS WITH YOUR MOUTH, ‘JESUS IS LORD,’ AND BELIEVE IN YOUR HEART THAT GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD, YOU WILL BE SAVED. FOR IT IS WITH YOUR HEART THAT YOU BELIEVE AND ARE JUSTIFIED, AND IT IS WITH YOUR MOUTH THAT YOU CONFESS AND ARE SAVED. AS THE SCRIPTURE SAYS, ANYONE WHO TRUSTS IN HIM WILL NEVER BE PUT TO SHAME.” ROMANS 10:9-11
realchristianwomen.blog
Real Christian Women 