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JOIN US ON APRIL 23! |
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Learn more about Priscilla Shirer Live Simulcast Event at https://jennymaass.com/women/
5 Things You Can Expect at the Priscilla Shirer Simulcast
Connectivity Lost.
7.4 billion people in the world, but we have never felt more alone. In a world of online connectivity how can we experience so much disconnection? Why must we connect?
Because whether we like it or not, we all want and need the “ABC’s” – acceptance, belonging and community. Continue reading Connectivity Lost.
That’s the book for me
As we settled down to read the Bible, we acknowledged this was a first. Our first time reading the Bible, together, at the same time, in the same place. And just like anything you do for the first time, you figure it out.
FAST-track to your best life.
Ever heard “You get what you pay for”? That is a reality and it is true for your spiritual life too.
“Jesus, today I would like the spiritual strength of a person who doesn’t talk to you or review your Words for me but really dwells on the attitudes and opinions of those who don’t believe you exist. What kind of Christian walk can I have at that cost?”
Your investments in your spiritual life and walk pay off. Your walk with Jesus, strong or weak, is a direct result of your time and effort. Just like your physical health reflects the time and effort you put in exercising and eating right.
You will never leave where you are until you decide where you would rather be. ~Kurt Parker
Well, we all want the best life we can have. No one argues that. But how we believe we get it is where we differ. Often we think we know what our ‘best life’ is and we believe we can make it happen ourselves.
Why do we think that? We didn’t make us or even one thing in this world. So why would we think we know how to attain the best life here?
The Maker does. The Maker made us. The Maker made everything. The Maker – makes it happen.
Maybe we should get to know Him better.
Read. Pray. Fast. All three, repeated in the Word, are the staples of a believer’s life who wants to know the Maker’s plan. Read the only true Words we have to stand on in this life; pray by talking to Him as you would a Father or friend; Fast: give up elements of this world you hold too close. Show Him you are serious about getting on the fast track to your best life. Invite the Maker to take you “as is” and make you into more than you could ever be on your own.
If it doesn’t mean something to you, it won’t mean anything to God.
Come join “You in the Making” series launching next week with Harborside Christian Church as we kick off fasting and groups and a commitment to receive His Word this year.
Sinking. And no one knows it.
“You’ve done a “Class A” job, an Oscar-winning performance of hiding your pain,” says Pastor Kurt yesterday. “Everybody sinks but no one has to drown.”
How long can you keep holding your breath?
The Life-Savior is waiting, “Come,” He says. Follow these 3 specific steps to guarantee your rescue.
Is my phone on? No one is texting me.
What do you do when you feel disconnected?
Suddenly life’s tide has gone out, and you find yourself in an empty space.
No texts in your phone. No friends calling to talk. No plans lined up in your near future. And you wonder why.
Half the Harlot
Ever get tired of hearing all talk and no action? A friend of yours keeps talking about getting together; keeps saying they want to meet you and catch up. They just keep talking about it. You don’t believe it because it’s not happening.
You don’t believe what people say, you believe what people do.
It’s like crickets. And no one’s moving. Watch Jim Carrey’s reaction to all this talk about ‘fickle times’ in Fun with Dick and Jane.
Do you think God might feel that way? He looks down on a bunch of people who all say they know Him and profess to have faith and believe in Him. But no one is doing anything.
James throws some sarcastic humor at us by basically saying, “Oh great! That’s great. You believe in our One True God. Well that’s just flipping awesome. Continue reading Half the Harlot
What will it cost you?
What will it cost you to give what God asks? The better question is, “what will it cost you to NOT…?”
When you consider the price you will pay for the daily enslavement of your soul. A life where you serve your money instead of your money serving you. Where what you own, owns you. I would say that price is pretty high. Continue reading What will it cost you?
When God says no.
Things sometimes don’t work out the way we want and it doesn’t end well. Continue reading When God says no.
The Best Way to Start (and End) Your Day
Best way to start your day: face down in prayer. Don’t take one step forward in your day without holding the hand of God. He knows what’s in store for you, so recognize early that you can’t do it alone.
But when you receive the Word, are you just a hearer? Or are you a doer?
I’ve actually been in such a routine mode of daily scripture before that my motions – even my motives – became mechanical. Using the Holy Bible app on my iPhone, I would just plug the auxiliary cord into the car and let the audio run while I drove to work. But the words just slipped through me like noise. I wasn’t retaining anything because I wasn’t actually plugging in, only my phone was.
You don’t just hear the Word and receive His promises. By grace, you most certainly may. But grace is only given according to the measure of our faith, and our faith is strengthened through our actions. The Word specifically recites:
Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” James 1:22-23
It takes practice, patience, a little technique and active concentration. Follow the blueprint given to you, believe in it with your whole heart, receive His promises. Here are some helpful practices:
Plug In
The evil one will throw darts at you the moment you wake up, if he hasn’t already done so in your sleep. So first-things-first – start your day with a 100% Daily Value injection of the mind-opening and spirit-awakening truth. Open your day with a verse. Either a randomly-selected verse, a sequential verse (if you are reading through the bible), or a verse you’ve tee’d yourself up for the night before. Don’t even roll over in bed until you’ve read that verse.
Relate
How does the verse fit contextually within the overall message of the chapter? Are there other, relative instances throughout the Bible? Does it relate to experiences you or someone you know has had in the past, or are currently engaged in? What are you being called to do, or how are you being asked to behave? What is the promise?
Repeat
Don’t just recite – repeat. Repeat in the shower. Re-read it during your lunch break. Write it on a sticky note and put it in your pocket. Share it with a friend.
Apply
Every day is trial run. You are sharpening yourself as a tool for our LORD; you are buffing yourself as a living light for Christ. Every day is an opportunity to practice your faith and to grow in the Word. One day you are going to be called upon to perform; each verse you retain, the moments you apply the Word, and every seed you sow will help you grow in Christ, will leave you better prepared for your future and will equip you to make a Godly difference in the world.
Reflect
The best way to end the day: facing up, in prayer. Did the verse bring you discernment? Did it bring you courage? Was it exactly what you needed to hear? Did it lead you to another verse that you needed to hear? Did it bring you clarity? Did it open knew doors? How are you a better person at the end of the day, because of the verse, than you were when you woke up? Thank God.
When you are ready, God will find you and will grant His promises. So be ready. Set your mind on things above by reciting and meditating on a single, strengthening promise from God in His Word by plugging into a single verse for each day of the week.
Don’t be afraid to open your mind, heart and hands to a person or situation that God is laying on your heart to pray for! Believe that His Holy Spirit in you is working!
Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” Mathew 7:24
Now go be doers of the word and not hearers only!
Jenny Maass 