Beautiful Freedom

"If anyone attempted to rule the world by the gospel and to abolish all temporal law and sword on the plea that all are baptized and Christian, and that, according to the gospel, there shall be among them no law or sword - or need for either - pray tell me, friend, what would he be doing? He would be loosing the ropes and chains of the savage wild beasts and letting them bite and mangle everyone, meanwhile insisting that they were harmless, tame, and gentle creatures; but I would have the proof in my wounds. Just so would the wicked under the name of Christian abuse evangelical freedom, carry on their rascality, and insist that they were Christians subject neither to law nor sword, as some are already raving and ranting. To such a one we must say: Certainly it is true that Christians, so far as they themselves are concerned, are subject neither to law nor sword, and have need of neither. But take heed and first fill the world with real Christians before you attempt to rule it ...

Sit quietly with Me, letting all your fears and worries bubble up to the surface of your consciousness. There, in the light of My Presence, the bubbles pop and disappear. However, some fears surface over and over again, especially fear of the future. You tend to project yourself mentally into the next day, week, month, year, decade; and you visualize yourself coping badly in those times. What you are seeing is a false image, because it doesn't include Me. Those gloomy times that you imagine will not come to pass, since My Presence will be with you at all times. When a future-oriented worry assails you, capture it and disarm it by suffusing the Light of My Presence  into that mental image. Say to yourself, "Jesus will be with me then and there. With His help, I can cope!" Then, come home to the present moment, where you can enjoy Peace in My Presence. Luke 12:22-26; Deuteronomy 31:6; 2 Corinthians 10:5 Jesus Calling: Sarah Young

I had to step away from working on what feels to be the longest paper of my life. However, come Tuesday morning my semester is over and I will feel like a new woman. It will be through the grace of God alone that I get done what I need to get done. I'm sitting at home burning my Cassia Clove candle, I have the windows open because it is a beautiful 60 degree weather out and the sun is shining. I could hear the wind chimes and wind blowing in the trees and I cannot help but stop and just marvel at the God we serve. It was a rough night for me last night...lack of sleep, stressed out with school papers, Zoe's eye problem (my dog), trying to move out, knowing I need to save more, I want to get in shape, all those sorts of shenanigans. I just had to STOP and realize that through Christ I still have joy admist the business and life things. My life is not going to slow down any time soon and I still have a year of school left. I realized I had begun to lose focus of "just br...

C.S. Lewis: Let us always long to hear the stories of grace in others' lives. Every conversion is the story of a blessed defeat.    Martin Luther: I've held many things n my hands, & I've lost them all; but whatever I've placed n God's hands, that I still possess.   "If we are to have any satisfying and lasting understanding of life, it must be divinely given." AW Tozer God orchestrates ALL things. We're not in control of ANYTHING. Our role: strive to respond faithfully to what He's doing. - Trip Lee Couples don’t fall out of love so much as they fall out of repentance – Gary Thomas One of the consequences of covetousness is that it destroys the capacity to discern sufficiency. -James MacDonald   "Foolishness controls the man who is open to no one's counsel & the person who sees little need to study God's Word" - Paul Tripp We trust God's purposes, so we don't fear present circumstances. The...