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So let it be done…
My friend Bret wrote this Sunday and I had to share it!
Matthew 8:13
…as you have believed, so let it be done for you…
The world says, “Unless I can see it or feel it, I will not believe it.” But God says, “If you will believe it, you will feel it. Indeed, if you will believe it, you will see it!”
Then my friend Debbie posted these Sunday and Monday…
For Those Following Along
Went to a concert tonight with my sister and she was wearing this…
If you would like to follow along…read this. 😉
Believe
Some days are hard and it’s a struggle to just believe. You have days like that?
I’m house sitting this week and I while i was dusting the house I see this…
And I remembered this… “For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”
And it made me smile. Then I went to the next room to dust and I saw this…
And I laughed and said, “Okay God. I hear you.” Then went back to dusting.
Then I was headed to bed and I see this…
And I heard, “Don’t grow weary, Jill. Just believe.”
Galatians 6 and Proverbs 12:13 tell me not to grow weary. Hebrews 10 tells me that if I just wait, I’ll be rewarded. And now God is making it abundantly clear that He just wants me to simply believe.
And so I’m sharing this with you. To encourage you to hang in their.
Point to ponder while you wander…what you believe guides your choices, like a rudder steers a ship.
See also Matthew 8:13. Genesis 15:6. Mark 9:23-24. John 3:15-18. Romans 10:9
Irrevocable
“So now I live with the confidence that there is nothing in the universe with the power to separate us from God’s love. I’m convinced that his love will triumph over death, life’s troubles, fallen angels, or dark rulers in the heavens. There is nothing in our present or future circumstances that can weaken his love. There is no power above or beneath us – no power that could ever be found in the universe that can distance us from God’s passionate love, which is lavished upon us through our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One!” Romans 8:38-39 TPT
The love of God cannot lessen nor grow nor change. It is permanent and eternal. It is irrevocable. -Jill Nicholson
This is one of the things I have learned through the journey I am on. And honestly, if I never learn anything else, it is okay. This revelation is enough to feast on forever…
I am loved by love Himself. Nothing I do or do not do can affect Him loving me.
Point to ponder while you wander…You are loved with the same radical abandon as God loves Jesus. Believe it, because it is true.
All In
Perception is everything. What you believe matters. What you believe about yourself determines how you allow others to treat you and how you behave. What you believe about yourself and God will determine your relationship with Him. What you believe about God determines whether or not you are willing to have faith in, commit to, and trust Him. If you don’t believe God is good and that God loves you, you will be unable to trust that He works all things out for your good. If you are unable to fully trust Him, you’ll never commit to go all in.
It can be scary to go all in. You may have doubts. You may not fully understand. Think about Mary when she was visited by the angel Gabriel. She was confused and did not fully understand what he was telling her. But she did believe that God was good and she trusted Him. So despite her doubt, Mary went all in.
“In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”
Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”
Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”
The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. For the word of God will never fail.”” Luke 1:26-37 NLT
Mary could have heard what the angel had to say, and dismissed him. She could looked at teenage self and said, “Yeah right.” She could have listened to her doubts and refused to believe that this was possible. She could have missed being the mother of the Savior, the Messiah, if she chose not to believe.
But Mary did not miss what God had for her, because she chose to go all in. No back up plan. No rationalizations. No strategies. Just belief. “Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.”” Luke 1:38
You alone choose what you believe. No one, not even God Himself, can make that choice for you. Mary chose to believe, and she gave birth to the Savior. What will you be capable of if you choose to believe God and go all in?
“You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what He said.” Luke 1:45 NLT
“That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”” II Corinthians 2:9 NLT
“So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.” Hebrews 6:18 NLT
“Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” Matthew 19:26 NLT (Verse also found in Mark 10:27 and Luke 18:27).
I Shall Not Be Moved
I know that I haven’t done Musical Monday in a while, so today I’m going to give you a two-fer. One is old school and the other is a few years old and my on-going theme song.
Old school classic: I Shall Not Be Moved sung by Mr. Johnny Cash.
This song is sourced from Psalm 1 and/or Jeremiah 17 (which quotes Psalm 1). Biblical scholars believe that this Psalm was written to Rehoboam from his father, Solomon, as he was about to succeed him as king. It warns Rehoboam to choose God’s way, and what will most likely happen to him if he does not. Solomon had been led astray by several of his wives and he did not want his son to repeat his errors.
I am a big fan of the Prophet Jeremiah’s flare so here’s Jeremiah 17:5-8 NKJV:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
And makes flesh his strength,
Whose heart departs from the Lord.
For he shall be like a shrub in the desert,
And shall not see when good comes,
But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness,
In a salt land which is not inhabited.
Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose hope is the Lord.
For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not fear when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green,
And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit.”
Your bonus song is my theme song. I know I’ve posted it before, but like I said, it’s my theme song. So here is the lovely Ms. Natalie Grant singing I Will Not Be Moved.
Like everything else, you choose how you react to things. Choose to be still and know that He is God, even if Monday is attempting to take you down. Choose to remain planted in His promises.
Awe and Wonder
“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”
-Albert Einstein
Today I realized that I can be amazed every single day. Awe and wonder is literally a lifestyle choice. I can choose to look for and experience joy in the everyday. I can choose to expect miracles. I can choose to say, “Father God, what awesome and wonderful things do you have planned for us today?”
I am the only one who determines how I receive from God and perceive the world around me! Only I have the power to decide whether I embrace the awe and wonder of life or whine and complain about it. I am all powerful in how I choose to react.
I know the faith walk ain’t for sissies. Believing God when all the evidence points against it is difficult, especially when you’ve been hurt and disappointed. But that’s exactly the time to look for awe and wonder in your life. That’s when you need to choose to expect good!
Why do you think Jesus called those little bitty kiddos the greatest in Matthew 18?
Think about it? Little kids just believe, and they walk around amazed by everything they see. Everything is new and exciting. That’s exactly what childlike faith looks like. That is what pleases and impresses Jesus.
What if today you expected awe and wonder? What if you went around knowing that our Father has good surprises for you everyday, hidden amongst the ordinary and mundane? What if you truly believed God is for you and not against you? What if today you just believe that God loves you? What if you just received His love like a toddler being picked up and cradled by their daddy?
I will leave you with this…the Greek word “know” in Romans 8:28 actually means to see therefore to know. It is connected to the word optomai (op’-tom-ahee), which means to gaze at something with wide open eyes, as at something remarkable. It means to be amazed by what you’re seeing. This isn’t a factoid to put in your knowledge bank, it is something you witness and are blown away by.
“And we stare long in amazement,in complete wonder, that the Creator of everything loves us so much that He causes everything in our (those loving and living for Him) lives to work together for our good benefit.” Romans 8:28 Jill Translation
A Willing and Able Rewarder
Your opinion and beliefs about God will affect how you deal with the ups and downs in your life.
Do you believe God is good and that He loves YOU? Not just that God is love, but that He loves YOU! Do you believe you are loved? Because you are!
Do you believe that He turns everything around for YOUR good? It isn’t enough to believe God is able to do anything. You need to know that He is able AND willing to do it for YOU.
If you begin to doubt either (or both) of these things when your situation is difficult it doesn’t mean you’ve lost faith or that there’s something wrong with you. It means you’ve forgotten your value. And it means you need to spend more time seeking Him. The Word tells us that when we seek God, we find Him. God doesn’t play games with people. He is always good. He is always love. He is always for you. And He never changes.
Remember… “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6
Hope in God
Today’s Deep Thought: When your hope is based on God’s promises, you can be assured that you will not be disappointed because not a single one of God’s promises will fail!
The last thing Joshua said to the Israelites was, “Deep in your hearts you know that every promise of the LORD your God has come true. Not a single one has failed!” Joshua 23:14 NLT
Hebrews tells us: “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” Hebrews 11:1 NLT
Paul said: “And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” Romans 5:5
Hope=A joyful and confident expectation of good.
Faith=Being convinced (absolutely persuaded) that God is who He says He is and, therefore, will do what He says He will do. Also known as trust, belief.
Even if you don’t see how God is going to do it, God sees the beginning and the end.
Even if you can’t wrap your mind around it or begin to understand it, God knows all things.
Even if you have no money, God is your provision.
Even if you’ve been waiting sooooo long, don’t give up. Those who persevere receive what they were promised.
Even if it looks impossible, God still does miracles every day. He has limitless resources. LIMITLESS! And He’s got more planned for you than you can possibly imagine. Imagine that!
Even if you are the least likely, ESPECIALLY if you are the least likely candidate, God loves using those people! (David for instance. Or Mary. Or Galilean fishermen and tax collectors working for the Romans. The list goes on and on).
When God promises something, He delivers. So, stand on His word! Speak the scripture out loud! Remind God of His promises.
Faith praises God NOW for things that have been promised but have not yet arrived. We praise NOW because we know that God ALWAYS keeps His Word. Always.
jillbeingstill 