Tag: God

Christian

The Holiday Challenge You’ll Never Forget!

Cindy Dawson

Our extended family was all together for the holidays when something unusual happened. Pastor Mike challenged the congregation to go for a whole month without complaining.

Our family took on the challenge (all 8 of us). Christina had the idea that if you complained about something, you had to sing your words! Here are a couple of the “songs” that were sung at dinner that night:

“Is that kale in my salad?”

“I thought we were eating at 6:45!”

Naturally, these songs had everyone in hysterics!

Cousins, Christina and Patricia making dinner

Needless to say, it was a lot of fun! Not only that, it cut down on complaining because if anyone came even close to complaining, the others immediately made the guilty party sing it!

After I was caught complaining, I said, “But I’m just stating a fact!” Guess what? If the fact is negative, that’s complaining!

Our family kept this up for about 3 hours and I learned something. We complain and don’t even realize we’re doing it! (That is until you get caught!)

So why not take this family holiday challenge? God says,

“Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.” Philippians 2:14-16 NIV (emphasis mine)

Have you ever been around someone who never complained? Nice, isn’t it? Have you ever been around anyone who complained constantly? Not so nice! It’s pretty straightforward. Complainers don’t make bright stars in the darkness.

God knows that complaining isn’t good for us. If only we would just obey Him! Science has proven that complaining is unhealthy. Consider this:

  1. Complaining changes the way people see you. “According to Travis Bradberry, PhD, “Repeated complaining rewires your brain to make future complaining more likely. Over time, you find it’s easier to be negative than to be positive, regardless of what’s happening around you. Complaining becomes your default behavior, which changes how people perceive you.”
  2. Complaining causes brain damage. Research from Stanford University has shown that complaining shrinks the hippocampus—an area of the brain that’s critical to problem-solving and intelligent thought. Damage to the hippocampus is scary, especially when you consider that it’s one of the primary brain areas destroyed by Alzheimer’s.
  3. Complaining has negative health effects. When you complain, your body releases the stress hormone cortisol. One effect of cortisol, for example, is to raise your blood pressure and blood sugar…  All the extra cortisol released by frequent complaining impairs your immune system and makes you more susceptible to high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. It even makes the brain more vulnerable to strokes.

So I challenge you to accept the “Don’t Complain Challenge”. For one month, you can’t complain about anything. See what happens. Pastor Mike guarantees that it will make you a happier, healthier, and more positive person. You will not only feel better, but you will become a person others like to be around.

You will be “seen as bright lights (stars or beacons shining out clearly) in the [dark] world, Holding out [to it] and offering [to all men] the Word of Life…” Philippians 2:15b-16a AMPC

Cover Photo by Sarah Kilian on Unsplash

Christian

Lord, Teach Me to Pray

Cindy Dawson

[Friends, Because I have been out of state for the last month, helping my dad with medical issues, I have had to repost several times. Today, as I searched for the right post, I was reminded how we often put pressure on ourselves to “pray right” as if answers depended on how good we pray. But, God reminds me that He knows our heart and what we need, regardless of how we might stumble along. I pray that you will be encouraged and know that God is working whether you see it or not.]

Two and a half  years ago, I had no idea I was going to write a blog. I had no idea my daughter would lead worship in my church. I had no idea God was getting ready to change my life and hers.

But God’s plan was working all along, even though I was completely unaware of what He was doing! He already knew these things would happen. 

That’s what faith is: being sure of things unseen. (I’m sure He is working, I just can’t see it now. )

I have frequently prayed and asked God to do many things, but I haven’t always seen the answers I hoped for when I hoped for. In frustration, I asked Jesus to teach me to pray.

I learned I was right to ask Jesus to teach me how to pray. He has already taught me something new! Jesus said,

“This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven…” Matthew 6:9-10 NIV

What does that have to do with effectual prayer? Everything! Because, I don’t need to go to God with a list of things for Him to do. What do the words mean “hallowed be your name”? Hallowed means: honored as holy, blessed, greatly revered, respected, honored and worshiped.

Let’s think about that for a minute. When we go to the Father in prayer, let us worship Him. Let us adore Him and recognize the character of our God. Let us enter His presence with thanksgiving and praise.

Then Jesus said,

“Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” 

God has shown me that the key to effectual prayer is not about me. It’s not about my ability to pray. It’s about Him! I’ve been too focused on myself instead of on Him!  

Let Jesus teach us to pray. Let us worship the Father. Let us enter His presence with thanksgiving and praise. Then, let us pray for His will to be done in our life, in our church, in our city, and all over the world. He has a plan that is better than all we can ask or imagine! 

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…” Ephesians 3:20 NIV

The words of the hymn are true, “What a friend we have in Jesus.” But, let us have a new and deeper revelation of His greatness and love. Let us revere and love Him as we should. We can find words to praise Him throughout the Psalms! Here are just a few key verses:

“O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. You have set your glory above the heavens…. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him… that you care for him?” Psalm 8:1-4 NIV

“I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call to the Lord who is worthy of praise….” Psalm 18:1-3a NIV

“To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God.” Psalm 25:1-2a NIV

“Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep…. How priceless is your unfailing love!” Psalm 36:5-7 NIV

With Love, 

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This Is My Journey Unscripted.

Do you want to become a Christian? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?

realchristianwomen.blog  

Christian

You Are an Overcomer!

Cindy Dawson

Are you struggling? Are you overwhelmed? Ready to give up? God says you are “more than a conquerer“! Whatever you are going through – Be encouraged! God is with you!

Remember that He “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us …” Ephesians 3:20 

Mandisa auditioned for American Idol in 2006. Idol judge Simon Cowell made several comments about Mandisa’s weight after her successful audition. He first quipped, “Do we have a bigger stage this year?”

When Mandisa presented herself to the judges prior to the final cut-down to the season’s 24 semi-finalists, she told Cowell: “What I want to say to you is that, yes, you hurt me and I cried and it was painful, it really was. But I want you to know that I’ve forgiven you and that you don’t need someone to apologize in order to forgive somebody. I figure that if Jesus could die so that all of my wrongs could be forgiven, I can certainly extend that same grace to you.” Cowell told Mandisa that he was “humbled” and apologized to her immediately.

Mandisa was eliminated from the top 9 American Idol finalists even though she had never landed in the lowest three. However, she went on to be nominated for a Grammy for Best Contemporary Christian Album five times. She won the Grammy in 2014 for the album Overcomer.

Mandisa – Overcomer

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up …” 1 Thessalonians 5:11

“… everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.” 1 John 5:4

” … in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:37-39

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

“He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart …” Isaiah 40:11

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and completer of our faith, who, for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:2-3

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13

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  

Christian

Integrity Isn’t For Cowards

Cindy Dawson

Integrity means doing what is right even when it hurts. It means being honest and dependable, all the time. It means people can always trust you to do the right thing. It’s the best reputation you could possibly have.

“Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.” C.S. Lewis

The Bible teaches us to have integrity in everything we do.

“Because of my integrity you uphold me
    and set me in your presence forever.” Psalm 41:12 NIV

“The integrity of the upright guides them,
    but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.” Proverbs 11:3 NIV

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,  since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Colossians 3:23-24 NIV

In May of 2005 American professional tennis player Andy Roddick was playing Fernando Verdasco, of Spain in the Masters tennis tournament in Rome, Italy.  Roddick was the number one seed in the tournament and a heavy favorite to win the match. 

Roddick dominated as expected and had triple match point when something extremely unusual happened.  Roddick couldn’t return Verdasco’s hard second serve but the linesman called the serve out and awarded Roddick the point and the match.

With the crowd cheering Verdasco ran to the net to shake Roddick’s hand and congratulate him on his victory.  However, Roddick knew something that the linesman, the umpire, the cheering crowd, and Verdasco himself didn’t know.  The serve had not been out, but had hit on the line, making it in. 

Roddick could have kept this information to himself and accepted the victory.  Instead he informed the umpire that the ball had been in and offered to show him the mark on the clay where the ball had hit.  The umpire reversed the call and awarded the point to Verdasco. 

Having been given a second chance Verdasco made the most of it.  He came back to win the game, the set, and the match giving him a highly improbable victory, especially considering not long before he had been standing at the net ready to concede.

Sportswriter Frank DeFord estimates Roddick’s honesty cost him “tens of thousands of dollars;” perhaps much more if he had gone on to win the tournament.  Integrity was clearly more important to Roddick than either winning or money. 

Do we do the right thing, even when it isn’t to our advantage?

It is imperative that we model integrity for our children. Mark Musser said, “Children who see parents model care, love, respect, generosity, self-control, integrity, and faith in Christ are much more likely to exhibit those traits in their own lives.”

It is amazing how much children copy their parents. This is nowhere more evident than in the school setting. I’m pretty sure a teacher must have thought up the saying: “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”!

I suspect that if we really knew how true this was, we would be far more careful how we conducted our lives.

The Bible says, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6 NIV

Teach us Lord to have integrity in all that we do. Create in us the character of Christ. Renew our minds according to your Word. In Jesus’ Name, Amen

With Love, 

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This Is My Journey Unscripted.

Do you want to become a Christian? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?

realchristianwomen.blog  

 Featured Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

A Verse For Today, Christian

A Verse For Today, 11/7/19

Cindy Dawson

“Who is a God like you,
    who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
    of the remnant of his inheritance?
You do not stay angry forever
    but delight to show mercy.
19 You will again have compassion on us;
    you will tread our sins underfoot
    and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.” Micah 7:18-19 NIV

With Love, 

AA55AA1F-EA36-49A9-92BE-41FD67348618

This Is My Journey Unscripted.

Do you want to become a Christian? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?

realchristianwomen.blog  

Christian

Satan’s Big Lie

Cindy Dawson

When you are dealing with grief, suffering, or pain, Jesus can relate to you in a very personal way. He has experienced it himself. He understands your hurt. Let Him comfort you.

Who is this great Comforter? God calls Him, “my righteous servant“. (Isaiah 53:11)

“He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.” Isaiah 53:3

********************

Did you know that the Lord can set you free in an instant, just like that? That’s what happened to me. After years of believing a lie, I am finally free. What was Satan’s strategy to defeat me?

It was getting me to think that the “one thing” I couldn’t have was what I needed to be happy.

You would think I could have figured that out, but I didn’t, not until the Lord revealed it to me Himself.

After a time of prayer, I don’t know why, but I decided to look up Charles Stanley on YouTube. I had heard of him, but had never listened to one of his sermons, and someone had mentioned him at my Bible Study the day before.

I picked a sermon called, “Satan’s Strategy to Defeat Us.” Totally unaware of what was about to happen, I listened to the sermon. Have you ever experienced this? In a sermon, the minister says one specific thing and you know God is speaking directly to you. You almost want to slyly glance around and see if everyone is looking at you!

That’s what happened to me that day. Dr. Stanley said that if you are hungry, angry, lonely or tired, that’s when you are vulnerable for a Satanic attack. My ears perked up. Then, Dr. Stanley explained that Satan’s strategy was to make you want the one thing you can’t have. I knew God had led me to this sermon. It was no accident.

Remember what happened to Adam and Eve? Satan got them to believe that they needed the one thing they couldn’t have. There was only one thing they couldn’t have: fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden. I have a feeling that fruit looked a lot tastier than it actually was. (Is it possible that we magnify that “one thing” and make it bigger and better than it really is?)

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me and I ate.” (Genesis 3:13)

Satan is still deceiving people with that same lie. He will make you think that to be happy, you need the one thing you can’t have. That is a lie. There is no “one thing” you need to be happy, except the Lord Jesus Christ.

On the same day, I just happened to be on Isaiah 54 in my daily reading plan.

“For your Maker is your husband—
    the Lord Almighty is his name—
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
    he is called the God of all the earth.” Isaiah 54:5 NIV

“Though the mountains be shaken
    and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
    nor my covenant of peace be removed,”
    says the Lord, who has compassion on you.” Isaiah 54:10 NIV

The “one thing” you think you need to be happy could be any number of things: a baby, a spouse, a home, fill in the blank. But that is Satan’s strategy to defeat you. Don’t believe it. You are not condemned to a life of sadness, ever!

And, if you hear someone say, “The Lord is all I need”, those words might mean more than you ever imagined. There might be a story that brought her to that realization and now she can say with confidence,

“You may never know that Jesus is all you need, until Jesus is all you have.” 

Corrie ten boom

With Love, Cindy

Do you want to become a Christian? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?

realchristianwomen.blog  

Christian

Why Do Christians Drift Away?

Cindy Dawson

While at the beach one summer, my two sons insisted on renting a small boat. They were told to stay close, but eventually they began to drift. We started yelling at them and waving our arms, but they didn’t see us and kept drifting farther and farther away, unaware.

That’s the bad thing about drifting, you can end up far from where you started and unaware of how far you’ve drifted.

“… we must pay much closer attention than ever to the things that we have heard, so that we do not [in any way] drift away from truth.” Hebrews 2:1 AMP

Today we have the entire Bible to keep us on course, but do we neglect it? C.S. Lewis said,

As a matter of fact, if you examined a hundred people who had lost their faith in Christianity, I wonder how many of them would turn out to have been reasoned out of it by honest argument? Do not most people simply drift away?”

Mere christianity

We can so easily drift away from God and toward the ways of the world: thinking like the world, acting like the world, even speaking like the world. How? Compromise, open-mindedness, tolerance for what is evil in the eyes of the Lord, the desire to fit in.

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2 NIV

Thinking back on my past, I can see how drifting away from God was a result of drifting farther and farther away from God’s Word. Drifting happens so easily, not because of anything we do, as much as what we don’t do. We neglect Bible study, neglect church fellowship, neglect worship, neglect prayer.

My boys finally saw us waving wildly and came back in, but others have not been so lucky.

In his article, 9 Fortunate Souls Who Survived Being Lost at Sea, Avery Thompson said this,

“The sea is like a wet desert. There’s no food. There’s no shelter. Nothing to drink. In every direction, the view is the same: nothing. Plus, dangerous predators lurk just beneath the depths.  A shipwreck out on the open ocean can be a death sentence. If rescue doesn’t come in the first 48 hours, it probably never will.”

We can compare this to drifting spiritually. No spiritual food to eat, no living water to drink, demons lurking just beneath …

That’s why the writer of Hebrews says, “we must pay much closer attention than ever to the things that we have heard“. We must be reading our Bible and renewing our minds. These words are as true today as they were when first written.

The worse thing about being a drifter is that you probably won’t even notice what you’ve become or how far you have drifted. So in this time, as in the first century, Christians “must pay much closer attention than ever.”

Are you paying attention?

Love, Cindy

Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?

RealChristianWomen.blog  

Christian

Why Should I Memorize Scripture?

Cindy Dawson

Memorizing Scripture may have more benefits than you think!

It renews your mind, enabling you to know God’s will.

Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (NIV)

I had never connected this verse to memorizing Scripture until now. But, how better to renew our mind than by memorizing Scripture! That is filling our mind with God’s Word, not something we read once, but something we know by heart! Reading the Bible is important, but memorizing Scripture is important, too!

The Holy Spirit will bring to your remembrance the Scripture you need at a particular time.

Dallas Willard, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Southern California wrote,

“Bible memorization is absolutely fundamental to spiritual formation. If I had to choose between all the disciplines of the spiritual life, I would choose Bible memorization, because it is a fundamental way of filling our minds with what it needs.“

For example, when people have hurt my feelings by what they said or what they did, the Holy Spirit has brought to my remembrance a verse memorized long ago.

 “A man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.” Proverbs 19:11 NIV*

it has practical advantages

Chuck Swindoll stated, “I know of no other single practice in the Christian life more rewarding, practically speaking, than memorizing Scripture. . . . No other single exercise pays greater spiritual dividends!”

Do you ever have trouble going to sleep because you can’t quiet your mind, and you can’t stop thinking about all you have to do? I still remember the 23rd Psalm from memorizing it in childhood, 60 years ago! Sometimes, when I can’t sleep, I recite it and meditate on the verses. Nothing is more calming and quiets your mind like reciting and meditating on the 23rd Psalm. I bet many of you learned it as a child, too.

Sometimes the KJV is easier to learn and easier to remember, too. I was just trying to remember Psalm 119:105 and realized that I remember it in the KJV, but not in the NIV. As soon as I said, “Thy word”, it all came back to me!

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Psalm 119:105 KJV

Another Scripture I rely on when I’m worried or afraid is Psalm 91. (It really isn’t that hard to memorize!)

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”

3 Surely he will save you
    from the fowler’s snare
    and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
    and under his wings you will find refuge;
    his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
    nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
    nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
    ten thousand at your right hand,
    but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
    and see the punishment of the wicked.

9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
    and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
    no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
    you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
    I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
    I will be with him in trouble,
    I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
    and show him my salvation.” Psalm 91 NIV (1984 edition)

My Top 5 Tips for Memorizing Scripture

  1. Write it and doodle while you repeat it out loud several times. (I like this idea!)
  2. Learn one verse, and then add another verse to it. Keep adding on one more verse. Always go back to the beginning and recite everything you have learned so far. You can learn long passages this way. (This is how I memorized Psalm 91.)
  3. Play a memory game. Using dry-erase markers, write the verse on a dry-erase board. Read the verse a few times, then erase 2 words at a time. Keep saying the verse until all the words are erased. 
  4. Go for a walk and recite all the verses you have learned so far.
  5. Make the wallpaper on your phone the verse you are learning.

Well, I hope you’ve been motivated to start memorizing. I know I have!

Some passages to memorize:

  • Philippians 4:6-8
  • John 7:37-38
  • John 8:31
  • Romans 10:9-11
  • Psalm 56:3-4
  • Psalm 86:11

Do you have any memorization tips?

What passages do you recommend memorizing? Please share!

With Love, 

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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 Jenny Smith on Unsplash

*Some NIV references are from the 1985 edition and may read a little differently than the latest NIV edition.

Christian

We Are The Temple of God

Cindy Dawson

We don’t have to visit a temple made by man to be in the presence of God, as the Israelites did. As a Christ Follower, we are the temple of God and He dwells within us. Isn’t that an amazing thought? As I read about the building of the Temple, I was struck by the great wealth and incredible planning that went into it. It took Solomon seven years to build the temple. (See 1 Kings 5-8)

Solomon used 8,100,187.5 pounds of gold and 76,275,000 pounds of silver. The gold and silver alone was worth $216,603,576,000. This does not include all the precious metals, bronze, iron, ivory, or cedar wood used in the temple. Extrapolating from the number, the total cost of Solomon’s temple including the labor costs (153,000 forced laborers) would have been well over half a billion dollars! Pure gold was everywhere! Even the wick trimmers were made of pure gold! No detail was overlooked.

The Living God doesn’t live in a building. If you are a Christ Follower, He is literally living in your body! Take a moment to let that soak in.

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;  you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV

You may think the temple that Solomon built came at an incredible price, and it did. But God purchased you at an even greater cost, the precious, priceless blood of Jesus Christ. So what does that mean to us today?

We must recognize that we are the temple of God and that we belong to God. He has a plan for us. We have been commissioned to go out and make disciples. We are to love the Lord our God with all of our heart and love our neighbor as ourselves. This is obedience to the One who owns us, to love one another. We must examine ourselves to see if we are honoring the price He paid.

Just as the Lord paid careful attention to how His people treated His temple, so He takes note of the choices we make, our priorities, and the directions we pursue. Our bodies are no longer “our own” because we no longer belong to ourselves but wholly and completely to God. This is the single most important truth about our lives.”

dr. David Jeremiah

“. . . the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27 NIV

“Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you.” 2 Timothy 1:14 NLT

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.  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.” Ephesians 3: 14-17 NIV

We may look around at our world and blame our problems on the culture, drugs, TV, violent video games, and any number of evils in the world. But we must remember that revival doesn’t start in the world, it starts in the hearts of God’s people, the Church.

What would happen in our world today if all Christ followers in this generation chose to be Christ-centered instead of self-centered?

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  

Jeremiah Study Bible

Photos by Center for Online Judaic Studies

Rdchamberlain.com (cost of temple)

Christian

David and Bathsheba, Repentance Brings Forgiveness For Even the Vilest Sin

Cindy Dawson

This is the story of a man who lusted for what he should not have seen. It is a story of sin that spiraled out of control.

King David was a man after God’s own heart, a good man who trusted God in all situations. He was surrendered to God’s will. He was a musician and wrote songs praising the Lord. Yet he lusted after a woman he should not look upon – Bathsheba, a beautiful woman married to one of his elite military commanders, Uriah the Hittite. David saw her bathing, and he sent for her, committed adultery with her, and she became pregnant.

David tried to cover his tracks by summoning her husband Uriah, who was away at war. He assumed Uriah would sleep with Bathsheba, and it would look like he was the father of the child.

However, Uriah refused to go home while the soldiers under his command were at war, and he slept outside the palace instead. David was so desperate to cover up his sin that he had Uriah sent to the front lines, where the battle was fiercest, so that he would be killed. And so he was. The sin of “lust of the eyes” spiraled down and down, and ended in murder.

“For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.” 1 John 2:16

Yet God called David “a man after my own heart.” How could he do this? How could this man of God fall to such depths of sin?

“I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will.” Acts 13:22b

There is no limit to the depths of sin a person is capable of once once he or she starts to walk away from God. Committing just one sin often makes people callous to bigger sins, until they find themselves doing things they never imagined they would do.” Dr. David Jeremiah

Dr. David Jeremiah

So the Lord sent Nathan the prophet to David. He said,

“There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle,  but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.”

Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.  

David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die!  He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”

 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man!“ (2 Samuel 12:1-7a)

The consequences of David’s sin were severe. The child born to him by Bathsheba became sick and died; and calamity never left David’s household.

Broken-hearted over what he had done, David cried out to the Lord, repented of his sins, and was forgiven. In his sorrow, David wrote Psalm 51.

“Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean. Wash me and I will be whiter than snow.” (vs. 7)

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.” (vs. 10-11)

“My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.” (vs. 17)

Once forgiven, and the weight of his sin lifted, David wrote this Psalm:

 “The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
    slow to anger, abounding in love.
 He will not always accuse,
    nor will he harbor his anger forever;
 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
    or repay us according to our iniquities.
 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his love for those who fear him;
 as far as the east is from the west,
    so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:8-12

David experienced the overwhelming power of God’s forgiveness and mercy – forgiveness for sins which were evil in the sight of the Lord. That forgiveness is an indescribable experience that leaves one changed forever. It brings with it a deep understanding of God’s mercy and love. It brings relief from shame, relief from guilt that is too heavy to carry. And it is available to us today.

The Apostle Paul said, “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift”. 2 Corinthians 9:15

May we forever praise Him and bring glory to His Name.

Read the whole story from 2 Samuel here.

With Love, 

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This Is My Journey Unscripted.

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