To be honest, I didn’t know I was responsible for seeking God with all of my heart and work with Jesus to discover his ways. I was still in the mindset and beliefs that I wasn’t as important to God as other people. I believed this lie because I didn’t know God’s truth or my identity in Christ. I was living out what I knew.
He has risen! Christ is alive! These words were announced at his empty tomb by an angel. These six words changed the reality for all of the disciples of Christ and those who are not yet believers. Because Jesus rose from the dead, defeated the power of sin and death, and sent the Holy Spirit to live in us after…
Living in the Unstoppable Hope of Christ During Challenging Times
April 7, 2020I knew if Jesus could endure the cross for me and come back to life, then he would help me. Choosing to trust Jesus and to trust God helped me experience living in Christ’s hope. Without trusting and loving them, living in unstoppable hope was not possible.
When you live with an abusive person, your attempts to draw healthy boundaries or to confront the person’s “meanness” can result in further or more severe abuse. Now that we are living in isolation, the abuse can become more extreme.
However, you have the power to
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March 3, 2020Living in Christ’s power isn’t about controlling others or every situation. It is about living and obeying God like he did every day. His power looks for opportunities to serve, to love, and to be his message.
When you decide to be a disciple of Christ, you are choosing to learn, grow, surrender, obey, and change anything that doesn’t look, sound, or resemble Christ’s attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors.
When we operate from our broken love design, we can believe these lies and allow others to disrespect, hurt, manipulate, or abuse us. Victims of abuse need to know these verses are a picture of the love we give and receive. Christ’s love NEVER includes abuse.
Christians must not confuse forgiveness or being understanding with accepting excuses for disrespectful, sinful, or abusive behavior. It’s easy to fall into this trap when you feel love-starved, and the person plays on your empathy with excuses, guilt, or blame. In fact, excuses and blame reveal their choice to avoid owning their feelings, words, choices, actions, consequences, and lack of godly repentance.
We can’t stop the challenges or trials we face on this broken earth, whether we are disciples of Jesus or we choose to do life without him. The question is, will you choose to have his true love in your life guiding you, strengthening you, and empowering you to have a grateful heart? Or will you choose to let bitterness and unforgiveness overshadow Christ’s, true love?