Tag: Love

Unreasonable Resolution

On By happyreignIn Reflections & Musings1 Comment

Resolution: the act of solving a problem; the end of all disputes.
Eliminating any lingering shade of doubt over your mind or heart, leaving nothing left to second-guessing where we stand before God.

Romans 5 Faith Brings Joy
Therefore since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith God has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. 1-2

And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 9-10

Ephesians 6
Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. […] In addition to these hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 13, 16

The shield is our joy that we carry as a direct result of our faith in Christ.
“Hope will heal your mind.” Dissipate the weight of negative illusions your mind brings to your heart by remembering hope. By being hopeful. By hoping for good. By expecting good. By remembering promises. By remembering God’s sovereignty in bringing his dreams for your life to pass. Remember his fellowship, his nearness that Christ has brought us into. Remember his favor, his peace, and his fun. His steadfast goodness in covenant with us, remains our portion in any storm, real or unreal.

Romans 4
Oh what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight. Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of sin. 7-8

Our record has been expunged, as if it did not exist, no longer bearing the guilt of past offenses.

Remember the joy of your salvation and extinguish, resist, that which comes against that joy in your heart and mind. Defend the joy that Christ has deposited in your heart. Wear a helmet of hope over your mind. And enjoy your day going about life with Him.

What God Desires

On By happyreignIn HeatherLeave a comment

“I want you to show love.” Hosea 6:6 NLT
“But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.” James 1:22 NLT

Preaching to myself through this word study. Focusing on the first quarter of the verse in Hosea, God communicated to us how he desires us to act. Keep in mind God asks nothing of us he doesn’t already: 1) embody himself or 2) hasn’t already given us the full ability to execute his clear direction.

The Hebrew word for love here as translated in the New Living Translation is (H2617) defined primarily in the Strong’s Concordance as kindness, piety (towards God, defined as acts of devotion), or subjectively, beauty: good deed, loving-kindness, kindly, mercy, goodness, faithfulness. The primitive root of the word used in this verse is the verb chasad (H2616): to bow in courtesy to an equal, that is to be good, to be kind; to show kindness to oneself.

Do you need to hear God telling you “I want you to show love” to yourself?? Are you being gracious with yourself? Generous? Kind? Full of mercy and faithfulness to you; the you God made in his own likeness after his own image? God has called you to walk in his love and to display it but you (and I) will be handicapped in doing this to and for others when we withhold this same posture to ourselves.

Have you been hard on yourself lately? Have you beat yourself up over something? Are you disappointed in something you keep returning to or a lesson in life you cannot seem to pass? Don’t wait. Don’t wait. Don’t wait, to love yourself. Don’t wait until you change. Don’t wait until you improve. Love yourself now. Agree with God; who loves you now.

There is a sufficient savior who carries you, who sees you, who chooses you, who knows you and, to be honest, delights in you. Is hopeful over you. Who wants to show you off. Your father is proud of who you are because he made you; you reflect his glory and there is nothing you can do about it. You, my friend, are a delight to be around. You are one to look forward to spending time with. You are precious.

Please don’t pour out of an empty cup, or keep your cup overturned because you don’t feel worthy to receive God’s abundant kindness and goodness. His presence is sweet and its even sweeter with you in it. Receive this grace that is fresh, that is enough, that covers your wrongs, and celebrates your goodness, because He is your father and you look an awful lot like him.

Heaven is a Person

On By happyreignIn HeatherLeave a comment

Heaven is a Person and Hell is a Perspective. Heaven, being thought of as a place in all of its splendor and beauty, means nothing without Jesus being there. We could have all these eternal spiritual good things but without the presence of God they all would be meaningless. When Jesus primarily teaches about the kingdom of heaven being near while he was here on earth, that topic is primarily highlighting the KING of that kingdom but in a humble manner. This king who IS peace, love, joy, freedom, etc, is freely accessible to you as you dwell inside of his authority and leadership. The only place I want to live eternally is as close to Jesus as possible. I don’t care where this, what this place looks like, what I have, what others have, who is there, as long as I am as close as possible to his heart and his face. Nothing else matters being he is my heaven. He is my only refuge, my only hope, my only strength. He can determine anything about my reality because it belongs to him, he created it and its for his glory.

The worst part of existence in this lifetime, although I realize is for my good and for my growth (to learn to rule and reign as he does), is when my perspective lies to me and communicates anything other than heaven being here with me now. I am accepted right now, I am saved right now, I am God’s eternal dwelling place right now, I am in union with Christ right now. Just because I lose sight of those truths doesn’t change this reality, my lack of ability to see these truths affects whether or not I experience these realities from the inside out. The bible teaches the kingdom of heaven is righteousness, peace, and joy. These become our experience in this life as a result of submitting to Jesus’ rule on a daily basis; our faith and surrender allow us to participate in this eternal goodness while on earth. The work of the devil, as outlined in Jesus’ teaching to steal, kill, and destroy. My conjecture from this lesson, is that the devil’s aim is to interrupt our experience and participation of God’s kingdom while we are here on earth, and he does that first by interrupting our perspective, which, in turn, interrupts our experience, by resulting in changed behaviors.

The devil wants to sow the opposite of God’s kingdom into your experience. The opposites of righteousness, peace, and joy are sin, anxiety, and depression. Do you see the fruit of any of those perspectives in our society around us or in your own life? If that is the case you may be a victim of spiritual theft, death, and destruction. This is because you are a unique creation of God’s beauty and expression, full of life, love and divine purpose. You are powerful and Christ loves to live with you, through you. You are a gift to this earth and a bright shining star. Have you forgotten this, or been reminded about this yet today?

Heaven is available to you to experience today, because Jesus is available to you, to be with you, near to you, close, in relationship today. May your perspective actively stand against every thought which opposes what Christ has purchased for you with his blood that he died to return you to as a gift, freely given. Return to through rest and faith in your living savior to the power of heaven and the purpose of God in your life right now because Jesus displayed his ultimate love for you by dying for you on a cross, and chose to give up his life so you could fully live yours. Happy Easter.

BOOK LAUNCH DAY

On By happyreignIn HeatherLeave a comment

Hi! I’m forty years old and wrote a book to celebrate! It’s a collection of lessons of faith from my first forty years of life all in one place. It’s filled travel, adventure, risk, and FAITH!

One random winner will win a free copy each Friday this month. To enter to win, go to my facebook and share or my instagram and comment! You can send the prize to yourself or a friend!

Or if you want to buy it now for the price of two coffees, click this link!

May it be an encouragement to your faith!