Tag: surrender

Christian

To Be a Woman After God’s Own Heart

Cindy Dawson

“I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.” Acts 13:22

The key to being a man or woman “after God’s own heart” is to be surrendered to His will and to put your trust in Him alone.

Stand outside tonight and ponder the stars. Those stars were scattered across the sky by God’s mighty hand. They are so far away that even though many of them are larger than the sun, they look like tiny points of light.

Did you know that our galaxy, the Milky Way, has approximately 100 billion stars? But the Milky Way is not the only galaxy in the universe… There are about 10 billion galaxies in the observable universe!¹

Just imagine the enormity of what we can’t even see! Our God is a mighty God. This is the God that we know and trust!

How can we know what God wants us to do? How can His plan be carried out if we don’t know what it is?

We must trust the Lord, study the Word ,and spend time in prayer. 

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

God reminds me that “we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” (Psalm 100:3) Sheep aren’t that smart.  They need endless attention and oversight. They are unable to take care of themselves. They need a shepherd. It’s not by accident that Scripture compares us to sheep.

David was a shepherd boy. He learned about God as he cared for his flocks. He knew everything about the relationship between the shepherd and his sheep. He writes, “The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.” Psalm 23:1

The sheep know the shepherd’s voice. Jesus said, “The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” John 10:2-5

As we spend time in the Word and in prayer, He leads us.

Jesus declared, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (John 10:11)

If we are surrendered to the Lord, if our heart seeks after Him, we are doing our part. God will carry out His plan. He will do it. He will make that happen. He is the Good Shepherd. He has promised to lead us and we can trust Him.

With Love, Cindy

Do you want to know more about Jesus? Click this link to learn more: Who Is Jesus?

realchristianwomen.blog  

This is a repost from 2020.

References: 1 https://scienceline.ucsb.edu/index.html

Photo by Alexandru Zdrobău on Unsplash

Christian

What Kind of Worshiper Am I?

Cindy Dawson

Those bad Pharisees! I can’t believe how stubborn they were! I’m glad I’m not like one of them!

We tend to see the faults in others before we see our own. Isn’t that true? I’m pretty sure that’s called pride. So as we examine what the Bible says about worship, let us look inward, at our hearts.

Jesus talked about two kinds of worshippers – “true worshipers” and those who “worship me in vain.” Do we really understand the difference? Let Jesus explain.

To the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus said,

“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.” John 4:23-24 NIV

But when Jesus spoke to the Pharisees, He said,

“You nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:

These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.
 They worship me in vain;” Matthew 15:6-9 

The Greek word translated “worship” in the first passage is proskuneo. It means to prostrate oneself in worship, to reverence, to adore. To lie prostrate implies total surrender.

The Pharisees put on a show of reverence, but were not totally surrendered to God. It is interesting to note that Jesus did not use the same word for worship in Matthew 15:9. He used the word sebomai, which means to revere. There is a big difference. The Pharisees honored God, but they were not surrendered to His will. Their hearts were somewhere else.

“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.” Romans 12:1 NLT

Let us examine our hearts. What kind of worshipper am I? Is my worship pleasing to God? Am I surrendered to His will? Or, do I worship Him in vain? Do I give Him reverence, but cling stubbornly to my own will? Do I worry more about how I appear on the outside, or the condition of my heart?

Am I totally surrendered to Jesus?

“If we will only surrender ourselves utterly to the Lord, and will trust Him perfectly, we shall find our souls “mounting up with wings as eagles” to the “heavenly places” in Christ Jesus, where earthly annoyances or sorrows have no power to disturb us.”

– Hannah Whitall Smith

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  

1st Photo by NATHAN MULLET on Unsplash

2nd Photo by Rachel Pfuetzner on Unsplash

Christian

To Be a Woman After God’s Own Heart

Cindy Dawson

“I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.” Acts 13:22

The key to being a man or woman “after God’s own heart” is to be surrendered to His will and to put your trust in Him alone.

Stand outside tonight and ponder the stars. Those stars were scattered across the sky by God’s mighty hand. They are so far away that even though many of them are larger than the sun, they look like tiny points of light.

Did you know that our galaxy, the Milky Way, has approximately 100 billion stars? But the Milky Way is not the only galaxy in the universe… There are about 10 billion galaxies in the observable universe!¹

Just imagine the enormity of what we can’t even see! Our God is a mighty God. This is the God that we know and trust!

How can we know what God wants us to do? How can His plan be carried out if we don’t know what it is?

We must trust the Lord, study the Word ,and spend time in prayer. 

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

God reminds me that “we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” (Psalm 100:3) Sheep aren’t that smart.  They need endless attention and oversight. They are unable to take care of themselves. They need a shepherd. It’s not by accident that Scripture compares us to sheep.

David was a shepherd boy. He learned about God as he cared for his flocks. He knew everything about the relationship between the shepherd and his sheep. He writes, “The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.” Psalm 23:1

The sheep know the shepherd’s voice. Jesus said, “The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” John 10:2-5

As we spend time in the Word and in prayer, He leads us.

Jesus declared, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (John 10:11)

If we are surrendered to the Lord, if our heart seeks after Him, we are doing our part. God will carry out His plan. He will do it. He will make that happen. He is the Good Shepherd. He has promised to lead us and we can trust Him.

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  

References: 1 https://scienceline.ucsb.edu/index.html

Photo by Alexandru Zdrobău on Unsplash

Bible, Christian

You Have a Ministry! Do You Know What It Is?

Cindy Dawson

There have been moments when I literally began to panic. Thoughts racing through my mind … God didn’t tell you to write a blog! You shouldn’t be doing this! This is all you!

Have you ever experienced this deceitful kind of attack on your mind? God didn’t send you here! God didn’t say …

Do you remember what the Serpent said to Eve? “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” Genesis 3:1

This is the Deceiver in action: making you question what God has said. It is nothing new.

The devil even tried his tricks on Jesus. But what did Jesus do? He said, “It is written …” (Matthew 4:4)

So the first thing I did was to look in God’s Word to see what He says about ministry.

“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-12)

 

My Pastor’s job is to prepare ME for ministry. Your Pastor’s job is to prepare YOU for ministry. The entire Body of Christ is being prepared for ministry. We all have a job to do.

“6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.” Romans 12:6-8 NIV

Next, I took a spiritual gifts assessment on my church’s website. This confirmed what I already knew. It reinforced my understanding of what God is asking me to do.

Then, I heard the often-quoted verse: “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Proverbs 29:18

Do we know what it really means? Or, do we interpret it according to present day psychology?

Psychology says, “Vision goal setting is goal setting with a grand purpose. It begins with a dream based in your passion and inspiration in your work. From the dream comes a clear vision of where you want to be and what you want to do …” Jim Taylor, PhD (Psychology Today)

Is that what God meant in Proverbs 29:18 when He says “Where there is no vision, the people perish …” ? Let’s examine the second part of the verse (that is usually not quoted.

“Where there is no vision [no revelation of God and His word], the people are unrestrained;
But happy and blessed is he who keeps the law [of God].” Amplified Bible

The Living Bible translation says, “Where there is ignorance of God, crime runs wild; but what a wonderful thing it is for a nation to know and keep his laws.” 

If the “vision” we speak of is the  “…  revelation of God and His word” then maybe our “vision” for the Church should look more like this:

A world where …

  • All Christians show a kind of love that gives them a reputation for kindness and mercy, patience and unselfishness.
  • All Christians ministering in the capacity that God has gifted them, edifying and building each other up, and praying for one another.
  • All Christians showing mercy and compassion toward their fellow man. 
  • All Christians forgiving their enemies, their neighbors, and each other.
  • All Christians sharing the Gospel with a lost world. 
  • All Christians seeking God with all their heart, unconcerned with fitting in with the world.  

Now that’s a vision! What can we do? I can do my part. You can do your part. God has the plan. Our part is obedience and surrender.

With Love, Cindy

This is My Journey Unscripted.

References

“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other” Ephesians 4:32

“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” Matthew 5:44

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations.” Matthew 28:19

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31

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