9.30.13

Philippians 2:16 Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ's return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless.

My Thoughts

Hold firmly to the word of life.  We can't hold firmly if we don't know God word!  It is essential that we read, for ourselves our Bibles, we are so blessed to have them.  For years I tried to be a good Christian person, I thought that I knew God. After all I went to church (a lot of those years).  I listened to the preacher and did my best to do what he taught me to do.  But I didn't read my Bible.  It just sat there gathering dust on the shelf.  Three years ago I was given a one year Bible by my son.  I started to read it every day.  Because I was going to finish it just once because John-Robert had given it to me, a Bible all mapped out for me to read each day.  At first I was as lost as when I would try to read my Bible in the past, but I kept reading...and just as God's word promises, (If you seek wisdom, wisdom will find you.) I began to understand what I was reading.  My life had changed so much at the end of that year that I knew I would never stop reading my Bible daily.  That was 3 years and 9 full months ago.  Some days life just gets in the way...but only some days and I miss a day, but I always try to catch up. A few times I have gotten a few day behind when that happens I read at least the New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs parts to catch me up to the current day.  But mostly, I would say 95% of the time I read my Bible each day, renewing my mind with what God wants me to know.  Now I know God, I don't just know who God is.  Now I know if someone is misleading me in what God wants. Know I know for myself what God wants for me. Now so much of the Bible is a part of my heart that when I face hard times or just when I face daily issues, I can call on God's word to make the right choice. Now I truly understand that God will forgive me.  Now I "get" what God's grace is and I call on it all the time. 

I am not perfect, I will never be perfect. But thank you Jesus, I have a way to be made right. I am no longer tormented by Satin, because I know what His lies are and I know what God's truth about me is!  Each say I am amazed. Each day not only do I love God more, I love others more and I love myself more.  Each day not only does God forgive me, I am able to forgive me.  Peace and joy chase after me.  Because God's word is in me and I use it, mostly to fend off Satan. And it works!

If you are not in a place where you want to be. If your life is not where you would like it to be.  If you fight depression, anxiety and panic or low self-esteem, I beg of you.. Please pick up your Bible and start reading.  Don't give up it takes a few months, but you will begin to see wonderful changes in your life!!  When you do please tell me about them!  Share with others so they can have what you have.  Life can be amazing. God's word is life altering! 

9.29.13

Proverbs 24:10(NLT) If you fail under pressure, your strength is too small.

My Thoughts

The NIV words it this way, "If you falter in a time of trouble, how small is your strength!"  The NKJV words it like this, "If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small." and The Message words verse 10 like this, "If you fall to pieces in a crisis there wasn't much to  you in the first place."  In my mind, my heart I worded this verse like this, "Jeannie, if you fall to pieces or you fail under pressure, your faith is too small." After all our strength comes from God. I have to have faith that God will take care of any situation when I choose to do what God has asked me to do.

I can choose to be afraid of a person, not showing my faith in God, and do what they would have me do. Or I can choose to trust in God to take care of me because I have chosen to do what God would have me to do.  The more I know God the more I believe that He allows us to go through small and large trials so that we will know where our strength lies. Sometimes in our lives we only go through those normal trirals of life, if we are lucky our lives will only have "normal" trials.  But as I watch time go by and I watch the horrors of the world I know that God has to prepare me, in the trials of every day, to be able to stand up with our mighty God in my heart and not be afraid of anything! Knowing that God is there for me even if I face death, horrific death.

Yes you may think that I am being dramatic, but am I?  Just last week a mall in Kenya was taken over by people taken over by Satan.  People had guns held to their heads and faced certain death if they said, "God is my God." We must be that strong.  Strong enough to say, "God alone is my God!" We must build our faith! Because if we can't be strong in the face of people who love us, people who like us, or strangers at Walmart.  Will we be strong enough? We must be able to say out loud today "I love my God." We must be strong enough to tell the truth when a lie would be easier. We must be strong enough to stand up for somebody when the crowd is against them.  If we aren't how will we be strong enough if we are taken hostage in a mall?

I am learning that God does not test us so He will know, after all He knows the end from the beginning. God test us so that we will know, so that we can see where we need to grow. God test us out of love, pure love. A love that says, "I want you to be able to make the right choices, because I want you to live with Me in Heaven."  And if we fail, God is there waiting with His hand held out, with His word on our shelves, so that we can learn and grow and be ready to handle ourselves with His grace in the face of danger.  

If this verse were longer it would NOT say, "If you fail under pressure, your strength is too small, you failure!" If it were longer I think it would say, "If you fail under pressure, you strength is too small, please recognize this and learn and grow, depend on My grace to do what you are unable to do on your on. Because I love you so much."

9.28.13

Ephesians 6:10-12 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.  For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in the dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

My Thoughts

I think that this verse is so important to put into our storehouse of verses.  We need to call on this verse whenever we are being mistreated by someone. The first thing I thought of is that when someone is not treating me right, it is not them, it is Satan and his evil.  If I treat that person with goodness and kindness and love no matter how they treat me them I have not let Satan win.  I have done what God ask us to do.

Luke 6:32 says that even sinners love those who love them.  We are called to love, even the unlovable. We are called to be kind to the unkind. We are called give to the selfish.  We are called to walk in love with everyone no matter how we are treated.  When someone is being unkind... the loudest voice in their head is Satan... our actions need to help them be able to hear God.

9.27.13

Psalm 69:20 Their insults have broken my heart, and I am in despair. If only one person would show some pity; if only one would turn and comfort me.


My Thoughts

My Bible says that this is a Psalm of David. I tried to find out if it was written before or after he became king. But with my research skills I had no luck. Either way it does not matter. David was broken hearted and in despair and not one person comforted him.

I could not help but wonder if this was after he became king... a person that so many people want to please..... if it was He still did not get comforted. He was pleading to God.
There are two things to learn from this verse. One God is always there to comfort us, we can always call out to God, we are never alone when we know God.

The second thing we can learn from this verse is that if we walk away from someone that needs comforting words, we may have been the only person that would offer those words. Our kind words matter to those around us. The powerful and the not so powerful... Our boss or the girl checking us out at Walmart. We may be the only person that offers comfort and we do not need to pass up that chance.

I recently talked to a sweet girl in a store where I shop. She had a family member that was really sick. I asked to say a prayer with her, I almost didn't, then I felt the Holy Spirit urging me on. As I prayed she sobbed. When I was finished I hugged her up and said that I would be on my way, that kindness often made me cry harder. As I was finishing up my shopping she found me and gave me one more hugs and these words, "No one, not one person that I work with, not one customer that I wait on has offered to pray with me until you. Thank you so much!" What if I had walked away?


As I read this verse I thought of all the times I have walked away, lost in my own stress or business of the day. I have walked away afraid of rejection of the words, "Can I say a prayer for you?" What if we are the only one to pray? What if the angels are waiting to move, waiting on someone to ask and we are the only ones that know how to ask? What if that person is so far from God that the forgot how to ask God to move? Our words matter, our prayers matter!

Ephesians 4:23 Instead let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God--truly righteous and holy.

My Thoughts
The Holy Spirit who loves inside of us when we accept Jesus is key!  Learning to hear and listen to His guidance.  I often hear people say, "Something told me." or "I just knew."  It was the Holy Spirit!! When we realize this our lives begin to change in amazing ways.  We can know how to be righteous and holy when we learn to listen and be guided by the Holy Spirit.  The thing is we always have the choice, because God gives us free will, to choose to listen to the Holy Spirit or to what the world or Satan tries to tell us.

Do you ever have those thoughts in your head that you know that you don't need to be having?  Of course you do! We all do.  Then we feel from our very soul what we are suppose to be thinking on. That is the Holy Spirit sent to us by Jesus to help us know what choices we need to be making.  The Holy Spirit reminds us of God's word. So when we know God's word we are more able to recognize the Holy Spirit speaking to us!!

We have such power in our hands, the power of Heaven if we choose to listen to the Holy Spirit... if we get in God's word and let it soak into our souls.  The more we communicate with the Holy Spirit, the more we release the Holy Spirit in our lives, the better our lives get.  Amazing things happen!

The goal is to let the Holy Spirit lead our lives so strongly that our bodies are like a glove that fits over Him.  So often we treat the Holy Spirit like the glove and put Him in our pocket... instead He should fill our lives so full  that He is leading our actions, our words, our reactions, our thoughts. So full that our skin is like a glove over Him.  We need to learn to give it all over to Him.   That is when we can have an impact on the people around us!

9.25.13

Ephesians 4:16 He (God) makes the whole body (of the church) fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

My Thoughts

I love this!!!... It just drives home to me how important being who I am is! God made me, He put together all the parts of my personality like He wanted it for a reason.  I don't need to be like my friend Lisa, or like Mrs Kay.  I don't have to study the same way that Tammy does, I have her for that :). I have to learn the way that I learn. I don't have to have the energy that Karen does, oh I love her energy,  or the strength and grace that Jo Ann has..it always amazes me!  I get to be blessed by all these ladies and more of my sweet friends at Church... and I need what I get from each one of them.  They grow me all the time. But God taught me that I also grow them!!  There are things about me that my friends need. I have a part that is important in the lives of the people around me.  I can't do my part if I am busy trying to be like everybody else or what I think everybody else wants me to be. I can only meet those needs if I use my personality, that God made just for me.  The Bible tells me that I am wonderfully made, me, Jeannie Phillips, just like I am.  I only need to try to be the best that God tells me to be... I only have to try to be like Jesus.  Then I can use exactly who I am to give to those around me.  God put me where He needed me... for me, but also for others.  I have my own brand of encouragement, I have my own little bits of wisdom, I have my own abilities that I can share and teach. And if someone needs a hug well they know exactly where to find one. 

Each of us makes up an important part of the church where God planted us.  Each of us makes up an important part of community where God planted us or the job where God planted us or in the family where God planted us.  The only way to use that successfully is by embracing who God make us to be. By growing that in positive, loving ways according to God's word.  Then by sharing unique selves with others...on the endless possibilities when we learn to love ourselves like God loves us!

I am working on this... I stumble sometimes and try once again to be the people around me...then I remember that God's word says that I am wonderfully made, and the Bible tells me that God knitted me together in my mother's womb... so I am who He wants me to be. Or a friend  reminds me with their kind words that I matter in their lives.  Or someone tells me that they love my hugs.  Then I know I am who God made me to be and I need to be the best me that I can be.  I, me, my personality, am an important part of the body of Christ, each of us are!! 

9.24.13

Psalms 67:5-6 May the nations praise you, O God. Yes, may all the nations praise you. Then the earth will yield its harvests, and God, our God, will richly bless us.

My Thoughts

We go about grumbling and compiling about our government. We post cleaver pictures and other people's articles on Facebook on what we stand against.... like our post will be heard and change the world. We constantly play the blame game on why our country is falling apart. We blame Obama because we might lose our health care as we know it. We wonder why the weather is crazy and why people are shooting up people every time we turn on the news. All the while still grumbling and complaining.

Our post and our complaints, our speaking out will not solve our problems... The answer is right here in God's word! When we praise God the earth will yield it harvest and God will richly bless us.

Our health care has really been on my heart lately. I do fear we are in danger of loosing health care as we know it. Not because of "Obama Care" but, instead because of our grumbling and complaining. Our total lack of being thankful to God for what He so generously provided for us! All my life I have heard grumbling and compiling about paying doctor bills and how much medicines cost from people with good health care. People including myself, complaining when deductibles went up... or when a prescription was expensive and our co-pay was $25 instead of $5. How many times do we pay our co-pay and look up to Heaven and say, "Thank you God! I am so blessed that I can come to the doctor for just $20, what a wonderful gift you have given me." How many times have we said, "Thank you God that this $300 prescription only cost me $25! You have so greatly provided for me!" We can go through surgery that we now see as "simple surgery" instead of the miracle it is, pay $300 total on a bill that was $5000 and grumble and complain instead of praising God for our health, and for keeping our bank accounts safe.


I think often of "simple surgeries." I imagine that the first time someone's appendix was taken it it was written about in the papers as a miracle! Now you can say, "I have to have my appendix out and no one even flinches. You can sometimes get that, "And why are you telling me this!" look. I remember the story of two of my aunts...one died at the age of 3 from a disease called Purpura... she got symptoms that morning and was dead by that evening. Ten or so years later my grandmother was holding another one of her girls and saw the same brusing on her legs, frantic she ran to the doctor who almost laughed at my grandmother for being so upset. He simply gave my aunt a shot...the several over the next months. She is alive and well today from a disease that killed a sister that she never knew. For my grandmother that was a miracle. Now that disease is probably prevented by some shot we get as a baby and we don't even know we are receiving a miracle. Babies use to die from the mumps and measles, I had the mumps, my children didn't... they had the measles and now my sweet grand-baby, Ripley will probable never have them. That is a miracle. Instead of praising God we forget to even me thankful.


We have the power, in our words to restore our land. We can unleash the powers of Heaven with praise... or we can bind of those powers with complaints. We can take our idle thought captive and replace them with praise. Not only will that keep our minds free of things we shouldn't think about it will set loose God's angels to heal our land so it will yield a great harvest... praise has the ability to set God into motion and make our hard work count for something... Praise has the ability to set God into motion healing our economy. The Bible tells us that the power is in the tongue... it also tells us that we can choose blessings or curses... this verse tells us exactly how to choose blessings.


So today as we go about our day, will we grumble and complain and unleash curses on ourselves or will we praise God and unleash blessings? It is our choice. What will you choose?